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D I08C
Dictionary of
American Naval
VOLUME III • 1968
NAVY DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
NAVAL HISTORY DIVISION • WASHINGTON
L. C. CAKD 60-60198
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $6.00
FOREWORD
President Theodore Roosevelt said : “If the proper study of mankind is man,
then the proper study of a nation is its own history, and all true patriots should
encourage in every way the associations which record the great deeds and the
successes and failures alike of the forefathers of their people.” Through the
years, the U.S. Navy has written a significant part of that history.
Sea power has been instrumental in deciding our Nation’s fat© through war
and peace since the American Revolution, Avhen George Washington said it
“was the pivot upon which everything turned.” Our destiny today on many
frontiers depends largely on the effective use of the seas.
Men shape sea power as they shape all else in life. The greatest strength
of the U.S. Navy has been, and always will be, its men. In their hearts and
minds and souls lies the destiny of America at sea.
Yet, just as men are the living spirit of sea power, ships are its magnificent
manifestation. Ships are the spearhead and visible evidence of the United
States’ purpose wherever water reaches. On the free sea they are American
territory. They extend the frontiers of freedom to the coast of every other land.
As a Greek statesman said of the 6th Fleet :
“I hardly know any countryman of mine avIio does not rejoice Avhen he
sees your beautiful and powerful ships visiting the Greek seas . . . The
sea stands for freedom in every human soul, to us it stands for life itself.”
A feAv years later, Americans in the Middle East, caught in the Suez crisis
of 1955, for the first time in their sheltered lives in our blessed land of freedom,
understood this truth vividly. An evacuee from Asia Minor, expressing appre-
ciation to the Commanding Officer of USS Chilton (APA-38), Avrote:
“When Ave spied the first U.S. uniforms on the dock Ave felt Avonderful,
and finally, Avhen Ave Avere aboard the Chilton , Ave felt practically invulner-
able. I guess Ave never realized how much the Flag meant to us until we saAv
it on the stern of the landing craft, and Ave will never forget Iioav it appeared
that night on the Chilton's masthead Avith a spotlight on it.”
Men have other reasons besides security for loving ships. They find in
these stout hulls beauty, strength, and tireless purpose as they cleave through
broad seas day and night without pause. Most of all, Avhen a man has served in
a ship, it becomes one of the deepest loves of his life. He becomes part of it and
the ship becomes part of him fore\Ter after.
Hence, like its predecessors, this third volume of the Dictionary of Naval
Fighting Ships Avill be received eagerly by a host of readers for many different
reasons. As men open this volume today and in years to come, may a paramount
reason be understanding of what ships represent in the sIoav upward groAvth of
freedom. Ships, the sea, and freedom are inseparably united. In the words
of President Johnson:
“Sea poAver is essential to the security of our Nation. The mobility and
versatility of our naval forces manifested each day are a constant reminder
to any aggressor that this country has the means to act quickly and decis-
ively to protect the interests of the United States and the Free World.
Paradoxically, the powerful United States Navy is a symbol of peace . . .
The dedicated men serving in Navy Blue . . . safeguard the peace and
freedom of the world and the future of the American way of life.”
PREFACE
Ships are the visible majesty of seapower — and
consequently of freedom since from earliest times
the free sea has offered strength to those who be-
lieve in freedom. Therefore we issue this third vol-
ume of the Dictionary of American Naval Fight-
ing Ships with confidence of its value. In the years
ahead this fleet of books will contain a brief bio-
graphy of every ship that has served the United
States in her strange and divine surge to the lead-
ership of man — and of his bright dream of free-
dom under God for all.
“Porte after toyle in weary seas” well expresses
our gratification to have launched hull number 3.
When Volume II commissioned 4 years ago to
quickly become a “GPO best seller”, we promised
ourselves to have this third one in your hands
long before now. Very soon thereafter we met
headwinds in the loss of staff and in the press of
other work.
Now that this volume comes to you we hope you
will find it a better “Mark and Mod.” than its pred-
ecessors. We have earnestly labored to make it so.
Several readers have gone over each history. We
have added more detail in many of them, more
photographs, broader perspective. Otherwise our
Op-Plan has remained essentially the same as
given in the introductions to Volumes I and II.
Perhaps we should make the further qualifica-
tion that we have added more special appendices
than originally envisioned. Three unique ones
ornament this book— “Civil War Ordnance”;
“Monitors” ; “Historic Ship Exhibits”. Each is an
outstanding contribution that in itself makes this
work worthwhile. Further special appendices un-
der consideration for future volumes include such
titles as “The Continental Navy”; “Ships-of-the
Line”; “Task Forces of World War II”; and
“Ship Losses by Wars”.
Some of these will come from the hands of dedi-
cated seekers of truth outside the division as in the
case of “Civil War Ordnance” by Eugene Canfield
and “Monitors” by Lieutenant Richard Webber,
USNR, who also helped in other ways while at-
tached to the division. Indeed many men and
women outside the division have also helped with
other parts of the book. To them of the staffs of
the bureaus and offices, within and outside the
Navy Department and to the many interested
Americans elsewhere we express our warm appre-
ciation ; and especially to : Dr. K. Jack Bauer; Mr.
Howard I. Chapelle ; Mr. Robert J. Fletcher ; Cap-
tain Neville T. Kirk, USNR; Mr. John Maffett;
Miss Olga B. Mager; Midshipman Samuel L.
Morison; Mr. Dave Rosenberg; Mrs. Betty W.
Shirley; Mrs. Jesse B. Thomas; Mrs. Esther Vail.
Willing workers previously with the division
who made important contributions in research,
writing, or typing include: Lt. (j.g.) Richard M.
Basoco, USNR; Yeoman Second Class Paul Cul-
bertson, USN ; Commander Dermott V. Hickey,
USN ; Miss Sandra L. McNair; Lt. William F.
Rope, USNR; Mr. Jesse B. Thomas; Mrs. Dianne
Witt.
Happily the Naval History Division is small
so that all parts interrelate effectively. Therefore
members of other sections of our division made
many worthwhile contributions; they are: Dr.
William J. Morgan, Head of the General Histori-
cal Research Section; Dr. Dean Allard, Head of
the Operational Archives Branch, and his most
able assistants, Miss Barbara Gilmore, Mr. Rich-
ard Von Doenhoff, Mrs. Mildred D. Mayeux, and
Mr. Bernard Cavalcante. Very valuable aid has
come from Commander Victor J. Robison, Jr.,
Assistant Curator of the Navy Department, in both
selecting and obtaining illustrations for this vol-
ume, and from his assistants Mr. Henry A. Vad-
nais, Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeffrey Bogart, Mrs. Agnes
Hoover and Chief Yeoman Terrance Sklodoski.
The Navy Department Library a branch of the
Naval History Division with Mr. W. B. Greenwood
at the helm and his assistant, Mr. Fred Meigs, pro-
vided source material on the older ships. Others
not directly connected with the DANFS project
who have made giant contributions are: the vet-
erans Mr. Loyd A. Olsson and Mr. Don Martin.
vii
The late Mrs. Ethel S. Talley and her successor,
Mrs. Emily Fishe, provided data on new ships.
Some of the writing was performed under contract
by Mr. Wayne S. Knight, while others produced
historical sketches while on Naval Reserve train-
ing duty; those include Comdr. Ernest H. Post,
Jr., Lt. Bernard A. Barufaldi and Chief Journal-
ist Joseph J. Sarver.
In every stage, including final editing, the proj-
ect, like all others of this busy division has bene-
fited greatly from the wise and able guidance of
Captain F. Kent Loomis, USN (Ret.), Assistant
Director of Naval History.
The basic credit for this volume goes to Com-
mander Clayton F. Johnson whose skilled hand
shows through all these pages and to the small
section he heads that has a host of work, besides
this publication, devoted to morale and esprit —
such as Ships’ Names and Sponsors, Insigna, His-
toric Plaques, Command Histories, and that con-
stant flow of queries by mail, telephone, and
visitors.
Within the section this volume has enjoyed the
effective writing and editing of Lieutenant John
C. Roberts in its early stages and of his successors.
Besides him, basic writing was done by some of
those previously mentioned and now separated
from the division ; however, the lion’s share of basic
writing was performed by Mr. Raymond J.
Iwanowski, who has just recently departed for
another field of work, and his most able co-worker,
Mr. James V. Stewart, Jr. Miss Joan A. Schrader
and Mr. John Reilly, Jr., provided willing and
able assistance by proofreading, rewriting, and
performing administrative chores. High speed and
accurate writing, typing, and record keeping has
stemmed from Mrs. Jo Ann Ward, Chief Yeoman
Carmen Vitelli, and Yeoman Second Class Jack
Street, all of the Ships’ Histories Section.
Including Confederate Ships, these three vol-
umes contain the histories of some 5,000 warships
that have served the destiny of this sea-girt land
of ours. At the outset we estimated a total of over
10,000 histories and a listing of several thousand
other noncommissioned craft. Revised “Op-Plans”
to include histories of all named ships, whether or
not commissioned and the scouting out of little
known obscure vessels that served the United
States in war have swelled the total to 14,000 or
more. So we still have a long voyage to complete.
Each warship has well served our country in
duties great or small. Their records span the full
history of America, sometimes in ships of the same
name, for ships, like men, can have noble ancestry.
Their histories are the history of America, for in
them lie much of her strength and salvation. The
key to victory in every war that has come to our
country has lain at sea.
This was true in the days of sail in the American
Revolution. It was true in the days of steam from
the Civil War to World War II. It is true in this
swiftly changing age of nuclear power, space
flights and exploration to the depths of the sea.
It will continue true into the long future.
E. M. Eller,
Rear Admiral, U/SN (Ret.),
Director of Naval History.
4 June 1967
viii
CONTENTS
Page
FOREWORD v
PREFACE vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xxi
HISTORICAL SKETCHES:
Letter “G” 1
Letter “H” 196
Letter “I” 413
Letter “J” 473
Letter “K” 580
APPENDICES:
I. Historic Ship Exhibits 681
II. Monitors 747
III. Civil War Naval Ordnance 797
IV. Addenda to Appendices of Volumes I and II:
Parts:
A. Addenda to Appendix II, Volume I:
Guided Missile Cruisers 1959-1967 820
B. Addenda to Appendix III, Volume I:
Submarines 1959-1967 824
C. Addenda to Appendix IV, Volume I:
Destroyer Types 1959-1967 840
D. Addenda to Appendix V, Volume I:
Escort Ships 1959-1967 847
E. Addenda to Appendix I, Volume II:
Aircraft Carriers 1963-1967 850
V. Ships Named "A” through “F” Since Publication of Volumes
I AND II 851
VI. Errata for Volumes I and II 864
BIBLIOGRAPHY 870
CONTENTS OF EARLIER VOLUMES
875
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Numbers shown in parentheses represent negative numbers of illustra-
tions. Unless otherwise indicated, prints can be purchased from the Com-
manding Officer, U.S. Naval Photographic Center, U.S. Naval Station,
Washington, D.C. 20390. Request for photographs from the National
Archives should be directed to the General Services Administration,
National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C. 20408.
Caption
Frontispiece _
USS G-l (SS-19JS)
USS Gainard (DD-706) on 19 September 1951
USS Galena, a wooden steamer built at the Norfolk Navy Yard..
USS Galveston (CL-93) going down the ways 22 April 1945
USS Gannet (A VP-8) at John Glacier, near Juneau, Alaska, in 1936.
USSGama (DE-1040) on 22 October 1964 •_
USS Gatling (DD-671) Deployed and ready to fight while keeping
the peace in the Mediterranean in 1959.
USS Gendreau (DE-639) in 1959 — in World War II DE’s fought
enemy submarines to a standstill.
USS General Bragg — this cottonclad sidewheel ram served under
both flags.
USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) on 10 July 1944
USS General Sterling Price
USS Genesee (ACG-8)
USS George Bancroft (SSB(N)-643) — down the ways 20 March
1965.
President Wilson — homeward bound in USS George Washington —
giving his Fourth of July Address in 1919.
USS George Washington, bearing President Wilson, enters New
York Harbor 8 July 1919.
USS George Washington (SSB(N)-598), the world’s first ballistic
missile submarine, was operational two years ahead of schedule.
Captain Osborn reporting on success of the first missile firing
Marion Anderson christening USS George Washington Carver
(SSB(N)-656) on 14 August 1965.
USS George Washington Carver — down the ways
USS George Washington Parke Custis, a Civil War balloon boat
USS Georgia (BB-15) — Admiral Husband E. Kimmel served in
her 1907 to 1908.
USS Gilmore. (DE-18) in San Francisco Bay 27 February 1945
USS Burton Island (AGB-1), USS Atka (AGB-3) and USS Glacier
(AGB-4) pushing an iceburg out of the channel in the “Silent
Land” near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 29 December 1965.
USS Cleaves (DD-423) leaves the building ways 9 December 1939.
Under her brilliant Captain, Richard Wainwright, USS Gloucester
gained world fame in the Spanish- American War.
USS Glover (AGDE-1) awaiting launch at Bath, Maine, 17 April
1965.
USS Gold Star (AG-12) at Sitka, Alaska, in September 1922
USS Gopher, circa 1906
Man-of-War Schooner Grampus
USS Grampus (SS-4), renamed A-3 on 17 November 1911
USS Soley (DSM-707) alongside USS Grand Canyon (AD-28) at
Augusta, Sicily, 10 December 1950.
USS Grayback (SS-208)
USS Grayling (SS-18) was renamed D-2 on 17 November 1911...
USS Great Northern held the record speedy “Turn-Arounds”
during World War I.
USS Greenlet (ASR-10) during December 1959
USS Gregory (DD-802) took less than a year from keel to com-
missioning.
Identification number
19N18245
437752
NR&L(01d) 11744
National Archives 19N83275.
NR&L(01d) 15962
1107983
1045423
1043361
NR&L(01d) 2285
National Archives 80-G-239229..
NR&L(01d) 955
USN 1110040
NR&L(01d) 4499...
4702 (Mod)
USN 1045067
NR&L(Mod) 29893
USN 1113007
NR&L(M) 38641...
80619369
NR&L(Mod) 38641
29552
USN 827128
NR&L(Mod) 27296
NR&L(01d) 601... .
NR&L 18341
NR&L(01d) 17270.
NR&L(Mod) 28748.
429291
National Archives 80-G-21599 —
NR&L (Mod) 28755
NR&L (Mod) 15505
1046254
National Archives 80-G-49883 —
Page
ii
1
5
9
13
18
21
27
34
38
51
59
68
71
81
82
83
84
85
86
88
89
101
103
106
111
112
114
121
130
131
133
140
141
144
149
155
XI
Caption
USS Gridley (DD-380), a veteran of World War II
USS Growler (SS-215) at Groton, Conn., 21 February 1942
“Take Her Down” — famous last words of Comdr. Howard W.
Gilmore, Commanding Officer of USS Growler (SS-215).
USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) alongside captured German sub-
marine U-505.
Report of capture of U-505
USS Guam, (PG-43) — launched in Shanghai 28 May 1927 —
patrolling on China Station in 1932.
USS Guam (CB-2) on 13 November 1944
USS Guam (LPH-9) on bu lders trials 5 February 1965
USS Guavina (AOSS-362) fueling a P-5M Patrol Seaplane in the
open sea in 1955.
USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) during December 1959
USS Gurke (DD-783) — personnel inspection
USS Gwin (DD-71), a 1920 flush-deck destroyer with a cutaway
USS H-3 (SS-30), previously USS Garfish, built at Seattle 1911
through 1914.
USS Hale (DD-133), one of 50 destroyers traded to Great Britain
for bases in 1940.
USS Hale (DD-642) at Pearl Harbor 11 October 1958
USS Halekala (AE-25) in July 1965
USS Halibut (SS-232) in February 1942 — extreme damage from
depth charges forced Halibut off the patrol line in November
1944.
Extract from report of USS Halibut (SS-232) ’s 10th war patrol —
1944 New Years Message
USS Halsey (DLG-23) — When asked about kamikazis who had
not heard of Japan’s surrender, Halsey quipped, “Shoot Them
Down in a Friendly Fashion.”
Continental Frigates Hancock and Boston capturing British
Frigate Fox 7 June 1777.
USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Hornet (CV-12),
and USS Hancock (CV-19) in “Murderer’s Row,” Ulithi Atoll
2 December 1944.
Continental Schooner Hannah
“Sam” Dealey in USS Harder (SS-257) reports the sinking of two
Japanese destroyers. From June 1943 to August 1944, USS
Harder sank one seaplane tender, eight cargo ships, one tanker,
four destroyers and two frigates.
USS Harding (DD-91), a guardian for the famous NC Seaplane
flight in 1919.
Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane, Porter’s Flagship of the Mortar
Flotilla in 1862.
USS Harrisburg camouflaged in 1918
USS Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748) in 1966
Admiral Thomas C. Hart served in USS Hartford from 1899 to
1902.
Helmsmen on board USS Hartford, flagship of Admiral Farragut.
USS Harvest Moon, Admiral Dahlgren’s Flagship
USS Haven (AH-12) off Korea in 1952
USS Hawkins (DD-873)— “Mail Call”
USS Hawkins (DD-873) refueling from USS Enterprise (CVA(N)-
65).
USS Helena in a mud dock on the Liao River, China, during the
winter of 1903 and 1904.
Observers depart USS Helena (CA-75) to spot gun fire in Korea
15 October 1950.
USS Henderson (AP-1) at Coco Solo, C.Z., 6 January 1933
USS Henley (DD-39) at the Fore River Shipyard in September
1912.
USS Hermitage (LSD-34) on 19 November 1956
USS Heron (AVP-2)
USS Hetzel, a Side- wheel Steamer that saw service during the Civil
War.
USS High Point (PCH-1)— Notice space between bottom of her
hull and of the water.
USS Hogan (DMS-6) on 29 July 1943
USS Holder (DD-819)
USS Holland (SS-1) entering drydock with Russian ship Retvizan ..
John P. Holland, builder of the Navy’s first submarine, USS
Holland (SS-1).
USS Holland (AS-3) with submarines alongside at San Diego
circa 1927 — Langley (CV-1) appears at North Island with USS
Shawmut (CM-4) astern of the carrier. The nearest destroyer
on the left is USS Edsall (DD-219)
USS Hollister (DD-788) on 9 January 1962
Identification number
National Archives 19-N-28445
NR&L(Mod) 29124
80G49170
NR&L(Mod) 12592
80G290574
USN 1113078
USN 709414
USN 1040636
CCD1784
13489
20090
NR&L(Mod) 10734
Battle Report (WP10)
USN 1078219". I
USN 902522
294150
Battle Report (WP10)
NR&L(Mod) 27858.
N R&L (Old) 1598—
NR&L(Mod) 9222-
N R&L (Mod)" 38906’
N R&L (Old) 3334—
N R&L (Old) 2244—
USN 445545
N R&L (Old) 7497.
USN 421579
80G455844
21479
1035969
19851
N R&L (Old) 1548.
80G78641
110683
N R&L(01d) 16960.
NR&L(Mod) 38065.
NR&L(Mod) 19972.
Pate
160
167
168
170
171
174
175
176
180
188
189
193
197
206
207
208
211
212-14
218
219
231
234
237
243
245
251
254
257
262
263
266
272
276
277
288
291
297
299
315
318
321
329
343
345
346
347
348
xii
USN 1059579.
351
Caption
USS Holmes County (LST-836) at San Diego 20 July 1964
USS Honolulu (CL-48) — Admiral Husband E. Kimmel’s flagship
1939 to February 1941.
USS Hooper (DE-1026) preparing to refuel from USS Chemung
(AO-30) in the Western Pacific 24 January 1963.
USS Hopkins (DD-6) in 1908 j
USS Housalonic was destroyed by confederate submarine H. L.
Hunley off Charleston Harbor 17 February 1864.
Report on the sinking of USS Housatonic by Confederate sub-
marine H. L. Hunley in 1864.
Embarked in USS Houston (CA-30) in 1939, President Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt and Admiral William D. Leahy observed a
fleet problem.
USS Howard (DD-179) on acceptance trials in Santa Barbara
Channel 13 January 1920 just prior to commissioning.
USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16) in May 1960
Frigate USS Hudson circa 1826 from an engraving by W. J.
Bennett.
Report by Commanding Officer of USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD-
774) dated 15 May 1945.
Fighting side-by-side off Okinawa 11 May 1945, USS Hugh W.
Hadley (DD-774) and USS Evans (DD-552) splashed 38 planes.
Inventor H. L. Hunley’s proposal to use his submarine to attack
a Union Ship.
USS Hunley (AS-31) in Holy Loch, Scotland, 17 January 1963...
USS Hunt (DD-674) during 1959
USS Idaho (BB-24) on review at New York October 1912
USS Idaho (BB-42) in 1925
USS Illinois (BB-7) .
A painting of Razee USS Independence, the first USN Ship-of-
the-Line.
Captain of USS Independence, John B. Nicholson, orders provi-
sions from the Secretary of the Navy in 1837.
Action Report on Operation “Stalemate II”
USS Independence (CVA-62) on 30 July 1963
Forward main deck of USS Indiana (BB-1)
Fleet Admiral Nimitz received his “At Sea Training” in USS
Indiana during his plebe year at the Naval Academy in 1901.
USS Indiana (BB-58) on 8 September 1942
USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and line of battleships in fleet review
at New York 31 May 1934.
Indianola, 1863
USS Ingraham (DD-694)
Bark-rigged Training Ship USS Intrepid at San Francisco in 1912..
USS Intrepid (CV-11) continues operations near Luzon despite
kamikaze hit 25 November 1944.
From top to bottom — USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Saratoga (CVA-
60), and USS Independence (CVA-62) off the North Coast of
Sicily 17 November 1960.
USS Intrepid (CVA-11) — Gemini 3 spacecraft being hoisted on
board 23 March 1965 after a three orbit mission by Astronauts
Grissom and Young.
Iosco, 1862
USS Iowa (BB-4) — Admiral Spruance served in her in 1906 and
1907.
USS Iowa (BB-61) in Korean Action 1952
USS Iroquois, Screw Sloop-of-War, served from 1859 to 1910
USS Isabel (PY-10), flagship of the Yangtze River Patrol, China,
in 1921.
USS Isla De Cuba, Gunboat from 1900 to 1912
Isle Royale (AD-29)
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) near Panama October 1962
USS Jacana (MS-193) at Hampton Roads, Va., 23 July 1964
Fleet Admiral Nimitz in USS Jack W. Wilke (DE-800) 5 Novem-
ber 1946.
USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) transiting the Panama Canal 1934
USS Jallao (SS-368)
USNS James M. Gilliss (AGOR-4) — 14 December 1962
USS James Madison (SSBN-627) ready for launch. Secretary of
the Navy Paul H. Nitze at the podium flanked by admirals
Galantin (left) and Grenfell (right) — 15 March 1963.
USS James Madison (SSBN-627) on sea trials near Hampton
Roads 2 July 1964.
President James Monroe — message to Congress 2 December 1823,
later becoming the “Monroe Doctrine.”
USS Jamestown, a sloop-of-war built in 1844
USS Jarvis (DD-393) in Puget Sound 2 May 1938
USS Jarvis (AC-12), later converted to AV-2
Steam Bark Jeanette at Havre, France, just prior to departure for
San Francisco in 1878.
Identification number
248361 IIIIIZIIII
1067615
NR&L(01d) 3842.
NR&L(01d) 2245.
27329
13488
441066 ...
NR&L(01d) 6059.
188204
National Archives RG-109
USN 1067205
1046235
National Archives 19-N-11287
NR&L(Mod) 23660
National Archives 80-G-46944
NR&L(01d) 18879
NR&L(01d) 18550..
NR&L(Mod) 33167
NR&L(Mod) 19545
NR&L(01d) 16385
National Archives 80G-480287
NR&L(01d) 1933- A
USN 446189
NR&L(01d) 16438-
NR&L(01d) 1524...
NR&L(01d) 5086...
USN 1081064.
USN 1107766
NR&L(Mod) 33041
NR&L(Mod) 19691
USN 1042404
USN KN-4361 B__
USN 1073875.
USN 1103855 C
NR&L(01d) 5283...
NR&L(Mod) 28385.
NR&L(01d) 12056.
Page
353
357
358
362
371
372-73
376
379
381
385
388
389
397
398
400
415
417
419
425
426-27
429-30
431
432
433
433
436
437
442
446
448
449
450
452
453
455
460
464
467
468
472
479
482
486
488
495
497
498
499
502
506
507
510
xiii
Caption
Jeanette crew members dragging their boats over the ice after the
loss of their ship.
President John F. Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy christens USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67). In
the background, from left to right — President Lyndon B.
Johnson; John F. Kennedy, Jr.; Mrs. John F. Kennedy; and
Mr. D. A. Holden, President of Newport News Shipbuilding
and Drydock Co. World Wide Photos.
USS John Marshall (SSBN-611) departing Newport News
John Paul Jones writes to John Ross, a Scotsman sympathetic
to the American cause.
John Paul Jones appointment to Captain
USS John Paul Jones (DD-932) “Give Me a Fast Ship for I
Intend To Go In Harms Way.”
USS John Rodgers (DD-574) at Charleston, S.C., 29 April 1943_
Rogers report of 4 July 1862
US John S. McCain (DL-3) near Boston 26 January 1954
USS Joseph P. Kennedy (DD-850)
Joseph P. Kennedy Cuba Quarantine report
USS Josephus Daniels (DLG-27) on sea trials near Bath, Maine.
USS Jouett (DLG-29)— 1966
USS Julius A. Furer (DLG-6) Bath Iron Works Corporation
22 July 1966.
USS Juneau (CL-52)
USS Juinata — dual propulsion by sail and steam
USS Jupiter (AC-3) at Mare Island 16 October 1913 — Jupiter
was later converted into the first aircraft carrier, USS Langley
(CV-1).
USS Jupiter (AVS-8) on 28 July 1963
USS K5 (SS-36), the first submarine to navigate the Mississippi
River, arriving St. Louis 14 June 1919.
USS Kamehameha SSBN-642 launching at Mare Island 16 Jan-
uary 1965.
USS Kanawha, a Steam Gunboat
USS Kane (DD-235)
USS Kansas, a Steam Gunboat 1863
USS Kansas, (BB-21) in 1906 — A sister ship of USS Vermont
(BB-20) and Minnesota (BB-22).
USS Katahdin, 90-day gunboat in 1861
USS Katahdin, a steel Armored Ram from 1896-1909
Lt. Kearny in USS Enterprise captures 4 Piratical Schooners and a
sloop in the act of robbing the American Ships Lucies and
Aristides and English Brig Larch.
USS Kearsarge (BB-5)
USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) in Korean waters 1952 — Planes are
F-2H Banshees.
USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) and destroyers arrive Subic Bay 1961
USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) near Honolulu 3 October 1962 — Astro-
onaut Walter M. Schirra emerges from Sigma 7 spacecraft
after being hoisted aboard carrier.
USS Kennebec (AO-36) on 4 October 1942
USS Kennedy (DD-306)
USS Kentuckian, a transport of World War I
USS Kentucky (BB-6) was one of the ships Admiral Husband
E. Kimmel served in between graduation from the Naval Acad-
emy and receipt of his commission as an Ensign in 1906.
USS Keosanqua (AT-38) at Pearl Harbor circa 1930
USS Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16) in December 1959
USS Key West (PF-17) launching 29 December 1943 at Lorain,
Ohio.
USS Kidd (DD-661) in December 1959
USS Kilty (DD-137) Guantanamo Bay in January 1920
USS King (DLG-10) departing Pearl Harbor 19 August 1963
Extract from King fish’s (SS-234) Third War Patrol
USNS Kingsport (T-AG-164), a satellite communications ship
USS Kishwaukee (AOG-9)
USS Kittery (AK-2)
USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) refueling USS McKean (DD-784)
and USS Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748).
Knox (DE 1052)
USS Koka (AT-31)
USS Krishna (ARL-38)
USS Kwajalein (CVE-98) on 11 June 1944 later reclassified (AKV-
34).
Identification number
NR&L(01d) 5691
292
USN 688048
National Archives 19-N-44972
USN 633788.
USN 442648.
USN 1110070.
NR&L(Mod) 27836.
NR&L(01d) 2753- A
NR&L(Mod) 28707.
USN KN-9838— .
NR&L(Mod) 4733.
NR&L(01d) 11492
NR&L(Mod) 13545
National Archives 19-N-14 244. _
NR&L(01d) 6595
NR&L(01d) 5129
NR&L(01d) 20443
NR&L(01d) 11409..
USN 480057
USN 1056065
NASA 62-MA8-122.
National Archives 80-G14108
NR&L(Mod) 13504
NR&L(Mod) 21030
NR&L(Mod) 38640
National Archives 19-2-17942
USN 1045439
NR&L(Mod) 28782
USN 1045419
NR&L (Mod) 23669
KN-7577
NR&L(Mod) 19235.
USN 1063397.
NR&L (Mod) 14000
National Archives 80-6-240133..
Page
511
529
530
537
540
541
542
547
548-49
550
563
564
568
570
574
576
578
579
580
582
589
591
593
597
598
602
603
606-08
611
612
613
614
620
620
626
627
630
634
639
642
645
648
652-53
655
659
661
665
671
674
677
680
xiv
HISTORIC SHIP EXHIBITS APPENDIX IN THE
UNITED STATES
Capt ion
An 18th century map ol the eastern shore of North America
USS Alabama (BB-60) 1 December 1942
USS Arizona (BB-39) Memorial at Pearl Harbor
Visitors begin conducted tour of USS Banning (PCE-886) at Hood
River, Oreg.
USS Cairo
USS Constellation in 1893
The Launching of the Constitution
Launching of USS Holland (SS-1), Cresent Shipyard, Elizabeth,
N.J., 17 May 1897.
A Holland Submarine at Paterson, N.J
Continuous service certificate of Chief Gunners Mate William
Reader-Chief of the boat in USS Holland (SS-1). Marking sys-
tem based on 5.0 vice 4.0.
Intelligent Whale
USS Missouri (BB-63) — 16-inch projectiles in flight
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) 4 July 1944
CSS Muscoges in the process of restoration
CSS Neuse under reconstruction
USS Niagara
USS North Carolina (BB-55) at Wilmington. Photo by Hugh
Morton.
USS Olympia at Boston 12 July 1909
USS Harvest Moon — Scuba divers are probing area where she sank
to determine the possibility of raising her. Photo by Walter
McDonald.
Philadelphia, the Revolutionary War Gondola at the Smithsonian
Institution.
Pioneer
USS Texas (BB-35) at San Jacinto Battleground. Photo courtesy
of Harper Leiper Studios.
USS Utah (BB-31)
USS t/<a/i(BB-31)’s bell on display at Clearfield, Utah
USS San Francisco (CA-38) Memorial at San Francisco
USS Portland (CA-33) Memorial Ceremony 4 July 1962 at Port-
land, Maine.
CSS Arkansas
USS Balao (SS-285) — conning tower
CSS Chattahoochee, a wooden gunboat, was destroyed by Confeder-
ates to prevent capture. Some of her machinery shown here re-
veals that sledge hammers were used to disable the power plant.
USS Flasher (SS-249) — conning tower
USS Franklin (CV— 13) 26 April 1945
Admiral David G. Farragut bombards Forts Jackson and St. Philip
en route to epic capture of New Orleans in 1862.
USS Hartford on 9 April 1901
USS Harvest Moon
USS Maine entering Havana Harbor
USS Michigan Bow
Monitor-Merrimac Plaque
USS Monitor and CSS Virginia engagement 1862. From F. D.
Roosevelt Collection. Painting by 0. O. Davidson.
One of Narwhal’s 6-inch guns on display near Morton Hall, U.S.
Naval Submarine Base at New London.
USS Oregon (BB-3) en route to Cuba in 1898
USS Saginaw’s — gig
USS San Francisco (CA-38)
USS South Dakota (BB-57) Memorial Artist’s conception
USS South Dakota (BB-57) propeller at Newport News Va. Cour-
tesy of The Mariners Museum.
USS Squalus (SS-192) Memorial with memorial wreath of USS
Thresher at Portsmouth, N.H.
USS Swordfish (SS-193) Memorial at St. Paul, Minn., September
Identification number
80-G-31552
VN G-2572-7-62
NR&L(01d) 407—
NR&L(01d) 18839
N R&L(6ld)' 19153'
Old 18854
80-G-47015
80-G-455429
NR&L(Mod) 38550.
NR&L(Mod) 38097
NR&L(Mod) USN-37344
B104 Crop
80-G-1035105
NR&L(Mod) 38420
NR&L(Mod) 35729
NR&L(01d) 11465
NR&L(Mod) KN-38050
NR&L(Mod) 38551
NR&L(Mod) 37032-KN
80-G-274015
USN 903012
NR&L(Mod) 37631
lll-SC-94543
NR&L(01d) 16860
NR&L(Mod) 36908.
NR&L(Mod) 38418.
80- G 40251
Page
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682
685
685
687
687
688
689
689
690
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
696
697
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699
700
701
702
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
717
718
719
720
XV
Caption Identification number Pace
Submarine Memorial, Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor 721
USS Trout (SS-202) Memorial 722
USS Wahoo (SS-238) USN 28479 723
USS Washington (BB-56) Display at the State Capitol, Olympia.. NR&L(Mod) 33145 724
Bell of USS Hartford. Photo by Frazier Studios, Hartford, Conn__ 724
USS White Plains (CVE-66) San Diego, 8 March 1944 80-G-381865 725
USS West Virginia (BB-48) mast at the University of West Vir- _ 726
ginia.
USS Indiana (BB-58) Memorial at Indiana University, 14 May 726
1966.
The famous planting of the Stars and Stripes on Mt. Suribachi, NR&L(Mod) 33409 727
Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945. A U.S. Marine Corps War Me-
morial depicting this historic flag raising may be visited near
Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
U.S. Naval Historical Display Center NR&L(Mod) 38074 728
Continental Ship Bon Homme Richard and British Serapis 728
German Midget Submarine, Type Seehund II, at U.S. Naval Sub- 729
marine Base, New London, Groton, Conn.
Japanese Midget Submarine, with sides cut away to reveal in- 730
terior.
Captured Japanese Midget Submarine, showing arrangement of 731
torpedo tubes.
Bow on view of U-B05 in place before the Museum of Science and 732
Industry in Chicago.
The Jamestown Ships (1. to r.) Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Dis- 733
covery. Photo courtesy of T. L. Williams.
Kaiulani, sailing as the Star of Finland in 1913. Photo cour- 735
tesy of the National Maritime Historical Society.
Mystic Seaport, Conn 736
Balclutha at San Francisco after restoration. Photo by Karl 737
Kortum.
Star of India is a landmark at San Diego 738
The Viking Memorial in Chicago. Courtesy of the Chicago Park 738
District.
USS Maryland (BB-46) — Bell on the grounds of the State House, NR&L(Mod) 33409 744
Annapolis.
MONITORS APPENDIX II
U.S. Monitor Kickapoo — The photograph was probably taken NR&L(01d) 11767 746
prior to her transfer to Admiral Farragut’s West Gulf Blockad-
ing Squadron in July 1864. An interesting point is that the Eads’
turret forward is outwardly identical to the Ericsson turret aft.
Hand colored pen and ink sketch of U.S. Monitor Squando appar- NR&L(Mod) 38235 746
ently drawn by a watchstander on the ship— The drawing was
found in the ship’s log at the National Archives.
USS Tallahassee (ex-USS Florida) serving as a submarine tender NR<fcL(01d) 3754 747
during the World War I period — Submarines K-5 and K-6 are
shown alongside on 10 December 1916 in a picture taken in
Hampton Roads.
The first of her kind, USS Monitor, showing the scars of her historic NR&L(01d) 19972 748
battle with C.S.S. Iron Clad Virginia.
General plan of the U.S. Iron Clad Monitor “deduced from the 750
original drawings of Captain John Ericsson and from actual
measurements taken from the vessel”
Facsimile of the contract dated 25 October 1861 between John NR&L(Mod) 38610, 38611, and 751
Ericsson and Thomas Rowland for construction of USS Monitor’s 38612.
hull at the latter’s Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Shiphouse at the Continental Iron Works in which USS Monitor NR&L(Mod) 38609 754
was constructed during the winter of 1861-2.
USS Monterey in dry dock 22 April 1898 — She was the first ship 755
to use the graving dock at what is now Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. The ram bow and full body,
characteristic of “New Navy” monitors, can be seen.
This fine contemporary lithograph of Roanoke is an example of LP-577 755
the ship “portraits” published by Endicott & Co. of New York,
N.Y. Endicott & Co. was noted for its excellent craftsmanship
and scrupulous attention to detail.
USS Monterey at target practice off Port Angeles, Wash — The NR&L(01d) 7710 756
splash of one of her 12-inch shells may be seen in the right
background.
XVI
Caption
Artist’s impression of U.S. Monitor Kalamazoo — This is the only
representation of this class found to date.
Monitors forming part of the fleet of Rear Admiral D. D. Porter,
USN, riding out a gale at anchor off Fort Fisher, N.C., 21 De-
cember 1864.
Builder’s half model of U.S. Monitor Passaic, lead ship of her
class.
U.S. Monitor Camanche under construction in San Francisco
during 1864 — This photograph appears to have been taken
shortly before the next one in the group as the ships in the
background are the same.
Propeller and rudder arrangement of U.S. Monitor Passaic
This gathering of San Francisco notables was probably occassioned
by the imminent launching of USS Camanche from the yard of
Danohue, Ryan and Secor on 14 November 1864. USS Camanche
was the only monitor to serve on the West Coast until the arrival
of USS Monadnock in 1866.
USS Camanche fitting out alongside the pier shown in the center
background of the two construction photographs. She was
finally commissioned in May 1865.
U.S. Monitor Camanche as she appeared in 1898 — The Civil War
monitors which were not fully rebuilt but which remained on
the Navy list received additional deck ventilators and a light
hurricane deck over the years, the once long and low clean lines
becoming cluttered and ugly.
Deck of U.S. Monitor Catskill, off Charleston during early 1865—
The Commanding Officer, Lt. Comdr. Edward Barrett, is seated
in front of the armored pilothouse on top of the turret. Barrett’s
execut’Ve officer, probably Lt. Charles W. Tracy, is standing at
his right. The XV-inch and Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
which formed the armament may be seen through the gunports
in the turret. The XV-inch on the left could not be run out of the
port because of its size and had to be fired inside the turret
through a box mounted in the interior.
U.S. Monitor Lehigh while operating on the James River during
the spring of 1863.
Body plan of U.S. Monitor Passaic
This plan of U.S. Monitor Passaic was prepared at the Boston
Navy Yard during 1896. The changes made over the years are
particularly apparent when these views are compared with the
plans drawn during the Civil War.
Deck and hold plans of U.S. Ironclad Roanoke prepared at the
New York Navy Yard in February 1874.
Plan view of U.S. Monitor Onondaga
USS Onondaga on the James River during the Civil War. The
bulletproof shields installed around the tops of the turrets on
many monitors during 1863-1865 are clearly visible.
U.S. Monitor Agamenticus as she appeared shortly after her com-
pletion in 1865. The Miantonomchs were the only Civil War
monitors originally built with hurricane decks, with the possible
exception of USS Dictator.
U.S. Monitor Miantonomoh on her historic trip to Europe in
1866-1867 — The ship is seen during a visit to Malaga, Spain,
24 December 1866-3 January 1867. The photograph was prob-
ably taken on 26 December 1866 when the log made specific
mention of the ship being crowded with visitors.
Extract from the log of USS Miantonomoh including 26 December
1866.
USS Dictator on the ways at Delameter Iron Works, New York, N. Y. —
From the advanced stage of completion and the overcoats on
the figures in the foreground, it seems likely that the photograph
was taken in the winter of 1863, shortly prior to the launching of
USS Dictator on 26 December 1863. Note the minimal overhang
of the armored “raft” and the large screw, 21 feet, 6 inches, in
diameter.
A lithograph of USS Dictator as she probably appeared during the
Civil War. No photographs of USS Dictator have been located
except for the preceding construction photograph.
U.S. Monitor Catawba of the Canonicus class as Alahuallpa in
the Peruvian navy. American monitors rarely, if ever, used
sails except on long ocean passages. Actually the lithograph
may depict Atahuallpa as she appeared upon departing New
Orleans for Peru in 1888. Under the circumstances it would not
be surprising to see sails.
Identification number
NR&L(Mod) 38146
NR&L(Mod) 38106.
NR&L(Mod) 38603.
NR&L(Mod) 38102.
NR&L(01d) 5809...
NR&L(01d) 20274. .
National Archives lll-B-652
NR&L(Mod) 38613
National Archives RG-19
National Archives RG-19..
National Archives RG-19..
National Archives lll-B-40.
NRSL(Old) 17137.
NR&L(Mod) 38607
NR&L(Mod) 38104.
NR&L(Mod) 38105.
Page
757
759
760
760
761
762
763
763
764
764
765
765
766
767
767
768
769
769
770
771
772
256-125 0 - 68 -2
XVII
Caption
U.S. Monitor Mahopac on the Appomatox River during the Civil
War — The booms extending from the starboard side support
netting which served as a primitive minesweeping device.
Confederate mooring mines known as “torpedoes,” represented
a very real threat to all Union warships. The USS Monitors
Milwaukee, Osage, Patapsco, and Tecumseh were lost to mines.
The black area results from damage to the original glass
negative.
Engraving by Harley depicting U.S. Monitor Puritan as she
would have appeared when completed to her original Civil
War design.
Plan of the spar torpedo equipment designed for installation on
USS Casco, USS Chimo, USS Napa, USS Naubuc, and USS
Modoc. USS Napa and USS Modoc were not commissioned
during the Civil War.
Plan of U.S. Monitor Koka. USS Koka was one of the 15 ships
of the Casco class to be redesigned and completed as monitors,
although she never saw commissioned service.
U.S. Monitor Wassuc, one of the 15 Cascos actually completed as
monitors— However, she was never commissioned as this litho-
graph would indicate. It can only be concluded that the litho-
graph was prepared in anticipation of USS JFasstic’s completion
and commissioning. Also, it is interesting to note that the pub-
lishers, Endicott & Co., used the same plate for all ships of a
given class, changing only the caption.
Onondaga as she appeared while serving in the French Navy
under original name — She was carried on the French navy list
as a coast defense ship.
Mould loft dimensions of Kalamazoo
Body plan of U.S. Monitor Tonawanda
U.S. Torpedo Boat Casco, name ship of the light draft Casco class
of monitors, shown on the James River near Dutch Gap during
March- April 1865.
Photograph of U.S. Monitor Osage, probably taken shortly after
completion— The armored casing of the sternwheel is conspicu-
ous, as is the “turtleback”, characteristic of an Eads design.
USS Osage shown on the Red River during the 1864 expedition
in support of General Banks — Additional deck structures
erected since the previous photograph can be seen. Thomas O.
Selfridge, Jr., who commanded USS Osage at this time, spoke
in his memoirs of using a periscope mounted on the turret to
direct fire of the battery.
Plans initially submitted to the Navy by the contractors for the
USS Monitors Marietta and Sandusky. — The ships were not
completed until nearly 2 years after these plans were probably
drawn and, accordingly, it is not possible to be sure that there
were not major design changes prior to their acceptance by the
Navy in 1888.
U.S. Monitor Ozark while part of the Mississippi Squadron in
1864. — The deckhouse and exposed pivot guns may be seen
clearly. Ozark’s pilothouse resembles that which was placed on
the main deck of the Milwaukee class. The pilothouse on most
monitors was approximately 6 feet high but that on Ozark
appears to be about 12 feet in height.
This drawing of the Milwaukee class was submitted to the Navy
Department by James B. Eads as part of a proposal for warship
construction. The ships generally followed the drawing as com-
pleted. However, one boiler was added to the middle pair and
the pilothouse aft of the forward turret, designed by Eads as a
truncated cone, was substantially altered.
USS Puritan
USS Amphitrite underway off the Boston Navy Yard 27 August
1901
USS Monadnock under construction in 1892 — The indented area
running the length of the hull provided the support for the wood
backing of the armor belt.
USS Amphitrite under construction at the Norfolk Navy Yard. —
The wood backing for the armor has been set in place but the
belt is not yet installed. The tall military mast which was typical
of the “New Navy” monitors has already been set in place.
USS Monadnock enroute from San Francisco to Manila in 1898. —
Note the amount of water being taken over the main deck of the
“new” monitor in a relatively light sea.
Plan of U.S. Monitor Manadnook
USS Wyoming on the building ways at the Union Iron Works,
San Francisco, Calif. — The photograph was taken 30 June 1900.
xviii
Identification number
National Archives lll-B-409
NR&L(01d) 4754.
NR&L(Mod) 38606.
National Archives RG-19
NR&L(Mod) 38103
NR&L(01d) 20612
NR&L(Mod) 38615,
NR&L(Mod) 38616, and
NR&L(Mod) 38617.
NR&L(Mod) 38601
National Archives lll-B-5374
NR&L(01d) 396...
NR&L(01d) 21999.
National Archives RG-19
N R&L (Old) 1603.
National Archives RG-19
N R&L (Old) 2141
National Archives 19N-7-11-21..
National Archives 19N-7-14-2 —
National Archives 19N-7-11-3 —
N R&L (Old) 14078
National Archives RG-19
Page
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776
777
778
780
780
782
782
784
784
786
786
788
788
789
789
790
791
Caption Identification number Page
Outboard profile of USS Monterey NR&L(01d) 17682 791
USS Florida being outfitted at the Crescent Shipyard of Lewis NR&L(Mod) 38097 792
Nixon, Elizabethport, N.J. — The photograph was taken some-
time in 1901-02. Another characteristic of the “New Navy”
monitors was the towering stack.
Launch of USS Arkansas at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry- NR&L(01d) 37880 792
dock Co., Newport News, Va., 10 November 1900.
U.S. Monitor Miantonomoh lying at Boston in 1874 — Her armor, NR&L(01d) 2807 793
turrets and other fittings have been removed and she is in
reality only a hulk. At the same time construction of the second
monitor to be named USS Miantonomoh was beginning.
USS Arkansas fitting out at the Newport News Shipbuilding and National Archives 19N-7-9-3 794
Drydock Co., 1 July 1902 — Her armament is completely in-
stalled and the ship is only four months away from commission-
ing. The ship in the aft background is the battleship USS
Missouri.
Although the last monitor was stricken from the Navy List before NR&L(Mod) 33163 794
World War II, the type nevertheless played a role in the career
of the Navy’s greatest wartime leader. USS Tonopah (ex-
Connecticut) served periodically as Lt. Nimitz’s (later Fleet
Admiral Nimitz) flagship when he was Commander. Atlantic
Submarine Flotilla, from 20 May 1912 to 30 March 1913.
U.S. Monitor Saugus on the James River during the Civil War — National Archives lll-B-398 796
The booms and netting protruding from the bow of USS Saugus
are a so-called “torpedo rake”, designed to sweep Confederate
mines from the path of the ship.
CIVIL WAR NAVAL ORDNANCE APPENDIX III
Commander Dahlgren and the Dahlgren gun. From Harper’s NR&L(01d) 21708 799
Weekly 20 April 1861.
Dahlgren shell guns. — The lock-lugs for mounting the hammer 801
are shown near the vent. Original drawing by author. The 4-
wheel common carriage was used to mount 32-pdrs in broadside.
From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
The 4-wheel common carriage was used to mount 32-pdrs in 802
broadside. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
The Marsilly carriage was the usual mounting for the 9-inch shell 802
gun. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
The pivot carriage was used for mounting 11-inch shell guns and 804
heavy Parrott rifles. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
The 7){-inch Dahlgren rifle, shown with Brooke and Parrott rifles, 804
was never used on board ship. Other Dalgren rifles, except the
12 and 20-pdr bronze pieces, were of the same form. Original
drawing by author.
The original 15-inch cannon designed by Dahlgren for the monitor 806
turret vent is slightly altered from original concept. Original
drawing by author.
Monitor turret showing arrangements for 15-inch guns — Passaic 807
class monitors had smoke boxes to enclose the muzzle as shown
at left. Longer guns and larger ports were used with Canonicus
class monitors as shown at right. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
(Note: The Canonicus class is referred to on this plan as the
Tecumseh class. See Appendix II).
Dahlgren howitzer on field carrige. From 1866 Ordnance Manual .. 810
Open launch, as used by Cushing to torpedo Albemarte, mounting 810
a 12-pdr Dahlgren howitzer on boat carriage. From J. S. Barnes,
Submarine Warfare (New York: Van Nostrand, 1869).
Various fuses and projectiles. Original drawing by author 812
Percussion lock and various smoothbore ordnance. Original 813
drawing by author.
Rifle projectiles by Brooke and Dahlgren. Original drawing by 814
author.
Civil War naval ordnance 815
Initial velocity of guns 817
Cost of guns 817
Armament of a few ships 817
Admiral Dahlgren 818
XIX
ADDENDA TO APPENDICES OF VOLUMES I AND II APPENDIX IV
Caption Identification Number
Experimental gunnery ship Mississippi (AG-128), the former
battleship BB-41, made giant contributions in gunnery and
ordnance developments. She launched the Navy into the age of
the guided missile war ships. Her terrier missile installation was
completed in the Norfolk Navy Yard by 9 August 1952, followed
by successful firing in the Cape Cod area, off Georges Bank,
28-29 January 1952. Her newly developed terrier missile systems
made their first appearance in the active fleet in Boston (CAG-1)
when recommissioned as a guided missile cruiser 1 November
1955, followed by Canberra (CAG-2) when recommissioned as
a guided missile cruiser 15 July 1956.
Guided missile cruiser USS Albany on 30 January 1963 success USN 711235- .
fully fired three surface-to-air test missiles simultaneously — the
first such launching by any Navy in the world.
Skate at North Pole
Launching of Blueback (SS-581), the last fleet submarine with USN 1041989.
diesel-electric power contracted for and launched by the U.S.
Navy. She incorporates all recent developments in submarine
construction, with the exception of nuclear power, and far sur-
passes her predecessor types of diesel-electric submarines.
USS Nautilus (SSN-571) 709366
USS Sturgeon (SSN-637)
President John F. Kennedy’s letter to Admiral Galantin
USS Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640), the 30th of the 41 polaris SP-397
submarines.
A polaris 2,500 mile range A-3 missile fired from USS Lewis and SP-392
Clark (SSBN-644)
Submarine Ballistic Missiles
USS L. Y. Spear (AS-36) USN 1110567.
USS Richard S. Edwards
Artist’s conception of DLG(N)-36
USS Knox (DE-1052)
Artist’s conception of CV AN-68
Page
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SHIPS NAMED "A” THROUGH *T” SINCE PUBLICATION OF
VOLUMES I AND II APPENDIX V
The constantly-evolving scientific Navy is deployed and ready to
maintain the peace.
LSD — amphibious transport dock USN 1110569.
PG — gunboat USN 1110562.
AGOR — oceanographic research ship
AD — destroyer tender USN 1110566.
AE — ammunition ship
AKA — attack cargo ship USN 1110561.
AFS — combat store ship
LST— -tank landing ship
AOE — fast combat support ship
PGH — patrol gunboat (hydrofoil) USN 1110568.
MSO — minesweeper, ocean (nonmagnetic)
ATS — salvage tug
AOR — replenishment oiler
AGS — surveying ship
ASR — submarine rescue ship
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860
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861
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xx
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
A — alternating current generator,
a. — armament.
AA — antiaircraft.
AB — crane ship.
ABD — advance base dock.
A/C — Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, Wis.
(1942).
ABSD — advance base section dock.
AC — collier,
ac. — aircraft.
ABDA — American - British - Dutch - Australian Command
ACM — auxiliary mine layer.
ACR — armored cruiser.
ACV — auxiliary aircraft carrier ; or tender.
Act. — acting.
AD — destroyer tender.
ADG — degaussing ship.
AE — ammunition ship.
A.E.F. — American Expeditionary Force (World War I) ;
or Allied Expeditionary Force (World War II).
AF — store ship.
AFD — auxiliary floating dock.
AFDB — large auxiliary floating dry dock.
AFDL — small auxiliary floating dry dock.
AFDM — medium auxiliary floating dry dock.
AFS — combat store ship.
AG — miscellaneous auxiliary ship.
AGB — icebreaker.
AGC — general communications vessel ; or amphibious force
flagship.
AGD — seagoing dredge.
AGDE — escort research ship.
AGEH — hydrofoil research ship.
AGL — lighthouse tender.
AGM — missile range instumentation ship.
AGMR — major communications relay ship.
AGOR — oceanographic research ship.
AGP — motor torpedo boat tender.
AGR — radar picket ship.
AGS — surveying ship.
AGSC — coastal survey ship.
AGSL — satellite launching ship.
AGSS — auxiliary, submarine.
AGTR — technical research ship.
AH — hospital ship.
AHP — evacuation hospital ship.
AK — cargo ship.
AKA — attack cargo ship.
AKD — cargo ship dock ; or deep-hold cargo ship.
AKI — general stores issue ship.
AKL — light cargo ship.
AKN — net cargo ship.
AKS — stores cargo ship.
AK(SS) — cargo submarine.
AKV — cargo ship and aircraft ferry.
AL — lightship.
ALCo — American Locomotive Co., Auburn, N.Y.
AM — mine sweeper.
AMb — mine sweeper, harbor.
AMc — coastal mine sweeper.
Am-Int — American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog
Island, Pa.
AMS — motor mine sweeper.
AM(U) — coastal mine sweeper (underwater location) ;
or mine hunter.
AN — net laying ship.
AO — oiler ; or fuel oil tanker.
AOE— fast combat support ship.
AOG — small oiler ; or gasoline tanker.
AOR — replenishment oiler ; or fleet tanker.
AOSS — submarine oiler.
AP — transport.
APA — attack transport ; or animal transport.
APB — self-propelled barracks ship; or artillery barge.
APb — base repair ship.
APC — cavalry transport.
APc — small coastal transport.
APD — high speed transport.
APF — administrative flagship.
APG — supporting gunnery ship.
APH — transport (fitted for evacuation of wounded).
APL — barracks craft (nonself -propelled).
APM — mechanized artillery transport.
APN — nonmechanized artillery transport.
APP — troop barge, class A.
APR — rescue transport.
APS — mine laying submarine; or transport, submarine.
APSS — transport, submarine.
APT — troop barge, class B.
APV — transport and aircraft ferry.
APY — giant “Y” boat.
AR — repair ship.
ARB — battle damage repair ship.
ARC — cable repairing or laying ship.
ARD — auxiliary repair dock (floating dry dock).
ARDC — auxiliary repair dock, concrete.
ARDM — medium auxiliary repair dry dock.
ARH— internal combustion engine repair ship.
ARH — heavy-hull repair ship.
ARL — landing craft repair ship.
ARM — heavy machinery repair ship.
ARS — salvage ship.
ARSD — salvage lifting ship.
ARST — salvage craft tender.
ARV — aircraft repair ship.
ARVA — aircraft repair ship (aircraft) .
ARVE — 'aircraft repair ship (engine).
ARVH — aircraft repair ship (helicopter).
AS — submarine tender.
ASR — submarine rescue ship.
ASROC — antisubmarine rocket.
ASSA — cargo submarine.
ASSP — transport submarine.
ASW — antisubmarine warfare.
AT — ocean tug.
ATA — auxiliary ocean tug.
ATF — fleet ocean tug.
ATL — tank landing craft.
Atlas — Atlas Imperial Diesel Engine Co., Mattoon, 111.
ATO — ocean tug, old.
ATR — rescue tug.
ATS — salvage tug.
aux. — auxiliary.
AV — seaplane tender.
AVB — advance aviation base ship.
AVC — large catapult lighter.
AVD — seaplane tender ( destroyer ) .
AVG — aircraft escort vessel,
avgas — aviation gasoline.
AVM — guided missile ship.
XXI
AVP — small seaplane tender.
AVR — aircraft rescue vessel.
AVS — aviation supply ship.
AVT — auxiliary aircraft transport.
AW — distilling ship.
AWK — water tanker.
AZ — airship tender (lighter than air) .
b. — beam.
BAK — British cargo ship.
BB — battleship.
BBG — guided missile capital ship,
bbls. — barrels.
B.C. — British Columbia.
BIM — ballistic intercontinental missile.
BDE — British escort ship.
Beth-Alam — Bethlehem -Alameda Shipyard, Inc., Ala-
meda, Calif.
Beth-Fair — Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Balti-
more, Md.
Beth-Hing — Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hing-
ham, Mass.
BethPac-SanP — Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp., San
Pedro, Calif.
BethPac-SanF — Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp., San
Francisco, Calif.
BethSb-Wilm — Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Wilming-
ton, Del.
Beth-Spar — Betlilehem-Sparrow Point Shipyard, Inc.,
Sparrows Point, Md.
BethSt-Balt — Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Baltimore, Md.
BethSt-Bklyn — Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
BethSt-Quin — Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
BethSt-Stat — Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Staten Island, N.Y.
Bg — barge.
bhp. — brake horsepower,
blr. — breach-loading rifle.
BM — monitor.
bom — “builders old measurement.”
bp. — between perpendiculars (length).
Bt.— boat,
btry — battery.
Buda — Buda Diesel Engine Co.
BUEXP — Bureau Express Boiler.
Buff — B — Buffalo Shipbuilding Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
Buff-E — Buffalo Shipbuilding Co., Erie, Pa.
BUMODT — Bureau-modified Thornyeroft boiler.
BDR4DR — Bureau 4 — Drum Boiler.
Busch. — Busch Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Co., St.
Louis, Mo.
BW — Babcock & Wilcox Co., Boiler Div., Barberton, Ohio.
BWA — Babcock & Wilcox Co., 3-drum express-type boiler.
BWA3DR — Babcock & Wilcox header-type boiler.
B.W.I. — British West Indies.
BWSHC — Babcock & Wilcox superheat control boiler.
BWSX — Babcock & Wilcox sectional express boiler.
BW2DR — Babcock & Wilcox 2-drum boiler.
BW2DRD — Babcock & Wilcox 2-drum D-type boiler.
BW2DSU — Babcock & Wilcox 2-drum single-uptake boiler.
C — protected cruiser.
CA — heavy cruiser.
CAG — guided missile heavy cruiser,
cal. — caliber,
car. — carronade.
CB — large cruiser.
C/B — Cooper Bessemer
CBC — large tactical command ship.
CC — battle cruiser; or command ship.
C/ C — controlled-circulation boiler.
CCS — Combined Chiefs of Staff.
C/E — Combustion Engineering Co., Chattanooga, Tenn.
CED — Combustion Engineering D-type boiler.
CEH — Cummins Engine Co. Inc.
CEHDR — combustion engineering header-type boiler.
OE2DRD — combustion engineering 2-drum D-type boiler.
CF — flying-deck cruiser.
CFC — controlled forded circulation.
CG — guided missile cruiser.
CGC — Coast Guard cutter.
CG(N) — guided missile cruiser (nuclear powered).
CH — Cutler-Hammer.
Char — Naval Shipyard, Charleston, S.C. (formerly Navy
Yard, Charleston).
Chry — Chrysler Corp.
CinCLant — Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
CinCPac — Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
OIW — Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, Md.
CL — light cruiser,
cl/ — class.
CLAA — Antiaircraft light cruiser.
CIBt — canal boat.
CLC — tactical command ship.
CLG — guided missile light cruiser.
OLK — cruiser hunter-killer ship.
CM — mine layer.
CMC — coastal mine layer.
CMC — Continental Motors Corp.
CNO — Chief of Naval Operations.
C.O. — Commanding Officer.
compos. — composite drive (2 diesel engines, electric drive;
2 diesel engines, geared drive; hydraulic couple),
const. — Construction,
cont. — Continued.
Cor — Corvette,
cpl. — complement.
Craig — Craig Shipbuilding Co., Long Beach, Calif.
Cramp — Wm. Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Cres — Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, N.J.
CS — scout cruiser.
CSA — Confederate States Army.
CSN — Confederate States Navy.
CSS — Confederate States Ship.
CTB — coastal torpedo boat.
CTF — Commander Task Force.
CTG — Comander Task Group.
Ctr — Cutter.
CTU — Commander Task Unit.
Cur. — Curtis-type turbine.
CV — aircraft carrier.
OVA ( N ) — attack aircraft carrier ( nuclear powered ) .
CVB — large aircraft carrier.
CVE — escort aircraft carrier.
CVHA — assault helicopter aircraft carrier.
CVL — small aircraft carrier.
CVS — antisubmarine warfare support aircraft carrier ; or
seaplane carrier.
CVU — utility aircraft carrier.
C.Z. — Canal Zone.
DANFS — Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
DASH — drone antisubmarine helicopter,
dcp. — depth charge projector.
dcp. (h.h.) — depth charge projector (hedgehog-type),
dct. — depth charge track.
DD — destroyer,
dd. — drydock.
d/d — diesel direct.
DDC — corvette.
ddd. — diesel direct drive.
DDE — antisubmarine destroyer.
DDG — guided missile destroyer.
DDR — radar picket destroyer.
DE — escort ship,
d/e — diesel electric.
DEC — control escort vessel,
ded. — diesel electric drive.
DEG — guided missile escort ship.
DeL — De Laval Steam Turbine Co., Trenton, N.J.
DeL-FB — De Laval & Farrel-Birmingham.
DeL-Falk — De Laval & Falk.
DeL-GE — DeLaval & General Electric.
DeL-Wes — De Laval & Westinghouse.
DER — radar picket escort ship.
XXII
de/r — diesel-electric reduction,
derd. — diesel electric reduction drive.
des. — design.
det. — diesel electric tandem motor drive.
DEW — Distant Early Warning System (a radar network
across upper North America) .
dgd. — diesel geared drive.
Diehl — diehl manufacturing Co., Bridgeport, N.Y.
div. — division.
DL — frigate.
DLG — guided missile frigate.
DLG(N) — guided missile frigate (nuclear powered),
dlt. — double reduction-locked train.
DM — destroyer minelayer ; or light minelayer.
DMS — high-speed mine sweeper; or destroyer mine-
sweeper.
dp. — displacement; or dual purpose (guns),
dr. — draft.
D.r. — Dahlgren rifle,
drd. — diesel reduction drive.
D.sb.— Dahlgren smoothbore.
EAG — experimental miscellaneous auxiliary.
EBCo — Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.
ED — -Electric Dynamic Co., Bayonne, N.J.
ehp.— electric horse power.
EIWHDR — Edgemoor Iron Works header-type boiler.
Ell — Elliot Motor Co., Jeannette, Pa.
EllMach — Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Md.
ElSpecCo — Electric Specialty Co., Stamford, Conn,
eng. — engine,
enl. — enlisted.
Enter — Enterprise Engine and Foundary Co., San Fran-
cisco, Calif.
ew. — extreme width of fight deck,
ex former.
Exide — Exide Electric Storage Battery Corp., Philadel-
phia, Pa.
exp. — expansion,
f. — full load (displacement).
Falk-DeL — Falk & De Laval.
Falk-FB — Falk & Farrel-Birmingham.
Falk-GE — Falk & General Electric.
Falk-Wes — Falk & Westinghouse.
FB — Farrel-Birmingham Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
FB-Falk — Farrel-Birmingham & Falk.
FB-Wes — Farrel-Birmingham & Westinghouse.
Fed — Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.
Fiat— Fiat-San Giorgio Ltd., Turin, Italy.
FltBtry — floating battery.
FM — Fairbanks Morse diesel, reverse gear drive (manu-
factured by Fairbanks More & Co., Beloit, Wis.).
Fore — Fore River Ship and Engine Co., Quincy, Mass.
Fr — Frigate.
FSch — F. Schichau Gmbh., Elbing, Germany,
ft. — fire-tube (Scotch-type boiler).
FW — Foster Wheeler Corp., Mountaintop, Pa.
FWA — Foster 'Wheeler 3-Drum Express-Type Boiler.
FWHDR — Foster Wheeler Header-Type Boiler.
FWPFS — Foster AVheeler Pressure-Fixed Supercharged
Boiler.
FWSFD — Foster AVheeler Single-Furnace D-Type Boiler.
FAA’SHC — Foster AA^heeler Superheat Control Boiler.
FAV2DR — Foster AVheeler 2-Drum Boiler.
FAV2DRS — Foster AVheeler 2-Drum Superheat Control
Boiler,
gal. — gallon.
Gbt — gunboat.
gd. — gundeek.
GDEB-Grot — General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
GDEB-Quin — General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
GE — General Electric Co., Schenectady, N.Y.
gen. — generator.
G.g. — Gatling gun.
GM — General Motors Corp., Cleveland Diesel Division,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Gond — gondola.
Gould — Gould Storage Battery Co., Trenton, N.J.
gr. — gross (tonnage).
Gulf — Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Ala.
Gy — galley.
Hall-S — Hall-Scott.
HBM — His (Her) Britannic Majesty’s,
helo. — helicopter.
Here — Hercules Motor Corp., Canton, Ohio.
HH — Harlan and Hollingsworth Corp., Wilmington, Del.
HUMS — His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Ship.
HL — R. L. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., Ltd., Newcastle-on-
Tyne, England.
IIMAS — His (Her) Majesty’s Australian Ship.
HMCS — His (Her) Majesty’s Canadian Ship.
HMNZS — Her (Her) Majesty’s New Zealand Ship.
HNMS — Her Netherlands Majesty’s Ships.
HORC — Hooven, Owens,' Renschler Co., Hamilton, Ohio.
hor3 — horizontal triple-expansion,
how. — howitzer,
hp. — horsepower.
HT — Humphreys and Tenant Ltd., London, England.
H w — Hunter- wheel .
HwGbt — Hunter-wheel gunboat.
HwStr — Hunter-wheel steamer.
IFS — inshore fire support ship,
ihp. — -indicated horsepower,
ip. — Intermediate pressure,
int. — international.
Ire — Ironclad.
IrcFltBtry — ironclad floating battery.
IrcGbt — ironclad gunboat.
IrcRam — ironclad ram.
IrcSlp — ironclad sloop.
IrcStr — ironclad steamer.
IrcStFltBtry — ironclad steam floating battery.
IX — unclassified miscellaneous auxiliary (ship).
JCS — Joint Chiefs of Staff.
JHendy — Joshua Hendy.
JTF — Joint Task Force.
k. — knots.
KA — contraction of AKA (attack cargo ship).
Kopp — Koppers Manufacturing Co.
kw. — Kilowatts.
l. — length.
LBP — personnel landing boat,
lbp. — length between perpendiculars.
LBS — support landing boat.
LBA7 — vehicle landing boat.
LCA — assault landing craft.
LOC(l)— landing craft, control mk I.
LCC(2) — landing craft, control mk II.
LC(FF) — landing craft, infantry (gunboat).
LCI(L) — landing craft, infantry (large).
LCI(M) — landing craft, infantry (mortar).
LCI(R) — landing craft, infantry (rocket).
LCM(2) — landing craft, mechanized, mk II.
LCM(3) — landing craft, mechanized, mk III.
LCM(6) — landing craft, mechanized, mk VI.
LCM(8) — landing craft, mechanized, mk VIII.
LCP(L) — landing craft, personnel (large).
LCP(N) — landing craft, personnel (nested).
LCP(R) — landing craft, personnel (with ramp).
LCR(L) — landing craft, inflatable boat (large).
LCR(S) — landing craft, inflatable boat (small).
LCSL — landing craft, infantry (support).
LSCR — landing craft, swimmer reconaissance.
LSC(S) (1) — landing craft, support (small) mk (I).
LSC(S)(2)- — landing craft, support (small) mk (II).
LOT — landing craft, tank.
LCU — landing craft, utility.
LGV — landing craft, vehicle.
LCVP — landing craft, vehicle and personnel.
LHT — lighthouse tender,
lim. — limiting.
Ip. — low pressure.
LPD — amphibious transport dock.
LPH — amphibious assault ship.
LSD — dock landing ship.
xxiii
LSFF — flotilla flagship landing ship
LSI — landing ship, infantry (giant “Y” boat).
LSI ( G ) — landing ship, infantry ( gunboat ) .
LSI(L) — landing ship, infantry (large).
LSI(M) — landing ship, infantry (mortar).
LSI(R) — landing ship, infantry (rocket).
LSM — medium landing ship.
LSM(R) — medium landing ship (rocket).
LSS(L) — support landing ship (large) mk III.
LST — tank landing ship.
LSTH — landing ship, tank (casualty evacuation ) .
LSTS — landing ship (utility).
LSU — landing ship (utility).
LSV — landing ship, vehicle.
LT — large tug ( Army ) .
lt. — light (displacement).
Lufkin — Lufkin Foundry & Machine Co.
LVT — landing vehicle, track.
m. — mortar.
MAC — military Air Command.
MAP — Military Assistance Program.
MB — motor boat.
M.C.— Maritime Commission,
mc.b. — moulded beam.
M.C.E. — Maritime Commission Emergency Ship Program
(“Liberty” ships).
MCS — mine countermeasures support ship.
M.C.V. — Maritime Commission Victory Ship Program
(“Victory” ships) .
M.D.A.P. — Mutual Defense Assistance Program.
Mfr. — Manufacturer,
mg. — machine gun.
MHA — minehunter, auxiliary.
MHC — minehunter, coastal,
mis. — missile.
mk. — mark.
mlr. — muzzle-loading rifle.
MM— minelayer, fleet,
mm. — millimeter.
MMA — minelayer, auxiliary.
MMC — minelayer, coastal.
MMF — minelayer, fleet.
Mon — monitor.
Moran — Moran Brothers Co., Seattle, Wash.
Mosh. — Mosher-type boiler,
mot. — motor generator,
mph. — miles per hour.
MS — motor ship.
MSA — minesweeper, auxiliary.
MSB — minesweeper, boat.
MSC — minesweeper, coastal.
MSC — minesweeper, coastal (nonmagnetic).
MSC ( O ) — minesweeper, coastal ( old ) .
MSF — minesweeper, fleet (steel hulled).
MSI — minesweeper, inshore.
MSO — minesweeper, ocean (nonmagnetic).
MSS — minesweeper, special.
MSTS — Military Sea Transportation Service.
n. — normal (displacement).
NAR — Naval Auxiliary Reserve.
NASA — National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NaSuCo — National Supply Co.
NATO — North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
NaTran — National Transit Pump & Machine Co., Oil City,
Pa.
NATS — Naval Air Transport Service.
NavSyd — naval shipyard.
NavSyd-Bos — Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass.
(formerly Boston Navy Yard).
NavSyd-Bklyn — New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn,
N.Y. (formerly New York Navy Yard).
NavSyd-Charl — Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston,
S.C. (formerly Charleston Navy Yard).
NavSyd-Hunt — Hunters Point Div., San Francisco Bay
Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif.
NavSyd-LBeach — Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long
Beach, Calif.
NavSyd-MI — Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif, (formerly Mare Island
Navy Yard.
NavSyd-Norfk — Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Norfolk, Va.
(formerly Norfolk Navy Yard).
NavSyd-Pearl — Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii (formerly Pearl Harbor Navy
Yard).
NavSyd — Phil — Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadel-
phia, Pa. (formerly Philadelphia Navy Yard).
NavSyd-Ports — Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Ports-
mouth, N.H. (formerly Portsmouth Navy Yard).
NavSyd-Puget — Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash, (formerly Puget Sound Navy Yard).
Neafie — Neafle and Levy Ship and Engine Building Co.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
N.E.I. — Netherlands East Indies.
Nfld. — Newfoundland.
N.G. — New Guinea.
N.I. — Northern Ireland.
NICB — Niclausse-type boiler (built by the Stirling Co.,
Barberton, Ohio).
Niles — Niles Tool Works Div., General Machinery Corp.
NLSE — New London Ship and Engine Co., Groton, Conn.
NN — Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
NNV — National Naval Volunteers.
NOR — Normand-type Boiler.
Nordb — Nordberg Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wis.
NOTS — Naval Overseas Transportation Service.
NROTC — Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.
N.S. — Nova Scotia.
NS SC — Naval Shipment Systems Command.
N.W.I. — Netherlands West Indies.
NYd — Navy yard.
NYd-Pensa — Pensacola Navy Yard, Pensacola, Fla.
NYd-Wash — Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
NYSb — New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
off. — officer (s) .
OIC — Officer in Charge.
PA — contraction of APA (attack transport).
Palm — N. F. Palmer, Jr., and Co., New York, N.Y.
PBM — Twin-engine patrol bomber seaplane, known as
“Mariner,” manufactured by Glenn L. Martin Co.
PBY — Twin-engine patrol bomber seaplane, known as
“Catalina,” manufactured by Consolidated- Vultee
Aircraft Corps.
PC — submarine chaser (173').
PCC — control submarine chaser (173').
PCE — escort (180').
PCEC — control escort (180').
PCER — rescue escort (180').
PCF — patrol craft, coastal (fast).
PC(H) — submarine chaser (hydrofoil).
PCS — submarine chaser (136').
PCSC — control submarine chaser (136').
pdr. — pounder.
PE — eagle boat.
PF — patrol escort ; or frigate.
PG — gunboat.
PGM — motor gunboat.
P.I. — Philippine Islands.
PIRAZ — positive identification and radar advisory board.
Pol. — Polaris ( missile ) .
P.Q. — Providence of Quebec.
PR — river gunboat.
P.R. — Puerto Rico.
P.r. — parrott rifle.
PT — motor torpedo boat.
PTC — motor boat subchaser.
PTF — fast patrol boat.
Pusey — Pusey & Jones, Wilmington, Del.
PY — patrol vessel converted yacht.
PYc — patrol vessel converted yacht (coastal).
QIW — Quintard Iron Works, New York, N.Y.
quad. — quadruple,
quint. — quintuple,
r. — rifle.
XXIV
RAF — Royal Air Force.
RAAF — Royal Australian Air Force.
RAN — Royal Australian Navy.
RC — Revenue cutter.
ROAF — Royal Canadian Air Force.
RCN — Royal Canadian Navy.
RCS — Revenue Cutter Service.
recip3 — reciprocating, triple expansion.
Reg. — Regulus (missile),
rf. — rapid fire.
Rich — Richmond Locomotive Works, Richmond, Va.
Ridg — Ridgeway Dynamo and Electric Co., Ridgeway, Pa.
rkt. — rocket launcher.
RN — Royal Navy.
RNN — Royal Netherlands Navy.
RNZN — Royal New Zealand Navy.
Roach — John Roach and Sons, Chester, Pa.
ROK — Republic of Korea,
s. — speed.
sa. — semiautomatic.
SACEUR — Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
SACLANT — Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic.
SACMED — Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean.
SAR — Search and Rescue,
sat. — saturated.
sb. — smooth bore.
SC — submarine chaser (110') ; or cruiser submarine.
Sc — screw.
3CAJAP — Shipping Control Administrator, Japan.
SCC — control submarine chaser ( 110' ) .
ScFr — screw frigate.
ScGbt — screw gunboat.
Sch — schooner.
SchBg — schooner barge.
SCOTCH — (Scotch) fire tube boiler (All others are water-
tube. ) .
ScSlp — screw sloop-of-war.
ScStr — screw steamer.
ScTug — screw tug.
SEATO — Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.
SF — fleet submarine.
Sg. — shell gun.
s-g — single & double reduction gears,
sgl. — single.
SHAFF — Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary
Forces.
SHAPE — Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe,
shp. — shaft horsepower.
SINS — Ships Inertial Navigational System.
SL — ship-of-the-line.
Sip — sloop.
SlpW— sloop-of-war.
SlvBg — salvage barge.
SM — mine laying submarine.
SP — motor patrol boat,
sr — single reduction gears.
S.r. — Sawyer rifle.
SS — submarine; or merchant steamship.
SSA — submarine cargo.
SSB — fleet ballistic missile submarine.
SSB(N) — fleet ballistic missile submarine (nuclear
powered).
SSC — cruiser submarine.
SSG — guided missile submarine.
SSG(N) — guided missile submarine (nuclear powered).
SSK — antisubmarine submarine.
SS(N) — submarine (nuclear powered).
SSO — submarine oiler.
SSP — -submarine transport.
SSR — radar picket submarine.
SSR(N) — radar picket submarine (nuclear powered).
SST — target and training submarine.
St — steam.
StBrig — steam brig.
StBt — steamboat,
stbd. — starboard.
StFr — steam frigate.
Str — steamer.
StRam— steam ram.
StTBt — steam torpedo boat.
StTug — steam tug.
Stw — stern wheel.
StwGbt — stern wheel gunboat.
StwRam — stern wheel ram.
StwStr — stern wheel steamer.
Sun — Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa.
Sup — Superior Marine Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee,
AVis.
surf. — surface.
Sw — side wheel.
SwGbt — side wheel gunboat.
SwStr — side wheel steamer.
SwRam — side wheel ram.
SwTug — side wheel tug.
Syd — Shipyard,
t. — tonnage.
T. — Maritime Commission standard type.
Tal. — Talos (missile launcher).
Tar. — Tartar (missile launcher).
TB — torpedo boat.
td. — turbine direct drive.
ted. — turbine electric drive.
Ter. — Terrier (missile launcher),
terd. — turbine electric reduction drive.
TF — Task Force.
TG — Task Group.
THORN — Thonycroft-type boiler.
Tk — Tanker,
tl. — trial (speed).
TLL — tank lighter.
TLLAV — tank lighter (medium tank- well type),
torp. — torpedo ( es ) .
Tr — trawler.
Trigg — AVm. R. Trigg Co., Richmond, Va.
Troy — Troy Engine & Machine Co.
trp. — troop capacity,
tt. — torpedo tubes.
TU — Task Unit,
tur. — turbine.
UDT — Underwater Demolition Team.
UIW — Union Iron AVork, San Francisco, Calif.
UIAVHDR — Union Iron AVork Header-type boiler.
U. K. — United Kingdom.
UN — United Nations,
una. — unaflow.
UN-CR — Universal cruiser.
USA — United States Army.
USAAC — United States Army Air Corps.
USAAF — United States Army Air Forces.
USAF — United States Air Force.
USAMC — United States Army Medical Corps.
USANF — United States Auxiliary Naval Force.
US AT — United States Army transport.
USCG — United States Coast Guard.
USCGR — United States Coast Guard Reserve.
USCGS— United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
USOS — United States Coast Survey.
USCS — United States Marine Corps.
USMCR — United States Marine Corps Reserve.
USMCAVR — United States Marine Corps AVomen’s
Reserve.
USN — United States Navy.
USNA — United States Naval Academy.
USNR — United States Naval Reserve.
USNRF — United States Naval Reserve Force.
USRCS — United States Revenue Cutter Service.
USSB — United States Shipping Board,
vert. — vertical.
V. I. — Virgin Islands.
Vog — Henry Vogt Machine Co., Louisville, Ky.
VOGHDR — Vogt header-type boiler.
vt2 — vertical double-expansion.
vt3 — vertical triple-expansion.
vt4 — vertical quadruple-expansion.
AVAVES — AVomen Accepted for Voluntary Emergency
Service.
XXV
Wes — Westinghouse.
Wes-DeL — Westinghouse & De Laval.
Wes-Falk — Westinghouse & Falk.
Wes-FB — Westinghouse & Farrel-Birmingham.
WFB — White-Forster-type boiler (manufactured by Bab-
cock and Wilcox Co.).
Wint — Winton Engine Corp., Cleveland, Ohio.
WIW — Washington Iron Works, Seattle, Wash.
WM — White and Middleton Co., Springfield, Ohio.
WSA — War Shipping Administration,
wt. — water-tube boiler.
WTDF — water-tube single-furnace boiler.
X — submersible craft.
XMAP — sweeper device.
YA — ash lighter.
YAG — miscellaneous auxiliary service craft.
YAGR — ocean radar station ship.
YAR — Yarrow-type boiler.
YC — open lighter ; or yard craft.
YCD — fueling barge.
YCF — car float.
YCK — open cargo lighter.
YCV — aircraft transportation lighter.
YD — floating derrick.
Yd — Yard (Navy).
YDG — district degaussing vessel.
YDT — diving tender.
YE — ammunition lighter.
YF — covered lighter (self-propelled) ; or range tender.
YFB — ferryboat ; or launch.
YFD — yard floating dry dock.
YFN — covered lighter ( non-self-propelled ) .
YFNB — large covered lighter.
YFND — dry dock companion craft.
YFNG — covered lighter (special purpose).
YFNX — lighter (special purpose).
YFP — floating power barge.
YFR — refrigerated covered lighter (self-propelled).
YFRN — refrigerated covered lighter (nonself -propelled).
YFRT — covered lighter (range tender).
YFT — torpedo transportation lighter.
YFU — harbor utility craft.
YG — garbage lighter (self propelled).
YGN — garbage lighter, (non self-propelled).
Y-gun — Y-type depth charge projector.
YH — ambulance boat.
YHB — house boat.
YHT — scow, heating.
YLA — open landing lighter.
YM — dredge.
YMP — motor mine planter.
YMS — auxiliary motor mine sweeper.
YMT — motor tug.
YN — net tender (boom).
YNG — gate craft.
YNT — district net tender (tug class) .
YO — fuel oil barge (self-propelled).
YOG — gasoline barge (self-propelled).
YOGN — gasoline barge (non self-propelled).
YON — fuel oil barge (nonself-propelled).
YOS — oil storage barge.
YP — patrol craft.
YPD — floating pile driver.
YPK — pontoon stowage barge.
YR — floating workshop.
YRB — submarine repair and berthing barge.
YRBM — -submarine repair, berthing and messing barge.
YRBM (L) — submarine repair, berthing and messing barge
(large).
YRC — submarine rescue chamber.
YRDH — floating dry dock workshop ( hull ) .
YRDM — floating dry dock workshop (machinery).
YRL — covered lighter (repair).
YRR — radiological repair range.
YS — stevedoring barge.
YSD — seaplane wrecking derrick.
YSR — slude removal barge.
YSP — stowage pontoon.
YT — harbor tug.
YTB — large harbor tug.
YTL — small harbor tug.
YTM — medium harbor tug.
YTT — torpedo testing barge.
YV— drone aircraft catapult control craft; or seaplane
barge.
YVC — catapult lighter.
YW — water barge (self-propelled).
YWN — water barge ( nonself -propelled ) .
ZR — rigid airship.
ZRS — rigid airship (scouting).
XXYl
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
G—l
(SS-19%: dp. 400 (n.) ; 1. 161'; b. 13'1" ; dr. 12'2" ; s.
14 k.; cpl. 24; a. 6 18" tt. ; cl. G-l)
G-l was laid down as Seal 2 February 1909 by the New-
port News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va., under a
subcontract from Lake Torpedo Boat Co. ; launched 9
February 1911 ; sponsored by Miss Margaret V. Lake,
daughter of the submarine pioneer; renamed G-l on 17
November 1911 ; and commissioned in the New York Navy
Yard 28 October 1912, Lt. K. Whiting in command.
G—l, Simon Lake’s first submarine for the United States
Navy, introduced the even keel submarine into the United
States Navy, being the forerunner of the Lake designs
that influenced United States Navy submarines into the
atomic and hydrodynamic era.
G—l joined the Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla in practice
operations that were usually conducted from New York
and Newport into Long Island Sound and the Narra-
gansett Bay. She made a record dive of 256 feet in Long
Island Sound and departed New York 25 March 1915 for
a cruise with the 3d Division of the Submarine Flotilla
into Chesapeake Bay and down the seaboard to the
Charleston Navy Yard, where she completed overhaul 5
May. She departed the following day to act as school ship
at Newport where she carried out in harbor defense and
patrol problems along with practice on the torpedo range.
This duty continued until 3 October 1915 when she set
course with the Flotilla for practice attacks in the Chesa-
peake Bay, thence via Newport to New London, Conn.
G-l arrived at the last named port 18 October 1915 in
company with three other G -class submarines, tended by
monitor Ozark. This marked the beginning of her new
career as a submarine designated for experimental tests
and instructional purposes. She acted as a schoolship
for the newly established Submarine Base and Sub-
marine School at New London, playing an important role
in preparing officers and men of the expanded submarine
service occasioned by the new construction after our entry
into World War I. Concurrently, G-l tested detector
devices for the Experiment Board off Provincetown, and
served in similar capacity for the Experimental Stations
at Nahant, Mass., and New London in the development
and use of sound detection and experiments with the “K
tube,” a communications device. With German U-boats
reported off the coast in June 1918, the submarine spent
two four-day periscope and listening patrols in the vicin-
ity of Nantucket as a defense screen for shipping. She
continued her instructions of student submariners of the
Listener and Hydrophone School at New London until 13
January 1920, then was towed to the Philadelphia Navy
Yard, where she decommissioned on 6 March 1920.
G-l was designated a target for depth charge experi-
ments under cognizance of the Bureau of Ordnance. She
was sunk 21 June 1921, following eight experimental bomb
attacks administered by Grebe in Narragansett Bay off
Taylor’s Point, R.I. Her wreck was officially abandoned
26 August 1921.
G—2
(SS-27 : dp. 400 (n.) ; 1. 161' ; b. 13'1" ; dr. 12' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 24; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. G-2)
G—2 was laid down as Tuna 20 October 1909; renamed
G-2, 17 November 1911 ; launched by the Lake Torpedo
Boat Co., Bridgeport, Conn., 10 January 1912; sponsored
by Miss Marjorie F. Miller ; completed in the New York
Navy Yard ; and commissioned 6 February 1915, Lt.
(j.g. ) R. C. Needham in command.
G-2 joined Division 3 of the Submarine Flotilla 27
March at Portsmouth, Va., for practice cruises that
found her at Norfolk, Charleston, New York, Newport,
and Provincetown. The submarine was extensively
overhauled in the New York Navy Yard and the Lake
Torpedo Boat Co. from 26 March 1916 to 28 June 1917,
then reported to the Submarine Flotilla, Patrol Force,
U.S. Atlantic Fleet at New London, Conn.
The submarine remained at New London for further
installations until 23 August when she left for instruc-
tional and experimental operations out of Boston off,
USS G-l (SS-I91/2)
1
Boston Lightship. With students embarked, she assisted
in proving out submarine detection devices for the Experi-
mental Board embarked in Margaret, and in experimental
problems with SC-6.
G-2 shifted her base from Boston to New London,
Conn., 20 October 1917 and combined experimental work
on sound detection devices with training for the newly
established Submarine School in the area of Block Is-
land and Long Island Sounds. She had defensive patrol
duty during June and July 1918, maintaining a listening
and periscope alert on station off Block Island. She ex-
perimented with magnetic detectors and the Very System
Signal device and tested the strength of her hull against
depth charges. Concurrently, she trained student officers
in cooperation with the Experimental Station at New
London, Conn.
G-2 continued schoolship and experimental duty until
after World War I, and she decommissioned 2 April 1919.
She was designated as a target for testing depth charges
and ordnance nets in Niantic Bay, Conn. During inspec-
tion by a six-man maintenance crew on 30 July 1919, the
target boat suddenly flooded and sank at her moorings
in Two Tree Channel near Niantic Bay. She went down
in 13% fathoms, drowning three of the inspection crew.
The submarine was never raised.
G—3
( SS-31 : dp. 393 n. ; 1. 161' ; b. 13'1” ; dr. 12'10" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 25; a. 6 18” tt. ; cl. G-3)
G-3 was laid down as Turbot 30 March 1911 by the
Lake Torpedo Boat Co., Bridgeport, Conn. ; renamed G-3
on 11 November 1911 ; launched 27 December 1913 at New
York Navy Yard ; and commissioned 22 March 1915, Lt.
F. X. Gygax in command.
G-3 spent the greater part of her entire career out of
the submarine base at New London, Conn. She was
constantly employed in the training of student officers in
Block Island Sound and in Great Salt Pond Bay. In
addition she carried out pioneering work that included :
experimental submarine net operations off Port Jefferson,
N.Y. ; use of the submarine rescue diving bell ; experi-
ments with reflector recognition lights ; submerged sound
and magnetic detection tests with patrol boats and sub-
marine chasers ; and use as target in approach and attack
problems that involved the testing of depth charges.
When German U-boats appeared off the eastern sea-
board in the last year of World War I, G-3 conducted
periscope and listening patrols in the submarine defense
areas of New London.
After World War I, G-3 continued her schoolship and
experimental work in the New London area. She de-
commissioned 5 May 1921 ; was towed to the Philadelphia
Navy Yard from New London 17 August ; and was sold
for scrapping 19 April 1922 to J. G. Hitner, Philadelphia,
Pa.
G—4
( SS-26 : dp. 360(n) ; 1. 157'6” ; b. 17'6” ; dr. lO'll” ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 24; a. 4 18” tt.; cl. G-J))
G-4 was laid down as Thrasher 9 July 1910 by William
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. renamed G-J) on 17 No-
vember 1911 ; launched 15 August 1912 ; sponsored by
Miss Grace Anna Taussig ; and commissioned in the
Philadelphia Navy Yard 22 January 1914, Lt. E. D. Mc-
Whorter in command.
G-/f arrived New York Navy Yard from Philadelphia
25 April 1914 for service with Division 3 of the Altantic
Submarine Flotilla in Long Island Sound and intermit-
tenly at Newport, R.I., and New London, Conn. Ar-
riving New London 24 April 1917, she served as school-
ship for students of the submarine school while taking
part in pioneering work to advance the capabilities of
submarine and antisubmarine warfare.
G—Jf assisted in experiments and tests with underwater
sound apparatus in the Thames River, Long Island
2
Sound, and Narragansett Bay. During the last year of
World War I she test-fired the Mark VII torpedo in Nar-
ragansett Bay for V-class and O-class submarines.
G-li continued her training and experimental duties
until 1 March 1919 when she was placed in ordinary for
stripping and inactivation. She decommissioned 5 Sep-
tember 1919 ; was designated as a target for depth charge
and ordnance tests 6 December; and was sold for scrap-
ping 15 April 1920 to Connecticut Iron & Metal Co., New
London.
G. H. Corliss, see Adhara ( AK-71 )
G. H. McNeal
A merchant name retained.
( SP-312 : t. 244; 1. 140'; b. 21'; dr. 5'; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 5;
a. 2 3”)
G. H. McNeal (also called George E. McNeal) was built
in 1911 by W. C. Abbott, Milford, Del. ; purchased from
McNeal-Edwards Co., Reedville, Va., 26 May 1917 ; and
commissioned the same day, Boatswain Alvin Downey,
USNRF, in command.
The wooden steam tug was equipped with mine sweep-
ing apparatus and enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense
Reserve of the 5th Naval District. Based at Norfolk,
Va., she served on patrol in the Virginia Capes area as
a unit of Mine Sweeping Squadron 3 throughout her ca-
reer. G. E. McNeal decommissioned 17 May 1919 and
was sold to the McNeal Dodson Co., Norfolk, 17 July 1919.
G. L. Brockenborough
A former name retained.
( Sip : a. 1 how. )
G. L. Brockenborough (also spelled Brockenboro or G. L.
Brockenboro) was a small sloop captured 15 October 1862
by Fort McEenry, Lt. E. Y. McCauley. G. L. Brocken-
borough had apparently been used as a blockade runner
and was discovered after being scuttled in the Apalachi-
cola River, Fla. She was subsequently raised and pur-
chased at the Prize Court in Key West by Rear Admiral
J. L. Lardner 15 November 1862.
Assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, G. L.
Brockenborough' s shallow draft made her an ideal vessel
to blockade the many inlets of the Florida coast. She
served as a blockader and tender to steamers Port Royal
and Somerset in St. George’s Sound and Apalachicola
River, Fla. until she was abandoned after a severe gale
had forced her aground in St. George’s Sound 27 May 1863.
G. M. Randall, General, see General G. M. Randall
(AP-115)
G. O. Squier, General, see General G. O. Squier (AP-130)
G. W. Blunt
George William Blunt, bom in Newburyport, Mass., 11
March 1802, was a pioneer publisher of nautical charts
and books. His firm published many editions of Bow-
ditch’s Navigator and Blunt’s Coastal Pilot. For over 40
years Blunt served as first assistant in the U.S. Coast
Survey and was instrumental in gaining reforms in the
U.S. Lighthouse Service. He died 19 April 1878 in New
York City.
(Sch: t. 121 ; 1. 76'6” ; b. 20'6” ; dph. 8'9” ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1
12-pdr„ and 1 12-pdr. r.)
G. W. Blunt, formerly Blunt, was a wooden two-masted
schooner acquired by the Navy in New York 23 November
1861. She commissioned 4 December 1861, Acting Master
Henry Sherwood in command.
Arriving at Port Royal, S.C., 11 December 1861, G. IF.
Blunt served as a mail and dispatch boat for the South
Atlantic Blockading Squadron between such points as
Charleston, S.C., Wassaw Sound, Ga., and Fernandina,
Fla. En route to Georgetown, S.C., 19 April 1862, she
captured blockade-running schooner Wave with a cargo
of cotton.
For the following year G. W. Blunt was on a blockade
duty off Charleston and assisted in capturing several more
vessels. She departed Port Royal for Philadelphia 7 May
1863 and decommissioned for repairs 13 May. Recom-
missioned 2 June 1863, G. W. Blunt rejoined the blockad-
ing squadron off Charleston, patrolling the many small
inlets and bays near the main harbor.
Cruising on Charleston station until midsummer 1864,
G. W. Blunt was sent to Port Royal 7 August, and on 25
August was fitted with diving equipment for salvage duty.
She worked on many wrecks, including Constance on 13
November and Housatonic, (sunk 17 February 1864 by
Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley) from 15 to 19 No-
vember. She was sent to Savannah 1 March 1865 to clear
obstructions from the harbor, and returned to Charleston
1 April 1865. G. IF. Blunt decommissioned 16 August 1865
at Port Royal and was sold there 20 October 1865.
Gabilan
An eagle-ray fish of the Gulf of California.
( SS-252 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 60; a. 1 5”, 2 .50 cal. mg., 2 .30 cal. mg., 10
21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
Gabilan (SS-252) was launched 19 September 1943 by
the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Jules James, wife of Rear Admiral James; and commis-
sioned 28 December 1943, Comdr. K. R. Wheland in
command.
After shakedown out of New London, Gabilan sailed
for brief antisubmarine training at Key West before
transiting the Panama Canal for the Hawaiian Islands.
She arrived Pearl Harbor 23 March 1944 and spent her
first war patrol (21 April-6 June) scouting the Marianas
gathering information for the United States invasion of
those islands. Her second war patrol (29 June-18 Aug-
ust) took her to the south coast of Honshu, Japan, where,
on the night of 17 July, she made a daring radar chase
through bright moonlight and phosphorescent water.
Skirting dangerous reefs and shoals, she pressed home
an attack that sank a 492-ton minesweeper. Her third
war patrol (26 September-12 November) took her south
of the Japanese Empire in company with Besugo ( SS-321)
and RonquiU (SS-396) to detect the departure from
Bungo Suido of any major enemy fleet units that might
interfere with the campaign to liberate the Philippine
Islands. The latter period of the patrol was inde-
pendent search of approaches of Kii Suido where, in a
dawn periscope attack on 31 October, she destroyed aux-
iliary ship Kaiyo No. 6 with a single torpedo.
Gabilan terminated her third war patrol at Saipan on
12 November 1944, and proceeded to Brisbane, Australia,
for refit. Her fourth war patrol was in the South China
Sea (29 December 1944-15 February 1945). She joined
Perch (SS-313) and Barbel (SS-316) in a coordinated
patrol off the southern entrance to Palawan Passage and
the western approach to Balapac Strait, where Japanese
battleships Ise and Hyuga were expected to appear en
route to threaten American invasion forces in the Philip-
pines. There were many quick dives to avoid aircraft ;
floating mines were sunk by rifle fire from the submarine,
but there was no sign of their quarry. Passing back
through the Java Sea en route to Fremantle, the sub-
marine had a nerve-wracking morning as numerous air-
craft dropped depth charge bombs in the near vicinity,
culminated by the appearance of a Japanese minelayer
that made two deliberate attacks in shallow water, drop-
ping 20 depth charges. Thoroughly shaken, but suffer-
ing only superficial damage, Gabilan evaded her antag-
onist in a providential heavy rain squall. Her only other
diversion en route to Fremantle was an encounter with
British submarine HMS Spiteful, an approach target in
morning twilight ; but, fortunately, there was sufficient
illumination to enable Gabilan to identify Spiteful at the
last moment before firing.
Gabilan conducted the greater part of her fifth war
patrol (20 March-28 May) as a unit of a “wolf pack”
that included Cliarr (SS-328) and Besugo (SS-321).
Patrolling below the Celebes, the pack began an epic four-
day chase on 4 April with a morning contact on cruiser
Isuza and her four escorts. One of the escorts fell prey
to Besugo, and the elusive cruiser was spotted as she
entered Bima Bay on the night of 6 April. Word was
flashed to Gabilan, already executing a daring surface
attack that left the cruiser listing and down by the bow.
With the enemy formation confused by Gabilan’ s attack,
Cliarr completed the kill with a six-torpedo salvo on the
morning of 7 April. The demise of Isuza, last of the
Japanese light cruisers to fall victim to a submarine
torpedo, was witnessed by British submarine Spark.
Gabilan outwitted three escorts to sink a small freighter
the morning of 14 April 1945, then scored hits in two
cargo ships of another convoy. After a short stay off
the coast of Hainan where she destroyed drifting mines,
she returned to Pearl Harbor 28 May for refit.
Gabilan’ s sixth and last war patrol (20 June-17 August
1945) was on lifeguard station for American fliers off
Tokyo Bay. She first rescued six men, the crews of two
torpedo bombers ; then raced well inside Tokyo Bay, in
easy range of shore batteries, to rescue another three-man
crew. Six Navy “Hellcat” fighter planes gave her cover
for the mission. On the way out, she paused to destroy
a drifting mine with gunfire. Altogether, on this patrol
Gabilan rescued 17 aviators.
En route to Pearl Harbor, Gabilan received news of the
Japanese surrender. Steaming by way of San Francisco
and the Canal Zone, Gabilan arrived New London, Conn.,
where she decommissioned 23 February 1946 and joined
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold for scrapping
15 December 1959.
Gabilan received four battle stars for World War II
service. Her second, third, fifth, and sixth war patrols
were designated “successful.”
Gadsen
A county in Florida.
(AK-182: dp. 2,382 (It.) ; 1. 338'6" ; b. 50'; dr. 21'; s.
12 k. ; cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3" ; cl. Alamosa; T. Cl-M-AVI)
Gadsen was launched 8 April 1944 under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Su-
perior, Wis. ; sponsored by Mrs. Morgan Murphy of
Superior; acquired by the Navy on loan-charter basis 26
December 1944 ; and commissioned at New Orleans, La., 28
February 1945, Lt. W. J. Sattel in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Gadsen departed
New Orleans 31 March 1945 with a cargo of frozen meat
and ammunition for Ulithi, Western Caroline Islands,
where she arrived on 11 May after 34 days at sea. From
there she proceeded to Kossol Roads, Palau Islands for a
3-day stay marked by alerts for enemy suicide swimmers.
She was convoyed by way of Leyte to Morotai Island,
Netherlands East Indies, where she spent 3 months as
ammunition ship for units of the 7th Fleet. At times
she serviced six to eight ships a day as she handled much
of the ammunition used by fleet units for the Brunei Bay-
Balikpapan invasions of Borneo.
Gadsen arrived at Leyte 31 July 1945 with about one-
third of her cargo. She served as ammunition ship there
until announcement of the Japanese capitulation. On 21
August 1945 she departed Leyte on a shuttle cargo run to
Subic Bay, P.I., and Hollandia, New Guinea ; thence back
to Leyte and was routed onward to Manila, P.I.
3
Gadsen put to sea from Manila 26 November 1945 ;
transited the Panama Canal 8 January 1946; and reached
Norfolk, Va., on the 19th for inactivation. She decom-
missioned 31 January 1946 and was redelivered to the
Maritime Commission on 1 February 1946 for layup in the
Maritime James River fleet. She was subsequently sold
to the Korean Shipping Corp. and renamed Yosu.
Gad tv all
A species of wild duck (Chaulesasmus streperus) , about
the size of the mallard.
(AM-362: dp. 530; 1 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 4 40mm.; cl. Admirable)
Gadwall was launched 15 July 1943 by Willamette Iron
and Steel Corp., Portland Oreg. ; sponsored by Mrs. Charles
L. McNary; and commissioned 23 June 1945, Lt. Robert
C. Thompson in command.
Gadwall departed Astoria, Oreg., 11 July 1945 for shake-
down training out of San Pedro, Calif., followed by mine
warfare exercises and amphibious maneuvers with fleet
units off the California bases of Santa Barbara, San
Diego, and Newport Beach. On 7 December 1945 she put
to sea from San Diego for inactivation overhaul at New
Orleans, La., until 11 April 1946. She then shifted to
Orange, Tex., where she decommissioned 14 June 1945 and
was assigned to the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
She was reclassified MSF-362 on 7 February 1955 and she
remained in reserve berthed at Orange, Tex., until struck
from the Navy List 1 November 1966. Gadwall was
stripped and designated for sale 10 April 1967.
Gaffey, General Hugh see General Hugh J. Gaffey
( AP-121 )
Gage
A county in Nebraska.
( APA-168 : dp. 14,837; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 692; a. 1 5' ; cl. Haskell)
Gage was built under Maritime Commission contract
by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg. ;
launched 14 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. H. L. Ed-
munds ; acquired by the Navy 4 November 1944 ; and com-
missioned 12 November 1944, Comdr. L. J. Alexanderson,
USNR, in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, Calif., Gage sailed
from San Francisco 17 January 1945 for the South Pacific.
Following the landing of a military civil affairs group at
Kaurimarau, Russell Islands, she arrived off West Ko-
kum Beach, Guadalcanal, S.I., 4 February 1945 with 298
marines and military cargo. She became a unit of Di-
vision 34, Transport Squadron 12, and spent the ensuing
weeks in amphibious warfare maneuvers in the Solomons.
On 15 March 1945, the attack transport departed Guad-
alcanal for Ulithi, the staging base for the Okinawa in-
vasion. From there she sailed to Hagushi Beach, Oki-
nawa, where she joined in the initial assault 1 April 1945
conducted under cover of heavy naval gun and plane
bombardment.
Through five grueling days and nights of almost con-
tinual “Flash Red” alerts against Japanese suicide planes,
Gage landed marines of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment,
6th Division ; a Navy construction battalion ; a medical
company, and combat equipment. Her mission com-
pleted 5 April, she proceeded via the Marianas and Hawaii
to San Francisco, where she arrived 11 May 1945. Here
Gage embarked the men and equipment of an Army Air
Corps Casuals and landed them at Manila, Luzon, P.I.,
12 June 1945.
Gage reported for duty with Amphibious Group 9 at
Leyte 22 June 1945 and was dispatched to New Guinea.
After embarking troops at Langemak and Humboldt Bays
for transport to Iloilo, Panay Island, P.I., she steamed
to San Francisco, Calif., where she arrived 2 August 1945.
The announcement of Japanese capitulation found her un-
der repair in Todd’s Dry Dock at Seattle, Wash.
Gage stood out from Seattle 21 August 1945 with 1,724
Army casual replacements who disembarked at Saipan in
the Marianas 5 September. Thirteen days later she de-
parted with some 1,500 marines whom she landed late in
October as part of the occupation forces at Hiro Wan,
Honshu, Japan. Homeward bound, she served as the
“Magic-Carpet” for 1,700 Army veterans embarked at
Okinawa and Manila. She reached Portland, Oreg. 14
December 1945. The attack transport made a “Magic-
Carpet” voyage from San Francisco to Yokosuka and back
(10 January to 25 February 1946) ; followed by one to
Samar, P.I., and back (4 April to 10 May 1946). She
again departed San Francisco 28 May 1946 to support
Navy occupation forces at the Chinese ports of Tsingtao
and Tientsin and the Japanese ports of Yokosuka and
Sasebo.
Gage departed Sasebo 26 June; embarked Army vet-
erans in the Marianas and Hawaii ; then transited the
Panama Canal for Norfolk, arriving 29 July 1946. She
remained in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard until decom-
missioning 26 February 1947. Gage was placed in the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet and was inactive until her name
was struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958 She was
transferred the same day to the Maritime Commission
Reserve Meet and at present is berthed in James River,
Va.
Gage received one battle star for World War II service.
Gage, Lyman J., see Gheleb (AK-138)
Gainard
Joseph Aloysius Gainard, bom 11 October 1889 in
Chelsea, Mass., enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force
23 November 1917. He received the Navy Cross for dis-
tinguished service while Master of American merchant
steamer City of Flint, seized by a German cruiser on the
high seas 9 October 1939 but returned to him in a Nor-
wegian fjord 3 November. Recalled to active duty on 30
July 1941, he commanded submarine decoy ship Big Horn
(A0^45) in the Caribbean, then commanded attack trans-
port Bolivar (APA-34) in the Pacific. Illness took Cap-
tain Gainard from this duty and he died in the U.S. Naval
Hospital at San Diego, Calif., 23 December 1943.
(DD-706 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6'' ; b. 40' ; dr. 15'8'' ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
Gainard was laid down 29 March 1944 by the Federal
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearney, N.J. ; launched
17 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph A. Gainard,
widow of Captain Gainard; and commissioned at New
York 23 November 1944. Comdr. Francis J. Foley in
command.
After shakedown training off Bermuda, Gainard de-
parted New York 1 February 1945 for operations out of
San Diego and Pearl Harbor. She departed Pearl Harbor
12 March and staged at Saipan for the forthcoming in-
vasion of Okinawa, acting as a part of a decoy task force
that made feints against the southeastern coast between
1 and 2 April while the landings were effected on the
western beaches..
Gainard operated as radar picket and fighter director
ship throughout the bloody Okinawa Campaign, detecting
enemy air raids, providing early and continuous informa-
tion to friendly forces, and initiating interception with a
Combat Air Patrol unit that found her controlling an
average of 10 planes from dawn to dusk with the assist-
ance of a fighter director team on board. In 39 days on
picket stations she was instrumental in the destruction of
at least 28 suicide planes, 4 of which were shot down by
her gunners.
4
On 27 occasions enemy aerial strikes of 50 or more
planes attacked Gainard and ships in her immediate vi-
cinity. Seventeen of these attacks were close aboard the
destroyer, and four nearby ships were hit by suicide
planes. She manned the fighter director unit for initial
landings at Iheya Shima, Aguni Shima, and Kume Shima.
Gainard also rescued the crew of a Navy patrol bomber
which had run out of fuel and landed in the sea, and she
directed two other damaged patrol planes back to their
base. Though several times narrowly missed by determ-
ined runs of suicide planes, her skillful gunners and ef-
fective maneuvering prevented damage. She remained
on station until 1 July when Okinawa was officially de-
clared secured.
After patrol and convoy escort duty in approaches to
Okinawa, she sailed 21 July to the Philippines for logistics
and upkeep. The destroyer arrived off Honshu, Japan,
17 September and served as air-sea rescue ship until 21
February 1946 when she sailed for the United States.
Gainard reached San Pedro, Calif., 15 March, then
steamed via the Panama Canal to Casco Bay, Maine,
arriving 16 April.
Based out of Newport, R.I., her operations over the next
20 years have included nine deployments as an antisub-
marine warfare specialist with the “Steel Gray Diplo-
mats” of the 6th Fleet ; several cruises to northern Europe
for the training of midshipmen ; amphibious warfare ex-
ercises along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina ;
plane guard duty for aircraft carriers off Mayport, Fla. ;
and combined 2nd Fleet exercises and antisubmarine tac-
tics along the Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean.
As one of 150 warships from six NATO nations, in
September 1957 Gainard participated in Exercise “Strike-
back,” large-scale combined fleet maneuvers that ranged
over the North Atlantic to waters adjacent to the British
Isles, between Iceland and the Faeroes, and into the Nor-
wegian Sea and portions of the North Sea. This was only
one of many operations in which Gainard made important
contributions to improve the overall combat readiness of
forces earmarked for the Allied command in defense of
the free world.
Gainard' s eighth tour with the 6th Fleet (August 1960-
February 1961) was interrupted by 6 weeks of combat
readiness operations with the Middle East forces in the
Indian Ocean. During her ninth Mediterranean tour
( February- August 1962), she transited the Suez Canal for
5 days of battle rehearsals with units of the British and
Iranian Navies and many days of realistic training in the
Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Other vital tasks included
schoolship duties for the Fleet Sonar School at Key West,
Fla. ; participation in Operation “Mercy” with carriers
Shangri La (CVA-38) and Antietam (CVS-36) in render-
ing assistance to thousands of flood-stricken victims of
Hurricane Carla off the Texas coast during September-
October 1961 ; gunnery schoolship duties for the Fleet at
Norfolk ; and service as a unit of the Cuban Contingency
Task Groups during the Cuban crisis of November-De-
cember 1962.
In May 1963 Gainard served as support ship on recov-
ery station during the successful launching of “Faith 7,”
the ninth and final Project Mercury manned space flight,
piloted by Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper. In addition, be-
tween 1963 and 1967 Gainard has continued schoolship
and support services in the Caribbean and along the
Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from Newport to New Orleans.
USS Gainard (DD-706) on 19 September 1951
5
At present, she operates out of Newport as a unit of
Destroyer Squadron 12.
Gainard received the Navy Unit Commendation for
extraordinary heroism in action off Okinawa and one
battle star for World War II service.
Gaivota
A merchant name retained.
('SP— 436 : t 74; 1. 91'8" ; b. 15'9" ; dph. 8'6" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 7 ; a. 1 3-pdr., 1 1-pdr., 1 mg.)
Gaivota, a wooden steam yacht built in 1897 by A. C.
Brown of Tottenville, Long Island, was chartered by the
Navy from Alfred C. Maron 8 June 1917. She was fitted
out as a scout patrol craft in the Philadelphia Navy
Yard; and commissioned 13 September 1917, Lt. (j.g.)
B. D. Newell, USNRF, in command.
Target practice in the Delaware Bay was followed by
alterations at Philadelphia. Assigned for duty to the
4th Naval District, she reached Cold Springs Harbor, N.J.,
9 November 1917 to serve as a unit of the harbor entrance
patrol off that port, Lewes, Del. and Breakwater Harbor,
N.J. Gaivota returned to the Philadelphia Naval Ship-
yard 19 April 1918 and decommissioned 11 May 1918 for
return to her owner.
Gakona, Lake, see Lake Gakona
Galatea
A Greek mythological sea nymph whose lover Acis was
destroyed in a jealous rage by the Cyclops Polyphemus,
and an ivory statue fashioned by Pygmalion and endowed
with life by Aphrodite.
I
( ScStr : t. 1,244; 1. 2O0'6'' ; b. 35'6" ; dph. 20'8" ; s.
10 k. ; a. 8 32-pdrs., 1 100-pdr., 2 30-pdrs.)
The first Galatea was built at New York in 1862 under
the direction of J. B. and J. D. Van Dusen, Master
Builders ; purchased by the Navy 31 July 1863 from
the Neptune Steamship Co. ; and commissioned 29 Janu-
ary 1864, Comdr. John Guest in command.
Galatea departed New York 21 February 1864 for
service as a unit of the West India Squadron. Based at
Cape Haitien, where she arrived 29 February, she gave
convoy protection in the West Indies to California mail
steamers plying between New York and Aspinwall (Colon,
Panama). She had twice returned to New York for
repairs by 10 November 1864 when she was assigned with
two other ships to convoy California mail streamers from
Cap Haitien through the Windward Passage, between
the islands of Nacassa and Mariguana. During this
cruise leaks developed which made Galatea unfit for
arduous convoy duty. Remaining on station at Cape Hai-
tien, she cruised to Key West for provisions and dis-
patches and afforded protection to American citizens in
Haiti until convoy service was discontinued in June 1865.
Galatea arrived New York from Cap Haitien 1 July
1865; decommissioned 12 July; and was sold to the
Haitian government 15 August.
II
( S P-7 14 : t. 367 (gross) ; 1. 192' ; b. 24' ; dr. 9' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 57; a. 3 3")
The second Galatea was a fresh water yacht built in
1914 by Pusey and Jones of Wilmington, Del. ; purchased
by the Navy 14 July 1917 at Detroit from E. L. Ford,
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., and commissioned at Detroit
25 August 1917, Lt. Comdr. O. T. McClurg, USNRF, in
command.
Galatea departed Detroit 25 August 1917 for the Boston
Navy Yard where she decommissioned 26 September
6
for conversion to an armed patrol craft. She r<^.
missioned 16 November 1917, Lt. H. D. Hinckley, USCG,
in command. Next proceeding to Philadelphia, she sailed
from there for the Azores 15 December 1917 with French
Submarine Chaser 314 in tow.
Proceeding by way of Bermuda, Galatea arrived Ponta
Delgada, Azores, 22 January 1918, racked and strained
by the towing of the submarine chaser. Damage required
repairs until May of 1919 when she began service as an
interisland transport in the Azores. She carried the
American Consul from Ponta Delgada for official calls
on the governors of Horta, Fayal and Angra, Terceira,
returning to her base in time to honor Navy Seaplane
NC-3 on 19 May, and Navy Seaplane NC-4 on 20 May,
as they arrived in Ponta Delgada on the historic first
transoceanic flight.
Galatea departed Ponta Delgada 7 June 1919 for Bos-
ton, Mass., where she decommissioned 15 July. The
following year she was towed to the Portsmouth Navy
Yard, N.H., to serve as receiving ship for submarine
crews. She was sold at Portsmouth 20 December 1921 to
Captain A. A. Tanos of New York City.
Galaxy
A merchant name retained.
( IX-54 : dp. 320; 1. 130'; b. 21'4" ; dr. 7'3'' ; s. 11.4 k. ;
cpl. 27)
Galaxy was a diesel motor yacht built in 1930 by Pusey
and Jones Co., Wilmington, Del. ; purchased 8 September
1941 from Mr. Bernard W. Doyle, Leominster, Mass. ; and
commissioned at Bast Boston, Mass., 20 September 1941,
Lt. (j.g.) William D. Hodges, USNR, in command.
Galaxy was acquired for the express purpose of research
in underwater sound. Based at East Boston throughout
her entire career, as a unit of the 1st Naval District, she
completed a variety of assignments for the Underwater
Sound Laboratory, Fort Trumbull, New London, Conn. ;
experimental underwater sound work for the Bureau of
Ships and the Harvard Underwater Sound Laboratory.
These operations were carried out at Boston, off New
London, Conn. ; for a brief time off the Delaware break-
waters and in the Chesapeake Bay. She decommissioned
and was placed “in service” 2 August 1945, to continue
her experimental assignments until placed out of service
at Boston 25 March 1946. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 May 1946 and she was transferred to the
Maritime Commission on 20 May 1946 for disposal.
Galen L. Stone, see YF-522
Galena
Cities in Kansas and Illinois ; towns in Maryland and
Missouri ; and villages in Ohio and Alaska named for a
native lead sulfide, the chief ore of lead.
I
(IrcScStr : t. 738; 1. 210' ; b. 36' : dph. 12'8'' ; dr. 11' ; s.
8 k. ; cpl. 164; a. (1862 ) 4 9", 2 100-pdrs.)
The first Galena was launched 14 February 1862 by C. S.
and H. L. Bushnell, Mystic, Conn. ; and commissioned 21
April 1862, Comdr. Alfred Taylor in command.
Galena, one of the first three ironclads, each of a dif-
ferent design, built by the Union Navy during the Civil
War, was towed from New York to arrive off Fortress
Monroe, Va., 24 April and join Flag Officer L. M. Golds-
borough’s North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Comdr.
John Rodgers relieved Comdr. Taylor the same day.
Galena cleared her decks for action 4 and 7 May when
dreaded Confederate ironclad Virginia briefly appeared.
On 8 May Galena stood up the James River with gun-
boats Port Royal and Aroostook in an attempt to reach
Richmond and compel its surrender. They silenced an
11-gun Confederate battery at Rock Wharf that morning ;
and in the early afternoon, stoutly engaged a 12-gun
battery on Mother Tynes’ Bluff silencing all but one of
the Confederate guns. Galena engaged this remaining
gun until the two gunboats had safely passed and left
then with the Confederate battery in flames.
After the feared Virginia was destroyed, Monitor and
Naugatuck joined the expedition at James Island on 12
May and on the 13th the force steamed across Harrison’s
Bar to City Point, where Galena stopped two steamers
for evidence of contraband. She opened fire the follow-
ing morning to scatter Confederate sharpshooters wait-
ing in ambush along the river banks. On 15 May she
stood up river leading the expedition to Drewry’s Bluff,
about 8 miles from Richmond. Galena was hit twice as
she swung to bear her broadside guns on a Confederate
battery. She nearly silenced the battery before her shells
were expended, but then the Confederate guns opened
upon her with terrible effect. Numerous hits perforated
her iron-clad sides with 12 killed and 15 wounded.
She returned down river to City Point. The follow-
ing days were spent in shelling Confederate soldiers along
the river banks and destroying City Point buildings in
which Confederates were entrenched. On 27 June 1862
Galena bombarded City Point while two boats went
ashore with a landing force which set fire to the depots.
That same day General McClellan came on board Galena
to make a reconnaissance for the position of a new camp
which was subsequently established near Harrison’s
Landing. On 30 June 1862 Major General McClellan
was compelled to withdraw down the James and escaped
disaster through naval gunfire support and transportation.
On 6 July 1862 Commodore Charles Wilkes was ordered
to command the James River Flotilla, Galena included,
as an independent division of the North Atlantic Blockad-
ing Squadron. With gunboats of the flotilla, Galena
afforded protection to the daily movement of Army trans-
ports and supply ships along the James River from
Harrison’s Bay to the mouth of the Chickahominy, giving
the indispensable protection that left the Confederate
troops without ability to move effectively against Mc-
Clellan’s Army of the Potomac along the James River.
Galena was detached from the James River Flotilla in
September 1862 and assigned picket duty at Hampton
Roads and Newport News until 21 May 1863 when she
arrived at Philadelphia and was decommissioned for
repairs. Her ineffective iron plating which had been so
badly shattered in the action at Drewry’s Bluff was
stripped off ; and she was overhauled to operate as a
wooden-hulled ship.
Recommissioned 15 February 1864, Galena stood down
the river on the 18th for the Gulf of Mexico. Becoming
icebound at New Castle, Del., she was towed out to sea
by an ice boat, then developed leaks which forced her to
put in at Norfolk. She then proceeded to Baltimore for
repairs. Galena put to sea from Norfolk on 10 May and
joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron at Pensacola,
Fla., on 20 May 1865 for blockade duty off Mobile, Ala.,
that included the shelling of Fort Morgan and firing upon
various blockade runners near the fort.
Galena was a unit of Admiral Farragut’s fleet in the
Battle of Mobile Bay on 5 August 1864. Passing through
the narrow channel under heavy fire from Forts Morgan
and Gaines, Galena, lashed to the port side of Onieda,
suffered seven hits and one man killed before she entered
Mobile Bay for a gallant fleet action of about 3 hours that
left 165 Union dead and 170 wounded while the Confeder-
ate losses were 12 killed and 20 wounded. Union monitor
Tecumseli was destroyed by torpedo in the channel and
Confederate ram Tennessee and gunboat Selma fell into
Union hands. Galena used her power to pass both her-
self and Oneida beyond range of the fort’s fire when the
latter had her starboard boiler put out of commission by
a shell hit. Admiral Farragut wrote concerning the
battle: “Notwithstanding the loss of life, particularly to
this ship (Hartford) , and the terrible disaster to the
Tecumseli, the result of the fight was a glorious victory,
and I have reason to feel proud of the officers, seamen,
and marines of the squadron under my command.”
Galena provided supporting bombardment for the cap-
ture of Fort Morgan on 23 August 1864 and departed
Mobile Bay on the 31st to serve as a part of the East
Gulf Blockading Squadron out of Key West, Fla. She
arrived in Philadelphia from her blockade station on 4
November 1864 and was decommissioned for repair on
the 22d.
Galena was recommissioned at Philadelphia on 29
March 1865 and reached Newport News, Va., 2 April to
serve the North Atlantic Squadron as a picket and patrol
ship at the mouth of the Nansemond River and in the
James River until her departure 5 June for Portsmouth,
N.H. She was decommissioned there 17 June 1865 and
remained inactive until recommissioned 9 April 1869 for
movement to Hampton Roads, where she was placed out
of commission 2 June. Condemned by survey in 1870,
Galena was broken up in 1872 at the Norfolk Navy Yard.
II
('SStr : dp. 1,900; 1. 216' (b.p.) ; b. 37'; d. 16'6" ; s. 9.5
k. ; cpl. 214; a. 6 9” sb., 1 8" r„ 1 60-pdr. blr.)
The second Galena, a wooden steamer, was built by the
Norfolk Navy Yard in 1879 ; and commissioned at Norfolk
26 August 1880, Comdr. James O’Kane in command.
Galena departed Hampton Roads 19 December 1880 and
reached Gibraltar 12 January 1881. She cruised between
the ports of France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Greece,
along the coast of Africa ; and to the Canary, Cape Verde
and Madeira Islands. On 7 April 1881 she arrived at
Kastro, Chios, in the Aegean Sea and remained until
the 15th helping to relieve the distress caused by a
severe earthquake. Her surgeon went ashore to treat
the injured ; her crew furnished work parties to help
clear the rubble ; and her steam launch moved relief
supplies. Another mercy mission began 10 June 1882
when she reached Alexandria, Egypt, to embark American
citizens and personnel of the American Consulate for pro-
tection aboard during a rebellion. An Italian ship was
chartered as a haven for about 135 refugees until 27 June
when Admiral J. W. A. Nicholson arrived in Lancaster to
relieve Galena.
Galena departed Alexandria 11 July 1882 for operations
along the eastern seaboard of South America out of Rio
de Janeiro. From 19 October 1882 to 31 January 1883 she
was the flagship of Rear Admiral P. Crosby, commanding
American Naval Forces in the South Atlantic. She arrived
in New York 10 September 1883 to serve in the North
Atlantic along the eastern seaboard and throughout the
Caribbean Sea to the shores of Aspinwall, Colombia (now
Colon, Panama). This included station duty at Key
West (1 May-16 August 1884) to prevent illegal filibus-
tering expeditions from the United States to Cuba.
Another special service began 11 March 1885 when she
arrived at Aspinwall from New Orleans to offer protec-
tion to the lives and property of American citizens during
a serious revolution that threatened to interrupt traffic
over the Isthmus of Panama. On 30 March 1885 after
a party of revolutionists had seized Pacific Mail Line
steamer Colon, Galena regained the steamer and returned
her the same day. The next day Galena's landing force
went ashore to save a part of the town of Colon which
had been set afire by the revolutionists. Through utmost
exertion the landing force saved a part of the town and
all the property of the Pacific Mail Company. On 10
April Admiral Jouett arrived in Tennessee and with a
force of 600 bluejackets and marines, assisted by Galena,
kept the Isthmus open to crossing travelers and enforced
treaty obligations until order was restored in May.
Galena departed Colon 9 June and reached Portsmouth,
N.H., 26 June 1885 to begin several months cruising along
the eastern seaboard. Galena returned to Columbian
waters 27 November 1885 for service in the Caribbean.
She visited St. Andrew Island 114 miles east of the Nic-
araguan coast 14 February 1886 to investigate the de-
tention of American steamer City of Mexico. Finding
7
256-125 0 - 68 -3
United States neutrality laws had been violated by the
steamer, Galena seized City of Mexico and sailed her
under a prize crew to Key West where the steamer was
turned over to the U.S. marshall.
Galena returned to New York 23 May 1886 to join the
squadron in battle practice along the New England coast.
She then sailed to the Newfoundland fishing banks and
back. She departed Portsmouth, N.H., 15 December 1886
to cruise among ports of the West Indies and off Colom-
bia until 18 April 1887.
Galena returned north in time to participate in cere-
monies for the unveiling of the soldiers and sailors monu-
ment at New Haven, Conn., 14 June. After a cruise
that took her to Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, and Habit-
ant’s Bay, Galena arrived at Philadelphia 12 September
1887 to join other ships of the Navy in celebrating the
centennial of the adoption of the Constitution of the
United States. Target practice in Gardner’s Bay, N.Y.,
was followed by repairs in the Norfolk Navy Yard until
9 April 1888. Galena then cruised with her squadron
along the eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coast visiting
New Orleans, La. ; Mobile, Ala. ; and Port Royal, S.C.
From 18 August to 15 September 1888 she watched over
American interests during political disturbances at Port-
au-Prince, Haiti, then proceeded to New York.
Galena departed New York 12 December 1888 as flag-
ship of Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce, Commander in
Chief, North Atlantic Station, and reached Port-au-Prince
20 December. Here, the American steamer Haytien
Republic, seized by Haitian authorities for alleged viola-
tion of the blockade, was surrendered to the force under
Admiral Luce.
Galena arrived in Key West, Fla., 19 January 1889.
Here, on 16 February Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi
relieved Admiral Luce as Commander in Chief, North
Atlantic Station, and broke his flag in Galena. She
sailed the following day for Haitian waters and then re-
turned to New York 29 May. Admiral Gherardi trans-
ferred his flag to Kearsarge on 15 June.
After repairs at New York, Galena arrived at Cap
Haitien 6 September 1889 and relieved Kearsarge as
flagship. At the island of Navassa 6 October, she took
on board nine ring-leaders of a riot, then proceeded to
Baltimore, Md., where they were turned over to the cus-
tody of the United States marshal 25 October. She re-
paired at the New York Navy Yard, then sailed 3 Decem-
ber to serve once more as Admiral Gherardi’s flagship
out of Key West in a series of cruises to waters of Haiti.
She was relieved as flagship by Dolphin while at St.
Nicholas Mole 14 February 1890 and departed Key West
25 May for calls at Port Royal and Charleston before ar-
riving New York Navy Yard 1 July. She decommissioned
23 July 1890 and remained there until 12 March 1891
when she was towed by tug Kina toward the Portsmouth
Navy Yard, N.H., to be fitted with new boilers. The
following day, both ships ran aground on a beach about
a mile south of Gay Head, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
Salvaged under a contract to the Boston Tow Boat
Co., Galena arrived at the Portsmouth Navy Yard 6 April
1891. However, it was decided that repairs would be
too costly. Galena was stricken from the Navy List 29
February 1892 and she was sold to E. J. Butler of Arling-
ton, Mass., 9 May.
Ill
(PC-1136: dp. 280; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23'; dr. lO'lO" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 65; a. 1 3”, 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. PC-553)
PC-1136 was laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay
City, Mich., 17 December 1942; launched 5 March 1943;
and commissioned at New Orleans, La., 16 November
1943, Lt. (j.g.) Allston Boyer in command.
After shakedown, PC-1136 operated out of Miami and
Key West, Fla., while receiving ASW training. Depart-
ing Key West 1 January 1944, she steamed via the Panama
Canal and the Society and Tonga Islands to arrive
Noumea, New Caledonia, 12 March for duty as patrol
and escort ship. From 27 March to 1 April she escorted
merchant ships to Guadacanal, then sailed the following
day to Efate as escort for Shasta (AE-6). Arriving
4 April, she steamed the 5th to Espiritu Santo to escort a
merchant tanker to Guadalcanal.
PC-1136 reached Guadalcanal 8 April, and for almost 2
months she continued intermittent convoy escort and ASW
patrol duties out of the Solomons to New Caledonia and
the New Hebrides. Departing in convoy 31 May, she
arrived Kwajalein, Marshalls, 6 June to prepare for the
invasion of Guam. Assigned to Task Group 53.1, she
sailed the 9th, arriving east of the Marianas 22 June.
After patrolling east of Saipan, she returned to Kwajalein
5 July. Between 15 and 21 July she steamed to Guam,
where she served as amphibious control ship during the
landings. After screening offshore transports during the
next week, she departed for the Marshalls 28 July and
arrived Eniwetok 3 August. Between 8 and 13 August,
she sailed to Saipan as a convoy escort. For almost 7
months she operated between the Marshals and the
Marianas, escorting merchant ships and searching for
enemy submarines. She departed Guam 3 March 1945,
touched Eniwetok, and arrived Pearl Harbor 18 March.
After overhaul and conversion to a control ship, PC-1136
sailed for the Western Pacific 21 May. Escorting a con-
voy of LSTs, she reached Guam 9 June and resumed convoy
escort duties in the Marianas. She departed Guam
6 August, touched Ulithi, and arrived Subic Bay, Philip-
pines, 1’5 August. She reclassified PCC-1136, 5 days later.
After steaming to Lingayen Gulf 10 September, she escort-
ed a convoy of LSTs to Japan, arriving Wakayama
19 September. Between 24 and 30 September she returned
to Lingayen Gulf ; and during the first 2 days of October
she sailed to Manila.
PCC-1136 departed Manila for the Marianas 17 Octo-
ber and arrived Guam the 22d. For more than 6 months
she operated out of Guam, steaming to Saipan and Rota.
Marianas ; and Ulithi. She sailed for the United States
1 May 1946 via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, arriving
Astoria, Oregon, 29 May. She decommissioned 28 July
1946 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed
in the Columbia River, she was classified PC-1136 on 27
October 1955 and named Galena 15 February 1956. She
was sold by the Navy 11 March 1960 to Miami Ports Co.
PC-1136 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Galilea
A minor planet or asteroid.
Montaulc (LSV-6) (q.v.) was renamed and reclassified
Galilea (AKN-6) on 1 October 1946.
Gallagher, Charles T., see Charles T. Gallagher
Gallant
Noble in bearing or spirit ; brave ; high-spirited ; chival-
rous ; stately in appearance or action.
I
(PYc-29 : dp. 350 (gross) ; 1. 177'6" ; b. 23'6" ; dr. 12' ; s.
13 k. ; cpl. 11 ; a. 1 3", 1 20mm., 1 .50 cal. mg.)
The first Gallant (PYc-29) was built in 1909 as the
yacht North Star by Pusey and Jones Co., Wilmington,
Del. ; purchased 17 March 1942 from the North Star Ex-
cursion Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y. ; converted to a coastal
patrol yacht by Sullivan’s Drydock Co., Brooklyn ; and
commissioned as Gallant in the conversion yard 15 April
1942, Lt. (j.g.) D. R. Stoneleigh in command.
After temporary inshore patrol duties for the 3rd Naval
District at New York, Gallant changed her home port to
Boston, Mass., 20 July 1942, and finished out her Navy
career as a training and local defense patrol ship of the
1st Naval District.
8
USS Galena, a wooden steamer built at the Norfolk Navy Yard
Gallant made daily patrols outside Boston Harbor and
along the New England coast, with time out for upkeep
and repairs, until decommissioned at Boston 22 January
1945. She was transferred to WSA for disposal and sold
to her former owner 28 June 1945.
II
(MSO-489: dp. 780; 1. 172'; b. 36'; dr. 10'; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 74 ; a. 1 40mm. ; cl. Aggressive)
The second Gallant (AM— 498) was laid down 21 May
1953 by J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma,
Wash.; launched 4 June 1954; sponsored by Mrs. Walter
Meserole; reclassified (MSO-489) on 7 February 1955;
and commissioned as Gallant (MSO-489) at Tacoma 14
September 1955, Lt. Dixon Lademan in command.
After shakedown, Gallant based from Long Beach,
Calif., as a unit of Mine Division 96, Mine Force, U.S.
Pacific Fleet. Her readiness exercises ranged as far south
as Acapulco, Mexico. She rescued two crew members of
a Navy plane downed off Santa Catalina Island and
joined Mine Division 73 in January 1957 for concentrated
training preparatory to a 6-month tour with the 7th Fleet
(March-August 1957). This duty found her in Korean
waters for combined operations with the Republic of
Korea Navy, followed by similar service off Formosa with
units of the Chinese Nationalist Navy. Other training
took her to ports of Japan and Hong Kong before her re-
turn to Long Beach 20 August 1957.
After a yard overhaul at San Diego, she took part in
amphibious landing exercises along the California coast
followed by combined minesweeping operations with
Canadian Mine Squadron 2 off the coast of Vancouver,
British Columbia, in October 1958. Another overhaul
period was completed by April 1959 when she began re-
fresher training and mine countermeasures exercises that
won her the Battle Efficiency Competition Award “E” and
the Minesweeping “M” as the outstanding minesweeper of
the Pacific Mine Force during Fiscal 1959.
Gallant's second tour with the 7th Fleet (August 1959-
March 1960) again included training with the Republic
of Korea Navy. While operating out of the Philippines,
she participated in joint readiness operations with the
navies of SEATO nations. She returned to Long Beach
in March 1960 and spent the next 12 months in a training
schedule with the mine force of the 1st Fleet that carried
her as far north as Ketchikan, Alaska.
Service during her third deployment in the Far East
(August 1961-April 1962) once again included fleet readi-
ness defense exercises with the free-world navies of South-
east Asia. In addition, she patrolled the coast of South
Vietnam and provided valuable service during training
operations of the South Vietnam Navy. Returning to the
West Coast 20 April 1962, she resumed duty out of Long
Beach ; and during the next 15 months participated in fleet
maneuvers and mine squadron exercises off southern
California.
9
Departing Long Beach 12 August 1963, Gallant steamed
on her fourth deployment to the troubled Far East, where
she arrived Sasebo, Japan, 23 September. There, she re-
sumed peace-keeping operations with the mighty 7th Fleet ;
and, during readiness patrols in far eastern waters, she
cruised from the coast of South Korea through the East
China and South China Seas to the coast of Southeast
Asia. She departed WestPac in the spring of 1964 ; and,
after additional training in hunting mines, sailed for
blockade and coastal patrol duty off Vietnam. Arriving
off the southern coast of South Vietnam 1 October 1965,
she joined Operation “Market Time,” designed to control
coastal infiltration of men and supplies by the Viet Cong.
Throughout the remainder of the year, Gallant boarded
and searched suspicious Vietnamese boats, providing valu-
able support for the Republic of Vietnam in her struggle
against Communist insurgency.
She supported “Market Time” operations until 9 March
1966 when she departed for the United States. Steaming
via the Philippines, Guam, and Pearl Harbor, she arrived
Long Beach 28 April. During the remainder of the year,
she operated along the West Coast from Long Beach to
Portland, Oreg., to maintain her fighting capabilities and
operational readiness.
Gallatin
Albert Gallatin, born in Switzerland 29 January 1761,
emigrated to America in 1780 and began his political
career eight years later in a conference held at Harrisburg,
Pa., to consider revising the U.S. Constitution. The fol-
lowing year, he was prominent in the convention which
revised the Pennsylvania Constitution. After serving in
the Pennsylvania Legislature from 1790 to 1792, Gallatin
was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1793. During the
“Whisky Rebellion,” he helped avert civil war by persuad-
ing an angry mob to submit peacefully. After serving in
the U.S. House of Representatives from 1795 to 1801, he
became Jefferson’s Secretary of the Treasury and served
with distinction in that post until 1814. His supervision
of the Nation’s finances was noted for frugal and efficient
administration.
In May 1813, President Madison, upon receiving from
the Tsar an offer of mediation to end the war with Eng-
land, sent Gallatin to Russia as peace commissioner. Al-
though the mediation effort failed, Gallatin remained in
Europe to help negotiate the Treaty of Ghent which Henry
Adams called “the special and peculiar triumph of Mr.
Gallatin.”
After the war, Gallatin, as Minister to France and later
as Minister to England, worked assiduously to improve
American commercial relations with the nations of Europe.
In 1927, he retired from public office and devoted his tal-
ents to commercial activities and to the study of American
Indians. He died at Astoria, Long Island, N.Y., 12 August
1849.
Counties in Illinois, Kentucky, and Montana were
named for Albert Gallatin. The first Gallatin was named
for Albert Gallatin; the second Gallatin was named for
the counties.
I
The first Gallatin was purchased by the Treasury
Department at Norfolk for the Revenue Cutter Service in
December 1807. In the ensuing years, she was active
in suppressing smuggling and in assisting American Mer-
chantmen. Acting under Navy orders during the War of
1812, she intercepted a British “letter of marque” sailing
from Jamaica for England and took her after a fierce 8
hour battle 6 August 1812. She subsequently captured
several merchantmen. She caught fire at Charleston, S.C.,
exploded, and sank 1 April 1813.
II
( APA-169 : dp. 14, 837; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 25'6" ; s. 18
k. ; cpl. 560 ; a. 1 5", 8 40mm. ; cl. Haskell)
The second Gallatin was built under Maritime Commis-
sion contract by the Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Portland,
Oreg. ; launched 17 October 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Loran
T. King of Portland ; acquired by the Navy on a loan-
charter basis 15 November 1944 and commissioned the
same day at Astoria, Oreg., Comdr. Frank S. Dowd in
command.
After shakedown training out of San Pedro, Calif.,
Gallatin departed San Diego 18 January 1945 with more
than a thousand troops plus cargo. In the ensuing months
she carried passengers and military cargo to ports
throughout the Pacific, supporting the final blows which
forced Japan to surrender. She visited Hawaii ; the Mar-
shall Islands ; the New Hebrides ; New Caledonia ; the
Philippines ; New Guinea ; and the Admiralty Islands.
She sailed from the Philippines for the west coast and
arrived San Francisco with nearly 1,500 weary war veter-
ans 10 August 1945. Eight days later she headed west
again with as many troops for garrison duty at Lingayen
Gulf, P.I. During October she steamed to Japan with
vehicles, stores, and advance elements of the Army’s 25th
Division which she landed at Honshu as occupation forces.
Assigned to “Magic-Carpet” duty, Gallatin carried
nearly 2,000 marines and other military veterans home
from the Philippines and Hawaii. She reached San Diego
with her veteran passengers 20 November 1945, and then
made another “Magic-Carpet” voyage to the Philippines
which terminated at San Diego 25 January 1946. After
transiting the Panama Canal, she decommissioned at New-
port News, Va. 23 April 1946 ; was returned to WSA the
following day ; and was placed in the National Defense
Reserve Fleet, James River, Va., where she remains.
Gallatin, see YP-Jt2
Gallinipper
A large mosquito or other stinging insect.
The barge Gallinipper was one of five ship’s boats
equipped with sails and double-banked oars in January
1823 for duty with Capt. David Porter’s West India Squad-
ron, known as the “Mosquito Fleet,” fitted out under an
act of Congress approved 20 December 1822 to cruise in
the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico for the suppression of
piracy.
On 14 February 1823 the squadron, composed of 12
ships, sailed from Hampton Roads for its base at Thomp-
son’s Island (later Key West, Fla.) via a circuitous route
through the Caribbean, while Gallinipper and the other
barges, in charge of Lt. T. M. Newell, loaded on two
chartered schooners, proceeded directly to base a few days
later. Arriving at Thompson’s Island 3 April, Captain
Porter landed the stores, built storehouses, and fitted out
the barges and manned them from the crew of Peacock.
Gallinipper, one of the more active barges, participated
in several successful expeditions against the pirates op-
erating on the coast of Cuba. On 8 April 1823 she and
barge Mosquito, under command of Lt. C. K. Stribling,
captured pirate schooner Pilot near Havana after running
her on shore ; two pirates were killed and one captured, the
others escaping on shore.
In July, 1823 Gallinipper, Lt. W. H. Watson in com-
mand, with the aid of Mosquito, captured the pirate
schooner Catilina and a launch near Sigaumpa Bay.
Catilina, commanded by the celebrated pirate Diaboleto,
lost about one-third of her crew of approximately 75 in
the running fight. The barges pursued the schooner to
the village of Signapa ; as they closed to board, the pirates
fled to their launch. A volley of musketry directed at the
launch drove them into the sea where the boats cut off
the retreat of all but 15. Even of these, 11 were killed
or taken prisoner by the barges’ men who landed in pur-
suit, and the remaining 4 were apprehended by the local
authorities. Lt. Watson was highly commended by Cap-
tain Porter for his brilliant victory over a superior force
without the loss of a man, and recommended to the De-
partment for promotion.
In March 1825 a joint American-British expedition un-
der Lt. I. McKeever in Gallinipper, destroyed a pirates’
10
lair east of Matanzas, Cuba, and captured 2 of their
schooners, killing at least 8 pirates and taking 19 prisoners.
The ultimate fate of Gallinipper is unknown. By De-
cember 1825 it was reported that one of the barges had
been lost at sea, some had decayed to the point of use-
lessness, and the rest remained on duty in Florida.
Gallipolis
A town in southern Ohio on the Ohio River, 30 miles
northeast of Ironton.
(PC-778: dp. 295; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23'; dr. lO'lO'' ; s. 20.2
k. ; cpl. 65; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 3 20mm., 2 rkt., 4 dcp., 2
dct. ; cl. PC-461)
PC-778 was laid down 7 September 1942 by Commercial
Iron Works, Portland, Oreg. ; launched 26 November 1942,
sponsored by Miss Virginia Sering; and commissioned 30
April 1943, Lt. W. R. Herrick in command.
The new submarine chaser departed Astoria, Oreg., 21
May 1943 for shakedown out of San Diego. For the next
year she operated along the West Coast as an escort, pa-
trol, and aircraft-target ship. PC-778 departed Seattle
21 May 1944 for Alaska and arrived Dutch Harbor a week
later for patrol and escort duty on the Aleutians. PC-778
departed Adak 15 November and returned to Seattle on
the 26th.
After a four-month overhaul, the submarine chaser
made two escort voyages to the Hawaiian Islands. Upon
arrival at Pearl Harbor 2 April 1945, she performed pa-
trol and escort duty in the Hawaiian Islands and made
one voyage to Canton Island. On 3 July, she sailed for
Midway Island to assist in training submarines and to
continue patrol duty.
After the war ended, PC-778 departed Midway 1 Sep-
tember for the West Coast, via Pearl Harbor and arrived
Lost Angeles Harbor on the 28th. She sailed for the
East Coast 11 October, transited the Panama Canal on
the 26th and arrived Key West, Fla., 9 November. A
month later the submarine chaser reported to Green Cove
Springs, Fla. PC-778 transferred to Charleston, where
she served as a reserve training ship until decommission-
ing in October 1949 and entered the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet at Norfolk. The veteran submarine chaser was
named Gallipolis 15 February 1956 and was struck from
the Navy List 1 April 1957 and sold to Hughes Brothers,
Inc., 15 September 1959.
Gallup
A town in New Mexico.
I
(PF^47 ; dp. c. 2,000; 1. 304' ; b. 38' ; dr. 12' s. 20 k. ; cpl.
190; a. 3 3" 440mm., 9 20mm., 8 dcp., 1 dcp (h. h.), 2
dct. ; el. Tacoma)
Gallup was launched 17 September 1943 by the Con-
solidated Steel Corp., Los Angeles ; sponsored by Ens.
Helen McMahon, NNRC ; and commissioned 29 February
1944 at San Pedro, Lt. Comdr. Clayton M. Opp, USCG, in
command.
Following conversion work at Newport Beach, Calif.,
and shakedown out of San Pedro and San Diego, she
departed the latter port 1 June 1944 for the Pacific war
zone. Conducting antisubmarine patrol en route, she
arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia, 21 June, and con-
tinued her escort and patrol duty in the waters of New
Caledonia, New Guinea, and Australia until 12 October
with Escort Division 43. On 17 August she bombarded
enemy strongholds to support landings on Biak Island at
Blue Beach, north of Wardo River by units of the 41st
Infantry Division. She continued to fire until the troops
had completed their landing and secured the beach.
Again, on 25 August, Gallup lent support to the conquest
of Biak by shelling the beaches between Menoerar and
Cape Warari as the Army and Navy continued the suc-
cessful New Guinea offensive.
Departing Ilollandia 12 October 1944, Gallup was part
of the screen for the vast task force which returned
General MacArthur to the Philippines. On the 17th she
shelled the beach area of Dinagat, and the next day she
swept the channel into Leyte Gulf, P.I., as U.S. forces
poised for the invasion. She then began antisubmarine
and antimine patrol near Black Beach, screening vessels
engaged in landing operations. Stationed most of the
time off Desolation Point, she collected tide and hydro-
graphic information, served as dispatch boat and as escort
through the cleared channel in Leyte Gulf, guided incom-
ing ships and convoys through the channel, and served as
harbor entrance control vessel during landing operations.
She performed these duties, most of the time in gusty,
stormy weather, with Bisbee (PF-46), LCI (L) -343, and
LCI (L)-344, before being sent on an escort mission to
Humbolt Bay 28 November, touching San Pedro Bay and
Kossol Roads, Manus, en route. On 3 December she left
for the West Coast stopping to drop men at Seeadler
Harbor, Admirality Islands, and Pearl Harbor. She
arrived in San Francisco on Christmas Day 1944.
Departing San Francisco 9 January 1945, Gallup
steamed via Seattle to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where she
arrived on the 20th. She patrolled the North Pacific
until she decommissioned at Cold Bay, Alaska 26 August.
The next day she was transferred to the U.S.S.R. under
lend-lease, renamed EK-19, and patrolled the Far East.
Returned by Russia at_Yokosuka, Japan 14 ifovember
1949, Gallup lay at Yokuska Navy Yard until she recom-
missioned 18 October 1950, Lt. Cmdr. William W. Boyd,
Jr. in command. After shakedown off Sagami Wan, she
got under way with Bisbee 23 November for Hungnam,
Korea. There she relieved Hoquiam (PF-5) as harbor
entrance control vessel, escorting ships when directed,
guarding the channel against unfriendly ships, preventing
friendly vessels from entering mined areas, and perform-
ing search and rescue services to the many refugees flood-
ing through there.
On 19 December Gallup left for Pusan where she per-
formed antisubmarine patrol on the approaches to the
harbor, before leaving 31 December for Sasebo, Japan.
On 29 January 1951, she returned to Korea, this time to
Kansang and Kosong, for the purpose of feinting an
amphibious assault to divert Communist forces and con-
ducting a preassault bombardment on the installation at
these points.
Gallup continued to operate out of Sasebo, making
screening escort, patrol, and guide tours to Pusan, Won-
san, Chonjin, Korea, and Sangley Point and Subic Bay,
P.I. She helped in the bombardment of Wonsan 23-25
February 1951 as U.N. forces seized the harbor islands,
and then served as harbor entrance control vessel and
flycatcher (anti-small-boat, antiswimmer, anti-suieide-
craft). Returning to Yokosuka 14 March, she entered
drydock there for extensive hull repairs. She continued
similar duty afterward until she returned to Yokosuka 6
October.
Gallup decommissioned and was transferred under
M.D.A.P. to Thailand at Yokosuka, 29 October 1951 and
serves the Thailand Navy as Prasae.
Gallup received two battle stars for World War II
service and three battle stars for the Korean War.
II
( PGM-85 : dp. 235 (f.) ; 1. 164'6" ; b. 23'11" ; dr. 5'2" ;
cpl. 24 ; a. 1 3'', 1 40mm., 4 .50 cal. ; cl. Asheville)
The second Gallup was laid down 27 April 1964 by Ta-
coma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Wash. ; launched 15
June 1965; sponsored by Mrs. Goodwin Chase; and com-
missioned 22 October 1966, Lt. William T. Spane, Jr., in
command.
11
From October 1966 until February 1967, the motor gun-
boat conducted shakedown operations under Commander
Amphibious Group 3 off the West Coast as far north as
Juan de Fuca. On 28 March 1967 Gallup was reclassified
PG-85. She continues to serve as a patrol and surveillance
craft in the Pacific Fleet.
Gallup, Annie E., see Annie E. Gallup (SP-694)
Galveston
A coastal city in southeastern Texas located on Galves-
ton Island.
I
(Cruiser No. 17 : dp. 3,200 ; 1. 308'10" ; b. 44' ; dr. 15'9" ; s.
16k. ; cpl. 339 ; a. 10 5", 8 6-pdrs., 2 1-pdrs., 4 .30 cal. mg.)
The first Galveston was laid down 19 January 1901 by
William R. Trigg Co., Richmond, Va.; launched 23 July
1903 ; sponsored by Miss Ella Sealey ; and commissioned
at Norfolk, Va., 15 February 1905, Comdr. W. G. Cutler in
command.
Galveston departed Norfolk on 10 April 1905 for Gal-
veston, Tex., where on 19 April she was presented a silver
service by citizens of her namesake city. Returning to
the East Coast 3 May, she departed New York 18 June
for Cherbourg, France, where she arrived 30 June and
took part in the ceremonies commemorating the return
of the remains of John Paul Jones to the U.S. Naval
Academy, reaching Annapolis on 22 July. She next
joined Dolphin and Mayfluwy as one of the host
ships for the Russo-Japanese Peace Conference (4—8
August) serving at Oyster Bay, N.Y. ; Newport, R.I., and
Portsmouth, N.H. During 13 August to 11 September
1905 the cruiser had special duty with Minister Plenipo-
tentiary Hollander’s State Department cruise from Nor-
folk to the West Indies ports of Santo Domingo and Port-
au-Prince, followed by preparations for foreign service
at Norfolk and New York.
Galveston departed Tompkinsville, N.Y., on 28 Decem-
ber 1905 for service in the Mediterranean with the Euro-
pean Squadron until 28 March 1906 when she set course
from Port Said to join the fleet at Cavite, P.I., for service
on the Asiatic Station. She was a part of the fleet
reception for Secretary of War William H. Taft at Manila
on 13 October 1906 ; served in his honor escort to Vladi-
vostock, Siberia, the next month ; and spent the follow-
ing years in cruises among ports of the Philippines, China
and Japan. She arrived in San Francisco, Calif., from
the Philippines on 17 February 1910 ; was decommis-
sioned in the Puget Sound Navy Yard on the 21st; and
recommissioned there on 29 June 1912 for service that
included a training cruise to Alaska. She departed the
Puget Sound Navy Yard on 19 September 1913, touching
San Francisco, Hawaii and Guam on her way to Cavite,
P.I., where she joined the Asiatic Fleet on 2 November.
Galveston’s tour on the Asiatic Station was largely
taken up with convoy service for supply ships and troop
transports shuttling Marines and other garrison forces
and stores between the Philippines and ports of Japan
and China for the protection of American lives, property,
and interests with brief intervals of Yangtze River Patrol
for the same purpose. She also made one convoy trip
from the Philippines to British North Borneo and two
trips to Guam in the Marianas. She arrived in San
Diego from the Asiatic Station on 10 January 1918 and
transited the Panama Canal on the 23rd, convoying British
troopship Athenic from Cristobal, C.Z., to Norfolk, thence
to New York, arriving on 11 February 1918.
Galveston was assigned to Squadron 2 of the Atlantic
Fleet Cruiser Force for convoy escort duties concurrent
with the training of Armed Guard crews. After one con-
voy run through heavy weather from Tompkinsville to
Halifax, Nova Scotia, she was largely employed in repeat-
ed convoy escort voyages between New York and Norfolk
until 22 September 1918 when she departed Tompkins-
ville with a 19-ship convoy bound for Ponta Delgada,
Azores. On the morning of 30 September the convoy
was attacked by German submarine U-152. Alerted by
the flashing explosion to starboard, Galveston headed for
the scene of attack and opened fire on the U-boat. Cargo
ship Ticonderoga was shelled and sunk in the 2-hour
battle with a loss of 213 lives but the remaining ships
of the convoy were brought safely into Ponta Delgada
4 October 1918.
Galveston returned to Norfolk on 20 October 1918 to
resume her coastal convoy escort work until the Armis-
tice. She arrived in Plymouth, England, 26 March 1919 ;
transported a contingent of British- American troops from
Harwich to Murmansk, U.S.S.R. ; then served as flagship
of Squadron 3, Patrol Force, in Western European waters.
She was largely concerned with the movement of prize
crews and repatriation of crews of German ships until
22 June 1919 when she got underway to serve as station
and flagship at Constantinople, Turkey. She arrived on
station 14 July 1919 and broke the flag of Rear Admiral
Mark L. Bristol ; transported refugees and American Red
Cross officials to Constantinople from the Russian ports
of Novorossisk and Theodosia ; and carried Rear Ad-
miral N. A. McCully from Theodosia to Yalta. She was
relieved as station ship at Constantinople on 15 July 1920
by cruiser Chattanooga.
With the initial assignment of hull classification sym-
bols and numbers to U.S. Navy ships in 1920, Galveston
was classified as PG-31. She then returned home by way
of Suez Canal and Mediterranean ports reached Boston
17 September 1920, and became a unit of the Special Serv-
ice Squadron watching over American interests in waters
ranging to the Panama Canal and down the West Coast of
the Central American States to Corinto, Nicaragua. On
8 August 1921 she was reclassified CD-19. She also inter-
mittently patrolled in the Gulf of Mexico with periodic
calls at ports of Florida, Texas, Alabama, and Louisiana.
The end of this service was climaxed by a visit to her
namesake city in Texas, where she arrived from Panama
26 August 1923 to represent the Navy at the American
Legion convention. She then steamed to the Charleston
Navy Yard and decommissioned 30 November 1923.
Galveston was recommissioned 5 February 1924 for
duty with the Special Service Squadron. She based
most of her operations out of Christobal and Balboa,
Panama, in a series of patrols that took her off the coast
of Honduras, Cuba, and Nicaragua. On 27 August 1926
she arrived at Bluefields, Nicaragua, landing a force of
195 men at the request of the American Consul to protect
American interests during a revolutionary uprising.
Thereafter much of her time was spent cruising between
that port and Balboa to cooperate with the State Depart-
ment in the restoration and preservation of order, and to
insure the protection of American lives and property in
Central America.
After a voyage north in the fall of 1929 for overhaul
in the Boston Navy Yard, Galveston revisited her name-
sake 26 to 29 October for the Navy Day celebrations, then
touched Cuba on her way to Haiti, where she embarked
Marines for transport to the Panama Canal. She re-
sumed her watchful cruises between Balboa and Corinto
until 19 May 1930 when she transited the Panama Canal
for a last courtesy visit to Galveston (24-31 May) before
inactivation overhaul in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
She was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 2 September
1930; struck from the Navy List 1 November 1930, and
sold for scrapping 13 September 1933 to the Northern
Metal Co. of Philadelphia Pa.
II
( CL-93 : dp. 14,600; 1. 608'4" ; b. 63'7" ; dr. 25' ; s. over
30 lc. ; cpl. 1,276; a. 6 6", 6 5", 2 Tal. mis. ; cl. Cleveland )
The second Galveston (CL-93) was launched by
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia,
Pa., 22 April 1945 : and sponsored by Mrs. Clark Wallace
Thompson. The cruiser’s construction was suspended
when nearly complete 24 June 1946; and the hull assigned
12
to the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
She was reclassified CLG-93 on 4 February 1956; then
reclassified to CLG-3 on 23 May 1957 ; and commissioned
at Philadelphia 28 May 1958, Captain J. B. Colwell in
command.
The warship departed Philadelphia on 30 June 1958
for builder’s trials out of Norfolk, Va., in the Virginia
Capes area, that included “highly successful” tests of
her new Talos missile and tracking gear. The deadly
Talos supersonic surface-to-air missile weighs nearly 3000
pounds, including a 40,000 horsepower ramjet engine;
with a range of over 65 miles and is designed to destroy
enemy aircraft at high altitudes using either a conven-
tional or atomic warhead. She finished out the year with
operations in the Norfolk area.
Galveston arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 16 Janu-
ary 1959 for training and evaluation operations in waters
of the West Indies. She successfully fired the first Talos
missile ever shot at sea 24 February 1959. Termed by
Admiral Arleigh Burke as “the best antiaircraft missile
in any arsenal in the world,” the Talos sent its payload
off in a trail of bright orange flame. Galveston reported
the shot “hot, straight and normal” as she proudly proved
her capability as one of the most mighty warships of the
modern United States Navy. The cruiser set course for
Norfolk 17 March and a special yard period in the Phila-
delphia Naval Shipyard.
In July 1959 Galveston conducted shakedown and ac-
ceptance trials in the Virginia Capes area, followed by a
refresher training cruise to waters off Cuba and the test-
ing of her radar and communications in war games with
the U.S. Air Force. On 4 January 1960 she departed
Norfolk for a visit to Charleston, S.C., and operations off
the Florida coast, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
She then headed to her namesake city of Galveston, arriv-
ing on 16 February for a Silver Service presentation.
Returning to Norfolk, the cruiser unloaded her ammuni-
tion for shock tests off the Bahamas, then entered the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 25 March 1960 for a
yard period that extended into the fall. During this time
the cruiser entertained more than 30,000 visitors. She
headed for the Virginia Capes 24 October 1960, success-
fully completing her first missile transfer at sea.
On 6 January 1961 Galveston departed Norfolk for
more Bureau of Naval Weapons technical evaluation of
her Talos missile systems, including tests of the IV Talos,
its capabilities and potentials, in areas off Jacksonville,
Fla., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. These evalua-
tions completed 1 March, she departed San Juan for
refresher training and her final acceptance trial out of
Guantanamo Bay. The cruiser returned to Norfolk on
9 April, but soon steamed to Jacksonville, Fla., where
on 8 May she began duty under the Operational Technical
Evaluation Force that included extensive testing of her
missile system and many Talos firings. The effectiveness
of the system and the weapon were demonstrated by a
new, long-range record as well as a successful two-missile
salvo shot. The Talos missile cruiser entertained over
17,000 visitors at Cape Canaveral on the Armed Forces
weekend celebration in May ; completed later phases of
her evaluation exercises in the Caribbean through 21
July; then visited Bayonne, N.J., where her missile fire-
control radars were removed preparatory to overhaul in
the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (30 August 1961-23 July
1962). This overhaul included modifications to the fire
control system of the Talos missile.
Galveston departed Philadelphia on 23 July 1962, tran-
sited the Panama Canal for San Diego, Calif. ; and joined
Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 9, U.S. Pacific Fleet, on 24
August 1962. She operated along the West Coast until
October 1963 when she sailed for the Western Pacific as
flagship of the flotilla. During the next 6 months she
operated in the Far East with the 7th Fleet off Japan,
Taiwan, and Okinawa. She returned to San Diego 16
April 1964 and resumed West Coast training.
USS Galveston ( OL-93) going down the ways 22 April 1945
13
Following a 4-month overhaul from October 1964 to
February 1965, Galveston departed San Diego 4 June for
operations off the coast of South Vietnam. She touched
at Subic Bay, Philippines, 21 June, then sailed to join
the 7th Fleet in the South China Sea. During the next
5 months she ranged the Southeast Asian waters from the
Oulf of Thailand to the Gulf of Tonkin while supporting
the American effort to repel Communit aggression in
South Vietnam. She provided gunfire support during
search-and-clear operations at Chu Lai and at the Vun
Tuong Peninsula. In addition she provided air defense
for 7th Fleet carriers in the South China Sea and con-
ducted search and rescue operations in the Gulf of Ton-
kin. She departed the Philippines 2 December and arrived
San Diego 18 December.
Resuming operations early in January 1966, Galveston
operated out of San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands and
along the California coast while keeping her crew and
equipment in a peak state of readiness. From 31 July to
4 November she underwent modernization overhaul, then
she resumed training for the remainder of 1966. Early
in 1967 she departed San Diego for the East Coast, and at
present she is assigned to the Atlantic Fleet for duty in the
Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Gamage
A merchant name retained.
I
(SwStr : t. 187; 1. 148'6" ; b. 30'3" ; dph. 4'6" ; a. 2
20-pdrs., 1 12-pdr.)
Gamage was built as merchant steamer Willie Gamage
in 1864 at Cincinnati, Ohio; purchased there 22 December
1864 ; and converted into a gunboat by Joseph Brown of
Cincinnati. She was commissioned at Mound City, 111., 23
March 1865, Acting Master William Neil in command.
Assigned to the 5th Division of the Mississippi Squad-
ron, Gamage departed Mound City 30 March 1865 and
arrived Natchez, Miss., 2 April where she remained alert
to intercept Confederate President Jefferson Davis, his
cabinet and other Confederate leaders should they at-
tempt to cross the Mississippi River. The President of the
Confederacy and members of his staff were captured 10
May at Irwinville, Ga.
On 1 June Gamage entered the mouth of Red River to
form with a joint expedition up that river to receive sur-
rendered Confederate ships and men. The Union naval
force of eight steamers under command of Lt. Comdr.
W. E. Fitzhugh was accompanied by Army steamer Ida
May, carrying Major General F. J. Herron and his staff.
Arriving Alexandria, La., 2 June, Commander Fitzhugh
took possession of Confederate ironclad Missouri and pro-
ceeded up river to Shreveport, La., in Gamage. There
he seized the steamer Cotton and supplies at the Navy
storehouse and on the 8th departed for the mouth of the
river. At the request of General Herron, Gamage re-
mained at Alexandria, La., to assist the Army as needed
until 27 June when she departed for Natchez, Miss.,
arriving 7 July.
Gamage reached Mound City from Natchez 22 July.
She decommissioned on the 29th and was sold at public
auction 17 August 1865 to J. R. Griffith for $11,000. She
was redocumented as merchant steamer Southern Belle
4 October 1865 and burned 11 October 1876 at Pla-
quemine, La.
Gamage (IX-227) was launched as William B. Allison
under Martime Commission contract by California Ship
Building Corp., Los Angeles, Calif. 8 March 1943. She
was acquired by the Navy and renamed Gamage 30 July
1945 for use as floating storage for lubricants and
drummed petroleum products at Ulithi. She was placed
out of service 8 February 1946 and returned to WSA 5
April. She was sold to China Merchants & Engineers,
Inc. 19 February 1948.
Gambier Bay
A bay in the coast of Alaska.
(CVE-73 : dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3" ; b. 65'; t 108'1" ; dr.
22'6” ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860 ; a. 1 5", 16 40mm. ; cl. Casablanca)
Gambier Bay, originally classified AVG-73, was reclass-
ified ACV-73 on 20 August 1942 and again reclassified
OVE-73 on 15 July 1943 ; launched under a Maritime Com-
mission Contract by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Van-
couver, Wash., 22 November 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. H. C.
Zitzewitz of Oswego, Oreg. ; and commissioned at Astoria,
Oreg., 28 December 1943, Captain Hugh H. Goodwin in
command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, the escort carrier
sailed 7 February 1944 with 400 troops embarked for
Pearl Harbor, theuce to rendezvous off the Marshalls
where she flew 84 replacement planes to famed carrier
Enterprise (CV-6). She returned to San Diego via Pearl
Harbor, ferrying aircraft for repairs and qualified carrier
pilots off the coast of Southern California. She departed
1 May to join Rear Admiral H. B. Sallada’s Carrier Sup-
port Group 2 ( TG 52.11 ) , staging in the Marshalls for the
invasion of the Marianas.
Gambier Bay gave close air support to the initial land-
ings of Marines on Saipan 15 June 1944, destroying enemy
gun emplacements, troops, tanks, and trucks. On the 17th
her combat air patrol shot down or turned back all but a
handful of 47 enemy planes headed for her task group and
her gunners shot down 2 of the 3 planes that did break
through to attack her.
The following day, warning of another air attack
sounded. As her fighters prepared to take off, they found
intense antiaircraft fire of the entire task group covering
their flight path. Nevertheless, in a harrowing feat
termed by Captain Goodwin as “another shining example
of the adaptability and courage of the young men of our
country,” eight pilots of Composite Squadron 10 did take
off to help repulse the aerial onslaught.
Gambier Bay remained off Saipan, repulsing aerial raids
and launching planes which strafed enemy troop concentra-
tions, bombed gun emplacements, and supported marines
and soldiers fighting ashore. Meanwhile, American car-
riers slashed the carrier air strength of the combined
Japanese Mobile Fleet and turned it back in defeat in the
Battle of the Philippine Sea. Gambier Bay continued
close ground support operations at Tinian (19-31 July),
then turned her attention to Guam, where she gave identi-
cal aid to invading troops until 11 August.
After a respite for logistics in the Marshalls, Gambier
Bay spent 15 to 28 September supporting the amphibious
attack which drove ashore and captured Peleliu and An-
gaur, Southern Palaus. She then steamed by way of
Hollandia, New Guinea, to Manus, Admiralties, where
the invasion of the Philippines was staged. Screened by
four destroyer escorts, Gambier Bay and Kitkun Bay
(CVE-71) escorted transports and amphibious landing
ships safely to Leyte Gulf before joining Rear Admiral
Clifton A. F. Sprague’s escort carrier task unit 19 Sep-
tember off Leyte.
The task unit comprised six escort carriers, screened by
three destroyers and four destroyer escorts, and was
known by its voice radio call as “Taffy 3.” Under the
command of Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague, eighteen
escort carriers, divided into three “Taffy” units, main-
tained air supremacy over Leyte Gulf and eastern Leyte.
During the invasion their planes destroyed enemy airfields,
supply convoys, and troop concentrations; gave troops
driving inland vital close air support; and maintained
combat air patrol over ships in Leyte Gulf. While “Taffy
1” and “Taffy 2” were respectively stationed off northern
Mindanao and off the entrance to Leyte Gulf, “Taffy 3”
steamed off Samar.
Meanwhile, the Japanese threw their entire fleet against
American naval power in a desperate gamble to destroy
u
the large concentration of American shipping in Leyte
Gulf. Powerful enemy forces, comprised of carriers,
battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, converged on the
Philippines in a three pronged attack to the south, center,
and north. The Japanese Southern Force met disaster
before dawn 25 October as it tried to drive through Surigao
Strait to join the Center Force off Leyte Gulf. While
steaming through the Sibuyan Sea enroute to San Ber-
nardino Strait, the Center Force was hit hard on the 24th
by hundreds of planes from Admiral Halsey’s fast attack
carriers. After the Battle of Sibuyan Sea, Admiral Hal-
sey no longer considered the Center Force a serious
menace, and he sent the carriers north to intercept decoy
carriers of the Japanese Northern Force off Cape Engano.
These swift moving events left the escort carriers of
“Taffy 3” as lone sentinels off Samar, and unaware of the
nighttime movement of the Center Force. However,
shortly after sunrise 25 October, a gap in the morning mist
disclosed the pagoda-like masts of enemy battleships and
cruisers on the northern horizon. The still dangerous
enemy force of more than 20 ships had slipped undetected
through San Bernardino Strait and down the fog-shrouded
coast of Samar, bound for Leyte Gulf.
Despite the probable outcome of an engagement between
two so unequal surface forces, the presence of enemy
ships in Leyte Gulf was unthinkable ; and “Taffy 3”
turned to do battle against the enemy. Immediately, an
urgent call for help went out from “Taffy 3” as the escort
carriers steamed eastward and launched planes that
performed seemingly impossible feats : scoring hits with
torpedoes, bombs, and strafing until their ammunition
ran out, then making dummy runs to break the enemy
formation and delay its advance. Smoke was laid down
to cover their running fight as the gallant destroyers
docked in and out of the mist and smoke to charge battle-
ship, cruiser, and destroyer formations point-blank until
ordered back to cover the escore carriers with more smoke.
The lone 5-inch gun of GamMer Bay spat out at an enemy
cruiser that was shelling her ; and destroyer Heerman
(DD-532) made an unsuccessful effort under the com-
bined lire of the heavy enemy ships to save GamMer Bay.
GamMer Bay was soon dead in the water as three
cruisers closed to point blank range. Fires raged through
the riddled escort carrier. She capsized and sank at 0907,
25 October 1944 with the majority of her nearly 800 sur-
vivors rescued by landing and patrol craft dispatched
from Leyte Gulf. Three other ships, gallantly fighting
to the end, went down: Hoel (DD-533) ; Samuel B.
Roberts (DE^113) ; and Johnston (DD-557). The latter
used only her 5-inch guns in a dummy torpedo run that
thwarted the torpedo attack of an entire Japanese
Destroyer Squadron lead by a cruiser.
Aircraft from “Taffy 2” joined in the epic battle off
Samar. The events that followed are best described in
Admiral Sprague’s own w'ords : “At 0925 my mind was
occupied with dodging torpedoes when near the bridge
I heard one’ of the signalmen yell ‘They’re getting away!’
I could hardly believe my eyes, but it looked as if the
whole Japanese fleet was indeed retiring. However, it
took a whole series of reports from circling planes to
convince me. And still I could not get the fact to soak
into my battle-numbed brain. At best, I had expected
to be swimming by this time.”
GamMer Bay and other ships of “Taffy 3,” aided by
planes of “Taffy 2,” had stopped the powerful Japanese
Center Force and inflicted a great loss. Two enemy
cruisers were sunk and much damage inflicted on the other
ships of this overwhelmingly powerful surface fleet,
turned back in the last analysis by the indomitable spirit
of the men of the escort carriers and their screen of
destroyers and destroyer-escorts.
GamMer Bay received four battle stars for service in
World War II and shared in the award of the Presidential
Unit Citation to “Taffy 3” for extraordinary heroism in
the battle off Samar.
Gamble
Named jointly in honor of two brothers, heroes of the
War of 1812.
Lt. Peter Gamble, was born in Bordentown, N.J. ; ap-
pointed midshipman 16 January 1809; served on Mac-
donough’s flagship Saratoga in the Battle of Lake Cham-
plain, being killed in action while in the act of sighting
his gun 11 September 1814. Macdonough deplored his
loss and commended his gallantry in action.
Lt. Col. John M. Gamble, USMC, was born in Brooklyn,
N.Y., in 1791 ; appointed 2d Lt. 16 January 1809 ; and distin-
guished himself by coolness and bravery in many enter-
prises, including critical encounters with hostile natives
of the Marquesa Islands during the absence of frigate
Essex in 1813, and sailing a prize of Essex, with only a
four-man crew and without benefit of a chart in a remark-
able 17-day voyage to the Hawaiian Islands. He was
breveted a Lt. Col. 3 March 1827 and died in New York
11 September 1836.
( DD-123 : dp. 1090; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 8'8" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 113; a. 4 4", 2 3", 2 .30 cal. mg., 12 21" tt., 1 dep, 2
dcp. )
GamMe (DD-123) was launched 11 May 1918 by the
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport
News, Va. ; sponsored by Miss Evelyn H. Jackson, rela-
tive of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ; and com-
missioned at Norfolk 29 November 1918, Comdr. H. J.
Abbett in command.
After shakedown training out of the Virginia Capes,
GamMe sailed from New York 13 January 1919 to take
part in maneuvers off Cuba ; Key West, Fla. ; and the
New England seaboard until June 1919. Following over-
haul at Norfolk, she joined the Pacific Fleet at San Diego
7 August 1919 and operated along the Pacific coast until
placed in reserve status in the Mare Island Navy Yard
1 December 1919. In October 1920, she came out of re-
serve and assisted the flotilla in torpedo practice ; ma-
neuvered with the Battle Force ; and cruised along the
California coast as a training ship for reservists. She
decommissioned at San Diego 17 June 1922.
GamMe recommissioned 24 May 1930 ; was reclassified
(DM-15) on 13 June, and converted into a light minelayer
in the Mare Island Navy Yard. Arriving Pearl Harbor
from the West Coast, she became flagship of Mine Squad-
ron 2 in July 1930 and later served as flagship of Mine
Division 1, Mine Squadron 1. She cruised Hawaiian wa-
ters instructing Naval Reservists in mine warfare and
acted as plane guard and radio tracker for seaplanes, each
year participating in fleet readiness and fleet problems
until she returned to San Diego where she decommis-
sioned 22 December 1937. Recommissioning 25 Septem-
ber 1939 as Europe was plunged into World War II, she
joined Mine Division 5 in patrol and schoolship duties
out of San Francisco. In April 1041 she proceeded to
Pearl Harbor for war readiness patrol in Hawaiian wraters
as a unit of Mine Division 2.
On 7 December 1941, GamMe had returned from off-
shore patrol, when her peaceful Sunday morning routine
was broken by the first of the Japanese carrier-based planes
which pounded American ships in the harbor. GamMe's
gunners joined the fire of other warships and had the
satisfaction of seeing one enemy plane fall into the water
on her port beam. After the attack she took antisub-
marine partol station in the screen of the carrier Enter-
prise (CV-6), and later guarded the approaches to Pearl
Harbor. In mid-February 1942 she headed south in the
escort for a convoy to Pago Pago, Samoa ; then joined
Ramsey in laying a protective mine field off Tutuila. At
the end of March the two minelayers shifted to the Fiji
Islands, to lay a minefield in Nandi waters 7-14 April.
Returning to Pearl Harbor for heavier armament, GamMe
helped safeguard convoys to Midway during the time of
that crucial and historic battle, then headed south with
Breese and Tracy to lay a defensive mine field off the
15
entrance to Second Channel, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides
Islands.
On 27 August 1942 Gamble joined a task unit headed to
Guadalcanal. Although designated a destroyer-minelayer,
the old four-piper still carried antisubmarine gear. On
the morning of 29 August, when her lookouts spotted a
large enemy submarine, she immediately went into action.
After several depth charge attacks, Gamble ran through
large oil slicks, found deck planking, and observed a large
air bubble break the surface. Later her victim was iden-
tified as Japanese submarine 1-123, whose dying radio had
signaled “under heavy enemy attack.” That afternoon
she proceeded at full speed to Nura Island where she
rescued four stranded aviators from aircraft carrier
Saratoga. Continuing to aid in the bitter struggle for
Guadalcanal, she transported 158 marines to the island
31 August, patrolled off Lunga Roads, then on 5 Sep-
tember assisted in freeing grounded transport William
Ward Burrows (AP-6) and escorted her to Espiritu
Santo, New Hebrides Islands. Her patrol, escort, and
transport duty continued as the drive for Guadalcanal
pressed on to victory.
Five minutes after midnight, 6 May 1943, Gamble, with
minelayers Preble and Breese turned simultaneously in
rain squalls which broke at times to disclose each to the
other in perfect formation. Making 15 knots, each ship
dropped a mine every 12 seconds, planting over 250 mines
in 17 minutes across Blackett Strait, the western entrance
to Kula Gulf and directly in the favorite route of the
worrisome “Tokyo Express.” The ships then sped north
to join the protective screen of Rear Admiral Ainsworth’s
cruiser-destroyer force before refueling at Tulagi. On the
night of 7-8 May, four Japanese destroyers entered the
mined waters. One, Kurashio, went down, two others,
Oyashio and Kagero, were badly damaged and sent out
calls for help that brought the fourth destroyer Michishio
to the scene. Aircraft, alerted by a coastwatcher, inter-
cepted the rescue operation, sinking the two destroyers and
sending Michishio limping back to port, badly damaged.
On 30 June 1943, during the invasion of New Georgia,
Gamble laid a string of mines off the beachhead, before
returning to Tulagi. In July welcome orders sent her
back to the United States for overhaul. She headed
west again 20 September 1943. Her minelaying duties
then brought her to Empress Augusta Bay 1-2 November
1943 to support landing operations ; Bougainville Strait,
7-8 November ; Purvis Bay, Florida Island, 23-24 Novem-
ber, thence to the New Hebrides Islands for escort duty
among the Solomons until she returned to San Francisco
12 October 1944.
After overhaul and refresher training, Gamble departed
San Diego 7 January 1945, en route via Hawaii and the
Marshalls to Iwo Jima where she arrived 17 February,
to lend fire support to the various sweeping units, and to
explode floating mines. During her shelling a direct hit
on an ammunition dump exploded the enemy magazine
like a giant firecracker at the foot of Mt. Surabachi.
On 18 February 1945 Gamble was hit just above the
waterline by two 250-pound bombs. Both firerooms imme-
diately flooded and she became dead in the. water with two
holes in her bottom as all hands fought raging fires,
jettisoned topside weight and shored damaged bulkheads.
Five men were killed, one missing in action, and eight
wounded. As marines stormed the shores of Iwo Jima
the next day, Gamble was taken in tow by Dorsey who
turned her over to LSM-126 for passage to Saipan. She
arrived at Saipan 24 February and went alongside
Hamul for repair.
Some hope remained for Gamble for a long time, but
on 1 June 1945 she decommissioned, and on 16 July she
was towed outside Apra Harbor, Guam, and sunk.
Gamble received seven battle stars for service in World
War II.
Game Cock, see Vesuvius (AE-15)
Gamma
The third letter in the Greek alphabet.
(ScStr : t. 36; 1. 65'; b. 14'; dph. 6'; s. 12 k. ; a. (Nov.
1864) 8 r., 1 torp.)
Gamma was built in 1863 as steamer R. F. Loper at
Philadelphia, Pa. ; purchased there 3 June 1864 ; renamed
Gamma, but was also called Tug Number 3 and Picket
Boat Number 3.
Gamma was assigned as a picket boat in the James
River, Ens. Henry F. Curtis in command. She arrived
at New Bern, N.C., from the James River 3 April 1865.
Placed at the disposal of General W. T. Sherman’s
quartermaster, she served in the sounds of North Caro-
lina until close of the Civil War. She was sold by
public auction at New York 25 October 1865 to D. Trundy.
Redocumented as merchant steamer Peter Smith 13 De-
cern 1865, she burned at New York 9 May 1893.
Gammon, Sgt. Archer T ., see Sgt. Archer T. Gammon
( AK-243 )
Ganadoga
Former Iroquois villages of the Oneida Tribe in upper
state New York and on the Canadian shore of Lake
Ontario.
( YTB-390 : dp. 237 ; 1. 100' ; b. 26' ; dr. 9'7'' s. 12 k. ; cpl.
10 ; a. 2 .50 cal. mg. ; cl. Sassaba
Ganadoga, originally designated YT-390, was reclassi-
fied YTB-390 on 15 May 1944 ; laid down 2 August 1944
by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights,
N.Y. ; launched 9 September 1944 ; and placed in service
15 December 1944.
Ganadoga was assigned to 5th Naval District, Norfolk,
and performed miscellaneous harbor operations for the
next 18 years. She was reclassified YTM-390 on 1
February 1962, and in December of that year she was
transferred to the 6th Naval District at Charleston, S. C.
At present Ganadoga is still active in the 6th Naval
District.
Gandy
Seaman Second Class Andrew Jackson Gandy was bom
20 October 1924 in Chattanooga, Tenn. ; enlisted 21 Feb-
ruary 1942; and gallantly gave his life on board cruiser
San Francisco in a heroic gunnery action against Japanese
torpedo planes during the Battle of Guadalcanal, 12-13
November 1942. He was posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross.
(DE-764 : dp. 1240; 1. 306'; b. 36'8'' ; dr. 8'9" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3'', 2 40 mm. 8 20 mm., 3 tt., 2 dct, 8 dep,
2 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Camion)
Gandy was launched 12 December 1943 by the Tampa
Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Fla. ; sponsored by Miss Ruby
Gandy, sister of Seaman Gandy ; and commissioned at
Tampa 7 February 1944, Lt. Comdr W. A. Sessions in
command.
Gandy, following shakedown training in Bermuda
waters, joined Escort Division 22 at New York. After
escorting Yukon (AF-9) to Norfolk, she departed New
York 15 April 1944 as part of the escort for fast tanker
convoy CU-21 bound for Northern Ireland. The second
day of the voyage at 0806, 16 April, German submarine
TJ-550 torpedoed and sank tanker Pan Pennsylvania.
During recovery of survivors by Joy, Gandy and Peter-
son at 0950, Joyce made sound contact with the U-boat
and delivered a depth charge attack. When TJ-550 sur-
faced about 600 yards on Gandy's starboard bow, Comdr.
Sessions ordered “Right full rudder, come to 320, open
fire and stand by to ram.”
16
Gandy headed for the submarine’s conning tower but
the U-boat’s deft maneuvers caused the escort destroyer
to hit it 30 feet from the stern. Gandy hauled clear,
silenced the submarine’s machine gun battery with a
short burst of gunfire, then observed the Germans aban-
doning ship. Joyce recovered twelve survivors as Gandy,
with nearly four feet of her bow strake gone and several
plates buckled, assessed her damage. U-550 was shaken
by a muffled explosion and sank. Four of Gandy’s men
were injured in the fight.
Gandy continued with the convoy which reached Lisa-
hally, Northern Ireland, 26 April 1944. She returned to
New York 12 May and helped escort nine more convoys
safely out of New York to Lisahally and Liverpool by
24 May 1945 when she returned from the last of these
voyages. After repairs in the New York Naval Shipyard,
she sailed 8 June for brief training in Cuban waters be-
fore proceeding to Hawaii. She departed Pearl Harbor
6 August 1945 en route to the Philippines via the Mar-
shalls and the Carolines, then sailed from Leyte on the
24th in the escort of an occupation force convoy which
entered Tokyo Bay 1 September. Following the formal
signing of the surrender of Japan, the next day she
escorted a convoy from Okinawa to Yokohama, Japan,
and then departed 16 November to serve the Philippine
Sea Frontier on weather patrol between Manila, Samar,
and Manicani.
Gandy departed Samar 1 February 1946 and reached
Norfolk, via Hawaii, San Pedro, and the Panama Canal,
26 March 1946. She decommissioned at Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 17 June 1946. She was in reserve status
until 10 January 1951 when she was transferred to Italy
under the Military Assistance Program. She serves the
Italian Navy under the name of Altair.
Gandy received one battle star for service in World
War II.
Ganges
The principal river of India, flowing into the Bay of
Bengal. A merchant name retained.
(Ship: t. 504; 1. 116'4" ; b. 31'4" ; dph. 15'8" ; cpl. 220;
a. 26 9-pdrs.)
Originally a fast sailing merchantman, Ganges was
built in Philadelphia in 1794 for the West Indies trade;
purchased at Philadelphia 3 May 1798 when hostilities
with France became imminent; and hastily fitted out to
become the first man-of-war to fit out and get to sea
under the second organization of the Navy.
Ganges sailed from Philadelphia 24 May 1798 under
Captain Richard Dale, directed to “seize, take and bring
into a port of the United States” French armed ships
“committing depredations” within one marine league of
the coast between the Capes of Virginia and Long Island.
On 13 July further orders authorized her to take any
French armed ship wherever found, but she continued
patrol between Cape Henry and Long Island for the
protection of the large seaport cities. On 30 July
Ganges was directed to return to Philadelphia for re-
fitting, but put into New York instead because of fever
and plague at the former city.
In mid-September 1798 Captain Thomas Tingey relieved
Captain Dale and on 7 December his ship was ordered
to the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola
to join the squadron protecting the Jamaican trade.
Cruising in these waters with General Pinkney and South
Carolina, she guarded American merchantmen from pira-
tical seizure by armed ships of France and “all armed
vessels acting without commission.”
On 6 January 1799 off the Island of Tortuga, Ganges fell
in with the sloop Ceres, off her course for no apparent
reason and suspected of heading for illegal trade at Cap
Frangois. The captain was detained, questioned, and re-
ported to intelligence. The incident occasioned the fol-
lowing passage from Tingey’s letter of concern to Ben-
jamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Navy : “There is one
kind of business carried on here at present, which I con-
ceive behoves us much to suppress. Many American
vessels are said to have arrived here, with provisions,
etc., in a day or two their papers are chang’d by a pre-
tended sale, and they go off for French ports — in some
instances, without shifting or discharging their cargoes —
return here with French produce, assume their American
papers, and clear from this for home. I shall endeavor
to ascertain and identify some of the actors in this nefari-
ous business and give you information.”
On 21 February officers of the 44-gun English frigate
Surprise boarded Ganges off Cape Nichola Mole, Hispani-
ola, and demanded all Englishmen aboard. Tingey
firmly replied : “A public ship carries no protection but
her flag. I do not expect to succeed in a contest with
you ; but I will die at my quarters before a man shall
be taken from the ship:” The crew gave three cheers,
ran to quarters, and called for “Yankee Doodle” ; Sur-
prise departed.
Having returned home for repairs in March, Ganges
was ordered to convoy Kingston, carrying American Con-
sul General Dr. Stevens, to talk with Toussaint in Haiti.
She then cruised the Caribbean from Havana to Puerto
Rico, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Bartholomews, Santo
Domingo, Barbuda, and Jamaica.
On 16 June Ganges, with Norfolk, captured French
privateer Vainquere (formerly British Harlequin) off
Saint Bartholomews. Eighty-five men were taken
prisoners and the prize sent to Norfolk under Captain
Pitcher. In July she captured the small Eliza; on
5 August La Rahateuse, a French “letter of marque” laden
with sugar and cotton ; and on 16 August retook American
schooner John from the French.
The hurricane season approached and it was thought
Ganges should return to the United States, but Tingey
proudly reported his ship could withstand the Caribbean
storms : “No ship in the service . . . will be found better
able to sustain this violence than the Ganges — nor a crew
that can, with more alacrity, bring a ship to a state of
preparation to bear heavy weather. . . . Believe me Sir,
that she has outsailed every ship and vessel of the United
States.”
On 20 August Ganges captured a small French letter of
marque off St. Thomas. She later captured L’Eugene
with 28 men and on 2 October recaptured American
schooner Laurel, called L'Esperance by the French.
Ganges returned to Philadelphia in the fall and Captain
Tingey was relieved by Captain John Mullowny on 16
November. That December she sailed for the West
Indies, again convoying American merchantmen until May
1800 when she returned to the States.
On 25 May 1800 Captain Mullowny received orders to
proceed to Havana, and Ganges shortly departed Phila-
delphia for another eventful cruise. On 19 July she cap-
tured schooner Prudent; on the 20th recaptured American
brigantine Dispatch; and the 21st, the third successful
day in a row, took schooner Phoehe. On 28 July Ganges
captured French privateer La Fortune. In September,
her crew ridden with fever, she returned to the United
States.
Sailing again 31 January 1801, Ganges proceeded with
a convoy for Havana. En route she was severely dam-
aged by a storm and put into Basseterre Roads, St.
Christopher. Here, Commodore John Barry surveyed the
ship on 2 March and found her “unfit for sea.” Being
unable to continue her voyage, Ganges remained on the
Guadeloupe station until May, then proceeded north with
a convoy which reached Philadelphia early in June. On
10 June 1801, under provision of the Peace Establish-
ment Act, the Navy agent at Philadelphia was ordered
to prepare Ganges for sale. She was sold prior to Decem-
ber 8 for $21,000.
Gannet
A large, white, web-footed sea bird.
17
I
(AM-41: dp. 950; 1. 187'10" ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 9'10" ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 72; a. 2 mg.)
The first Gannet was laid down 1 October 1918 by the
Todd Shipyard Corp., N.Y. ; launched 19 March 1919 ;
sponsored by Miss Edna Mae Fry ; and commissioned at
the New York Navy Yard 10 July 1919, Lt. J. E. Arm-
strong in command.
Gannet departed New York 11 August 1919 and reached
San Diego, Calif., 2 November after training out of Guan-
tanamo Bay, Cuba. A unit of the Train, Pacific Fleet,
she based at San Diego and was subsequently assigned to
Aircraft Squadron, Battle Fleet, and later to Base Force,
U.S. Fleet. Serving primarily as a tender to aircraft
squadrons, she also performed towing, transport, and
passenger service along the western seaboard, and made
periodic cruises as tender to aircraft units participating
in Army-Navy exercises, fleet problems, and maneuvers
off Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and in the Caribbean Sea.
She spent the summer months of 1926, 1929, and 1932-35
as tender to aerial survey expeditions to Alaska and the
Aleutian Islands. On 30 April 1931 Gannet was desig-
nated a minesweeper for duty with aircraft. She was
reclassified AVP-8, 22 January 1936.
Gannet departed San Diego 18 August 1937 and based
at Coco Solo, Panama, as tender for aircraft squadrons
of the Scouting Force until 1 June 1939. Arriving Nor-
folk 9 June, she then became tender to Patrol Wing 5,
Aircraft Scouting Force. In a series of cruises from
Norfolk, she tended Navy patrol planes based at Key
West, Bermuda, Santa Lucia, and Trinidad ; then steamed
north 22 September 1941 to establish an advance seaplane
base at Kungnait Bay, Greenland (6-23 October). She
served on plane guard station in the Davis Strait for
an Ieeland-Argentia ferry flight before returning to Nor-
folk 11 November.
Gannet was tending patrol planes at Hamilton, Ber-
muda, when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. She
returned to Norfolk 12 December and sailed 21 January
1942 for Bermuda to serve as tender to Patrol Squadron
74, which provided air patrol and coverage in approaches
to that base. Gannet also was communication center for
all aircraft operations in that area.
Departing Bermuda 2 June, Gannet joined British ship
HMS Sumar the next day in an unsuccessful search for
the torpedoed merchantman Westmoreland. Ordered
back to base the afternoon of 6 June, the two warships
became separated during the night. Before dawn 7 June,
northwest of Bermuda, Gannet was hit by submarine
torpedoes. She went down so rapidly that her decks were
awash within 4 minutes, and she carried 14 of her crew
down with her. Her commanding officer, Lt. Francis E.
Nuessle, fought free of the suction, joined other survivors,
and ordered the life rafts tied together in the heavy seas
with wounded hoisted on board and the uninjured hang-
ing on the sides. Twenty-two men were rescued by two
planes of Patrol Squadron 74 which made the daring land-
ing in heavy seas. Hamilton (DMS-18), led to the scene
by one of the same planes, rescued 40 others.
II
(MSC-290: dp. 378 ; 1. 145'5" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 37 ; a. 2 20mm. ; cl. M SC-280
The second Gannet was laid down 1 May 1959 by the
Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Wash. ; launched
2 May 1960; sponsored by Mrs. Frank P. Luongo, Jr.;
and commissioned in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 14
July 1961, Lt. E. L. Gaylor in command.
After shakedown, Gannet departed Puget Sound 4 Aug-
ust and arrived Long Beach, Calif., 9 August. As a unit
of Mine Division 92, she operated off southern California
and conducted exercises in mine countermeasures. Dur-
ing the first 2 weeks in June 1962 she participated in Joint
Task Force 8 nuclear tests off the California coast. Local
operations out of Long Beach continued until 2 July when
she departed for Japan via Pearl Harbor, Midway, and
Guam, arriving Sasebo 13 August.
After type training off the Japanese coast with Mine
Division 32, she departed Sasebo 1 October for Chinhae,
Korea, where she joined in mine force exercises with units
of the Republic of Korea Navy. After returning to
Sasebo 7 October, she steamed to Okinawa, Hong Kong,
and Taiwan before returning to Japan early in November
for additional type training that included schoolship ser-
vice out of Yokosuka.
During the next 2 years- Gannet continued operations
out of Sasebo. Mine warfare exercises and training in
mine countermeasures sent her to Korea, Okinawa, Tai-
wan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. During July and
August 1964 she performed special mine countermeasure
operations in the South China Sea while supporting U.S.
naval operations along the coast of Vietnam. She return-
ed to the South China Sea in February 1965 ; participated
in a joint amphibious exercise with ships of the Thailand
Navy ; then steamed to the Vietnamese coast in mid-April
to resume special duty.
Gannet returned to Sasebo 24 May and for more than 6
months operated along the coast of Japan. Early in
December she returned to the coast of Vietnam, where
she joined Operation “Market Time” as a coastal surveil-
18
USS Gannet (AVP-8) at John Glacier, near Juneau, Alaska, in 1936
lance patrol ship. During her patrols she inspected
hundreds of Vietnamese fishing boats in an effort to con-
trol the infiltration of Viet Cong troops and supplies. In
addition, she provided treatment for South Vietna-
mese fishermen requiring medical aid. She departed
Vietnam 14 January 1966 and returned to Sasebo the
29th.
She served along the Japanese coast until 10 April when
she again sailed for South Vietnam, arriving 10 days later
to resume “Market Time” patrols. During the remainder
of the year Gannet made three patrol and surveillance
deployments along the Vietnamese coast. In addition
she participated in SEATO minesweeping exercises in the
Gulf of Thailand. At present she remains assigned to the
Pacific Fleet and, operating out of Sasebo, continues to
support the forces of freedom against Communist aggres-
sion in Southeast Asia .
Gansevoort
Commodore Guert Gansevoort, born in Gansevoort,
N.Y., 7 June 1812, was appointed a Midshipman in the
Navy 4 March 1823. Subsequently he served in the Medi-
terranean on board Constitution, North Carolina, and
Ohio; took part in attacks on Tuxpan and Tabasco during
the Mexican War; landed seamen and marines from
Decatur to defend Seattle, Washington Territory from
hostile Indians in January 1856 ; was in charge of ord-
nance at the New York Yard 1861-63 helping fit out ships
which had been acquired for blockade duty ; and com-
manded ironclad Roanoke in the last year of the Civil
War. He retired 28 January 1867 and died 15 July 1868
at Schenectady, N.Y.
(DD-608 : dp. 1,620; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'4" ; s.
37.5 k. ; cpl. 276; a. 4 5", 6 20mm., 5 21" tt., 6 dcp. ; cl.
Benson )
Gansevoort was laid down 16 June 1941 by the Bethle-
hem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif. ; launched 11 April
1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Robert C. Sofio, wife of a great-
grandnephew of Commodore Gansevoort ; and commis-
sioned at San Francisco 25 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. E. A.
McFall in command.
After shakedown, Gansevoort departed San Francisco
18 November 1942 in the screen of a convoy bound via
Hawaii to Noumea, New Caledonia, where she arrived 9
December. Assigned to the South Pacific forces, she spent
the next three months giving convoy protection to troop
and supply ships reinforcing Guadalcanal from New Cale-
donia ; the New Hebrides ; Wellington and Auckland, New
Zealand.
This duty terminated 18 March 1943 when Gansevoort
departed Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, to become a unit
of Rear Admiral Charles H. McMorris’ Northern Covering
Group of cruisers and destroyers in the approaches to
Attu, Aleutian Islands. She took part in the preinvasion
bombardment of Attu 26 April ; made several depth charge
attacks on a Japanese submarine in that area 14 May
for unconfirmed results ; screened convoys on the northern
and southern approaches around the Aleutian chain ; and
twice participated in the bombardment of Kiska (2 and 12
August).
She departed Kulka Bay 24 August for repairs in the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard until 28 September, then
steamed via Hawaii with Destroyer Division 27 to Well-
ington, New Zealand. Here, Gansevoort became a unit
of Rear Admiral Hill’s Southern Attack Force which
carried Major General Julian C. Smith’s 2d Marine Divi-
sion to Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands.
Gansevoort provided continuous gunfire support to
marines during the initial landings on Tarawa 20 Novem-
ber, closing the beach to blast enemy strongpoints with
point jblank fire. On 24 November she sped to support
Marine forces occupying Apamama Atoll. After embark-
ing Marine wounded, she opened an accurate bombard-
ment that destroyed the entire Japanese garrison on that
atoll. She conducted antisubmarine patrol around Tara-
wa until 4 December, then proceeded via Hawaii to San
Francisco where both her high pressure turbines were
replaced.
Gansevoort departed San Francisco 13 March 1944 to
join the screen of a convoy bound from Hawaii to Majuro
Atoll in the Marshalls where she arrived 1 April. During
several months of blockade and antisubmarine patrol in
waters off the bypassed enemy garrisons in the eastern
Marshalls, she rescued several marine aviators. Once
she closed to within 500 yards of a beach to shell shore
batteries while her whaleboat picked up an aviator. She
also helped reduce enemy coastal defenses by assisting in
the bombardment of Mille Atoll (26 May and 9 June) and
Taroa Atoll (8 August). Detached from this duty 19
August, she replenished in Pearl Harbor, then sailed
via New Guinea to Manus, Admiralty Islands, to join
forces staging for the liberation of the Philippine Islands.
Gansevoort joined Destroyer Squadron 48 in guarding
transports of Vice Admiral T. S. Wilkinson’s Southern
Attack Force off the beachhead of Leyte 20-21 October.
From 27 October until 13 December she escorted troop
and supply convoys between New Guinea and the Philip-
pines. On 27 December she joined a large supply convoy
at Dulag, Leyte. Comprising 99 naval and merchant
ships, this important supply convoy departed the 27th to
carry men and material to Mindoro. Steaming via Suri-
gao Strait, the ships came under heavy, constant attacks
from Japanese bombers and torpedo and suicide planes.
As the convoy steamed through the Mindinao and Sulu
Seas, the enemy attacked by day and night between 28
December and 30 December and created nearly 72 hours
of hell and hard work for sailors in nearly a hundred
ships.
Called to General Quarters 49 times in 72 hours, Ganse-
voort’ s gunners splashed 5 enemy planes and assisted in
splashing 12 others. Although enemy planes sank one
merchant ship and one LST and severely damaged a
second merchant ship and aviation tender Porcupine
(IX-126), their desperate attacks could not halt this
powerful force.
She entered Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, with the convey
the morning of 30 December 1944. That afternoon a
suicide plane which crashed Gansevoort' s main deck to
port. A terrific explosion cut steering and electric power,
started several fires, and killed or wounded 34 of her
crew. Damage control parties could not get aft as her
main deck was blown upward.
Wilson (DD— 408) and Philip (DD-498) helped fight
her fires, then she was towed to the Mindoro PT base
anchorage. Here Gansevoort was given the unusual
assignment of knocking off the stern of the suicide-
damaged aviation tender Porcupine with torpedoes in an
attempt to extinguish a fire before it reached the aviation
gasoline stowed forward. The water was too shoal for
torpedoes to be effective, and in spite of one torpedo hit,
fire ignited the gasoline, spreading flames across the water
to endanger Gansevoort.
Gansevoort was towed to safety in another anchorage
off White Beach. With living quarters gutted, her crew
made temporary camp on shore. Her engineering officer,
damage control officer, and some twenty men remained
on board working to save the ship. Despite recurring
air attacks and several near misses by bombs, the
destroyer escaped further damage and was made sea-
worthy after a full month of hazardous and exhausting
repairs.
Despite periodic air attacks, salvage operations con-
tinued until 2 February 1945 when Gansevoort was taken
in tow for San Pedro Bay, thence to Ulithi where emer-
gency repairs were completed by 21 April. Steaming via
Pearl Harbor, she returned to San Francisco 19 May for
battle damage repairs. She then departed San Diego for
the East Coast 3 October, arriving New York 20 October.
After participating in the Navy Day celebration in
New York, Gansevoort departed 1 November for inactiva-
tion overhaul in the Charleston Naval Shipyard. She
19
decommissioned there 1 February 1946 and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet. At present she is berthed at
Orange, Tex.
Gansevoort received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Gantner
Boatswain’s Mate Samuel Merritt Gantner, born 24
December 1919 in Fresno, Calif., enlisted in the Navy 12
May 1937. While serving as gun captain on battleship
Nevada he was killed in action during the attack on Pearl
Harbor, 7 December 1941. He was posthumously com-
mended for distinguished devotion to duty and extraordi-
nary courage in action against the Japanese aerial
raiders.
( DE-60 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'5'' ; s. 23.5 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 3 21' tt. ; 2 dct., 8 dcp.
1 dcp. (h.h.), cl. Buckley)
Gantner (DE-60) was launched 17 April 1943 by the
Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Samuel M. Gantner, widow of Boatswain’s Mate Gantner ;
commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 23 July 1943, Lt.
Comdr. Barklie M. Henry in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Gantner escorted SS
George Washington from Puerto Rico to New York, arriv-
ing 1 December 1943. She departed New York 26 De-
cember 1943 as a part of the escort for a convoy which
reached Londonderry, Northern Ireland 8 January 1944.
She returned to New York 24 January and by 8 October
had made seven more trans-Atlantic escort voyages from
that port to Londonderry.
Following repairs in the Boston Naval Shipyard and
battle practice in Casco Bay, Gantner departed Boston 3
November 1944 escorting Pinto (ATF-90) and towing
ARDC-1 to Cristobal, Canal Zone. She then proceeded to
Miami, Fla., to serve as floating schoolship in waters ex-
tending to the Bahamas and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
She departed Miami 19 February 1945 for conversion to
a high speed transport (APD-42) in the New York Naval
Shipyard. She was reclassified (APD-42) 23 February
1945.
Gantner departed New York 14 May 1945 for amphib-
ious warfare landing exercises in the Chesapeake Bay
area until 2 June, then proceeded via the Panama Canal
and San Diego to Pearl Harbor where she reported for
duty with the 5th Amphibious Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, 28
June. After training underwater demolition teams in
Maalea Bay until 3 August, she embarked UDT-3 at San
Diego and sailed for the Far East via Hawaii and the
Marshall Islands to Japan, entering Tokyo Bay 4 Sep-
tember. Her frogmen reconnoitered beaches and re-
ported on suitability of landing Army occupation forces
at Shiogama Wan and Ominato Ko, Honshu, Japan.
From 30 September to 7 October 1945, her swimmers made
surveys for the Port Director, Otaru, Hokkaido with the
help of United States Army advance parties ashore.
Gantner departed Tokyo Bay 12 October 1945 to em-
bark a returning Marine contingent at Apra Harbor,
Guam, and sailed thence via the Marshalls and Hawaii
to San Diego where she disembarked military passengers
1 November 1945. For the next three years she was based
at San Diego, largely employed as an amphibious warfare
training ship for marines. From 26 January to 6 March
1946 she made a cruise from San Diego with the 1st
Marine Division Reconnaissance Detachment for cold
weather manuevers that took her to Kodiak, Juneau,
Tolstoi Bay, and Clarence Straits, Alaska. Her amphib-
ious schedule on the California coast was again inter-
rupted 28 October-18 November 1948 by a cruise north-
ward to act as guard ship on weather and air-sea rescue
patrol station for Navy patrol planes scouting north to
Seattle, and thence back to San Francisco.
Gantner resumed her amphibious training out of San
Diego until 19 January 1949 when she sailed for Shang-
hai, China. She reached her destination 14 February and
served on station at the Chinese ports of Shanghai, Nan-
king and Tsingtao. Departing the last named port 7
April, she escorted Rendova (CVE-114) to Yokosuka,
Japan, then sailed via Guam and Pearl Harbor for the
west coast, arriving San Diego 4 May 1949. She decom-
missioned 2 August 1949 and was assigned to the San
Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was struck from
the Navy List 15 January 1966. On 22 February 1966
Gantner was sold to Nationalist China under the Military
Assistance Program.
Ganymede
The third satellite of the planet Jupiter, and a shep-
herdess in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
(AK-104: dp. (t.) 14,350; 1.441'6" ; b. 56'!1" ; dr. 28'4" ;
s. 13 k. ; cpl. 219 ; a. 1 5", 4 40mm. ; cl. Crater)
Ganymede, formerly merchant ship James W. Nye, was
launched under Maritime Commission contract 8 June
1943, by the Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif. ;
sponsored by Mrs. William C. Dalby of Oakland; ac-
quired 23 June 1943; commissioned 31 July 1943, Lt.
Comdr. Glenn H. Melichar in command.
After shakedown training out of Oakland, Calif., Gany-
mede departed San Francisco 28 August 1943 carrying
military cargo to Pallikulo Bay, New Hebrides, and to
Queensland, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia. Assigned
to the 7th Fleet Service Force, she sailed from Queensland
29 November 1943 with fuel, supplies, and passengers for
Milne and Langemak Bays, New Guinea and thence re-
turned to Australia. During the next 12 months she
transported military cargo of many tyr • and provided
limited passenger service from ports of Australia to bases
in New Guinea, including Humboldt Bay, Milne Bay, Cape
Sudest and Terahmerah Bay. Her itinerary was ex-
panded in February 1945 to include Leyte, Manila, Subic
Bay and Samar in the Philippines, with occasional calls
at Manus, Admiralty Islands.
Ganymede continued her busy Australia-New Guinea-
Philippines-Australia supply circuit until 20 November
when she departed Brisbane, Australia for the United
States arriving San Francisco 18 December. She re-
mained in port until 25 February 1946 when she sailed
for Pearl Harbor to take part in special explosive tests
prior to her decommissioning there 15 April 1946. Towed
back to San Francisco, her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 August 1947 and she was returned to WSA
1 October 1947 and entered the National Defense Reserve
Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif., where she remains.
Gar
Any of certain fishes having an elongate pike-like
body and long, narrow jaw.
( SS-206 : dp. 1,475; 1. 307'2" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 13'3" ; s.
20 k. (surf.), 8.75 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 59; a. 1 3", 2 .50
cal. mg., 2.30 cal. mg.; 10 21" tt. ; cl. Tambor)
Gar was launched 7 November 1940 by the Electric
Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs. George T.
Pettingill, wife of Rear Admiral Pettingill ; commissioned
at New London 14 April 1941, Lt. D. McGregor in
command.
After shakedown training along the New England sea-
board from Portsmouth, N.H., and New London, Conn.,
Gar departed New London 24 November and transited
the Panama Canal 3 December 1941 enroute to San Diego,
where she arrived 3 days after the Pearl Harbor attack.
She prepared for combat in the Mare Island Naval Ship-
yard, then departed San Francisco 15 January 1942 for
Pearl Harbor. Her maiden patrol (2 February-28 March)
was conducted around Nagoya and the Kii Channel en-
trance to the Inland Sea of Japan. She torpedoed and
sank the 1,520 ton cargo ship Chicliibu Maru 13 March.
During her second war patrol (19 April-8 June), she
scored hits on a freighter off Kwajalein atoll and a sub-
marine decoy “Qnship” west of Truk atoll, then termi-
20
nated her patrol at Fremantle, Australia. Her third war
patrol (3 July-21 August) took her to the South China
Sea and the Gulf of Siam, where her only contact was
a hospital ship. Her fourth war patrol (17 September-
7 November) took her to the northernmost waters in
the Gulf of Siam, where on 19 October she laid 32 mines
in the entrances to Bangkok. This was one of the
strategic plants covering important Japanese shipping
lanes previously patrolled by American submarines.
Gar’s fifth, sixth and seventh war patrols were con-
ducted largely in approaches to Manila, Philippine Islands,
via Borneo. During her fifth (28 November-19 January
1943) she drove freighter Hainan Maru on the beach with
six torpedo hits and scored hits on a seaplane tender.
Her sixth (9 February-2 April) brought numerous con-
tacts with targets which could not be closed to firing
range because of vigilant enemy aircraft and antisub-
marine patrol ships. During her seventh war patrol
(23 April-27 May 1943), she sank five small craft with
gunfire; torpedoed and sank 703-ton Japanese freighter
A.so Maru south of the Negros Islands 9 May, then 6
days later attacked a convoy west of Mindoro, sinking
3,197-ton passenger-cargo ship Mcikai Maru and 4,361-ton
Indus Maru.
Her eighth war patrol (18 June-23 July) was spent
patrolling the Flores Sea, where she torpedoed a 500-ton
motorship which ran itself aground, the crew escaping
into the jungle. En route from Fremantle to Pearl Har-
bor on her ninth war patrol (8 August-13 September),
Gar scouted off Timor and scored hits on a freighter in
Makassar Strait. Routed onward for overhaul in the
Mare Island Navy Yard, she returned to Pearl Harbor
30 November 1943 to resume combat patrols in the Pacific.
The 10th war patrol of Gar (16 December 1943-9 Febru-
ary 1944) was conducted off Palau, where on 20 January
she sank the 5,325-ton cargo ship Eoyu Maru; damaged
two ships of another convoy on the 22d ; then attacked a
third convoy the following day to sink the 3,670-ton Taian
Maru. Her 11th war patrol (3 March-21 April) found
her performing lifeguard duty for aviators making the
first carrier-based air strikes on Palau. She saved eight
aviators, one less than 2 miles off the beach and within
range of enemy gun emplacements. Her 12th war patrol
(20 May-5 July) was spent in the Bonin Islands area,
where she made gunfire attacks on a convoy of Japanese
sea trucks, leaving a small freighter raging in flames
and dead in the water. Her 13th war patrol (14 August-
9 October) was largely taken up with lifeguard duty off
Yap supporting the combined fleet-shore operations that
captured the Palaus. She also performed valuable recon-
naissance work off Surigao Strait. She bombarded
installations on Yap 6 through 8 September and ended
her patrol at Brisbane, Australia.
On her 14th war patrol (3-30 November), Gar landed
16 men and 25 tons of supplies at Santiago Cove, Luzon,
Philippine Islands, 23 November ; picked up intelligence
documents, and terminated her patrol in Mios Woendi
lagoon. On her 15th and final war patrol (4-27 Decem-
ber), she landed 35 tons of supplies on the west coast
of Luzon, near Duriagaos Inlet 11 December, returning
to Pearl Harbor with urgent intelligence documents
including maps locating enemy gun emplacements, beach
defenses, troop concentrations, and fuel and ammunition
dumps on Luzon.
After overhaul in the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Gar
put to sea 2 April 1945 to serve the remainder of the war
as a target trainer for . antisubmarine ships at Saipan
and Guam, Marianas Islands. She departed Apra Harbor,
Guam, 7 August 1945, proceeding via Hawaii, San Fran-
cisco, and the Panama Canal to Portsmouth, N.H., where
she arrived 20 October. She decommissioned there 11
December 1945 and remained in reserve until Septem-
ber-October 1948 during which time she was overhauled
in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for service as a reserve
training submarine for the 4th Naval District at Cleve-
land, Ohio, arriving, via the Mississippi River and the
Chicago Canal, 28 November 1948. She continued her
reserve training until her name was stricken from the
Navy List 29 May 1959. The submarine was sold for
scrapping 18 November 1959 to Acme Scrap Iron and
Metal Co.
Gar received 11 battle stars for service in World War II.
Garcia
Fernando Luis Garcia was bom 14 October 1929 at
Utuado, P.R., and was inducted into the Marine Corps 19
September 1951. A member of the 3d Battalion, 5th
Marines, Private Garcia served valiantly in Korea — par-
ticularly on 5 September 1952 when he threw himself on
an enemy grenade to save the life of a comrade. Private
Garcia was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
for heroism, the first native Puerto Rican to be so honored.
(DE-1014 : dp. 2, 624 (It.) ; 1. 514' ; b. 45' ; dr. 25' ; & 27 k. ;
cpl. 239; a. 2 5'', 4 tt., 1 ASROC; cl. Garcia)
Garcia (DE-1040) one of a new and powerful class of
escort vessels, was launched 31 October 1963 ; by Bethle-
hem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
L»\hriir ^ _
g |l
USS Garcia (DE-1040) on 22 October 1964
21
Daisy Garcia de Alvarez, sister; and commissioned 21
December 1964, Comdr. Donald A. Smith in command.
After trials and training off the Pacific Coast, the new
destroyer escort departed San Diego 22 March 1965 ;
transited the Panama Canal; and arrived her homeport
Newport, R.I., 7 April. Following ship qualification tests,
she sailed for the Caribbean 7 May for shakedown. She
returned Newport 16 July. For the remainder of 1965 and
through 1966, Garcia operated out of Newport perfecting
her ASW and sonar techniques.
Gardenia
A large genus of Old World tropical trees and shrubs
of the madder family, having showy, fragrant, white or
yellow flowers.
( ScStr : dp. 217; 1. 117' ; b. 20' ; dr. 6' ; cpl. 15)
Gardenia was a wooden lighthouse tender built in 1879
at East Deering, Maine ; acquired 4 May 1917 ; and com-
missioned at New York 13 September 1917.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Gardenia served as
harbor control and guard ship from her base at Rosebank,
Staten Island until May 1919. She was returned to the
Lighthouse Service 1 July 1919.
Gardiner
O'Toole (DE-274) (q.v.) was transferred to the United
Kingdom under lend lease 28 September 1943 and served
the British Navy as Gardiner.
Gardiners Bay
A bay of Block Island Sound, N.Y.
( A VP-39 : dp. 2,592 (trial) ; 1. 310'9" ; b. 41'2" ; dr. 13'6" ;
s. 18.2 k. ; cpl. 215 ;a. 1 5", 8 40 mm ; cl. Barnegat)
Gardiners Bay was launched 2 December 1944 by the
Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Wash. ; sponsored
by Mrs. George L. Richard ; and commissioned at the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 11 February 1945, Comdr.
Carlton C. Lucas in command.
Gardiners Bay departed Seattle 1 March 1945 for shake-
down out of San Diego until 20 April. She then proceeded
via Pearl Harbor to Eniwetok in the Marshalls to tend
planes of Patrol Bombing Squadron 19 in a 10-day train-
ing period, thence via Saipan and Guam in the Marianas
to Kerama Retto, Okinawa, where she arrived 7 June
1945 with provisions and cargo for Fleet Air Wing 1.
The following weeks were devoted to tending planes for
various patrol bombing squadrons based on Kerama Retto.
During 30 June-17 July she was flagship of an Air-Sea
Rescue Unit, utilizing Rescue Squadrons 3 and 4, Motor
Torpedo Boat Squadron 4 and three other small seaplane
tenders. Eighteen rescue missions were accomplished
while in a state of constant alert that saw her men at
general quarters for 100 hours. Relieved as flagship by
Pine Island (AY-12) on 17 July 1945, Gardiners Bay
tended i>lanes of Rescue Squadron 6 at Chimi Wan, Oki-
nawa, until 15 August when she put to sea as part of the
screen of the 3d Fleet en route to Japan. She entered
Sagami Bay, Japan, on 28 August, shifting 2 days later
to Tokyo Bay as a part of the Seaplane Base Group of
the Japan Occupation Forces. On 1 September she be-
came flagship of the Air-Sea Rescue Unit for the 3d Fleet
with Rescue Squadron 4 based oil board. During this
service, which extended to 9 January 1946, she helped
set up the Tokyo Seadrome off the Yokohama Air Station.
She was then stationed at Nagoya, Japan, as tender for
courier and transient seaplanes, departing 29 January
1946 for Shanghai, China. She departed Hong Kong 9
August 1946, proceeding via Yokosuka, the Marianas, the
Marshalls and Pearl Harbor to the Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard where she arrived 28 November 1946 for
overhaul.
After Fleet exercises along the western seaboard,
Gardiners Bay departed San Diego 7 April 1947 for tender
duties in the Carolines, Marianas, Okinawa, Tsingtao
and Yokosuka. She returned to Seattle 4 October 1947 ;
made a cruise to Eniwetok in the Marshalls (15 January-5
June 1948) ; and another Far East cruise (15 March-14
December 1949) which included tender operations at
Guam, Yokohama, Sasebo, Okinawa and Manila.
Gardiners Bay departed San Diego 27 June 1950 for
the first of 4 long tours supporting United Nations forces
in Korea. She established a seadrome at Iwakuni, tend-
ing 17 Mariners and 8 Royal Air Force Sunderlands for
search and reconnaissance in the Tsushima Strait and
Yellow Sea area, shifting in September 1950 to Inchon,
Korea, where she established an advance base for sea-
planes making mine reconnaissance runs off the north-
west coast of Korea. The following month she estab-
lished another seadrome at Chinhae, basing there to tend
7th Fleet aircraft conducting reconnaissance until 16
April 1951.
On her second Korean tour ( 12 September 1951-9 April
1952) she supported Far East aviation patrol units at
Okinawa; Iwakuni, Japan; and Manila, Philippine
Islands. Her third tour (10 July 1952-26 January 1953)
was largely spent as station ship off the Pescadores and
at Okinawa, with time out in October 1952 for partici-
pation in “Exercise Surprise” off the coast of Indochina,
testing communications between headquarters and ships
and aircraft of the United States, the United Kingdom,
and France. Her fourth tour (3 April-12 December
1953) was spent in tending amphibious patrol planes at
Chinhae, and on sta1 :ons in the Pescadores, the Philip-
pines, Okinawa, and Japan.
After hostilities ended in Korea, Gardiners Bay made
three cruises to support 7th Fleet operations in the Pacific
(7 July to 22 November 1954), (28 August 1956 to 14
February 1957, and (10 June to 16 November 1957).
These cruises were largely spent on seaplane tending
stations at Okinawa ; Manila ; and in the Japanese ports
of Iwakuni, Sasebo, and Yokohama. She returned from
her last cruise to Alameda, Calif. 16 November 1957 ;
decommissioned 1 February 1958; and was transferred
to Norway 17 May 1958 under the Military Assistance
Program. She serves the Norwegian Navy under the
name of Haakon VII ( A-537 ) .
Gardiners Bay received two battle stars for service in
World War II and four battle stars for service in the
Korean War.
Gardoqui
The commercial house of Joseph Gardoqui and Sons
of Bilbao, Spain, represented the American Colonies in
the Spanish court during the American Revolution.
(Gbt: a. 2 1-pdr. ; cpl. 13)
Gardoqui, an ex-Spanish wooden gunboat, was pur-
chased in 1898 by the Army ; transferred to the Navy
9 November 1899; and commissioned 2 June 1899, Ens.
John E. Lewis in command.
Although the Philippines had become American terri-
tory at the end of the Spanish-American war, the islands
were torn by civil war as guerrilla rebels under Aguinaldo
sought complete independence. To suppress the illegal
trade of these rebels and to assist in Marine and Army
landings, Gardoqui cruised Manila Bay and other waters
in the Phillippines. She was one of 13 gunboats, includ-
ing Panay, so involved. In addition, she bombarded in-
surgent positions and as they began to surrender, received
former rebels on board for transportation to Manila. On
29 January 1900 four Marines sent ashore from Gardoqui
were killed in a rebel ambush ; and the ship herself was
shot up.
Gardoqui decommissioned at Cavite Navy Yard for
repairs 12 May 1900, recommissioning 30 November that
same year to continue her previous duties, Ens. W. J.
Tarrant in command. She decommissioned a second time
22
5 February 1902 at Cavite, was placed on the yard list
there 15 December 1904, and later sold.
Garfield, President, see Thomas Jefferson (AP-60)
Garfield County
Counties in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma,
Utah, and Washington.
(LST-784 : dp. 1,780 (It.) ; 1. 328' : b. 50' ; dr. 14'1" ;
s. 11.6 k. ; cpl. 115 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-54%)
LST-784 was laid down by Dravo Corp., Neville Island,
Pittsburgh, Pa., 18 June 1944; launched 29 July 1944;
sponsored by Mrs. Michael Ruzic and commissioned at
New Orleans 1 September 1944, Lt. Daniel H. Miner,
USCG, in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-784 departed de-
parted New Orleans 4 October, arriving Pearl Harbor 18
November. Following intensive amphibious training in
the Hawaiian Islands, she sailed 22 January 1945 to join
Pacific forces preparing for the landings at Iwo Jima.
With marines of the 2d 155mm. Howitzer Battalion on
board, LST-784 touched Eniwetok, Saipan, and Tinian
before making her way to the enemy-held volcano fortress.
She arrived off the beaches 19 February and anxiously
awaited her turn to disembark her troops. For the next
3 weeks the ship remained in the area discharging cargo
and performing post office duties for the fleet. Returning
to Saipan 18 March, LST-784 commenced preparations
for her next assignment.
In early April American forces were already engaged
in the fierce campaign on Okinawa, and supplies and men
to reinforce the beachhead were urgently needed. The
LST arrived off the embattled island 27 April with a
detachment of Seabees and equipment. Continuously at
general quarters, she discharged her cargo and sailed
7 May for return to Saipan.
For the rest of the war LST-784 continued “milk runs’’
from the Philippines to Okinawa, transporting troops and
equipment to reinforce the island. Upon the victorious
conclusion of World War II, she engaged in the move-
ment of men from the Philippines to Japan for occupa-
tion duty. She remained in the Far East until 11 Novem-
ber when LST-784 departed Saipan for the return cruise
home. Steaming via Guam, she returned to the West
Coast decommissioned in March 1946, and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet to be berthed in the Columbia River
at Astoria, Oregon. Named Garfield County 1 July 1955,
she was used as a target ship in March 1959.
LST-784 received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Garfield Thomas
William Garfield Thomas, Jr. was born in Watsontown,
Pa. 13 September 1916. He enlisted in the U.S. Naval
Reserve at Philadelphia 14 June. He was appointed mid-
shipman 10 August 1940, commissioned ensign 14 Novem-
ber 1940, and promoted to lieutenant (j.g.) 15 June 1942.
He was serving in light cruiser Boise (CL— 47) during
the Battle of Cape Esperance 11-12 October 1942. When
his “turret was hit by enemy fire and danger of . . .
explosions grew increasingly imminent, Lt. (j.g.) Thomas
with utter disregard of his own personal safety remained
behind to ensure abandonment of the perilous area . . .
Despite the fact that eight of his men succeeded in getting
out and that he too might easily have escaped . . . 'Thomas
when last seen was telephoning the handling room to
order the crew out.” He was awarded the Navy Cross
for giving up his life in the defense of his country.
(DE-193 : dp. 1, 240 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 8'9" (mean) ;
_ s. 21 k. ; cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3'', 4 40mm., 8 20 mm., 8 dep., 1 dcp.
(h.h. ) , 2 dct. ; cl. Cannon)
Garfield Thomas (DEI-193) was laid down 23 Septem-
ber 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newark, N. J. ; launched 12 December 1943 ; sponsored by
Lt. Betty K. Thomas, Nurse Corps, United States Army,
sister of Lt. (j.g.) W. G. Thomas; and commissioned 24
January 1944, Lt. Comdr. Richard G. Werner in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Garfield Thomas
returned to New York 11 March 1944. She stood out of
New York 19 March to join Task Group 27.4 as part of
the screen for a convoy bound for Bizerte, North Africa,
where she arrived 31 March and returned New York 13
April. She made two subsequent runs to Bizerte arriving
New York from her third voyage 7 September.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Garfield Thomas
returned to New York 11 March 1944. She stood
out of New York 19 March to join Task Group 27.4 as
part of the screen for a convoy bound for Bizerte, North
Africa, where she arrived 31 March and returned New
York 13 April. She made two subsequent runs to Bizerte
arriving New York from her third voyage 7 September.
After training out of Casco Bay, Maine, Garfield
Thomas departed New York 14 October in the screen for
a convoy bound for the United Kingdom, arriving Plym-
outh, England, 25 October. After returning to New York
9 November the destroyer escort made four subsequent
convoy-escort voyages to the Unit,! Kingdom, the last
bringing her back to New York from Cardiff, Wales, 19
May 1945. After repairs she departed New York 9 June
1945 for refresher training in the Culebra-Guantanamo
Bay areas, and then proceeded to Pearl Harbor, arriving
20 July 1945. Training out of Pearl Harbor kept her busy
until 8 August when she got under way with a convoy
bound for the Marshalls. She arrived Eniwetok, 16
August 1945 and operated between the Marshalls and the
Carolines, screening convoys and taking her turn as patrol
ship until she departed Eniwetok 8 December for Pearl
Harbor, arriving 8 days later.
After a month’s duty as weather station ship Garfield
Thomas departed Pearl Harbor 9 February 1946, trans-
ited the Panama Canal and arrived New York 1 March
1946. After a brief overhaul, Garfield Thomas departed
New York 24 March for Green Cove Springs, Fla. She
remained moored there until decommissioned 27 March
1947. She entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there where
she remained until transferred to Greece under the Mili-
tary Assistance Program 15 January 1951. Garfield
Thomas now serves as Panther (D-67).
Garfish
Garfish (SS-30) was renamed H-3 (SS-30) (q.v.) on
17 November 1911 prior to commissioning.
Gargoyle
A waterspout, often carved grotesquely, projecting at
the upper part of a building, usually from the roof gutter.
(Str : dp. 9,360; 1. 363'8" ; b. 50'1" ; dr. 24'0'' (mean) ;
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 49; a. 2 3", 1 .30 cal mg.)
Called Pennoil when owned by the Vacuum Oil Co.,
Gargoyle was built in 1903 by Grangesmith Dry Dock Co.,
Greenock, Scotland, and commissioned 8 August, 1917.
Lt. Oscar Windsor Smith, USNRF, in command.
Departing New York 20 August 1917, Gargoyle loaded
her cargo of oil at Philadelphia and, at New York ports,
fueled several battleships, including A7'kansas, Okla-
homa, Nevada, and Arizona. After being repaired and
loaded, she sailed 1 October on the first of three trans-
Atlantic voyages through the submarine-infested waters.
She arrived Dover, England 19 October, via Sidney, Nova
Scotia ; and offloaded her cargo at Dover, Devonport ; St.
Helen’s Road ; and Plymouth, sailing from the latter for
the United States 8 November. She arrived New York
23 November for repairs and cargo, and left New York
5 January 1918, arriving 21 January at Portsmouth, via
256-125 0 - 68 -4
23
Spithead and St. Helen’s Road. After discharging her
cargo, Gargoyle left for the United States 1 February,
arriving New York after a stormy passage on 18 February.
She departed New York 9 March on her third and
last trans-Atlantic voyage, arriving Plymouth, 27 March,
via Halifax, Nova Scotia. After discharging and load-
ing cargo at Devonport and Plymouth, she left the latter
port 21 April, arriving New York 6 May via Portsmouth,
N.H.
She decommissioned at New York 22 May 1918, and was
returned to her former owner that same day.
Gargoyle, see Arethusa (IX— 135)
Garland
A wreath made of branches, flowers, or leaves. Gar-
lands were awarded to the victor in the ancient games.
I
(Bark: t. 243; 1. 92'5'' ; b. 24'4" ; dr. 12'2" ; a. none)
The first Garland was a bark built at Quincy, Mass.,
in 1815 for service as a privateer. She was rebuilt at
New Bedford, Mass., in 1845 and purchased by the Navy
there 28 October 1861 for the “Stone Fleet.” However,
she was not used as an obstruction but transferred to
the Army Quartermaster Department at Hilton Head,
S.C., 7 January 1862 for service as a supply ship.
II
(AM-238 : dp. 625 ; 1. 184'6'' ; b. 33' ; dr. 10' ; s. 15 k. ; cpl.
104; a. 1 3'', 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 .30 cal. mg., 2 dct., 3
dcp ; cl. Admirable)
The second Garland (AM-238) was launched 20 Feb-
ruary 1944 by Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding
Co., Winslow, Wash. ; sponsored by Miss Karen Lundberg;
and commissioned 26 August 1944, Lt. Carl Carmichael in
command.
After shakedown out of Puget Sound Garland departed
San Pedro, Calif., 12 November with a convoy to Kossol
Roads, Palau Islands, where she arrived 2 January 1945.
The minesweeper acted as entrance control ship at Kos-
sol Roads ; escorted convoys between Peleliu and Ulithi
until 20 May, then patrolled convoy routes between Ulithi
and Eniwetok. She departed Ulithi 28 June escorting
a 16-ship convoy bound for Buckner Bay, Okinawa, ar-
riving 17 July.
Based at Buckner Bay, Garland swept mines in the
East China Sea (22-31 July 1945) and (13-25 August
1945). Shifting to Ominato Ko, Honshu, she swept
Japanese minefields to clear the path for Allied transports
carrying occupation troops to the Empire. Garland de-
parted Ominato Ko 20 October to serve as flagship of
Mine Division 40 at Sasebo until 20 November when she
sailed for the United States, arriving San Diego 19 De-
cember. Departing San Diego 31 January 1946, she tran-
sited the Panama Canal and steamed to Orange, Tex. ;
decommissioned there 2 August 1946; and joined the
Altantic Reserve Fleet. Reclassified MSF-238 7 Feb-
ruary 1955, Garland remained in the Reserve Fleet until
struck from the Navy List 1 April 1960. She was sold to
Ships and Power, Inc. 24 October 1960.
Garland received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Garlies
A British name. Lord Garlies, a British naval officer,
was Captain of British frigate HMS Lively at St. Vincent
and of British frigate HMS Bellerophon in 1801 during
the blockade of Brest.
(DE-271: dp. 1,140; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. ll'lO" ;
s. 21 k. ; cpl. 198 ; a. 3 3" ; 4 1.1" 9 20 mm., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(hh.) , 2 dct. ; cl. Evarts)
Garlies (DE-271) was laid down as Fleming (DE-271)
(q.v.) 7 April 1943 by the Boston Navy Yard, Boston,
Mass. ; launched 19 May ; sponsored by Mrs. Michael E.
Fleming; transferred to Great Britain 13 July under
lend-lease ; and commissioned in the British Royal Navy
as HMS Garlies (K— 475) on 13 September.
During World War II the British frigate HMS Garlies
operated in the Atlantic on convoy escort duty, and in
June 1944 she supported the Allied invasion of Enrope at
Normandy. She served in the Royal Navy until 20 Aug-
ust 1945 when she was returned to the U.S. Navy at Chat-
ham, England, and commissioned Garlies (DE-271) the
same day, Lt. B. H. Farwell in command.
Garlies departed Chatham 30 August for the United
States, arriving Philadelphia 8 September. She decom-
missioned there 10 October and was sold to Thomas H.
Barker 18 July 1947 for scrapping.
Garlopa
A large species of grouper found on the west coast of
Mexico.
Garlopa ( SS-358) , a Bafoo-class submarine, was build-
ing at Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn., but was cancelled
29 July 1944.
Garner, Mary B., see Mary B. Garner ( SP-682)
Garnet
A brittle, often crystalline, glasslike mineral found In
a variety of colors. The most precious variety, used as a
gem, is of a deep red.
( PYC-15 : dp. 490; 1. 156'9" ; b. 25'6" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 50; a. 1 3", 4 .50 cal. mg., 2 30 cal. mg., 2 dct.)
Garnet (PYc-15), formerly steel diesel yacht Caritas,
was built in 1925 by Krupp Iron Works, Kiel, Germany ;
purchased 1 December 1941 from Mr. J. Perch Bartram
of New York ; converted to a coastal patrol yacht by Rob-
ert Jacobs Co., Inc., New York ; commissioned 4 July 1942,
Comdr. Donald D. Murray in command.
Garnet departed New York 21 July 1942 for brief opera-
tions in Chesapeake Bay. After shakedown off Key West
and Miami, she steamed via the Bahamas and the Panama
Canal to San Diego, arriving 22 September. After coastal
patrol off southern California, she departed San Diego
2 December for the Hawaiian Islands, arriving Pearl
Harbor 15 December.
Except for an escort mission to Funafuti, Ellice Islands,
in November 1943, Garnet spent the remainder of World
War II on convoy escort and patrol duty between Pearl
Harbor and Midway.
She returned to San Pedro, Calif., 15 November and
decommissioned there 29 December 1945. She was de-
livered to the Maritime Commission for disposal 20
February 1947 and was sold 10 June to Mr. I. W. Lam-
bert, Baltimore, Md.
Garonne
(Sch; t. 14; a. none)
, Garonne was a small wooden schooner captured by
Santee off Galveston, Tex., 30 December 1861. She was
apparently used as a lighter in the Gulf Blockading Squad-
ron before being sunk as an obstruction in Petit Bois
Channel on the Gulf coast.
Garrard
A county in Kentucky.
24
(APA-84 : dp. 4,247 (It.) ; 1. 426' ; b. 58'; dr. 16'; s. 16.9
k. ; cpl. 320; trp. 849; a. 1 5", 8 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl.
Gilliam; T. S4-SE2-BD1)
Garrard (APA-84) was laid down under Martime Com-
mission contract by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd.,
Wilmington, Calif., 28 October 1944 ; launched 13 January
1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Stephen Royce ; acquired by the
Navy 2 March 1945 ; and commissioned at San Pedro 3
March 1945, Lt. Comdr. Walter Barnett, Jr., in command.
After shakedown and amphibious training along the
California Coast, Garrard embarked sailors and Army
Aviation Engineers and departed Seattle 3 May for the
Western Pacific. Steamin via Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok,
and Guam, she arrived Ulithi, Carolines, 28 May. She
sailed 20 June for Okinawa and reached Hagushi Beach
the 24th. As her gunners helped repel Japanese air
attacks, she landed men and cargo of the 854th Aviation
Engineers before departing for Leyte, Philippine Islands,
28 June.
Garrard embarked fleet replacements, loaded cargo and
mail, and departed 8 July as a logistics support ship to
supply the 3d Fleet off the Japanese coast. She rendez-
voused 17 July ; and, after completing transfer of men and
cargo by highline, she sailed 22 July for Eniwetok, where
she arrived the 26th. After serving as a receiving ship,
she departed 13 August to once more carry men and cargo
to the 3d Fleet. She rendezvoused 17 August, embarked
sailors and marines at sea for occupation duty in Japan,
then steamed for Japan 20 August with Task Force 31.
Arriving Tokyo Bay 27 August, she debarked her troops
at Yokosuka 30 August. Between 10 and 15 September
she steamed to Sendai, Japan, and back to transport liber-
ated prisoners of war. After embarking 726 veterans,
she departed Yokosuka 13 October and sailed to the United
States, where she arrived Portland, Oregon, 25 October.
Assigned to “Magic-Carpet” duty, Garrard departed
San Francisco for the Philippines 19 November. Reach-
ing Manila 11 December, she embarked 905 homebound
troops and sailed for San Francisco 14 December. Arriv-
ing 3 January 1946, she entered Mare Island Naval Ship-
yard before sailing for Seattle 6 February. After com-
pleting an inactivation overhaul at Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard, she decommissioned at Bellingham, Wash., 21
May. Transferred to WSA 29 June, she entered the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash. She
was sold to Zidell Exploration Co., Inc., Portland, Oreg.,
for scrapping 3 June 1963.
Garrard received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Garrett County
A county in western Maryland.
(LST-786 : dp. 1,780; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 14'1" ; s. 11.6 k. ;
cpl. 115 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-542)
LST-786 was laid down by Dravo Corp., Neville Island,
Pittsburgh, Pa., 21 May 1944 ; launched 22 July ; sponsored
by Mrs. E. B. Keckler ; and commissioned 28 August 1944,
Lt. Eli T. Ringler, USCG, in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-786 departed Mobile,
Ala., 30 September, and sailed for the Pacific. She loaded
cargo and men of the 112th Navy Construction Battalion
at Pearl Harbor before arriving Eniwetok 28 December.
During January 1945, the landing ship made another
cruise to Pearl Harbor for supplies, returning to the Mar-
shall Islands 21 February.
With Iwo Jima now in American hands, LST-786 trans-
ported a group of Seabees to that tiny volcano island in
late March. While at Iwo she embarked 114 prisoners of
war for transportation to Guam, arriving there 20 April.
Eight days later she sailed with another detachment of
Seabees bound for that last Japanese barrier — Okinawa.
Arriving 8 May in the area off “Green Beach,” LST-786
unloaded her cargo under the constant threat from enemy
air raids, and sailed 20 May for the Philippines.
For the rest of the war, she shuttled troops and equip-
ment among the Philippines and to Okinawa, further
strengthening the path to Japan. On 4 August, her con-
voy was attacked by an enemy submarine which was sunk
by Earle V. Johnson (DE-703) after a 3-hour duel.
After V-J Day, LST-786 operated in the Far East,
where she provided transportation services for the occu-
pation troops in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. The land-
ing ship departed Sasebo 8 December and arrived San
Francisco 14 January 1946. LST-786 decommissioned at
Astoria, Oreg., 9 July 1946 and was assigned to the Pacific
Reserve Fleet.
She was assigned the name Garrett County 1 July 1955.
As the American role in the Far East expanded, the need
for landing craft increased to handle the large buildup
of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Garrett County recommis-
sioned 15 October 1966 for service in the Pacific Fleet.
Early in 1967 she sailed for the Far East and for the next
months operated off Vietnam supporting the struggle to
thwart Communist aggression in Southeast Asia.
LST-786 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Garrupa
One of various fishes of the grouper type.
Garrupa (SS-359), a Perch-class submarine, was
built at Electric Boat Co., Groton, Con., but was
canceled 29 July 1944.
Gary
DE-61 and DE-326 are named for Thomas J. Gary
(Q.v.), and CL-147 is named for a city in Indiana.
(DE-61 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 8 20mm„ 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 2 dct. ; cl. Buckley )
Gary (DE-61) was laid down 16 January 1943 by
Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Mass. ;
launched 1 May 1943 ; transferred to Great Britain under
lend-lease 4 August 1943; and renamed HMS Duckworth.
During the remainder of World War II, she served as a
British frigate in the Atlantic, at Normandy, and along
the English coast. She was returned to the United States
17 December 1945 and sold for scrapping 29 May 1946
to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
I
Gary (DE-326) was renamed Thomas J. Gary (q.v.)
1 January 1945.
The name Gary was assigned to CL-147 on 1 January
1945 but was cancelled 12 August 1945 prior to the start
of construction.
Garza, Lake, see Lake Garza
Gasconade
A county in east central Missiouri.
( APA-85 : dp. 4,247 ; 1. 426' ; b. 58' ; dr. 16' ; s. 16.9 k. ; cpl.
320; a. 1 5", 8 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl. Gilliam; T. S4-
SE2-BD1 )
Gasconade (APA-85) was laid down 7 November 1944
under Maritime Commission contract by the Consolidated
Steel Corp., Ltd., Wilmington, Calif.; launched 23 Jan-
uary 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Winnie Cave, acquired by
the Navy 10 March 1945 ; and commissioned 11 March
1945 at San Pedro, Calif., Lt. Comdr. Allen E. Stiff in
command.
After shakedown, Gasconade departed San Francisco
8 May on a troop transport voyage to the Philippines.
Steaming via Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Ulithi, she
25
arrived Samar 3 June. Loaded with mail and cargo, she
steamed to San Francisco from 18 June to 6 July ; thence
transported additional troops to the Philippines. Arriv-
ing Leyte Gulf 2 August, she served as receiving ship
until mid-August when she proceeded to Manila Bay to
stage for the Allied occupation of Japan.
Gasconade departed Manila 25 August ; and, as part
of a huge transport task force carrying the first sea-borne
occupation forces to Japan, she entered Tokyo Bay
2 September while surrender terms were being signed on
board Missouri (BB-63). She debarked her troops at
Yokosuka 3 September ; steamed to the Philippines from
4 to 11 September ; then carried more occupation troops
from Mindanao to Kure, Japan, from 19 September to
6 October.
After returning to Leyte Gulf 11 October, Gasconade
embarked military passengers and sailed for the United
States 17 October as part of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet.
She reached Portland, Oreg., 2 November ; transported oc-
cupation troops to Nagoya, Japan, 18 November to 5 De-
cember ; and sailed 8 December on another “Magic-
Carpet” voyage, arriving Seattle 19 December. After
carrying a garrison force to Guam from 13 to 29 January
1946, she voyaged to Pearl Harbor from 30 January to
8 February with returning veterans embarked.
Assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Gasconade during the
next 3 months prepared for Operation “Crossroads,” a
program of nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. De-
parting Pearl Harbor 18 May in company with Trans-
port Division 92, she reached Bikini Atoll, Marshalls,
30 May. On 22 June her crew transferred to Bexar (APA-
237). Designated a target ship for the experiments, she
survived an atomic blast 18 July.
Gasconade decommissioned in the Marshall Islands
28 August. In December she was taken in tow at Kwaja-
lein for transfer to the United States, where she arrived
San Francisco 27 January 1947. After undergoing struc-
tural and radioactivity tests, she was redesignated a
target ship in March 1948. She was sunk by torpedoes
21 July in the Pacific Ocean off lower California.
Gasper, Lake, see Lake Gasper
Gatch
Gatch (DE-1026) was renamed Hooper (DE-1026)
iq.v.) 19 July 1956.
Gates
Brig. Gen. Horatio Gates, born in Maldon, England,
around 1728 or 1729, was adjutant general of the Conti-
nental Army during the Siege of Boston. He served un-
der the Northern Department there after, and commanded
the American force which defeated Burgoyne during the
Saratoga Campaign August-September 1777. This victory
was the turning point in the war, and prompted France
to enter the fight. Gates subsequently served as Presi-
dent of the Board of War, as commander of the Eastern
and Southern Departments, and later in the New York
Legislature. He died in New York City in 1806.
(Gy: t. 123; 1. 60'6" ; b. 19'; dph. 6'2" ; cpl. 80;
a. 8 4-18-pdrs. )
Gates was built in 1776 on Lake Champlain, near
Whitehall, N.Y., by the forces under command of Benedict
Arnold. Her first commanding officer was Captain Fred-
erick Chappell. She was one of General Arnold’s
flotilla but was not completed in time to take part in the
battle of Lake Champlain which delayed the British in-
vasion from Canada. The galley was blown up at Skenes-
boro, N.Y., in 1777 to prevent her being captured.
Gatling
Richard Jordan Gatling, bom in Hartford County, N.C.,
12 September 1818, won fame as the inventor of machines
to plant cotton, rice, and wheat ; and hemp-breaker ; a
steam plow ; and a screw propeller for steamboats. Dur-
ing the Civil War he designed a multibarrelled machine
gun. He died in New York City 25 February 1903.
(DD-671 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'5" ; b. 39'7" ; dr. 17'9'' ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 329 ; a. 5 5”, 10 40mm., 10 21" tt. ; cl. Fletcher) .
Gatling (DD-671) was laid down 3 March 1943 by the
Federal Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
launched 20 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. John W. Gat-
ling, wife of the inventor’s grandson ; and commissioned
19 August 1943 at New York Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. Alvin
H. Richardson in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda and alteration at
New York early November, the new destroyer called at
Norfolk, Va., to conduct training cruises for crews of
destroyers still under construction.
On 19 November 1943 Gatling proceeded to Trinidad,
British West Indies, to escort carrier Langley to Norfolk.
Gatling stood out from Norfolk 3 December, escorting
Intrepid through the Panama Canal to San Francisco,
arriving 22 December. The next day she sailed for Pearl
Harbor.
On 16 January 1944 Gatling sortied with Task Force
58 to support the forthcoming invasion of the Marshall
Islands ; thereafter, Gatling was continuously with the
carrier task forces as they struck Japanese outposts and
finally hit the heart of Japan itself.
In February the first carrier strikes against Truk
occurred. Gatling provided fire support during the raid
and screened the flattops during raids on the Marianas
a few days later. In March she joined in the attack on
Emirau Island and at the beginning of April in the air
strikes against the Palau Archipelago. Steaming south
to strike Hollandia, Wakde, Sawar, and Same, New
Guinea, the task force supported Army landings at Aitape,
Tanahmerah Bay, and Humboldt Bay from 21 to 26
April. During this action, Gatling stood radar picket
duty and directed fighter planes. After new attacks
on Truk late April 1944, Gatling supported the invasion
and occupation of the Marianas from 10 June to 5 July.
In the Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19 and 20 July,
Gatling was credited with shooting down or aiding in
the kills of six Japanese planes.
Late that month, carrier task forces again struck the
Palaus and blasted Yap and Ulithi. In early August the
Bonin Islands became targets: for Gatling’s powerful guns,
and in September the carriers she guarded repeatedly
struck Japanese targets in the Philippines.
October saw attacks against Okinawa on the 10th and
against Formosa, Luzon, and the Visayas from the 11th
to the 23d. On 24 October, after enemy bombs had sunk
Princeton in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, Gatling
rescued over 300 of the light carrier’s survivors. For
heroism in saving these men, 4 of Gatling’s crew were
awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Medal, and 16 others
received the Bronze Star.
Gatling landed the survivors at Ulithi and rejoined
carrier task groups for November and December strikes
against the Philippines. After a powerful typhoon in
which 3 destroyers capsized, Gatling searched for sur-
vivors and helped to save over 100 men from the sea.
At Christmas 1944, the destroyer returned to Ulithi.
The task force sortied 29 December to strike Formosa
and Luzon during January 1945. Hoping to locate and
destroy a Japanese fleet in that area, Admiral Halsey
took the task force into the South China Sea 10 January
and hit targets in Indochina and on the China coast.
In the middle of February, the carriers launched ini-
tial attacks against Honshu with Tokyo as their main
target. As part of a picket line over 30 miles in advance
of the main forces, Gatling was once within 40 miles of
Honshu. On 19 and 20 February, as part of Destroyer
Division 99, she escorted North Carolina and Indianapolis
26
to Iwo Jima to support the gallant marines who were
fighting to wrest that volcanic fortress from Japan to be-
come a base for B-29’s damaged over the home islands.
Rejoining the carrier task force, Gatling aided in new
strikes against Honshu and Okinawa in late February
and early March. She returned to Iwo Jima independ-
ently and throughout March blasted Japanese shore bat-
teries to support the invasion. During this duty, the
versatile and busy destroyer saved the entire crew of a
B-29 forced down while returning from a mission against
Nagoya.
On 29 March 1945, she stood out from Iwo Jima, escort-
ing transports carrying victorious marines to Guam. The
destroyer then sailed to the United States for well-earned
overhaul and repairs, arriving San Francisco 18 April.
After repairs and refresher training, Gatling escorted
Ncic Jersey and Biloxi to Eniwetok, bombarding Wake
Island en route. Continuing to escort New Jersey, she
arrived at Guam 9 August. There the news came that
Japan had accepted the provisions of the Potsdam De-
claration and agreed to surrender. The mighty sea war
was won. Gatling now headed for Japan escorting
transports bearing the 4tli Marine Division as the 3d Fleet
rendezvoused off Japan. On 3 September 1945, Gatling
steamed into Tokyo Bay as a unit of the Allied Naval
Occupation Forces of Japan.
During her aggressive career in World War II, Gatling
traveled over 175,000 miles and fired 77 tons of high ex-
plosives from her guns. She sank two enemy ships and
splashed eight Japanese planes, either as kills or assist.
In addition to her other rescue missions, preserving the
lives of over 400 sailors, she saved 37 aviators forced to
ditch at sea. Finally, these heroic exploits through two
busy battle-filled years were accomplished without the
loss of a single man from enemy action, sickness, or ac-
cident. Gatling decommissioned 16 July 1946 and entered
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Charleston, S.C.
After Communist aggression erupted in Korea, the
veteran destroyer recommissioned 4 June 1951 at Charles-
ton, S.C., Comdr W. J. Keating in command. Until Au-
gust 1952 she operated off the Atlantic coast and in the
West Indies before proceeding to the Philadelphia Naval
Shipyard for modernization.
In the fall of 1952 Gatling as a unit of the NATO forces
stood out of Newport, R.I., for Europe and visited Scot-
land, Norway, and Belgium in Operation “Mainbrace.”
Later she was active in Caribbean Operation “Spring-
board,” calling at St. Thomas and San Juan. Returning
to the Far Eastern waters she knew so well, Gatling ar-
rived Tokyo 3 June 1953, and joined Task Force 77 sup-
porting United Nations forces in Korea. Then, follow-
ing the sun, she steamed to Manila, Saigon, Singapore,
Colombo, and, passing through the Suez Canal, called at
France and Portgual. She returned to Philadelphia in
late summer 1953.
After repairs and training in New England waters,
USS Gatling (DD-671) deployed and ready to fight while keeping the peace in the Mediterranean in 1959
27
Gatling sailed to Portugal, France, and Italy. Recrossing
the Atlantic and transiting the Panama Canal, the de-
troyer arrived Guayaquil, Ecuador, 7 October 1955. The
following year she visited France and Cuba as a part
of her varied operating schedule.
In 1957 Gatling again took part in NATO exercises, call-
ing at Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. Further
operations brought her to England, to Spain again, and
in 1958 to San Juan and Cuba. Her last major opera-
tions took her to Mediterranean ports of call, Pakistan
and Iran, after which Gatling returned to her home base
at Rhode Island 11 October 1959.
Gatling, after distinguished service in war and peace,
again decommissioned 2 May 1960 and entered the Atlan-
tic Reserve Fleet. At present she is berthed at Norfolk.
Gatling received eight battle stars for World War II
service and one battle star for Korean service.
Gato
A species of small shark found in waters along the
west coast of Mexico.
I
(SS-212: dp. 1,526 (surf.), 2,424 (subm.) ; 1. 311'9" ; b.
27'3" ; dr. 19'3" ; s. 20.25 k. (surf.), 8.75 k. (subm.) ;
cpl. 60; a. 1 3”, 4 mg., 10 21” tt. ; cl. Gato)
The first Gato was laid down 5 Oct 1940 by the Electric
Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; launched 21 August 1941 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Royal E. Ingersoll, and commissioned 31
December 1941, Lt. Comdr. W. G. Myers in command.
After shakedown training at New London, Gato de-
parted 16 February 1942 for Pearl Harbor via the Panama
Canal and San Francisco. On her first war patrol from
Pearl Harbor (20 April-10 June 1942), she unsuccessfully
attacked a converted aircraft carrier 3 May before being
driven away by the fierce depth charging of four destroy-
ers off the Marshalls. On 24 May she was ordered to
patrol the western approaches to Midway, taking station
280 miles westward during that historic victory.
On her second war patrol (2 July-29 August 1942), she
patrolled east of the Kurile Islands toward the Aleutian
chain. She obtained four torpedo hits with unconfirmed
damage to a ship 15 August 1942 and terminated her
patrol at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska. Her third patrol
(4 September-23 December 1942) included operations off
Kiska ; then she steamed via Midway and Pearl Harbor
to Truk atoll, where her attack 6 December on a convoy
was broken off by aerial bombs and a severe depth charge
attack by three destroyers. This patrol terminated at
Brisbane, Australia, 23 December 1942.
During her fourth war patrol (13 January 1943-26
February 1943), Gato torpedoed and sank transport Ken-
kon Maru 21 January ; cargo ship Nichiun Mara on 29
January; and cargo ship Sirruga Maru on 15 February-
all off New Georgia, Solomon Islands. On her fifth war
patrol (19 March-6 June 1943), she landed an Australian
Intelligence party at Toep, Bougainville, 29 March 1943,
and evacuated 27 children, 9 mothers, and 3 nuns,
transferring them 31 March to SC-531 off Ramos, Florida
Island. During a submerged radar attack approach 4
April 1943, beween Tanga and Lihir Islands, she was
shaken so violently by three exploding depth charges that
she returned to Brisbane for temporary repairs 11 to 20
April. Gato landed more Australian commandos at Toep
Harbor 29 May, transported more evacuees to Ramos
Island, and then reconnoitered off Tarawa in the Gil-
bert Islands before putting in at Pearl Harbor 6 June 1943.
Gato was routed onward to the Mare Island Shipyard
for overhaul ; returned to Pearl Harbor 22 August 1943 ;
and conducted her sixth war patrol (6 September-28
October) via Truk and Bougainville in the Solomons to
Brisbane. En route on 19 October she attacked a convoy,
scoring hits for unknown damage to two large cargo ships.
Her seventh war patrol (18 November 1943-10 January
1944) took her north of the Bismarck Archipelago. On
30 November she made a coordinated attack with Ray,
sinking the cargo ship Columhia Maru. She rescued a
Japanese soldier from a life-raft on 16 December; then
attacked a convoy in the Saipan-Massau traffic lanes 4
days later to sink cargo ship Tsuneshima Maru and scored
damaging hits on another freighter. After 2 hours of
dodging depth charges, she finally evaded her attackers;
surfaced and headed for Tingmon, the most likely course
of the damaged cargo ship. Gato discovered a live depth
charge on her deck at the same time that two enemy es-
corts headed in her direction were sighted. She outran
them while disposing of the unexploded depth charge by
setting it adrift, on a rubber raft. Although she did not
overtake the chargo ship, she did sight a convoy. On 29
December her chase was foiled by a float plane finally
driven off by her gunners. She concluded the patrol at
Milne Bay, New Guinea, 10 January 1944.
Gato departed Milne Bay 2 February 1944 to conduct
her eighth war patrol in the Bismarck-New Guinea-Truk
area. She sank a trawler off Truk 15 February ; trans-
port Daigen Man No. 3 the 26th, and cargo ship Okinoy-
ama Maru No. 3 12 March. Two other trawlers were
destroyed by her gunfire before she returned to Pearl
Harbor 1 April 1944.
On her ninth war patrol (30 May 1944-22 June 1944),
Gato took Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood to Midway ;
completed photographic reconnaissance of Woleai Island ;
served on lifeguard station for air strikes on Truk 11 to
18 June; and terminated her patrol at Majuro atoll. On
15 July 1944 she was underway on her 10th war patrol,
taking lifeguard station for the carrier-based air strikes
on Chichi Jima, during which she rescued 2 aviators.
She returned to Pearl Harbor on 2 September 1944, pro-
ceeded to Mare Island for overhaul and then returned
to Pearl Harbor.
On her 11th war patrol (28 January-13 March 1945)
Gato patrolled the Yellow Sea as a unit of a coordinated
attack group which included Jallao (SS-368) and Sun fish
(SS-281). She sank a coast defense ship on 14 February
and cargo ship Tairilcu Maru on 21 February, then re-
turned to Guam. She departed on her 12th wTar patrol
12 April 1945, taking lifeguard station in support of the
invasion of Okinawa. On the night of 22 to 23 April she
had a brief contest with two Japanese submarines and
narrowly missed destruction as well-aimed torpedoes
came close. Between 27 and 30 April she rescued 10 Army
aviators from shallow water near the beaches of Toi
Misaki, Kyushu. She returned to Pearl Harbor 3 June
1945.
On her 13tli war patrol Gato departed 8 July for life-
guard station for air strikes on Wake Island and then
off the eastern coast of Honshu. She received word of
“Cease Fire” 15 August while making an attack approach
on a sea truck ; steamed into Tokyo Bay the 31st ; remained
for the signing of surrender documents on board Mis-
souri 2 September; and then departed the following day
via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to the New York
Naval Shipyard, where she decommissioned 16 March
1946. She served for a number of years as a naval re-
serve training ship at New York and later at Baltimore,
Md., until her name was struck from the Navy List on 1
March 1960. She was sold for scrapping 25 July 1960
to the Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Gato received the Presidential Unit Citation in recog-
nition of daring exploits during war patrols four through
eight, and 13 battle stars for service in World War II.
II
( SS(N)-615 : dp. 3,750; 1. 278'6” ; b. 31'8” ; dr. 24'6” s.
classified ; cpl. 99 ; a. classified ; cl. Thresher )
The second Gato was launched 14 May 1964 by the Elec-
tric Boat Div., General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Lawson P. Ramage ; and commissioned
in November 1967.
Gauger
In an oil field, an individual responsible for measuring
and determining the volume of oil shipments.
28
( YO-55 : dp. 893 (It.) ; 1. 235' ; b. 37' ; dr. 15' ; s. 101c. ;
cpl. 34 ; a. none)
Gauger (YO-55) was laid down 7 January 1942 by RTC
Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J., under a contract from Ira
S. Bushby & Sons, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. ; launched 28 May
1942; and commissioned 28 September 1942 at Philadel-
phia, Lt. C. O. Fulgham in command.
After shakedown along the New England coast, Gauger
departed Boston 22 October for Icelandic waters. She
reached Reykjavik, Iceland, 7 November after sailing
via Portland, Maine, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. She sup-
plied ships with diesel oil and aviation fuel and steamed
the frigid North Atlantic, searching for mines and
patrolling coastal waters. She remained in Iceland until
late spring 1944 when she returned to the United States.
Gauger departed Norfolk in convoy 4 July for duty in
the Mediterranean. She arrived Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria,
20 July; and during the next year operated with the 8tli
Fleet, carrying liquid cargo to American ships stationed
in Algeria, Tunisia, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and Italy.
She steamed to Norfolk in July 1945, then departed
22 August for the Caribbean, where she continued to
deliver gas and oil to ships stationed in the Dutch West
Indies and the Canal Zone.
Gauger served in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans off
Central America until 7 September 194G when she de-
parted Balboa, C.Z., for Pearl Harbor. Towing YFD-G
and steaming in company with Bluebird (ASR-19),
Cahuilla (ATF-152), and Taxcakoni (ATF-119), she
reached Pearl Harbor 12 October. She provided fueling
services in Hawaiian waters until 3 March 1947 when she
sailed for the Western Pacific. Steaming via Palmyra
Island ; Kwajalein, Marshalls ; and Truk, Carolines ; she
arrived Guam 20 April. For 3 months she served ships
at Guam and made a fueling run to Truk during June.
Gauger decommissioned at Guam 21 July and was
brought back to the United States late in the year, arriv-
ing San Diego, Calif., in December. She was placed in
reserve under the 11th Naval District ; at present she is
berthed at San Diego with ships of the Pacific Reserve
Fleet.
Gauger received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Gavia
Any of several fish-eating diving birds including the
common loon.
(AM-363 : dp. 530 ; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33' ; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Gavia (AM-363) was laid down as PCE-901 on 8 July
1943 by Williamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland, Ore. ;
launched 18 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. James
E. Ray ; reclassified as AM-363 on 27 September 1943 ;
and commissioned as Gavia (AM-363) 23 July 1945, Lt.
K. P. Billhardt in command.
After trials in the Columbia River, Gavia departed
Astoria, Ore., 10 August 1945 for mine warfare exercises
at San Pedro and San Diego, Calif. She departed San
Pedro 26 September and reached Honolulu 4 October 1945.
After additional minesweeping training in Hawaiian
waters, she departed Pearl Harbor 26 October for mine-
sweeping operations in the Far East. Proceeding via
Eniwetok and Saipan, she arrived Wakayama, Japan,
27 November.
Steaming to Sasebo 3 December, Gavia spent the re-
mainder of the month sweeping for mines in Tsushima
Strait, Okino Shima, Tachabana Wan. She continued
minesweeping exercises at Sasebo until 17 February 1946,
then sailed for Buckner Bay, Okinawa. After serving as
reference ship for Japanese minesweepers clearing waters
off Miyako Jima, she arrived Subic Bay 19 March and
removed her ordnance gear. She departed 9 April and
reached Shanghai 13 April. She decommissioned there
29 May 1946 and was turned over to the State Department
for transfer to the Chinese Maritime Customs. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 19 July 1946.
Gavia received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Gayety
Merriment or jollity.
(AM-239: dp. 945 (lim.) ; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ;
s. 14.8 k. ; cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Gayety (AM-2.39) was laid down 14 November 1943 by
the Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Co. of Wins-
low, Wash.; launched 19 March 1944; sponsored by Miss
Janice Morgan; and commissioned 23 September 1945, Lt.
Corndr. John R. Row in command.
After shakedown out of San Pedro and San Diego.
Gayety arrived Pearl Harbor 4 January 1945. Following
training and escort duty she sailed west for the invasion
of Okinawa via Eniwetok, Saipan, and Ulithi. She
sortied from Saipan 25 March with a convoy bound for
Okinawa and arrived off Okinawa 1 April in time for the
first amphibious assault on that strategic island, the door-
way to Japan. In the ensuing weeks, Gayety swept mine-
fields and made ASW patrols in the Ryukyus. On 14
April she was attacked by a Japanese torpedo bomber
coming in low and fast to starboard. The plane launched
a torpedo which Gayety left astern, but she was shaken
from bow to stern when it exploded 150 yards away.
On 4 May, following a kamikaze attack on nearby
Hopkins, another plane made a suicide run on Gayety,
coming in from starboard. Her automatic weapons rid-
dled the plane that passed close over her fantail before
crashing into the sea 30 yards off the port quarter. Later
in the same day the ship was attacked by a Japanese
“Baka” bomb, a 4,700-pound bomb propelled by a rocket
and guided by a human pilot at speeds up to 600 miles
per hour. One of these deadly weapons thundered in at
an estimated 400 knots, made a low altitude run on sev-
eral of the smaller minesweepers Gayety was shepherd-
ing, and then turned toward Gayety for a suicide crash.
The ship’s gunners, unflinchingly manning their weapons,
sent up an umbrella of automatic fire which blew off the
Baka’s cowling ; seconds later it disintegrated rapidly,
tumbling end over end through the air, and crashed into
the sea 15 yards off Gayetxfs port bow. Shrapnel rained
on her decks, knocking out the port 40mm. gun and
wounding three men, but the ship continued her duties
undaunted.
On 27 May, while continuing to support the Okinawa
campaign, she suffered a near-miss from a 500-pound
bomb which exploded just astern. Five men were killed
and two wounded by flying debris, and the fantail burst
into flames. Quick damage control, however, followed
by repairs at Kerama Retto, soon put her back in fighting
shape ; and she resumed minesweeping off Okinawa and,
subsequently, shifted operations to the approaches of the
Japanese home islands.
-After Japan surrendered and occupation forces had
taken control of the conquered Empire, Gayety stood out
from Japan 20 November for the United States via Eniwe-
tok and Pearl Harbor, reaching San Diego 19 December
1945 and thence sailing via the Panama Canal to Orange,
Tex., where she decommissioned 7 June 1946 and entered
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Gayety recommissioned 11 May 1951, Lt. Percy W. Rair-
den, Jr., in command, and moored at Charleston, N.C., 29
May. Until 1954 she was based at either Charleston or
Norfolk, Va., as a training ship, with a visit to Vieques
Island, P.R., in the fall of 1951 for exercises. She re-
turned to Orange, Tex., 3 January 1954 and decommis-
sioned 1 March 1954, reentering the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. Gayety was reclassified MSF-239, 7 February 1955
and was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam 17 April
1962. She serves the Vietnamese Navy as Chi Lang II
(HQ-8).
29
Gaynier
Oswald Joseph Gaynier, born 4 March 1915 in Monroe,
Mich., enlisted in the Naval Reserve as Seaman Second
Class 3 October 1940 and was appointed Aviation Cadet
16 December. Commissioned Ensign 3 June 1941, he was
assigned to Torpedo Squadron 8 in Hornet (CV-8) on
25 August. During the opening phases of the Battle of
Midway 4 June 1942, Torpedo Squadron 8 launched a
courageous attack against carriers of the Japanese Strik-
ing Force. Lacking fighter-plane protection and beset on
all sides by enemy fighters, the valiant American pilots
pressed home the attack in the face of withering antiair-
craft fire from a seemingly impenetrable screen of cruisers
and destroyers. All members of the squadron but one
were killed during the attack. Ensign Gaynier was one
of those who so gallantly sacrificed his life for his country
and the American victory that followed. For his extra-
ordinary heroism and meritorious devotion to duty, he
was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
DE-751 was laid down 4 August 1943 by Western Pipe
& Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif. ; renamed Gaynier (DE-
751 ) on 3 September 1943 ; launched 30 January 1944 ; and
sponsored by Mrs. Ireta Gaynier, widow of Ensign Gay-
nier. Construction suspended 6 June 1944, and construc-
tion cancelled 1 September 1944.
Gazelle
Any of numerous small, graceful, and swift antelopes,
with lustrous eyes, found especially in South Africa,
northern Africa, Iran, and India.
I
(SwStr : t. 117; 1. 135'; b. 23'; dr. 4'; s. 4 k. ; a. 6
12-pdr. r.)
The first Gazelle, a side-wheel steamer built at Madison,
lad., in 1863 as Emma Brown, was purchased at Cincin-
nati, Ohio, 21 November 1863 for duty with the Mississippi
River Squadron ; and commissioned by February 1864 at
Cairo, 111., Acting Master Charles Thatcher in command.
Gazelle reached the mouth of the Red River in time to
join Admiral Porter’s joint Army-Navy expedition of 12
Marcli-22 May 1864. The operation wa s part of the cam-
paign against Texas designed to gain a strong foothold
there and to thwart the French intervention in Mexico1.
Serving between the mouth of the Red River and Grand
Ecore, La., Gazelle engaged enemy shore units, convoyed
Army transports, and patrolled the river while Navy gun-
boats assisted in the capture of Fort De Russy. For the
next year the ship patrolled between the mouth of the
Red River and Morganza, La., and convoyed transports.
On 24 May 1865 she embarked Confederate Generals Buck-
ner and Price at the mouth of the Red River and brought
them to Baton Rouge to negotiate a surrender with
General Canby. Subsequently, following repairs at New
Orleans, Gazelle steamed upriver to Mound City, 111.,
arriving 25 June. She decommissioned there 7 July 1865 ;
she was sold 17 August 1865 to Henry Scott ct al. She
was redocumented as Plain City 23 October and operated
until abandoned in 1869.
II
The second Gazelle (BAM-17), built by Savannah Ma-
chine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga., was transferred to
the United Kingdom 28 July 1943. Returned to the
United States December 1946, she was struck from the
Navy List 10 June 1947.
III
(IX-116 : dp. 14,500; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s.
11.5 k.; cpl. 115; a. 15")
The third Gazelle (IX-116) was launched 9 November
1943 by the California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington,
Calif., as SS Cyrus K. Holliday ; sponsored by Mrs. J. E.
Stewart; and acquired by the Navy and simultaneously
commissioned 29 November 1943, Lt. Joseph P. Marshall
in command.
Auxiliary oiler Gazelle sailed from Wilmington 9 Jan-
uary 1944 for Pearl Harbor, where she was assigned to
Rear Admiral Turner’s Southern Attack Force for the
imminent assault on Kwajalein. Underway with the task
force 28 January, she entered Kwajalein Lagoon on D-
day, 2 February 1944, and began fueling operations in the
midst of the furious fighting. For 2 weeks she fueled
combatant ships, including battleships Ac a: Mexico, Mis-
sissippi, Idaho, many cruisers, escort carriers, and
smaller warships.
Her mission accomplished, Gazelle stood out 15 Febru-
ary for further combat duties. She steamed into Eni-
wetok Lagoon on D-day, 18 February, to support the
amphibious invasion of that strategic island. Here in
the front line of fighting she fueled several destroyer
divisions before sailing 26 February for Kwajalein, where
she issued fuel to American warships until getting under-
way 1 April for Pearl Harbor, arriving 12 April.
One week later she sailed for Majuro, arriving 27 April,
and subsequently continued fueling operations and shuttle
runs through submarine-infested waters to Majuro, Roi,
Kwajalein, and Eniwetok through the summer of 1944,
until reaching Ulitlii 15 October. Gazelle escaped damage
when Japanese midget submarines penetrated the harbor
net and patrol defenses at Ulithi 20 November and sank
oiler Mississineiua, moored 2,000 yards away. Underway
once more 10 January 1945, the ship reached Palau 2 days
later and served there until arriving Leyte 28 February.
While at Leyte she fueled some 100 Allied ships during the
next 6 months.
Gazelle sailed 13 September for Korea, arriving Jinsen
28 September, and joined the Korean Service Group, 7tli
Fleet. She remained in Korea through October 1945.
Gazelle reached Norfolk 28 February 1946 and decom-
missioned there 9 May 1946. Returned to WSA the next
day, she was stricken from the Navy List 21 May 1946. In
1948 she was sold to Intercontinental S.S. Corporation and
renamed Enistar.
Gazelle earned one battle star for World War II service.
Gear
An accessory mechanism or machine that performs a
specific function in a complete machine, as an expansion
gear or a steering gear.
(BARS-4 : dp. 1,530; 1. 213'6" ; b. 39'; dr. 14'1" ; s.
14.8 k. ; cpl. 120 ; a. 4 40mm. ; )
Gear (BARS-4), originally intended for the Royal
Navy under terms of the Lend-Lease Program, was
launched as HMS Pacific Salvor (BARS-4) on 24 Octo-
ber 1942 by the Basalt Rock Co., Napa, Calif. ; acquired
by the U.S. Navy and designated Gear (ARS-34) on 21
September 1942 ; and commissioned 24 September 1943,
Lt. J. F. Simmons in command.
Gear departed San Diego on 6 December 1943 en route
via Pearl Harbor and the Gilbert Islands to Eniwetok
atoll in, the Marshall Islands. Here she performed
salvage, towing, and repair for ships of the fleet as a
unit of Service Squadron 10 until 17 July 1944. She
provided similar services at Saipan (25 July-7 August),
shifting to Apra Harbor, Guam, on 8 August 1944 for
various operations that included the towing and sinking
of concrete barges on Calalan Bank to serve as a break-
water ; pulling amphibious landing ships off various
beaches ; and towing a ship to Tinian and Saipan before
return. She returned to Pearl Harbor from the Marianas
on 6 December 1944 for overhaul, and departed on 29
January 1945 with an amphibious assault force bound
for Iwo Jima.
Gear arrived in the outer transport area of Iwo Jima
on 19 February 1945 to witness the landing of Marines
under cover of intensive Naval gunfire and air attack.
She proved invaluable in assisting the ships of the fleet,
30
pumping out flooded spaces, repairing mortars, making
ship repairs and performing various towing assignments.
She returned to Saipan on 5 March with an LSM and
two LCI’s intow. Four days later she was en route with
a transport assault force that arrived off Okinawa on
1 April, D-day of invasion. Here she braved the day
and night aerial onslaughts in a busy schedule of battle
damage repairs to such gallant fighting ships as Wichita
(CA--45), England (DE-635), Aaron Ward (DD-483),
Ingraham (DD-694). She departed Okinawa on 15 May
for repair service at Ulithi (21 May-12 June), then pro-
ceeded via Eniwetok with two tank landing ships in tow
for Pearl Harbor, arriving 6 July 1945.
Gear departed Pearl Harbor on 11 July and arrived
at Portland, Oregon on the 20th. After voyage repairs,
she performed towing and salvage for the Alaskan Sea
Frontier at Adak until 6 May 1946, returning to San
Pedro on the 23d for services there until decommissioned
on 13 December 1946.
Gear was assigned to the San Diego Group, U.S. Pacific
Reserve Fleet until 24 February 1953. A civilian crew
of the Merritt Chapman Scott Corp. then operated her
for Navy towing and salvage service at San Pedro, Calif.
Under contract to the Merritt Chapman Scott Corp., she
continues Navy salvage and repair duties at San Pedro
with occasional coast towing.
Gearing
Gearing (DD-710) was named for three generations
of naval men. Henry Chalfant Gearing, born 9 June
1855 at Pittsburgh, Pa., graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy in 1876. Gearing served on various ships of the
Navy during his early years, including Lackawana,
Tuscarora, and Essex. He spent tours of duty at the
Naval Academy and on board Glacier. After being pro-
moted to Commander in 1905, Gearing commanded the
naval stations at Cavite and Olongapo, P.I., until his
retirement in 1909. He died 16 August 1926 at Char-
lottesville, Virginia.
Henry Chalfant Gearing, Jr., born 22 January 1887 at
Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy in 1907. He served on California, Illinois, and other
ships besides commanding a long list of destroyers, among
them Woolsey, Dobbin, and Maury. He was appointed
Captain in 1934. Subsequently, he commanded Destroyer
Squadron 4 and Naval Training Station, San Diego, before
his death 24 February 1944 at San Diego Naval Hospital.
Henry Chalfant Gearing III, born 16 August 1912 at
Vallejo, Calif., and graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1935. After serving several ships as a young officer,
he joined Juneau as a Lieutenant in 1942, and was lost
with his ship when it was torpedoed and sunk in the
Solomon Islands 13 November 1942.
(DD-710; dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 40'10" ; dr. 18'6" ; s.
84.6 k; cpl. 345; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 2 21" tt., 6 dcp, 2
dct. cl. Gearing.)
Gearing (DD-710) was launched 18 February 1945 by
the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydoek Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Thomas M. Foley, daughter of Comdr.
Gearing; and commissioned 3 May 1945. Commander T.
H. Copeman in command.
After shakedown off Cuba, Gearing reached Norfolk 22
July 1945 and trained precommisioning crews for other
destroyers until putting in at Casco Bay, Maine, 5 Oc-
tober. Celebration of Navy Day from 26 to 29 October at
New London, Conn., gave 5,000 citizens the chance to
board the powerful destroyer. Subsequently Gearing
put in at Pensacola, Fla., 4 November to screen carrier
Ranger during carrier qualification operations.
Returning to Norfolk 21 March 1946, she conducted
peacetime operations along the Atlantic coast of North
and South America, in the Caribbean, visiting Montevido,
Uraguay; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gearing sailed 10
November 1947 on her first Mediterranean cruise, calling
at Algeria, Malta, Italy, and France before mooring again
at Norfolk 11 March 1948.
Peacetime operations along the eastern seaboard and
in the Caribbean prepared her for a second cruise to
European waters ; the destroyer visited most of the
nations washed by the Mediterranean from 10 November
1947 to 11 March 1948, and duplicated this long voyage
from 4 January to 23 May 1949.
During the fall of 1949 Gearing took part in Opera-
tion Frostbite, an Arctic cruise test and development of
cold weather techniques and equipment. She continued
operations off the east coast of the United States and
in the Caribbean through 1950. Another voyage 10 Jan-
uary to 17 May 1951, brought her from Norfolk to the
Mediterranean and return ; the remainder of the year
was occupied by training cruises as far north as Halifax
and south to Cuban waters. ■
By now Gearing had established the pattern of peace-
time operations she followed well into the 1960’s : “Med”
cruises usually once a year, and exercise in the Atlantic
and Caribbean. These kept her in fighting trim for the
ceaseless duties of seapower. She was modernized and
overhauled late 1961 through early 1962 at Boston
In October 1962 Gearing took part in the American
“quarantine” patrol against Cuba as the world trembled
on the brink of war. This swift and classic use of power
at sea solved the crisis. On 1 November Gearing returned
to Norfolk. Through the remainder of 1962 she continued
operations in the Atlantic.
After participating in Operation “Springboard-63” early
in 1963, Gearing sailed for the Mediterranean in March
serving with the 6th Fleet during the summer. She re-
turned to Newport in September for a “FRAM I” over-
haul. Following operations in the Caribbean and North
Atlantic in the spring and summer of 1964, Gearing entered
the Mediterranean 4 October to rejoin the 6th Fleet.
After returning home early in 1965, she continued operat-
ing in the Atlantic Fleet into 1967.
Gedney, Lake, see Lake Gedney
Geiger
Roy Stanley Geiger, born 25 January 1885 in Middle-
burg, Fla., enlisted in the Marine Corps 2 November
1907 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant 5 Feb-
ruary 1909. After serving with marine detachments in
Wisconsin (BB-9) and Delaware (BB-28), he proceded
in August 1912 to Nicaragua, where he participated in
the bombardment, assault, and capture of Coyotepe and
Barrancas. He then went to the Far East serving in
the Philippines and Peking, China, where from 1913 to
1916 he was assigned to the American Legation. Return-
ing to the United States in March 1916 for naval avia-
tion training at Pensacola, he was designated a naval
aviator in June 1917, the fifth flyer in Marine Corps
history.
He travelled to France in July 1918, commanded a
squadron of the 1st Marine Aviation Force, and received
the Navy Cross for distinguished service in leading bomb-
ing raids against the enemy. During the next two de-
cades he was assigned a variety of duties, which in-
cluded service in Haiti ; Quantico, Va. ; Washington,
D.C. ; and London, England.
He assumed command of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
in August 1941 and led the Wing at Guadalcanal from
3 September 1942 to 4 November. As commander of all
Guadalcanal-based aircraft, he received a Gold Star in
lieu of a second Navy Cross for heavy losses that Ameri-
can planes inflicted upon the enemy, including 268 planes
shot down and 28 ships sunk or damaged.
He became Director of Marine Corps Aviation in May
1943 ; then he returned to the Solomons in November to
command the I Marine Amphibious Corps at Bougain-
ville. During 1944 he led the III Amphibious Corps in
the capture of Guam and the Southern Palaus. He
31
commanded this corps during the Okinawa campaign
and also assumed command of the 10th Army 18 June
following the death of Lieutenant General Buckner.
From July 1945 to November 1946 he commanded Marine
Force, Pacific Fleet.
Then he returned to the United States for duty at
Marine Corps Headquarters. While on active duty,
Major General Geiger died 23 January 1947 at Bethesda
Naval Hospital. He was posthumously promoted to the
rank of General by the 80tli Congress.
( T-AP-197 : dp. 11,225 (It.) ; 1. 533'9" ; b. 73'3" ; dr. 27'1" ;
s. 19 k. ; cpl 219 ; cl. Barrett; T. P2-S1-DN3)
Geiger (T-AP 197) was laid down as President Adams
1 August 1949 under Maritime Commission contract for
American President Lines by New York Shipbuilding
Corp., Camden, N.J. ; launched 9 October 1950; sponsored
by Mrs. Edward J. Hart, wife of Congressman Hart -of
New Jersey ; renamed Geiger 2 January 1951 while under
conversion for MSTS ; acquired by the Navy 13 September
1952 ; and placed in service -the same day.
Acquired for transport service during the Korean con-
flict, Geiger has operated under MSTS since 1952. Over
the years she has made numerous runs in support of
peace-keeping operations throughout the world. She has
crossed the Altantic dozens of times, deploying troops to
European bases and returning troops and refugees to the
United States.
Operating out of New York, Geiger has provided valua-
ble support for the mighty 6th Fleet on station in the
turbulent Middle East. In response to the pro-Soviet
takeover of the Syrian Army in August 1957, she steamed
in the Mediterranean while the 6tli Fleet deployed to
protect independent nations in the Middle East, includ-
ing the pro-Western government of King Hussein in
Jordan. In July 1958 she carried troops from European
bases to Lebanon to thwart an attempted Communist
coup against the government of President Chamoun.
Between 1959 and 1965 Geiger continued operations
out of New York, steaming to Bremerhaven, Germany :
Mediterranean ports in North Africa, Italy, Greece, and
Turkey ; and American bases in the Caribbean. Follow-
ing the Cuban Missile Crisis, she made three runs be-
tween New York and Cuba to return military dependents
to Guftntanamo Bay Naval Base during December 1962
and January 1963. Between 6 October and 23 November
1964, she participated in the massive amphibious exercise,
Operation “Steel Pike I,” the largest peacetime amphibi-
ous exercise ever conducted in the Atlantic. She sup-
ported the movement of combat-ready troops from the
United States to the southwest coast of Spain and took
part in the largest American military landing operation
since the Korean war.
After returning to Charleston, S.C., 23 November with
768 marines embarked, she resumed transport runs be-
tween New York and Bremerhaven. Arriving New York
1 June 1965, she departed the next day for the Caribbean,
where from 6 to 17 June she operated off Santo Domingo
to support naval forces engaged in ending civil war in
the Dominican Republic.
Following two more runs to Bremerhaven, Geiger de-
parted New York 16 August for the Pacific. Steaming
via Pearl Harbor, she arrived Quin Nhon, South Vietnam,
19 September to bolster the Navy’s transportation capa-
bilities during the struggle to halt Communist aggression
in Southeast Asia. Between 23 September and 1 October
she sailed via Yokahama, Japan, to Pusan, South Korea,
where she embarked Republic of Korea troops bound for
Vietnam. She returned to Qui Nhon 8 October ; steamed
to Cam Ranh Bay the 9th ; then departed the next day
for the United States, arriving San Francisco 27 October.
Sailing for the Far East 5 November, she reached Qui
Nhon the 23d and resumed duty as a troop transport.
Between 30 November and 13 December she rotated ROK
troops from Vung Tau, South Vietnam, to Inchon and
back. She departed Vietnam from the United States 13
December; and, steaming via Pearl Harbor and the
Panama Canal, she arrived New York 13 January 1966.
Geiger resumed transatlantic service to Bremerhaven
1 February and during the next 6 months made six runs
between the United States and Europe. Departing
Bremerhaven 8 August, she steamed via the Panama
Canal and San Francisco to resume troop-car rying duty
in the Far East. During 1967 Geiger shuttled between San
Francisco and Vietnam carrying U.S. troops to bolster Al-
lied forces fighting for freedom in southeast Asia.
Gem
Former name retained.
( SP-41 : t. 201 ; 1. 146' 6" ; b. 18' ; dr. 7' ; s. 15 k. ;
a. 2 3-pdrs.)
Gem, a steam yacht, was built in 1913 by George
Lawley & Sons, Neponset, Mass. ; chartered 26 March 1917
from William Ziegler, Jr. ; and commissioned at New
York 1 June 1917, Ens. Leroy J. Small, USNRF, in
command.
Gem performed harbor entrance patrol at New Haven,
Conn, until 12 December 1917. She was then assigned
to experimental work under the Submarine Defense Asso-
ciation. In this duty, carried out at New York, New
London, Newport, and New Haven, she experimented with
camouflage defense; tested the Bates Automatic Course
Indicator ; and experimented with various submarine
detection devices, including the Sanborn Speed Indica-
tor. She also performed colloidal fuel (pulverized coal)
experiments at New Haven and New York. She decom-
missioned at New York 10 January 1919 and was re-
turned to her owner the same day.
Gem of the Sea
A merchant name retained.
(Bark : t. 371 ; 1. 116' ; b. 26'3" ; dph. 13'5" ; cpl. 65 ;
a. 6 32-pdrs.)
Gem of the Sea was purchased at New York from Gal-
way & Teller 3 August 1861 ; and commissioned 15 Octo-
ber, Acting Volunteer Lt. Irvin B. Baxter in command.
She departed New York 20 October 1861 to serve the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coast of
South Carolina. She ran British blockade runner Prince
of Wales aground off Georgetown 24 December. She cap-
tured blockade runner Fair Play 12 March 1862, schooner
Dixie 15 April 1862, and schooner Mary Steicart 3 June.
Nine days later she took schooner Seahrook off Alligator
Creek. On 1 July she took possession of four rice-laden
lighters up the Waccamaw River.
Gem of the Sea returned to the Boston Navy Yard 18
October 1862 for repairs. Ordered to the East Gulf Squad-
ron, she arrived at Key West, Fla., 18 December 1862 to
guard the coast. She captured sloop Ann off Jupiter Inlet
30 December 1862, a small, unidentified schooner 12 Janu-
ary 1863, a small boat 28 January, and schooner Charm
in the Indian River Inlet 23 February. In the same
vicinity, she captured sloop Peter, and British blockade
runners Maggie Fulton and Inez. British schooner Geor-
gic was taken in the Sanibal River 29 July; and sloop
Richard fell into her hands in Peace Creek 31 August.
In an expedition up the same creek 5 September, she
destroyed the buildings and four boats of noted blockade
runner Johnson. Thereafter she captured British
schooner Director 30 September and sloop Matilda 21
October. From 24 to 30 December 1863, she was part of
an expedition up the Myacca River, transporting refugee
rangers from Useppa Island to the mainland.
Gem of the Sea spent her remaining career patrolling
off Charlotte Harbor, Fla. She joined her tender Rosalie
in capturing steamer Emma off nearby Malco Inlet 11
June 1864. She departed Charlotte Harbor 2 February
1865 and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard the 22d.
She decommissioned 24 February and was sold 6 May
1865 to A. C. Purvis & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa.
32
>
Gemini
( AP-75 : dp. 3555 (lim.) ; 1. 261'; b. 43'6" ; dr. 15'9"
lim.) s. 8.5 k. ; cpl. 365 ; trp 265 ; a. 2 3" ; cl. Gemini)
Gemini (AP-75) a lake-type freighter, was built as
Copcras by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis.
Subsequently renamed Aetna and then Saginaw around
1937 while in merchant service, she was acquired by the
Navy 27 September 1941. Originally designated Matinicus
(AG-38), she was reclassified AK-52 7 January 1942
while undergoing conversion at Bethlehem Steel Com-
pany, Boston, Mass. Commissioned as Matinicus (AK-
52) 4 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. L. Cain in command,
she was redesignated and renamed Gemini (AP-75) 15
August 1942.
Gemini sailed 16 August for New York to load troops
and sortied 24 October with convoy SC-107 bound for
Ireland and United Kingdom ports. This, her first
voyage, was also the most difficult, for the convoy ran
into German submarine wolfpacks in mid-Atlantic and
from 1 to 4 November no less than 15 ships, nearly half
the convoy, were torpedoed and sunk in a running battle.
Gemini arrived safely at Reykjavik, Iceland, and spent
the next 10 months as a transport for troops and cargo
between Icelandic ports.
The ship put in at Boston 3 September 1943 for over-
haul, and then embarked troops at New York, departing
9 October bound for the west coast via Panama. After
touching at San Pedro, Calif., for repairs, she reached
Honolulu 11 December and commenced duty as an inter-
island transport in Hawaiian waters.
In July 1944 Gemini shifted her operations to the
Marshalls and Gilberts, carrying men and cargo to and
from Kwaljalein, Apamama, Tarawa, Makin, Majuro, Roi,
and Eniwetok. She continued these essential transport
duties in support of the allied advance until 1 June 1945
when she got underway for San Francisco via Pearl
Harbor. Gemini remained in drydoek at San Francisco
until the end of the war.
Gemini sailed 28 August 1945 for the Pacific Ocean
again, resuming her earlier transport runs in the
Marshalls-Gilberts area and continuing the assignments
until her return to San Francisco. She decommissioned
at Oakland, Calif., 8 April 1946 and was turned over to
the Maritime Commission 10 September 1946. Subse-
quently sold to Oly Fenno S.S. Co. Ld., she operated un-
der Finnish papers as Ramsdal out of Abo, Finland.
Gemsbok
A large, handsome species of straight-horned African
antelope.
I
Chesapeake capes, from where they sailed to New York
while she put in at Hampton Roads 10 May.
Subsequently, she was ordered to Boston 27 August
1862 to fill up her complement and then to report for
duty with Rear Admiral Samuel F. DuPont at Port Royal,
S.C. From that port she sailed to Turtle Harbor, Fla.,
for the protection of colliers supplying the West Indies
squadron. On 10 December Army transport Mcmuonium
Sanford grounded on a reef 1% miles south of Key West,
and Gemsbok sent a launch and crew to kedge her off,
taking on board many officers and men later debarked at
Key West.
In February 1863 Gemsbok was attached to the West
Indies Squadron to be employed as a coal and store
ship. Returning to New York 19 July 1863, she decommis-
sioned there. On 19 July 1864 she was ordered to Port
Royal and, after recommissioning at New York 23 Decem-
ber 1864, reached that port 8 January 1965. She served
on blockade duty in waters off Georgia and South Caro-
lina and as a guard and store ship before returning to
the New York Navy Yard 17 June 1865. Decommissioned
there 11 July 1865, Gemsbok was sold at auction to Smith
& Co. at New York.
II
(IX-117 ; dp. 14,500; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ;
s. 11.8 k; cpl. 110; a. 15")
The second Gemsbok (IX-117) was launched as Carl R.
Gray 9 November 1943 by the California Shipbuilding
Corp., Wilmington, Calif.; sponsoi’ed by Miss E. Jeffers;
acquired and simultaneously commissioned 3 December
1943, Commander A. H. Kooistra, USNR, in command.
The ship was renamed Gemsbok upon acqusition.
Gemsbok sailed 12 January 1944 for the Marshall
Islands and until May 1945 delivered fuel oil, aviation
gasoline, and lube oil to warships in that archipelago
and in the Marianas. Her principal base of operations
was Eniwetok but in addition Gemsbok supplied fuel at
Majuro and Kwajalein, and from 5 July to 16 September
1944 was at Saipan servicing ships engaged in the cap-
ture and occupatic >f bases in the Marianas.
She sailed from Eniwetok 11 May 1945 with fuel oil
for Leyte, arriving 25 May via Ulithi. After Ulitbi, she
sailed from Leyte 29 September for Okinawa and Hiro
Wan, Japan, where she put in 16 October. Gemsbok
continued her fueling duties at Nagoya and subsequently
sailed for the United States 20 December, reaching Nor-
folk 28 February 1946 via San Diego and Mobile, Ala.
Decommissioned there 30 April 1946, Gemsbok was stricken
from the Navy List 8 May 1946 and subsequently sold to
Maris Transportation System Inc. and in 1948 renamed
Alpha.
Gendreau
(Bark : t. 622 ; 1. 141'7" ; b. 31' ; dr. 17' ; a. 4 8" ;
2 32-pdrs. )
The first Gemsbok was purchased 7 September 1861 at
Boston, Mass., and commissioned 30 August 1861 at the
Boston Navy Yard, Acting Volunteer Lt. Lewis Drake
Voorhees in command.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Gemsbok sailed from Boston 6 September 1861 for her
duty station off Wilmington, N.C. On 19 September she
captured schooner Harmony off Hatteras and 3 days later
took schooner Mary E. Pindar off Federal Point, N.C.
Schooner Beverly fell to Gemsbok just outside Frying
Pan Shoals 3 October while on 18 October English brig
Ariel, loaded with salt, was captured off Wilmington.
In November Gemsbok reported for blockade duty at
Beaufort, N.C. On 16 January 1862 her crew, with that
of Albatross, boarded and burned York, grounded near
Bogue Inlet. N.C., while unloading supplies from Dublin.
On 25 April Gemsbok in company with other warships
bombarded Fort Macon, N.C. In the last engagement she
had much of her rigging shot away. During the capture
of Fort Macon two English ships, Alliance and Gondar,
were taken as prizes ; Gemsbok convoyed them to the
Elphege Alfred M. Gendreau, born in Canada 29 June
1888, was commissioned Assistant Surgeon, Medical
Reserve Corps, with the rank of Lt. (j.g.) 20 August 1915.
He served in Glacier in Mexican waters during political
unrest in that neighboring country and in Charleston dur-
ing World War I.
After distinguished service in a number of assignments
afloat and ashore, Gendreau was commissioned Captain
20 September 1939. During the years 1940 and 1941,
he served as Force Surgeon of Battle Force and subse-
quently on the staff of Admiral Nimitz, Commander in
Chief, Pacific Fleet. In the summer of 1943, he was on
temporary duty in the South Pacific inspecting medical
facilities to improve treatment and care of battle casual-
ties. He voluntarily embarked in LST-343 to assist in
the evacuation of the sick and wounded in Rendova. He
was killed in a dive-bombing attack on LST-3^3 on 21
July 1943. His unspectacular but dedicated service
prompted Admiral Nimitz to recommend that a destroyer
be named for Captain Gendreau.
(DB-639: dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 23.6 k. :
cpl. 213; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 10 20mm„ 3 21" tt., S dep, 1
dcp. (h.h.), 2dct. ; cl. Buckley)
33
Gendrcau (DE-639) was laid down 1 August 1943 by
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., San Francisco ; launched
12 December 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Josephine
Gendreau, widow of Captain E. A. M. Gendreau, with
Mrs. Chester Nimitz, wife of the Commander in Chief
of Pacific Fleet, as matron of honor ; and commissioned
17 March 1944, Lt. Cmdr. A. D. Kilmartin in command.
After shakedown off the California coast, Gendreau
departed San Francisco 23 May escorting a convoy to
Pearl Harbor, arriving G days later. She trained in
Hawaiian waters and got underway 18 June 1944 on
the first of two voyages, escorting convoys between
Hawaii and the Marshalls. Convoy duty brought her
to Eniwetok again and on 2G July Grendreau returned
to Oahu from the second voyage in time to help welcome
President Roosevelt to Hawaii. During ensuing ASW
patrol out of Pearl Harbor, the destroyer escort rescued
the pilot and crew of an aircraft which had ditched at
sea 31 July ; and 9 days later in heavy seas saved a
downed fighter pilot.
Gendreau departed Pearl Harbor 8 September with a
convoy for Emirau. On 13 September she collided with
escort carrier Breton (CV-23) while fueling from her
in heavy seas ; but efficient emergency repairs allowed
Gendreau to proceed with the convoy to Emirau before
steaming into Manus 19 September for repairs. She
sailed from the Admiralties 1 October and arrived Port
Purvis, Solomon Islands, 4 October. Following intensive
training with PT boats at Tulagi, she sailed 27 October for
the Russell Islands and rendezvoused with a convoy of
landing craft bound for New Georgia Island. Departing
there 29 October, the group proceeded to Cape Torkina,
Bougainville, where the landing craft debarked troops.
Gendreau escorted the landing craft back to the Russells 1
November and returned to Port Purvis the next day.
Then in March 1945, following 3 months of escort and
ASW duty shuttling between islands of the South Pa-
cific, Gendreau rehearsed for the coming Okinawa in-
vasion after which she escorted landing craft to the
Russell Islands and Port Purvis, arriving Port Purvis 7
March and returning to the Russells 4 days later. Under-
way from the Russells 12 March, she called at Ulithi 21
March for final staging and sortied 4 days later with a
task force for the Ryukyus.
On D-day, 1 April, Gendreau, was off the southeast coast
of Okinawa protecting amphibious ships. Before dawn
a Japanese plane attacked the DE but was shot down
and splashed a few yards to starboard. A few hours
later she closed the invasion beaches and delivered the
landing craft to their assigned positions well in advance
of the final bombardment and initial landings. The next
day she was in the destroyer screen when another enemy
plane attacked her at dawn, but with the aid of other
ships she managed to splash it. On the 3d, a plane
strafed her and then, on its second pass, tried to crash
her, but Gendreau' s gunfire blew him out of the air and
splashed him 25 yards away. On 5 April she joined a
hunter-killer group.
On 6 April a torpedo bomber aimed a torpedo at the
DE, but it exploded upon hitting the water. Gendreau
splashed the bomber 500 yards astern. The following
day she destroyed another attacking plane. On the 12th,
without warning a torpedo bomber roared in and released
a torpedo which passed just under the how and exploded
some distance beyond. On 16 April two enemy planes
homed in on her, but two American fighters swooped in
from behind and shot down the attackers.
Gendreau departed Okinawa 22 April with a convoy,
touching at Saipan 5 days later and returning to Okinawa
2 May. She departed the next day for Ulithi, arriving
7 May. Underway again 23 May with a mixed convoy,
she called at Okinawa the 29th and escorted convoys in
these waters. On 10 June 1945, while supporting the
American troops who were wresting the island from Ja-
pan, Gendreau was hit by shellfire from a hidden 150mm.
gun. She lost power and began taking water, but out-
standing damage control had her under control in 15
minutes and nearly restored her to normal within 2 hours.
Two men were killed and two others funded.
After repairs at Kerama Retto and later at Buckner
Bay, Okinawa, she joined Vice Admiral Oldendorf’s Task
Force 13 July for training and minesweeping in the
East China Sea. On 26 July she rescued a friendly fighter
pilot who had ditched at sea, picking him up only 32
minutes after the crash. At the end of the month a bad
typhoon caused her to roll nearly 60° and buckled steel
plating. On 31 July 1945 she escorted damaged Penn-
sylvania (BB-38) to Guam and returned to Okinawa 12
USS Gendreau (DE-639) in 1959 — in World War II DE’s fought enemy submarines to a standstill.
34
September where 4 days later another typhoon parted her
port anchor chain. She departed 22 September to act as
courier ship during the Allied occupation of the Japanese
homeland.
Thus, after a short but distinguished war career, Gcn-
drcau stood out of Tokyo Bay 4 November 1045 bound
home via Pearl Harbor, arriving Portland, Oreg., 22 No-
vember. In February 1946 she proceeded to San Diego
for training exercises and then departed the following
month on a Far Eastern cruise.
Gendreau arrived Shanghai, China, 14 April and sailed
to Hulutato, Manchuria, and to Tsingtao and Chinwang-
tao, China. Further patrols brought her to Okinawa and
Shanghai again May to June, and on 1 July she headed
for California, arriving San Diego the 19th. After train-
ing and repairs she cast off on her last Far Eastern cruise,
calling at Pearl Harbor and Guam en route to Japan,
where she arrived 19 March 1947. In the spring and
summer of 1947, Gendreau stood patrol duty off the Ko-
rean coast, calling at Yokosuka, Japan, 21 May, and thence
returning to station. On 1 September she sailed from
Japan for Pearl Harbor and San Diego, putting in at the
latter port 19 September.
Gendreau decommissioned 13 March 1948 and entered
the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, where she remains.
General A. E. Anderson
Alexander E. Anderson was born 23 November 1889 in
New York City and enlisted in the National Guard in 1910.
Promoted through the ranks, he rose in 1934 to command
the regiment in which he had fought on the Western Front
during World AVar I. In 1938 he was promoted to Briga-
dier General in the National Guard and commanded the
93d Brigade. At the outbreak of AVorld War II he was
appointed Major General and for a time commanded a
division overseas. He became commander of the 86th
Infantry Division upon its activation 15 December 1942
and died 24 December 1942 at Gainesville, Tex.
( AP-111 : dp. 11,450 (It.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 20.6 k. ; cpl. 507 ; trp. 5,289 ; a. 4 5”, 16 1.1", 20 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General A. E. Anderson (AP-111) was launched 2 May
1943 under a Maritime Commission contract by the Fed-
eral Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J. ; sponsored
by Mrs. George C. Marshall ; acquired by the Navy 25
August 1943 ; placed in partial commission the same day
for transfer to Baltimore for conversion to a transport by
Maryland Drydock Co. ; and placed in full commission at
Baltimore 5 October 1943, Cap. W. E. Miller in command.
From 25 October 1943 to 21 March 1944 General A. E.
Anderson made four round-trip transport voyages out of
Norfolk to Casablanca, French Morocco. Underway
again 26 March 1944, she returned to North Africa and
touched at Gourock, Scotland, before steaming to Ber-
muda, where British censors and their families embarked
for passage to New York. The ship reached New York
7 May, and following a round-trip voyage to Belfast, Ire-
land, she stood out of Norfolk 29 June for Bombay, where
her troops debarked 7 August. General A. E. Anderson
returned to San Pedro, Calif., 11 September 1944 and
subsequently made another long round-trip voyage thence
to Bombay via Australia, returning 9 December.
Until the summer of 1945 the busy ship made two
roundtrip voyages from San Francisco to Hollandia and
Leyte, sailing from Leyte 24 to reach Norfolk 22 July
1945. General A. E. Anderson then commenced troop
rotation and “Magic-Carpet” duties. From 8 August
1945 to 15 April 1946 she made eight transatlantic voyages
to France (Marseilles, Le Havre), England (Southamp-
ton), and India (Karachi). Of these active voyages, six
were from New York, and one each from Norfolk and
Boston. The ship stood out of Norfolk 9 July 1946 for
San Francisco, arriving 24 July, and commenced a pattern
of troop carrying and supply runs from AAre.st Coast ports
to China, Japan, the Philippines, and Guam. Assigned to
MSTS in October 1949, she continued these duties until
war flared again in the Far East when Communist troops
crossed the 38th Parallel to invade the Republic of Korea.
The Navy moved quickly to bring American force into
action to halt and push back the aggressors. General
A. E. Anderson embarked the men and equipment of
Marine Air Group 33 at Terminal Island, Calif., and
headed for Japan. She reached Kobe 31 July 1950 with
these Marine fliers who helped save the day for embattled
Korean and American ground forces as they struggled to
maintain a foothold at the southern tip of the beleagured
Korean peninsula.
Returning to San Francisco in August, she embarked
1,800 men of the 11th Airborne Division and brought them
to Moji, Japan, 20 September.
Throughout the remainder of the Korean conflict General
A. E. Anderson followed her familiar pattern of transport
runs from AVest Coast ports to Japan and Korea as she
supported United Nations forces in Korea. Thereafter
she continued identical peacetime operations until she
decommissioned at Oakland, Calif., 10 November 1958.
After being returned to the Maritime Administration she
entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun
Bay, Calif., where she remains.
General A. E. Anderson received one battle star for
Korean service.
General A. W. Brewster
Andre Walker Brewster, born 9 December 1862 at Ho-
boken, N.J., was commissioned 2d Lieutenant of Infantry
in January 1885. He served at various posts in the
western states until the outbreak of the Spanish-Amer-
ican AVar. During the Cuban campaign Brewster took
part in the siege of Santiago with the 9th Infantry.
Later he served with the 9th Regiment in the Battle
of Tienstin, and other engagemements in China during
the Boxer Rebellion. Brewster was awarded the Medal
of Honor for conspicuous gallantry during the Battle of
Tientsin 13 July 1900; and, after relative peace had been
restored, he served as military attache at Peking. Re-
turning to the United States, Brewster was Inspector
General until 1917 when he was assigned to Headquar-
ters, American Expeditionary Force. Following his
service in World A\Tar I, for which he received the Distin-
guished Service Medal, he assumed command of the 1st
Corps Area, with headquarters in Boston, where he re-
mained until his retirement 9 December 1925. Major
General Brewster died at Boston 27 March 1942.
(AP-155 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6” ; dr. 24' ; s.
16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,823 a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T.C4-S-A1 )
General A. W. Brewster (AP-155) was laid down 16
October 1944 under Maritime Commission contract by
Kaiser "Co., Inc., Y’ard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 21
January 1945; sponsored by Airs. Bert Hotchkiss; ac-
quired and commissioned 23 April 1945, Comdr. E. E.
Hahn, USCG, in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, the transport sailed
28 Alay from San Pedro. Transiting the Panama Canal,
she arrived Avonmoutli, England. 20 June and embarked
troops for Pacific ports. Sailing westward, General .1.
IF. Brewster passed through the canal again and arrived
Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, 27 July 1943. She then
sailed to the Philippines, remaining there until after the
capitulation of Japan. The ship embarked veterans and
returned to San Francisco 1 September.
General A. IF. Brewster made three additional voyages
to the Far East in the immediate postwar period, bringing
home thousands of servicemen. She decommissioned at
San Francisco 10 April 1946 and was transferred to the
Maritime Commission and later to Army Transportation
Service for Pacific duty.
The ship was reacquired by the Navy 1 Alareli 1950 and
sailed for the Alilitary Sea Transportation Service with
a civilian crew. General A. IF. Brcivstcr made many
voyages to Korea and Japan during the next 3 years,
35
carrying more than 67,000 troops. In 1954 the ship
was diverted to the coast of Indochina for Operation
“Passage to Freedom.” During September and Novem-
ber General A. IF. Brewster and other navy ships brought
thousands of freedom-loving refugees out of the northern
sector of Vietnam as that unfortunate country was par-
titioned. Returning to San Francisco after this striking
demonstration of the mobility of the American Navy’s
warships and logistic support units, the transport was
placed in Reduced Operational Status in December 1954,
and was returned to the Maritime Administration 26 July
1955. General A. W. Brewster was placed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif., where
she remains.
General A. W . Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely, born 27 March 1844 in
Newburyport, Mass., enlisted as a private in the 19th
Massachusetts Infantry 26 July 1861 and participated
in numerous battles throughout the Civil AVar. Appointed
Second Lieutenant in 1867, between 1871 and 1881 he
served in Texas and in Montana and Dakota Territories,
where he helped construct 2,000 miles of telegraph lines.
A pioneer in polar exploration, he studied Arctic weather
and climate, and from 1881 to 1884 led an ill-fated expedi-
tion during the establishment of a chain of circumpolar
research stations. In 1882 his party pushed farther north-
ward than any previous expedition ; but, suffering great
hardships, only seven men, including Greely, survived
the ordeal. From 1887 until 1906 he served as Chief
Signal Officer and administered the AVeather Bureau and
Signal Corps. During the Spanish-American War he
supervised the construction of more than 25,000 miles of
telegraph lines in Cuba, Puerto Rico, China, and the
Philippine Islands. Also a pioneer in the use of wireless
communications, he established several radio stations in
Alaska. Promoted to Major General 10 February 1906,
he commanded military relief operations following the
San Francisco Earthquake 18 to 19 April. General Greely
retired 27 March 1908 and died in AVasliington, D.C., 20
October 1935. By special legislation of Congress, he was
awarded the Medal of Honor 21 March 1935 for his life
of splendid public service.
( AP-141 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 17 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General A. W. Greely (AP-141) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract 18 July 1944 by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 5 November
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Clarke AVayland ; acquired by the
Navy 22 March 1945 ; and commissioned the same day,
Comdr. George AV. Stedman, Jr., in command.
After shakedown, General A. IF. Greely embarked 2,923
troops and civilians and departed San Pedro 16 April
for Australia. She reached Melbourne 4 May, then sailed
the next day for Fremantle and India, arriving Calcutta
20 May. After embarking homebound troops, she de-
parted the 28th ; steamed via Ceylon and Suez ; and
arrived Newport News, Va., 22 June. From 28 June to 7
July she sailed to Le Havre, France, where she embarked
3,000 troops before returning to New York 18 July. Be-
tween 28 July and 6 December she completed two round-
trip voyages from New York to Calcutta, transporting
occupation troops, mail, and cargo ; and returning home-
bound veterans to the United States. Departing New
York 14 December, she reached Karachi, India, 4 January
1946 and embarked additional returning veterans. She
sailed 6 January for the AVest Coast; and, steaming via
Ceylon, Singapore, and the Philippines, she arrived
Seattle 2 February. She decommissioned at San Fran-
cisco 29 March and was transferred to AVSA the same
day for use as a transport in the Army Transportation
Service.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, General A. IF.
Greely was assigned to MSTS under a civilian crew. She
departed Seattle 5 August and carried troops to the Far
East in support of the effort to repel Communist aggres-
sion in Korea. Operating out of Seattle, during the next
nine months she made four round-trip voyages to Japan,
Korea, and Okinawa. Returning to Seattle 3 May 1951,
she then sailed 24 May for duty in the Atlantic.
Operating out of New York, between 10 October and 22
February 1953 General A. IF. Greely completed numerous
transatlantic runs to Bremerhaven, Germany, and La
Pallice, France. AVhile en route to Bremerhaven in Janu-
ary 1952, she rescued survivors from the stricken mer-
chantman, Flying Enterprise. Placed in reduced opera-
tional status from 17 April until 5 June 1953, she de-
parted Norfolk 16 June for Thule, Greenland. Arriving
3 July, she served until 30 September as barracks ship
during Operation “Blue Jay,” the construction of Thule
Air Force Base. She returned to New York 9 October;
steamed to Bremerhaven and back between 10 November
and 4 December ; and was again placed in reduced opera-
tional status from 9 December until 19 July 1954.
General A. W. Greely departed New York 27 July,
bound for the Pacific. Arriving San Francisco 11 August,
she sailed for the Far East 7 September and operated
in Korean and Japanese waters before returning to San
Francisco via Adak, Alaska, 10 October. She steamed
to Portland, Oreg., 27 October ; entered the Pacific Reserve
Fleet at San Diego in March 1955 ; and was transferred
to the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, AYash.,
29 August 1959 where she remains.
General Alava
A former name retained.
(AG-5 : dp. 1,390 ; lbp. 212'6" ; b. 28'3" ; dr. 13' ; s. 10.5 k. ;
cpl. 76; a. 1 6-pdr., 2 3-pdrs.)
General Alava. was built in 1895 by A. McMillan &
Sons, Dumbarton, Scotland ; captured during the Span-
ish-American AVar ; transferred from the AVar Depart-
ment to the Navy 21 February 1900 ; commissioned at
Cavite, P.I., 9 March 1900, Lt. Comdr. C. E. Fox in
command.
General Alava served in the Philippines as a transport
and lighthouse tender. She transported marines between
various garrisons in the Philippines, making a voyage to
Guam November 1900 to return survivors of Yosemite,
lost at sea during a typhoon, to Cavite. Following a tour
of the Archipelago with the Army Board for selection
of a leper colony site, she carried a Naval Observatory
party to Pendang, Sumatra, to observe a partial eclipse
of the sun 16 May 1901. During 3-26 September 1901, she
cruised with Read Admiral C. C. Remey on inspection of
the southern islands. She carried Governor AVilliam
Howard Taft from Manila to Singapore and back, 5-22
August 1902. The transport again sailed from Manila
29 October, transporting a Forestry Commission to the
southern islands, Northern Luzon, Formosa and Nagasaki,
Japan. She returned to Subic Bay 30 December and de-
commissioned at Cavite 24 January 1903.
General Alava recommissioned 11 June 1904 for trans-
port service between the islands until May 1905 when she
departed for the coast of China. She returned to Cavite
from Shanghai 21 November 1905 and decommissioned
26 February 1906.
General Alava recommissioned 18 December 1906. She
was largely used to carry passengers between Cavite and
Olongapo until February 1925. This service was inter-
rupted ( May-November 1919) by a cruise to Batavia,
Saigon, and Celebes to show the flag. AVitli the assign-
ment of hull classification and numbers to ships in 1920,
she was designated a miscellaneous auxiliary (AG-5).
The transport departed Manila 18 February 1925 once
again to show the flag at Batavia and Saigon and to
proceed via Hong Kong to Shanghai, arriving 24 April.
For the next 2 years General Alava carried passengers
between Chinese ports, twice returning to the Philippines
for brief visits. In several inspection cruises from
36
Shanghai, she carried the Asiatic Fleet Commander to
such ports as Dairen, Cliefoo, Tsingtao, Tientsin, and
Chinwangtao. On 24 August 1927 she became receiving
ship at Shanghai for transient officers of the Yangtze
Patrol and from time to time made inspection trips along
the river. She returned from her last cruise on the
river to Nanking 3 June 1929 and decommissioned at
Shanghai 28 June 1929. Her hulk was used as a target
during gunnery practice off the Asiatic coast and sunk 17
July 1929.
General Alexander M. Hatch
A former name retained. Alexander McCarrell Patch.
Jr., born 23 November 1889 at Fort Huacliuea, Ariz..
graduated from the U.S. Military Academy 12 June 1913
and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Infantry.
Prior to World War I, he served in Texas and Arizona ;
and from June 1917 until May 1919 he joined the 18th
Infantry in France participating in the Aisne-Marne,
St. Mihel, and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. During the
next 20 years he was stationed at various posts in the
United States. Assigned to the 47th Infantry at Fort
Bragg, N.C., in August 1940, he was promoted to Briga-
dier General 4 August 1941. Following the Japanese at-
tack on Pearl Harbor, he assumed command of Allied
forces in New Caledonia 12 March 1942, and on 8 Decem-
ber he relieved General Vandegrift, USMC, on Guadal-
canal and took command of composite American forces
operating against the Japanese in the Solomon Islands.
He returned to the United States in April 1943 and as-
sumed command of the IV Corps. In March 1944 he was
designated Commanding General of the 7th Army in
Sicily. Promoted to Lieutenant General 7 August 1944,
he served with the 7th Army in France. He then took
command of the 4th Army in July 1945 and died 21
November while on duty at Fort Sam Houston, Tex.
Admiral R. E. Coontz (AP-122) (q.v.) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as General
Alexander M. Patch 1 March 1950 and assigned to
MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, she operated out
of New York to Bremerhaven, Germany, and Southamp-
ton, England, during the next 5 years, rotating troops,
transporting military dependents, and carrying European
refugees to the United States. During October and
November 1956 she steamed to the Mediterranean where
she supported peace-keeping operations of the mighty 6th
Fleet.
Returning to New York 15 November, she resumed
transatlantic service to Bremerhaven. From 1956 to 1965
she completed more than 120 voyages to Bremerhaven
and back. She also deployed to the Mediterranean six
more times, and, during political crises in Jordan and
Lebanon, she supported counteractions by the 6th Fleet.
In response to Communist infiltration and aggression
in South Vietnam, General Alexander M. Patch departed
New York 15 August 1965 for the Far East. Sailing via
Charleston, S.C., and Long Beach, Calif., she carried
troops and supplies to bolster American military aid for
strife-torn South Vietnam. Arriving Qui Nhon 16 Sep-
tember, she steamed via Cam Ranh Bay to Vung Tau
before departing the 22d for the United States. She
arrived San Francisco 2 October, and from 20 October to
9 November she again sailed to Vung Tau with men
and military supplies. From South Vietnam she sailed
via Penang, Malaysia ; the Suez Canal ; and Bremer-
haven, Germany, to New York, arrived 15 December.
Following seven transatlantic voyages to Bremerhaven
and back, General Alexander M. Patch resumed troop
transport duty to South Vietnam. After embarking
troops at Boston, she sailed 15 July 1966 and arrived
Vung Tau 13 August. She departed the next day via
Yokosuka, Japan, for Pusan, South Korea, where she
arrived 26 August. There she embarked South Korean
soldiers and sailed for Nha Trang 30 August, arriving
7 September. She continued to transport troops and sup-
plies supporting the effort to repel Communist aggression
in South Vietnam until heading home 31 December. She
reached New York, via Suez and Gibraltar, late in Janu-
ary 1967 and was placed in ready reserve" status while
preparing for future service.
General Arnold
Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Conn., 14 Janu-
ary 1741. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War,
he served in the Connecticut Militia, captured Fort Ticon-
deroga in 1775, and was promoted to Brigadier General
in 1776. After he played an important part in the pivotal
battle of Saratoga in 1777, Arnold was promoted again to
Major General. In 1780, while commanding West Point,
he became disgruntled with the patriot cause and con-
spired to turn over his fort to the British. His complicity
discovered, Arnold fled, and soon became a Brigadier in
the British Army. He led raids on Virginia and Con-
necticut during the remainder of the war, and afterward
retired to Canada. General Arnold died in London. Eng-
land, 14 June 1801.
(Sch)
During 1776, the Marine Committee of Congress and
its agents purchased a number of small craft, among them
a ship named General Arnold. This small schooner was
a packet used by the Congress to carry dispatches, etc.,
to Europe. She was in service at the end of 1778 when
she returned to Boston from Bordeaux. She was com-
manded by John Ayers of Massachusetts and the Conti-
nental Navy.
General Bragg
General Braxton Bragg .was born in 1817 in Warren-
town, N.C., and graduated from West Point in 1837.
After action in the Seminole War, he served with dis-
tinction in the Mexican War, especially at Buena Vista
3 February 1847 when his field artillery broke the Mexican
attack. He resigned in 1856 and became a plantation
owner in Louisiana until commissioned a Brigadier Gen-
eral in the Confederate States Army 23 February 1861.
He assisted General Johnston in the reorganization of his
army ; was promoted to General for bravery at Shiloh ;
and relieved General Beauregard as Commander of the
Army of Tennessee 27 June 1862. After seeing action at
Perryville, Stone River, Chiekamauga, and Chattanooga,
he was relieved by General Johnston 2 December 1863.
As military adviser to Jefferson Davis, he was captured
with the President 9 May 1865. After the war he prac-
ticed as a civil engineer until his death at Galveston 27
September 1876.
(SStr : t. 1.043; 1. 208'; b. 32'8" ; dph. 15'; dr. 12';
s. 10 k. ; a. 1 30-pdr., 1 32-pdr„ 1 12-pdr.)
General Bragg, originally river .steamer Mexico, was
built in New York City in 1851. Owned by the Southern
Steamship Co. she was impressed for Confederate service
as CSS General Bragg at New Orleans 15 January 1862
( see “Confederate Appendix,” Vol. II) . She was captured
by the Union’s Western Flotilla in an engagement near
Memphis, Tenu., 6 June 1862, and transferred to the War
Department 30 September 1862. Her first Commanding
Officer was Lt. Joshua Bishop.
General Bragg was fitted out at Cairo, 111., departing
9 July 1862 for Helena, Ark. She sailed 16 August 1862
as part of an escort to steamer Iatan carrying 500 troops
to the mouth of the Yazoo for reconnaissance of Con-
federate batteries and guerrilla parties. For the next
15 months, except for periods of repair at Memphis, she
patrolled the river from Helena to the mouth of the Yazoo
River, where she guarded against Confederate move-
ments toward Vicksburg.
With the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863, General Bragg
remained in the vicinity until her departure 13 December,
for her new station at the mouth of the Red River. Dur-
37
\\ Vi "w V> v iv \'v» W\v\i\A V'p ,W>'v\\v"\ C«-w>^ i
USS General Bragg — this Cottonelad Side-wheel Ram served under both flags.
ing the spring of 1864, it was her duty to guard the mouth
of the river in support of the joint expedition against
Shreveport on the Red. She began patrolling the river
again, and 15 June engaged a Confederate battery with
Naiad near Tunica Bend, La. For a time the ships got
the worst of the action amid a hail of shot and musketry,
but eventually drove off the Confederates with the -help
of Winnebago. General Bragg was disabled in the action.
The remainder of General Bragg's career was spent
patrolling the Mississippi from the mouth of the Red
River to Natchez, Miss. Infrequently she cruised as far
south as Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The ship re-
turned to Mound City, 111., 2 July 1865, and decommis-
sioned at Cairo 24 July 1965. Sold 1 September 1865,
she was redocumented Mexico.
General Burnside
General Ambrose Everett Burnside, U.S. Army, was
born 1824 at Liberty, Ind. He graduated from West Point
in 1847. In the Civil War he commanded a brigade in
the First Battle of Bull Run ; led troops in Army-Navy ex-
peditions against Roanoke Island, New Bern, Beaufort,
and Fort Macon. He next commanded the Army of the
Potomac through the Battle of Fredricksburg. After that
defeat, he was replaced by General Hooker. Thereafter,
he was commander of the Department of Ohio (Mareh-
December 1963). He occupied East Tennessee, took
Knoxville, and repulsed Longstreet’s attempt to recapture
the town. In 1864 he served under Meade and Grant in
Virginia. General Burnside was governor of Rhode Island
(1866-68). From 1875 to his death in 1881, he served
in the United States Senate.
(SwGbt: t. 201 ; 1. 171' ; b. 26' ; dph. 4'9" ; a. 2 20-pdrs„
3 24-pdrs. how.)
General Burnside, built in 1862 at Wilmington, Del.,
was sold to the War Department 1863; chartered by the
Navy ; commissioned 8 August 1864 at Bridgeport, Ala.,
Acting Volunteer Lt. H. A. Glassford in command.
General Burnside became flagship of the upper Tennes-
see River Fleet, Mississippi Squadron, 15 October 1864.
Based at Bridgeport, she patrolled the river to Whites-
burg, Decatur, and Chattanooga. On 27 December 1864
she helped repulse Confederate attacks at Decatur. She
was hulled several times while exchanging gunfire with
Confederate sharpshooters. This gunboat action in con-
cert with Union land forces brought about the evacuation
of Decatur by the Confederates and left the upper Ten-
nessee region under firm Union control. The gunboat con-
tinued river patrol until 1 June 1865 when she was re-
turned to the War Department at Bridgeport, Ala.
General C, C. Ballou
Charles Clarendon Ballou was born 13 June 1862 at
Orange, N.Y., and graduated from the Military Academy
in 1886. Entering the Infantry, Ballou served at various
posts in the United States until the outbreak of the Span-
ish-American War, when he was commissioned Major in
the 7tli Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He fought in the
Philippines during the ensuing insurrection and was
awarded the Silver Star. Following Quartermaster duty
in the United States after the war, and another assign-
ment in the Philippines, Ballou commanded the 92d Di-
vision in France during World War I. His postwar serv-
ice included regimental command at Fort George Wright,
Wash., 1920-23. Major General Ballou died 23 July 1928
at Spokane, Wash.
(AP-157 : dp. 9,950 (lt.) ; 1. 522'10'' ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' ; s.
16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. Cl— S-Al)
General C. C. Ballou (AP-157) was launched 7 March
1945 under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co.,
Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Harry
38
J. Bernat ; acquired by the Navy 20 May 1945 ; and com-
missioned 30 June 1945, Comdr. M. D. MacGregor in
command.
Following shakedown off San Diego, General C. C. Ballou
departed San Pedro 29 July 1945 for France via the
Panama Canal. She arrived Marseilles after the Jap-
anese surrender, and sailed with returning veterans 23
August bound for Hampton Roads. Then after two round-
trip voyages to India and back to New York with return-
ing soldiers and sailors, the ship sailed 13 January 1946
for a voyage that was to take her around the world visit-
ing Calcutta, Manila, and other ports before mooring at
San Francisco 8 March with over 3,000 troops. General
C. C. Ballou completed her voyage by transiting the Pan-
ama Canal, arriving New York via San Juan 1 May. The
transport decommissioned at Hoboken, N.J., 17 May, was
returned to the Maritime Commission, and eventually
served as a transport for Army Transportation Service.
General C. C. Ballou was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 for MSTS and for nearly 2 years sailed be-
tween Europe and the United States with refugees seeking
freedom and security. Beginning in 1952 the ship began
transporting troops from the West Coast to Korea to aid
in the effort to repel Communist aggression there. Fol-
lowing the armistice, General C. C. Ballou continued to
sail to Japan and Korea on troop rotation duty. She was
placed out of service in September 1954 and placed in re-
serve at Orange, Tex. Later delivered to the Maritime
Commission National Defense Reserve Fleet at Beau-
mont, Tex., she was struck from the Navy List 1 July
1960, and remains in reserve.
General C. C. Ballou received five battle stars for Ko-
rean conflict service.
General C. G. Morton
Major General Charles Gould Morton, USA, served in
the Philippines in the Spanish-Ameriean War and subse-
quently on the Texas border.
( AP-138 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
cpl. 494 ; trp. 4,766 ; a. 45", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ; cl. General
G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General C. G. Morton (APA-138) was built by the
Kaiser Co. of Richmond, Calif., in 1943-44 ; acquired by
the Navy on 18 May 1944 ; and commissioned 7 July 1944,
Comdr. S. K. Hall in command.
After shakedown out of San Pedro, California, she
stood out independently for Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands,
on 1 August, arriving 16 days later and loading homeward-
bound troops. On 20 August she got underway arrived
San Francisco 3 September, sailed on to San Diego and
departed there 16 September for the Russell Islands in
the Solomons. Embarking troops, she' proceeded to Es-
piritu Santo, New Hebrides, and thence to Noumea, New
Caledonia, before putting in at San Francisco 24 October.
General C.' G. Morton steamed to San Diego and de-
parted with a convoy 10 November, calling at Pearl
Harbor 6 days later and reaching Guadalcanal 29 Novem-
ber. On 3 December she sailed for San Francisco via
New Guinea, Manus Island, and Noumea, arriving on the
last day of 1944. After loading passengers at Long Beach,
Calif., General C. G. Morton stood out 11 January 1945
bound for Calcutta, India, via Melbourne, Australia ; she
reached Melbourne 1 February and called at Calcutta 19
days later. Returning via Melbourne, Manus, Ulithi,
Tinian, and Saipan, the transport arrived at San Fi’an-
cisco 25 April, only to get underway again 5 May for the
Southwest Pacific, Hollandia, New Guinea, Leyte, and
Manila, P.I., were ports of call. General C. G. Morton
touched at San Francisco 5 July before sailing 3 days
later for the east coast. She transited the Panama Canal
17 July and put in at Boston 6 days later.
Following drydocking, the busy ship departed 12 August
for France, touching at Marseille 22 August and returning
to Newport News, Va., 2 September 1945. On her next
voyage, the transport sailed via the Suez Canal to Karachi,
India, and returned by the same route to Nqw York. In
early January 1946 General C. G. Morton repeated this
trip, but sailed around the world calling at Singapore
and Manila before docking at San Francisco in early
March 1946.
General C. G. Morton was delivered to the War Depart-
ment for use by the Army in May 1946. She was rein-
stated on the Navy List in March 1950 and assigned to
MSTS Reserve. She was struck from the Navy List 29
May 1958.
General C. G. Morton received three battle stars for
Korean conflict service.
General C. H. Muir
Charles Henry Muir was born 18 July 1860 at Erie,
Mich., and graduated from the Military Academy in 1885.
Following duty at various posts in the United States,
including service in the Indian Wars, he took part in the
capture of Santiago during the Spanish-Ameriean War
and fought in the Philippines during the insurrection
which followed. Muir was also a member of the China
Relief Expedition of 1901. Staff duty and service in the
Philippines followed; and, with America’s entrance into
World War I, he was given command of the 28th Division.
Muir was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for
his service during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After
his return to the United States, Muir served on the Gen-
eral Staff and as Post Commander of various Army in-
stallations. Major General Muir retired in 1924 and
died 8 December 1933 at Baltimore, Md.
( AP-142 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,828 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General C. II. Muir (AP-142) was launched 24 Novem-
ber 1944 under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
John H. Deasy ; acquired and commissioned 12 April 1945
at Portland, Captain J. D. Conway in command.
Following shakedown off San Diego, General C. H.
Muir departed 13 May from San Francisco for her first
troop-carrying voyage to the war zones of the Pacific.
The ship brought troops to Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok,
Ulithi, and Leyte; served briefly as a receiving ship in
the Philippines ; and returned to New York via the Panama
Canal 14 August 1945. The long Pacific war over,
General C. H. Muir sailed 3 September to pick up return-
ing veterans at Mediterranean and Indian Ocean ports.
She arrived New York 1 November, and then, retracing
her steps to bring home another full contingent of troops,
she finally returned New York 9 January 1946. The
ship made three subsequent voyages, one to New Orleans
and two to Europe, before decommissioning at Baltimore
18 June 1946. She was returned to the Maritime Com-
mission on that day and turned over to the Army Trans-
portation Service.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, General C. H.
Muir began operations under MSTS. For 2 years she
supported American forces in Europe, and on eastward
crossings brought back to the United States thousands of
refugees under the International Refugee Organization.
In late 1952 the ship sailed from New York through the
Mediterranean and thence through the Suez Canal to
Korea, bringing reinforcements to our fighting men who
were struggling to thwart Communist aggression against
that country. She made another long rotation voyage,
stopping at many European and Asian ports before being
placed in Reduced Operational Status at New York 30
September 1953. In August 1954 General C. II. Muir
steamed through the Panama Canal to San Francisco and
sailed once more to Korea with replacement troops.
Upon her return the ship was placed in the Pacific
Reserve Fleet at San Diego, Calif., 7 February 1955. She
was returned to the Maritime Administration in 1960.
She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet 30 June,
and at present is berthed at Suisun Bay, Calif.
256-125 0 - 68 -5
39
General C. H. Muir received two battle stars for Korean
War service.
General D. E. Aultman
Dwight Edward Aultman, bom 2 February 1872
at Allegheny, Pa., graduated from the Military Academy
in 1894 and was commissioned 2d Lieutenant, Field
Artillery. During the Spanish-American War, he fought
in the Battle of San Juan Hill and at the siege of Santiago
Aultman served at various posts until World War I when
he was an artillery commander in France, participating
in the Aisne-Marne and St. Mihiel offensives. He received
the Distinguished Service Medal, and returned to the
United States in 1919 as Commanding General, Camp
Knox, Ky.
Brigadier General Aultman’s last command was the
Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Okla. He died 12 Decem-
ber 1929 at Washington, D.C.
( AP-156 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General D. E. Aultman (AP-156) was launched 18
February 1945 under Maritime Commission contract by
Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Alma H. Aultman, widow of General Aultman ;
acquired by the Navy and commissioned 20 May 1945,
Captain S. P. Swicegood, USCG, in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, General D. E. Ault-
man got underway 30 June bound for France. She tran-
sited the Panama Canal and arrived Marseilles 24 July,
embarking troops, nurses, and Red Cross workers for the
Pacific theater. The transport sailed 26 July via the
Panama Canal and found herself 1 day out of Balboa
bound for New Guinea when the Japanese capitulated 15
August.
General D. E. Aultman arrived Humboldt Bay, New
Guinea 4 September, and carried troops to Manila before
returning to Portland 11 October 1945. She was then
assigned to the “Magic-Carpet” fleet, contributing her
important part to the gigantic task of returning the hun-
dred of thousands of Pacific veterans. She made two
“Magic-Carpet” voyages to the Far East before decommis-
sioning at San Francisco 15 March 1946. She was returned
to the Maritime Commission for transfer to the Army
Transportation Service, serving in the Pacific.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, General D. E.
Aultman joined the MSTS with a civil service crew and
resumed her support of American posts in the Pacific.
After the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the
transport began the vital job of transporting troops to that
strategic country. The veteran ship sailed to the western
Pacific until she was returned to the Maritime Commission
4 June 1958. She entered the National Defense Reserve
Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif., where she remains.
General Daniel I. Sultan
A former name retained. Daniel Isom Sultan, born 9
December 1885 at Oxford, Miss., graduated from the U.S.
Military Academy in 1907 and was commissioned Second
Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Prior to World
War I, he served in the Philippine Islands and was in
charge of the construction of fortifications on Corregidor.
In 1918 he was assigned to the War Department General
Staff in France. From 1929 to 1931, he commanded troops
during a survey of the proposed Inter-Ocean Canal route
through Nicaragua ; and, from 1934 to 1938, he presided
as a Commissioner of the District of Columbia. Promoted
to Brigadier General 8 July 1939, he was in command of
the 38tli Infantry Division at the beginning of World
War II. Following his command of the VIII Corps, he was
ordered to the China-Burma-India Theater in 1943 to act
as Deputy Commander under General Joseph Stilwell. He
was promoted to Lieutenant General 2 September 1944
and on 24 October became Commander of the Burma-India
Theater. Returning to the United States 26 June 1945,
he was appointed Inspector General of the Army 14
July. General Sultan died 14 January 1947 at Washington,
D.C., while on active duty.
Admiral IF. S. Benson (AP-120) ( q.v. ) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as General
Daniel I. Sultan 1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, she operated in the Pacific
out of San Francisco. From 1950 to 1953 she steamed
to the Western Pacific in support of the effort to repel
Communist aggression in Korea. She made more than
20 round-trip voyages to the Far East and carried men
and supplies to American bases in Japan, Okinawa, Guam.
Formosa, and the Philippine Islands. Following the end
of hostilities in Korea, she continued supply and troop-
lift runs to the troubled Far East. During the next 13
years, she completed more than 100 deployments to the
Western Pacific while supporting peace-keeping operations
by American forces.
In response to America’s determination to defend the
independence and integrity of South Vietnam from ex-
ternal Communist aggression, General Daniel I. Sultan
departed San Francisco for Southeast Asia 2 August 1965.
Steaming via Japan, she embarked troops at Okinawa
and reached Da Nang, South Vietnam, 28 August. She
returned to San Francisco 11 September and during the
remainder of 1965 completed two more round-trip voyages
to Qui Nhon and Vung Tau, South Vietnam. In the first 7
months of 1966 she made four runs to Japan, Okinawa,
Taiwan, and the Philippines. She operated in the West-
tern Pacific, supporting the forces of freedom in the Far
East, until arriving San Francisco late in December
1966. Early in 1967 she was placed in ready reserve status.
General Daniel I. Sultan received two battle stars for
Korean war service.
General Douglas Mac Arthur, see Y P-4'7 9
General E. T. Collins
Edgar Thomas Collins, born 7 March 1873 at Williams-
port, Pa., graduated from the Military Academy in 1897.
In the Spanish-American war he fought with the 1st
Brigade in the battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill,
and during the siege of Santiago. In the years that fol-
lowed Collins served at various American and foreign
posts, often as an instructor. He went to France in 1917
as an observer on the British and French fronts and re-
turned in 1918 to become Chief of Staff, 85th Division.
Later Collins rose to the post of Chief of Staff, 6th Corps,
and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Fol-
lowing the war, staff and infantry-instructor assign-
ments led to his commanding the Infantry School, Fort
Benning, Ga., in 1926. Retired as Assistant Chief of
Staff 31 May 1932, Major General Collins died 10 Feb-
ruary 1933 at Washington, D.C.
( AP-147 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 2,173 a. 4 5", 81.1", 16 20 mm.;
cl. General G. O Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General E. T. Collins (AP-147) was launched 22 Jan-
uary 1944 under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Allison J. Barnet ; acquired by the Navy and commis-
sioned 20 July 1944, Comdr. E. J. Milner in command.
Following shakedown training out of San Diego, Gen-
eral E. T. Collins departed 14 August 1944 with over 3,000
troops for the Pacific fighting, as America’s island cam-
paign increased in momentum. The ship debarked troops
at Pearl Harbor, Ehiwetok, Saipan, Guam, and Kwa-
jalein before returning to San Francisco 15 October 1944.
After a round-trip voyage to Pearl Harbor with addi-
tional troops, General E. T. Collins sailed once more 22
December bound for the islands of Micronesia. She car-
ried troops to Eniwetok, Saipan, and Guam to support
40
amphibious operations in the Pacific before returning to
Seattle 7 February 1945.
General E. T. Collins returned to the western Pacific
in April and for the remainder of the war operated out
of Fremantle, Australia, carrying troops to the Pacific
islands and India. Following the Japanese surrender,
the ship arrived San Pedro 22 September with returning
veterans, and joined the “Magic-Carpet” fleet in the giant
task of bringing home the thousands of troops from the
Pacific islands. She made four such voyages in the
months to come, stopping at Yokohama and Manila, and
arrived San Francisco after the last passage 14 May 1946.
General E. T. Collins decommissioned there 17 June 1946
and was turned over to the Maritime Commission for
transfer bo the Army Transportation Service.
The veteran transport was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 for use by the MSTS with a civil service
crew. At the outbreak of the war in Korea, the ship
began transporting American troops to that stricken land
for the struggle to thwart Communist aggression. She
was at Pusan 12 December 1950 when orders came to
sail to Hungnam for the famous evacuation of U.N. troops
from that port. General E. T. Collins arrived 14 Decem-
ber and, under an umbrella of naval gunfire provided by
Missouri and other ships, took on more than 6,000 ex-
hausted troops, three times her troop-carrying capacity.
After these fiighters were safely debarked at Pusan, the
ship returned to Hungnam Christmas Eve to bring out
another load of troops to Pusan.
Following this dangerous but successful operation, the
transport resumed her vital troop carrying duties be-
tween the United States and the Far East. She remained
on this service until late 1952 ; when, during October
and November, she was part of the support task unit for
Operation Ivy, the atomic tests at Eniwetok.
After the Korean armistice General E. T. Collins con-
tinued to rotate troops in Korea and Japan, keeping
strong America’s presence in the critical Far East. She
arrived San Francisco after her final passage 6 October
1954 and was inactivated. General E. T. Collins was re-
turned to the Maritime Administartion 30 June 1960 and
was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun
Bay, Calif., where she remains.
General E. T. Collins received five battle stars for
Korean War service.
General Edwin D. Patrick
A former name retained. Edwin Daviess Patrick, born
11 January 1894 at Tell City, Ind., entered the Indiana
National Guard 11 February 1915 and was commissioned
Second Lieutenant in the Infantry 21 March 1917. After
duty in Kansas, California, Oklahoma, and North
Carolina, he joined the 14th Machine Gun Battalion in
France to participate in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne
offensives. Following his return to the United States
in July 1919', he was stationed at various posts until
May 1926 when he went to Tientsin, China, to serve with
the 15th Infantry. He returned to the United States in
July 1929 to remain until after the start of World War
II. Assigned to the Southwest Pacific in December 1942.
he was promoted to Brigadier General 26 April 1943, and
in June was appointed Chief of Staff of the 6th Army.
Appointed commander of a regimental combat team in
May 1944, he participated in the conquest of New Guinea.
In September he assumed command of the 6th Infantry,
and in January 1945 joined in the battle to liberate Luzon!
General Patrick was mortally wounded by Japanese
machine gun fire near Mountain Mataba, south of Mon-
talban, Luzon, 14 March 1945.
Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) (q.v.) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as Gen-
eral Edwin D. Patrick 1 March 1950 and assigned to
MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, she operated in the
Pacific out of San Francisco. She carried troops and
supplies to American bases in Japan, Korea, Okinawa,
the Marianas, and the Philippines to make more than two
dozen round-trip voyages to the Far East while sup-
porting the effort to repel the Communist aggression in
Korea. After the armistice in Korea, she continued
transport operations in the Western Pacific; and between
1953 and 1965 she steamed to the Far East some 110
times to provide American bases with men and supplies.
In response to America’s determination to protect the
integrity and independence of South Vietnam from con-
tinuing Communist aggression, General Ediein D. Patrick
departed San Francisco for Southeast Asia 16 August 1965.
Steaming via Pearl Harbor and Guam, she touched at
Manila Bay 4 September and reached Cam Ranh Bay,
South Vietnam, 7 September. Proceeding the next day to
Vung Tau, she steamed to Yokohama before returning to
San Francisco 27 September. Between 1 October and
18 November she completed and deployment to the Far
East that sent her to Okinawa and to Da Nang, Qui
Nhon, Cam Ranh Bay, and Vung Tau, South Vietnam.
During the first 7 months of 1966 she completed five Far
East deployments, operated out of ports in South Vietuam,
Okinawa, Japan, Korea, and Formosa while supporting
the forces of freedom in the Western Pacific. General
Edwin D. Patrick continued this vital duty until arriv-
ing San Francisco on the last day of 1966. After over-
haul early in 1967, the transport was placed in ready
reserve status.
General Edwin D. Patrick .received three battle stars
for Korean war service.
General G. M. Randall, see General George M. Randall
General G. O. Squier
George Owen Squier was born in Dryden, Mich., 21
March 1865 and graduated from the Military Academy in
1877. After first entering the Army as an artillery officer,
Squier joined the Signal Corps, rising to Major by 1903.
He commanded cable-ship Burnside during the laying of
the Philippine cable from 1900 to 1902. He was appointed
Chief Signal Officer of the Army 14 February 1917, and
was promoted to Major General 6 October. He also
served as Chief of the Army Air Service 1916 to 1918.
General Squier was the author of numerous articles and
papers on technical subjects, and is credited with several
important inventions in the fields of radio and electronics.
He took part in his later life in several international con-
ferences on communications and attended the 1921 Wash-
ington Conference on Naval Limitations for the War De-
partment. General Squier died 24 March 1934.
(AP-130: dp. 17,250; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5" ; cl. General G. O.
Squier; T C4-5 Al)
General G. O. Squier (AP-130) was launched 11 No-
vember 1942 under Maritime Commission contract by the
Kaiser Co., Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Miss Mary
Ann Somervell ; acquired 30 August 1943 and commis-
sioned 2 October, Captain A. E. Uehlinger in Command.
General G. O. Squier made three round-trip, troop-
carrying voyages out of San Francisco from 29 October
1943 to 30 March 1944 to Noumea ; Pearl Harbor, Guadal-
canal, Wallis Island, Samoa, Noumea, and Honolulu,
respectively. Underway again from San Francisco 7
April she brought troops to Noumea and Milne Bay be-
fore heading for Norfolk, where she arrived 2 June. On
1 July the ship departed with 3,300 troops for Italy, and
debai’ked them at Naples. Following a voyage thence to
Oran and back, General G. O. Squier joined Task Force
87 off Naples 13 August in preparation for Operation
“Dragoon,” the amphibious invasion of Southern France.
Arriving off Cap Camarat 15 August, she debarked her
troops into waiting LCI’s which put them ashore to be-
come another deadly prong thrust deeply into Hilter’s
“Heartland.” The next day she headed for Oran to
bring nearly 3,000 troops back to the Cap Camarat
41
beachhead on the 30th. General G. 0. Squier returned to
New York 26 September with casualties and prisoners of
war embarked at Naples.
From 14 October 1044 to 14 September 1945, she made
10 transatlantic, troop-carrying and rotation voyages:
7 from New York, 2 from Norfolk, and 1 from Boston, to
ports in the United Kingdom (Plymouth, Southampton,
and Avonmouth) and France (Le Havre and Marseilles).
Between 20 September 1945 and 18 June 1946, six other
round-trip, “Magic-Carpet” voyages out of New York at
war’s end brought home veterans from the Far East
(Karachi, Calcutta, and Colombo) and Europe (Le Havre,
Leghorn, and Bremerhaven) . General G. O. Squier
reached Norfolk 22 June and decommissioned 10 July
1946. Returned to WSA 18 July 1946, she entered the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at James River, Va. She
was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Corp. 7 April 1964,
converted to a general cargo ship, and renamed Pennmar
27 May 1965.
General G. O. Squier was awarded one battle star for
World War II service.
General G. W. Goethals
George Washington Goethals was born in Brooklyn,
N.Y. 29 June 1858, and graduated from the Military
Academy in 1880. As a Lt. Col. in the Engineer Corps,
he was appointed by President Roosevelt in 1907 chief
engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission, and in that
position bore virtually the sole responsibility for the suc-
cessful completion of the Panama Canal project. General
Goethals later served as first civil governor of the Panama
Canal Zone, and, after retiring in 1916, was called back
to duty to direct the supply and transportation system of
the U.S. Army during World War I. Major General
Goethals died in New York City 21 January 1928.
(Str : dp. 2,783 (n.) ; 1. 367' ; b. 48'7" ; dr. 27'6" ;
s. 11 lc. ; a. none)
General G. IF. Goethals was built in 1912 as Grunewald
by Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack, Germany ; taken over by
the Cruiser and Transport Force from her owners, the
Panama Railroad Steamship Co. of New York. Operated
by the Navy under Army account, she commissioned 10
March 1919 at Hoboken, N.J., Lt. Comdr. Edward O.
Roberts, USNRF, in command.
General G. IF. Goethals spent the bulk of her commis-
sioned service ferrying vital supplies to France and bring-
ing home veterans of the A.E.F. Leaving New York 2
April 1919 for her first transatlantic voyage, she carried
supplies to Bordeaux, France, returning 4 May. Subse-
quently she made two more voyages to Europe with sup-
plies, and brought home nearly 3,000 troops. On 21 August
1919, General G. IF. Goethals sailed from Charleston, S.C.,
carrying supplies to New Orleans, San Cristobal, Panama,
and San Juan, P.R., arriving New York 13 September 1919.
On the day of her arrival in New York she decommis-
sioned and was turned over to the War Department for
return to her owners.
General Gates
General Gates, see Gates for biography.
(Brig: a. 18 g.)
General Gates, former British merchant brigantine
Industrious Bee, was built in 1764 at Bristol, England,
for operations by Clapman & Co. ; captured 29 August
1777 by Captain John Skimmer in Continental schooner
Lee while bound from Gibraltar for Newfoundland ; pur-
chased 19 December by-tlie Navy Board at Boston ; fitted
out with 18 guns ; and renamed General Gates, Captain
John Skimmer in command.
General Gates sailed from Marblehead 24 May 1778,
joining privateer brigantine Haiclc off Cape Ann to cruise
on the Newfoundland Banks. After capture of ship
Jenny and brigantines Thomas and Nancy, the two ships
parted company early in August. Thereafter General
Gates captured schooner Polly. On 3 August 1778 she
intercepted brigantine Montague under Captain Nelson,
who defended his ship in an epic engagement of 5 hours.
After expending her ammunition, Montague resorted to
firing “every piece of iron of all kinds that could be
rammed into the tube of the cannon,” including jack
knives, crowbars, and even the captain’s speaking tube.
A double-headed shot from General Gates crashed into
Captain Nelson’s cabin. Taking it up, Nelson fired it from
one of his own guns. “This shot striking a swivel gun
on the State's brig divided, and one part of it glancing
instantly killed the active and brave Captain Skimmer.”
It was 2 more hours before Montague struck her colors
and capitulated to General Gates with Lt. Dennis in
command. General Gates returned to Boston Harbor with
prizes Polly and Montague 31 August 1778.
General Gates departed Boston 14 November in com-
pany with Providence for Nova Scotian waters. She cap-
tured schooner Friendship off Casco 4 December and 2
days later, parted by a gale from Providence, subsequently
cruised in West Indian waters. She captured schooner
General Leslie off Bermuda in the first part of February
1779, then joined Hazard at Martinique. Together they
captured brigs Active 16 March and Union the following
day.
General Gates returned to Boston harbor 13 April 1779.
so unseaworthy from battering gales that her crew, at
times, had despaired of ever reaching port. She was
ordered sold 2 June 1779. In August she was loaned by
the Navy Board to the Deputy Commissary of Prisoners
at Boston to convey prisoners to New York. On comple-
tion of this mission, she was sold.
General Gorgas, see General IF. C. Gorgas
General George M. Randall
George Morton Randall, born 8 October 1841 at Con-
neaut, Ohio, enlisted as a private in the 4th Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry in the fall of 1861. He served in New
York and Washington, and in the field with the Army of
Potomac. Brevetted Captain for gallant service in the
Battle of Antietam, he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel,
then Colonel for gallantry in the attack on Fort Stedman.
Va. After fighting Indians on the southwestern frontier,
he served with the Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Powder
expeditions against Indians in the Rockies. General Ran-
dall subsequently was on duty at New York and Knox-
ville, Tenn., prior to commanding the Department of Luzon
in the Philippines from 1903 to 1905. After further duty
at St. Louis, General Randall retired 8 October 1905 and
died 14 June 1918 at Denver, Colo.
( AP-115 : dp. 11,828 (lt.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 20.6 k. ; cpl. 507 ; trp. 5,289 ; a. 4 5", 16 1.1", 20 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General George M. Randall (AP-115) was launched
30 January 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract
by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydoek Co., Kearny, N. J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Robert A. Lovett, wife of the Assistant
Secretary of War for Air; acquired and simultaneously
commissioned 15 April 1944, Capt. Carl C. von Paulsen,
USCG, in command.
General George M. Randall sailed from Norfolk 23 May
1944 with nearly 5,000 troops and casuals and put in at
Bombay, India, 5 July via Panama and Australia. Under-
way again 6 days later, she returned to San Pedro, Calif.,
12 August to debark over 2,000 wounded veterans. She
made two more round-trip voyages from San Pedro to
Bombay from 30 August 1944 to 28 February 1945.
Following a round-trip voyage from San Francisco to
Ulithi and back, the ship stood out under the Golden Gate
8 June 1945 for Norfolk, arriving 20 June. She sailed
from that port for Marseille 8 July. There she embarked
42
troops for redeployment in the Pacific theater, and off-
loaded them at Manila before mooring at San Pedro,
Calif., 21 September after the war’s end.
As part of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet, General George M.
Randall made six voyages from San Francisco and San
Diego to the Far East, calling at Japan, China, Okinawa,
and the Philippines. She sailed from Pearl Harbor
1 December 1946 for the east coast ; and, after undergoing
peacetime alterations at Philadelphia, stood out of that
port 2 April 1947. Reaching San Francisco 25 April, the
transport began a series of shuttle runs between West
Coast ports and the Far East, completing six voyages to
Guam, two to China and Japan, and two to Hawaii before
she was assigned to MSTS in October 1949.
As an MSTS ship General George M. Randall made
scheduled runs between the West Coast and the Orient
until fighting erupted in Korea in the summer of 1950.
She participated in the amphibious assault at Inchon
which routed the North Korean Army and forced Commu-
nist evacuation of South Korea. After hordes of Chinese
Communist troops poured into Korea and trapped Ameri-
can forces, she served in the evacuation of Hungnam,
which saved the embattled G.I.’s enabling them to return
to the fight. She moored at New York 26 May 1951, and
made four voyages from New York to Bremerhaven and
Southampton before returning to Yokohama 24 October
1951 via San Francisco.
For the next 3 years this far-ranging ship transported
men and equipment across the Pacific between West Coast
ports and Japan, Okinawa, and Formoa. In 1955 she
shifted operations to the East Coast, arriving New York
8 April 1955 for shuttle runs from New York to Bremer-
haven, insuring the continuous flow of troops, dependents,
and supplies to American forces in Europe. During first
3 months of 1957 she cruised the Caribbean, calling at
Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Jamaica before resuming her
North Atlantic transport runs out of New York 15 April.
These varied duties were highlighted by General George
M. Randall's role in the 1958 Lebanon crises. Embark-
ing 1,255 troops of the 35th Tank Battalion at Bremer-
haven, and 1,001 other at La Pallice, France, she put them
ashore at Beirut, Lebanon, the morning of 3 August 1958,
helping to stabilize that strategic country in this swift
followup by sea of the 6th Fleet’s powerful and effective
action with carrier planes, surface warships, and amphib-
ious landing of marines. General George M. Randall then
returned to New York, arriving 16 August.
Returning to her New York-Bremerton schedule, Gen-
eral George M. Randall visited Spain, Turkey, Greece, and
Italy in 1959, and called at ports in Iceland and the
Caribbean Islands during the next year as well. On her
last voyage, she cast off from Rota, Spain, and moored at
New York 13 May 1961. General George M. Randall
steamed thence to Bayonne, N.J., where she decommis-
sioned 2 June 1961 ; she was towed to Norfolk 12 June to
join the Maritime Administration National Defense
Reserve Fleet 16 August, and is now berthed on James
River, Va.
General Grant
Ulysses S. Grant, victorious commander of the Union
Army during the Civil War, and 18th President of the
United States, was born 1822 at Point Pleasant, Ohio.
He graduated from West Point in 1843 ; served under
Taylor and Scott in the Mexican War ; resigned his com-
mission 1854. On the outbreak of Civil War he was
commissioned Colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infan-
try, later Major General of Volunteers. His wise use
of power afloat in combined operations, commencing with
the occupation of Paducah, Ky., won impressive victories
at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and
Chattanooga. His determination to win prompted Lincoln
to appoint him supreme commander of the Union forces.
His relentless campaign against Richmond, in which he
continued to take full advantage of the North’s control
of the sea, forced Lee to surrender at Appomattox. In
1867 Grant received an interim appointment as Secretary
of War. In 1868 he was elected to his first of two terms
as President. He devoted his later years to the writing
of his “memoirs,” which were published in 1885, the year
of his death.
( SwGbt. : t. 201 ; 1. 171' ; b. 26' ; dph. 4'9" ; a. 2 30-pdrs.,
2 24-pdr. how.)
General Grant was built in 1863 at Monongahela, Pa. ;
purchased by the War Department ; chartered by the Navy
and commissioned at Bridgeport, Ala., 20 July 1864, Act-
ing Ens. Joseph Watson in command.
General Grant constantly patrolled the upper Tennes-
see River from Bridgeport until close of the Civil War,
fighting guerrillas and aiding the army in clearing Con-
federate troops from the region. In October 1964 she
destroyed 22 small boats off. Port Deposit and Crow Island.
On 25 November she assisted in taking up pontoon bridges
under guns of Confederate sharpshooters at Decatur,
Ala. She hurled 52 shells into that town 12 December
1864 and joined General Thomas 15 January 1865 in the
destructive bombardment of Guntersville, Ala. She de-
commissioned and was returned to the War Department
2 June 1865. She was lost when stranded in ice 18 March
1866 at Plattsmouth, Nebr.
General Greene
General Nathanael Greene, born in Warwick, R.I., 7
August 1742, was elected to the colonial assembly in 1770
and became a strong champion of colonial liberty and an
early advocate of independence. He commanded the
militia during the siege of Boston ; and served with Wash-
ington at Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Valley
Forge. He rendered outstanding service as Quarter-
master General (1778-80), then took command of south-
ern forces in the Carolinas campaign. By cunning
strategy, he divided the forces under Cornwallis and
turned the tide in the Carolinas. In this feat he was
aided by his lieutenants, notably Daniel Morgan, Light-
Horse Harry Lee, and partisan bands under Fx-ancis
Marion, Thomas Sumter and Andrew Pickens. When
he sold his estates to honor personal notes given to
secure supplies for the Continental Army, the grateful
people of Georgia voted to give him a plantation.
I
(RC: t. 98; cpl. 45; a. 10 guns)
The first General Greene was a revenue cutter built by
William Price at Baltimore, Md., in 1797. She was fitted
out at Philadelphia in the summer of 1798 to operate
under orders of the Navy during the quasi-war with
France. Commanded by Captain George Price, USRCS.
she first searched for armed French ships between Cape
Henry and Long Island Sound. Sailing from New York,
she joined Delaware off Cuba 8 February 1799 to assist
in the protection of merchantmen engaged in the Havana
trade. The two ships jointly captured schooner
Marsouin ( Porpoise ) 5 March 1799. General Greene
returned to Philadelphia about eight weeks later. On
20 May 1799 she was reported too small to be useful in
the Navy. She resumed operations under the Revenue
Cutter Service at Philadelphia, Pa.
II
(Fr: t. 654; 124'3" ; b. 34'8" ; dph. 17'4''; cpl. 250 a. 24
12-pdrs., 6 6-pdrs.)
The second General Greene was built under government
contract by Banjamin Talman and James de Wolf, War-
ren, R. I.; launched 21 January 1799; and placed under
command of Captain Christopher R. Perry. The frigate
sailed 2 June 1799, joining Governor Jag in convoying
five merchantmen bound to Havana. Damage suffered in
a heavy gale caused her to put in at Havana for repairs.
Her crew was struck down with yellow fever. More than
20 perished and she returned to Newport on 27 July with
37 men in various stages of recovery. After a thorough
43
cleaning, fumigation, and change of ballast, she departed
Newport 23 September 1799 to take station at Oap Fran-
cois, San Domingo.
General Greene remained on San Domingo Station for
the following 6 months. In company with Boston 1
December 1799, she assisted in the capture of schooner
Flying Fish and retook the American schooner Weymouth
captured by French privateer Hope. Much of her time
was spent watching over the rebellion against General
Toussaint in Haiti. She blockaded the port of Jacmel
to cut off supplies of the revolutionist. The frigate gave
direct gunfire support to General Toussaint’s army in the
capture of Jacmel 27 February 1800. She remained there
as a possible haven for American citizens until 27 April ;
then sailed with two representatives sent by General
Toussaint for audience with the President of the United
States. Touching New Orleans, she embarked General
Wilkinson and his family for transport home. She then
proceeded as escort to 12 merchantmen bound to Havana,
thence to Newport, R.I., where she arrived 21 July 1800.
General Greene’s crew was discharged and she remained
idle at Newport until Captain Perry was retired under
the Peace Establishment Act of 3 April 1801. She was
laid up in ordinary at the Washington Navy Yard. The
frigate served as a floating sick bay for frigate Constel-
lation in 1803 and was reduced to a sheer hulk in 1805.
Her hulk was destroyed by flames 24 August 1814 when
the British entered Washington.
General //. B. Freeman
Henry Blanchard Freeman, born 17 January 1837 in
Knox, Ohio, enlisted in the 10th Infantry 16 July 1855.
Appointed Lieutenant in May 1862, he was breveted
Captain in December for gallantry in the Battle of Mur-
freesboro, Tenn., and breveted Major in September 1863
for gallantry in the Battle of Chiekamauga, Ga. ; received
the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in the
Battle of Stone’s River 31 December 1862. After the close
of the Civil War, much of his remaining career was spent
on Indian frontiers and reservations in Wyoming, Ohio,
Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma. Promoted to Brigadier
General in 1901, he received the Indian Campaign Medal.
General Freeman died 16 December 1915, at Douglas, Wyo.
( AP-143 : dp. 9,943 ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' ; s. 16.5
lc. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ; cl.
General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General H. B. Freeman (AP-143) was launched 11 De-
cember 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by the
Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Marie Wheeler ; converted in the Kaiser yard at
Vancouver, Wash.; acquired by the Navy 26 April 1945;
and commissioned at Portland, Oreg., the same day,
Conulr. Harley E. Grogan, USCG, in command.
After shakedown operations out of San Diego, General
H. B. Freeman departed San Pedro 1 June 1945 with 3,010
troops and passengers for Calcutta, India, where she
arrived 9 July with 16 additional passengers, British
Royal Marines who had embarked at Brisbane, Australia.
On 13 July she was underway with more than 3,000 mili-
tary passengers ; embarking and debarking in Ceylon, Aus-
tralia, New Guinea, and the Philippines before arriving
Hagushi, Okinawa, 16 August 1945, the day after hostil-
ities ended.
More than 1,000 homeward-bound veterans boarded the
transport which departed Okinawa 21 August 1945 headed
via Saipan and Pearl Harbor for the West Coast, arriving
San Pedro, Calif., 12 September 1945. She sailed 7 Oc-
tober, carrying occupation troops to Tokyo, and returned
to Seattle, Wash., 5 November as the “Magic-Carpet”
home for more than 3,000 fighting men from the Pacific
War. General Ft. B. Freeman made a similar passenger
run from Seattle to Yokohama and back (16 November-
16 December 1945).
She next entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,
Bremerton, Wash., for inactivation overhaul and decom-
missioned there 4 March 1946. She was redelievered to
the Maritime Commission for sendee with the Army’s
peacetime transport fleet.
General Ft. B. Freeman was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 and assigned to MSTS. Manned by a civil
service crew, General E. B. Freema/n carried military
passengers throughout the Korean War from the West
Coast to Korea, Japan, and island bases in the Pacific.
She was in the gallant fleet that evacuated besieged
Hungnam. Her distinguished sendee won her the “Smart
Ship Award” for three consecutive years (1950-52). The
transport continued to operate throughout the Pacific un-
til 24 July 1958 when her name was again struck from
the Navy List. She was returned to the Maritime Com-
mission and to the National Defense Reserve Fleet,
Olympia, Wash., where she remains.
General H. F. Hodges
Harry Foote Hodges, born at Boston 25 February 1860,
graduated from the Military Academy in 1877. Between
1877 and 1901 he served as an engineer at various posts,
including a tour of duty as instructor in engineering at
the Military Academy. In 1901, Hodges became Chief
Engineer, Department of Cuba, and later assisted in build-
ing the Panama Canal. In 1917, after the United States
entered World War I, he was appointed a division com-
mander and sailed with the American Expenditionary
Force in 1918. After serving with distinction in the
Ypres and Avocourt Defensive Sectors, he was awarded
the Distinguished Service Medal. Following the war,
General Hodges commanded divisions at several Ameri-
can posts before retiring in 1921. Major General Hodges
died 24 September 1929 at Lake Forest, 111.
(Ap-144: dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522' 10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' s.
16 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General H. F. Hodges (AP-144) was launched 3 Janu-
ary 1945 under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Hodges Dickson ; acquired by the Navy and commissioned
6 April 1945, Comdr. C. H. Hilton, USCG, in command.
After shakedown training, General H. F. Hodges sailed
from San Francisco 10 May 1945 with over 3,000 troops
and a contingent of Army nurses. In the ensuing two
months, she steamed to Hollandia, Manila, Leyte, and
Biak in support of the accelerating push toward Japan
before returning to San Francisco on Independence Day
1945. The transport departed 8 July for New York via
the Panama Canal ; and, after stopping there briefly,
departed 5 August for Naples on a troop rotation voyage.
While at sea she received word of the Japanese
capitulation.
She returned to Boston 31 August with passengers from
Naples. General II. F. Hodges then made two long
voyages through the Suez Canal to India bringing home
American troops, ending the second cruise when she
reached New York Christmas Eve. The transport de-
parted New York 31 January 1946 for Ceylon and India,
continuing toy way of the Pacific Islands to the United
States, arriving 28 March 1946. She remained at Seattle
until decommissioned 13 May 1946 and was returned to
the Maritime Commission for transfer to the Army Trans-
port Service.
Reacquired toy the Navy 1 March 1950, General H. F.
Hodges was assigned to the MSTS under a civil service
crew. In the years that followed, the ship sailed between
New York and European ports, supporting American
ground units helping to deter Communist aggression in
Europe, and transporting refugees from Bremerhaven to
New York. She carried troops, their dependents, and
supplies to most of the ports in northern Europe and the
Mediterranean. In 1958, the versatile ship took time out
from her busy schedule of voyages to participate in a
giant amphibious exercise on the North Carolina coast,
demonstrating the Case with which MSTS ships could be
44
integrated into regular navy combat operations when and
where the need arises. After two more passages to
Europe, General II. F. Hodges was returned to the Mari-
time Administration 16 June 1958, and was placed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River, N.Y.,
where she remains.
General H. H. Arnold
Henry Harley Arnold, born in Pennsylvania on 25 June
1886, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy 14 June
1907. After serving in the Infantry and the Signal Corps,
Arnold became a pioneer of Army aviation. He played
a major role in developing the air tactics and strategy
which proved so valuable in World War II. He com-
manded the Army Air Forces in the fight to victory over
the Axis Powers. Promoted to General of the Army in
1944, General Arnold received many decorations and hon-
ors, including three Distinguished Service Medals, the Le-
gion of Merit, and the Air Medal. He retired in 1946 and
died at Sonoma, Calif., 15 January 1950.
General R. E. Callan (AP-139) ( q.v .) was reacquired by
the Navy from the Air Force as General H. H. Arnold
(T-AGM-9) 1 July 1964.
General H. L. Scott
Hugh Lenox Scott was born at Danville, Ky., 22 Sep-
tember 1853 and graduated from the Military Academy
in 1876. He served with the cavalry at various western
outposts, chiefly in Oklahoma and the Dakotas, and par-
ticipated in the Indian campaigns until 1891. In 1897 he
was a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution on Indian
languages. After serving in various administrative posts
in Cuba and the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines, 1898 to
1906, Scott was promoted to Colonel and assumed duty
as Superintendent of the Military Academy. Relieved in
1910, Scott made vital contributions as a mediator and a
diplomat in Indian disputes. As Brigadier General, he
served on the Mexican border 1913 to 1914 and helped
resolve border difficulties with Mexico. Becoming Chief
of Staff of the Army in November 1914, he laid the ground-
work for American participation in World War I. Gen-
eral Scott was a member of the Commission to Russia in
1917 and served on the Western Front with British and
French divisions. Retiring from the Army in 1919, Major
General Scott died 30 April 1934 at Princeton, N.J.
( AP-136 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71 '6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. cpl. 425 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4— S-Al )
General H. L. Scott (AP-136) was laid down 20 Decem-
ber 1942 under a Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 19 September
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Walter K. Wilson ; acquired by
the Navy 6 March 1944 ; and commissioned 3 April at San
Francisco, Captain John Trebes, USCG, in command.
After shakedown off San Diego, General H. L. Scott de-
parted San Francisco 5 May with reinforcement troops
embarked for the South Pacific. Arriving Noumea, New
Caledonia, 21 May, she returned to San Francisco 7 June
to continue transporting men and supplies to island bases
in the Pacific. As American naval power drove nearer
to the heart of the crumbling Japanese Empire, she made
six voyages to the western Pacific between 10 June 1944
and 2 July 1945, carrying her passengers and cargo out of
San Francisco to the Marshalls, the New Hebrides, New
Caledonia, New Guinea, the Admiralties, and the Phil-
ippines. In addition, she operated for a time in the
western Pacific as Pacific Fleet receiving ship. While at
Ulithi, Carolines, 25 March, she embarked 1,004 officers
and men from Franklin (GV-13), severely damaged 19
March off the coast of Japan.
General H. L. Scott departed San Francisco 7 July for
New York, where she arrived 21 July. She sailed 3 Au-
gust for the Mediterranean and embarked veteran troops
at Naples and Leghorn, Italy, before returning to Boston
27 August. Between 2 September and October, she
steamed via the Suez Canal to Calcutta, India, and Co-
lombo, Ceylon, on “Magic-Carpet” duty to transport troops
back to the United States. She arrived New York 28
October, sailed 10 November for China, and arrived
Shanghai 11 December to support Nationalist forces dur-
ing the protracted struggle for control of the Chinese
mainland.
General II. L. Scott returned to Seattle 30 December.
On 5 February 1946 she sailed for the Far East with oc-
cupation troops embarked. After touching at Jinsen,
Korea, and Shanghai, she returned to Seattle 20 March.
She decommissioned 29 May and was returned to WSA 3
June.
She entered the National Defense Fleet and was berthed
in Puget Sound until sold to Bethlehem Steel Corp. 31
July 1964. She was converted to a general cargo ship in
1965 and operates under the name Yorlomar.
General H. W. Butner
Henry W. Butner, born in Pinnacle, N.C., 6 April 1875,
graduated from the Military Academy in 1898. He served
in various capacities at posts at home and abroad until
1918 when he sailed for France with the A.E.F. During
his service on the Western front, Butner took part in
operations at St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. Returning
to the United States, he commanded Field Artillery School
at Fort Sill, Okla., 1920 to 1923 ; commanded a detachment
of the Philippine Scouts ; and served in various capacities
until appointed Commanding General, Panama Canal
Department, in 1936. Major General Butner died 13
March 1937 in Washington, D.C.,
(AP-113 : dp. 11,828 (It.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25';
s. 19 k. ; cpl. 477 ; trp. 5,289 ; a. 4 5", 16 1.1", 18 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General H. W. Butner (AP-113) was launched by the
Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 19
September 1943 under Maritime Commission contract for
the Army ; sponsored by Mrs. John J. McCloy ; acquired
by the Navy 5 December 1943 ; placed in ferry commis-
sion the same day for transfer to Maryland Drydock Co.,
Baltimore, for conversion to a transport; and placed in
full commission 11 January 1944, Captain A. P. Lawton
in command.
After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, General H. W.
Butner sailed 23 February 1944 from Norfolk carrying
troops to Morocco. Arriving Casablanca 3 March, the
ship returned to Norfolk for another load of troops, and
sailed again for Casablanca, arriving back at Norfolk 20
April.
After only 3 days in port General H. W. Butner sailed
again, this time eastward to the West Coast. Her ports
of call on this long voyage were Durban, South Africa ;
Bombay ; Melbourne, Australia ; and San Pedro, Calif.,
where she a rived 1 July. The transport then retraced
her steps to Melbourne and Bombay, ariving off the In-
dian coast 26 August. From there she returned to Mel-
bourne with troops and sailed for California via Noumea
and Efate, New Hebrides. She arrived in San Pedro 6
October 1944.
Continuing the vital work of ferrying troops to and
from the Pacific theater, General H. W. Butner departed
San Pedro 21 October 1944, called at Melbourne, Bombay,
Sidney, and Noumea, and returned to San Pedro 7 Jan-
uary 1945. Departing San Francisco 17 February, she
brought troops to Finsehafen, Hollandia, Leyte, Manus
Island, Guadalcanal, and many other islands, as the
amphibious advance through the Pacific reached its final
phase.
She returned to San Francisco 12 May, departed 20
May for the Panama Canal, and from there steamed to
Le Havre, France. The far-ranging transport departed
France with troops 12 June, and arrived back in Nor-
45
folk 20 June. Thus she completed a circuit of the earth,
though, in the meantime, she had steamed a distance equal
to six times its diameter while supporting wartime
operations.
General E. TF. Butner made one more voyage before the
end of the Pacific war, redeploying troops from the Eu-
ropean Theater. She sailed from Marseilles 7 July, via
the Panama Canal, for Ulithi and Eniwetok, finally ar-
riving Okinawa 1 September. She then returned to the
United States, arriving Seattle 24 September.
The ship also served as a troop transport during the
occupation of Japan, leaving San Francisco 5 January
1946 she made four voyages carrying troops to the Pacific,
stopping at Yokohama, Shanghai, Tsingtao, and other
ports in support of American efforts to stabilize the China
situation and to occupy Japan.
She sailed for Boston from California early in 1947
for conversion to a combination dependent and troop
transport, emerging 28 June and returning to San Fran-
cisco. During the next 2 years she operated in the Pacific
between Guam and San Francisco, carrying dependents
and servicemen to stations in the Far East. Transferred
to MSTS under Navy captain and crew in October 1949,
she departed for Norfolk via the Panama Canal and Ber-
muda, arriving 10 January 1950. She then operated in
the Caribbean until 11 April, when she departed for San
Diego. General H. TF. Butner arrived San Diego 24 April,
and on 10 May made another Pacific cruise which lasted
until her return to the West Coast 12 June.
Before the month ended, the Korean War broke out.
Fortunately, General E. TF. Butner was one of the hand-
ful of ships immediately available. She promptly re-
turned to Guam with vitally needed troops ; returned to
the West Coast for more troops ; and headed for Japan,
arriving Yokohama 31 August to prepare for the Inchon
landing. This daring amphibious operation took the
Communist troops by surprise and forced them to aban-
don the ground they had taken in South Korea and to
scurry north across the 38th Parallel. Arriving off the
beach 16 September, troopship General E. W. Butner
landed her troops in this important action, and then de-
parted for Japan. The last day of the year saw her
depart from Okinawa for San Francisco.
During 1951 the ship continued to sail from California
to Yokohama and Guam in support of the U.N. effort
in Korea until she departed San Francisco for Galveston,
Texas, 29 June. From there the ship continued to
Bremerliaven, Germany, and thence to New York, mooring
5 September 1951. During the next months she carried
troops and dependents to the Mediterranean and back,
then departed for the Pacific again 19 February 1952.
Transiting the Panama Canal from New York, she arrived
at Yokohama 19 March, and 3 days later began the long
trip back to Panama. From the Canal Zone, General E.
W. Butner sailed to La Palliee, France, and to Bremer-
haven, where she embarked passengers for New York.
General E. TF. Butner began a regular schedule from
Brooklyn, N.Y., to Southampton and Bremerhaven soon
afterward, supporting American military commitments in
Europe. Except for occasional visits to the Mediterra-
nean (June 1953 and September-October 1959) and to the
Caribbean (November 1956 and November 1958) she con-
tinued this run until decommissioning 28 January 1960
at Bayonne, N.J. General E. TF. Butner was turned over
to the Maritime Administration, and in March 1960
entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet, berthed in
James River, Va., where she remains ready for reactiva-
tion should the need arise.
General E. TF. Butner received two battle stars for
Korean service.
General Harry Taylor
Harry Taylor was born 26 June 1862 in Tilton, N.H.,
and upon graduation from the Military Academy in 1884,
joined the Corps of Engineers. In the years that fol-
lowed, Taylor served in the field on various projects, in-
cluding East Coast defenses and the Columbia River proj-
ect. By 1916 he was Assistant Chief of Engineers in
charge of the River and Harbor Division. At the start
of America’s participation in World War I he sailed for
France as Chief Engineer Officer, American Expeditionary
Force. In this capacity he supervised the construction of
railways, barracks, wharves, and shelters throughout
France. Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal,
Taylor returned to Washington and was named Major
General, Chief of Engineers, 19 June 1924. He retired
in 1926 and died 27 January 1930 in Washington, D.C.
( AP-145 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 552'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' ; s.
16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,224; a. 4 5”, 8 1.1", 16 20mm.;
cl. General G. O. Squier ; T. C4— S-Al)
General Earry Taylor (AP-145) was launched 10
October 1943 under Maritime Commission contract by
Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Mamie M. McHugh ; acquired by the Navy 29
March 1944 ; placed in ferry commission 1 April 1944
for transfer to Portland, Oreg., for conversion to a trans-
port by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash. ; decommis-
sioned 10 April 1944 ; and commissioned in full 8 May 1944
at Portland, Captain J. L. Wyatt in command.
Following shakedown off San Diego, General Earry
Taylor sailed from San Francisco 23 June 1944 with troop
reinforcements for Milne Bay, New Guinea. After re-
turning to San Francisco 3 August with veterans of the
Guadalcanal campaign embarked, she continued trans-
port voyages between San Francisco and island bases in
the Western Pacific Ocean. During the next 10 months
she steamed to New Guinea, the Solomons, New Cale-
donia, the Marianas, the New Hebrides, the Palaus, and
the Philippines, carrying troops and supplies for America’s
vast amphibious sweep across the ocean to Japan until
29 June 1945 when she departed San Francisco for duty
in the Atlantic.
General Earry Taylor made two “Magic-Carpet”
voyages to Marseilles and returned, carrying veterans of
the European fighting. Next she sailed twice to Karachi,
India, via the Suez Canal. Returning to New York 3
January 1946, the transport then began the first of four
voyages to Bremerhaven, Germany, and Le Havre.
France. She reached New York again 21 May 1946 and
decommissioned 13 June at Baltimore.
The transport served for a time with the Army Trans-
port Service, and was reacquired by the Navy 1 March
1950 for use by MSTS. Her early duties consisted mainly
of carrying troops, dependents, and large numbers of
European refugees. General Earry Taylor operated in a
typical year to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and to
northern Europe. In 1957 the ship took part in the
Hungarian Relief program, transporting several thou-
sand refugees of the valiant but abortive Hungarian
Revolution to Australia. She was placed in ready reserve
19 September 1957 ; transferred back to the Maritime
Administration 10 July 1958; and placed in the National
Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Tex. General Earry
Taylor was transferred to the Air Force 15 July 1961 and
renamed General Eoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10). On
1 July 1964 she was acquired by the Navy and now is
operated by MSTS in the Atlantic.
General Henry Knox, see Picket (ACM-8)
General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg, born in Wisconsin 24 Jan-
uary 1899, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy 12
June 1923. He played a major role in developing air
tactics and strategy. He was Chief of Staff of the Air
Force from 1948 to 1953 when he was retired for physical
disability. General Vandenberg died in Washington, D.C.,
2 April 1954.
General Earry Taylor (AP-145) (q.v.) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Air Force as General Eoyt S. Van-
denberg (T-AGM-10) 13 July 1964.
46
General Hugh J. Gaffey
A former name retained. Hugh Joseph Gaffey, born
18 November 1895, in Harford, Conn., attended Officers
Training School at Fort Niagara, N.Y., and was commis-
sioned Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery Reserve
15 August 1917. Assigned to the 312th Field Artillery at
Fort Meade, Md., he went to Europe in August 1918 and
served in France and Germany before returning to the
United States in August 1919. During the next two
decades he served at various posts in the United States
and served with the 15th and 18th Field Artillery and
the 7th Cavalry Brigade. Assigned to the I Armored
Corps in July 1940, he served with them until July 1942
when he was assigned to the 2d Armored Division. Ap-
pointed Brigadier General 5 August 1942, he was sent to
the European Theater in November ; and, in April 1944,
he was designated Chief of Staff for General Patton’s 3d
Army fighting in France. He then assumed command of
the 4th Armored Division in December. Major General
Gaffey was killed in a B-25 crash at Goodman Field, Ky.,
16 June 1946.
Admiral W. D. Capps (AP-121) (q.v.) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as General
Hugh J. Gaffey 1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS.
With a civilian crew on board, she operated on West
Coast-Far East cruises and throughout the Korean con-
flict transported troops and equipment to the Pacific
staging areas.
After the hostilities in Korea ceased, General Hugh J.
Gaffey continued runs to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Okinawa,
and the Philippines. From 1954 to 1965 the transport
made almost 100 cruises to these countries. In the sum-
mer 1965 she made her first cruise to Cam Ranh Bay,
South Vietnam, during the intensified American buildup in
Southeast Asia. Continuing her Pacific crossing, General
Hugh J. Gaffey made seven more voyages throughout 1966.
After carrying Korean troops to Vietnam in January, 1967
to join the fight against Communist aggression, she arrived
San Francisco late in February for overhaul to prepare
for future action.
General J. C. Breckinridge
James Carson Breckinridge was born 13 September 1877
at Memphis, Tenn., and was commissioned a Second Lieu-
tenant for the Spanish American War in 1898. He saw
service in the Phillipines, China, and Central America in
the years that followed, and commanded a Marine de-
tachment on Utah at the capture of Vera Cruz in 1914.
General Breckinridge commanded the Washington Marine
Barracks 1923-25 and the Marine detachment at the
American Legation at Pekin, China, 1939-32. He also
commanded Marine Corps schools at Quantico, Va., and
Parris Island, S.C. Breekenridge retired a Lieutenant
General 1 October 1941 and died 2 March 1942 at Summit
Point, W. Va.
(AP-176 : dp. 11,830; 1. 622' ; b. 76' ; dr. 25'6" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 466; trp. 5,289; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 20 20mm.; cl.
General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General J. C. Breckinridge (AP-176) was launched 18
March 1945 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.
of Kearny, N.J. ; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy T. Breckin-
ridge ; and commissioned 30 June 1945 at Bayonne, N.J.,
Capt. H. S. Berdine, USCG, commanding.
Operated under the Coast Guard, General J. C. Breckin-
ridge was commissioned too late to take an active part in
the fighting in Europe, but after shakedown in July and
August 1945 proceeded to Marseilles. Arriving there 14
August, she loaded over 5,000 troops and their equipment
and proceeded to Manila. Word of the surrender of
Japan came next day, however, and General J. C. Breckin-
ridge proceeded to New York, where she unloaded her
troops 24 August.
During the next 4 months, the transport made four more
voyages, three to Marseilles and one to Le Havre, bring-
ing home American troops and their supplies. At Mar-
seilles 18 November, she had the honor of embarking the
2 millionth American veteran to be taken home from Eu-
rope since VE day. Arriving at Boston 26 November,
she was soon underway for California, via the Panama
Canal, and duty in the Pacific.
General J. C. Breckinridge arrived at San Francisco 20
January 1946, where a Navy crew took over 10 February.
She departed San Francisco 25 February on one of five
trips to the western Pacific in which she carried troops
and cargo to and from Saipan, Guam, Shanghai, China,
and Tsingtao. Departing Taku, China, on the last of
these voyages 4 September 1946, she transited the Panama
Canal and arrived 3 October at Philadelphia. At the
shipyard General J. C. Breckinridge underwent conver-
sion into a dependent transport, with modern nursery,
kitchen, and medical facilities for dependents of mili-
tary men.
Following completion of conversion, the ship again took
up her Pacific schedule, leaving Philadelphia 11 January
1947 via the Panama Canal for San Francisco and Pacific
ports. For the next 2 y2 years, the transport was a regu-
lar visitor at Pearl Harbor, Guam, Shanghai, Okinawa,
Tsingtao, Manila, and other cities of the Pacific, trans-
porting military and civilian passengers. In June 1947
she carried convicted Japanese war criminals from Manila
to Japan, and from time to time performed missions of
mercy and conducted underway training exercises. Dur-
ing this time General J. C. Breckinridge spent almost 80
percent of her time underway in support of America’s far-
flung installations in the Pacific.
General J. C. Breckinridge was transferred to the Mili-
tary Sea Transportation Service 1 October 1949 and sailed
thereafter with a Navy captain and crew as T-AP-176.
She made one more trip to the Pacific in November 1949,
after which she sailed to New York to transport de-
pendents to San Francisco. At the outbreak of the
Korean war 30 June 1950 the ship returned to San Fran-
cisco 19 July, and put in at Mare Island Shipyard for
conversion to a troop transport.
Ready for duty as a troop transport, General J. C.
Breckinridge carried fresh troops from Seattle to Yoko-
suka, arriving 14 August 1950, and from there stopped at
Pusan, Korea, to return a load of casualties to Yokohama.
The transport started to return to San Francisco, but was
called back to participate in the pivotal Inchon amphibious
landing. Arriving there with troops the day after the
assault, the transport helped support the landing and
consolidate the gains made.
After returning to San Francisco, arriving 7 October,
General J. C. Breckinridge again sailed for Japan, and
arrived at Sasebo 14 November. She immediately was
dispatched with other available transports to Wonsan,
where she assisted in the evacuation of troops at that port
22 November. After taking troops and casualties to
Japan, “ Breckinridge ” returned to Korea, this time to help
in the evacuation of Hungnam 15 December. The hard-
working transport made two more troop voyages during
the actual fighting in Korea.
Subsequent to the Korean War, General J. C. Breckin-
ridge has again been active as an MSTS transport carry-
ing military and civilian passengers on a regular schedule
of visits to Pacific ports — the already familiar Guam,
Yokosuka, Okinawa, and Inchon, as well as Adak, Alaska,
and Midway Island. She operated out of San Francisco
on this duty until returned to the Maritime Administra-
tion and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at
Suisun Bay, Calif., 1 December 1966.
General J. C. Breckinridge received four battle stars
for Korean conflict service.
General J. H. McRae
Major General James H. McRae, bom 24 December
1863 at Lumber City, Ga., was commissioned Second
Lieutenant in 1886. He was awarded Silver Stars for
47
gallantry in the Spanish-American War and in the
Philippine Instruction ; and received the Distinguished
Service Medal as Commander of the 78th Division in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I. Later service
included command of the V Corps, the Philippine Depart-
ment at Manila, the IX Corps and the II Corps. General
McRae died 1 May 1940 at Berkeley, Calif.
(AP-149: dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' ; s.
16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,343; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm.;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4^S-A1)
General J. E. McRae (AP-149) was launched under
Maritime Commission contract 26 April 1944 by the Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Doris May Stallingo of San Francisco; acquired by the
Navy 19 June 1944; and commissioned 8 August 1944 at
Richmond, Calif., Comdr. T. R. Cowie in command.
After shakedown out of San Francisco and Los Angeles,
General J. H. McRae sailed from Seattle 20 September
1944 with more than 2,800 fighting men for Honolulu.
She returned to San Francisco with veterans 7 October
and made another voyage to Honolulu, returning to San
Francisco on the 29th with 3,000 passengers, of whom 240
were Japanese prisoners of war.
General J. H. McRae departed San Francisco 19 No-
vember with fighting men bound for Finschhafen, New
Guinea, arriving there 7 December and returning to San
Pedro, Calif., the 31st with more Pacific veterans. Gen-
eral J. H. McRae departed Long Beach 11 January 1945
for India via Melbourne, Australia, and reached Calcutta
20 February. Departing Calcutta 1 March with more
troops, she proceeded at full speed to Melbourne and
Townsville, lifted a contingent of RAAF troops to Madang
Harbor, New Guinea ; thence sailed via the Admiralty and
Caroline Islands to the Marianas, reaching Saipan 10
April 1945.
The busy transport returned to Townsville, Australia,
for 3,100 Australian troops, landing a small contingent
at Biak Island and the remainder at Morotai Island 1
May and returned to San Francisco 30 May. General
J. E. McRae sailed 19 June 1945 and transited the Panama
Canal for Le Havre, France, where she embarked more
than 4,000 troops and returned with them to Newport
News. She made one subsequent voyage to France, which
ended at Hampton Roads 28 August 1945.
Standing out from Norfolk 1 September 1945, General
J. E. McRae transited the Suez Canal for Karachi, India,
where she embarked 3,000 troops and returned them to
New York 15 October. Departing New York 26 October
General J. E. McRae made subsequent voyages to Khor-
ramshahr, Iran, and Karachi, India, the latter termini-
nating at New York on Christmas Eve of 1945. She
decommissioned at New York 27 February 1946 and was
returned to WSA for peacetime operations as an Army
transport.
General J. E. McRae was reacquired 1 March 1950 and
assigned to MSTS. Manned by civilians, she operated
between New York and the United Kingdom until Feb-
ruary 1953, then shifted her base to San Francisco for
runs to Japan. On 29 October 1954 General J. E. McRae
was inactivated at San Diego and placed in the Pacific
Reserve Fleet. She was transferred to the Maritime
Administration 30 June 1960 and entered the National
Defense Reserve Fleet. At present she is berthed at
Suisun Bay, Calif.
General J. E. McRae received four battle stars for
Korean war service.
General J. R. Brooke
John Rutter Brooke, born in Montgomery County, Pa.,
21 July 1838, was educated at Freeland Seminary. He
served in the Army briefly at the start of the Civil War,
was mustered out, but returned as a Colonel in the 53d
Pennsylvania Infantry. Colonel Brooke fought in the
Peninsular Campaign and at Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, earning a reputation as
an exceptional commander. He was appointed Brigadier
General of Volunteers 12 May 1864, was severely wounded
at Cold Harbor the following month, and returned to duty
in 1865 with the Army of the Shenandoah. Entering the
regular Army after the war, Brooke rose to the rank of
Major General in 1897 and served in Puerto Rico during
the Spanish-American War. After the armistice, he was
military governor of both Puerto Rico and Cuba before
returning home to take command of the Department of
the East. General Brooke died in Philadelphia 5 Septem-
ber 1926 after a long and distinguished career.
(AP-132: dp. 9,877 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 471 ; trp. 3,444 ; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General J. R. Brooke (AP-132) was laid down under a
Maritime Commission contract 29 June 1942 by the Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 21 February
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Helen Thompson ; acquired by
the Navy 10 December 1943 ; converted to a transport by
Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco ; and commissioned
20 January 1944 at San Francisco, Captain David L. Nut-
ter in command.
On her maiden voyage, General J. R. Brooke sailed from
Pcfrt Hueneme 24 February 1944 with more than 3,600
troops, mostly Seabees, for Pearl Harbor and returned to
San Francisco 8 March. From 19 March to 23 April she
made a round-trip voyage out of San Francisco to bring
3,600 men to Noumea and Espiritu Santo. Following her
return, the ship sailed again 12 May for New Guinea to
debark 3,400 troops at Oro Bay, and steamed thence to
New York, where she arrived 3 July 1944.
Convoyed by ships and planes and under constant threat
of submarine attack, General J. R. Brooke operated in the
Atlantic throughout the remainder of the war. In her un-
flagging efforts to insure an even flow of men from the
United States to the European theater, she made 12 trans-
atlantic voyages (8 from New York, 2 from Boston, and
2 from Norfolk) to the United Kingdom (Plymouth, Liver-
pool, and Southampton) ; Italy (Naples) ; France (Cher-
bourg, Marseilles, and Le Havre) ; and North Africa
(Oran) from 26 July 1944 to 5 September 1945. She
brought to the European ports tens of thousands of Ameri-
can and Allied fighting men and thousands of tons of vital
supplies ; and she brought to the United States countless
German prisoners of war.
After the war’s end, General J. R. Brooke made two
“Magic-Carpet” and troop-rotation voyages from New
York to Calcutta and Ceylon via the Suez Canal from 11
September 1945 to 3 January 1946. Subsequently, she
made five identical troop-carrying voyages from New
York to Le Havre between 19 January and 10 June 1946.
In May 1946 she transported over 2,700 German POW’s
back to France. General J. R. Brooke moored at Norfolk
13 June and decommissioned at Newport News 3 July 1946.
Returned to WSA 18 July 1946, she entered the National
Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Va. She was sold
to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington, Del., in April 1964
and renamed Mary mar.
General John Pape
John Pope, born 18 March 1822 at Louisville, Ky., grad-
uated from the Military Academy in 1842 and joined the
Topographical Engineers. After serving in Florida and
helping survey the northeastern boundary line between
the United States and Canada, he fought gallantly at
Monterey and Buena Vista during the war with Mexico.
At the beginning of the Civil War he served as mustering
officer at Chicago but was soon appointed Brigadier Gen-
eral of Volunteers. In May 1861 General Pope assumed
command of the District of North and Central Missouri
and forced the Confederates to retreat southward. He
cooperated with Flag Officer Foot in taking New Madris
and Island No. 10. Subsequently he commanded the Army
of the Mississippi during the siege of Corinth, winning a
promotion to Major General. He headed the newly formed
48
Army of Virginia after the collapse of the Peninsular
Campaign. He was relieved after the Second Battle of
Bull Run. Following the Civil War, he served with dis-
tinction in the Indian wars. General Pope retired in 1886
and died 23 September 1892 at the Ohio Soldiers’ Home
near Sandusky, Ohio.
(AP-110 : dp. 11,450 (It.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 21 k. ; cpl. 466 ; trp. 5,289 ; a. 4 5", 16 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General John Pope (AP-110) was launched under a
Maritime Commission contract 21 March 1943 by the
Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Charles P. Gross ; acquired by the Navy
2 July 1943 ; placed in ferry commission the same day for
transfer to Baltimore for conversion to a transport by
Maryland Drydock Co., and commissioned in full 5 August
1943, Captain George D. Lyon in command.
After shakedown General John Pope sailed for Newport
News 5 September 1943 with over 6,000 troops and civilians
bound for Greenock, Scotland ; and, after disembarking
her passengers there, returned to Norfolk 25 September.
From 6 October to 19 November she made a troop-carrying
voyage to Brisbane, Australia ; and, after touching Towns-
ville and Milne Bay, put in at San Francisco on the latter
date. Underway again 10 December with over 5,000 troops
for the Pacific fighting, General John Pope debarked them
at Noumea 23 December and returned via Pago Pago to
San Francisco 10 January 1944 with 2,500 veterans.
In the months that followed, General John Pope sailed
in support of the giant amphibious offensive on New
Guinea’s northern coast, spearheaded by Rear Admiral
Barbey’s famed VII Amphibious Force. On a 3-month
round-trip voyage out of San Francisco, beginning 23
January, she took troops to Guadalcanal, Auckland, and
Noumea, and brought 1,300 men back to San Francisco
9 March. General John Pope then embarked another full
complement of troops, including the 1st Filipino Infantry
Regiment, and sailed 6 April for Noumea and Oro Bay,
New Guinea. Returning via Noumea to embark casualties,
the ship reached San Francisco 18 May' 1944. During the
summer of 1944 ,the far-ranging transport made two
round-trip voyages from San Francisco: on the first she
got underway 27 May for New Guinean ports, Guadal-
canal, and the Russell Islands, debarking 3,800 men of the
famous 1st Marine Division at San Diego before returning
to San Francisco; and on the second she departed 26 July
for Honolulu and returned 8 August.
In the early fall, another voyage out of San Francisco
14 August brought General John Pope on a troop rotation
run to New Guinean ports; and subsequently, after em-
barking 5,000 Army troops at San Pedro, Calif., she sailed
via Melbourne for Bombay. Nearly 4,000 fighting men,
mainly troops of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces,
were embarked and delivered safely to Melbourne and
Wellington before the ship moored again at San Pedro
16 January 1945.
The spring of 1945 saw a round-trip troop-carrying
voyage begin in San Francisco 26 March, which took her to
Manila, Leyte, and Biak before returning 21 May. General
John Pope next stood out from the Golden Gate once
more 2 June 1945, this time bound for Marseilles, where
5,242 troops were embarked and taken to Manila. The
transport returned to Seattle 17 August following this long
voyage, but she was underway again 11 days later via
Ulithi, Cebu, and Leyte for Yokohama, returning to San
Francisco 8 October with over 5,000 veterans.
From 19 October 1945 to 7 May 1946, four more “Magic-
Carpet” and troop-rotation voyages were made, two from
San Francisco and two from Seattle, to the Philippines and
Yokohama. Finally, missions accomplished, General John
Pope departed San Francisco 15 May bound for New York,
where she decommissioned 12 June 1946 and was returned
to WSA.
Reinstated on the Navy List 20 July 1950, General John
Pope wTas assigned to MSTS 1 August. During the Korean
fighting she carried American troops to Japan and Korea
to take part in the giant effort to hold back Communist
aggression. Following the war, General John Pope con-
tinued to sail to Japanese and Korean ports on troop
rotation duties, finally being placed in reduced operational
status at Seattle 14 May 1955. The veteran transport was
returned to the Maritime Administration and entered the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash., 5
September 1958.
General John Pope reactivated 17 August 1965 to serve
again as a civilian-manned ship of MSTS, operating from
San Francisco. She carries troops to bases in the Pacific
and Far East, supporting the fight to stop Communist
aggression in Vietnam. Mid-1967 found this veteran
transport still performing this vital duty, and scheduled
to continue to support the fight for freedom in southeast
Asia.
General John Pope received six battle stars for Korean
service.
General Knox
A former name retained.
(SchBar: t. 1,587; 1. 251'1" (b.p.) ; b. 42'5" ; dr. 23'6")
General Knox, a wooden, schooner-rigged barge, built
in 1881 by E. O’Brien of Thomaston, Maine, was com-
mandeered by the Navy soon after the United States
entered World War I ; purchased from Luckenbach S.S.
Co., 18 October 1917 ; and commissioned 8 November 1917.
Early in 1918, General Knox was assigned to the 1st
Naval District, carrying coal in the Boston-Bar Harbor
area until assigned to NOTS 8 August 1918. With eight
other ex-Luckenbach barges towed by various tugs,
General Knox loaded coal, usually at Norfolk, for delivery
to New England ports and to Key West.
She was detached from NOTS at Norfolk 15 March 1919
and assigned to the 5th Naval District until struck from
the Navy List 13 June. She was sold 11 September to
the Neptune Co. of New York City.
General LeRoy Eltinge
LeRoy Eltinge, born 17 September 1872 in Ulster
County, N.Y., graduated from the Military Academy in
1896 and served in the Philippines 1898-99, for which
service he received the Silver Star. He served in the
Operations Section of the A.E.F. General Staff Head-
quarters during World War I and later became Deputy
Chief of Staff of A.E.F. He was awarded the Distin-
guished Service Medal for outstanding service in World
War I. Brigadier General Eltinge died 13 May 1931 at
Omaha, Neb.
( AP-154 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522' 10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,823; a. 4 5", 4 40mm.;
16 20mm. ; cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4— S-Al)
General LeRoy Eltinge (AP-154) was launched 20
September 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Yard 3,
Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. J ames McCloud ;
acquired by the Navy and commissioned 21 February 1945,
Capt. W. Wakefield in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, General LeRoy
Eltinge departed San Pedro 23 March with 3,100 troops
for Calcutta, India, arriving 27 April via Melbourne,
Australia. Underway 7 May with more troops, she
debarked some at Tinian and others at Guam, before
arriving San Francisco 27 June with 1,161 troops em-
barked at Pearl Harbor. She sailed 20 June for “Magic-
Carpet” duty in the Atlantic, arriving Norfolk 14 July.
Between 30 July and 14 September she made two round
trips from Norfolk to Marseilles, France, to transport
6,206 home-bound veterans. And on 29 September she
departed Norfolk for Karachi, India, where she embarked
veterans for “Magic-Carpet” passage to the United States,
arriving New York 11 November.
Clearing New York 29 November for further duty in
the Pacific, General LeRoy Eltinge carried replacement
troops to the Canal Zone, proceeded to Shanghai and the
49
Philippines and returned to Seattle, Wash., 26 January
1946 with veterans embarked at Manila. On a voyage
from 3 March to 6 April she carried rotation troops to
Korea and returned veterans to Seattle, before departing
27 April for New York. She arrived 13 May, decom-
missioned 29 May, was returned to the Martime Com-
mission and stricken from the Navy List June 1946.
Reacquired 20 July 1950, from Maritime Commission
General LeRoy Eltinge joined MSTS 1 August while
operating in the Western Pacific. Since joining MSTS,
she has participated in several major troop and refugee
operations. For more than a year she transported troops
from Seattle and San Francisco to Japan and Korea.
In October 1951 she supported the International Refugee
Program, making two trips from New York to Bremer-
haven, Germany. The following year she made several
runs for the United Nations, including the transportation
of Dutch troops from Rotterdam to Korea. During 1953
she carried additional refuges from Bremerhaven to New
York and transported Ethiopian and Greek troops to
Korea. Her MSTS service continued until she was placed
in reduced operational status 26 November 1955 at New
York.
General LeRoy Eltinge resumed operations between the
United States and Europe 18 May 1956. Following the
gallant Hungarian Revolution 23 October-4 November,
she supported the refugee relief program ; and during
December she embarked several thousand refugees at
Bremerhaven for passage to the United States. From
May to September 1957 she made U.N. runs to Turkey and
Thailand. After the Lebanon crisis of July 1958, she
conducted two voyages to Beirut during October to re-
turn troops to France and Germany. She continued to
operate in support of U.N. programs through 1959. While
enroute from New York to Izmir, Turkey, 24 August 1960
she assisted in the rescue of 26 survivors from SS Halcyon
Mediterranean, which had collided with SS Esso Switzer-
land off the coast of Spain. Returning to New York
1 September, she again assumed reduced operational
status 26 September.
Following the outbreak of violence in the Belgium
Congo in July 1960, General LeRoy Eltinge departed New
York 20 February 1961 to support the U.N. peace mission.
After lifting a cargo of famine relief supplies to Pointe
Noire, Congo Republic 11 March ; she steamed, via Cape-
town, South Africa, to Port Swettenham, Malaya and
Bombay, India to embark 1207 troops for the U.N. Congo
operations. Departing Bombay 15 April, she debarked
troops and supplies at Mombasa, Kenya, and Dar-es-
Salaam, Tanganyika. After operating along the African
coast from Nigeria to South Africa, she was released from
U.N. operations and departed Capetown for the United
States 13 May, arriving New York 30 May. She returned
to reduced operational status 29 June. Departing New
York 16 July 1962, she sailed via the Panama Canal to San
Francisco where she arrived 1 August to resume reserve
status.
In response to the mounting crisis in Vietnam, she re-
turned to service 13 May 1965 and embarked 2,497 troops
for Southeast Asia. During 1966 General LeRoy Eltinge
supported America’s determination to contain Commu-
nism in Vietnam and Southeast Asia through sealifts of
men and supplies from west coast ports to the Far East.
She returned to S#tn Francisco from Vietnam in January
.1967, underwent overhaul, and was placed in ready reserve
status.
General Lyon
General Nathaniel Lyon was born in Ashford, Conn.,
14 July 1818 and graduated from the U.S. Military
Academy in 1841. He served in the Seminole War, the
Mexican War, and was promoted to Captain in 1851. After
several years duty in California and Kansas he was as-
signed to the St. Louis Arsenal in February 1861 and
promoted to Brigadier General in May 1861. When the
Civil War broke out, he armed volunteers and seized
Camp Jackson. After an unsuccessful attempt to compro-
mise with Sterling Price and Governor Claiborne F. Jack-
son, General Lyon pushed up the Mississippi River and
captured Jefferson City and Boonville, Mo. Although his
troops were badly outnumbered, he attacked the main
secessionist forces at Wilson’s Creek on 10 August. He
was defeated and killed in this battle but not before he
had helped to save Missouri for the Union.
( SwStr 2 : t. 468 ; a. 2-12 pdr. r. )
General Lyon was built at New Albany, Ind., in 1860,
and operated out of New Orleans, La., as Dc Soto. Taken
into service by the Confederacy as a gunboat in 1861 (see
vol II, Confederate Appendix), she was captured at Island
No. 10 on 7 April 1862. The ship wras taken into the Union
Army as transport Dc Soto. Transferred to the Navy
30 September 1862, she was renamed General Lyon on
24 October 1862, Master John R. Neeld in command.
After undergoing extensive repairs at Cairo, 111., General
Lyon saw duty as ordnance, stores, and dispatch ship for
the Mississippi Squadron. Leaving Cairo 2 February
1863, she operated for the next two and a half years on
the western waters. In April 1863 she was briefly flagship
of Rear Admiral D. D. Porter. General Lyon returned to
Mound City, 111., 17 February 1865, decommissioned 3
August, and was sold to H. L. Lee 17 August 1865. She
redocumented as Alabama, and was destroyed by fire at
Grand View, La., 1 April 1867.
General M. B. Stewart
Merch Bradt Stewart, born 24 June 1875 at Mitchell
Station, Va., graduated from the Military Academy in
1896. During the Spanish-Ameriean War he fought in the
Battles of El Caney, San Juan Hill, and the Siege of
Santiago. In the years that followed, Stewart served at
various posts, including duty in Puerto Rico, the Canal
Zone, and the Philippine Islands, and a tour as instructor
at the Military Academy. He commanded the 175th
Brigade, A.E.F., during World War I, earning the Dis-
tinguished Service Medal for his exceptional services
both at home and at the front. After his return in May
1919, General Stewart served with the General Staff in
Washington and completed his military career as Com-
mandant of the Military Academy. He died 3 July 1934
in St. Augustine, Fla.
( AP-140 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' ; s.
16.5 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,595 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General M. B. Stewart (AP-140) was launched 15 Oc-
tober 1944 under Maritime Commission contract by Kai-
ser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
M. B. Stewart ; acquired by the Navy and simultaneously
commissioned at San Francisco 3 March 1945, Captain
Minor C. Heine in command.
Following shakedown out of San Diego, General M. B.
Stewart sailed from San Francisco 2 April 1945 with more
than 3,000 troops for Pearl Harbor. After returning to
San Francisco 18 April with 1,500 veterans embarked,
she made a round-ti’ip voyage out of San Francisco from
26 April to 19 June to transport troops to Pearl Harbor;
the Admiralty Islands; and Leyte, Philippine Islands.
She then departed San Francisco 26 June for Atlantic
operations. Reaching Norfolk 11 July, she sailed the 122d
to Leghorn, Italy, where she arrived 5 August to embark
troops for redeployment in the Pacifiic. Underway 7
August for the Panama Canal, General M. B. Steicart
steamed for the East Coast after the Japanese capitulation
and arrived 19 August to debark her passengers.
Between late August and early November, General M.
B. Stewart made two round-trip “Magic-Carpet” voyages
to France and a third voyage to India and Ceylon. De-
parting New York 7 December, she sailed via the Suez
Canal to India where she arrived Karachi 28 December
to embark 3,300 returning veterans. She sailed 30 De-
cember for the United States and arrived Seattle 25 Jan-
50
nary 1946. From 5 March to 4 April she sailed to Japan
with occupation troops and returned to Seattle with mili-
tary passengers. Sailing for New York 22 April, Gen-
eral M. B. Stewart arrived 11 May, decommissioned 24
May, and was turned over to WSA for duty in Army
Transport Service.
The transport was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950
for use by MSTS. During the rest of 1950 she made two
voyages to the Far East, carrying U.S. troops to Japan
and Korea. Between 1951 and 1955 General M. B. Stew-
art also sailed from New York to Bremerhaven, Germany,
transporting thousands of European refugees to the United
States under the International Refugee Organization. In
1953 she made another voyage to Korea and transported
home veteran troops before returning to her regular
Bremerhaven-New York schedule. She maintained this
pattern until being placed in Reduced Operational Status
at New York 29 April 1955. She was finally transferred
back to the Maritime Administration 21 May 1958 and
was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson
River, N.Y., where she remains.
General M. B. Stetcart received one battle star for Ko-
rean War service.
General M. C. Meigs
Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, born in Augusta, Ga.,
3 May 1816, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy
in 1836. He served with the Corps of Engineers for a
quarter of a century and in 1861 became Quartermaster
General. In addition to equipping and supplying the
Union Armies during the Civil War, General Meigs super-
vised the construction of the Washington Aqueduct and
the dome and wings of the United States Capitol. After
the Civil War, he was a member of the Commission for
the Reform and Reorganization of the Army. General
Meigs retired in 1882 and died in Washington, D.C., 2 Jan-
uary 1892.
(AP-116 : dp. 11,450 (It.) ; L 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 21 k. ; cyl. 418 ; trp. 5,289; a. 4 5", 16 1.1", 20 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) was launched 13 March
1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by the Fed-
eral Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., sponsored
by Mrs. Henry R. Arnold ; acquired by the Navy 2 June
1944 ; and commissioned at Bayonne, N.J., 3 June 1914,
Captain George W. McKean, USCG, in command.
After two round-trip, troop-carrying voyages between
Newport News, Va., and Naples, Italy, from 10 July to
1 September, General M. C. Meigs departed 5 September
for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Arriving 18 September, she
was visited by Brazilian President Getulio Vargas and
embarked 5,200 troops of the Brazilian Expeditionary
Force, the first Brazilian troops to be carried by an Amer-
ican transport. She sailed 22 September for the Mediter-
ranean ; arrived Naples 6 October ; and there embarked
troops, civilians, and 460 German prisoners of war for
transportation to the United States. Departing Naples
10 October, she embarked additional troops at Bizerte,
Tunisia, and at Oran, French Morocco, before returning
to New York 22 October.
Between 7 November and 8 March 1945 General M. C.
Meigs made two similar round-trip voyages from the
United States to Italy and North Africa via Brazil, carry-
ing thousands of American and Brazilian troops to Europe
for the remaining drive against Nazi Germany and re-
turning several thousand others to the United States and
Brazil.
General M. C. Meigs deployed troops to Panama and
Puerto Rico from 25 March to 7 April before departing
New York 16 April to carry troops to Le Havre, France.
There she embarked homebound troops 28 April, sailed
for the United States 30 April via Southampton, England,
and reached Newport News 14 May. Between 22 May
and 14 June she steamed to Naples and returned to New-
port News with 5,100 veterans. Sailing again 23 June,
she transported occupation troops to Naples, where she
then embarked Brazilian troops 4 July and sailed the 6th
for Rio de Janeiro. She reached Brazil 18 July and
steamed to Baia and Recife, Brazil, before arriving New-
port News 12 August. Between 23 August and 17 Septem-
ber she cruised to Naples and returned additional troops
to Brazil.
USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) on 10 July 1944
51
Departing Rio de Janeiro 20 September, General M. C.
Meigs steamed via Recife to Marseilles, France, where
she arrived 2 October to begin duty with the “Magic-
Carpet” fleet. She cruised to the Mediterranean, the
Middle East, and the Far East and contributed signifi-
cantly to the giant task of returning to the United States
the veterans of the long, bitter fighting of World War II.
After returning to Newport News from Marseilles 12 Oc-
tober, between 21 October and 3 December she steamed
from Norfolk to Naples and Karachi, India, to return
troops to New York. On 8 December she departed New
York for the Far East. Steaming via the Philippines,
she arrived Nagoya, Japan, 10 January 1946; embarked
a full load of troops; then sailed the 14th for the United
States. She reached San Francisco 24 January, decom-
missioned there 4 March, and was turned over to WSA
for transfer to the American President Lines, Ltd., as a
passenger ship in the Pacific.
After the outbreak of Communist aggression in Korea
25 June 1950, General M. C. Meigs was taken over from
the Maritime Commission 21 July and assigned to MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, she made 19 cruises to the
Far East during the fighting in Korea and carried thou-
sands of American troops from the West Coast to ports
in Japan and South Korea. Following the uncertain
armistice 27 July 1953, she continued to support Amer-
ican readiness in the Far East with troop-rotation cruises
during the remainder of 1953 and through 1954. Placed in
Reduced Operational Status in 1955, she was transferred
to the Maritime Administration 1 October 1958 and en-
tered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia,
Wash., where she remains.
General M. G. Meigs received six battle stars for Korean
War service.
General M. L. Hersey
Mark Leslie Hersey, bom in Stetson, Maine, 1 Decem-
ber 1863, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in
1887 and served with the 9th Infantry in Arizona until
1891. He was Professor of Military Science and Tactics
at the University of Maine during the next 4 years. He
fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and
again served with the 9th Infantry in the Philippines
during the hostilities in China during the Boxer Re-
bellion. After participating in the Samar Campaign in
the Philippines, he returned to the United States in 1902.
During World War I, as commander of the 4th Division,
A.E.F., he participated in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-
Argonne Offensives and was awarded the Distinguished
Service Medal, the French Legion of Honor, and the Croix
de Guerre with Palm. Promoted to Major General 20
September 1924, he retired from active duty 2 Novem-
ber. Major General Hersey died at Tampa, Fla., 22
January 1934.
( AP-148 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24' ; s.
16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,823 ; a 4 5”, 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ; cl.
General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1 )
General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) was launched under a
Maritime Commission contract 1 April 1944 by Kaiser Co.,
Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Alice
Hersey Wicks, General Hersey’s daughter ; acquired by
the Navy 31 May 1944; and commissioned 29 July 1944;
Captain James W. Smith in command.
After shakedown off San Pedro, General M. L. Hersey
sailed from San Francisco 5 September 1944 with troops
and cargo for garrisons in the Southwest Pacific. She
reached Milne Bay, New Guinea, 21 September and sub-
sequently carried troops and supplies to the Admiralty
Islands, the Russell Islands, and the Solomon Islands, be-
fore departing Guadalcanal for the United States 6 Octo-
ber. Arriving San Francisco 19 October, she brought
home more than 3,000 veterans of the bitter Pacific fight-
ing. Between 7 November 1944 and 14 August 1945 the
transport made four round-trip voyages from San Fran-
cisco an<( Seattle to the Western Pacific, carrying troops
to New Guinea, the Philippines, the Palaus, and the
Marianas during the final amphibious offensive against
Japan. At Leyte in November General M. L. Hersey en-
dured frequent air attacks.
Following the surrender, the veteran ship departed
Seattle 31 August ; and, steaming via the Philippines, she
arrived Yokohama 24 September with occupation troops.
There she embarked 3,052 troops and departed 5 days
later as a unit of Operation “Magic-Carpet,” a giant
sea-lift designed to return hundreds of thousands of
American fighting men to the United States as quickly as
possible. Between 3 December and 3 March 1946 she
steamed twice to the Far East where she embarked re-
turning veterans at Yokohama and Manila and trans-
ported them to San Pedro and San Francisco. Depart-
ing San Francisco 23 March, she then steamed via Manila
and Singapore to Calcutta, India, and Colombo, Ceylon,
where she embarked “Magic-Carpet” troops. She de-
parted Colombo 28 April, sailed via the Suez Canal,
and arrived New York 21 May. She decommissioned
at New York 1 June and was turned over to WSA
6 June for eventual use as a transport by the Army
Transportation Service.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, General M. L.
Hersey was placed in service and assigned to MSTS
under a civilian crew. Operating out of New York, she
carried European refugees to the United States in support
of the International Refugee Organization. During 1952
and 1953 she made four round-trips from San Francisco
to the Far East in support of the struggle to repel Com-
munist aggression in Korea. She was placed out of
service 11 June 1954 and placed in the Pacific Reserve
Fleet at San Diego. Later transferred to the Maritime
Administration, on 3 September 1959 she entered the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif., where
she remains.
General M. L. Hersey received one battle star for World
War II service and two battle stars for Korean War
service.
General M. M. Patrick
Mason Mathews Patrick, born in Lewisburg, W. Va., 13
December 1863, graduated from the U.S. Military Acad-
emy in 1886 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in
the Corps of Engineers. During the next three decades
he served in a variety of positions. Twice he taught prac-
tical military engineering at the Military Academy. He
assisted in river and harbor improvements in the Missis-
sippi and Ohio Rivers and in Norfolk Harbor. He com-
manded the 2d Battalion of Engineers in Cuba during
operations prior to the raising of battleship Maine. In
1914 he assisted in building Davis Lock, Sault Sainte
Marie Canals, Mich. After commanding the 1st Regiment
of Engineers on the Mexican border, he joined the A.E.F.
during World War I in France, where he took active
charge of all construction work and forestry operations.
Promoted to Major General in 1918, he was appointed
Chief of Air Service. After the Armistice, he represented
the A.E.F. at the Paris Peace Conference. In 1921 he be-
came Chief of the Army Air Service, the position he held
until his retirement in 1927. Major General Patrick died
in Washington, D.C., 20 January 1942.
(AP-150 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 425 ; trp. 3,343 ; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General M. M. Patrick (AP-150) was launched under
Maritime Comission contract 21 June 1944 by Kaiser Co.,
Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. William
E. Lynd; acquired by the Navy 4 September 1944; and
commissioned at San Francisco the same day, Captain
George W. Stott in command.
After shakedown, General M. M. Patrick departed San
Francisco 14 October and transported nearly 3,000 troops
to Pearl Harbor and Guam before returning to San Fran-
52
cisco 18 January 1945 with military passengers. Between
19 February and 6 March she carried more troops from
Seatle to Hawaii and returned sailors to San Francisco.
With a full load of troops embarked, she then sailed 1G
March for the Southwest Pacific, where she arrived San
Pedro Bay, Philippines, 18 April. After shuttling troops
from Allied bases along the northern coast of New Guinea
to Luzon, she departed Manila 16 May and brought home
returning veterans, arriving San Francisco 12 June.
Once again departing San Francisco 28 June, she trans-
ported 3,000 troops and passengers to Fremantle, Aus-
tralia ; steamed to Calcutta, India, to embark passengers ;
then sailed via the Suez Canal to New York, where she
arrived 3 September.
On the 22d General M. M. Patrick departed on another
“Magic-Carpet” voyage to Calcutta and back to New York,
arriving 16 November. Departing New York 9 days later,
she embarked still more troops at Calcutta, Karachi, and
Tuticorin, India ; steamed via Ceylon and Singapore for
the West Coast ; and arrived San Pedro 28 January 1946.
She decommissioned 8 March and was returned to WSA
11 March for use as an Army transport under the Army
Transportation Service.
General M. M. Patrick was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 and assigned to duty as an overseas transport
under MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, during the Ko-
rean war she operated between Seattle and the Far East
and carried tens of thousands of combat troops in support
of the effort to repel Communist aggression in Korea.
After the armistice, she continued steaming from Seattle
to Yokohama, Japan, and back, returning veterans of the
Korean fighting to the United States and deploying troops
to the Far East. She was returned to the Maritime Ad-
ministration 17 October 1958 and entered the National
Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash., where she
remains.
General M. M. Patrick received two battle stars for Ko-
rean conflict service.
General Maurice Rose
A former name retained. Maurice Rose, born 26 No-
vember 1899 at Middletown, Conn., enlisted as a private
in the Colorado National Guard in June 1916; attended
Officers Training School at Fort Riley, Kans., in 1917 ;
and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Infantry
15 August. In May 1918 he sailed with the 333d Infantry
for duty in France, where he participated in the St. Mi-
hiel Offensive. After his return to the United States in
January 1920, he served during the next two decades at
various posts in the United States and at Corozal, C.Z.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he became
Chief of Staff of the 2d Armored Division in January
1942. Promoted to Brigadier General 2 June 1943, he
assumed command of the 3d Armored Division in France
7 August 1944. He was promoted to Major General 5
September and was killed in action in Germany 31 March
1945.
Admiral Hugh Rodman (AP-126) ( q.v. ) was reac-
quired by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as
General Maurice Rose 1 March 1950 and assigned to
MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, she operated out of
New York in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean during
the next 15 years. Steaming primarily between New
York and Bremerhaven, Germany, she completed more
than 150 round-trip voyages while carrying military de-
pendents and European refugees and rotating combat-
ready troops. In addition she deployed to the Mediter-
ranean 17 times to support peace-keeping operations of
the mighty 6th Fleet.
Following the gallant but abortive Hungarian Revolu-
tion in October 1956, General Maurice Rose completed three
runs to Bremerhaven and back between 12 January and
27 March 1957 in support of the operation to transport
Hungarian refugees to the United States. On three de-
ployments to the Eastern Mediterranean between 1 April
and 5 October, she supported units of the 6th Fleet during
Communist-inspired political crises that threatened the
pro-Western government of Jordan.
After completing nine voyages to Bremerhaven and
back between 16 January and 4 August, General Maurice
Rose departed New York 14 August for transport duty
to Southeast Asia. In response to America’s determina-
te defend the integrity and independence of South Viet-
nam from external Communist aggression, she sailed via
Long Beach, Calif., and Pearl Harbor to Qui Nhon, South
Vietnam, arriving 14 September, and debarking troops
and supplies. Departing the 19th, she steamed via Oki-
nawa and the West Coast and reached New York 18 Oc-
tober. During the first 8 months of 1966, she made eight
round-trip runs to Europe and back. On 8 September she
again departed New York for trooplift duty to South Viet-
nam. She operated in the Western Pacific, supporting the
forces of freedom in Southeast Asia through the end of
1966. She returned to New York late in January 1967 for
overhaul and was placed in ready reserve status.
General Mifflin
Thomas Miffiin, born in Philadelphia, Pa., 10 January
1744, graduated from the College of Philadelphia at age
16 to become one of the youngest members of the First
Continental Congress. He became Aide-de-Camp to
Washington in 1775 and in August of that year was ap-
pointed Quartermaster General of the Continental Army.
General Miffiin fought at the battles of Princeton and
Trenton, in the defense of Philadelphia, and was promoted
to Major General in 1777. Resigning from the Army after
the war, he served in Congress from 1782 to 1784, presid-
ing over it the last year. He then was elected Governor
of Pennsylvania for three terms. A member of the state
legislature from then on, he died 20 January 1800.
(Sip)
General Mifflin was a small sloop procured by General
Washington in the spring of 1776. Upon arrival in New
York in April, the general fitted out a small fleet of ves-
sels for the protection of the local waters, General Mifflin
among them. She cruised in the neighborhood of Long
Island, often in company with sloop Montgomery, and cap-
tured several vessels, before her final disposition.
General Nelson M. Walker
A former name retained. Nelson Macy Walker, born
27 September 1891 at Pittsfield, Mass., attended Oflicers
Training Camp, Plattsburg, N.Y., and was commissioned
Second Lieutenant in the Infantry Reserve 15 August
1917. He went to France with the 47th Infantry Regi-
ment in April 1918 and participated in the Aisne-Marne,
St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. He was
wounded in action 5 July 1918. He continued action with
the American forces in Germany until July 1919 when he
returned to the United States. During the next 18 years
he was stationed at various Army posts in the United
States. From July 1937 until August 1938, he served with
the 15th Infantry in Tientsin, China. After the entry of
the United States into World War II, he was assigned to
Headquarters, Army Ground Forces, in Washington, D.C.
Promoted Brigadier General 11 September 1942, he became
Assistant Division Commander, 8th Infantry Division,
in November 1943. He was killed in France 10 July 1944
during the invasion of Western Europe.
Admiral H. T. Mayo (AP)-125) (q.v.) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as General
Nelson M. Walker 1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS.
After the outbreak of the Korean conflict, General
Nelson M. Walker transported men and equipment from
the West Coast to the Pacific staging areas. On 31 May
1952 her Pacific runs were interrupted when she sailed
for the East Coast, arriving Norfolk 14 June. Follow-
ing two cruises to Bremerhaven, General Nelson M.
Walker returned to her West Coast-Far East cruises.
53
She continued these operations until 28 November 1955
when she was placed in a reduced operational status.
Departing San Francisco 9 January 1957, she sailed
through the Panama Canal and on to Bremerhaven,
where she embarked Hungarian refugees for transport
to New York. Arriving there 14 February, General Nelson
M. Walker was transferred to the Maritime Administra-
tion and placed in ready rese ve status. Berthed in the
Hudson River, she joined the National Defense Reserve
Fleet 20 January 1959.
During the rapid buildup of American forces in Viet-
nam, it was necessary to reactivate additional ships to
facilitate the flow of troops and equipment to Southeast
Asia. General Nelson M. Walker was transferred to
MSTS 14 August 1965, and from December 1965 to
August 1966 she made five cruises from San Francisco to
Japan, Okinawa, and’ Vietnam. She continued this vital
duty carrying troops to Vietnam to bolster Allied forces
fighting Communism through mid-1967 and is scheduled to
carry on the task through the end of the year.
General O. H. Ernst
Oswald Herbert Ernst, born near Cincinnati, Ohio 27
June 1842, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy
in 1864 and served at various posts with the Corps of
Engineers and then as a member of the astronomical ex-
pedition to Spain in 1870. He served as Superintendent
of the Military Academy from 1893 until 1898. During
the Spanish-American War, he commanded a brigade in
Puerto Rico, then served as Inspector General of Cuba
until 1899. Later a member of the original Isthmian
Canal Commission and in charge of river and harbor im-
provements at Baltimore, Galveston, and Chicago, Gen-
eral Ernst retired from active duty in 1906. Promoted
to Major General in 1916, he died in ' sliington, D.C.,
21 March 1926.
( AP-133 : dp 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 426 ; trp. 3,343; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General O. E. Ernst (AP-133) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract 29 June 1942 by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 14 April
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. L. M. Giannini ; acquired by the
Navy 31 March 1944 ; commissioned 22 April 1944, Comdr.
R. W. Dole in command ; transferred to Portland, Oreg.,
for conversion to a transport by Commercial Iron Works,
Portland ; decommissioned 13 May 1944 ; and recom-
missioned 15 July 1944.
General O. H. Ernst sailed from Seattle 27 August
1944 ; and, after embarking more than 3,000 fighting men
at Honolulu, she transported troops to Guadalcanal,
Manus, and Ulithi before returning to San Diego 4 De-
cember. Underway again 10 days later, she carried
troops to Guadalcanal and promptly returned to the
West Coast, reaching Seattle 20 January 1945. Follow-
ing a round-trip voyage during February to Honolulu and
back to San Francisco, the busy transport made a round-
trip voyage between 17 March and 22 May, carrying troops
from San Francisco to New Hebrides, New Caledonia,
New Guinea, Leyte, and the Admiralties.
General O. H. Ermt departed San Francisco 30 May for
the Panama Canal and Europe ; and, after embarking
veterans at Le Havre, France, she steamed to Norfolk,
arriving 2 July. A week later she departed for Naples,
Italy, and carried troops thence via the Panama Canal
to Hollandia, New Guinea, where she arrived 27 August.
Touching Manila 2 September, the ship departed Tacloban
15 September for San Pedro, Calif., arriving 1 October.
As part of the post-war “Magic-Carpet” fleet, she be-
tween 1 November and 29 July 1946, made six troop-
rotation voyages out of San Pedro and Seattle to Japan,
Korea, Okinawa, and Pearl Harbor.
General O. H. Ernst returned to San Francisco from
the Far East 29 July 1946, decommissioned there 15
August. Returned to WSA the same day, she entered
the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif.
She was sold to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington, Del.,
in April 1964 and renamed Calmar.
General Omar Bundy
Omar Bundy, born 17 June 1861 at New Castle, Ind.,
graduated from the Military Academy in 1883 and served
on the American frontier, participating in campaigns
against Crow and Sioux Indians. During the Spanish-
American War he fought with the 5th Army Corps in
Cuba and received the Silver Star for gallantry at El
Caney. From 1899 to 1902 he served in the Philippines
during the insurrection and subsequently, after teaching
law at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., fought the Moros in the
Philippines in 1905-06. General Bundy served within the
continental United States until 1917 when he assumed
command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Expeditionary Division,
and sailed for France in June 1917. As a division and
corps commander during World War I he participated in
the occupation of the Toulon Rupt, and Troyon Sectors
and served in the Aisne-Marne Operations and in the oc-
cupations of the Chateau-Thierry and Pas Fini Sectors.
Following the war he commanded Camp Lee, Va., the VII
Corps Area, the Philippine Division, and the V Corps Area.
For his services in World War I, General Bundy was
awarded the French Legion of Honor, Commander, and
the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. He died in Wash-
ington, D.C., 20 January 1940.
( AP-152 : dp. 17,250; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3, 823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm. ; cl. Gen-
eral G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General Omar Bundy (AP-152) was launched 5 August
1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by the Kaiser
Co., Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Lawrence of
Richmond ; acquired and simultaneously commissioned 6
January 1945, Captain L. Wainwright in command.
General Bundy stood out of San Francisco Bay 10 March
1945 with 2,700 sailors and marines bound for the South-
west Pacific, and after delivering them to Pearl Harbor,
Ulithi, and Guam, returned to San Diego 11 May with
over 1,700 homeward-bound troops after debarking 200
Japanese POW’s at Pearl Harbor on 3 May. Six days
later she sailed for the Atlantic via the Panama Canal
and put in at Norfolk, Va., 31 May. Underway again on
9 June, she touched Marseille to embark 2,800 troops for
redeployment to the Pacific theater and brought them
safely to Manila on 6 August 1945 via Panama. She
brought nearly 500 officers and men from Manila to Taclo-
ban, Leyte, Philippine Islands, and after embarking 1,500
veterans there, sailed via Ulithi and Guam to off-load her
passengers at Seattle, Wash., on 4 September. Continu-
ing her Magic Carpet duties, General Bundy transported
3,000 replacement troops from Seattle to Okinawa in late
September and October, returning to Portland, Oreg., on
2 November 1945 with nearly 3,000 victorious soldiers.
The ship returned to the Philippines in November to em-
bark 3,300 returning veterans, and brought them home to
San Francisco on 19 December 1945.
In 1946 General Bundy continued her “Magic-Carpet”
and troop rotation duties, homeported at San Francisco
and calling at Japan and Manila in February and at the
Philippines again in April, returning to San Francisco
after this last round-trip voyage and sailed from that port
17 May 1946 bound for New York via the Panama Canal.
She decommissioned 14 June 1946 and was delivered to
the Maritime Commission the next day. General Omar
Bundy was struck from the Navy list on 8 October 1946.
The transport was transferred to the War Department
30 August 1946 and carried troops for the Army until re-
turned to the Maritime Commission 12 December 1949.
General Omar Bundy entered the National Defense Re-
serve Fleet and was berthed in the James River until de-
livered to the Bethlehem Steel Corp. 10 April 1964. Con-
verted to a freighter, she operates under the name
Portmar,
54
General Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike, born in 1779 at Lamberton
(now a part of Trenton), N.J., was the son of Zebulon
Pike, a captain in the Continental Army. In 1794 young
Pike entered his father’s company as a cadet to be com-
missioned Second Lieutenant 3 March 1799. In 180o
President Jefferson chose Pike to command an expedition
to the upper Mississippi region of the Louisiana Territory.
When he returned to St. Louis in April 1806, he was sent
to explore the sources of the Arkansas and Red Rivers.
During this expedition he discovered the mountain peak
in Colorado which now bears his name. Pike was cap-
tured by the Spanish 26 February 1807 but was released
a few months later. In the ensuing years he rose through
the ranks rapidly, reaching Brigadier General 12 March
1813. He served as Adjutant and Inspector General in
the campaign against York (now Toronto), Canada. He
commanded American troops sent ashore during a success-
ful assault 27 April 1813 but was killed by the explosion
of a British magazine, which was ignited by retreating
troops as American forces stormed the garrison.
(Ship: t. 875; lbp. 145' ; b. 37' ; dph. 15' ; cpl. 300; a. 26
24-pdrs. )
General Pike was laid down by Henry Eckford, a New
York City shipbuilder who supervised the construction of
warships on Lake Ontario, at Sackett’s Harbor 9 April
1813. Set on fire 29 May during a British attack on
Sackett’s Harbor, the unfinished ship was saved and
launched 12 June 1813, Master Commandant Arthur Sin-
clair in command. She was made ready to sail by July
and on 21 July she joined Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s
squadron. She sailed to the head of Lake Ontario, ar-
riving off Niagara 27 July. While cruising the lake, she
engaged British ships under Commodore Yeo in an in-
decisive battle on 10 and 11 August.
General Pike returned to Sackett’s Harbor 13 August
and provisioned before returning to the head of the lake
to search out British ships. After almost a month of
maneuvering and stalking to gain an advantage over the
British, she joined Chauncey’s ships in a brief encounter
against the British off the mouth of the Genesee River 11
September. On 28 September the two forces again met
at York Bay, Ontario, and engaged in a fierce, but still
indecisive, battle. During heated exchanges of gunfire be-
tween American and British ships General Pike fought in
heavy action against British ship Royal George and ren-
dered gallant service throughout the encounter.
After returning to Sackett’s Harbor early in October,
General Pike supported troop movements against the Brit-
ish at the lower end of Lake Ontario until mid-November
when she returned to the Niagara Peninsula to cover the
transfer of American troops from Fort Niagara to Sack-
ett’s Harbor. She remained at Sackett’s Harbor during
the winter months.
Throughout the remainder of the War of 1812, General
Pike continued to operate with Chauncey’s squadron.
After the British withdrew blockading ships off Sackett’s
Harbor early in June 1814, she joined other American
ships in a blockade of British ships at Kingston, Ontario.
The American forces kept Yeo’s ships within Kingston
harbor, and General Pike cruised Lake Ontario freely from
the head of the St. Lawrence to Sackett’s Harbor. Fol-
lowing the end of the war, she was laid up at Sacket’s
Harbor and was sold in 1825.
General Pillow
Gideon J. Pillow, born in Williamson County, Tenn., 8
June 1806, graduated from the University of Nashville in
1827. He became a successful criminal lawyer, practicing
for a time with James K. Polk, and was active in national
politics. Appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers in
1846, he served with General Taylor on the Rio Grande
and with General Scott at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Con-
treras, and Chapultepec. At the beginning of the Civil
War, he accepted a commission as Brigadier General in
the Confederate Army. General Pillow fought at Bel-
mont, Mo., in 1861 and was second in command at Fort
Donelson in February 1862 when it fell to General Grant.
He escaped but held no important command after that
time. When the war ended, Pillow returned to his law
practice until his death at Helena, Ark., 8 October 1878.
(SwStr : t. 38; 1. 81'5" ; b. 17'1" ; dph. 3'8" ; a. 2 12-pdr.
how.)
General Pillow (Gunboat No. 20) was originally Con-
federate steamer B. M. Moore (see DANFS II, 502) and
served the South as a gunboat until she was captured on
the Hatchee River, Tenn., by Pittsburg 9 June 1862. She
was transferred to the Union Navy by the War Depart-
ment ; and after outfitting and repairs at Cairo, 111., Gen-
eral Pillow departed Cairo 23 August for duty with the
Mississippi Squadron, Lt. LeRoy Fitch in command.
General Pillow became part of the light draft squadron
on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, and for the next
several months convoyed troop transports and fought
guerrillas on the riverbanks. February 1863 saw her
again at Cairo guarding mortar ships and ammunition
barges, in addition to making occasional visits to Mound
City, 111., and the mouth of the Tennessee River. She
continued this duty until July 1865 when she was turned
over to the Commandant of the Naval Station, Mound
City, for disposal. General Pillow was sold at Mound
City 26 November 1865 to Wetzel and Hallerburg.
General Price, see General Sterling Price
General Putnam
A former name retained. See William G. Putnam for
biography.
( S P-2284 : t. 205; 1. 122'6" ; b. 28' ; dr. 9' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
13 ; a. none)
General Putnam (SP-2284), a ferry boat, was built in
1902 by Pusey & Jones, Wilmington, Del. ; acquired under
charter by the Navy 6 February 1918 from her owner,
John E. Moore & Co., New York City; taken over 16 July
1918 ; and placed in service at New York City 29 July 1919.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, General Putnam was
manned by the owner’s civilian crew and was used as a
ferry boat between New York Navy Yard and Ellis Island.
After the Armistice, she was returned to her owner 2
October 1919.
General R. E. Callan
Robert Emmet Callan, born 24 March 1874 at Balti-
more, Md., graduated from the Military Academy and
was assigned to the 5th Artillery. Following service in
Cuba, Puerto Rico, West Point, and Washington, D.C.,
he became Chief of Staff of the Philippine Department
in 1917. During WWI he was on duty in France and
was Chief of Staff of the 1st Army Artillery, Command-
ing General of the 33d Artillery Brigade, and partici-
pated in the Montdidier-Noyon Defensive and in the
Aisne-Marne Offensive. General Callan served in New
York, Panama, and Hawaii before his promotion to Major
General in 1931. He commanded the 3d Corps Area,
Baltimore, Md., until retiring at his own request in 1936
after 40 years of service. General Callan was awarded
the Distinguished Service Medal for his services during
WWI. He died 20 November 1936 at Washington, D.C.
( AP-139 : dp. 17,250; 1. 522' 10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k; cpl. 449; a. 4 5")
General R. E. Callan (AP-139) was launched 27 April
1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser
Inc., Richmond, Calif ; sponsored by Mrs. Robert E.
Callan, wife of General Callan; acquired 7 July 1944;
256-125 0 - 66-6
55
and commissioned 17 August 1944, Comdr. Robert C.
Starkey in command.
General Callan sailed from San Francisco 25 September
1944 with Army troops and debarked them at Oro Bay
and Langemak Bay New Guinea, on-loading at the latter
port 2,700 troops and casualties which she put ashore at
San Francisco 1 November on her return. She embarked
over 2,600 fighting men at San Diego and after touching
San Francisco 13 November, got underway from that
port 3 days later for Kahului Harbor, Hawaii, where
she debarked the troops and returned to San Francisco
2 December with over 250 homeward-bound veterans.
From 20 December 1944—8 February 1945 the transport
carried 2,500 troops from San Francisco to Eniwetok and
Guam, returning to Los Angeles the latter date with
2,500 troops embarked at Pearl Harbor. General Callan
then stood out 23 March 1945 with more than 3,000 fight-
ing men bound for Melbourne, Australia ; Calcutta, India ;
and Trincomalee, Ceylon ; returning via Fremantle, Aus-
tralia ; Manus, Tinian, Saipan, Guam, and Pearl Harbor
to moor at San Francisco 28 June.
Two days later the busy ship steamed under the Golden
Gate bound for Norfolk, Va., closing that port 15 July
and getting underway again 25 July for France. She
embarked over 3,000 troops at Marseille 6 August and
returned to Norfolk 18 August to debark her war-weary
passengers. From 20 August-12 September the ship made
another voyage to Marseille and put in at Boston 12 Sep-
tember with over 4,000 troops. On 26 September she stood
out to eastward, touching Karachi, India, via the Suez
and returning to New York with a full load of veterans
on 21 November. After a round-the-world troop rotation
cruise which brought the ship to Karachi, Singapore and
Hawaii after her departure 7 December 1945 from New
York, General Callan moored at Seattle on 30 January
1946. Following a voyage to Leyte, she returned to San
Francisco in early April, and subsequently sailed thence
via Panama for Boston, where on 24 May 1946 she was
placed out of commission and turned over to the Mari-
time Commission for peacetime operations as an Army
transport. Her name was struck from the Navy List on
19 June 1946.
General R. E. Callan was reacquired from the Army on
28 April 1950 and manned by a Civil Service crew for
transatlantic passenger service under the MSTS until 29
May 1958 when her name was again struck from the Navy
List. Returned to the Maritime Commission, she was as-
signed to the Maritime Reserve Defense Fleet in the
Hudson River, N.Y.
General R. E. Callan was transferred to the Air Force
15 July 1961 and renamed General H. H. Arnold. On 1
July she was acquired by the Navy and designated
T-AGM-9. General R. E. Callan now operates in the
Atlantic under MSTS as a missile range instrumentation
ship.
General R. L. Howze
Robert Lee Howze, born in Rusk County, Tex., 22
August 1864, graduated from the Military Academy in
1888. As a young officer he fought in the Indian Wars
and earned the Medal of Honor fighting off a Sioux attack
1 January 1891. In the Spanish-American War Howze
served in Cuba and later the Philippines. Following a
tour of duty in Puerto Rico, he was Commandant of
Cadets at the Military Academy 1905 to 1909. This
brought him staff posts in several major commands, and
command of a cavalry unit with Pershing on the Mexican
border. At the outbreak of World War I, Howze was
appointed Major General and commanded the 38th Di-
vision. He took part in the Meuse-Argonne fighting and
marched to the Rhine as Commander, 3d Division. He
received the Distinguish Service Medal for World War I
service. Returning from France, Howze was appointed
Major General in the regular Army in 1922. He died at
Columbus, Ohio 19 September 1926.
(AP-134: dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 3,530; a. 4 5”, 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier ; T. CM^S-A1)
General R. L. Howze (AP-134) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract 22 July 1942 by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 23 May 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. W. C. Gardenshire; acquired by the
Navy 31 December 1943 ; converted to a transport by Mat-
son Navigation Co., San Francisco; and commissioned
at San Francisco 7 February 1944, Captain L. H. Baker,
USCG, in command.
Alter shakedown off San Diego, the transport loaded
supplies, embarked troops at San Francisco, and sailed
20 March 1944 for New Guinea. General R. L. Howze
carried troops to Milne Bay and Lae to support the
American buildup of pressure in the southwest Pacific
returning to San Francisco 2 May 1944. Subsequently,
the ship steamed to Guadalcanal, Manus, Eniwetok, and
many other islands as the rising tide of the Navy’s am-
phibious offensive swept toward Japan. She carried
troops, supplies, and even Japanese prisoners of war on
a total of 11 voyages to the combat areas of the Pacific,
before returning to San Francisco 15 October 1945, alter
the Japanese surrender.
In November, General R. L. Howze steamed to the Phil-
ippines to bring home veterans, and sailed 10 January 1946
for England with 3,400 German prisoners. After touching
at Liverpool 31 January, she brought American troops
from Le Harve to New York 16 February, and made a final
voyage to France for more returning veterans. General
R. L. Howze decommissioned at New York I April 1946
and was returned to WSA for transfer to the War Depart-
ment. She was placed in reserve in the James River 6
August 1947, and returned to the War Department as an
Army Transport in 1948.
The veteran transport was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 and joined MSTS with a civilian crew. For
the next year General R. L. Howze sailed to and from
Europe for the International Refugee Organization, bring-
ing displaced persons from Eastern Europe to the United
States. In mid-1951, she was transferred to the Pacific,
and steamed between San Francisco and the Far East with
troop replacements for U.N. fighting in Korea. She con-
tinued this vital role helping to defend freedom in Korea,
both during the active fighting and after the armistice.
However, in September 1954, General R. L. Howze was
diverted from her normal pattern of sailings to take part
in Operation “Passage to Freedom.” For 5 months she
and other Navy ships brought tens of thousands of refugees
from North to South Vietnam as that unfortunate country
was partitioned.
General R. L. Howze made two more voyages to the
Far East supporting America’s important readiness forces
before returning to Seattle 31 December 1955. She re-
mained inactive until entering the reserve fleet at Astoria,
Oreg., 15 July 1957. The ship was finally returned to
the Maritime Administration 17 July 1958 and placed in
the Maritime Defense Reserve Fleet at Astoria, where she
remains.
General R. L. Howze received six battle stars for Ko-
rean War service.
General R. M. Blatchford
Richard M. Blatchford, born 17 August 1859 at Fort
Hamilton,- N.Y., served on the American frontier in Da-
kota Territory, Kansas, and Arizona. Following two
tours of duty in Puerto Rico he served both in the field
and in garrison in the Philippines from 1901-04. After
frontier and border patrol assignments, General Blatch-
ford sailed for France in July 1917 and during World War
I was commanding general of the Line of Communications,
A.E.F. Following his return to the United States he
served in Panama, Ohio, California, and Washington, re-
tiring from active service 1 December 1922. He died 31
August 1934 at San Francisco, Calif.
56
(AP-153: dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k ; cpl. 256 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General R. If. Blatchford (AP-153) was launched 27
August 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by
the Kaiser Co., Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Wil-
liam Anderson of San Francisco ; acquired and simultane-
ously commissioned 26 January 1945, Comdr. Allen H.
Guthrie in command.
General R. M. Blatchford sailed from San Francisco
12 March 1945 with over 3000 fighting men and debarked
them at Manila 13 April, returning to San Francisco 22
May to off-load 2000 troops taken on board at Biak and
Finschhafen. She sailed 30 May for France via the Pan-
ama Canel, touched at Le Havre 20 June, and debarked
more than 3,000 returning troops at Boston 1 July. Five
days later the transport sailed to redeploy troops from the
European to the Pacific theater, embarking 3000 soldiers
at Leghorn, Italy, and bringing them safely to Luzon and
Manila in August 1945. General R. M. Blatchford em-
barked more than 1,000 troops and casualties at San
Pedro, Philippine Islands, and put in at Seattle 30 Sep-
tember 1945.
Continuing her Magic Carpet assignments, the ship
sailed from Seattle 16 October with 2,800 rotation troops
and debarked them at Nagoya, Japan, where 3,000 home-
ward veterans were loaded and put ashore at San Fran-
cisco 20 November. From 28 November 1945-7 May 1946
three more round trip voyages from Seattle to the Far
East were made, the transport bringing near-capacity
loads of troops to and from Nagoya, Yokohama, and
Shanghai and mooring at San Francisco 7 May 1946 with
completion of these duties.
On 9 May General R. M. Blatchford departed for Nor-
folk, Va., via the Panama Canal and moored at that port 24
May. She was decommissioned at Baltimore, Md., on 12
June 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission for
operations as an Army transport. She was reacquired by
the Navy on 1 March 1950 for operations by a Civil Service
crew under the MSTS transported thousands of troops
from the West Coast in support of United Nations Forces
in Korea.
On 11 February 1961 she sailed from New York for two
and a half years overseas service in the United Nations
Congo sealift. Earning her the nickname of “Ambassador
Ship,” her crew cemented goodwill relations for the United
States in the best traditions of the People-to-People Pro-
gram while helping to keep the peace in the Congo. The
veteran transport travelled 174,000 nautical miles in ferry-
ing 36.809 passengers to and from the Congo, Morocco,
India, Pakistan, Malaya, and Indonesia. She circumnavi-
gated the African continent several times and criss-crossed
the Indian Ocean repeatedly while rotating United Na-
tions soldiers, doctors, nurses, and technicians assigned
to the Congo. General R. M. Blatchford arrived New York
on 11 August 1963 with high praise from her government
and United Nations Secretary General U Thant who said,
“The ship and her devoted master and crew have been a
mainstay of the United Nations Operations in the Congo,
and they have never failed us, even when their duties must
have seemed arduous and incessant.”
She continued to operate in the Atlantic supporting
U.S. Forces in Europe until transferred to the Pacific in
1965 to carry troops to Vietnam. She continued this
vital task until overhauled at San Francisco in January
1967 and entering ready reserve status.
General R. M. Blatchford received two battle stars for
service during the Korean war.
General S. D. Sturgis
Samuel Davis Sturgis, born 1 August 1861 at St. Louis,
Mo., graduated from the Military Academy in 1884 and
served in the Artillery. Following duty in San Francisco,
New York, Missouri, Maryland, and Kansas, he served
in the Philippines, Dakota Territory, and Cuba. He re-
turned to the Philippines in 1901 and subsequently was on
duty in Utah, Wyoming, Texas, and Hawaii. General
Sturgis served with the AEF in France during World War
I commanding in turn the 87th and 80th Divisions. He
participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and in the
occupation of the 1st Army Defensive Sector. After the
war he served in Georgia, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, Pana-
ma, and Maryland before retiring 1 August 1925. Gen-
eral Sturgis died 6 March 1933 at Washington, D.C.
(AP-137 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,343 ; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A2)
General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) was launched under
Maritime Commission contract 12 November 1943 by
Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by
Miss Rio Ivanhoe ; acquired by the Navy 31 March 1944 ;
placed in ferry commission 24 April 1944 for transfer to
Portland, Oreg. ; decommissioned 25 May 1944 ; converted
to a transport by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash. ; and
placed in full commission at Portland, Oreg., 10 July 1944,
Comdr. D. S. Baker in command.
After shakedown calls at San Francisco and Los
Angeles, General S. D. Sturgis arrived Seattle 10 August
1944 to embark cargo, troops, and passengers before get-
ting underway 8 days later. She debarked troops and
supplies at Honolulu 24 August and returned to San Fran-
cisco 2 September with hospital patients. From 27 Sep-
tember to 6 November the ship made one round-trip voyage
from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor and one from Seattle
before returning to San Francisco. She sailed from that
port 16 November with troops and supplies bound for the
Southwest Pacific. Touching Eniwetok 4 December and
arriving at Ulithi 5 days later, she assumed duty there as
a station receiving ship. General S. D. Sturgis carried
part of Admiral Halsey’s 3d Fleet staff via Eniwetok to
Pearl Harbor, finally reaching Seattle 19 February 1945.
From 6 April to 2 June she made a round-trip, troop-carry-
ing voyage from San Francisco to Langemak Bay and Hol-
landia, New Guinea ; and San Pedro, Leyte as the Pacific
campaigns reached a climax.
She now headed for Europe, departing San Francisco
16 June for France. After embarking troops at Marseilles
9 July, she departed the next day to redeploy them in the
Pacific.
Debarking her passengers at Manila 20 August, General
S. D. Sturgis sailed from that port 6 days later with officers
and officials of the United States, Australia, Canada,
Netherlands East Indies, China, and the Philippines, de-
livering them to Tokyo Bay 31 August to witness the
historic Japanese surrender ceremonies there 2 Septem-
ber. The ship got underway 26 September for Seattle,
arriving there 8 October. She then made three round-
trip voyages from the West Coast to Japanese ports, sup-
porting occupation troops before departing San Francisco
on an around-the-world voyage calling at Manila, Singa-
pore, Calcutta, and Port Said, and arriving New York 10
May 1946. She decommissioned 24 May 1946 and was de-
livered to WSA for peacetime operation as an Army trans-
port.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, she was assigned
to MSTS and manned by civilians. As war broke out in
Korea, General S. D. Sturgis took up the vital job of carry-
ing U.N. troops to and from the Korean fighting. For the
Korean War period, she sailed from New York to Bremer-
haven and Mediterranean ports, embarking allied troops,
and transported them to Pusan.
Following the Armistice, the transport rotated Greek,
Turkish, Ethiopian, and Philippine troops in Korea, help-
ing to maintain the high state of readiness among U.N.
forces in that volatile land. During 1955, the ship made
three voyages from New York to Bremerhaven, supporting
American troops in Europe. She was placed in reduced
operational status at New York 28 May 1955. General
S. D. Sturgis wras later returned to the Maritime Adminis-
tration and was placed in the National Defense Reserve
Fleet, Beaumont, Tex., 22 August 1958, where she remains.
General S. D. Sturgis received three battle stars for
Korean War service.
57
General Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler, born 11 November 1733 in Albany,
N.Y., served as a colonial officer in the British Army
from 1755 to 1758. He represented Albany in the New
York Assembly from 1768 to 1775 and served as a delegate
to the Second Continental Congress in May 1775. Ap-
pointed Major General 19 June, he took command of the
Northern Department of New York to plan for the inva-
sion of Canada. Marching northward from Tieonderoga
28 August, his force began a successful 5-week siege
against St. John’s 6 September. A week later, ill health
forced General Schuyler to give actual command to Briga-
dier General Richard Montgomery. The expedition oc-
cupied Montreal 13 November; but, after a combined
assault with Arnold’s troops against Quebec 31 December,
during which Montgomery was killed, the American army
retreated to Crown Point, N.Y., the following spring,
General Horatio Gates, who took command from General
John Sullivan, blamed General Schuyler for the disas-
terous Canadian expedition ; and, engaging in military in-
trigue, he brought about Schuyler’s dismissal in August
1777. After resigning from the Army in April 1779,
Schuyler served during the next decade as a member of
the Continental Congress and as a state senator from
western New York. In 1788 he joined his son-in-law,
Alexander Hamilton; John Jay; and other Federalists in
leading the movement for ratification by New York of the
Federal Constitution. He served in the United States
Senate from 1789 to 1791 and from 1797 to 1798. General
Schuyler died in Albany 18 November 1804.
General Schuyler, a small sloop, was purchased by the
New York Committee of Safety early in 1776 ; fitted out
by March ; and commissioned in the State Navy, James
Smith in command. After the British evacuated Boston 17
March, General Washington transferred his forces to
New York which soon became the focal point of the war.
After his arrival in April, he requested the use of the
New York fleet, and General Schuyler was transferred
to his control. Commissioned as a Continental privateer
in April, she patrolled local waters to suppress illicit
trading.
While cruising off New York in June, General Schuyler
recaptured a transport that had been taken originally by
Continental brig Andrew Doria and then recaptured by
British frigate Cerberus. During the same month and
under the command of Lt. Joseph Davidson she recap-
tured four prizes of British frigate Greyhound, while
cruising with Montgomery. Later that year General
Schuyler recaptured Crawford, another prize of Cerberus.
She operated in Long Island Sound and the Hudson River
until the British captured New York in August 1776, but
her subsequent career and final disposition are unknown.
General Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman, born in Lancaster, Ohio, 8
February 1820, graduated from the U.S. Military Acad-
emy in 1840. After serving at various posts and in Cali-
fornia during the Mexican War, Sherman resigned from
the Army in 1853 to become superintendent of a military
school at Alexandria, La. When secession of southern
States escalated into Civil War, Sherman was appointed
Colonel, commanding the newly formed 13th U.S. Infantry.
During the first Battle of Bull Run, he commanded a
brigade under McDowell. Soon he commanded Union
forces in Kentucky and later led a new division under
Grant in the Battle of Shiloh which won him promotion
to Major General of Volunteers. His service at Vicks-
burg helped reduce that Southern stronghold. Given
command of the Army of the Tennessee in September 1863,
Sherman replaced Grant in supreme command in the West
in spring 1864 and began his advance on Atlanta. General
Sherman took Atlanta 1 September and began his famous
march through Georgia, occupying Savannah 21 Decem-
ber 1864. He was advanced to Lieutenant General in 1866,
and became General upon succeeding Grant in 1869 in
command of the Army.. He retired .1 November 1883,
after over 40 years of brilliant service. General Sherman
died in New York 14 February 1891.
(SwStr : t. 187; 1. 168' b. 26'; dph. 4'6" ; a. 2 20-pdr.
P.r., 3 24-pdr. how.)
General Sherman was one of four light wooden gun-
boats built at Chattanooga, Tenn., for the War Department
in 1864. She commissioned at Bridgeport, Ala., 27
July 1864, Acting Master Joseph W. Morehead in com-
mand.
General Sherman was assigned to the 11th District,
Mississippi Squadron, and became part of Lt. Moreau
Forrest’s gunboat fleet on the upper Tennessee River.
Leaving Bridgeport 22 August, she patrolled with other
gunboats between Decatur, Ala., and Mussel Shoals, con-
trolling guerrilla attacks and working to prevent major
elements of Confederate General Hood’s army from cross-
ing the river into Tennessee. General Sherman continued
to patrol until she returned to Bridgeport for repairs 17
December.
Returning to the upper Tennessee River, General Sher-
man lent vital artillery support to the forces of General
Steedman at Decatur, 27 December, shelling Confederate
emplacements as Union troops crossed the river. She
again patrolled the river, attempting to cut off the with-
drawal of Hood’s army from Tennessee and convoying
Union supply ships, until the war ended. She was returned
to the Army Quartermaster Department at Chattanooga,
Tenn., 3 June 1865.
General Simon B. Buckner
Former name retained.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, born 18 July 1886, in Munford-
ville, Ky., attended the U.S. Military Academy, West
Point, and was commissioned Second Lieutenant of In-
fantry 14 February 1908. From 1908 to 1918 he served
both in the United States and the Philippines, then
assumed administrative demobilization duties following
World War I. During the next two decades he served
as instructor and administrator at various posts through-
out the United States, including the U.S. Military
Academy. In October 1939 he was assigned to the 6th
Division as Chief of Staff, and appointed Brigadier Gen-
eral 1 September 1940. During World War II he com-
manded American troops in Alaska, with headquarters at
Fort Richardson, Anchorage. He was promoted to Lieu-
tenant General 4 May 1943 to assume command of the
10th Army August 1944. With overall command of the
landing forces on the doorstep of Japan, General Simon
B. Buckner was killed in action on Okinawa 18 June
1945.
Admiral E. W. Eberle (AP-123) (q.v.) was reacquired
by the Navy from the Army Transport Service as General
Simon B. Buckner 1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS.
With a civilian crew on board, the transport steamed
across the Pacific throughout the Korean conflict, trans-
porting troops and equipment to Japan and other staging
areas. General Simon B. Buclcner continued operations
in the Pacific until February 1955, departing San Fran-
cisco on the 15th for New York.
Upon arrival 2 weeks later, she was assigned to the
New York-Bremerhaven runs. During the next 10 years
General Simon B. Buckner made over 130 Atlantic cruises
from New York to Bremerhaven, Southampton, and the
Mediterranean.
Departing New York 11 August 1965, she returned to
the West Coast, arriving Long Beach on the 27th to assist
in the movement of troops and equipment to Southeast
Asia. After two cruises to Vietnam, the veteran transport
resumed operation in the Atlantic, arriving New York
3 December.
During the next 8 months, she steamed across the
Atlantic 10 times, making stops at Bremerhaven and
Southampton. Returning to the West Coast in August
58
1966, General Simon B. Buckner was once again pressed
into service to carry war material to Vietnam. She de-
parted San Francisco 8 September and reached Da Nang,
Vietnam, 20 days later. Following her return to San
Francisco 16 October, she made another round-trip voyage
to Vietnam before returning to the Atlantic and entering
ready reserve status.
General Sterling Price
Sterling Price, born in Prince Edward County, Va., 20
September 1809, attended Hampton-Sydney College 1820-
27, and studied law under Creed Taylor. He was Chairton
County’s representative in the state legislature 1836-38
and 1840^14, and was elected Speaker of the House in
1840. Price was elected to Congress in 1844 but resigned
in 1846 to enter the Mexican War as a Colonel. He later
became a Brigadier General and served as Military Gov-
ernor of Chihuahua. General Price then moved to Mis-
souri and was elected Governor in 1852. He was president
of the State Convention of 1860 and was placed in com-
mand of the state militia. After collecting 5,000 troops,
General Price united with the forces of Confederate
General McCulloch and won the battle of Wilson’s Creek
10 August 1861. After capturing 3,000 Federal troops at
Lexington in September, Price retreated into Arkansas
and officially joined the Confederate Army in April 1862.
He met setbacks at Corinth, Miss., in 1862 and at Helena,
Ark., in 1864 before defeating Union General Steele at
Red River. He withdrew into Texas in 1864 and in 1865
after the defeat of the Confederacy, he escaped to Mexico.
Following the collapse of Maximillian’s empire, General
Price returned to Missouri, where he died 29 September
1867.
(SwRam : t. 633 ; 1. 182' ; b. 30' ; dph. 9'3" ; a. 4 9” D.r.)
General Sterling Price (also called Sterling Price and
General Price) was a wooden, river steamer built at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, in 1856 as Laurent Millaudon, She was
taken into the Confederate service, renamed General
Sterling Price (see “Confederate Appendix.” DANFS II,
525), converted to a ram, and saw action in the defense
of Fort Pillow and Memphis, Tenn. In the Battle of
Memphis, on 6 June 1862, General Sterling Price was sunk
and captured by naval forces under Flag Officer C. H.
Davis. Raised by the Army soon after the battle, she was
moved into the Union service under Lt. LeRoy Fitch 16
June 1862 and was moved to Cairo, 111., for repairs. The
ram was formerly transferred to the Navy by Quarter-
master H. A. Wise at Cairo 30 September 1862. Although
at that time she was renamed General Price, she continued
to be referred to as General Sterling Price in dispatches.
Completing repairs and conversion at Cairo 11 March
1863, General Sterling Price departed for duty with the
Mississippi Squadron. Rear Admiral Porter was at that
time attempting to transit shallow and overgrown Steele’s
Bayou in a move to cut off Vicksburg from the rear, and
General Sterling Price joined the expedition. After sev-
eral days of slow and difficult progress, harassed by Con-
federate troops, the gunboats were forced to withdraw 22
March 1863. General Sterling Price dashed past the
formidable Confederate defenses at Vicksburg with Ad-
miral Porter’s flotilla 17 April 1863. Lashed to the star-
board side of Lafayette during the daring run, she suffered
little damage. Porter was then in a position to assault
Grand Gulf, Miss., and, during the heavy engagement
with the batteries there 29 April and 3 May 1863, General
Sterling Price carried troops and conveyed transports
under fire. The South was forced to evacuate this vital
point to the river.
General Sterling Price departed Grand Gulf for the
Red River 3 May and took part in the capture of Alexan-
dria, La., and the partial destruction of Fort De Russy,
La., 3 to 17 May. During this period, General Sterling
Price acted briefly as Admiral Porter’s flagship, and on 10
May she was sent on a reconnaissance up the Black River,
where she engaged strong Confederate batteries at Har-
risonburg, La.
As Union pressure against Vicksburg mounted, General
Sterling Price played a major part in the continuing bom-
bardment of the city and gunfire support of the Union
troops until the Confederacy’s river stronghold finally sur-
rendered 4 July. She was at Memphis 16 July and left
there for Cairo and much-needed repairs, which were not
completed until about 19 November.
General Sterling Price rejoined the squadron at Mem-
phis 2 December 1863 and soon became part of Rear Ad-
USS General Sterling Price
59
miral Porter’s planned expedition up the Red River.
Before joining Porter, she accidentally rammed Conestoga
8 March 1864 after a confusion in whistle signals, causing
the latter ship to sink quickly, a total loss. Accompany-
ing the Red River expedition as far as Alexandria, General
Sterling Price returned to the mouth of the river 6 April
convoying transports.
She then took up regular cruising station on the lower
Mississippi River, protecting transports, landing recon-
naissance parties, and keeping the river free from Confed-
erate guerrillas. While on this duty, she engaged a South-
ern battery off Tunica Bend, La., 19 May, forced it to with-
draw, and landed a shore party which burned the Confed-
erate headquarters. General Sterling Price continued her
patrol duties between New Orleans and Donaldsonville,
La., until the end of the war. She decommissioned at
Mound City, 111., 24 July 1865 and was sold 3 October 1865
to W. H. Harrison.
General Stuart Heintzelman
Stuart Heintzelman, born in New York, N.Y., 19 Novem-
ber 1876, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in
1899. He served with the 6th Cavalry in China during
the Boxer Rebellion and in the Philippines during the in-
surrection. Subsequently stationed in South Dakota, the
Philippines, and at Princeton University, during World
War I he served with the A.E.F. in France and Italy. He
participated in the French Chemin des Dames Offensive in
French operations in Italy, and as Chief of Staff, 2d Army
Zone. After the war, General Heintzelman was on duty
at Washington, D.C., Illinois, Hawaii, New York, and
Kansas until his death at Hot Springs, Ark., 6 July 1935.
For his services during World War I, General Heintzel-
man was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the
French Legion of Honor, and Croix de Guerre with Palm,
and the Order of the Crown of Italy (Commendatore) .
( AP-159 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71 '6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5”. 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. 0. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General ^Stuart Heintzelman (AP-159) was launched
under a Maritime Commission contract 21 April 1945 by
Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by
Mrs. C. H. Wright; acquired by the Navy and simultane-
ously commissioned 12 September 1945, Comdr. M. S.
Clark in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, General Stuart
Heintzelman departed San Pedro, Calif., 9 October 1945
and carried more than 3,000 occupation troops to Yoko-
hama. Returning to Seattle 6 November with 3,100 vet-
eran passengers, she made a similar voyage from Seattle
to Japan and back again between 13 November and 9
December. On 28 December she sailed from Seattle on
another “Magic-Carpet” run to Manila and Yokohama and
returned to San Francisco 3 March 1946 with a full load of
homeward-bound troops. Following a round-trip voyage
from San Francisco to Manila and return, General Stuart
Heintzelman steamed from the West Coast via Panama to
New York, where she arrived 27 May. She decommis-
sioned there 12 June and was returned to WSA for use as
an Army transport by the Army Transport Service.
General Stuart Heintzelman was reacquired by the Navy
1 March 1950 and assigned to overseas transport duty
under MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, between July
1950 and December 1951 she operated out^ of San Fran-
cisco and steamed to the Far East carrying combat troops
in support of the struggle to repel Communist aggression
in Korea. In December 1951 she steamed from San Fran-
cisco to New York for transport duty in the Atlantic and
the Caribbean. For more than 2 years she made passen-
ger runs out of New York to Bremerhaven, Germany ; La
Pallice, France ; Southampton, England ; Argentia, New-
foundland ; Reykjavik, Iceland ; and San Juan, P.R.
On 24 June 1954 General Stuart Heintzelman was deac-
tivated and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet,
Orange, Tex. She was returned to the Maritime Adminis-
tration in June 1960. At present, she is berthed with the
National Defense Fleet, Beaumont, Tex.
General T. H. Bliss
Tasker Howard Bliss, born in Lewisburg, Pa., 31
December 1853, graduated from the U.S. Military Acad-
emy in 1875. In Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish-
American War, he was assigned to General Wilson as
Chief of Staff. He fought in all major engagements in
Puerto Rico and was breveted a Colonel for outstanding
service. After the war, Bliss served as Collector of Cus-
toms for Cuba and negotiated the treaty of reciprocity
with Cuba in 1902. After several important administra-
tive appointments in the United States and the Philip-
pines, he was named Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army
in 1915 and Chief of Staff in 1917. A scholarly yet ener-
getic officer, General Bliss helped greatly to work out
plans for American mobilization for World War I. In
1917 he was appointed to the Supreme War Council in
Paris and had much to do with the negotiations leading
up to the Versailles Treaty. Subsequently, he was a
commissioner and a signer of the treaty. During the last
years of his life, General Bliss was devoted to historical
study, and was awarded many honorary degrees and the
Distinguished Service Medal. He died in Washington,
D.C., 9 November 1930.
( AP-131 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 366; trp. 3,522, a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) was laid down under a
Martime Commission contract 22 May 1942 by Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 19 December
1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor Bliss Knopf ; acquired
by the Navy 3 November 1943 ; and commissioned 24
February 1944, Captain Burton Davis in command.
After shakedown, General T. H. Bliss embarked more
than 3,600 sailors and marines, sailed from San Francisco
27 March 1944 for New Caledonia, and subsequently re-
turned to San Francisco 1 May with veterans embarked
at Efate and Espiritu Santo. Underway again 10 May,
she carried 3,500 soldiers to OroJBay, New Guinea, before
sailing via the Panama Canal to New York, where she
put in 4 July with over 2,000 men and patients embarked
at Balboa.
From 28 July 1944 to 4 September 1945, General T. H.
Bliss made 11, round-trip transatlantic, troop-carrying
voyages (2 from Newport, 3 from Boston, and 6 from
New York) to ports in the United Kingdom (Avonmouth,
Plymouth, and Southhampton) ; France (Marseilles and
Le Havre) ; Italy (Naples) ; and North Africa (Oran).
She sailed from Boston 11 September 1945 for Karachi,
India, on her first “Magic-Carpet” voyage and returned
to New York 23 October carrying veterans of the Pacific
flighting. Following a similar voyage from New York to
Calcutta and back during November and December, she
made a round-the-world voyage from New York eastward
to Calcutta and thence via Guam to San Francisco, where
she arrived 15 March 1946. Departing San Francisco 5
April, she carried occupation troops to Yokohama, Japan ;
then steamed back to the United States, arriving Seattle
6 May. General T. H. Bliss decommissioned at Seattle
28 June, was returned to WSA 2 July, and was placed in
the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash.
She was sold to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington, Del.,
in April 1964 and renamed Seamar.
General T aylor
Zachary Taylor, born at Montebello, in Orange County,
Va., 24 November 1784, was educated by a tutor. He saw
brief Army service as a volunteer in 1806, was appointed
First Lieutenant in 1808, and defended Fort Knox against
Indian attack in 1812. After serving as Commander of
Fort Winnebago, Wis., he was appointed Colonel 4 April
1832 and commanded a detachment of regulars in the
60
Black Hawk War. In 1836, Taylor was placed in com-
mand of operations against the Seminoles. After a long
and difficult campaign, he won a decisive victory over
the Indians on Christmas Day in 1837, for which he was
breveted Brigadier General. Following 4 more hard
years in Florida, he was transferred to Louisiana.
Taylor was at New Orleans in the spring of 1845 when
President Polk ordered him to move his troops to the
mouth of the Sabine River or to some other position con-
venient for a speedy advance to the southwestern border
of Texas as soon as that State accepted the terms of an-
nexation proposed. That summer he marched his men to
Corpus Christi and the following spring advanced to the
Rio Grande, where hostilities soon precipitated the Mexi-
can War. He defeated Mexican General Arista 8 May
1846 at Palo Alto and won another victory the next day
at Resaca de la Palma. Thereafter, his victories in the
Mexican War, especially at Monterrey and Buena Vista,
won him nationwide acclaim. General Taylor was the
Whig candidate for President in 1848 and was elected.
On 9 July 1850, while still in office, he died of cholera
morbus.
( SwStr : 1. 152; 1. 105' ; b. 17'6" ; dph. 8'6" ; a. 1 gun)
General Taylor was purchased at New York by the War
Department in 1840 and was used as a transport and
supply ship during the Seminole War in Florida. She
was transferred to the Navy in 1842, and used for a time
in the Gulf of Mexico.
Converted to a tug in 1845, General Taylor operated out
of the Pensacola Navy Yard, and in 1846 was accidentally
burnt to the water’s edge at the Yard. She was subse-
quently rebuilt at Pensacola with the same dimensions
but new machinery.
General Taylor was employed as a dispatch vessel at
the Navy Yard until April 1852, when, needing extensive
repairs, she was sold at public auction at Pensacola.
General Thomas
George Henry Thomas, born in Southampton County,
Va., 31 July 1816, graduated from the U.S. Military Acad-
emy in 1840 and was breveted a First Lieutenant for gal-
lantry in the Seminole War. Later he taught at West
Point, and served with distinction under Taylor in the
Mexican War. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Thomas,
then a Colonel, chose to stay with the Union and took
command of a brigade in the Shenandoah Valley. He
became Brigadier General of Volunteers 3 August 1861,
and was given command of a division in the Army of the
Ohio. When the army was reorganized as the Army of
the Cumberland, Thomas was given command of the XIV
Corps, and at the Battle of Chickamauga in September
1863 earned his famous nickname “The Rock of Chicka-
mauga.” Taking overall command of the Army of the
Cumberland, he then fought successfully at Chattanooga,
Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. Sent to op-
pose Hood’s invasion of Tennessee in late 1864, he
achieved perhaps his greatest success at the Battle of
Nashville 15 to 16 December and was promoted to Major
General 15 December 1864. General Thomas assumed
command of the Military Division of the Pacific in June
1869, and died in San Francisco 28 March 1870.
(SwStr: t. 184; 1. 165'; b. 26'; dph. 4'6'' ; a. 2 20-pdr.
P.r., 4 24-pdr. how.)
General Thomas was one of four light wooden gunboats
built at Chattanooga, Tenn., for the War Department in
1864. After cruising on the Ohio River without being
formally commissioned in June and July 1864, she com-
missioned 8 August 1864 at Bridgeport, Ala., Acting Mas-
ter Gilbert Morton in command.
Assigned to the 11th district of the Mississippi Squad-
ron, commanded by Lt. Moreau Forrest, General Thomas
served as a patrol vessel on the Tennessee River, above
Muscle Shoals. During this period Confederate General
Hood was mounting his campaign into Tennessee to divert
Sherman’s march on Atlanta and General Thomas pa-
trolled the river unceasingly to prevent the Southern
troops from crossing. At Decatur, Ala., 28 October 1864,
the gunboat engaged strong batteries from Hood’s army.
After passing the batteries downstream and sustaining
several hits, General Thomas rounded to and, with Army
gunboat Stone River, poured such a withering crossfire into
the emplacements that the Confederates were forced to
withdraw. After Hood’s repulse at Nashville in Decem-
ber, General Thomas was used on the upper Tennessee
River to block his escape route. She aided General Steed-
man in his successful attack on Decatur 27 December by
giving his army concentrated gunfire support, and at-
tempted to pass over Elk River Shoals to prevent a South-
ern crossing of the river. The Tennessee was too low,
however, and Forrest and his gunboats could not cross.
General Thomas returned to Bridgeport 30 December
1864, but was soon active again. On 26 February 1865
she joined the other gunboats of the 11th district and,
taking advantage of unusually high water, crossed Elk
River Shoals. The ships destroyed the camp of Southern
General Roddey, captured a quantity of supplies and de-
stroyed communications at Lamb’s Ferry before return-
ing to Bridgeport 4 March. General Thomas continued
to patrol between Bridgeport and Decatur, Ala., until she
was turned over to the War Department at Bridgeport 3
June 1865.
General Vallejo , see Megrez (AK-126)
General W. A. Mann
Named in honor of Major General William Abram
Mann, USA, who served in the Sioux Indian, Spanish-
American, and First World Wars.
(AP-112 : dp. 11,450 (lt.) ; 1. 622'7'' ; b. 75'6'' ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 20.6 k. ; cpl. 465; trp. 5,142; a. 4 5'', 16 1.1", 20 20-
mm. ; cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General W. A. Mann, a P2-type troopship, was built by
the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. of Kearny, N.J.,
in 1942-43 and commissioned on the date of acquisition,
13 October 1943, Comdr. Paul S. Maguire, USNR, in
command.
Operating out of Norfolk, Va., General W. A. Mann de-
livered troops and supplies to the North African theater,
making four successive round-trip voyages to Casablanca
and one to Oran before mid-May 1944. She stood out 5
June 1944 for Oran again and after touching North Africa
sailed thence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to load troops
bound for Naples, Italy. General W. A. Mann sub-
sequently visited Oran and Liverpool before returning to
New York 14 August. On 2 September the transport got
underway for Rio de Janeiro and Naples, returning to
Norfolk on 21 October. Eleven days later she sailed for
Bombay, India, via Gibraltar, Algiers and the Suez Canal
and returned to the west coast of the United States via
Brisbane, Australia, and New Guinea, thence to San
Pedro, Calif., arriving 13 January 1945. She made an-
other passage to India and visited Melbourne and
Noumea on the return voyage, arriving Los Angeles 15
April and thereafter steaming north to San Francisco.
The ship journeyed from San Francisco to the Philippines,
touching Manila and Leyte, and after reaching Pearl
Harbor in early June sailed thence to Norfolk via the
Panama Canal.
General W. A. Mann departed Norfolk 4 July 1945 for
Marseilles, France, to redeploy troops to the Pacific.
Re-entering the vast Pacific, she called at Okinawa via
Eniwetok and Ulithi in September and returned to Seattle,
Washington 28 October.
From 2 November 1945 to 5 January 1946 she made a
round trip voyage from Seattle to Nagasaki and Waka-
yama, Japan, setting the pattern of a series of “Magic-
Carpet” passages and “Diaper Runs” in which service-
men and their families were carried to and from the Far
61
East. She stood duty as a “Guam Ferry” and continued
to transport men and material until transferred to MSTS
in October, 1949.
During the Korean war, General W. A. Mann carried
precious ROK government cargo, including gold and
silver bullion valued at a million and a half dollars as
well as the private papers of Korean President Rhee, from
Pusan to San Francisco, 1 to 15 August 1950. On 16
June 1951, she sailed on a round-the-world voyage which
took her from San Francisco via the Panama Canal to
New Orleans and thence via Dover, England, to Bremer-
haven, Germany. From this latter port, she returned
to New York and thence steamed back to Bremerhaven
via Dover as before, getting underway for Morocco, Suez,
Colombo, Indochina, and finally to San Francisco 22 Sep-
tember 1951 via Guam and Hawaii.
From 1952 to 1962 General W. A. Mann made frequent
trans-Pacific runs to Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Guam, the
Philippines, and Formosa out of west coast ports, and oc-
casional passages to Alaska.
In October 1962 during the Cuban crisis, General IF. A.
Mann sailed from San Diego for the Caribbean with 55,000
pounds of provisions in case these supplies should be
needed. When relative calm came to the Caribbean, Gen-
eral IF. A. Mann returned to the Pacific and continued
her important transportation runs from the West Coast
to the Far East.
General W. A. Mann was struck 1 December 1966 ; trans-
ferred to the Maritime Administration ; and placed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at Hudson River, N.Y.,
where she remains.
General W. C. Gorgas
William Crawford Gorgas, born in Mobile, Ala., 3 Octo-
ber 1854, was educated at the University of the South and
graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1879.
He entered the Army Medical Corps in 1880. During the
Spanish-American War, he was sent to Cuba and per-
manently rid Havana of yellow fever. In 1904 he was
sent to the Isthmus of Panama, where his successful fight
against yellow fever and malaria insured completion of
the canal. He served (1914-18) as Surgeon General of
the United States and in 1916 was promoted to Major
General. After he retired from the Army in 1918, General
Gorgas was active throughout the world fighting tropical
disease until he died in London 3 July 1920.
tStr. : dp. 8,000; 1. 386' ; b. 45'3" ; dr. 24'4" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
154; trp. 1,200; a. none)
General IF. C. Gorgas, former Hamburg-America Lines
Prinz Sigismund, was built in 1902 by Neptun Aktien-
gesellschaft, Seliiffswerft & Maschinenfabrik, Rostock,
Germany. Seized by USSB on entry of the United States
in World War I, she carried troops and cargo to Europe
under charter operations of the Panama Railroad & Steam-
ship Co., New York. After conversion to a troop trans-
port, she was turned over to the Navy and commissioned
8 March 1919, Lt. Comdr. James Edward Stone, USNRF,
in command.
General IF. C. Gorgas, assigned to the Crusier and
Transport Force, departed New York 25 April 1919 to em-
bark Army troops and load cargo at Bordeaux, France,
and return to Philadelphia 2 June 1919. She again sailed
for Bordeaux 5 June 1919, returning to Newport News,
Va., 4 July 1919. She brought home 2,063 troops from
France in these two transatlantic voyages.
General IF. C. Gorgas decommissioned at New York 28
July 1919 and returned the same date to USSB. Prior to
World War II, she was operated on commercial routes
by Libby, McNeill & Libby. In November 1941 she was
chartered by the War Department for troop transport
service between Seattle and Alaskan ports. She con-
tinued her Army troopship duties to Alaska until returned
to WSA at Seattle in January 1945. Transferred by that
agency to Soviet Russia in 1945, she was renamed Mikhail
Lomonosov.
General W. C. Langfitt
William Campbell Langfitt, born in Wellsburg, Ya., 10
August 1860, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy
in 1883 and until May 1898 served with the Corps of En-
gineers in New York, Texas, and Ohio. During the
Spanish-American War he organized the 3d Battalion at
San Francisco and served as Commanding Officer of Amer-
ican Forces in Hawaii. General Langfitt served in Oregon
and Cuba before sailing for France in July 1917. During
World War I he was Chief of Staff, Lines of Communica-
tions ; Chief of Utilities ; and Chief Engineer ; and he par-
ticipated in the Cambrai Operations, Somme Defensive,
and St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. Upon his
return to the United States in July 1919, he served as
Division Engineer at New York until retiring 31 May
1920. General Langfitt died in Washington, D.C., 20
April 1934.
(AP-151 : dp. 9,950 (lt.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,343 ; a. 4 5”, 8 1.1", 16 20mm. :
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151) was launched under
Maritime Commission contract 17 July 1944 by the Kaiser
Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
William E. Lynd; acquired by the Navy and simultane-
ously commissioned 30 September 1944, Captain Kenneth
O. Ekelund in command.
After shakedown, General IF. C. Langfitt embarked
marines and departed San Diego 10 November 1944 for
Eniwetok and Saipan via Pearl Harbor. Returning to
San Francisco 5 January 1945, she embarked troops and
sailed 19 January for the Western Pacific where she
shuttled troops to Finschhafen and Hollandia, New
Guinea ; Leyte, Philippines ; Ulithi, Carolines ; and Kossol
Roads, Palaus. Loaded with medical patients and re-
turning veterans, she departed Hollandia for the United
States 22 March and arrived San Francisco 10 April. On
the 21st, the busy ship again sailed for the Western
Pacific ; and, after steaming via Pearl Harbor to the Ad-
miralties, the Philippines, and the Marshalls, she returned
2,302 passengers to San Francisco, arriving 11 June.
Having contributed so much to the rising tide of victory
in the Pacific, she sailed 15 June for Norfolk, reaching
there 30 June.
General IF. C. Langfitt departed 16 July for France,
where on the 26th she embarked troops at Marseilles for
redeployment to the Pacific. She departed 28 July and
sailed via the Panama Canal to Hollandia and points in
the Philippines. As a unit of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet,
she departed Leyte 18 September, arriving Seattle 3
October. The transport departed again for the Western
Pacific 25 October; carried occupation troops to Nagoya,
Japan ; and steamed to the Philippines before returning
to San Francisco 10 December. Between 22 December
and 16 April 1946 General IF. C. Langfitt made two more
“Magic-Carpet” voyages to the Philippines and back
bringing home thousands of veterans. After returning to
San Francisco 16 April, she steamed to New York where
she arrived 20 May. She decommissioned there 6 June
1946 and was returned to WSA for use by the Army Trans-
port Service.
General W. C. Langfitt was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 for assignment as an overseas transport under
MSTS. She undertook the job of carrying troops, de-
pendents, and even refugees to the far comers of the
world, making round-the-world voyages in 1952 and 1953.
Between 24 November 1954 and 30 April 1957 she made 32
voyages from New York to Bremerhaven, Germany, and
back, carrying European refugees to the United States
under the Refugees Relief Act. Following the valiant,
but abortive, Hungarian Revolution, she operated with
MSTS transport General Harry Tayloi- and brought over
45,000 Hungarian refugees to the United States.
After carrying additional refugees from Europe to Aus-
tralia during May and June 1957, General IF. 6. Langfitt
arrived New York 13 July and was inactivated there 30
September. Transferred to the Maritime Administration
62
13 May 1958, at present she is berthed with the National
Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Va.
General W. F. Hase
William Frederick Hase, born in Milwaukee, Wis., 31
August 1874, was commissioned Second Lieutenant 9 July
1898 and served with the Coast Artillery in Virginia, New
York, Florida, Massachusetts, California, and Washing-
ton, D.C. During World War I he served with the A.E.F.
in France as Commanding Officer, 45th Regiment ; Acting
Chief of Staff, Headquarters G-l and G-3 ; and Assistant,
G-4 Services of Supply, to July 1919. Following his re-
turn to the United States, General Hase wTas on duty in
Kansas, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, California, and the
Philippines, serving as Chief of Coast Artillery until his
death in Washington, D.C., 20 January 1935. For his
services in World War I, General Hase won the Distin-
guished Service Medal.
( AP-146 : dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356; trp. 6,086; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20 mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General TP. F. Hase (AP-146) was launched under a
Maritime Commission contract 15 December 1943 by Kai-
ser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
John E. Wood, Jr. ; acquired by the Navy and simul-
taneously placed in a ferry commission 22 April 1944 dur-
ing transfer for conversion to a transport by Kaiser Co.,
Inc., Vancouver, Wash. ; and placed in full commission at
Portland, Oreg., 6 June 1944, Coindr. W. W. Keller in com-
mand.
After shakedown out of San Pedro, General TP. F. Hase
departed San Francisco 15 July 1944 with 3,000 troops and
$29 million in military currency. After touching at Pearl
Harbor, she debarked the fighting men at Eniwetok, re-
turning to San Francisco 26 August with 2,100 soldiers.
Between 20 September and 1 November the transport
steamed out of Seattle, carrying more than 2,000 troops to
Pearl Harbor and 2,800 thence to Manus, Admiralties,
before returning to San Francisco with 2,500 veterans of
the New Guinea campaign on board. Continuing to sup-
port the westward dxfive of naval forces in the Western
Pacific, between 23 November and 20 April 1945, she made
two round trips out of San Francisco, shuttling troops to
New Guinea and the Philippines and bringing home vet-
erans from New Caledonia and Manus.
During the next 12 months General TP. F. Hase made
six round-trip voyages, including two circumnavigations
of the earth, while deploying troops to and from the
United States. Departing San Pedro 9 May, she carried
2,600 troops to Melbourne, Australia, where she arrived
27 May. After steaming to Freemantle, Australia, she
reached Calcutta, India, 14 June and embarked 2,500
homebound soldiers. She then sailed for the United States
via Ceylon and the Suez Canal and arrived Norfolk 20
July. She departed Norfolk 5 August for the Mediterra-
nean ; and as part of the “Magic-Carpet” Fleet, she em-
barked more than 3,000 troops at Marseilles, France, be-
fore returning to New York 27 August. Operating out of
New York between 1 September and 27 December, she
sailed twice to Calcutta and back with more than 6,000
troops. On 11 January 1946 she again departed New York
for Calcutta ; and, after embarking 2,900 troops 8 Feb-
ruary, she steamed via Manila to the West Coast, arriving
San Francisco 8 March. Between 1 and 15 April she
carried 1,000 occupation troops to Yokohama, Japan ; and
on her final “Magic-Carpet” voyage she returned 2,800 vet-
erans to Seattle 28 April.
General TP. F. Hase steamed to San Francisco 3 to 4
May decommissioned there 6 June, and, simultaneously,
was returned to WSA for use as a transport by the Army
Transportation Service. She was reacquired by the Navy
1 March 1950 and assigned to duty with MSTS. Manned
by a civilian crew, she operated out of San Francisco, car-
rying more than 75,000 troops and their combat cargo
to the Far East in support of the struggle to repel Com-
munist aggression in Korea. Between 1950 and 1953 she
made 19 round-trip voyages to Japan and Korea, and she
returned to San Francisco from her final Far East deploy-
ment 29 August 1953. Towed to San Diego in June 1954,
she was placed out of service in reserve in July and re-
mained inactive until returned to the Maritime Adminis-
tration 8 January 1960. At present she is berthed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif.
General TP. F. Hase received eight battle stars for Ko-
rean war service.
General W. G. Haan
William George Haan, born at Crown Point, Ind., 4
October 1863, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy
in 1889. Commissioned Second Lieutenant of Artillery,
he served at various posts until 1898 when he fought in
the Philippines against the insurrectionists. Returning
to the United States in 1901, Haan commanded artillery
units and performed staff work until the American entry
into World War I. During the war he commanded the
32d Division in France; and, after the Armistice, he
headed the VII Corps on occupation duty in Germany.
General Haan received the Distinguished Service Medal
for World War I service; and, upon his return to the
United States, he served on the General Staff in Wash-
ington until his retirement in 1922. Major General Haan
died in Washington, D.C., 26 October 1924.
(AP-158 ; dp. 9,950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24';
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 356 ; trp. 3,823 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier ; T. C4-S-A1)
General TP. G. Haan (AP-158) was launched 20 March
1945 under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co.,
Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Miss Helen
Coxhead ; acquired by the Navy and simultaneously com-
missioned 2 August 1945, Comdr. J. V. Rylander in
command.
General TP. G. Haan conducted shakedown training out
of San Diego until after the surrender of Japan. Depart-
ing 4 September 1945 for the southwest Pacific, the trans-
port touched at Eniwetok, Leyte, and Manila before re-
turning to Seattle with homecoming veterans 22 October.
Subsequently, the ship made two voyages to Japan and
the Philippines, bringing occupation troops and embarking
returning servicemen. She returned to San Francisco
after her last passage, and departed 30 April 1946 for the
East Coast via the Panama Canal. Arriving Baltimore 25
May, General TP. G. Haan decommissioned there 7 June
1946 and was returned to WSA for further transfer to the
Army Transport Service.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, General TP. G.
Haan was assigned to MSTS under a civilian crew.
Until 1953 she operated under the International Refugee
Organization and carried displaced East Europeans from
northern European ports to the United States. In 1952
General TP. G. Haan also made two support voyages to
the American bases at Thule, Greenland, and Goose Bay,
Labrador. Following this demanding duty, the ship made
several voyages to Europe in support of American units.
She continued this steaming schedule until March 1955
when she was placed in Reduced Operational Status at
New York.
In December 1956 General TP. G. Haan resumed duty as
a refugee transport. Steaming from New York to Brem-
erhaven, Germany, she embarked refugees from ♦‘he gal-
lant, but ill-fated Hungarian Revolution and brou&nt them
to New York. On 7 January 1957 she was again placed
in Reduced Operational Status. General TP. G. Haan was
subsequently placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Orange,
Tex., and was returned to the Maritime Administration 22
October 1958. She entered the National Defense Reserve
Fleet at nearby Beaumont, where she remains.
General W . H. Gordon
Walter Henry Gordon, born at Artonish, Miss., 24 June
1863, graduated from the Military Academy and was
63
commissioned in the infantry in 1886. During the early
part of this century, after fighting in the Spanish-Ameri-
can War and the Philippine Insurrection, Gordon served
on the General Staff and in the Philippines. In 1917 he
commanded the 15th Infantry in China, and, following
America’s entry into World War I, he commanded the
10th Brigade in France. General Gordon participated in
the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and ended the war as com-
manding officer, 6th Division. Following the war, for
which he received the Distinguished Service Medal,
Gordon commanded Infantry units in the United States,
and, prior to his retirement in 1924, served as Deputy
Chief of Staff. Major General Gordon died in Washing-
ton, D.C., 26 April 1924.
( AP-117 : dp. 11,450 (It.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 21 k. ; cpl. 533 ; trp. 5,244 ; a. 4 5", 16 1.1", 20 20mm. ;
c. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
General IF. H. Gordon (AP-117) was launched under
Maritime Commission contract by Federal Shipbuilding &
Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J., 7 May 1944; sponsored by
Mrs. Leslie J. McNair ; and commissioned, after being
acquired by the Navy, 29 June 1944, Captain R. E. Wood,
USOG, in command.
Following her shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay,
General TF. H. Gordon proceeded to Boston and sailed 5
September in convoy for France. She arrived Cherbourg
with troop reinforcements 15 September and returned to
New York via Plymouth 30 September 1944. Subse-
quently, the transport made 12 voyages to various Eu-
ropean and African ports in support of the accelerating
Allied effort against the Axis. She carried vital supplies,
troops, and returned large numbers of German prisoners
of war to the United States.
General IF. H. Gordon sailed to Panama from France
5 August 1945, bringing replacement troops for the Pa-
cific campaigns. She stopped at Ulithi and Manila to
debark troops and steamed into San Francisco Bay 25
September 1945. The war over, the veteran transport
sailed again 13 October with over 4,000 occupation troops
for Japan and Korea. After one more voyage to Japan,
the ship returned to San Francisco 29 January 1946 and
decommissioned at Oakland 11 March. She was returned
to the Maritime Commission for use by Army Transport
Service.
General IF. H. Gordon was reaquired by the Navy
8 November 1951 for assignment to the Military Sea
Transportation Service under a civil service crew. She
began an arduous schedule of Pacific cruises in support of
the struggle to repel Communist aggression in Korea,
bringing troops and supplies to that embattled peninsula.
From October 1954 to November 1956 she was in Reduced
Operational Status in Seattle, and was subsequently
placed in reserve in the Hudson River fleet, New York.
Redelivered to the Maritime Administration 20 June 1958,
she was stricken from the Navy List for a time, but re-
acquired in May 1961 and returned to MSTS. General
IF. H. Gordon then began a regular schedule of voyages
from New York to Bremerhaven, transporting servicemen,
dependents, and military passengers to Europe in support
of America’s vital defense units there.
After sailing in December 1966 for the Far East to
bring home Korean veterans, General W. H. Gordon began
transporting troops to Vietnam in January 1967.
General W . M. Black
William Murray Black, born in Lancaster County, Pa.,
8 December 1855, graduated from the U.S. Military Acad-
emy in 1877 and entered the Corps of Engineers. He ad-
vanced steadily and was appointed Chief of Engineers for
the District of Columbia in 1897. During and after the
Spanish-American War, he served as Commander, Depart-
ment of Engineers, in both Cuba and Puerto Rico. In 1906
he was appointed Senior Member of the board for raising
the famous batleship Maine, and in 1909 he was promoted
to Brigadier General to become Chief of Engineers, De-
partment of the East. In 1916 he was appointed Chief of
Engineers, United States Army. His accomplishments
were many, including river and harbor improvements in
Florida ports and fortification and railroad construction
in Cuba. General Black retired a Major General 31 Oc-
tober 1919 and died in Washington, D.C., 24 September
1933.
( AP-135 : dp. 9.950 (It.) ; 1. 522'10" ; b. 71'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 512 ; trp. 3,823; a. 4 5", 8 1.1", 16 20mm. ;
cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A1)
General TF. M. Black (AP-135) was laid down under a
Maritime Commission contract 26 November 1942 by
Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, Calif. ; launched 23
July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Decatur S. Higgins; ac-
quired by the Navy 26 January 1944 ; converted to a
transport by Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco ; and
commissioned 24 February 1944, Captain J. P. Murray,
USCG, in command.
One of the most active ships of her type, General IF. M.
Black plied the world’s oceans and touched many distant
ports in completing her varied missions as a troopship.
On her first voyage she embarked 3,500 Army troops and
sailed from San Francisco 26 March 1944, delivering them
at Pearl Harbor before returning to San Francisco 9 April
with nearly 500 veterans. Underway again 22 April, Gen-
eral IF. M. Black carried 3,500 troops from San Francisco
to New Caledonia and Guadalcanal. She departed Guad-
alcanal 14 May, embarked 2.700 at Balboa, Canal Zone,
and reached New Orleans 8 June. The transport subse-
quently steamed to Kingston, Jamaica, where she em-
barked 2,400 passengers and sailed to Norfolk, arriving
26 June.
General TF. M. Black began the first of 13 transatlantic,
round-trip voyages when she departed Norfolk 28 July
with 2,700 fighting men bound for Naples, and returned to
New York 31 August with 3,000 homeward-bound troops
and casualties. From 12 September to 19 August 1945
the busy transport made 10 similar round-trip troop-carry-
ing voyages (5 from New York, 3 from Boston, and 2 from
Norfolk) to the United Kingdom (Plymouth, Liverpool,
Southampton) ; France (Cherbourg, Le Havre, Marseil-
les) ; North Africa (Oran) ; and Germany (Bremerhaven).
In addition to carrying German prisoners of war to the
United States, she rotated tens of thousands of troops and
patients to and from the European theater in this period
of nearly a year. Departing Boston 31 August 1945, Gen-
eral TF. M. Black sailed for India via the Suez Canal. A
unit of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet, she returned to Boston
in October with 3,000 veterans of the South Pacific fighting.
After making a similar voyage during November and De-
cember, she moored at New York 5 January 1946. She
decommissioned there 28 February 1946 and was returned
to service as an Army transport.
General IF. IF. Black was reacquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 and assigned to MSTS. Manned by a civilian
crew, she operated out of New York in the Atlantic until
1 September when she shifted her homeport to San Fran-
cisco. Between 1950 and 1953 she steamed to the Far East
and transported more than 65,000 troops and their combat
equipment in support of the struggle to repel Communist
aggression in Korea. After the Korean armistice, she
continued tranpaeific voyages, deploying troops to Japan,
Korea, and Alaska and returning veterans of the Korean
fighting to the United States. In June 1955 she carried
troops and cargo to the Bering Sea during Operation
“Mona Lisa.” Following her return to San Francisco, she
was placed out of service 26 August and was transferred
back to the Maritime Administration. At present, she is
berthed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun
Bay, Calif.
General IF. M. Black received six battle stars for
Korean War service.
General W , P. Richardson
Wilds Preston Richardson, born in Texas 20 March 1861,
graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1884 and
64
served on the American frontier and in Alaska. During
World War I, he commanded the 155th Depot Brigade,
Camp Lee, Va., and later the 78th Infantry Brigade, Camp
Beauregard, La. He sailed in August 1918 for France
where he led in turn the 78th Infantry Brigade, 39th Divi-
sion and the 55th Brigade, 28th Division to March 1919.
General Richardson participated in the Meuse-Argonne
Sector and commanded the A.E.F. in northern Russia,
receiving the Distinguished Service Medal for the latter
duty. Following his return to the United States in 1919
he served in Georgia, Washington, D.C., and the state of
Washington. He died in Washington, D.C., 20 May 1929.
( AP-118 : dp. 11,450 (It.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6” ;
s. 21 k. ; cpl. 466 ; trp. 5,289 ; a. 4 5”, 16 1.1”, 20 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope; T. P2-S2-R2)
AP-118 was laid down under Maritime Commission
contract 2 February 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry
Dock Co., Kearny, N.J. ; named General R. M. Blatchford
(AP-118) on 15 April 1944; renamed General W. P. Rich-
ardson (AP-118) on 1 July 1944 ; launched 6 August 1944 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Brebon B. Somervell ; acquired by the
Navy 31 October 1944; and commissioned at Bayonne,
N.J., 2 November 1944, Captain Joseph S. Rosenthal,
USCG, in command.
General W. P. Richardson sailed from Boston 10 De-
cember 1944 with over 5,000 fighting men ; and, after
delivering them to Southampton, England, 21 December,
returned to New York 4 January 1945 with troops and
casualties. Ten days later the busy ship got underway
from Newport News, Va., with 5,000 soldiers bound for
Naples, Italy, debarking them 25 January and returning to
Newport News 9 February with rotation troops and
casualties. Underway again 18 February with 5,000 more
soldiers, she debarked them at Naples 1 March and sub-
sequently carried 5,500 British troops thence to Marseilles,
returning to Naples 9 March to embark 4,600 homeward-
bound American casualties and troops who were delivered
safely at Boston 21 March. General W. P. Richardson re-
turned to Le Havre in April with 2,500 men and carried
over 1,000 liberated American prisoners of war from
France, and 2,900 troops and casualties from South-
ampton, home to New York on 28 April 1945. Following
a troop-carrying run from New York to Naples and Trini-
dad and back, she sailed from New York to Southampton,
putting in at Boston 26 June with 4,300 wounded and
other troops. Through the summer and fall of 1945 the
transport made four round-trip voyages from Boston to
France, two to Le Havre and two to Marseilles to help
insure an even flow of men and supplies from the New
World to the Old.
On 14 October 1945 she sailed from Boston to Karachi,
India, via the Suez Canal and returned to New York 24
November with over 5,000 veterans. On 30 November
she embarked 4,500 rotation troops at New York and
delivered them to Naples 10 December 1945, steaming
thence via Suez to Khorramshahr, Iran, to take on board
3,800 men of the Persian Gulf Command, returning via
Naples and Casablanca to New York 23 January 1946.
General TV. P. Richardson decommissioned at New York
14 February 1946 and returned to the Maritime Adminis-
tration for peacetime operations as an Army transport
until 10 March 1948. Returned to the Maritime Adminis-
tration by the Army, she was subsequently chartered 6
May 1949 to operate as SS La Guardia for the American
Export Lines until 4 January 1952. Following brief
charter service under the American President Lines and
the Havana Steamship Co., she was purchased 10 July
1956 by Textian, Inc., and renamed Leilani.
General Washington
George Washington was born 22 February 1732 in
Westmoreland County, Va. He was commissioned in the
Virginia Militia in 1753, rose to the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel the next year, and fought brilliantly in the French
and Indian War. Entering the Virginia House of Bur-
gesses in 1759, Washington was a strong champion of
colonial rights. In 1775 he was appointed Commander in
Chief of the Continental Army, and demonstrated a pro-
found appreciation of sea power as well as great military
genius. After years of hardship and arduous struggle,
he finally gained the decisive victory of Yorktown. This
was one of the great strategic operations of our history
in which Washington brilliantly employed the French
Navy to cut off Lord Cornwallis from help by sea.
The Treaty of Paris recognized American independ-
ence 20 January 1783. After attending the Annapolis
Convention of 1786 and presiding over the Continental
Convention of 1787, Washington was unanimously elected
first president under the new Constitution, and was in-
augurated 30 April 1789. His two terms in office laid
the foundations for strong government under the Con-
stitution. Returning to his home at Mount Vernon in
1797, Washington was recalled briefly to command the
American army when war with France threatened in 1798.
He died at Mount Vernon 14 December 1799.
(Ship: 1. 130'9” ; b. 32'8” ; a. 24 9-pdrs.)
General Washington, a swift sailing ship, was com-
missioned as a privateer by the state of Rhode Island
in 1780, Captain Silas Talbot in command. She was cap-
tured later in that year by a British squadron and taken
into the Royal Navy as General Monk. While in British
service, she assisted in the capture of over 60 American
vessels. Because of her successes, the merchants of
Philadelphia purchased Hyder Ally, in March 1782,
armed her, and placed her under the command of Lt.
Joshua Barney of the Continental Navy. Barney en-
countered General Monk 8 April 1782 at the entrance to
Delaware Bay ; and, after a furious engagement of nearly
half an hour, captured her. Restored to her original
name, General Washington was taken into the service of
the state of Pennsylvania with Barney in command. She
sailed 18 May 1782 for Havana and brought back $600,000
in much-needed specie for the Continental Congress.
Robert Morris, then Agent of Marine, purchased Gen-
eral Washington for the Continental Navy in August
1782 for use as a packet between the United States and
France. She made three voyages to France, under the
command of Lt. Barney. Sailing in October 1782 with
important dispatches for the peace negotiations, she re-
turned to Philadelphia 12 March 1783 with a preliminary
copy of the treaty. General Washington again sailed for
France in June and returned to Philadelphia 20 Septem-
ber. On her third voyage, she carried John Paul Jones to
Europe to seek payment for prizes he had captured in
European waters, leaving 10 November 1783 and return-
ing in March 1784.
General Washington was sold in the summer of 1784.
General William Mitchell
William Lendrum Mitchell, born in 1879 in Nice, France,
enlisted in the Army as a private in 1898 and served in
the Philippines during the Spanish-Ameriean War. After
return to the United States, he led in the precarious
construction of a telegraph network in Alaska, and then
pioneered in U.S. Army aviation. He rapidly rose in
rank, and, when he commanded the U.S. air forces in
France in World War I, he was promoted Brigadier
General. After the war, General “Billy” Mitchell was
made Director of Military Aviation in the U.S. Army and
argued violently for a large, independent air force. His
caustic-public criticism of military and naval leaders led
to his court-martial in 1926. After resignation, General
Mitchell remained a bitter critic of Army and government
policy. He died in 1936.
( AP-114 ; dp. 11,450 (It.); 622'7” ; b. 75'6” ; dr. 25'6”
s. 20.6 k ; cpl. 452 ; trp. 5,289 ; a. 4 5”, 16 1.1”, 20 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope ; T. P2-S2-R2)
General William Mitchell (AP-114) was launched 31
October 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract by
65
the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. William Mitchell, the namesake’s
widow ; acquired 15 January 1944 and commissioned 4
days later, Captain Henry Coyle, IJSCG, in command.
From 3 March-20 August 1944 General William Mitchell
made five round trip transport voyages out of Norfolk and
New York to Casablanca and Liverpool, carrying fighting
men to the North African theater and participating in the
buildup prior to the Allied invasion of Northern France.
On the return leg of these frequent voyages, she carried
casualties and rotation troops home to the United States,
insuring a steady flow of men and equipment between
America and war-torn Europe.
During the autumn of 1944 and through the spring of
1945, General William Mitchell called twice at Bombay,
India, as she redeployed and rotated troops in the China-
Burma-India theater. On the first of these voyages she
sailed from New York via Panama and Australia, putting
in at Bombay 7 October and embarking veterans for pas-
sage to Australia and America, and finally mooring at San
Diego 17 November 1944. Her second passage to India
took her from San Pedro via Tasmania to embark Allied
troops and Italian prisoners of war at Bombay ; she sub-
sequently off-loaded the POW’s at Melbourne and re-
turned to San Pedro 3 March 1945.
The ship then brought troops from San Francisco to
Espiritu Santo, Guadalcanal, Manus, and Leyte as the
European war neared conclusion and the Pacific theater
gained priority, General William Mitchell sailed to Leg-
horn and Naples, Italy, to transport seasoned fighting men
and redeploy them for the anticipated assault on Japan’s
homeland. These troops debarked at Ulithi and the
Philippines in the summer of 1945, and the ship returned
to San Francisco 6 December 1945 at war’s end filled with
homeward-bound warriors.
As part of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet, this busy transport
carried bluejackets from San Francisco to the Philippines,
returning servicemen from Hollandia to Seattle, and
troops from the Philippines and Guam to San Francisco,
through the spring of 1946. Subsequently, from April
1946 until 1949 General Mitchell sailed from West Coast
ports and shuttled troops and supplies to and from Japan,
China, Guam, and Hawaii. She underwent alterations
for peacetime service at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in
March 1947 and then returned to San Francisco and her
transpacific schedule.
In October 1949 she was transferred to MSTS and in
1950 continued her West Coast-Orient travels. In that
year, too, two round trip voyages from New Orleans and
New York were made to Bremerhaven to rotate and sup-
ply troops in Europe. She made an around-the-world
cruise out of New York in the summer of 1951, visiting
Germany, North Africa, Ceylon, Indochina, Korea, and
Japan before mooring at San Francisco 26 September
1951.
General William Mitchell continued to transport men
and material from West Coast ports to Japan and Korea,
supporting the United Nations forces in the latter coun-
try. Her frequent shuttle runs followed this pattern
with the addition of numerous calls at Formosa and
Pacific Islands until returned to the Maritime Ad-
ministration 1 December 1966. General William Mitchell
entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet and is berthed
in Suisan Bay, Calif.
General William O. Darby
A former name retained. William Orlando Darby,
born 8 February 1911 at Fort Smith, Ark., graduated from
the U.S. Military Academy 13 June 1933 and was com-
missioned Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery,
Prior to the beginning of World War II, he served with
the 82d, 3d, and 80th Field Artillery Divisions and with
the 1st Cavalry. In 1942 he assumed command of the
1st Ranger Battalion and distinguished himself during
operations in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Promoted
to Colonel 11 December 1943, he returned to the United
States in April 1944 for duty with the Army Ground
Forces and later with the Operations Division, War De-
partment General Staff. He returned to Europe in March
1945, and became Assistant Commander of the 10th Moun-
tain Division the following month. He was killed by an
exploding shell 30 April 1945 and was posthumously pro-
moted to Brigadier General.
Admiral W. S. Sims (AP-127) ( q.v. ) was reacquired by
the Navy from the Army Transport Service as General
William O. Darby 1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, she operated out of New York
and, between 1950 and 1953, completed more than 20 round-
trip voyages to Bremerhaven and back to rotate troops and
transport military dependents and civilian refugees. She
departed New York 20 June 1953 and steamed via the
Panama Canal to Yokosuka, Japan, where she arrived 17
July to embark homebound veterans of the Korean conflict.
After returning to Seattle, Wash., 29 July, she made five
more trooplift voyages to Japan and back during the next
5 months. Arriving San Francisco 23 January 1954, she
sailed for the East Coast the 25th and reached New York
8 February.
General William O. Darby resumed transatlantic trans-
port duty 18 February and during the next 2 years com-
pleted 32 voyages to Bremerhaven and back. Departing
New York 5 July 1956, she deployed to the Mediterranean
and steamed from North Africa to Turkey while supporting
peace-keeping operations of the 6th Fleet. She returned
to New York 6 August and during the next 10 years com-
pleted 135 transport voyages to Europe and back plus nine
additional deployments to the Mediterranean.
In response to America’s determination to defend the
integrity and independence of South Vietnam from ex-
ternal Communist aggression, General William O. Darby
departed New York 12 August 1965 for transport duty
in the Western Pacific. After embarking troops at
Charleston, S.C., she steamed via the Panama Canal
and reached Qui Nhon, South Vietnam, 12 September. On
the 15th she sailed for the United States ; and, steaming
via Subic Bay, the Suez Canal, and Bremerhaven, she
arrived New York 22 October. Between 11 November and
8 July 1966 she made nine more runs to Europe before
resuming trooplifts to Southeast Asia. After embarking
almost 1,600 troops at Boston, she sailed 15 July ; touched
at Long Beach, and Okinawa; and arrived Vung Tau,
South Vietnam, 14 August. Departing the next day, she
steamed via Yokosuka, Japan, to Pusan, South Korea,
where she arrived 28 August to embark 1,800 Vietnam-
bound South Korean troops. She sailed the 31st arriving
Nha Trang 6 September, then departed 9 September to
embark more South Korean soldiers at Pusan. She con-
tinued operating in the Western Pacific, supporting the
forces for freedom in Southeast Asia until steaming to
New York in February 1967 for overhaul. On 1 July 1967
she was in ready reserve status.
General William Weigel
William Weigel born in New Brunswick, N.J., 25 August
1863, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1887.
After fighting in the Indian Wars as a junior officer, he
took part in the Cuban campaign during the Spanish-
American War and was active in the Philippine Insurrec-
tion. As a division commander during World War I, he
commanded troops in the Aisne-Marne offensive and the
Meuse-Argonne campaign. Following the war he was
awarded the Distignuished Service Medal, and served as
Chief of Staff, Department of the East. Weigel later
was a divisional commander and in 1927 headed the
Philippine Department. He retired as a Major General
25 August 1927 and filled various civic and patriotic posts
until his death in New York 4 March 1936.
( AP-119 : dp. 11,450 (It.) ; 1. 622'7" ; b. 75'6" ; dr. 25'6" ;
s. 21 k. ; cpl. 466 ; trp. 4,896 ; a. 4 5”, 8 40mm., 20 20mm. ;
cl. General John Pope ; T. P2-S2-R2)
66
AP-119 was laid down under Maritime Commission con-
tract 15 March 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry
Dock Co., Kearny, N.J. ; named General C. H. Barth (AP-
119) on 15 April 1944; renamed General William Weigel
24 August 1944 ; launched 3 September 1944 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Earl L. Mann, a niece of Major General Weigel ;
acquired by the Navy 4 January 1945; and commissioned
at Bayonne, N.J., 6 January 1945, Captain Thomas Y.
Await, USCG, in command.
General William Weigel sailed from New York 11
February 1945 with 5,000 rotation troops ; and, after
delivering them safely to Le Havre, embraked American
and French veterans at Southampton and returned to New
York 19 April. Underway again 1 May with Navy men
bound for Puerto Rico, the troopship touched at San Juan
to debark them and to take on 5,000 Army fighting men
for passage to Hawaii.
As General William Weigel was steaming toward Pearl
Harbor, one of her passengers became critically ill. To
save his life, strict radio silence was broken to arrange
a mid-ocean rendezvous with a seaplane out of Balboa.
He was transferred to the seaplane 19 May and flown to
a hospital ; General William Weigel reached Honolulu 6
days later.
This far ranging ship sailed 28 May for Marseille to
embark 5,000 soldiers and transferred them to Eniwetok
and Manila to take part in the climactic Pacific battles.
Subsequently she loaded passengers at Leyte and re-
turned via Ulithi to moor at San Pedro, Calif., 25 August
1945. As part of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet, she stood out
from San Diego 11 September with rotation troops for
Pearl Harbor and returned to San Francisco 24 September
with 5,000 veterans. From 6 October 1945 to 8 February
1946, she made three round-trip transpacific voyages (two
out of San Francisco and the third from Seattle) to bring
occupation troops to Yokohama. Following a “Magic-
Carpet” voyage to Manila and back to San Francisco 11
April 1946, the transport departed San Francisco 16 April
for New York, arriving 1 May. Decommissioned there 10
May 1946, she was transferred to the War Department
for peacetime operations as an Army transport and made
shuttle runs with troops and supplies from San Francisco
to garrisons in the Pacific until reacquired by the Navy
20 July 1950. General William Weigel was assigned to
MSTS 1 August 1950.
During this phase of her career, the ship sailed from
the Pacific coast to Japan and Korea carrying troops for
duty in Korean fighting. She continued to rotate Ameri-
can troops to strengthen the United Nations position in
Korea until she was placed in Reduced Operational Status
in 1955. General William Weigel was returned to the
Maritime Commission 12 June 1958 and entered the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash. She was
reacquired by the Navy 18 August 1965 and assigned
to MSTS as the Navy bolstered its support forces for the
struggle against Communist aggression in Southeast Asia.
She carried troops to Vietnam through 1967.
General William Weigel received seven battle stars for
Korean conflict service.
Genesee
Towns in Idaho, Michigan, New York, and Pennsyl-
vanai ; and a river in Pennsylvania and New York. Gen-
esee is an Indian word meaning a beautiful valley.
I
(SwStr : dp. 803; 1. 1,209' ; b. 34'11" ; dr. 10'6" ; s. 8.5k.;
a. 1X"D., 1 100 pdr. P.r., 6 24-pdr. how.)
The first Genesee was launched 2 April 1862 by the
Boston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Miss Emily Dorr ; and
commisisoned 3 July 1862, Comdr. William M. Macomb in
command.
Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Genesee sailed from Boston 6 July 1862 for Hampton
Roads, where she convoyed U.S. mail steamers in the
James River until departing 19 October for blockade
duty off North Carolina. For over 3 months she helped
seal Wilmington and Beaufort from Confederate blockade
runners. She got underway 19 February 1863 to join
the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, arriving New Or-
leans 7 March in time to join Rear Admiral Farragut’s
expedition up the Mississippi past Port Hudson to cut
off Confederate supplies from the Red River and to join
Porter and Grant in operations against Vicksburg. For
the dangerous passage, Farragut lashed gunboats to the
sides of his large steamers to protect the heavy ships from
enemy fire and to improve their maneuverability. Gen-
esee was paired off with Richmond when the Union Fleet
moved upstream on the night of 14 March and came within
range of the Confederate guns. In the ensuing fight
Farragut’s losses were greater than those he had suffered
in taking New Orleans. Richmond’s steam line was se-
vered, forcing her to drop down out of range. Genesee
fought on ; but a 6-inch shot pierced her hull and detonated
a 10-inch shell which, in turn, wrecked havoc below ; and
the murderous fire shredded her rigging. Only Hartford
and her consort Albatross made it past the Southern
batteries.
Following needed repairs, Genesee continued to patrol
the Mississippi until after the fall of Vicksburg 4 July 1863.
Then, she was ordered to the Gulf for blockade duty on
11 September. She discovered blockade-running steamer
Fanny bound for Mobile 11 September, and with Jackson
and Calhoun gave chase. As they closed, the blockade
runner’s captain burned his ship to the waterline rather
than allow her capture.
Genesee continued to operate off Mobile with Admiral
Farragut and assisted in several captures as the Navy
prepared for the assault on Mobile Bay. When the fleet
steamed boldly into the bay on 5 August to engage the
forts and Confederate squadron, Genesee remained out-
side until the passage was effected, then steamed up to
open fire on Fort Morgan.
Genesee was used subsequently as a store ship, and for
the next several months was occupied supplying ships of
the fleet and helping to drag Mobile Bay for dangerous
torpedoes, a duty in which several ships were lost. She
sailed 11 July 1865 for Philadelphia, arrived at the Navy
Yard 20 July, and decommissioned there 31 July. Gen-
esee was sold 3 October 1867 to Purvis and Son.
II
(AT-55: dp. 688; 1. 170' ; b. 29' ; dr. 16' ; s. 15 k. ; a. 1 3")
The second Genesee (AT-55), formerly Monocacy, was
built in 1905 by the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrow’s Point,
Md. ; acquired 27 July 1917 ; and commissioned 10 No-
vember 1917, Lt. C. H. T. B. Tissell, USNRF, in command.
Genesee sailed from Philadelphia 20 November 1917 and,
after joining a convoy at New London, reached Queens-
town, Ireland, 27 January 1918. Until the end of World
War I she operated in the Bremerhaven-Queenstown areas
patrolling, towing, and serving as standby for deep sea res-
cue work. After towing Luella from Queenstown to
Brest, Genesee arrived Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 31 De-
cember 1918 and served as a tug at that port until 1 April
1919 when she sailed for Brest. She provided tug services
and aid to stricken ships and finally got underway 30
September for a 7-month tour of duty off Spalato, Dalma-
tia, and in Castella Bay.
Next assigned to the Far East, Genesee arrived Cavite,
Luzon, 7 September 1920 for permanent duty on the Asiatic
Station. She spent the summer of 1921 with the fleet at
Chefoo, China, and returned to Cavite 19 September.
Subsequently she operated as a tug, a ferry, and a target
tow in the Philippines until she was scuttled at Corregidor
5 May 1942 to avoid capture.
Genessec was awarded one battle star for World War II
service.
III
(AOG-8: dp. 4,335; 1. 310'9'' ; b. 48'6" ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 127; a. 4 3”)
67
The third Genessee (AOG-8) was launched 23 Septem-
ber 1943 by Oargill, Inc., Savage, Minn., sponsored by
Mrs. Helen Rae Clark; and commissioned 27 May 1944,
Lt. O. R. Heath in command.
After shakedown, Genesee loaded her first cargo of high
octane aviation gasoline at Aruiba, Netherlands West
Indies, 14 July 1944 and entered Pearl Harbor 11 August.
Until the spring of 1945, she made five voyages from Pearl
Harbor to Canton, Phoenix Islands, a vital refueling base
for planes flying to the South Pacific, and numerous inter-
island runs. She reached Eniwetok 5 March 1945 and,
after loading a maximum cargo of diesel oil and freight,
sailed for Ulithi and Leyte to discharge her oil. Following
her return to Ulithi and a round-trip voyage thence to
Hollandia, Genessee loaded motor gasoline at Ulithi and
steamed to Okinawa, arriving 20 May 1945. She served
the fleet through the summer, getting underway 26 August
with motor and aviation gasoline for Tokyo Bay. She
moored to the Yokohama Oil Docks 2 September 1945, the
day of Japan’s formal surrender ceremony on board battle-
ship Missouri. One of the first Allied tankers to anchor
in Japanese homeland waters since 1941, Genesee de-
livered oil and gasoline to different Japanese ports until
departing 14 December 1945 for Long Beach, Calif., arriv-
ing 19 January 1946.
Until the winter of 1949 Genesee operated in the Pacific,
visiting such distant ports as Samoa ; Guam ; Jinsen,
Korea ; Yokosuka ; Tsingtao, China ; Seattle, Kwajalein ;
and Kodiak, Alaska, while operating out of San Francisco,
Pearl Harbor, and San Diego. She decommissioned at
San Francisco 14 December, but the Korean conflict soon
restored her to active duty.
Recommissioned 28 July 1950, Genesee put in at San
Diego 25 August and subsequently reached Pearl Harbor
5 October. Following voyages thence to Midway, Eniwe-
tok, and Samoa, she sailed for Japan 8 January 1952,
arriving Sasebo 23 January, and made frequent fuel-
carrying voyages to Korea supporting U.N. forces.
Genesee reached Guam 2 May and operated there until
returning to Pearl Harbor 3 August 1952. Based at Pearl
Harbor until the spring of 1960, Genesee cruised thence to
Eniwetok, Guam, Subic Bay, Melbourne, Long Beach, and
Yokosuka. She sailed 31 May 1960 for her new home port
of Sasebo, Japan, arriving' 17 June, and continued opera-
tions in Far Eastern waters. On 3 January 1961 she got
underway for Subic Bay, where she stood by during the
Laotian crisis until 25 January, and returned to Sasebo
when the danger of combat passed. Her home port was
changed to Subic Bay early in 1962 and, through June
1964, Genesee was occupied with demanding traning ex-
ercises and cruises in the Philippine, Korean, Japanese,
and Okinawan waters. She arrived Pearl Harbor, her
new home port, 26 July 1964 and made a run to Midway
in August to deliver jet fuel. She then headed for the
West Coast in the fall for Operation “Hardnose” off the
Camp Pendleton area. The gasoline tanker next made a
run to Pearl Harbor with gasoline and diesel fuel, arriving
31 October. She began a much needed yard overhaul at
Pearl Harbor 15 December which was completed in March
1965.
While Genesee was being overhauled, Communist ag-
gression in Vietnam was intensified. Repairs completed,
the tanker headed for the fighting zone where her out-
standing service won her the Navy Unit Citation. She
“contributed materially to the success of military opera-
tions by delivering over 9.8 million gallons of petroleum
fuel, pumping over 2 million gallons of salt water to aid
in air strip construction, delivering diesel fuel from her
bunkers and maintaining bottom lay fuel lines on a most
demanding schedule and frequently under most adverse
weather conditions in an open sea anchorage.”
Genessee returned to Pearl Harbor 16 November for
upkeep and operations in Hawaiian waters. She sailed
for the Far East once more 2 May 1966 and 3 June was
again off Da Nang, South Vietnam, supporting the 3d
Marine Amphibious Force. Late in October she left the
war zone and steamed, via the Philippines and Japan to
Pearl Harbor, where early in 1967 she prepared for future
action.
Genesee was awarded one 'battle star for World War II
service.
Geneva
A county in Alabama.
(APA-86: dp. 4,270 (lt.) ; 1. 426' ; b. 58' ; dr. 16' ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 230; trp. 849; a. 1 5", 8 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl.
Gilliam; T. S4-SE2-BD1)
Geneva (APA-86) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract 31 January 1945 by the Consolidated
Steel Corp., Ltd., Wilmington, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Leonard Firestone ; acquired by the Navy 21 March 1945 ;
and commissioned the following day, Comdr. Peter J.
Neimo in command.
Following shakedown out of San Diego, Geneva de-
parted that port 19 May 1945 with over 500 marines and
sailors for Pearl Harbor and Majuro atoll, Marshall
j
USS Genesee (AOG-8)
68
Islands, where she arrived 7 June. After embarking
marines and Japanese prisoners of war, there she picked
up additional passengers at Kwajalein for passage to
Pearl Harbor. There she picked up veterans wrhom she
landed at San Francisco 27 June. Proceeding to Seattle,
she embarked nearly a thousand soldiers for the garrison
forces on Okinawa, debarking them at Buckner Bay
12 August. She sailed from Okinawa 5 September for
Korea and landed Army units at Inchon 8 September.
Geneva returned to Okinawa 15 September, weathered
a typhoon, and embarked the 11th Artillery Regiment of
the 4th Marine Battalion and their cargo for passage to
Taku, China, where she arrived 5 October. There she
received 21 European repatriates on board, embarked 302
others at Tsingtao 7 October, and carried her passengers
to Hong Kong on the 13th. Here she received Chinese
troops and equipment, transported them to Chinwangtao
30 October, and returned to Hong Kong to embark
more Chinese troops for passage to Tsingtao, arriving
14 November.
Geneva departed Tsingtao on 23 November, embarked
over a thousand homeward-bound veterans at Luzon,
Philippines, and reached San Francisco 19 December.
On 11 January 1946, she began a troop-transport voyage
from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor and returned to
San Diego 7 February. The attack transport returned
to Pearl Harbor 2 March for training in the Hawaiian
area until she departed 17 May to serve in Operation
“Crossroads,” a joint atomic bomb experiment of the
Army and Navy in the Marshall Islands at Bikini. More
than 200 ships, 150 aircraft, and some 42,000 men were
involved in this vast experiment directed by Vice Admiral
William H. P. Blandy. Seventy-five target ships — Ameri-
can, German, and Japanese — were moored in the target
area.
Geneva arrived off Bikini on 30 May 1945 and rode at
anchor for a month. Her crew then transferred to
Appling (APA-58) since Geneva was to be one of the
target ships in “Test Able” on the morning of 1 July 1946
when the fourth atomic bomb to be exploded and the first
ever detonated over water was to be dropped from a B-29.
The attack transport survived the explosion and the huge
column of water and steam that rose to 35,000 feet and
formed a mushroom-shaped cloud.
Geneva was declared free of radioactivity the following
day. She also survived “Test Baker” 25 July. That
morning at 0835 atomic bomb suspended below LSM-60
was exploded — the first to be detonated under water.
Geneva was in normal operation 4 days after that
explosion, steaming to Kwajalein 25 August, then pro-
ceeding via Hawaii to San Francisco, where she arrived
5 November.
Geneva departed San Francisco on 4 December, touched
San Diego and transited the Panama Canal for Norfolk,
Va., where she arrived on the 27th. She was decom-
missioned at Norfolk 23 January 1947 ; and her name
was struck from the Navy List on 25 February. She was
returned to the Maritime Commission on 2 April and
entered in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at James
River, Va. She was transferred to Wilmington, N.C., in
July 1955 and sold for scrap by the Maritime Adminis-
tration 2 November 1966.
Geneva, Lake, see Lake Geneva
Genevieve
A former name retained.
(SP-459: dp. 95; 1. 82'; b. 16'; dr. 5'; s. 12 k. ; a. none)
Genevieve was a wooden steam yacht build in 1895 at
New Bedford Mass. ; later converted to use for charter
fishing parties ; purchased by the Navy 19 September 1918
from F. H. Myer & A. S. Smith of New York ; placed in
service 19 September and commissioned 9 December 1918,
Ens. C. J. Johnson, USNRF, in command.
Genevieve spent her entire career as a water taxi in
New York harbor. Assigned to NOTS of the 3d Naval
District, she often carried civilian working parties and
their gear from dock to dock and ship to shore accommo-
dating up to 73 passengers at a time. She decommis-
sioned 9 August 1919 and was sold 20 November 1919 to
Marvin Briggs, Inc., New York.
Gentry
Wayne Roy Gentry, born in Twin Falls, Idaho, 25 Au-
gust 1920, enlisted in the Naval Reserve 18 June 1941 and
was appointed an Aviation Cadet 18 September 1941.
Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps
Reserve 27 May 1942, he. served at Corpus Christi, Tex.,
and San Diego, Calif., before being ordered to duty in the
Pacific. Lieutenant Gentry was killed in action 2 Novem-
ber 1942 in the Solomon Islands area while serving as a
pilot in a Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron and was
posthumously awarded the Air Medal.
( DE-349 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 13'4" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 222 ; a. 2 5'', 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21'', 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) , 2 dct ; cl. John C. Butler )
Gentry (DE-349) was laid down 13 December 1943 by
the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., launched
15 February 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Jean Maxine Gentry,
Lt. Gentry’s sister; and commissioned 14 June 1944, Lt.
Comdr. D. A. Smith in command.
Following shakedown off Bermuda and duty as a school
ship at Norfolk, Gentry arrived New York 25 September
1944. Between 6 October and 23 December, she made two
round-trip, convoy-escort voyages out of New York to
Marseilles, France, and Oran, Algeria. Gentry then
sailed from New London, Conn., 9 January 1945; escorted
submarines Bullhead (SS-332) and Lionfish (SS-298) to
Key West, Fla. ; and continued via the Panama Canal to
the Western Pacific, arriving Manus, Admiralties 20 Feb-
ruary. During the next 4 months Gentry escorted con-
voys between New Guinea and the Philippines, throughout
the Philippine Archipelago, and from Manila Bay and
Leyte Gulf to the Palaus and Western Carolines. In July
she escorted a convoy to Okinawa and served on picket
duty before returning Leyte late in the month.
After the Japanese capitulation 15 August, Gentry con-
tinued escorting convoys out of Leyte Gulf to New Guinea,
Manila Bay, and Okinawa. In addition, she served on
air-sea rescue patrol in Leyte Gulf until 27 November
when she departed Leyte for the United States. Arriving
Los Angeles 18 December, she was towed to San Diego
6 April 1946. Gentry decommissioned there 2 July 1946
and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Stockton, Calif.
She was later transferred to Mare Island, Calif., where
she remains.
Geoanna
A former name retained.
( IX-61 : 1. 111'6" ; b. 22'6'' ; dr. 14'9" ; s. 8 k.)
Geoanna (IX-61), a steel auxiliary schooner, was built
in 1934 by Craig Shipbuilding Co., Long Beach, Calif., and
acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission
1 February 1942. She was placed in service 19 February
1942.
Assigned to the 11th Naval District, Geoanna per-
formed miscellaneous duties for Port Director, San Pedro,
until turned over to the Coast Guard on a temporary basis
2 July 1913. She served as a Coast Guard operational
training ship until being redelivered to the Maritime Com-
mission by the Navy 28 August 1943. She was subse-
quently turned over to the Army 3 September 1943.
George
Eugene Frank George, born in Grand Rapids, Mich.,
23 April 1925, enlisted in the Navy 18 May 1912 and re-
69
ported for duty in San Francisco (CA-38) at Pearl Har-
bor 17 July. As an antiaircraft gunner, he participated
in the bitterly-fought naval engagements against the Jap-
anese off the Solomon Islands following the American in-
vasion of Guadalcanal 7 August. On 12 November San
Francisco and other ships of Rear Admiral Richard K.
Turner’s Task Force 67 formed a protective screen off
Lunga Point while troop reinforcements debarked from
the transports and landed on Guadalcanal. During early
afternoon a force of enemy fighters and bombers attacked
the ships, but effective antiaircraft fire and air cover
repelled the attack and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy
planes. One torpedo-bomber, damaged by antiaircraft fire
from the screening ships, crashed San Francisco, destroy-
ing the after control station and demolishing three 20mm.
gunmounts. Seaman George, who courageously refused
to abandon his gun in spite of the onrushing plane, blazed
away at the attacker until killed by the doomed aircraft.
For his grim perserverance and relentless devotion to duty
in the face of certain death, he was posthumously awarded
the Navy Cross.
( DE-276 ; dp. 1,150 ; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35' ; dr. 10'5" ; s. 19.5 k. ;
cpl. 198; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1" ; 9 20mm., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h. ),
2 dct. ; cl. Evarts )
DE-276 was laid down as George 20 May 1943 by Boston
Navy Yard ; assigned to the United Kingdom under the
lend-lease 22 June 1943 ; launched 8 July 1943 ; transferred
to the United Kingdom 9 October 1943 ; and commissioned
in the British Royal Navy as HMS Goodson, During the
remainder of World War II, she served on escort and
patrol duty in the Atlantic and along the English coast.
She supported the Allied Invasion of Europe at Nor-
mandy 6 June 1944. Damaged late in August, she was
returned to the United States 21 October. On 9 January
1947 she was sold to John Lee of Belfast, N.I.
( DE-697 ; dp. 1,400; 1. 306’ ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 23.6 k. ;
cpl. 213; a. 3 5", 4 1.1", 8 20mm„ 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.), 2 dct.; cl. Buckley)
George (DE-697) was laid down 22 May 1943 by the
Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich. ; launched 14
August 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harlow F. George, the
mother of Seaman Second Class George; and eommis^
sioned at New Orleans, La., 20 November 1943, Lt. Comdr.
J. E. Page in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, George sailed from Bos-
ton 11 January 1944 to escort a merchantman from Nor-
folk to Noumea, New Caledonia, where she arrived 19
February. Until the spring of 1944 George escorted trans-
ports to the Admiralties, the New Hebrides, and the Solo-
mons during consolidation operations in the Solomons.
On 16 May she sailed from Florida Island, Solomons, in
a hunter-killer group with England (DE-635) and Raky
(DE-698) on what was to become one of the most suc-
cessful antisubmarine actions in the Pacific war.
During this patrol from 19 to 31 May the three-ship
team sank six Japanese submarines (1-16, RO-106, RO-
101f, RO-116, RO-108, and RO-105) in waters north of the
Bismark Archipelago — a truly remarkable achievement.
George arrived Manus 4 June after this feat, and during
the next 3 months she conducted antisubmarine patrols
and escorted merchantmen to the New Hebrides, the Solo-
mons, and the Marshalls. After serving briefly as station-
ship at Funafuti, Ellice Islands, she steamed to Australia,
arriving Sydney 12 October.
After returning to Purvis Bay, Florida Island, 28 Oc-
tober, George resumed antisubmarine patrols and escorted
convoys to New Guinea, Manus, Guam, and Saipan. Dur-
ing the liberation of the Philippines she escorted convoys
out of Ulithi and in February 1945 she escorted ships
from Guam to Iwo Jima during the invasion and occupa-
tion of that embattled island. In addition she served as
air-sea rescue station, and on 18 April 1945 she rescued
three survivors from a B-29 forced to ditch off Iwo Jima.
During the summer of 1945, she made two escort voyages
to Okinawa, one each from Ulithi and Guam ; and, after
the Japanese surrender, she delivered surrender terms
12 September to the Japanese garrison stationed on Truk,
Carolines. She departed Guam 18 September and sailed
for the United States, where she arrived San Pedro, Calif.,
5 October.
Between 10 March 1946 and 9 April 1947 George de-
ployed with the 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific. She
operated along the Japanese coast and steamed to Tsingtao
and Shanghai, China, where she supported American and
Chinese Nationalist troops during occupation operations
against the Communists in North China. From 1947 to
1951 she served with Escort Division 31, attached to the
Fleet Sonar School at Pearl Harbor. George moved to
San Diego with the Fleet Sonar School in 1951 and served
there until undergoing overhaul at Peal Harbor in the
spring of 1953. Following return to San Diego in Septem-
ber 1953, she sailed for Sasebo, Japan, 10 November and
conducted hunter-killer and screening operations in Japa-
nese, Korean, and Okinawan waters. She returned to
San Diego 25 June 1954, and for more than a year she
operated out of San Diego along the coast of southern
California.
George sailed on her next WestPac cruise 4 October 1955.
She operated out of Guam for more than 2 months and
conducted surveillances of the Carolines, Marianas, Bonin,
and Volcano Islands before reaching Yokosuka, Japan,
17 January 1956. She participated in convoy, antisub-
marine warfare, and gunnery exercises until 10 March
when she sailed for the West Coast, arriving San Diego
31 March. Subsequently, she resumed operations out of
San Diego, highlighted by an October 1956 cruise to
British Columbia. On 3 January 1957 she again sailed to
join the 7th Fleet, the force for peace in the Far East.
After steaming to New Zealand and Japan, she served as
station ship at Hong Kong; participated in SEATO
maneuvers off the Philippines ; and operated out of Guam
on island surveillance patrols in the Marianas. Depart-
ing Guam 10 June she returned to San Diego 7 July. On
18 September 1957 George was assigned to duty as a
reserve training ship out of San Francisco. She decom-
missioned at San Francisco 8 October 1958 and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet at Stockton, Calif., where she
remains.
George received two battle stars for World War II
service.
George A. Johnson
George Alfred Johnson, bom in Fleetwood, Pa., 26 Sep-
tember 1922, enlisted in the Marine Corps 28 January
1942. He served at Parris Island, S.C., and Quantico, Va.,
before sailing for the Pacific in April 1942. Attached to
the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, Private Johnson partici-
pated in the invasion of Tulagi, Solomon Islands, 7 Aug-
ust 1942. During mop-up operations 2 days later, his
squad came under rifle fire from a sniper’s nest in a
nearby cave. Private Johnson rushed to the mouth of
the cave and continued to throw in grenades until he was
killed, allowing his squad to advance. For his indomitable
fighting spirit and outstanding bravery, Private Johnson
was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
(DE-583 ; dp. 1,450 ; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'8" ; s 24k. ; cpl.
186; a. 25", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. ( h.h. ) , 2 dct. ; cl. Rudderow)
George A. Johnson (DE-583) was laid down by
Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass., 24 No-
vember 1943; launched 12 January 1944; sponsored by
Mrs. Alfred R. Johnson, Private Johnson’s mother; and
commissioned 15 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. Alvin Robinson
in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, George A. Johnson de-
parted New York 24 June 1944 to escort a convoy bound
for Bizerte, Tunisia. Despite several encounters with
German aircraft off the North African coast, the convoy
reached Bizerte 14 July. She then returned to New York
70
for exercises and upkeep before departing Norfolk 2 Sep-
tember and joining another Mediterranean-bound convoy.
This time the ships steamed to Palermo, Sicily, arriving
23 September. She next joined a westbound convoy 28
September and arrived New York 17 October.
After preparing for duty in the Pacific, she departed
New York 3 November and steamed via the° Panama Canal
to Hollandia, New Guinea, where she arrived 24 Decem-
ber. George A. Johnson carried out vital tasks of escort-
ing and protecting supply convoys from New Guinea to
Allied bases in the Philippines. Departing Mois Woendi
4 January 1945, she joined cargo ships bound for Lingayan
Gulf, Luzon. Four Japanese suicide planes attacked the
convoy 12 January ; but, under cover of excellent anti-
aircraft fire of George A. Johnson and other escorts, the
entire convoy reached Lingayen Gulf the next day.
George A. Johnson engaged in patrol and convoy duties
in the Philippines until 26 January 1945, when she sup-
ported landings at San Antonio, Luzon. After this opera-
tion, she resumed convoy escort duty out of Leyte Gulf,
steaming to Ulithi, Hollandia, and Manus. Arriving Hol-
landia from Leyte Gulf 27 April, she remained there until
August.
Returning to the Philippines after the Japanese capitula-
tion, George A. Johnson departed Manila 4 September for
Jinsen, Korea, to join Admiral Kinkaid in Rocky Mount
(AGC-3). The force then set course for the Yangtze
River 15 September and on 19 September were the first
American ships since 1941 to enter this great portal to
China. Continuing to Shanghai, George A. Johnson and
other units of the 7th Fleet were greeted enthusiastically
by the Chinese people as they aided in the reoccupation
of Shanghai and establishment of the Yangtze Patrol.
Her war service completed, George A. Johnson departed
for Okinawa 11 October. From there she steamed via
Pearl Harbor to San Diego, arriving 5 November. She
remained at San Diego and decommissioned 31 May 1946.
In August, however, she was assigned to the 12tli Naval
District as a training ship. She served out of commis-
sion in this capacity until 29 September 1950 when she
was placed in commission in reserve as a training ship.
Until late 1957 George A. Johnson trained reservists,
making occasional cruises off the California coast. She
decommissioned in September 1957, and entered the Pacific-
Reserve Fleet at Mare Island, Calif. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 1 November 1965. At present
she is berthed at Mare Island, awaiting sale for scrapping.
George B. Corlelyou, see Getus (AK-77)
George Bancroft
See Bancroft ( DANFS I, 90) for biography of George
Bancroft.
(SSB(N)-643 : dp. 7,320 (surf.), 8,250 (subm.) ; 1. 425';
b. 33' ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 140 ; a. 16 A-3 Pol. mis. ; cl.
Lafayette)
George Bancroft (SSB(N)-643) was laid down by
the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp.,
Groton, Conn., 24 August 1963 ; launched 20 March 1965 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Jean B. Langdon, great, great grand-
daughter of Secretary Bancroft, and Mrs. Anita C. Irvine,
great, great, great granddaughter; and commissioned 22
USS George Bancroft ( SSB (N)-643) — down the ways 20 March 1965
256-125 0-68-7
71
January 1966, Captain Joseph Williams (blue crew) and
Comdr. Walter M. Douglas (gold crew) in command.
The new Polaris submarine was assigned to Submarine
Squadron 14 of Submarine Flotilla 6 with New London
as home port. Her first deployment began 26 July 1966.
Soon after the patrol was successfully completed at Holy
Loch, Scotland, the gold crew relieved the blue. A few
weeks later, George Bancroft got underway for her sec-
ond patrol which ended toward the close of the year.
Early in 1967, George Bancroft began her third patrol.
She silently and invisibly roves the seas as a mighty
deterrent against aggression, preserving the peace and
protecting freedom.
George Burton
Original name retained.
(Tr : t. 443 ; 1. 127' ; b. 21.5' ; dr. 14.3' ; s. 9.5 k. ; cl. Strath)
George Burton, a British trawler chartered by the U.S.
Navy in the spring of 1919 to help clear the North Sea
of mines, was taken over at Grimsby Naval Base. She
commissioned 26 May 1919, and was assigned to the
Minesweeping Detachment, Mine Force, U.S. Naval Forces
in European Waters. The Detachment was based at
Kirkwall, Scotland, and began sweeping the vast area
in April. Ships of the trawler division followed in the
wake of the minesweepers to make sure that no mines
remained and accounted for a larger number of mines
than had been expected.
However, following the loss of trawler Richard Buckley,
it was decided that these light ships were not strong
enough to withstand the shock of exploding mines. The
majority were, therefore, returned to the Admiralty.
George Burton was dispatched to Brightlingsea, England ;
decommissioned 5 August ; and was returned 30 September
1919.
George C. Marshall
George Catlett Marshall, born at Uniontown, Pa., 31
December 1880, was commissioned Second Lieutenant 2
February 1901 upon graduation from the Virginia Military
Institute. After serving in the Philippines from 1902 to
1903 and at various posts in the Western United States,
he went to the Army Staff College at Fort Leavenworth,
Kans., in 1908. Graduating at the head of his class, he
instructed in the school until 1910.
Assignments with the Massachusetts National Guard
and the 4th Infantry in Arkansas and Texas preceded
his return to the Philippines in 1913. There his brilliance
on maneuvers won him prophetic praise from General
James Franklin Bell, who called him : “one of those rare
men who live and dream in their profession — a soldier
who is not satisfied with daily duty superbly done. . . .
the greatest military genius of America since Stonewall
Jackson.”
When the United States entered World War I, Marshall
accompanied the 1st Division to France in July 1917. In
the summer of 1918, he was transferred to the A.E.F.
Headquarters where he helped to formulate plans for
the St. Mihiel offensive and to transfer some 500,000
troops to the Argonne front in 2 weeks without the
enemy’s knowledge. In October Marshall became Chief
of Operations of the 1st Army during the final action on
the Meuse-Argonne sector, which helped greatly to force
Germany to capitulate.
Outstanding service in a number of important assign-
ments during the years between the wars won Marshall
appointment as Chief of Staff of the Army in September
1939 when Nazi aggression plunged the world into World
War II He directed the mobilization of an army of
some 10 million men which operated with the Navy and
Allied forces in crushing the Axis powers. He was ap-
pointed General of the Army 16 December 1944.
After World War II, Marshall served as Secretary of
State from 21 January 1945 to 21 January 1949 and was
Secretary of Defense from 12 September 1950 to 12 Sep-
tember 1951. He died in Washington 16 October 1959.
(SSB (N)-654 ; dp. 7,320 (surf.), 8,250 (subm.) ; 1. 425';
b. 33' ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 140 ; a. 16 A-3 Pol. mis. ; cl.
Lafayette)
George C. Marshall (SSB(N)-654) was laid down by
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 2 March
1964 ; launched 21 May 1965 ; sponsored by Mrs. George
C. Marshall, widow; and commissioned 29 April 1966,
Comdr. Warran Rich Cobean (blue crew) and Comdr.
Willard Edward Johnson (gold crew) in command.
Following shakedown, George C. Marshall prepared for
duty as one of the Navy’s nuclear powered Polaris sub-
marines silently and invisibly roving the seas as a mighty
deterrent against aggression, preserving peace and pro-
tecting freedom. At her launching former Secretary of
State Dean Acheson eloquently described the mighty sub-
marine’s role in the turbulent cold war : “. . . the waves
set up by this launching will go to the furthest reaches
of our foreign relations. The very existence of this ship,
her power, her mission, her orders, her competence to
execute them, will effect more computations, more deci-
sions, than we can readily imagine. Far beyond the
Pentagon, the State Department, and the White House
she will add a new factor, a new magnitude, to the cor-
relation of forces by which the communists determine
their decisions.”
George C. Yount, see Asoella (AK-437)
George Clarke
A former name retained.
(Tr : t. 500; 1. 135' ; b. 22' ; dr. 14.5' ; s. 10 k. ; cl. Castle)
George Clarke, a British trawler chartered by the U.S.
Navy in the spring of 1919 to help clear the North Sea of
mines, was taken over at Grimsley Naval Base, and com-
missioned 15 May 1919, Lt. (j.g.) E. V. Wilder in com-
mand.
George Clarke was assigned to the Minesweeping De-
tachment, U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, and departed
Kirkwall, Scotland, 7 July 1919 to begin the dangerous
and arduous task of taking up the mine barrage. On 11
July George Clarke had a close call when an exploding
mine damaged her sweep. The next day, shortly before
sunset, she was some 400 yards from Richard Bulkeley,
when a mine explosion ripped a hole in that ill-fated
trawler. George Clarke steamed to the rescue but was
still over 100 yards away when the stricken ship went
down. George Clarke picked 12 survivors and returned
to Kirkwall.
The next day at a conference on board George Clarke,
Rear Admiral Strauss decided that the trawlers were
not strong enough to withstand the shock of mine explo-
sions close aboard. Most of the trawlers were, therefore,
detached from minesweeping duty. George Clarke was
sent to Brighton, England, where she was decommissioned
and was returned to the Admiralty 11 August.
George Clymer
George Clymer, bom in Philadelphia, Pa., 16 March
1739, was a Philadelphia merchant and prominent Ameri-
can patriot. Among the first to advocate complete inde-
pendence from Great Britain, he became a member of the
Pennsylvania Committee of Correspondence in 1774 and
was elected to the Continental Congress, serving as one
of two treasurers from July 1775 to August 1776. He
signed the Declaration of Independence 2 August 1776.
During the War of Independence, he fought in the Battle
of Princeton and served on many commissions that dealt
with the war and financial matters. He joined Robert
Morris and others in founding the Bank of Pennsylvania
72
c
in 1780. He again served in the Continental Congress
from 1780 to 1783 and was an influential member of the
Pennsylvania Assembly from 1785 until 1789. He was
a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and
from 1789 to 1791 served in the First Congress. President
Washington appointed him Supervisor of Internal Revenue
for Pennsylvania in 1791, but he resigned after the Whisky
Rebellion in 1794. In 1796 he served on a special com-
mission that negotiated a treaty with the Creek and
Cherokee Indians in Georgia. George Clymer enjoyed a
wide reputation for patriotism, learning, and ability in
financial matters. He died in Morrisville, Pa., 23 January
1813.
(AP-57 : dp. 11,058; 1. 489'; b. 69’6" ; dr. 27'4" ; s. 18.4
k. ; cpl. 512 ; trp. 1,304 ; a. 1 5", 4 3", 8 20mm., 4 .50 cal.
mg. ; cl. Arthur Middleton-, T. C3-P)
George Clymer (AP-57) was laid down as African
Planet under Maritime Commission contract 28 October
1940 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, Miss. ;
launched 27 September 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Kathryn
Stapleton ; renamed George Clymer 9 January 1942 ; ac-
quired by the Navy 15 June 1942 ; and commissioned the
same day, Captain Arthur T. Moen in command.
George Clymer sailed 21 June via Charleston to Norfolk
where she arrived 30 July for training in Chesapeake Bay.
She embarked 1,400 men of the 9th Infantry Division and
departed 23 October for the amphibious invasion of French
Morocco. After joining Rear Admiral Monroe Kelley’s
Northern Attack Group off the Moroccan coast 7 Novem-
ber, at midnight 8 November she debarked assault troops
on special net-cutting and scouting missions against gar-
risons at Mehedia and the fortress Kasba. Just before
dawn the first wave of troops hit the beach and encoun-
tered resistance from the Vichy French. Enemy shore
batteries fired on the assembled transports and straddled
George Clymer before she opened the range. Hard fighting
continued ashore until 11 November. George Clymer de-
barked troops, unloaded cargo, and treated casualties until
15 November when she sailed to Casablanca to complete
off-loading cargo. She departed for the United States
the 17th, arriving Norfolk 30 November.
After embarking more than 1,300 Seabees, George Cly-
mer sailed 17 December for the Pacific. One of the first
transports to serve in both the Atlantic and Pacific, she
reached Noumea, New Caledonia, 18 January 1943 ; sailed
23 January for the Fiji Islands ; and arrived Espiritu
Santo, New Hebrides, 30 January. Redesignated (APA-
27) on 1 February, she sailed in convoy 5 February for
Guadalcanal, Solomons, where she arrived the 7th to
debark reinforcements and embark casualties and Japan-
ese prisoners of war. During almost the next 9 months
she sailed the Southwest Pacific, carrying cargo and ro-
tating troops from bases in New Zealand, New Caledonia,
the New Hebrides, and the Fijis to Guadalcanal. On 19
April she evacuated 38 Chinese and Fijian women and
children, who had hidden from the Japanese for more than
a year, from Gaudalcanal and transported them to
Noumea.
As flagship of Rear Admiral T. S. Wilkinson’s 3d
Amphibious Force, George Clymer departed Guadalcanal
30 October for the invasion of Bougainville. Closing Cape
Torokina 1 November, she debarked men of the 2d Marine
Raider Battalion before joining other transports in a
combined bombardment of enemy positions on Cape Toro-
kina. She returned to Port Purvis, Florida Island, 3
November ; and during the next 2 months she made three
runs to Bougainville, carrying reinforcements and cargo
from the Fijis and Guadalcanal.
George Clymer continued troop-carrying and supply runs
in the Southwest Pacific until 4 June when she departed
Guadalcanal for the invasion of the Marianas. Steaming
via Kwajalein, she operated off Saipan from 17 to 30 June
while serving as flagship of Rear Admiral L. R. Reif-
snider’s Southern Attack Group. She reached Eniwetok
4 July ; departed 17 July for the assault against Guam ; and
arrived off Agat 21 July. After debarking assault troops,
she served as receiving ship, boat pool tender, and medical
station for the Southern Transport Group. She remained
at Guam until 20 August ; steamed via Saipan to Hawaii ;
and arrived Pearl Harbor 31 August.
Underway again 15 September, George Clymer steamed
via Eniwetok and Manus, Admiralties, to the Philippines,
where she landed nearly 1,000 troops at Dulag 21 October
during the invasion of Leyte. She returned to Manus 28
October; and, following a troop and cargo-carrying mis-
sion to New Britain and back, she sailed 11 November for
the United States and arrived San Francisco 3 December
for overhaul. Sailing 26 January 1945, she reached Guad-
alcanal 11 February and for more than a month trained
for the invasion of Okinawa. She departed Ulithi, Caro-
lines, in convoy 27 March ; arrived off Hagushi 1 April ;
then debarked troops and unloaded cargo before departing
5 April. Steaming via Saipan and Pearl Harbor, she ar-
rived San Francisco 9 May.
After conversion to a transport squadron and relief
amphibious force flagship, she transported 1,200 Seabees
to Pearl Harbor from 21 to 27 July. After returning to
San Francisco 5 August with wounded veterans embarked,
she sailed 12 August for the Philippines. She reached
Manila 7 September ; embarged nearly 1,000 occupation
troops of the 33d Infantry Division ; and transported them
to Japan, arriving Wakayama 25 September. Between 3
and 21 October she made a similar voyage from Leyte to
Japan ; then, as part of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet, between
31 October and 14 November she carried more than 1,200
veterans from Saipan to San Francisco. Between 27 No-
vember and 28 December she cruised to Guam and Saipan
and returned to San Pedro with homebound troops.
Prior to the outbreak of Communist aggression in Ko-
rea, George Clymer supported various naval operations in
the Pacific. From 1 June to 20 August she served at
Bikini Atoll as flagship for Transport Division 11 during
atomic bomb tests in the Marshall Islands. She conducted
training operations along the Pacific coast until 15 De-
cember 1947 when she departed San Pedro for the Far
East. Arriving Tsingtao, China, 20 January 1948, for
more than 6 months she operated along the Chinese coast
supporting the Nationalist Chinese troops during the
Chinese Civil War. She departed Tsingtao 5 August;
embarked troops at Guam ; and transported them via the
Panama Canal to Morehead City, N.C., where she arrived
17 September.
George Clymer returned to San Diego 4 October, and
during the next 19 months she operated off the coast of
Alaska, the West Coast, and in Hawaiian waters. After
the invasion of South Korea by North Korean troops, she
departed San Diego 14 July and carried units of the 5th
Provisional Marine Brigade to Pusan, South Korea, where
she debarked them 2 August to help stem the Communist
advance at Masan. After returning to Yokosuka, Japan,
7 August, she embarked men of the 1st Marine Division
at Kobe for the amphibious invasion at Inchon 15 Sep-
tember. Following the successful landings, she served as
amphibious control and hospital ship before returning
to Sasebo 29 September with casualties. She returned to
Inchon 8 October to embark marines, and on 17 October
she sailed for Wonsan, where she landed troops the 25th.
Departing Wonsan 30 October, she steamed via Yokosuka
to the United States and arrived San Diego 24 November.
George Clymer departed San Diego 4 June 1951; and,
after embarking troops at San Francisco, she sailed 6
June for the Far East, arriving Yokosuka 20 June.
During the next 10 months she supported the effort to
repel Communist aggression in Korea ; participated in
amphibious landings along the Korean coast; rotated
troops between Japan and Korea ; and cruised Far Eastern
waters from the Sea of Japan to the South China Sea to
meet the demands of military forces in Asia. On 15
October she rescued nearly 500 survivors from the Jap-
anese merchantman, Kongo Maru, caught during a typhoon
at Uku Shima, Japan. She departed Yokosuka 1 April
1952 ; returned to the United States for 7 months ; then
sailed from San Diego 12 November for a third deploy-
ment off Korea. After reaching Yokosuka 29 November,
73
she took part in troop-rotation runs between Korea and
bases in Japan, Okinawa, and the Philippines. On 27
July 1953, as the armistice which brought an uncertain
peace to Korea was signed at Panmunjom, she departed
Yokosuka for the United States, arriving San Diego 22
August.
Since the termination of hostilities in Korea, George
Clymer has deployed to the Far East on numerousi occa-
sions as an important unit of the always-ready force for
peace, the 7th Fleet. Capable of carrying combat-ready
troops to any beach in the Western Pacific and Southeast
Asia, she had provided vital support during the con-
tinuing struggle to meet and repel Communist aggres-
sion. Whether in the Strait of Formosa, the Gulf of
Tonkin, or along the coast of Vietnam, she has remained
ready to intervene promptly and powerfully whenever
needed. In August 1964 she cruised the South China Sea
in an advanced state of readiness following the Gulf of
Tonkin incident. During the summer of 1965 she de-
ployed to South Vietnam, where she participated in am-
phibious landings at Da Nang and Chu Lai. At present
she continues to bolster the American effort to thwart
Communist aggression in South Vietnam.
George Clymer received five battle stars for World War
II and seven battle stars for Korean conflict service.
George Cochrane
A former name retained.
(Tr : dp. 500' ; 1. 135' ; b. 22' ; dr. 14' ; s. 10 k. ; cl. Castle)
George Cochrane, one of a group of 20 trawlers char-
tered from British civilians to help clear the North Sea
Mine Barrage, was acquired and commissioned 28 May
1919 at Grimsby Naval Base, Lt. (j.g.) R. C. Thompson,
USNRF, in command.
Departing Falmouth 29 May, George Cochrane com-
menced her minesweeping duties with the North Sea Mine-
sweeping Detachment, based in Kirkwall Bay. She and
other converted trawlers swept behind the main line,
picking up stray mines and dropping buoys for 5 weeks.
Since the hulls of the trawlers were not enough to with-
stand repeated underwater shocks from the exploding
mines, most of them were returned to the Admiralty.
After remaining at Kirkwall Bay towing during July 1919,
George Cochrane departed for Brightlingsea, arriving 9
August, where she was decommissioned and returned to
the British 11 August 1919.
George E. Badger
George Edmund Badger, born in New Bern, N.C., 13
April 1795, graduated from Yale in 1813 and studied law in
Raleigh, N.C. Elected to the State legislature in 1816, he
was judge of the Superior Court at Raleigh from 1820 to
1825. Appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Har-
rison in 1841, he resigned after Harrison’s death. Elected
to the Senate in 1846 and again in 1848, at the expiration
of his term in 1854 he retired from public life and devoted
himself completely to his law practice. An active oppo-
nent of secession, after his state passed its 1861 ordinance
of secession he continued to be known as a member of the
conservative element and attempted to exert a moderating
influence. He died in Raleigh 11 May 1866. A vigorous
speaker and debater, Badger was known for the depth of
his research.
( DD-196 : dp. 1,190 : 1. 314'5'' ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 9'4" ; s. 35 k ;
cpl. 101; a. 4 4", 3 3", 1 .30 cal. mg., 12 21" tt. ; cl.
Clemson. )
George E. Badger (DD-196) was laid down 24 Septem-
ber 1918 by the Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport
News, Va. ; launched 6 March 1920; sponsored by Miss
Mary B. Wilson, the namesake’s granddaughter ; and com-
missioned 28 July 1920, Lt. Comdr. Albert Gleaves Berry,
Jr., in command.
After shakedown, George E. Badger based at Charleston,
S.C., while operating in Caribbean waters and along the
eastern seaboard from Jacksonville, Fla., to Boston. Re-
turning to Philadelphia 6 June 1922, she decommissioned
there 11 August 1922 and was subsequently transferred
to the Treasury Department 1 October 1930 for use by
the Coast Guard. She was reacquired by the Navy 21
May 1934 and redesignated (AVP-16) on 1 October 1939.
George E. Badger recommissioned at Philadelphia 8
January 1940, Lt. Comdr. Frank Akers in command.
During the next year she engaged in training operations
in the Caribbean. Redesignated AVD-3 on 2 August 1940,
she returned to Norfolk 12 January 1941 and subsequently
tended planes while based at Argentia, Newfoundland,
and Reykjavik, Iceland, until the spring of 1942.
Ordered to Charleston, N.C., 26 May 1942, George E.
Badger escorted convoys along the eastern seaboard, in
the Gulf of Mexico, and to Recife and Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, until returning to Norfolk 15 January 1943 to be
fitted out for Atlantic convoy duty. Through the spring
of 1943 she operated out of Argentia shepherding con-
voys bound for the United Kingdom. In June she under-
went overhaul at Norfolk, then sailed 13 July for North
Africa. Steaming with escort carrier Bogue (CVE-9) and
destroyer Clemson (DD-186), she made her first kill 23
July 1943 after four depth charge attacks broke up deep-
running U-613 southwest of Sao Miguel, Azores. This
victory came just a few hours before planes from Bogue
attacked and sent TJ-521 to the bottom not far away.
After touching Casablanca, George E. Badger returned
to New York 23 August. During the next 2 months she
made another escort voyage from New York to Casa-
blanca, then returned to New York 21 October. Departing
Hampton Roads 14 November, she sailed for North Africa
with Bogue and destroyers Dupont, Osmond Ingram and
Clemson on an offensive antisubmarine patrol. This
patrol was aggressively and successfully conducted, blast-
ing U-172 on 12 December 1943 after a 24-hour game of
cat-and-mouse which the German submarine lost.
After escorting another convoy from Norfolk to North
Africa and back George E. Badger underwent conversion
to high speed transport at Charleston and was redesig-
nated APD-33 on 19 May 1944. Sailing for duty in the
Pacific, she steamed via the West Coast and Pearl Harbor
to Guadalcanal where she arrived 12 August. From there
she carried to the Palau Islands. Reaching Angaur
Island 12 September, George E. Badger screened warships
bombarding the island and from 14 to 16 September sent
her hardy frogmen ashore for reconnaissance and demo-
lition work. Intelligence was gathered and obstacles on
the beach removed before the ship got underway 12 Octo-
ber for Leyte, where until 18 October she supported the
reconnaissance and bombardment of the east coast of that
strategic island and again landed her frogmen.
Departing 21 October, she called at Kossol Passage,
Manus, and Noumea before participating in the Lingayen
landings of 5-11 January 1945. In these she lent her
effective fire support as requested, and on D-day, 5 Jan-
uary, blew an attacking Japanese torpedo plane out of the
air. Her frogmen hit the beaches 2 days later ; and, de-
spite frequent air attacks, George E. Badger continued
screening during landings 7 January until sailing 11 Jan-
uary for Leyte and Ulithi.
Until the spring of 1945 the veteran warship was over-
hauled at Ulithi ; patrolled off Iwo Jima while the fight-
ing raged ; and escorted ships from Guam to Guadalcanal,
Noumea, and Manus. She sailed from Ulithi 2 April 1945
for Okinawa with carriers delivering replacement aircraft,
and subsequently escorted convoys from Saipan to Oki-
nawa. George E. Badger sailed from Eniwetok 24 June
for Pearl Harbor. Ordered thence to San Francisco for
reconversion, she reverted to DD-196 on 20 July 1945 and
later decommissioned at that port 3 October 1945. George
E. Badger was scrapped 3 June 1946.
George E. Badger received eight battle stars for World
War II service in addition to the Presidential Unit
Citation.
74
George E. Davis
George Elliot Davis, Jr., born in Martin, Pa., 5 Decem-
ber 1913, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935.
Until 1937 he served in Maryland (BB-46) as an aircraft
gunnery observer; and, subsequently, until June 1938, he
was on duty in West Virginia (BB-48). Transferred 15
June 1938 to Houston (CA-30), flagship of the Asiatic
Fleet, Lt. Davis served in her until 4 February 1942 when
he was killed in action by enemy aircraft near Madoera
Strait, Borneo.
(DE-357 ; dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 13'4" ; s. 24.3 k ;
cpl. 222; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h. ), 2 dct. ; cl. John C. Butler)
George E. Davis (DE-357) was laid down 15 February
1944 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ;
launched 8 April 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. George E. Davis,
Jr., widow ; and commissioned 11 August 1944, Lt. Comd.
Frederick L. Lincoln in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, George E. Davis departed
Norfolk for the Pacific 21 October and arrived Hollandia,
New Guinea, 28 November. As a convoy escort, she sailed
7 December for the Philippines where she arrived San
Pedro Bay, Leyte, 12 December. Assigned to the Philip-
pine Sea Frontier, during the remaining months of fight-
ing in the Pacific she served in the Southwest Pacific on
convoy escort and antisubmarine patrols.
Until March 1945 George E. Davis operated out of San
Pedro Bay, Leyte, escorting troop and supply convoys to
and from New Guinea, the Admiralties, and the Palaus.
On 23 March she departed Leyte for the western Philip-
pines ; and, steaming via Mindoro, she arrived Subic Bay,
Luzon, the 30th. During the next 2 months she patrolled
the convoy lanes west of Mindoro and Luzon, sweeping the
South China Sea in search of Japanese submarines. Be-
tween 3 and 7 June she steamed from Subic Bay to Ulithi,
Western Carolines, returning to Subic Bay the 12th as
escort for a convoy. Departing 16 June, she returned to
Ulithi the 20th ; and between 27 and 30 June, she escorted
a supply convoy to Leyte Gulf.
During July George E. Davis escorted convoys between
the Philippines and Okinawa. After the Japanese capitu-
lation 15 August, she continued escort and patrol duties in
the Philippines and in the East China Sea. In September
she guarded convoys carrying occupation troops from the
Philippines to Japan. Early in December she sailed from
the Philippines to the coast of China where she supported
American and Chinese Nationalist troops during reoccupa-
tion operations along the coast of northern China. Dur-
ing January and February 1946 she operated along the
coast of Japan before returning to Tsingtao, China, 20
February. She patrolled the East China and Yellow Seas
off mainland China until 16 April when she departed for
the United States. She arrived San Pedro, Calif., 11 May
decommissioned at San Diego 26 August, and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet.
George E. Davis recommissioned at San Diego 11 July
1951, and departed San Diego 11 October. She steamed via
the Panama Canal to the East Coast, where she arrived
Newport, R.I., 27 October. Assigned to the Atlantic
Fleet, during the next 3 years she operated out of Newport,
providing valuable service as a training ship for Naval Re-
serves. This unheralded but important duty carried her
along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean and she
continued this service until June 1954. She decommis-
sioned 11 November 1954 at Green Cove Springs, Fla., and
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. At present she is
berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Tex.
George Eastman
George Eastman, born in Waterville, N.Y., 12 July 1854,
was educated at the University of Rochester, Rochester,
N.Y. An avid photographer, he stimulated photography
as a popular hobby by developing and mass-producing his
photographic inventions. He invented a process for coat-
ing dry plates and began their manufacture at Rochester
in 1880. Four years later he developed the first flexible
roll film ; in 1888 he invented and marketed the “Kodak,”
the first portable, compact camera, and the following year
he perfected a transparent film for amateur use. The
George Eastman Co. introduced a daylight-loading film in
1891. Reorganized into the Eastman Kodak Co in 1898,
his firm became one of the first in the country to produce
a standardized product on a large scale. Eastman estab-
lished excellent research and chemical laboratories, and
under his direction his firm later pioneered the develop-
ment of many allied photographic products and processes,
including amateur motion-picture cameras and a process
for color photography. Building Eastman Kodak Co. into
a world wide organization, Eastman amassed a great for-
tune, well over $75 million of which he donated for the
advancement of education. His philanthropies estab-
lished and endowed the Eastman School of Music ; and he
gave millions of dollars to the University of Rochester,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tuskegee and
Hampton Institutes, and to various scientific and medical
institutions in the United States and Europe. George
Eastman died in Rochester, N.Y., 14 March 1932.
( YAG-39 : dp. 3,890 (lt.) ; 1. 442' ; b. 57' ; dr. 30' ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl 100 ; a. none ; T. EC2-S-C1)
George Eastman, a “Liberty-type” cargo ship, was laid
down under Maritime Commission contract 24 March 1943
by Permanente Metals Corp., Yard 2, Richmond, Calif. ;
launched 20 April 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Ann Trout-
man ; and delivered under charter from WSA to Pacific-
Atlantic Steamship Co., Vancouver, Wash., 5 May 1943.
She operated as a merchant cargo carrier until placed
in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay,
Calif., 24 June 1948. Later taken out of reserve, she was
chartered to Pacific Far East Line, Inc., San Francisco,
24 December 1951 and operated as a merchantman in the
Far East during the Korean War. On 2 June 1952 she
was transferred by the Maritime Administration to the
custody of the Navy at Suisun Bay.
Acquired by the Navy 2 April 1953, she was designated
YAG-39 the following month. She was then fitted out
with numerous scientific instruments, including nuclear
detection and measurement devices, which enabled her to
conduct contamination and fallout measurement tests
after nuclear explosions. Manned by an experimental
crew in a specially protected control cubicle, she also was
fitted with electronic remote-control gear that enabled her
to serve as a robot ship.
Following extensive conversion, YAG-39 was placed in
service at San Francisco 20 October 1953, Lt. Comdr. Hugh
W. Anglin in command. Assigned to Joint Task Force 7,
she steamed to Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, where from
March through May 1954 she participated in atomic tests
at the Pacific Proving Grounds. During Operation
Castle,” a nuclear underwater test, she gathered fallout
data and carried out experimental ship protection studies.
After returning to San Francisco, she was placed out of
service from June until February 1955.
In May, YAG-39 again served with Joint Task Force 7
during Operation “Wigwam,” the deep underwater nuclear
test carried out in the Eastern Pacific. During the next
10 months she operated between the West Coast and
Hawaii, and conducted various experimental tests before
returning to Eniwetok 8 April 1956 to particpate in addi-
tional nuclear tests. From 21 May to 23 July she took
part in four nuclear-proving tests and gathered scientific
data to advance our knowledge of the atom and the effects
of nuclear fission.
Departing Eniwetok 28 July, YAG-39 steamed via Pearl
Harbor to San Francisco where she arrived 16 August.
After receiving additional scientific equipment, she de-
parted San Francisco 6 February 1957 to resume experi-
mental operations off the California coast. During the
next few months she steamed with Y AG-40 while testing
advanced weapons and ship protection systems. Towed
to San Diego 21 October for inactivation, she was placed
75
out of service 1 November and assigned to the Pacific Re-
serve Fleet at San Diego.
Reactivated in 1962, Y AG-39 commissioned at San Fran-
cisco 20 October, Lt. Comdr. William G. Sternberg in com-
mand. With her sister ship, YAG-J/0, she departed San
Francisco 15 November for Pearl Harbor, where she ar-
rived 24 November for underway training. Assigned to
Service Squadron 5, she operated off Hawaii and carried
out extensive experimental tests in the fields of ship pro-
tection systems and scientific warfare analysis. On 3
July 1963 she was assigned her former merchant name,
George Eastman.
Since 1963, George Eastman has operated as a research
ship between the Hawaiian sea frontier and the equatorial
area of the mid-Pacifie, providing valuable support for
various scientific research and defense projects of the
Department of Defense. She sailed to the West Coast in
April 1966 for a 3-month overhaul ; and, following her re-
turn to Pearl Harbor 18 August, she resumed research
cruises in Hawaiian waters. Her support activities con-
tinued through 1966 into 1967.
George F. Elliott
George F. Elliott, born 30 November 1846 in Alabama,
graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1870 and
was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine
Corps. After serving at Washington, D.C., he fought in
the Spanish-Ameriean War ; in a spirited engagement with
the enemy near Cuzco Valley Marines led by Captain
Elliott were victorious and returned to their camp at
Guantanamo Bay. On 21 May 1908 he was appointed
Major General and Commandant of the Marine Corps, a
position he filled with distinction until his retirement 30
November 1910. General Elliott died 4 November 1931
in Washington, D.C.
I
( AP-13 : dp. 7630; 1. 507'; b. 56'; dr. 23'8" ; s. 16 k;
cpl. 550 ; trp. 1,278 ; a. 1 5", 4 3", 8 .50 cal. ; cl. Heywood)
George F. Elliott (AP-13), formerly City of Los An-
geles, was built in 1918 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Ala-
meda, Calif. ; acquired 30 October 1940 ; and commissioned
10 January 1941, Captain H. G. Patrick in command.
George F. Elliott sailed for Norfolk 16 January 1941
and for the next year carried units of the 1st Marine
Brigade to the Caribbean for training exercises and op-
erated out of Norfolk before departing New York 19 Feb-
ruary 1942 with over 1,100 men bound for Europe. After
joining a convoy off Halifax, Nova Scotia, she reached
Belfast, Ireland, 3 March to debark her passengers and
subsequently returned to New York 25 March.
After embarking 1,229 fighting men, the ship got under-
way 9 April with a convoy bound for Tongatabu, arriv-
ing 1 month later and debarking her troops. George
F. Elliott sailed 19 May and arrived San Francisco 5 June
for repairs.
Soon ready for sea, she embarked 1,300 men of the
2d Battalion, 1st Marines, and stood out under the Golden
Gate 22 June in convoy, reaching Wellington, New Zealand,
11 July where combat gear and stores were loaded. As
part of Task Force 62 she departed 22 July for the 1st
Marine Division’s amphibious assault on Guadalcanal.
After conducting landing maneuvers in the Fiji Islands,
she proceeded to Guadalcanal.
Closing Lunga Point on D-day, 7 August, George F.
Elliott sent her boats away at 0733 and simultaneously
began discharging cargo. Despite enemy air attacks she
continued to work far into the night, ceasing unloading
only when the beach head became too congested. The
next day, 8 August, she got underway at 1056 to avoid
an imminent air attack and at 1159 opened fire on Japa-
nese twin-engined bombers coming in very low and fast
over Florida Island. Her antiaircraft guns made re-
peated hits on a plane approaching the starboard beam
only 30 feet off the water; suddenly it swerved and
crashed into the ship amidships, spreading raging flames
and rupturing the water mains. In spite of the crew’s
valiant efforts, the fires continued out of control. As
salvage was impossible the gutted ship was sunk the same
day.
George F. Elliott was struck from the Navy List 2 Oc-
tober 1942. She was awarded one battle star for World
War II service.
II
( AP-105 : dp. 14,247; 1. 491' ; b. 65' ; dr. 25'8" ; s. 17.8 k;
cpl. 302 ; trp. 1,908 ; a. 1 5", 4 3", 16 20mm., 10 .50 cal. ;
cl. George F. Elliott)
The second George F. Elliott (AP-105), formerly SS
Delbrasil, was built in 1939 by Bethlehem Steel, Sparrows
Point, Md. ; acquired 25 August 1943 ; and commissioned
23 September 1943, Comdr. A. J. Couble in command.
From 3 October 1943 to 31 January 1944 two troop-
carrying voyages out of San Diego brought fighting men
to Noumea, Guadalcanal, and Espiritu Santo. Subse-
quently, George F. Elliott left San Francisco 18 Febru-
ary to embark cargo and over 1,700 sailors and marines
at Port Hueneme. She steamed thence to Havannah Har-
bor, New Hebrides, arriving 9 March, and for the next
2 months made troop shuttle voyages between Espiritu
Santo, Guadalcanal, the Russell Islands, Manus, and New
Guinea before putting in at Pearl Harbor 7 May 1944.
On 29 May George F. Elliott departed with attack Group
1 of Task Force 52 for the invasion of the strategic island
of Saipan and closed the island’s west coast 15 June for
D-day. She was ordered to join a diversionary assault
force staging a demonstration landing to the northwest
to divert the enemy from the real landing beaches. De-
spite air attack she sent troops away and unloaded cargo
until getting underway 22 June for Makin Atoll, Tarawa,
Apamama, Pearl Harbor, and finally San Diego, reaching
there 17 July.
Following a troop transport voyage to Pearl Harbor
and return, George F. Elliott made another trip to Pearl
Harbor, she sailed from there 15 September for Eniwetok,
Manus, and Leyte, reaching the latter port in time for
D-day, 20 October 1944. She debarked troops and cargo
though harrassed by air attacks, getting underway 24
October with mission accomplished and closing Hollandia
the 29th. George F. Elliott brought troops and supplies
from Wakde Island, New Guinea ; and Hollandia in early
November, and after embarking more cargo and passengers
at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, reached Manus 21 De-
cember. She sailed for Lingayen Gulf 31 December and,
after witnessing a kamikaze crash carrier Kitkun Bay and
numerous attacks on other ships off Luzon, reached her
destination 9 January 1945 as part of the D-day invasion
of Lingayen Gulf.
Discharging men and equipment, the ship sailed at once
for Leyte, Manus, and Wake Island, loaded the 33d In-
fantry Division at the latter port, and debarked it at
Lingayen Gulf 10 February. Subsequently steaming to
Ulithi she embarked Marine reinforcements destined for
Iwo Jima and closed that island 18 March. Loading
veterans, she sailed for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco,
steaming under the Golden Gate 22 April 1945 to commence
repairs.
A round-trip voyage out of San Francisco brought sea-
bees from Port Huemene to Okinawa from 30 May-15
August 1945. As part of the “Magic Carpet” fleet, George
F. Elliott subsequently made three more round trips from
San Francisco, respectively to Pearl Harbor, Yokosuka,
and Korea, from 27 August 1945 to 18 January 1946, and
her return to Seattle. Underway for Guam 14 February,
she touched there 1 March and soon sailed for Norfolk,
where she put in 3 April 1946 via the Panama Canal.
Decommissioned there 10 June 1946, she was delivered to
the WSA the next day and struck from the Navy List 19
June 1946. George F. Elliott was sold to the Farrell Lines
of New York in 1948 and renamed African Endeavor.
George F. Elliott was awarded four battle stars for
World War II service.
76
George F. Pierce
A former name retained.
( SP-648 : t. 252; 1. 121'3" ; b. 24'; dr. 8'; s. 12 k.)
George F. Pierce, a wooden passenger and freight
steamer, was buil by William G. Abbot in 1914 ; purchased
by the Navy from the Milford and Philadelphia Freight
Line Co., Philadelphia ; and delivered at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard 1 February 1918. She served the 4th Naval
District as a passenger and supply boat in the Philadelphia
area until decommissioning at Philadelphia Navy Yard 17
March 1922. George F. Pierce was sold to L. N. Hearn,
Milford, Del., 5 June 1922.
George G. Henry
A former name retained.
I
(ID-1560: dp. 13,179 (n.) ; 1. 435'; b. 56'; dr. 26'6'' ; s.
11 k.; cpl. 59; a. 1 5"; 1 3”)
George G. Henry was built in 1917 by the Union Iron
Works of San Francisco ; chartered by the Navy from the
Los Angeles Petroleum Transportation Co., 23 August
1918 ; and commissioned at New York the same day, Lt
Comdr. Henry F. Weeden, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, George G. Henry departed New York
29 August 1918 with aviation gasoline and Army medical
stores which she delivered at Le Havre, France, then
touched Spithead and Plymouth, England, on returning
to New York.
In the mid-Atlantic on the morning of 29 September,
the tanker spotted a German submarine off her port beam
and opened fire on U-152 some 5,000 yards away, then
raced away at flank speed, maneuvering radically to evade
the enemy shells ; nevertheless, a hit which destroyed her
aftermagazine enveloped her stem in flames, and left
only two powder charges for her afterdeck gun. As the
crew worked to control the fires, the tanker sheered to
bring her forward gun to bear on the pursuer, keeping
the U-boat just out of range with well-placed salvos, and
dropped six smoke screens that hid her from the enemy
for some 20 minutes.
The U-boat soon passed to the weather side of the
smoke and renewed the action. Shrapnel hit the tanker,
inflicting minor injuries on 14 men. Two shells which
had survived the explosion of the after magazine were
fired from the tanker’s after gun at 10:15 a.m. ; and ten
minutes later the submarine gave up the chase. Credit
for her survival was shared by her gunners and her engine
room force under Ens. George F. Thompson, USNRF, who,
despite flames and dense, acrid smoke, stayed at the posts
to maintain speed throughout the running fight.
Having escaped one danger, George G. Henry encoun-
tered another before reaching New York. Shortly after
midnight of 3 October 1918, about 110 miles east of Cape
Sable, she made an emergency turn to avoid an oncoming
convoy ; but, before she could swerve to safety, a red
light and mast headlight came close under her port bow
and the tanker cut into Navy collier Herman Frasch
forward of the poop deck and below the water line. With-
in minutes Herman Frasch’s bow rose high out of the
water, fell back crushing down on George G. Henry’s port
rail, hung suspended for a moment, then slid off and sank.
The tanker lowered life rafts and boats and swept the sea
with her searchlights looking for survivors. By dawn 65
members of the ill-fated collier’s crew had been hauled
from the sea to safety.
George G. Henry arrived at New York on 6 October for
repairs and sailed on 11 November with gasoline and
quartermaster supplies which were unloaded at Le Havre,
and Rouen, France. She returned by way of England to
New York on 21 December 1918, then made three trans-
atlantic voyages from Avondale, La., with cargoes of gaso-
line and military stores delivered to the French ports of
Paulliac, Furth, Blaye, Le Havre, and Rouen. She re-
turned to New York 5 May 1919; was overhauled in the
Shewans Dry Dock ; decommissioned and was returned to
her owner 21 May 1919.
George G. Henry continued operations under her orig-
inal owner until 1932 when she was acquired by the Stand-
ard Oil Co. of New Jersey. In July 1940, due to passage
of the Neutrality Act, she transferred to Panamanian
registry and operated by the Panama Transport Co. On
15 December 1941 she was time-chartered by the U.S.
Navy to visit Balikpapan and Surabaya, N.E.I. ; and Port
Darwin and Fremantle, Australia. On 14 April 1942
while off Melbourne, Australia, George G. Henry reverted
back to Standard Oil Co. ownership; and the next day
was taken over by the U.S. Navy on a bareboat basis and
placed in commission, Lt. Comdr. Jens G. Olsen, USNR,
in command.
On 20 April, erroneous word was received to name the
ship Victor. She sailed for Sydney, Australia, 22 April
for conversion to a naval oiler, arriving 25 April to learn
her correct name to be Victoria. Conversion completed
November 1942, Victoria (A0^46) ( q.v .) was placed in
service, Lt. Comdr. Jens G. Olsen, USNR, in command.
George H. Bradley
A former name retained.
( SP-327 : t. 99 ; 1. 104' ; b. 19' ; dr. 10' ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 26 ; a.
1 1-pdr. )
George H. Bradley, a wood steamer, was built at Bath,
Maine, in 1871 ; purchased by the Navy 18 May 1917 from
her owner, Captain Ocran Humphries of Reedville, Va. ;
and commissioned the same day at Norfolk, Boatswain S.
C. Headley, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, George H. Bradley
patrolled local waters out of Norfolk until 19 March 1918
when she received minesweeping gear. During the next
3 months she patrolled and swept for mines from Cape
Henry to Sea Basque. On 13 June she joined the mine-
sweeping squadron in Chesapeake Bay and swept waters
from Norfolk Gate to Baltimore Gate. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 6 May 1919 when she was sold
to her former owner.
George K. MacKenzie
George K. MacKenzie, born 30 May 1910 in Brooklyn,
N.Y., graduated from the Naval Academy in 1931. He
attended the Submarine School and Deep Sea Diving
School and the advanced course in the Submarine Officers’
School in addition to serving in Raleigh, Bonita, and
Plunger and commanding Falcon and Triton. Lt. Comdr.
MacKenzie was killed in action 15 March 1943 when three
Japanese destroyers sank Triton in waters just north of
the Admiralty Islands. For heroism and courageous de-
votion to duty he received the Navy Cross.
(DD-836 : dp. 1,620; 1. 347'9''; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'4" ; s.
37.6 k. ; cpl. 276; a. 6 5'', 16 40mm., 10 20mm„ 5 21" tt,
6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing )
George K. MacKenzie (DD-836) was launched 13 May
1945 by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; sponsored by
Miss Donna MacKenzie, daughter; and commissioned 13
July 1945, Comdr. Alvin W. Slayden in command.
After shakedown off Cuba, MacKenzie returned to Bos-
ton 15 September 1945 and subsequently participated in
the Navy Day celebrations 27 October at Savannah, Ga.
She served with the Operational Development Force at
Norfolk, her home port, and conducted training exercises
and escort duties along the Atlantic seaboard until sailing
5 January 1948 on a goodwill tour to Buenos Aires, Argen-
tina.
MacKenzie returned to Norfolk 9 February after these
duties as a “steel grey diplomat” and continued peacetime
operations, highlighted by a Midshipman cruise June to
77
July 1948 to Portugal, Italy, North Africa, and Cuba.
In October 1948 the destroyer sailed for the Near East,
where she supported the United Nations Palestine Patrol
and the allied occupation of Trieste, returning to Newport
for Christmas.
After overhaul at Boston until April 1949, George K.
MacKenzie continued peacetime training on the eastern
seaboard, and made a “Med” cruise from January to May
1950. When the uneasy truce in the Far East was shat-
tered by the North Korean aggression, George K. MacKen-
zie was transferred to the Pacific. She arrived Pearl
Harbor 1 July 1950 to prepare for wartime service.
During her first tour in Korea, 26 July 1950 to 30 Jan-
uary 1951, she screened attack carriers during strikes on
North Korean targets and provided close support for ad-
vancing Allied armies. After a repair period at San
Diego 15 February to 17 July 1951, she returned to per-
form the same vital screening and support duties until
April 1952.
George K. MacKenzie provided antisubmarine screening
and fired several important bombardment missions at
Wonsan Harbor, 16 to 17 January and again 23 February
to 21 March 1953 in support of United Nations forces.
She lent effective fire support to troops in the vicinity of
Suwon Dan 15-19 April 1953 in company with Los Angeles
and demolished sections of the enemy’s railroad along
the eastern coast of Korea in May.
Homeported in San Diego and Long Beach, Calif., she
completed a total of nine tours of duty in the Far East, in-
cluding training exercises and duty with the Taiwan pa-
trol between 1953 and 1959.
George K. MacKenzie's homeport was changed to Yoku-
suka, Japan, 15 February 1960 as she continued her peace-
time training duties, visiting Hong Kong, the Philippines
and other Far Eastern ports, including those in Japan.
In 1961 George K. MacKenzie sailed from Subic Bay, P.I.,
23 March to rendezvous with carriers Midway and Lex-
ington in the South China Sea to act during the Laos
crisis as a powerful on-the-spot force, if needed. For-
tunately, the crisis passed ; and after further operations
George K. MacKenzie put in at her new home port of New
York 11 December 1962. She entered Brooklyn Navy
Yard for modernization, returning to sea in October 1963.
George K. MacKenzie then made preparations to return to
her new homeport of Long Beach, Calif., where she
arrived 28 January 1964 to prepare for extended duty in
the Far East. She left the West Coast 26 May and
reached Yokosuka, Japan, 13 June to begin over 2 years
of continuous service in Oriental waters operating alter-
nately in Japanese waters and off Vietnam fighting to
repel Communist aggression. She specialized in screen-
ing aircraft carriers and shelling Communist positions
ashore. The battle-tested destroyer returned to Long
Beach 3 August 1966 for a major overhaul to prepare for
future action. In mid-1967 she was again in the Far
East aiding in the struggle to save Southeast Asia. On
29 July she was screening Forrestal (CVA-59) when fire
broke out on the carrier’s flight deck. After helping to
put out the flames, she escorted the stricken flattop to
Subic Bay for repairs.
George K. MacKenzie was awarded six battle stars for
Korean service.
George M. Bibb
A former name retained. George Motier Bibb, born
30 October 1776 in Prine Edward County, Va., was a
prominent lawyer and jurist in Kentucky. He served in
the United States Senate from 1811 to 1814 and from
1829 to 1835. He later served as Secretary of the Treas-
ury under President John Tyler from 4 July 1844 until
3 March 1845. He died in Georgetown, D.C., 14 April
1859.
( Swtr : t. 409; 1. 160'; b. 24'; dr. 6'9" ; a. 4 32-pdrs.,
1 4-pdr).
George M. Bibb, a side-wheel steamer, was launched at
Pittsburgh, Pa., 10 April 1845 and ordered to New Or-
leans, La., for duty with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service,
Captain Winslow Foster, USRCS, in command. She
operated out of New Orleans until 18 May 1846 when
she sailed with 10 other cutters for duty in the Gulf of
Mexico during the Mexican War. Ordered to cooperate
with the Navy and Army, during the next several months
she supported the blockade ; scouted coastal waters, car-
ried mail and supplies ; and convoyed and towed ships.
After returning to New Orleans later in the year, she
departed South West Pass, La., for Boston 31 May 1847.
She arrived 11 July and was transferred to the U.S. Coast
Survey.
George M. Campbell
George Marvin Campbell, born 7 January 1907 in
Madras, Oreg., enlisted in the Navy 27 June 1928. In 1942
he underwent flight training and was appointed Lieu-
tenant (j.g.) 2 April 1942. Campbell joined Torpedo
Squadron 8 on board famous carrier Hornet just in time
to take part in the historic Battle of Midway. With his
squadron Campbell took off 4 June to intercept the
Japanese fleet, and without fighter cover attacked the
enemy dispositions against murderous opposition. Know-
ing full well that they had insufficient fuel to return to
the carrier, the torpedo planes pressed the attack gal-
lantly until all were shot down. Lt. (j.g.) Campbell was
presumed dead 5 June 1942 and was awarded the Navy
Cross for his heroic actions.
George M. Campbell (DE-773) a Cannon-class destroyer
escort, was building at Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa,
Fla., but was cancelled 11 September 1944. The un-
finished ship was later accepted 25 October 1944 and
placed in service for towing. She was taken to Charles-
ton Navy Yard and used for spare parts.
George Mangham
A former name retained.
(Sch : t. 274; 1. 110' ; b. 28' ; dph. 10' ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1 13''
mor., 2 32-pdrs.)
George Mangham was a wooden schooner built in 1854 ;
purchased by the Navy at Philadelphia 21 September 1861 ;
and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 11 Jan-
uary 1862, Acting Master John Collins, Jr., in command.
George Mangham departed Chester Pa., 13 January for
duty with Coindr. D. D. Porter’s Mortar Flotilla, a part
of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Sailing via
Hampton Roads, Va., she arrived Key West, Fla., 13 Feb-
ruary. From there she sailed 6 March with Porter’s ships
to the mouth of the Mississippi to prepare for the im-
portant assault on Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which
guarded the approaches to New Orleans. George Man-
gham and the other mortar boats crossed the bar into
the Mississippi 18 March. After Farragut’s meticulous
preparations had been completed, the Mortar Flotilla,
including George Mangham, began the bombardment of
Fort Jackson 18 April and sustained the fierce cannonade
for 5 days. George Mangham was with the second divi-
sion, anchored on the east bank of the river. As the
swift current slackened 24 April, Farragut’s fleet steamed
boldly through the gap in the obstructions and past the
forts through a hail of shell, engaging and capturing a
large Confederate flotilla.
The mortar schooners shelled the forts at rapid fire to
support the movement, and George Mangham received a
shot through her hull in the engagement. Flag Officer
Farragut, having passed the major Confederate defenses
on the river below New Orleans, captured that city 25
April, opening the way for Union naval forces to sweep up
the Mississippi. George Mangham and the rest of the
mortar ships remained below the battered forts, which
surrendered 28 April.
78
George Mangham, however, departed for Florida 27
April and spent the next month cruising the Pensacola
area. Comdr. Porter again assembled his fleet at Pensa-
cola and sailed 3 June to support the Union movement up
the Mississippi ; arriving off Vicksburg 20 June, she as-
sisted in the passage of the batteries there. Supported
strongly by the mortar bombardment, Farragut steamed
past the formidable Confederate works 28 June to join
with Commodore Davis further up the river. Subse-
quently, George Mangham returned downriver, engaging
Confederate artillery on the riverbank from time to time.
After passing Grand Gulf, Miss., she arrived Baton Rouge,
La. 12 July. From there she proceeded to Hampton
Roads, Va., where she moored 30 July.
Remaining at Hampton Roads until 29 August, George
Mangham first proceeded to Baltimore, then served as a
guard ship on the Potomac River at Piney Point, Md.
The schooner was assigned to the Potomac Flotilla 22
December; and until 10 July 1863, she suppressed block-
age runners, capturing four prizes in the lower Potomac.
She was then taken to the Washington Navy Yard and
fitted out for cruising in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Authorities in Washington were greatly concerned about
the attacks of Confederate raiders, and George Mangham
was chosen to protect American merchantmen and fishing
craft. Leaving Washington 5 August, she cruised off the
Magdalen Islands and Prince Edward Island ; without
detecting any Confederate ships, she departed George-
town, Prince Edward Island, 5 November for New York
Navy Yard.
After repairs at New York, George Mangham sailed 9
December to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squad-
dron for blockading duty off Murrell’s Inlet, S.C. While
engaged in this work, on 7 January 1864 she moved close
to shore and destroyed Dare, a beached blockade runner
driven ashore by larger Union ships. She then steamed
to Charleston 21 March and continued the vital work of
blockading the South Carolina coast in the vicinity of
Cape Romain, St. Helena Sound, and Bull’s Bay during
the remainder of the year.
Returning to Port Royal, S.C., 5 January 1865, George
Mangham was reassigned temporarily to Key West in
March. Subsequently, she returned to the New York
Navy Yard 9 August; decommissioned 9 September; and
was sold at public auction to D. T. Trundy 27 September.
George P. Squires
A former name retained.
( S P-303 : t. 218; 1. 142'6" ; b. 22'; dr. 12'; s. 10 k; cpl.
27 ; a. none)
George P. Squares, a fishing steamer, was built by
Henry Brusster, Baltimore, Md., in 1900 ; purchased by
the Navy from her owner, Bellows & Squires, Inc., Ocran,
Va., 12 May 1917 ; taken over at Norfolk 21 May 1917 ;
and commissioned the same day, Ens. James B. McKenny,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, George P. Squires
served as a harbor patrol boat in Norfolk. In addition
she swept for mines in the defensive sea area of Chesa-
peake Bay and patrolled the Virginia coast off Cape
Henry. She decommissioned at Norfolk 27 July 1918 and
was sold to James Dietrich of New York City 23 October.
George P. Upshur
(Sch.)
George P. Upshur was a wooden schooner purchased at
Baltimore 13 August 1861 for service in the “Stone Fleet”
and was sunk to obstruct an inlet at Ocracoke, N.C.
George W. Cable, see Hecuba (AKS-12)
George W . Codrington, see Mankato ( YN-A0)
George JU. Goethals
An Army name retained. George W. Goethals, see Gen-
eral G. TV. Goethals.
( T-AP-182 : dp. 10,418; 1. 489'; b. 69'6'' ; dr. 27'4'' ; s.
16.5 k. ; trp. 1,976 ; a. none ; T. C3-IN P & C)
George W. Goethals (T-AP-182) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract 7 January 1941 by Ingall
Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss. ; launched as
Pascagoula 23 January 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Hermes
F. Cautier ; delivered to the Army 18 September 1942 ;
and renamed George TV. Goethals.
During World War II George TV. Goethals operated as
an Army transport out of New York, Boston, and Gulf
Coast ports to ports in North Africa, France, and the
United Kingdom. After the war, she continued trans-
atlantic runs carrying military dependents between the
United States and Europe.
Acquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, the transport was
assigned to MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, George
TV. Goethals continued trooplift and passenger voyages
out of New York. During the Korean conflict she helped
to maintain American military strength in Europe and
the Middle East. Transporting troops and military cargo,
she steamed to England, Germany, North Africa, Italy,
Greece, and Turkey during European and Mediterranean
deployments. In addition, she rotated troops to American
bases in the Caribbean. In 1953, for example, she com-
pleted 12 round-trip voyages out of New York to Cuba,
Puerto Rico, and the Canal Zone.
Between 1955 and 1959 George TV. Goethals continued
a busy, far-ranging deployment schedule. During this
period she deployed 18 times to ports in Western Europe
and three times to the Mediterranean, and she completed
30 round trips to the Caribbean. Placed in a ready re-
serve status from 15 December 1958 to 21 February 1959,
she made a run to Bremerhaven and back during Febru-
ary and March. In the next 6 months, she deployed to
the Caribbean seven times. After returning to New
York 29 September 1959, she was inactivated. Trans-
ferred to the Maritime Administration 20 November 1960,
she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet. At pres-
ent she is berthed in the Hudson River at Jones Point,
N.Y.
George W. Ingram
George Washington Ingram, born in Rockport, Ga., 22
February 1918, enlisted in the Navy as Apprentice Seaman
at Birmingham, Ala., 18 March 1941. Assigned to the
Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Va., he transferred to
Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., 30 May and was
advanced to Seaman Second Class 18 July. He was as-
signed to duty with Patrol Wing 2 on 26 September and
was stationed at the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay,
Oahu, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 De-
cember. The main center for land-based patrol bombers,
Kaneohe Bay was hit hard by several waves of enemy
planes which bombed and strafed planes, hangers, and
men. As the first attacked occurred. Seaman Second Class
Ingram was among the first to rush to action. In utter
disregard of personal danger, he fought to repel the enemy
and died during the attack. He was commended by
Admiral Nimitz. Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, for his
heroism in the defense of Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station.
( DE-62 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 12'7" ; s. 23.5 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.li.), 2 dct. ; cl. Buckley )
George Washington Ingram (DE-62) was laid down 6
February 1943 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.,
Hingham, Mass. ; launched 8 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
James L. Ingram, mother of Seaman Second Class Ingram ;
and commissioned 11 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Ernest R.
Perry in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, George TV. Ingram de-
parted New York 13 October for convoy escort duty in the
79
Atlantic. Steaming via the West Indies, she escorted a
supply convoy to North Africa, where she arrived Algiers,
Algeria, 7 November. She departed 4 days later as convoy
escort and returned via the West Indies and the Canal
Zone to New York, arriving 4 December. Between 26
December and 12 July 1944, she made five round-trip
transatlantic escort voyages (four from New York and
one from Boston) to Northern Ireland.
After additional escort duty along the eastern seaboard,
she departed Charleston, S.C., 6 November to escort slow-
towing convoy CK— 4 to Plymouth, England. She arrived
5 December, then sailed a week later escorting ships and
landing craft damaged during the Normandy Invasion
back to the United States. On the 20th, ZJ-870 attacked the
slow-moving convoy northeast of the Azores, sinking
LST-359 and damaging Fogg (DE-57) ; but prompt action
by the escorts drove off the U-boat, preventing further
damage. George W. Ingram reached New York 12
January 1945.
After escorting a captured Italian submarine from
Portsmouth, N.H., to New London, Conn., George W.
Ingram was redesignated APD^3 on 23 February. During
the next few months she underwent conversion to a high-
speed transport at Tompkinsville, N.Y. Shortly after
Y-E Day, she departed New York and sailed via the
Panama Canal and San Diego to Pearl Harbor, where she
arrived 20 June for training with underwater demolition
teams.
With UDT-26 embarked, she departed Pearl Harbor 24
August and sailed via Eniwetok and Okinawa to Jinsen,
Korea, where on 8 September she supported the initial
landings of American occupation troops in Korea. She
steamed to Taka Bar, China, 26 September; and from 29
September to 1 October UDT-26 surveyed and sounded
the approaches of the Peking River in preparation for
landings by the III Marine Amphibious Corps. She sup-
ported additional landings by American troops at Chefoo
and Tsingtao, China, before departing Tsingtao 17 Oc-
tober. She steamed via Okinawa, Eniwetok, and Pearl
Harbor to the West Coast, arriving San Diego 11 Novem-
ber. Remaining at San Diego, George W. Ingram decom-
missioned 15 January 1947 and entered the Pacific Re-
serve Fleet at Bremerton, Wash. George W. Ingram was
struck from the Navy list 1 January 1967.
George W. Rodgers
George Washington Rodgers, born 20 October 1822 in
Brooklyn, N.Y., was commissioned Midshipman 14 October
1839. Prior to the Civil War, he served in various ships
in foreign squadrons and was Commandant of Midshipmen
at Annapolis in 1861. Promoted to Commander 16 July
1862, he took command of Catskill, a single-turreted moni-
tor, 24 February 1863 and joined the South Atlantic Block-
ading Squadron off the South Carolina coast. With Rear
Admiral J. A. Dahlgren embarked, Catskill led a furious
naval bombardment 10 July against Confederate defenses
on Morris Island, Charleston harbor. During the attack,
withering Confederate fire hit Catskill more than 60 times,
piercing the deck in several places. Despite her “severe”
damage, Rodgers renewed the attack the following day to
“prevent reinforcements and ammunition” from reaching
Fort Wagner. Appointed Fleet Captain 20 July, Rodgers
resumed command of Catskill 17 August as Union forces
continued the attack against Fort Wagner. Early in the
bombardment, a Confederate shot struck the top of
Catskill' s pilot house, bursting the plates and killing Cap-
tain Rodgers instantly. The only officer during the Civil
War to lose his life in a monitor as a result of enemy
gunfire, “he fell.” wrote Admiral Dahlgren, “as a brave
man, at his post in battle, and for the flag to which he had
devoted his whole life.”
( Sch : t. 87 ; 1. 76' ; b. 22' ; dph. 6' ; a. 2 20-pdr. D.r. )
George IF. Rodgers, originally blockade runner Shark,
was captured by the screw steamer South Carolina off
Galveston, Tex., 4 July 1861 and sent to the East Coast.
Arriving New York 24 August, she was sold to a private
purchaser 5 November. Later chartered by the Navy
under a civilian master, Shark served during 1862 and
1863 as a dispatch ship with the South Atlantic Blockading
Squadron until taken over by the Navy off Charleston
5 September 1863 by order of Admiral Dahlgren. Although
Shark was purchased to be sunken obstruction at Charles-
ton, she was retained. Renamed George W. Rodgers, she
sailed to Port Royal, S.C., for arming and repairs, and
commissioned there 17 January 1865, Acting Master
Loring G. Emerson in command.
During the remainder of the war, George W. Rodgers
served as a picket boat along the coast of Georgia in
Wassaw and Ossabaw Sounds and on the Vernon and
Great Ogeechee Rivers. Occasionally used for special dis-
patch service, between February and May she joined Coast
Survey steamer Bibb on an important coastal survey in
the sounds and rivers of the Georgia coast. She resumed
picket duty 2 May and operated along the Georgia and
Florida coasts until departing Ossabaw Sound for Boston
25 July. She arrived Boston Navy Yard 7 August; de-
commissioned 16 August ; and was sold to C. H. Miller by
public auction 8 September.
George Washington
George Washington was born 22 February 1732 in West-
moreland County, Va. He was commissioned in the Vir-
ginia Militia in 1753, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
the next year, and fought brilliantly in the French and
Indian War. Entering the Virginia House of Burgesses
in 1759, Washington was an early advocate of independ-
ence. In 1775 he was appointed Commander in Chief of
the Continental Army, and demonstrated a profound ap-
preciation of sea power as well as great military genius.
After years of hardship and arduous struggle, he finally
won a decisive victory at Yorkitown. In directing Allied
movements during this campaign, one of the great strategic
operations of our history, Washington brilliantly employed
the French Navy to cut off Lord Cornwallis from help by
sea. He had sought a decisive combined operation like
this for years, for he wrote “In any operations, and under
all circumstances a decisive Naval superiority is to be
considered as a fundamental principle and the focus upon
which every hope of success must ultimately depend.”
The Treaty of Paris recognized American independence
20 January 1783. After attending the Annapolis Conven-
tion of 1786 and presiding over the Continental Convention
of 1787, Washington was unanimously elected first Presi-
dent under the new Constitution and inaugurated 30 April
1789. His two terms in office laid the foundations for
strong government under the Constitution. Returning to
his home at Mount Vernon in 1797, Washington was re-
called briefly to command the American army when war
with France threatened in 1798. He died at Mount Vernon
14 December 1799.
I
(Sip: t. 624; 1. 108'; b. 32'6'' ; dph. 14'; cpl. 220; a. 24
9-pdrs. ; 8 6-pdrs.)
The first George Washington was built as a merchant
vessel at Providence, R.I., in 1793 ; purchased by the Con-
gress at Providence 12 October 1798 from John Brown
and John Francis for use in the developing undeclared
war with France ; and converted to a warship under the
supervision of Captain Silas Talbot, Captain Patrick
Fletcher in command.
George Washington proceeded in early December to
Dominica, West Indies, to join Commodore Barry’s squad-
on for the protection of American commercial interests in
the area. She rendezvoused with Barry in United States
at sea 29 December and arrived Dominica next day. For
the next months she convoyed American ships in the West
Indies, sailing from St. Christopher’s Island to Tobago.
During this time, in company with revenue cutter Pick-
80
President Wilson — homeward bound in USS George Washington — giving his Fourth of July Address in 1919
ering, she recaptured two American ships from the French
— brig Fair American 29 April 1799, and schooner Francis
1 May 1799.
The ship departed the Caribbean in mid-1799, arriving
Newport, R.I., 12 June 1799, and after a short stay sailed
again 2 July. On this cruise she searched the coast for
French privateers as far south as Charleston, and then
took station off Santo Domingo protecting American com-
merce. George Washington returned to the United States
in October 1799 for extensive repairs.
George Washington was taken to Philadelphia in April
1800 and there prepared for sea under the command of
Captain William Bainbridge. Lacking a strong Navy,
the United States accepted the questionable alternative
of trying to protect its commerce from the Barbary pirates
with tribute. Bainbridge sailed with a load of stores and
timber for the Dey of Algiers 8 August. George Wash-
ington arrived safely in September, the first American
warship to enter the Mediterranean. Unhappily, Bain-
bridge had to accede to threats and carry the Dey’s pres-
ents to the Sultan at Constantinople. He protested vig-
orously ; but, in the face of concentrated guns ashore and
the threat of retaliation on American shipping he departed
20 October. George Washington returned to Algiers 21
January 1801, and after a visit to Alicant, France, arrived
back in the United States 19 April 1801.
The ship underwent repairs and was again fitted to car-
ry stores and timber to Algiers. Manned with only a
partial crew, she sailed 20 July 1801 and arrived Algiers
via Malaga, Spain, 5 October 1801. After calling at Ital-
ian and French ports she returned to Philadelphia about
15 April 1802. George Washington was sold in May 1802
by the Philadelphia Navy Agent, George Harrison.
II
(AP: dp. 33,000; 1. 722' 5" ; b. 78'; dr. 36'; s. 19 k. ; cpl.
749; a. 4 5")
The second George Washington was built as German
passenger liner George Washington by the Vulcan Works,
Stettin, Germany ; and launched 10 November 1908. She
was operated by the North Germany Lloyd Line until
World War I when she sought refuge in New York, a
neutral port in 1914. With the American entry into the
war in 1917, George Washington was taken over 6 April
and towed to the New York Navy Yard for conversion into
a transport. She commissioned 6 September 1917, Cap-
tain Edwin T. Pollock in command.
George Washington sailed with her first load of troops
4 December 1917 and during the next 2 years made 18
round trip voyages in support of the A.E.F. During this
period she also made several special voyages. President
Wilson and the American representatives to the Paris
Peace Conference sailed for Europe in George Washington
4 December 1918. On this crossing she was protected by
81
X.
USS George Washington, bearing President Wilson, entersi New York Harbor 8 July 1919.
sioned Catlin (AP-19) 13 March 1941 in honor of Briga-
dier General Albertus W. Catlin, USMC. It was found,
however, that the coal-burning engines did not give the
required speed for protection against submarines, and she
decommissioned 26 September 1941. Because of their
great need for ships in 1941, Great Britain took the ship
over under lend lease 29 September 1941 as George Wash-
ington, but they too found after one voyage to Newfound-
land that her engines rendered her unfit for combat service
and returned her to the WSA 17 April 1942.
The ship was next operated under General Agency
Agreement by the Waterman Steamship Co., Mobile, Ala.,
and made a voyage to Panama. After her return 5 Sep-
tember 1942 the WSA assigned George Washington to be
converted to an oil-burner at Todd Shipbuilding’s Brook-
lyn Yard. When she emerged 17 April 1943, the transport
was chartered by the Army and made a voyage to Casa-
blanca and back to New York with troops April to May
1943. In July she sailed from New York to the Panama
Canal, thence to Los Angeles and Brisbane, Australia.
Returning to Los Angeles, she sailed again in September to
Bombay, India, Capetown, and arrived at New York to
complete her round-the-world voyage in December 1943.
In January 1944 George Washington began regular service
to the United Kingdom and the Mediterranean, again
carrying troops in support of the decisive Allied onslaught
on Europe from the sea. She made frequent stops at Le
Havre, Southampton, and Liverpool.
George Washington was taken out of service and re-
turned to the Maritime Commission 21 April 1947. She
Pennsylvania, and was escorted into Brest, France, 13
December by nine battleships and several divisions of
destroyers in an impressive demonstration of American
naval strength. George Washington also carried Assistant
Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt and the Chinese
and Mexican peace commissions to France in January
1919 and on 24 February returned President Wilson to
the United States. The President again embarked on
board George Washington in March 1919 ; arriving France
13 March, and returned at the conclusion of the historic
conference 8 July 1919.
During the fall of 1919, George Washington carried
another group of distinguished passengers — the King and
Queen of Belgium and their party. Arriving New York
2 October, the royal couple paid a visit before returning to
Brest 12 November. Subsequently, the ship decommis-
sioned 28 November 1919 after having transported some
48,000 passengers to Europe and 34,000 back to tbe United
States. George Washington was turned over to USSB 28
January 1920 and in 1921 was used to transport 250 mem-
bers of the American Legion to France as guests of the
French Government. The vessel was then reconditioned
by USSB for transatlantic service, and chartered by the
U.S. Mail Steamship Company, for whom she made one
voyage to Europe in March 1921. The company was taken
over by the Government August 1921 and its name changed
to the United States Lines. George Washington served the
Line on the transatlantic route until 1931 when she was
laid up in the Patuxent River, Md.
George Washington was reacquired for Navy use from
the Maritime Commission 28 January 1941 and comrnis-
82
remained tied to a pier at Baltimore, Md., until a fire
damaged her 16 January 1951 and she was subsequently
sold for scrap to Boston Metals Corp. 13 February 1951.
Ill
(SSB(N)-598: dp. 5600; 1. 382'; b. 33'; dr. 29'; s. over
20 k. ; cpl. 120 a. 16 Pol. mis. ; cl. George Washington)
George Washington (SSB(N)-598) was originally
Scorpion (SS(N)-589). She was lengthened by the inser-
tion of a 130-foot missile section. Renamed George Wash-
ington, she was launched 9 June 1959 by the Electric Boat
Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Robert B. Anderson, and commissioned 30
December 1959, Cdr. James B. Osborn (blue crew) and
Cdr. John L. From, Jr. (gold crew) in command.
The first of a new class, George Washington sailed from
Groton 28 June 1960 for Cape Canaveral, Fla., where she
loaded two solid jjropellant Polaris missiles. Standing
out into the Atlantic Missile Test Range with Rear Ad-
miral W. F. Raborn, head of the phenomenal Polaris Sub-
marine development program on board as an observer, the
nuclear submarine made history 20 July 1960 when she
successfully launched the first Polaris missile from a sub-
merged submarine — the free world everywhere had gained
a weapon of utmost importance to the protection of
civilization. At 1239 George Washington’s commanding
officer sent President Eisenhower the historic message :
“Polaris — from out of the deep to target. Perfect.”
Less than 2 hours later another missile from the sub-
merged submarine homed in on the impact area 1,100 miles
down range. A new and mighty weapon had been added
to the vast power of the sea.
George Washington returned to Cape Canaveral to em-
bark her gold crew, and 30 July 1960 duplicated her earlier
successes by launching two more missiles while sub-
merged. Shakedown for the gold crew ended at Groton
30 August and the submarine got underway from that port
28 October for Charleston, S.C., to load her full comple-
ment of 16 Polaris missiles. There she was awarded the
Navy Unit Commendation, after which her blue crew took
over ; and George Washington embarked on her first
patrol.
The submarine completed her first patrol after 66 days
of submerged running 21 January 1961 and put in at New
London, Conn. The gold crew took over ; and she de-
parted on her next patrol 14 February. After the patrol
George Washington entered Holy Loch Scotland, 25 April
1961. Through 1964 she continued to conduct classified
deterrent patrols from that port, alternating her two
crews. An incredible four years after her initial depar-
ture from Groton she put in to refuel, having cruised
some 100,000 miles guarding the seas for America. Her
powerful missiles are recognized everywhere as an im-
portant factor in the maintenance of peace and freedom
throughout the world.
After overhaul and refueling at the Electric Boat Co. in
Groton, George Washington resumed her patrols and once
USS George Washington (SSB(N)-598), the world’s first fleet ballistic missile submarine, was operational two years
ahead of schedule.
83
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84
George Washington Carver
again was on the line in her role as a deterrent to war
in European waters. She ended her 16th patrol at Holy
Loch, Scotland, in August 1966 and departed on her 17th
patrol late in September, continuing her proud record of
service in the interest of peace and freedom.
George Washington Carver was born in 1864 on a plan-
tation near Diamond, Mo. His parents were Negro slaves
owned by Moses Carver. When he was only a few months
Marion Anderson christening, USS George Washington Carver (SSB(N)-656) on 14 August 1965
85
USS George Washington Carver — down the ways
old, he and his mother were stolen by raiders and taken
to Arkansas. After the end of the Civil War, he was
recovered by his owner with whose family he remained
until he set out to make his own way in the world at about
the age of 9.
Overcoming prejudice and poverty, he eagerly seized
every opportunity to acquire an education. He studied
agricultural science at Iowa State College, graduating
in 1894 and receiving a Master of Science degree 2 years
later. After serving briefly on the faculty there, he joined
Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial
Institute, where he headed the Agricultural Department.
In the ensuing years, his achievements in the fields
of soil conservation, crop diversification, and utilization
of southern plants and crops won him worldwide acclaim.
He is remembered for the ingenuity which enabled him
to discover some 300 new and useful products from the
peanut, over 100 from the sweet potato, and about 60
from the pecan. He also found new uses from cotton,
cowpeas and wild plums. He selflessly refused offers of
fortunes for the commercial exploitation of his dis-
coveries, choosing rather to give them freely to mankind.
An indefatigable researcher and inventor, George
Washington Carver died in Tuskegee, Ala., 5 January
1943.
( SSB (N)-656 : dp. 7,250; 1. 425; b. 33'; dr. 33'; s. over
20 k. ; cpl. 100 ; a. 16 A-3 Pol. mis., 4 21" tt. ; cl. Benja-
min Franklin )
George Washington Carver (SSB(N)-656) was laid
down by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 24
August 1964 ; launched 14 August 1965 ; sponsored by Miss
86
Marian Anderson; and commissioned 15 June 1966, Cap-
tain R. D. Dona van (blue crew) and Lt. Comdr. Carl J.
Lidel (gold crew) in command.
Following shakedown, George Washington Carver pre-
pared for her role as one of the Navy’s nuclear-powered
Polaris submarines silently and invisibly roving the seas
as a mighty deterrent against aggression, preserving peace
and protecting freedom. Her first patrol began 12 Decem-
ber 1966.
George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis, born in 1781 at Mount
Airy, Md., was the son of John P. Custis, George Washing-
ton’s stepson, and the father-in-law of General Robert
E. Lee. Custis won fame as a writer and producer of
plays. His best known work was Pocahontas, or the Set-
tlers of Virginia. He died at Arlington in 1857.
(Bar : 1. 120 (net) : b. 14'6" ; dph. 5'6")
George Washington Parke Custis, a coal barge built
in the mid-1850’s, was purchased by the Navy in August
1861 ; fitted out with a gas-generating apparatus developed
by Thaddeus Lowe; and modified by John A. Dahlgren at
the Washington Navy Yard for her service as a balloon
boat.
Early in the morning of 10 November 1861, steamer
Coeur de Lion towed George Washington Parke Custis
out of the Navy Yard and down the Potomac. The next
day Lowe, accompanied by General Daniel E. Sickles and
others, ascended in his trial balloon from the barge off
Mattawomen Creek to observe Confederate forces on the
Virginia shore some 3 miles away.
On the 12th Lowe reported : “We had a fine view of the
enemy camp fires during the evening and saw the rebels
constructing batteries at Freestone Point.” This opera-
tion and John La Mountain’s earlier ascension from
Fanny began the widespread use of balloons for recon-
naissance work during the Civil War and foreshadowed
the Navy’s future use of the air to extend its effective use
of sea power.
George Whitlock, see YO-57
Georgetown
Communities in 22 States.
(AG-165 : dp. 8,345 (lt.) ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 22'9" ;
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 213; a. none; cl. Oxford; T. Z-EC2-S-C-5)
Georgetown (AG-165), a converted “Liberty -type”
cargo ship, was laid down as Robert W. Hart under
Maritime Commission contract 4 May 1945 by New
England Shipbuilding Corp., South Portland, Maine ;
launched 10 July 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Fred W.
Woolsey ; and delivered under General Agency Agreement
from WSA to Agwilines, New York, N.Y., 2 August 1945.
Robert W. Hart sailed in merchant service until enter-
ing the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, N.C.,
in December 1946. She was chartered by Waterman
Steamship Corp., Mobile, Ala., 31 January 1947 and
operated under bareboat charter until 29 October when
she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James-
town, Va. Acquired by the Navy 10 August 1962, she
was taken to Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va., for conversion to a technical research
ship; renamed Georgetown (AG-165) 6 March 1963; and
commissioned at Norfolk 9 November 1963, Comdr. W. A.
Gleason in command.
Equipped with the latest communications and electro-
magnetic research installations, Georgetown sailed for
shakedown at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 2 January 1964.
She was reclassified AGTR-2 on 1 April 1964 and began
her operational service 13 April. Assigned to Service
Squadron 8, she operated in the Caribbean until June,
then departed Norfolk 30 June on a 4-month deployment
along the eastern coast of South America. After par-
ticipating in electronic research programs, she returned
to Norfolk 26 October.
Departing Norfolk 5 January 1965, Georgetown steamed
via the Panama Canal to the Southeast Pacific for re-
search operations off the coast of Chile. Before return-
ing to Norfolk 14 May, she also operated in the Caribbean.
Between 20 July and 13 October she again operated off
the eastern coast of South America ; and, after returning
to Norfolk, she received new electronics equipment, in-
cluding a Communications Moon Relay System. She
departed Norfolk 14 December and resumed important
research and test equipment operations in the Caribbean
and equatorial Pacific. The year 1966 was a busy one
for Georgetown. Besides an outstanding performance
gathering valuable information about the ocean, she made
two rescues at sea, transited the Panama Canal four times,
passed through the eye of a hurricane, and won the
Battle Efficiency “E.”
At present Georgetown continues a long-standing Navy
tradition of maintaining the highest standards in scienti-
fic research requirements.
Georgetown, see Linnet (IX-166)
Georgia
One of the 13 original colonies.
( BB-15 : dp. 14,948 (n.) ; 1. 441' 3" ; b. 76' 3” ; s. 19 k. ;
cpl. 812; a. 4 12", 8 8", 12 6")
Georgia was launched by the Bath Iron Works of Bath,
Maine, 11 October 1904, sponsored by Miss Stella Tate,
and commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 24 September
1906, Captain R. G. Davenport in command.
After Georgia was fitted out and completed a short
shakedown cruise, she joined the Atlantic Fleet as flag-
ship of Division 2, Squadron 1. Georgia departed Hamp-
ton Roads 26 March 1907 for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
where she participated in gunnery practice with the fleet.
After returning briefly to Boston Navy Yard for repairs,
Georgia joined with other ships of the Atlantic Meet in
ceremonies opening the Jamestown Exposition. Presi-
dent Roosevelt and dignitaries present reviewed the fleet
10 June 1907, and 11 June was proclaimed “Georgia Day”
at the exposition in special ceremonies aboard Georgia.
Georgia next sailed with the fleet for target practice in
Cape Cod Bay, arriving 15 June. During these drills
15 July, a powder charge ignited prematurely in her aft
8" turret, killing 10 officers and men and injuring 11.
Condolences for the loss from this tragic accident were
received from all over the world.
The powerful battleship then participated in the ter-
centennary of the landing of the first English Colonists
16 to 21 August 1907, after which she rejoined the fleet
for battle maneuvers before mooring at League Island,
N.Y., 24 September, for overhaul.
Arriving in Hampton Roads 7 December 1907, Georgia
gathered with 15 other battleships, a torpedo boat squad-
ron, and transports for the great naval review preceding
the cruise of the Atlantic Meet to the West Coast. On
16 December President Roosevelt reviewed the assembled
“Great White Fleet” and sent it on the first leg of an
around-the-world voyage of training, and building of
American prestige and good will. Visiting many South
American countries on their highly successful cruise, the
fleet met with ships of the Pacific Fleet in another review
in San Francisco Bay for the Secretary of the Navy
8 May 1908. Then Georgia, in company with other battle-
ships and supply vessels, departed San Francisco 7 July
1908 for the second leg of the cruise, showing the flag and
bringing the message of American sea power to many
parts of the world, including the Philippine Islands,
Australia, Japan, and Mediterranean ports. The fleet
returned to Hampton Roads 22 February 1909.
Georgia continued to serve with the Atlantic Fleet in
exercises and battle maneuvers, with periods of overhaul
interspersed, until 2 November 1910 when President Taft
reviewed the fleet prior to its departure for France. In
256-125 0-68-8
87
USS George Washington Parke Custis, a Civil War balloon boat
88
an elaborate battle and scouting problem, Georgia and
the other battleships continued their training, visiting
Weymouth, England, and returning to Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, 13 March 1911.
From 1911 to 1913, Georgia continued to train and serve
as a ceremonial ship, and 5 June 1913 participated in a
2-month practice cruise for Naval Academy Midshipmen.
After a long overhaul period in Boston Navy Yard,
Georgia arrived off the coast of Mexico 14 January 1914
with other fleet units to protect American interests in
the troubled Vera Cruz Tampico area. The busy battle-
ship returned briefly to Norfolk, Va., in March, but was
soon back cruising Mexican waters, and from August to
October 1914 cruised off Haiti for the protection of Ameri-
can civilians in that country.
After another period of overhaul, Georgia joined the
fleet off Cuba 25 February 1915 for winter maneuvers,
and spent the rest of the year in training and ceremonial
duties with the Atlantic Fleet Battleship Force. She
arrived at Boston Navy Yard for overhaul 20 December
1915 and decommissioned 27 January 1916.
Assigned as a receiving ship at Boston, Georgia was
called to duty at the outbreak of World War I, and com-
missioned again 6 April 1917. For the next 18 months,
she operated with the 3d Division, Battleship Force, in
fleet tactical exercises and merchant crew gunnery train-
ing, based in the York River, Va. She joined with Cruiser
Force Atlantic briefly in September 1918 to escort con-
voys to meet their eastern escorts, and beginning 10
December 1918 was fitted out as a transport and attached
to the Cruiser and Transport Force for the purpose of
returning troops of the A.E.F. to the United States.
Georgia made five voyages to France from December
1918 to June 1919 and brought home nearly 6,000 soldiers.
Georgia was next transferred to the Pacific Fleet as
flagship of Division 2, Squadron 1. She left Boston for
San Diego, via the Panama Canal, 16 July 1919, and
after participating in ceremonial operations for 2 months,
entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard for repairs 20 Sep-
tember 1919. Here Georgia stayed until decommissioning
15 July 1920. She was eventually sold for scrap 1 No-
vember 1923 in accordance with the Washington Treaty
for the limitation of naval armaments, and her name was
struck from the Navy List 10 November 1923.
Georgia Packet
(Sch)
Georgia Packet, a small schooner, was used by the
Marine Committee of the Continental Congress during
the Revolutionary War to carry messages and cargo be-
tween Philadelphia and the State of Georgia. Records
indicate that she was fitted out and ready for sea at
Philadelphia in November 1776, and was sent under Lt.
Isaac Buck to Savannah, Ga., where she delivered mes-
sages and supplies to Continental Agent .John Wereat.
Georgia Packet returned to Philadelphia 6 January 1777.
and by 19 February had loaded another cargo to be taken
to Georgia. She was also instructed by the Marine Com-
mittee to take prizes, but so far as is known made no
captures.
USS Georgia (BB-15) — Admiral Husband E. Kimmel served in her 1907 to 1908.
89
Georgiana
A British name retained.
(Ship : t. 280; cpl. 42 ; a. 16 guns)
The British whaler Georgiana was captured off the
Galapagos Islands 29 April 1813 by boats from frigate
Essex, flagship of Captain David Porter. One of three
prizes taken that day during Porter’s campaign to destroy
British whaling ships found in the equatorial Pacific, she
was thought a fast sailer and apparently well-calculated
for a cruiser. She had been built for service of the English
East India Company. Referred to by Captain Porter as a
“letter of marque ship, armed with 6 18q>drs., 4 swivels,
and 6 long blunderbusses,” she was fitted as a cruiser and
commissioned 8 May 1813, Lt. John Downes in command.
Departing 12 May, Georgiana cruised off the Galapagos
in search of British whaling ships. While sailing near
James’ Island 28 May, she met Catherine and Rose and
captured them with no resistance. She then chased a
third whaler Hector and engaged in a brief, but sharp,
combat which brought down the whaler’s main-topmast
and most of her standing and running rigging. After
capturing Hector, Georgiana placed the whaling crews in
Rose and ordered them under parole to St. Helena in the
south Atlantic. Escorting her other two prizes, she re-
joined Essex at Tumbez, Peru, 24 June.
Georgiana departed Tumbez 30 June and sailed for the
Galapagos with Essex and her prizes. On 13 July she
aided Greenwich during a spirited encounter with Scringa-
patam, a 357-ton whaler-cruiser. One of three whalers
taken that day, Seringapatam was fitted out to replace
Georgiana. Despite her valuable captures, Georgiana had
proved to be a dull sailer. She was loaded with a full
cargo of sperm oil ; and, manned by a prize crew under
Et. James Wilson, she departed the Galapagos for the
United States 25 July. While sailing off the East Coast
early in 1814, she was recaptured by the British frigate
Barrosa.
Georgiana III
A former name retained.
( SP-83 : t. 82 ; 1. 95' ; b. 15' ; dr. 6' ; s. 15 k. ; cpl. 18 ; a.
2 3-pdrs., 1 .30 cal. mg.)
Georgiana III, an iron-hulled yacht, was built in 1916
by Harlan & Hollingsworth Corp., Wilmington, Del. ; ac-
quired by the Navy 3 May 1917 from her owner, Edward
T. Stotesbury, Philadelphia : taken over 11 May 1917 ; and
commissioned at Philadelphia the same day, Lt. J. H. R.
Cromwell, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Georgiana III
steamed to Wilmington 26 May for conversion to a section
patrol boat by Harlan & Hollingsworth. On 25 July she
reported for harbor entrance patrol duty at Cape May,
N.J. ; and during World War I she patrolled the entrance
to Delaware Bay, cruising between Cold Spring Harbor,
N.J., and Lewes, Del. Fitted with underwater listening
gear in July 1918, she also escorted ships through the
Defensive Sea Area of Delaware Bay. After the
Armistice, Georgiana III decommissioned at Eissington,
Pa., 30 November and was returned to her owner.
Geraldine
A former name retained.
(SP-1011 : t. 22 ; 1. 67' ; b. 13' : dr. 4' ; s. 11 k. ; cpl. 8 ; a. 1
3-pdr., 1 1-pdr.)
Geraldine, a motor patrol boat, was built as Albion in
1916 by George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, Mass. ; acquired
by the Navy 24 July 1917 from her owner, Frederick S.
Fish, South Bend, Ind. ; taken over at Chicago 8 Septem-
ber 1917 ; and commissioned 13 September 1917, Ens. F. S.
Fish, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 9th Naval District, Geraldine operated
as a section patrol boat out of Great Lakes, 111., and
cruised Lake Michigan until winter 1917 when she was
laid up at Chicago. Returning to Lake Michigan 6 April
1918, Geraldine resumed her patrol and guard duties, and
served as a dispatch boat in the Sault St. Marie area from
12 May to 19 August. After the Armistice, her name was
struck from the Navy List 17 December; and she was
returned to her owner 7 January 1919.
Geranium
Any of numerous plants or flowers of the allied genus
Pelargonium, usually having red, pink, or purple flowers
and leaves with a pungent odor.
( SwTug : t. 223; 1. 128'6'' ; b. 23'3'' ; dph. 8'; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 39 ; a. 1 20-pdr. P.r., 2 12-pdr. r. )
Geranium, formerly John A. Dix, was built at New-
burgh, N.Y., in 1863; purchased by the Navy at New York
City 5 September 1863; and commissioned at New York
Navy Yard 15 October 1863, Acting Ens. G. A. Winsor in
command.
Geranium departed New York 20 October for duty off
Charleston, S.C., with Rear Admiral J. A. Dahlgren’s
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Arriving 4 Novem-
ber, for the next 6 months she operated as a picket boat
and was frequently employed as a dispatch boat and light
transport to such diverse stations as Ossabaw Sound, S.C.,
and St. John’s River, Fla. Occasionally, she transported
Admiral Dahlgren during visits to various ships of his
squadron.
Between 3 and 10 July 1864, Geranium participated in a
diversionary expedition up the Stono and North Edisto
Rivers south of Charleston to divert Confederate atten-
tion from the Charleston blockade and to cut the impor-
tant Charleston and Savannah Railroad. She supported
the movement of troops under General Birney up the
North Edisto River, towing and transporting supplies for
the expedition. On 3 July she contacted and engaged a
strong Confederate battery at the mouth of the Dawhoo
River, a bombardment which Admiral Dahlgren reported
was “done very handsomely.” After completing demon-
stration operations, she supported the withdrawal of
Federal troops from the tidewater islands south of
Charleston.
Continuing her picket, dispatch, and transport duties
from 12 to 17 February 1865, Geranium participated in
joint Army-Navy operations at Bull’s Bay north of
Charleston, and on the 16th and 17th she supported diver-
sionary amphibious landings which hastened the Confed-
erate evacuation of Charleston the following day. Admiral
Dahlgren then ordered her to the mouth of the Santee
River, where she supported naval operations against
Georgetown, S.C., before departing 28 February on a recon-
naissance mission up the Santee. With launches Lilly
and Eva in tow she ascended as far as Black Oak Island
and gained valuable information about the depth and
navigability of the river. As a result of this intelligence,
General Sherman’s troops could be supplied from trans-
ports on the Santee rather than solely by railroad.
Geranium remained along the South Carolina coast until
after the end of the war. Departing Charleston 17 June,
she steamed with Iris and Pawnee (Admiral Dahlgren
embarked) and arrived Washington 21 June. Geranium
decommissioned there 15 July and was sold 18 October to
the Treasury Department for use in the Lighthouse
Service.
Germ
That from which anything springs or starts.
(HwStr : 1. 60'; b. 9'; dr. 2'; s. 9 k.)
Germ, a small experimental steamer, was built pri-
vately at Gosport Navy Yard in 1841, apparently through
the cooperation and assistance of the Navy Department.
Designed to illustrate Lt. William W. Hunter’s idea of
90
propelling a ship by submerged horizontal paddle wheels,
she made a trial trip around Norfolk harbor in March
1841. Locally, it was reported that the efficacy of Hunt-
er’s horizontal wheels was “practically proven.” After
two test voyages to the Dismal Swamp Canal during June,
she steamed to Washington, where she was examined dur-
ing the summer by interested government officials. She
returned to Norfolk, then steamed to Philadelphia, New
York City, and via the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario. In
July 1842 Germ was reported as “running successfully as
a packet” on Albermarle Sound, N.C.
Apparently convinced that Hunter’s idea merited a full-
size trial, the Navy Department detailed Hunter to super-
intend the construction of Union (q.v.). Launched at
Norfolk 12 May 1842, she was propelled by a refined ver-
sion of the two submerged horizontal paddle wheels. Sub-
sequently, the Navy built the steamer Water Witch (q.v.)
and the steam gunboat Alleghany (q.v.) on the same prin-
ciple; but by 1849, the Navy had abandoned Hunter’s
wheels as an inefficient method of ship propulsion.
Germantown
A town in Pennsylvania, now a residential section of
Philadelphia, and the scene of the Revolutionary War
battle 4 October 1777 between General Washington’s troops
and the British under Sir William Howe.
(SlpW; t. 939; 1. 150'00" (bp.) ; b. 36'00" (md.) ; dph.
16'8” ; s. 11 k. ; cpl. 210 ; a. 4 8”, 18 32-pdrs. )
Germantown, a sloop-of-war, was launched at the Phila-
delphia Navy Yard 22 August 1846; sponsored by Miss
Lavinia Fanning Watson ; because of damaging ice, trans-
ferred 18 December to Norfolk Navy Yard for fitting out ;
and commissioned 9 March 1847, Comdr. Franklin
Buchanan in command.
Germantown departed Norfolk 15 March for service
during the Mexican War with Commodore M. C. Perry’s
Home Squadron. Reaching Sacrificios Island 1 April, she
stood off Alvarado the following day when that town sur-
rendered “without firing a gun.” She then sailed with
the squadron to Tuxpan, which Perry described as the
“only fortified place of importance situated on the gulf
coast not in our possession.” With the landing force of
seamen and marines her detachment crossed the bar 18
April and successfully stormed the Mexican fortifications.
As “a point of honor as well as duty,” they reclaimed
guns and ordnance stores, seized by the enemy from the
wrecked brig Truxtun.
After cruising the coast of Lobos Island, Germantown
furnished 130 men to assist in the second expedition
against Tobasco. Between 13 and 16 June the force under
Commodore Perry razed the defenses and occupied the
town. During the next 6 months she cruised the Mexican
coast from Vera Cruz to Tuxpan, blockading Mexican
ports on the Gulf Coast ; and between 9 August and 10
November she served as Commodore Perry’s flagship. Re-
turning to Sacrificios Island 8 January 1848, she took on
board the remains of gallant American dead and departed
for the United States 15 January. Steaming via Havana
Cuba she arrived Norfolk 16 February and decommissioned
for repairs 25 February.
Germantown recommissioned 8 April, Comdr. Charles
Lowndes in command. Departing Norfolk 25 April, she
returned to Vera Cruz 19 May to again serve with Com-
modore Perry’s Home Squadron. While off Laguna de
Terminos 3 June, she received news of the ratification
of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. She returned to
Vera Cruz 9 July; and, after receiving government dis-
patches, she departed Punta de Anton Lizardo 29 August
and sailed to Pensacola, Fla., where she arrived 12 Sep-
tember.
Departing 1 October, Germantown sailed to the West
Indies and arrived on station at St. Thomas, Virgin
Islands, 28 October. She actively cruised off the Virgin
Islands until 30 June 1849 when she sailed for the United
States. After touching at Key West and Norfolk, she
resumed her station off St. Thomas 10 February 1850 and
protected American commerce until again ordered to the
United States 8 August. She reached New York 11 Sep-
tember and decommissioned 21 September.
Recommissioned 23 December, Comdr. J. D. Knight in
command, Germantown was assigned as flagship of Com-
modore E. A. F. Lavallette’s African Squadron 10 Jan-
uary 1851. She departed 12 April ; sailed via the Madeira
Islands to the Cape Verde Islands; and arrived Porto
Praya 14 May to relieve sloop-of-war Plymouth. Operat-
ing out of Porto Praya with sloops Dale and John Adams
and brigs Perry and Porpoise, she spent almost the next 2
years cruising the South Atlantic to St. Helena Island and
along the African coast from Cape Mesurado to Loando,
Portuguese West Africa. During this time the squadron
“rendered aid to our countrymen, gave protection to our
Commerce and security to the emigrants and missionaries
located on the coast, and as far as practicable,” reported
Commodore Lavallette, “checked the slave traders in their
abominable traffic.” On 8 February 1853 she seized the
American schooner Rachel P. Brown and sent the sus-
pected slave ship to Norfolk. Relieved on station by famed
frigate Constitution, she departed Porto Praya 4 March ;
during her homeward voyage, she collected data for
Lt. M. F. Maury’s world-wide wind and current survey.
She reached Boston 30 March and decommissioned 9 April.
Germantown recommissioned 23 November, Comdr. W.
F. Lynch in command, and sailed 3 December for service
in Commodore W. D. Salter’s Brazil Squadron. Arriving
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16 January 1854, she joined
frigate Savannah, brig Bainbrige, and storeship Relief
and cruised the South Atlantic from Bahia, Brazil, to
Buenos Aires, Argentina. During much of 1855 she main-
tained station off Montevideo, Uruguay, where political
disturbances and revolutionary activities threatened the
lives and property of foreign nationals. Comdr. Lynch
sent a Marine detachment ashore 28 August to protect
American interests; during an insurrection 3 months
later a landing party of sailors and marines under Lt. A. S.
Nicholson assisted forces from ships of three other na-
tions in guarding consulates and the customhouse. After
completing duty with the Brazil Squadron, she departed
Bahia 8 January 1857 ; reached Hampton Roads 9 Feb-
ruary ; and decommissioned 3 days later.
Germantown again recommissioned 15 July, Comdr. R.
L. Page in command, for duty in the Far East. Depart-
ing Norfolk 4 August, she sailed via the Cape of Good Hope
to Ceylon, where in 22 December she joined Flag Officer
Josiah Tattnall’s East India Squadron off Point de Gala.
For 2 years she cruised Far Eastern waters and visited
the principal ports of China and Japan, where she found
“uniform friendly reception” as the squadron guarded
American interests in the Orient. Sailing via the Cape of
Good Hope, she returned to Norfolk in April 1860 and
decommissioned the 18th.
Completely equipped for sea and awaiting a crew,
Germantown was scuttled at Gosport Navy Yard 20 April
1861 as Union forces evacuated Norfolk. The Confederates
raised her in June; fitted her out as a floating battery to
serve near Craney Island for the protection of Norfolk ;
then sank her as an obstruction in the Elizabeth River
shortly before evacuating Norfolk 10 May 1862. Raised
by Union forces 22 April 1863, Germantown saw no further
service. Her hulk was sold by auction at Norfolk 8
February 1864.
Geronimo
Geronimo, the great Chief of a Cbiricahua band of
Apache Indians, was born about 1829 in the Territory of
Arizona. A champion of his people and fighter against
restrictions placed upon them, he escaped from custody
time and time again to lead bands of Apaches in retalia-
tory actions until he finally agreed to surrender to Gen-
eral Nelson A. Miles in 1886. Geronimo was later settled
in Alabama with a number of his tribe, finally transfer-
ring to Fort Sill in present Oklahoma. He died in 1909.
91
' I
( YT-119 : dp. 270; 1. 110' 6” ; b. 24' ; dr. 8' 1")
The first Oeronimo (YT-119), a harbor tug, was built
at the Navy Yard, Boston, Mass., and commissioned at
Boston 7 March 1933 as YT-119. She was named
Geronimo and reclassified YTM-119, 15 May 1944. She
served in the 14th Naval District at Pearl Harbor as a
service craft until being placed out of service at Honolulu
30 August 1946. Geronimo was struck from the Navy List
30 December 1946 and was sold by the War Assets Ad-
ministration to John Hanson 13 July 1948.
II
( ATA-207 : dp. 835 ; 1. 143' ; b. 33' 10'' ; dr. 13' 2" ; s. 13 k.,
cpl. 45 ; a. 1 3" )
The second Geronimo (ATA-207) an auxiliary ocean
tug, was built by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works
of Port Arthur, Tex., and originally designated ATR-134-
Launched 4 January 1945 as ATA-207, she commissioned
1 March 1945, Lt. Joseph K. Hawkins in command. Her
name was assigned 16 July 1948.
ATA-207 completed shakedown training off Galveston,
Tex., and then reported to Tampa, Fla., to pick up a
barracks ship to be towed to the Pacific. She transited
the Panama Canal with her tow 15 April, and arrived
Leyte, P.I., via Pearl Harbor, 25 June 1945. She departed
for Guadalcanal 2 July to serve as harbor and rescue tug
at Lunga Point Naval Base. On 21 July she departed
Lunga Point for Leyte with cargo lighters in tow, arriv-
ing just after the surrender of Japan.
After the close of the Pacific war, ATA-207 was active
throughout the islands towing and performing rescue
work. She carried sections of a dock to Eniwetok, Mar-
shall Islands, in October, and served as a general harbor
and towing tug at Noumea, New Caledonia. Later, she
performed as a cargo tug, carrying RAAF equipment to
Brisbane, where she arrived 29 April 1946. ATA-207
then steamed to Pearl Harbor, arriving 13 June to assist
SS John Miller from a reef at the entrance to the harbor.
On her way back to California, the ship discovered dis-
abled US AT Peter M. Anderson and brought her safely
to San Pedro.
ATA-207 soon departed for Charleston, S.C., via the
Panama Canal, and from there moved to her new base,
New Orleans, arriving in September 1946. She spent
nearly a year in numerous towing voyages in the Gulf
region before decommissioning 19 September 1947 at
Orange, Tex.
Assigned to the Reserve Fleet, Geronimo was taken to
Chelsea, Mass., 20 September 1962 to be fitted out as an
oceanographic and marine biological research ship. On
loan from the Navy, she serves the Biological Laboratory,
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Department of the
Interior.
Gertrude
A former name retained.
( ScStr. t. 350; 1. 156'; b. 21'; dph. 11'; a. 2 12-pdr. r.,
6 24-pdr. how.)
Iron steamer Gertrude, a British blockade runner, was
built in Greenock, Scotland, in 1863. She was captured
16 April 1863 by Vanderbilt off Eleuthera Island and pur-
chased from the New York Prize Court by the Navy 4
June 1863. Gertrude was fitted out at New York Navy
Yard and commissioned there 22 July 1863, Acting Master
Walter K. Cressy in command.
Assigned to the AVest Gulf Blockading Squadron under
Rear Admiral Farragut, Gertrude arrived off Mobile in
early August and on 16 August captured Confederate
blockade runner Warrior following a 9-hour chase. After
taking her prize to New Orleans, Gertrude was assigned
blockade duty off that port. She served as a blockading
ship, alternating between New Orleans and Mobile, until
May 1864, and was credited with the capture of schooner
Ellen 16 January 1864. During this period she also spent
short periods at Ship Island, Miss., and New Orleans for
repairs.
Beginning in May 1864, Gertrude was assigned to block-
ade the Texas coast, and spent most of the next year off
Galveston. She visited blockading stations off Sabine
Pass and Velasco, and took blockade runner Eco off Gal-
veston 19 Feburary 1865. Gertrude also captured over
50 bales of cotton 19 April 1865 which were thrown over-
board by famous Confederate blockade runner Denbigh
during her escape from the blockading fleet.
Gertrude decommissioned 11 August 1865 at the Phila-
delphia Navy Yard and was sold 30 November at New
York to George Wright She was redocumented Gussie
Telfair in 1866 and sailed as a merchantman until 1878.
Get There
A former name retained.
( SP-579 ; t. 15; 1. 58'2'' ; b. 10'6" ; dr. 3'6'' ; s. 28 k., cpl.
8 ; a. 1 l-pdr„ 2 .30 cal. mg.)
Get There, a motor yacht, was built in 1916 by Wood &
McClure of City Island, N.Y. ; acquired by the Navy 28
June 1917 under free lease from her owners, J. S. Bache
and F. L. Richards, New York City ; taken over at New
York 14 July 1917 ; and commissioned 10 August 1917,
Boatswain F. L. Richards, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Get There served as
a section patrol boat during World War I. She patrolled
New York harbor and in wintertime laid up at the New
York Navy Yard marine basin. After the Armistice, she
decommissioned at New York 6 March 1919, and was
returned to her owner, J. S. Bache, 1 October.
Gettysburg
A city in southern Pennsylvania, site of one of the
most important battles of the Civil War 1-3 July 1863.
It was at the dedication of the National Cemetery on
the battleground 19 November 1863 that President Lin-
coln delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address.
(SwStr : t. 950; 1. 221' ; b. 26' 3'' ; dph. 13' 6" ; s. 15 k„
cpl. 96 ; a. 1 30-pdr. Parrott r., 2 12-pdr. r„ 4 24-pdr.
how.)
The first Gettysburg, formerly Douglass, then Margaret
and Jessie, was built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1858, and
was captured as a blockade Tunner 5 November 1863 by
Fulton, Keystone State, and Nansemond off Wilmington,
N.C. She was purchased from the New York Prize Court
by the Navy and commissioned Gettysburg at New York
Navy Yard, 2 May 1864, Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson
commanding.
A fast, strong steamer, Gettysburg was assigned
blockading duty with the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron, and departed New York 7 May 1864. She ar-
rived at Beaufort, N.C., 14 May and from there took sta-
tion at the entrance to the Cape Fear River.
For the next 7 months, Gettysburg was engaged in the
vital business of capturing blockade runners carrying sup-
plies to the strangling South. She captured several ships,
and occasionally performed other duties. On 8 October,
for instance, she rescued six survivors from schooner
Horne, which had capsized in a squall.
Gettysburg took part in the the attack on Fort Fisher
24r-25 December 1864. Gettysburg assisted with the dev-
astating bombardment prior to the landings by Army
troops, and during the actual landings stood in close to
shore to furnish cover for the assault. Gettysburg's boats
were used to help transport troops to the beaches.
With the failure of the first attack on the formidable
Confederate works, plans were laid for a second assault,
this time including a landing force of sailors and marines
to assault the sea face of the fort. In this attack, 15
January 1865, Gettysburg again engaged the fort in the
92
preliminary bombardment, and furnished a detachment
of sailors under Lieutenant Lamson and other officers in a
gallant assault, which was stopped under the very ram-
parts of Fort Fisher. Lamson and a group of officers and
men were forced to spend the night in a ditch under Con-
federate guns before they could escape. Though failing
to take the sea face of Fort Fisher, the attack by the
Navy diverted enough of the defenders to make the Army
assault successful and insure victory. Gettysburg suffered
two men killed and six wounded in the assault.
Gettysburg spent the remaining months of the war on
blockade duty off Wilmington, and operated from April
to June between Boston and Norfolk carrying freight
and passengers. She decommissioned 23 June 1865 at
New York Navy Yard.
Recommissioning 3 December 1866, Gettysburg made a
cruise to the Caribbean Sea, returning to Washington 18
February, where she decommissioned again 1 March 1867.
Gettysburg went back into commission 3 March 1868 at
Norfolk and put to sea 28 March on special service in the
Caribbean. Until July 1868, she visited various ports in
the area protecting American interests, among them Kings-
ton, Jamaica, Havana, Cuba, and ports of Haiti. Between
3 July and 13 August, Gettysburg assisted in the laying
of a telegraph cable from Key West to Havana, and joined
with scientists from the Hydrographic Office in a cruise
to determine the longitudes of West Indian points using
the electric telegraph. From 13 August 1868 to 1 October
1869, she cruised between various Haitian ports and Key
West, again helping to maintain peace in the area and
protecting American interests. Gettysburg arrived New
York Navy Yard 8 October 1869, decommissioned the same
day, and entered the Yard for repairs.
Gettysburg was laid up in ordinary until 6 November
1873, when she again commissioned at Washington Navy
Yard. She spent several months transporting men and
supplies to the various Navy Yards on the Atlantic coast,
and 25 February 1874 anchored in Pensacola harbor to
embark members of the survey team seeking routes for
an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua. Gettysburg trans-
ported the engineers to Aspinwall Panama and Greystone,
Nicaragua, and returned them to Norfolk 10 May 1874.
After several more trips on the Atlantic coast with pas-
sengers and supplies, the ship again decommissioned 9
April 1875 at Washington Navy Yard.
Recommissioned 21 September 1875, Gettysburg de-
parted Washington for Norfolk, where she arrived 14
October. Assigned to assist in another of the important
Hydrographic Office expeditions in the Caribbean, she de-
parted Norfolk 7 November. During the next few months
she contributed markedly to safe navigation in the West
Indies in surveys that led to precise charts. She returned
to Washington with the scientific team 14 June, decom-
missioning 26 June.
Gettysburg recommissioned 20 September 1876, for spe-
cial duty to the Mediterranean, where she was to obtain
navigational information about the coasts and islands of
the area. Gettysburg departed Norfolk 17 October for
Europe. During the next two years, she visited nearly
every port in the Mediterranean, taking soundings and
making observations on the southern coast of France, the
entire coastline of Italy, and the Adriatic Islands. Gettys-
burg continued to the coast of Turkey, and from there
made soundings on the coast of Egypt and other North
African points, Sicily and Sardinia.
While visiting Genoa, 22 April 1879, Gettysburg rescued
the crew of a small vessel which had run upon the rocks
outside the breakwater. Her iron plates corroded from
years of almost uninterrupted service and her machinery
weakened, Gettysburg decommissioned 6 May 1879 and
was sold 8 May 1879.
II
(PCE-904 : dp. 640; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'1" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 15.7
k. ; cpl. 99 ; a. 1 3", 4 20mm., 4 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 2 dct. ;
cl. PCE-8//2)
The second Gettysburg ( PCE-904 ) was laid down 18
February 1943 by Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland,
Oregon ; launched 9 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Margaret Mashofsky ; and commissioned USS PCE-90'i
31 May 1945, Lt. Lloyd N. Emory in command.
PCE-90J/ was originally assigned to the Sendee Force,
Pacific Fleet. Following the end of World War II, she
operated out of Pearl Harbor, training naval reservists
in the 14th Naval District. She decommissioned 5 Jan-
uary 1950 and recommissioned at New York 21 Novem-
ber. Assigned to the 3d Naval District as a Naval Reserve
Training ship, she operated out of New York and later
out of New London, Conn. PCE-90Jt decommissioned at
New London 2 September 1955 and entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet.
PCE-90/f was named Gettysburg 15 February 1956. She
was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore,
Md., 23 June 1960.
Ghent
A former name retained.
( Sch : t. 50 ; 1. 50' ; b. 16' ; dph. 6' ; a. 1 12-pdr. )
Ghent, a schooner, was built by Thomas B. Eyre at
Presque Isle, now Erie, Pa., in 1815 ; purchased by the
Navy in 1815. Little is known about this ship except
that she made occasional cruises with naval forces on
Lake Erie. Probably she went into ordinary with the
other lake vessels in 1821. It is known that Ghent was
sold at Erie 20 March 1826 to Mr. T. Wendell.
Gherardi
Bancroft Gherardi was born 10 November 1832 at Jack-
son, La., 10 November 1832. He was appointed Acting
Midshipman 26 June 1846 and served in Ohio, during the
War with Mexico. He entered the Naval Academy in
1851 and graduated the next year. Ordered to St. Louis,
he cruised the Mediterranean and after promotion to
Lieutenant in 1855 he was ordered to the Saratoga.
At the outbreak of the Civil War he served in the steam
sloop Lancaster and later became the executive officer of
the Chipperva in the -North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
He commanded gunboats Chocura and Port Royal, and
was commended for his conduct in the Battle of Mobile
Bay under Admiral Farragut 5 August 1864.
In later years he commanded receiving ships Colorado
and Lancaster and was present at the bombardment of
Alexandria. He served as President of the Naval Ex-
amining Board, as Governor of the Naval Asylum at Phil-
adelphia, and as Commandant of the New York Navy
Yard. He was promoted to Rear Admiral 25 August
1887. In 1893 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the
Naval Review Fleet on the Hudson River and then Com-
mandant of the New York Navy Yard. He retired 10
November 1894 and died at his home in Stratford, Conn.,
10 December 1903.
(DD-637 : dp. 1,630; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36' ; dr. 12'6" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 275 ; a. 4 5", 1 21" tt. ; cl. Gleaves)
Gherardi (DD-637) was launched 12 February 1942 by
the Philadelphia Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. Christo-
pher Robinson, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Bancroft
Gherardi ; and commissioned 15 September 1942, Lieu-
tenant Commander J. W. Schmidt, USN, in command.
After trial runs and shakedown training out of Casco
Bay, Maine and Newport, Rhode Island Gherardi departed
Philadelphia 1 January 1943 making convoy escort voy-
ages to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Port Arthur and Galves-
ton, Tex., returning to New York 7 February 1943. She
departed New York 15 February on what was to be the first
of 10 transatlantic convoy escort voyages. Gherardi re-
turned to New York from Casablanca 14 April 1943. After
a voyage to Newfoundland in May she departed Lynnhaven
Roads, Va., 8 June en route to the Mediterranean to be-
come part of Admiral Hewitt’s “Western Naval Task
93
Force” for the occupation of Sicily (9-15 July 1943).
Assigned the duty of protecting troop transports, she
helped defeat many bombing attacks and was credited
with shooting down one plane after undergoing 11 near
bomb misses.
Gherardi saw her first surface action when late in
July and early August she participated in several offen-
sive sweeps along the northern coast of Sicily, and around
the port of Palermo. On the night of 3^4 August Ghe-
rardi and Rlvind were making a night offensive sweep
along the coast, when at 2215, a few miles off Cape Calava,
they picked up a small convoy consisting of one of the Ger-
man MFP lighters escorted by two motor torpedo boats.
At a range of 4,000 yards the destroyers illuminated the
convoy with star shell and opened up with main batteries.
The F-boat blew up at 2225 and one of the escorting boats
was sunk ; the other fired at least one torpedo, which
missed. It was later found that the German lighter had
been loaded with land mines.
Gherardi returned to New York 22 August 1943 and
commenced a series of fast convoy escort voyages to
Northern Ireland and England, touching at Belfast and
Londonderry, Ireland and Swansea, Wales. She returned
to New York from her last voyage on 13 February 1944.
After intensive training out of Casco Bay, Maine, Ghe-
rardi made a voyage to Gibraltar with a large scouting
force between 23 March and 22 April 1944. On 6 May
1944 Gherardi departed New York en route to Northern
Ireland for rehearsals for the invasion of Normandy. On
the morning of D-Day, June 6, 1944 she maneuvered into
the fire support area as a unit of Admiral Moon’s Assault
Force “U” for Utah Beach. She delivered calls from
fire-control parties ashore clearing the way for troops by
prompt and accurate fire on railroads, houses, shore bat-
teries and other targets. This drew dangerous return
fire and she had one hot duel during the afternoon. Hav-
ing expended all her ammunition, Gherardi was forced to
retire that afternoon to Plymouth, England, to replenish.
Returning to Utah Beach Gherardi was assigned screen-
ing duty. This lasted until 25 June when she joined
Admiral Deyo’s bombardment group in the support of the
first Army assault 'on Cherbourg France.
Departing the Normandy area 16 July 1944 Gherardi
steamed to Malta where she joined a British-American
escort carrier task force which trained for the Invasion of
Southern France 15 August. On 9 August 1944 Gherardi
rendezvoused with the carrier strike group and maneu-
vered into the launching areas. For two weeks Gherardi
screened the carriers while strike after strike was made in
support of the invasion. Southern France now secured,
Gherardi departed for the states, reaching New York 16
September. Immediately work started to convert her to
a high speed minesweeper. On 15 November 1944 Ghe-
rardi’s classification changed to DMS-30. After many
tests and calibrations she joined Mine Division 60 and
steamed to the Pacific, touching at San Diego, Pearl Har-
bor, and Eniwetok. She reached Ulithi in early March.
Departing Ulithi she proceeded to Okinawa where she
arrived 25 March 1945. Here Gherardi participated in
minesweeping operations prior to the invasion of Okinawa
1 April under the overall command of Admiral R. A.
Spruance, Commander Fifth Fleet. After the initial as-
sault she screened the heavier surface fire support units
and rendered assistance as needed. For three months of
continuous screening duty she fought off many suicide
planes. Near the end of the battle for Okinawa the ver-
satile Gherardi participated in day shore bombardment and
night illumination of the southern coast of the island, con-
tributing to the advance of the troops.
Early in July Gherardi became flagship of Commander
Mine Division 60, then took up duty as fire-support ship
for a group of smaller fleet minesweepers in the China Sea.
This duty lasted until 19 August 1945 when she joined the
Third Fleet and went to work clearing Tokoyo Bay
preparatory to the final surrender and occupation of
Japan. The surrender documents having been signed on
board the battleship M issouri 2 September 1945, Gherardi
began a series of high speed minesweeping operations to
help clear the waters around Southern Kyushu and Korea.
This duty continued until 5 December 1945 when she de-
parted Sasebo, Kyushu en route to San Diego where she
arrived 23 December.
Three days later Gherardi departed San Diego via the
Panama Canal for Norfolk, Va., arriving 9 January 1946.
She now became a unit of Mine Division 6, Atlantic Fleet
and based at Norfolk until June when her home port
changed to Charleston, South Carolina. From June 1946
until October 1947 Gherardi operated out of Charleston
when she sailed for Burmuda for towing duty. Afterward
she steamed to Newfoundland for cold weather training in
Placentia Bay, returning to Charleston 29 November.
Gherardi spent the remainder of the year at Charleston.
In 1948 Gherardi continued to base out of Charleston,
keeping busy with minesweeping exercises and steaming to
Newfoundland again in November for cold weather
training.
On 3 January 1949 Gherardi departed Charleston for
her first tour with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean
She returned to Charleston 2 April. After a visit to Port
au Prince, Haiti, in May and a trip to New London in June
Gherardi went in for overhaul, then to Guantanamo Bay
for type training. For the next 2 years Gherardi con-
ducted operations up and down the eastern seaboard and
in the Caribbean, participating in Atlantic Fleet Exercise
“Operation Observant” off Vieques, P.R. then on to
Onslow Beach, N.C. for amphibious exercises.
On 8 January 1952 Gherardi got underway from Charles-
ton for her second tour with the 6th Fleet returning to the
States 26 June. Two months later she steamed out of
Charleston again, this ttnje to take part in NATO Exercise
“Operation Mainbrace”’ in' the North Atlantic. With the
exception of duty with the 6th Fleet Gherardi conducted
type training and held exercises out of Charleston and
along the eastern seaboard for the next two years.
In January and February of 1955 Gherardi took part in
“Operation Springboard” in the Caribbean, and in March
and April she participated in Atlantic Fleet Exercise
“LANTMINEX”. On 15 July 1955, Gherardi was redes-
ignated DD-637. Shortly thereafter she went into the
Charleston Naval Shipyard for preinactivation overhaul
where she was decommissioned 17 December 1955. She
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there and at present is
berthed at Philadelphia.
Gherardi received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Giansar
A star of 4.1 magnitude in the constellation Draconis.
( AK-111 : dp. 4023; 1. 441'6”; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s.
12.5 k. ; cpl. 254 ; a. 1 5” ; cl. Crater )
Giansar was launched under Maritime Commission con-
tract 19 January 1943 by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,
Portland, Oreg. ; sponsored by Mrs. Harry A. Dick ; ac-
quired 5 October 1943 ; commissioned 29 October 1943,
Lt. Comdr. C. J. King, USNR, commanding.
Giansar sailed from Los Angeles 10 November 1943 to
deliver aircraft to Pago Pago, Samoa, and general cargo to
Funafuti atoll, Ellice Islands. She then proceeded with
500 pound bombs to Namomea in the Gilberts. After trans-
port of landing craft from Apamama to Tarawa, she re-
turned to Pearl Harbor 1 February 1944. She departed
10 February with tanks, guns, trucks and gasoline for
Majuro, returning 12 March with more than 125 passen-
gers. She made a similar voyage (13 March-19 May)
carrying general cargo and mail to Majuro and Kwajalein.
Giansar departed Pearl Harbor 21 May 1944 and put
in at San Francisco 8 days later with salvaged aviation
material and 123 passengers. In a round trip voyage from
San Francisco (9 June-28 September), she transported
vehicles, supplies and other cargo to Pearl Harbor, Eni-
wetok, Saipan and Guam. A similar voyage was made
(31 October 1944 to 9 February 1945) for delivery of
provisions to Hawaii, Ulithi and Guam. She returned
to Los Angeles 9 February with 130 bluejackets.
94
Giansar departed Los Angeles on her last logistic
cruise 1 March 1945. Proceeding via Hawaii and the Mar-
shalls, she unloaded cargo at Ulithi, thence to San Pedro
Bay in the Philippines where she arrived 25 May 1945.
She remained there 3 months, discharging foodstuffs,
store stock and medical supplies are required. After a
voyage to Ulithi and return (13-25 August), she departed
San Pedro Bay 28 August for return to Seattle, Wash.,
28 September 1945.
Giansar arrived at San Francisco 18 October, depart-
ing 2 days later for Norfolk. She moored at Hampton
Roads 8 November and decommissioned at Norfolk 28
November 1945. She was returned to the Maritime Com-
mission in the same day. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 19 December 1945.
Gibbins, Henry, see Henry Gibbins (AP-183)
Gibson County
Counties in Indiana and Tennessee.
( LST-794 ; dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 11.6 k. ;
cpl. 119 ; a' 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511 )
LST-794 was laid down by Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.,
12 July 1944; launched 16 September; sponsored by Mrs.
B. H. Gommel and commissioned 16 October 1944, Lt. W.
C. Cain, USCGR, in command.
Following shakedown, LST-794 departed New Orleans
15 November, en route to the Pacific. After embarking
Army and Navy passengers at Pearl Harbor, she steamed
to the New Hebrides, arriving Espiritu Santo 16 January
1945. Proceeding to the Russell Islands she debarked
passengers and cargo before sailing to Guadalcanal for
assignment. During the next 4 weeks she transported
troops and cargo between Guadalcanal and the Russell
Islands.
As the invasion of Okinawa approached, LST-794 en-
gaged in intensive amphibious exercises in the Solomons,
then steamed for the Ulithi staging area. After taking
on marines and vehicles, the landing ship departed Ulithi
25 March, and 1 week later arrived off Okinawa. On 1
April her troops stormed ashore in small boats and
LVT’s as the Marine established a beachhead in the em-
peror’s private sea. She remained in the assault area
until 11 April when she sailed to Saipan for reinforce-
ments.
For the rest of the war, LST-794 transported troops
and cargo to Okinawa and the Philippines. Following
the victorious conclusion of the war, she remained in the
Far East, assisting the occupation forces in Japan, Korea,
and Okinawa. Returning to the United States in early
1946, LST-794 decommissioned 9 July 1946 and joined the
Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed in the Columbia River.
Named Gibson County 1 July 1955, she was used as a
target and sunk 23 May 1959.
LST-794 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Gigi, see Y P-461
Gila River
A river in southwestern New Mexico and southern Ari-
zona that empties into the Colorado River near Yuma,
Arizona.
(LSMR-504 : dp. 790 ; 1. 206'3" ; b. 34'6” ; dr. 7'2" ; s. 13
k. ; cpl. 138; a. 1 5'', 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2” m., 10
rkt. ; cl. LSMR-401)
LSMR-504 was laid down 24 March 1945 by Brown
Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas ; launched 21 April 1945 ;
and commissioned 11 June 1945, Lt. Leslie W. Bolon in
command.
Departing Houston 18 June, LSMR-504 steamed via
Galveston to Charleston, S.C., where she arrived 28 June.
She proceeded to Little Creek, Va., 16 July and operated
in Chesapeake Bay and along the Virginia coast until
sailing for the West Coast 7 August. She reached San
Diego 29 August, was assigned to LSMR Squadron 3, and
operated along the coast of southern California during the
next 6 months. She joined the 19th Fleet 4 March 1946
and between 18 and 22 March steamed to Astoria, Oreg.,
for duty with the Columbia River Group. She decommis-
sioned 11 May 1946 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet
in the Columbia River. LSMR-504 was named Gila River
1 October 1955. On 1 February 1960 she was struck from
the Navy List and on 7 July sold to the Zidell Exploration
Corp., Portland, Oreg.
Gilbert Islands
An island group containing 16 atolls in the western
Pacific Ocean on the equator, southeast of the Marshalls
and northeast of the Solomons. On 20 November 1943
Marines made an amphibious assault on Makin and
Tarawa Islands, seizing the former without difficulty, but
winning Tarawa only after a 100-hour battle in which over
3,500 Americans were killed or wounded.
(CVE-107 ; dp. 10,900 ; 1. 557'1” ; b. 75' ; dr. 32' ; s. 19.1 k. ;
cpl. 1,066 ; a. 2 5” ; cl. Commencement Bay)
Gilbert Islands (CVE-107) was launched 20 July 1944
the Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacina, Wash. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Edwin D. McMorries ; and commissioned 5
February 1945, Captain L. K. Rice in command.
After shakedown training, Gilbert Islands departed San
Diego 12 April 1945 for exercises in Hawaiian waters.
She sailed 2 May with an escort carrier force that closed
Okinawa 21 May. Her aircraft (24-31 May) blasted and
strafed concrete dugouts, troop concentrations, ammuni-
tion and fuel dumps on Okinawa. In the following days
she helped neutralize outlying Japanese airfields and
installations with repeated bomb and rocket attacks. Five
of her Marine pilots were killed in action. She departed
Okinawa 16 June to replenish at San Pedro Bay, thence
to Balikpapan, Borneo. She gave air cover to Australians
storming that shore 1 July and remained 4 days to attack
all targets in sight. With the Australians securely estab-
lished, she returned to Leyte 6 July.
Gilbert Islands departed San Pedro Bay 29 July to
screen logistic ships replenishing 3d Fleet striking forces
along the coast of Japan. On that station 15 August she
joined a task group that included nearly all the 3d Fleet
and heard Admiral Halsey’s laconic direction : “Apparently
the war is over and you are ordered to cease firing ; so, if
you see any Jap planes in the air, you will just have to
shoot them down in a friendly manner.” After replenish-
ment at Okinawa, she departed 14 October to participate
in a show of air strength during occupation of Formosa
by the Chinese 70th Army. She was then routed onward
via Siapan and Pearl Harbor to San Diego, arriving 4
December 1945. She remained in port until 21 January
1946, then set course for Norfolk where she decommis-
sioned 21 May 1946 and was placed in reserve.
Towed to Philadelphia in November 1949, Gilbert Islands
recommissioned 7 September 1951 and put in at Boston 25
November for overhaul. She joined the Atlantic Fleet
1 August 1952, sailed 8 days later with a cargo of jets for
Yokohama, Japan, arriving 18 September, and returned to
her homeport of Quonset Point, R.I., 22 October. She
sailed 5 January 1953 for the Caribbean to conduct train-
ing exercises off Cuba and returned to New England waters
to continue these duties through the summer and fall of
the year. Following a cruise to Halifax and overhaul at
Boston, the escort carrier stood out 5 January 1954 for a
Mediterranean cruise, returning to Quonset Point 12 March
1954 for reserve training and other exercises. She be-
came the first of her class to have jets make touch-and-go
landings on the flight deck while she had no way on, a
dangerous experiment successfully conducted 9 June 1954.
95
She left Rhode Island 25 June for Boston and decommis-
sioned there 15 January 1955.
Reclassified AKV-39 7 May 1959, Gilbert Islands re-
mained in reserve until her name was struck from the
Navy List June 1961. She was reclassified (AGMR-1)
1 June 1963 and renamed Annapolis 22 June 1963. Arnna -
polis recommissioned 7 March 1964, Captain John J.
Rowan in command. As the Navy’s first major communi-
cation relay ship, Annapolis was busy with acceptance
trials for the rest of the year. In the fall she handled
communications during Operation “Teamwork” and
“Steel Pike” before final acceptance into the fleet 16
December.
After operations out of Norfolk during the first half of
1965, Annapolis was assigned Long Beach as home port
28 June 1965. In September she was sent to Viet Nam to
assist communications between naval units fighting Com-
munist aggression. With the exception of periodic visits
to Hong Kong, Formosa, and the Philippines for upkeep
and training, she continued this important service into
1967 assuring a smooth, steady and speed flow of informa-
tion and orders so necessary to effective conduct of the
war.
Gilbert Islands received three battle stars for World
War II service.
Gillen, Edtvard E., see YMT-21
Gillespie
Major Archibald H. Gillespie, USMC, was born 14 Au-
gust 1810 in New York City, and was commissioned in the
Marine Corps in 1832. After commanding the Marine
Guard in Fairfield, Vincennes, North Carolina, and Brandy-
wine Lt. Gillespie was sent by President Polk in 1845 with
secret messages to the U.S. Consul in Monterey, Commo-
dore Sloat, and General Fremont in California. He joined
the Fremont volunteers and participated in the first Amer-
ican occupation of southern California, following the Bear
Flag revolt of 14 June 1846. Gillespie fought in the battles
of San Pasqual, San Bernardo, and San Gabriel with vol-
unteers striving to wrest California from Mexico. Return-
ing to Washington, D.C., in 1847, he subsequently served
there and at Pensacola, Fla., until resigning from the
Marine Corps 14 October 1854. For his distinguished
service in California, he was promoted to Captain, and
then Major, by brevet. He died 16 August 1873 in San
Francisco, Calif.
(DD-609: dp. 1,620; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 11'9" ; s. 35
k; cpl. 261, a. 4 5' 7-38 cal, 7 20mm, 5 21" tt. ; ASW 6
dcp. ; cl. Benson)
Gillespie (DD-609) was launched 1 November 1942 by
the Bethlehem Steep Corp., San Francisco, Calif. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Hugo W. Osterhaus, wife of Rear Admiral
H. W. Osterhaus ; and commissioned 18 September 1942,
Lt. Comdr. C. L. Clement in command.
After shakedown the destroyer sailed from San Fran-
cisco 28 December 1942 for the fog-shrouded Aleutians and
reached Sand Bay, Great Sitkin Island, 9 January 1943.
After conducting escort, ASW, and patrolling duties among
the scattered Aleutians, she saw her first action 18 Feb-
ruary when, with Indianapolis and Richmond, she bom-
barded Attu Island, without return fire. The destroyer
poured over 400 rounds of 5-inch into enemy installations
at Holtz Bay and Chicagof Harbor, and on the evening
of the same day began an anti-shipping patrol southwest
of Attu with Indianapolis and Coglan. At 2225 Cog-
lan’s lookouts spotted smoke on the horizon and Gillespie
went into action. The smoking ship was Akagane Maru,
a 3100-ton cargo ship bound for Attu with troops, muni-
tions, and supplies, but she was not to close her port of
call. The game was up when she answered Indianapolis'
challenge in Japanese Morse Code ; the American war-
ships opened fire at 2316 and scored repeatedly. Within 3
minutes the cargo ship was burning forward ; a coup de
grace single turret salvo by Indianapolis set her afire from
stem to stern. Malfunctioning torpedoes failed to sink
the gutted maru, but she finally slid under at 0126 20
February in 53-05 N, 171-22 E.
After further patrolling, Gillespie returned to San Fran-
cisco 4 March for overhaul and subsequently sailed via
San Diego and the Panama Canal to moor at New York
11 April 1943. Through the spring, summer, and fall of
1943 the destroyer made four round-trip transatlantic es-
cort voyages to Casablanca, French Morocco, and return,
shepherding troop and cargo ships to the North African
theater. On 2 January 1944 she departed Norfolk for the
Pacific, reaching Funafuti atoll 20 days later, and escort-
ing troop ships thence to Milne Bay, New Guinea, where
she put in 7 February. As part of the 7th Fleet the de-
stroyer supported the consolidation of Saidor in late Feb-
ruary and escorted LST’s from Cape Sudest, New Guinea,
to Cape Gloucester, New Britain, and Los Negros in the
Admiralties. On 6 March the LST’s made landings in
Hayne Bay, Los Negros, while Gillespie patrolled from
five to fifteen miles off the northeast coast. While acting
as a call fire ship for Army forces in Seeadler Harbor,
Manus Island, she bombarded the eastern tip of Pityilu
Island on 14 March and until the 16th continued to support
the Manus assault by bombarding installations and gun
emplacements on Manus. On 24—25 March Gillespie plas-
tered targets on Pityilu, Manus, and Rambutyo Islands,
returning to Oro Bay, New Guinea, 26 March.
Training exercises and patrolling occupied her until
27 May, when she lent fire support for the initial landings
on Biak Island. From 31 May to 2 June 1944 she served
as a fighter director and warning picket off Biak, and bom-
barded that island again to soften up Japanese defenses.
Gillespie came under repeated air attacks, but escaped
damage or casualties. Duties in New Guinean waters
continued ; 5-6 July she blasted enemy positions on the
west coast of Noemfoor Island to speed the advance of
the 6th Army toward the Namber Drone area, and 20 July
her 5-inchers laid waste Insomeken Point and Arimi Is-
land on the east coast of Noemfoor during the mopping
up following the initial landings.
Through the summer of 1944 the destroyer continued
patrolling and training exercises off New Guinea and the
Solomons, and was on hand from 15 September-14 Octo-
ber for screening activities during the amphibious assault
on Peleliu in the Palau Islands. With success assured,
Gillespie sailed 14 October 1944 for overhaul at Bremer-
ton, Wash., mooring there 5 November, and after re-
fresher training, sailed from San Diego 3 January 1945.
She conducted training exercises at Pearl Harbor and
closed Ulithi 8 February, and subsequently as part of the
Logistic Support Forces she escorted supply ships and
units of the 5th Fleet during the seizure of Iwo Jima.
From 13 March-28 May 1945 Gillespie participated in
the landings and occupation of Okinawa and adjacent
islands of the Nansei-Shoto group. 8 April the destroyer
came under attack by two Japanese planes, the first of
which tried to kamikaze her. At dawn, just before 0600,
an enemy fighter swooped down and Gillespie’s 5-inch
battery opened fire at a range of 9,800 yards. As the
plane closed the 2,500 yards, her automatic weapons took
up the hail of fire and the destroyer turned hard to port
to keep the batteries unmasked. The smoking plane
passed low over the fantail and made an abrupt wingover
in an attempt to crash the ship, but Gillespie’s fire had
been too accurate and the plane spun off into the sea.
Minutes later, another plane came in and was quickly
splashed. The destroyer put in at Ulithi 31 May and
from 1 July to 15 August 1945 screened other warships
during the pre-invasion softening up of the Japanese home
islands. From 16 August to 2 September she continued
her escort and patrolling duties, and anchored trium-
phantly in Tokyo Bay 10 September 1945. Underway once
more 12 October, she sailed via Manila and Pearl Harbor
to moor at San Diego 23 November, and steamed thence
to close Boston 11 December. Following overhaul there,
she reached Charleston, S.C., 14 January 1946 and she
96
decommissioned at that port 17 April 1946. In reserve
since that time, she is now assigned to the Texas Group,
U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Orange, Tex.
Gillespie earned nine battle stars during World War II.
Gillette
Douglas Wiley Gillette, born 10 September 1918 in
Wilmington, N.C., enlisted in the Naval Reserve 5 March
1936. After serving at Norfolk, in MoDongal, and after
studying at the Naval Academy and Northwestern Uni-
versity, he was commissioned Ensign 12 September 1941.
Ordered to active duty in carrier Hornet 17 November
1941, he was appointed Lieutenant (j.g.) (temporary).
He was killed in enemy action in the Battle of Santa
Cruz Islands 26 October 1942 while serving in Hornet.
I
(DE-270: dp. 1,140; 1. 289'5” ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 11' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 156 ; a. 3 3", 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 2 dct. ; cL Evarts)
The first Gillette (DE-270) was built by the Boston
Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas O’Dea; and com-
missioned 8 September 1943. Leased to the United King-
dom eight days later and renamed HMS Foley ( q.v .), she
was returned to the United States after World War II and
scrapped 19 June 1946.
II
(DE-681 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 23.6 k ;
cpl. 213 ; a. 3 3'', 4 1.1”, 4 40 mm., 8 20 mm., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. ( h.h. ) , 2 dct. ; cl. Buckley. )
The second Gillette (DE-681) was launched 25 Sep-
tember 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Pearl M. Gillette, the namesake’s
mother ; and commissioned 27 October 1943, Comdr. T. G.
Murrell, USNR, commanding.
After shakedown off Bermuda, Gillette sailed from
Boston 2 January 1944 for Balboa, C.Z., where for 4
months she conducted intensive exercises with subma-
rines and escorted a convoy to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
and returned. She sailed 9 May for Puerto Limon, Costa
Rica, on a good will tour and visited Barranquilla, Colom-
bia, as well before returning to Boston 2 Jupe.
From 4 July 1944 to 18 February 1945 Gillette made
four round trip transatlantic escort voyages — three out
of Hampton Roads and one from New York — to Oran and
United Kingdom ports protecting Allied shipping. She
subsequently served as a submarine training ship at New
London, Conn., until 14 April 1945. That date she sailed
for Hollandia via Borabora and Manus, and escorted a
convoy thence to Manila, where she put in 17 June. Patrol
and escort duties in the Philippines and to Ulithi occupied
the busy ship until 6 August, when she sailed for Okinawa
and returned as convoy escort to Subic Bay 17 August.
Following a round trip escort voyage from Subic Bay to
Tokyo and return, Gillette continued patrol and logistics
duties in the Philippines until departing Subic Bay 26
November for San Diego, where she moored 17 December
1945.
Gillette remained at San Diego until decommissioned
there 3 February 1947 and placed in reserve with the
Pacific group at San Diego.
Gilliam
A county in the State of Oregon.
( APA-57 : dp. 4,247 ; 1. 426' ; b. 58' ; dr. 16' ; s. 16.9 k ; cpl.
283; a. 1 5”; cl. Gilliam)
Gilliam (APA-57) was launched 28 March 1944 under
a Maritime Commission contract by the Consolidated Steel
Corp., Wilmington, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. A. O. Wil-
liams of Wilmington ; acquired 31 July 1944 ; and commis-
sioned 1 August 1944, Comdr. H. B. Olsen in command.
The first of a new type of attack transport, Gilliam
stood out of San Francisco Bay 16 October 1944 with 750
Army troops for Oro Bay, New Guinea, and delivered
them to that port 4 November. Embarking nearly 1000
troops of the 11th Airborne Division, she sailed a week
later and off-loaded her passengers at Leyte, subsequently
returning to Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, 22 November.
Gilliam got underway again 29 November under orders
to steam to Leyte Gulf and embark elements of the 6th
Army Headquarters for passage to Lingayen Gulf.
Gilliam was part of a 36-ship convoy churning toward
the Philippines when 5 December 1944 the convoy came
under heavy air attack while 100 miles from Leyte Gulf.
At 1218 Gilliam spotted a plane coming in low on the
water at deck level, headed for the middle of the convoy.
Coming under limited fire, the Japanese plane released a
torpedo 2 minutes later which smashed into SS Anton
Saugraine. Just after 1230 two more planes came in low
and fast, and one got another torpedo into the stricken
merchantman, which was then dead in the water. Intense
fire from the convoy drove the planes off, but later that
afternoon another Japanese aircraft dove in at 1530, and
after running into heavy fire, made a suicide crash on SS
Marcus Daly. The Japanese caught her on the bow at
waterline and started fires and explosions. A second
kamikaze tried his luck but missed and crashed into the
sea after repeated hits from the convoy’s gunners. Anton
Saugraine and Marcus Daly were kept afloat by quick
damage control, but the former ship was attacked again
the next day while under tow and was finally sunk. Dur-
ing this engagement, Gilliam’s unflinching crew stood at
General Quarters for nearly 12 hours and the ship reached
Leyte 6 December without damage.
At Leyte Gilliam acted as receiving ship for the crews
of damaged warships and undertook medical and salvage
operations in spite of continued air alerts. After embark-
ing over 500 soldiers at Tacloban, she sailed from that
port 7 January 1945 bringing troops to Lingayen Gulf in
support of the invasion. She returned to Leyte on 14 Jan-
uary to embark elements of the 32d Infantry Division and
brought them safely back to Lingayen Gulf 27 January.
After loading casualties for passage to Leyte, Gilliam
sailed from that port 2 February to embark Marines of
the 3d Amphibious Corps at Guadalcanal and conducted
training exercises in preparation for the coming invasion
of Okinawa.
Gilliam closed Okinawa on 1 April and in the face of
kamikaze attacks debarked reconnaissance parties of the
3d Amphibious Corps and unloaded vital cargo. On 5
April she sailed for the United States via Saipan and
Pearl Harbor, mooring at San Francisco 27 April for
drydock repairs.
Subsequently Gilliam embarked men of the 6th Seabee
Battalion a Port Hueneme, Calif., and sailed 28 May 1945
for Okinawa via Eniwetok and Ulithi. She off-loaded
cargo and passengers at Okinawa and returned to San
Francisco 10 August, where nearly 1,000 troops were em-
barked and brought to Pearl Harbor on 27 August. Men
of the Headquarters and Service Battalions, 5th Amphi-
bious Corps came on board at Hawaii, and Gilliam sailed
1 September for Sasebo, Japan, and put her occupation
troops ashore 3 weeks later.
On 25 September 1945 she got underway for Manila,
and after embarking more than 450 veterans of the 32d
Infantry Division at Lingayen Gulf, she carried them to
Sasebo, arriving 15 October. After returning to Cebu in
the Philippines 29 October, she became part of the “Magic-
Carpet” fleet and sailed 2 November with 1,000 blue-
jackets and soldiers, debarking them at Portland, Oreg.,
21 November 1945.
Following a voyage to Samar, Gilliam moored at Pearl
Harbor 16 February 1946 and prepared to participate in
the atomic bomb tests at Bikini atoll in the summer of
1946. On the morning of 1 July 1946, Gilliam, a target
ship for Test Able, was sunk in Bikini lagoon.
Gilliam received two battle stars for World War II
service.
97
Gilligan
John Joseph Gilliagn, Jr., born 17 June 1923 at Newark,
N.J., enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve 8 January 1942
and served at Parris Island, S.C., and Quantico, Va. Pri-
vate Gilligan was mortally wounded in action while serv-
ing with the First Marine Raider Battalion at Tulagi,
Solomon Islands, on 7 August 1942 and died the next day.
For his heroism under fire, he was posthumously awarded
the Silver Star.
( DE-508 ; dp. 1,350; 1. 306'; b. 36'10" ; dr. 13'4” ;
s. 24.3 k; cpl. 222; a. 2.5”, 4 40 mm., 10 20 mm., 8 dcp.,
1 dep. (h.h.), 2 dct. ; el. John C. Butler)
Gilligan (DE-508) was launched 22 February 1944 by
the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. John J. Gilligan, the namesake’s mother ;
and commissioned 12 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. Carl E. Bull,
USNR, commanding.
Following shakedown off Bermuda, Gilligan escorted a
troopship from New York to Maine and sailed from Nor-
folk 5 August 1944 to escort an LSD to Pearl Harbor, ar-
riving 30 August. Underway 29 September to escort mer-
chantmen to Eniwetok, she put in at Majuro 13 October
and from 16-27 October 1944 escorted merchantmen to
Kwajalein, bombarded Mille atoll and Jaluit Island, and
sank a 50-foot Japanese schooner, before returning to
Majuro the latter date. Gilligan sailed 1 November to es-
cort merchantmen to Eniwetok and Saipan, subsequently
mooring at Ulithi 17 November. Three days later, on
20 November, fleet oiler Mississinewa — loaded with more
than 400,000 gallons of aviation gasoline — was torpedoed
inside Ulithi lagoon with a loss of 50 officers and men.
Seconds later, Gilligan saw a miniature Japanese sub-
marine pass close alongside ; with other ships she depth-
charged within the lagoon and possibly damaged one
midget. Destroyer Case rammed and sank another out-
side the harbor, and Marine planes finished off a third the
same day.
Gilligan sailed 4 December as a steamship escort to
Manus and conducted patrols off Bougainville from that
port until 31 December 1944 when she departed Manus to
escort troopships bound for Lingayen Gulf, arriving in time
for D-Day, 9 January 1945. Although in constant danger
from enemy air attacks, the destroyer escort supported the
assault, screened for Attack Group Able of VADM Wilkin-
son’s Task Force 79, and made smoke. Gilligan came
under kamikaze attack 12 January. A bluejacket under
fire from the attacking plane leaped from his post onto the
main battery director and threw it off target, a mistake
which prevented the 5-inch guns from getting off more
than 14 rounds. The kamikaze crashed directly into the
muzzles of Gilligan’ s No. 2 40mm. gun, killing 12 men and
wounding 12, and started raging fires. Outstanding
damage control kept the ship seaworthy ; she put in at
Leyte 17 January for repairs, subsequently reaching Pearl
Harbor 21 February for overhaul.
Gilligan sailed again 29 March 1945 as an antisubmarine
convoy escort and closed the western beaches of Okinawa
17 April to commence antiaircraft and antisubmarine
screening around the transport anchorage. The Japanese
were at this time using every conceivable means — kami-
kazes, submarines, swimmers, and motor boats — to de-
stroy the assembled ships. In spite of heavy air attacks
she engaged in screening and escort duties for transports,
splashed at least five attacking planes, and possibly
damaged a submarine. On 27 May her luck almost ran
out ; a torpedo bomber hit her solidly with a torpedo,
which fortunately was a dud. Gilligan returned to Ulithi
25 June and sailed again 6 July on merchantmen escort
duty to Leyte and Hollandia and subsequently closed
Manila where she was attached to the Philippine Sea
Frontier. On 16 August she sailed to escort merchantmen
to Okinawa, returning to Manila 27 August, and repeated
this voyage 29 August-25 September 1945. Underway
from Manila 5 November, Gilligan reached San Pedro,
Calif., 26 November for overhaul. She was towed to San
Diego 14 April 1946 and was placed out of commission in
reserve at that port 2 July 1946.
Gilligan recommissioned in reserve 15 July 1950 at
Seattle and conducting reserve cruises in Pacific North-
west waters, and voyages thence to the Fleet Sonar School
at San Diego. Training cruises brought her twice to
Hawaii, once to Acapulco, Mexico, and once to the Canal
Zone before she decommissioned 31 March 1959 at Point
Astoria, Oreg. Gilligan remains out of commission in
reserve at Bremerton, Wash.
Gilligan earned one battle star for World War II service.
Gillis
Gillis was named for two naval men.
John P. Gillis, born 6 September 1803 in Wilmington,
Del., was appointed Midshipman in 1825. He served with
distinction in the Mexican War at the capture of Tuspan
and in 1853-54 sailed with Commodore Perry’s expedition
to open Japan to the West. During the Civil War he
commanded Monticello, Seminole, and Ossipee in the
Union blockade and subsequently was on duty at New
York until retiring in 1866. Commodore Gillis died 25
February 1873 in the city of his birth.
James Henry Gillis, born 14 May 1831 in Ridgway, Pa.,
graduated from the Naval Academy in 1854. Three years
later, while serving in store ship Supply he rescued the
crew of a floundered Argentine ship during a violent
storm. During the Civil War he served with Union
Squadrons blockading the Confederacy and subsequently
commanded Michigan, Franklin (Flagship European Sta-
tion), Lackawanna, Minnesota, and Hartford, (Flagship
Pacific Station). Appointed Rear Admiral in 1888, he
retired on 14 May 1893. Known as the “Sailor with a
charmed life” because he never lost a man at sea, Rear
Admiral Gillis died 6 December 1910 at Melbourne Beach,
Fla.
( DD-260 ; dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31'8” ; dr. 9'3” ; s. 35 k;
cpl. 120; a. 4 4", 2 3", 4 21” tt. ; cl. Belknap
Gillis (DD-260) was launched 29 May 1919 by the Beth-
lehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored by
Miss Helen Irvine Murray, granddaughter of Admiral
Gillis; and Mrs. Josephine T. Smith, niece of Commodore
Gillis; commissioned 3 September 1919, Lt. Comdr. Webb
Trammell in command.
Gillis sailed from Newport, R.I., 17 December 1919 and
moored at San Diego 20 January 1920. She joined the
Pacific Fleet Destroyer Force in tactics and maneuvers
along the West Coast until decommissioned at San Diego
26 May 1922. Recommissioned in ordinary 28 June 1940,
she was reclassified 2 August as seaplane tender destroyer
AVD-12. Following conversion she was placed in full
commission at San Francisco, 25 March 1941.
Gillis was assigned as tender to Patrol Wing 4, Aircraft
Scouting Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. In the following
months she performed plane guard patrol between San
Diego and Seattle with time out for aircraft tending duties
at Sitka, Alaska (14-17 June) ; Dutch Harbor and Kodiak
(15-31 July). After overhaul in the Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard she returned to Kodiak 16 October 1941 to
resume tending of amphibious patrol planes in Alaskan
waters. She was serving at Kodiak when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor and returned to the Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard 9 February 1942 for overhaul.
Gillis resumed tender duties at Kodiak 26 May 1942.
She was stationed at Atka (11-13 June) tending amphibi-
ous patrol aircraft bombing the Japanese on Kiska Island.
On air-sea rescue patrol 6 June 1942, she made three depth
charge runs on an underwater sound contact. A Japanese
submarine violently broached the surface revealing its
conning tower and propellor, then disappeared. Gillis
was unable to regain contact. She was credited with
damaging this underseas raider in the combat area off
Umak Island. She was attacked by three Japanese patrol
bombers while at Adak 20 July. One bomb, fortunately
a dud, splashed within 10 feet alongside. Other bombs
rained about her ahead and astern. She was drenched
98
by water thrown up by the explosions but escaped damage
or casualties.
Gillis continued her varied duties as aircraft tender and
air-sea rescue patrol ship throughout the Aleutian Cam-
paign. Brief intervals of repair were accomplished in
the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She terminated this
service 19 April 1944 when she departed Dutch Harbor
for overhaul in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She
arrived at San Diego 13 June and spent the following
months as plane guard for aircraft carriers training along
the California coast. She was then routed on to Pearl
Harbor, arriving 8 December 1944. She operated in
Hawaaian waters as plane guard for escort carrier
Makassar Strait (CVE-91) until 20 February 1945. She
then sailed with Rear Admiral M. L. Deyo’s Gunfire and
Covering Force, enroute via the Marshalls, Marianas and
Ulithi for the Invasion of Okinawa.
Gillis arrived off Kerama Retto 25 March 1945. She
guarded minesweepers to the west, then stood by under-
water demolition teams clearing approaches to the western
beaches of Okinawa. After invasion forces stormed
ashore 1 April, she tended observation and patrol planes
at Kerama Retto and performed air-sea rescue patrol.
On 28 April she departed Okinawa in the screen of
Makassar Strait, bound via Guam to San Pedro Bay,
Philippine Islands. She returned by the same route in
the escort screen of Wake Island (CVE-65). That car-
rier launched planes 29 June to land bases on Okinawa
and Gillis helped escort her back to Guam 3 July 1945.
Gillis departed Guam for home 8 July 1945. She ar-
rived at San Pedro, Calif., 28 July and decommissioned
there 15 October 1945. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 November 1945. She was sold for scrapping
29 January 1946.
Gillis received two battle stars for service in World
War II.
Gillis, James M., see James M. Gillis ( AGS-13)
Gilmer
Thomas Walker Gilmer, born 6 April 1802 in Albemarle
County, Va., served for many years in the Virginia House
of Delegates, became Governor of Virginia in 1840, and
was elected to Congress in 1841. He was appointed Sec-
retary of the Navy by President Tyler 15 February 1844
but^was killed 28 February 1844 by the bursting of a gun
while on board USS Princeton.
I
( DD-233 : dp. 1,215 ; 1. 314'4y2" ; b. 30'liy2" ; dr. 9'4" ; s.
33.82 k ; cpl. 130 ; a. 4 5" ; cl. Clemson)
The first ’Gilmer (DD-233) was launched 24 May 1919 by
the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Elizabeth Gilmer Miles, Secretary Gilmer’s grand-
daughter; and commissioned 30 April 1920, Lt. (j.g.)
Harold J. Wright commanding.
From 27 August 1920 to 11 August 1923 Gilmer made two
round trip transatlantic voyages out of New York to
European and Mediterranean ports. She subsequently
engaged in training exercises along the Eastern seaboard,
in the Caribbean, and out of West Coast ports until 1938.
This varied duty was highlighted by a cruise to Nicaragua
in 1926 to protect American lives and property during a
civil war, an escort voyage to Havana guarding President
Coolidge in battleship Texas in 1928, and disaster relief
work in the Caribbean during the same year. Decom-
missioned at Philadelphia 31 August 1938, Gilmer recom-
missioned 25 September 1939 following the outbreak of
World War II and was attached to the Atlantic Fleet
Destroyer Division as flagship. She conducted patrols and
exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean until reaching San
Diego 4 November 1940 and continued these duties along
the Pacific coast until the United States entered the war.
Gilmer was at sea off Puget Sound when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. She immediately
began antisubmarine patrol and escort duties and con-
tinued her missions until entering drydock 13 November
1942. She was redesignated APD-11 on 22 January
1943 following conversion. She sailed from Seattle 29
January via San Diego for Pearl Harbor, arriving 13
February, and subsequently escorted merchantmen to Es-
piritu Santo, where she moored 9 March and commenced
amphibious training exercises with the 4th Marine Raider
Battalion.
On 5 April Gilmer sailed from Tulagi and as flagship of
Transport Division 16 engaged in antisubmarine patrols
in those waters. She called at Noumea 22 April and put
in at Townsville, Australia, 8 May, making two round trip
escort voyages thence to Brisbane 13 May-22 June 1943.
Escort and patrolling from Australia to New Guinea con-
tinued until 4 September 1943 when Gilmer participated
in the Allied assault on the Huon Peninsula near Lae, New
Guinea, and patrolled off Buna Island which she also
bombarded. She supported American and Australian
forces in the New Guinea campaign and made frequent
escort voyages thence to Australia and return. On 26
December 1943 she landed troops of the famous 1st Marine
Division at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, and stood by to
support landings at Finschhafen 3 days later. On 2 Janu-
ary 1944 elements of the 126th Infantry were landed at
Saidon. Gilmer engaged in patrols of Buna, Cape Sudest,
and Australia and bombarded Humboldt Bay, New Guinea,
22 April 1944 when Army forces stormed ashore that
D-day.
On 12 May the ship sailed from Hollandia to embark
UDT teams at Pearl Harbor and debarked them 14 June
1944 at the initial assault on Saipan. Two days later she
discovered and sank four Japanese cargo ships, taking 24
prisoners, and escaping serious damage. Tinian Town
was bombarded 23 June and UDT operations off that
island continued until 14 July when Gilmer with William
C. Miller formed a hunter-killer group and sank Japanese
submarine 1-6 in 18°18' N, 146°26' E. Gilmer sailed from
Tinian 12 August for Pearl Harbor and until January 1945
conducted demolition and reconnaissance training with
UDT teams in Hawaiian waters. She sailed 10 January
as flagship for rehearsal exercises at Ulithi, and on 16
February closed Iwo Jima for the initial amphibious
assaults. UDT teams were landed on the eastern and
western beaches and Gilmer screened battleship Tennessee
as the big ship blasted Japanese defenses on Iwo Jima.
Patrolling and screening activities continued through 24
February, when Gilmer sailed for Leyte, arriving four
days later. After touching Ulithi, she took part in the
Okinawa operation, closing that island 25 March 1945 as
flagship of the UDT’s. The next day a kamikaze took off
her galley deckhouse on its way overboard, killing one
and wounding three crewmen. Gilmer supported the in-
vasion until 9 April when she sailed for repairs at Pearl
Harbor, but returned to Okinawa 4 July to recommence
patrolling duties.
Following antisubmarine screening assignments for con-
voys bound from the Philippines to Okinawa, Gilmer
moored at Nagasaki 13 September after Japan’s surrender
to carry POW’s thence to Okinawa. She sailed from that
island 15 October to escort a convoy to Hong Kong, arriv-
ing 22 October, and sailed again 2 days later to escort
troopships carrying the Chinese 13th Army to Chin-
wangtao. After further escort and patrol voyages along
the China coast, Gilmer sailed from Tsingtao 26 November
for the United States and finally moored in the U.S. again
at Philadelphia 11 January 1946. Decommissioned 5 Feb-
ruary 1946, her name was struck from the Navy list 25
February 1946. She was sold for scrapping 3 December
1946.
Gilmer received seven battle stars for World War II
service.
II
(PC-565 : dp. 295 ; 1. 173'8” ; b. 23' ; dr. lO'lO” ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 59; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 3 20mm., 2 rkt., 4 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. PC-J,61 )
99
The second Gilmer (PC-565) was laid down as PC-565
by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 14 August
1941 ; launched 27 February 1942 ; sponsored by Miss
Jacqueline B. Perry ; and commissioned 25 April, Lt.
Walter T. Flynn in command.
After shakedown off Florida, PC-565 engaged in ASW
training, then performed convoy escort and patrol duty
in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. On 2 June while
escorting a southbound convoy from New York to Cuba,
she made an underwater sound contact and immediately
attacked. After PC-565 dropped a depth charge barrage
the submarine XJ-521 surfaced to be met with 20mm.
gunfire. Several hits were scored and the enemy U-boat
went under only to be met with another depth charge bar-
rage. Large oil slicks and debris resulted, proving the
destruction of the German U-boat. A survivor of the sub-
marine was rescued and his testimony substantiated PC-
565’ s victorious encounter.
Departing New York 25 March 1944, PC-565 sailed en-
route to England where she joined the amphibious forces
in preparation for the landing in Northern France. On 4
June she sailed from England arriving off the Normandy
beaches 2 days later. There she effectively performed
ASW patrols, antiaircraft defense, and shuttle control
duties.
Throughout the rest of the war, PC-565 remained in
Europe on escort and patrol missions in the North Sea-
English Channel area. Departing Bremerhaven 4 October
1945, the submarine chaser steamed for the United States,
arriving Norfolk on the 22d. Two months later she ar-
rived Green Cove Springs, Fla., and decommissioned 26
April 1946, joining the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. PC-565
was named Gilmer 15 February 1956. She was stricken
from the Navy List 1 July 1960, and sold to Venezuela.
PC-565 received two battle stars during World War II
service.
Gilmore
Commander Walter William Gilmore, Supply Corp.,
U.S. Navy, was born 10 February 1895 in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania ; commissioned Ensign 29 June 1917 ; his
duty assignments first taking him to a Naval Air Station
in France, followed by alternation of duties at supply
stations, air stations, operating bases, and cruisers until
2 September 1940 when he became Supply Officer of
Lexington (CV-2). He was serving in the famed aircraft
carrier during her Pacific raids on Rabaul, and on Lae
and Salamaua, and perished with his ship in the Battle
of the Coral Sea (7-8 May 1942). Commander Gilmore
was posthumously commended by Secretary of the Navy
Frank Knox for his superlative leadership and efficiency
so vital to the high state of morale of Lexington’ s crew
during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
( DE-18 : dp. 1140; 1. 289' 5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21
k. ; cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 2 40mm.; 9 20mm.; 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
( h.h. ) , 2 dct. ; cl. Evarts )
Gilmore, originally allocated to England under terms
of the Lend-Lease Program, was launched as HMS Haider
(BDE-18) on 22 October 1942 by the Mare Island Naval
Shipyard, California ; sponsored by Mrs. Otis J. Boyer,
wife of a Quarterman Rigger of the Mare Island Naval
Shipyard ; reallocated to the United States Navy and
named Gilmore (DE-18) on 19 February 1943; commis-
sioned 17 April 1943, Lt. Cmdr. S. C. Small commanding.
Gilmore conducted shakedown training at San Diego ;
escorted troopships from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor
and return (28 June-8 July 1943), then departed San
Francisco on 20 September in the escort screen of Beaver
(AS-5), bound for Attu. A unit of Escort Division 14,
she served as escort and control ship for U.S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey Ship Surveyor (18-29 October) for sur-
vey operations east of Attu ; completed 11 escort missions
between Alaskan and Aleutian ports until 20 January
1944, then took air-sea rescue station off Attu for air-
craft of Fleet Air Wing 4 until 1 February. Three days
later she departed Attu to escort a merchantman to Adak,
thence in the escort screen of Tippecanoe (AO-21) and SS
Henry Failing to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Brem-
erton, Wash., arriving 16 February 1944. She returned
to Dutch Harbor on 1 March and completed nine escort
missions between that port and Attu by 20 April 1944.
She depared Dutch Harbor on 23 April to assist Edward
D. Daley (DE-17) in the escort of merchantmen bound
for Kodiak. Near midnight of 25 April her radar picked
up a surfaced submarine which dived.
Gilmore gained underwater sound contact, made two
depth charge attacks, then regained contact at 0010, 26
April. She exploded six depth charges near the sub-
marine and 5 minutes later six others were dropped
directly over the target. A violent underwater explosion
caused minor damage in the after motor room of Gilmore
as the 1,630-ton Japanese submarine 1-180 settled to the
bottom in latitude 50°10' North; longitude 155°40' West.
Gilmore arrived at Kodiak on 29 April ; returned to
Dutch Harbor with Army transport Otsego on 9 May, and
made five escort voyages between that port and Adak
before serving on air-sea rescue station for pilots of
Fleet Air Wing Four (1^4 July 1944). Fourteen more
escort missions for troop transports were made to Kodiak,
Adak, Attu, Kiska and Amchitka by 8 September 1944,
followed by plane guard patrol west of Attu for Fleet
Air Wing Four until 1 October. She then resumed escort
missions between various Alaskan and Aleutian ports.
Gilmore departed Dutch Harbor on 13 January 1945
for overhaul in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard until
4 March, then sailed for Hawaii. She entered Pearl
Harbor on 10 March, became flagship of Escort Division
14, and departed Pearl Harbor on 20 March as screen
commander for a troopship convoy escorted safely to
Eniwetok atoll in the Marshalls on 29 March. After
guarding escort aircraft carrier Long Island (CVE-1) to
Apra Harbor, Guam, she touched at Saipan on 13 April to
act as station guide for a task element of tank landing
ships that arrived off Iwo Jima on the 18th. After join-
ing Cassin (DD-372) in the escort of two merchantmen
to Guam, she departed Saipan on 1 May 1945 with another
convoy of amphibious assault ships that arrived off Iwo
Jima on the 4th. Assigned to rescue station, she closed
within 12 miles of Mount Suribachi that afternoon to
rescue an Army aviator from his crashed plane. On the
10th she sent her medical officer to Jallao (SS-368) for
treatment of injured airmen rescued by that submarine.
She escorted Jallao into Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, on
12 May and was relieved as division flagship by Doherty
(DE-14) 20 July 1945.
Gilmore made an escort voyage for troopships to
Okinawa and return (22 July-7 August 1945), then
joined an antisubmarine warfare task group built around
escort carrier Kasaan Bay (CVE-69) for an unrewarded
search for enemy submarines in waters extending some
250 miles southwest of Guam. She returned to Saipan
from this mission on 17 August 1945, made two escort
voyages for troop convoys to Okinawa and return by 11
September, proceeded off Marcus Island for patrol (13-28
September), thence to Apra Harbor, Guam. She sailed
for home on 12 October via Pearl Harbor to San Pedro,
Calif., arriving 27 October 1945. Gilmore decommis-
sioned 29 December 1945 and remained in the San Diego
Group, U.S. Pacific Reserve Fleet, until sold for scrapping
on 1 February 1947.
Gilmore received one battle star for the sinking of
Japanese submarine 1-180.
Gilmore, Howard W., see Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16)
Ginko
A handsome gymnospermous tree with yellow fruit and
fan-shaped leaves, native to eastern China.
Ginko (YN-65) was renamed Mastic (YN-65) (q.v.) on
17 April 1943.
100
mrn — * : i - 1 .. BHI
Pfc , . t M-r-T. - M . k J
*
USS Gilmore (DE-18) in San Francisco Bay 27 February 1945
Gipsey
A former name retained.
Operations of a schooner Gipsey are briefly mentioned
in the reports of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
early in 1862, but no other record of her service has been
found.
Giraffe
A large ruminant mammal of Africa, having a very long
neck. It is the tallest of quadrupeds.
(EX-118: dp. 14,245; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s.
11 k.; cpl. 108; a. 15")
Giraffe (IX-118), formerly tanker Sanford B. Dole,
was launched 11 November 1943 by the California Ship-
building Corp., Wilmington, Calif. ; sponsored by Miss
Mary F. Leddy ; acquired and simultaneously commis-
sioned 12 December 1943 ; Lt. Comdr. Frederick F. Daly,
USNR, commanding.
Following shakedown, Giraffe put in at Funafuti, Ellice
Islands, 10 February 1944 and subsequently refueled
warships at Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Ulithi, and Palau
before reaching Okinawa 21 July 1945. She entered Sa-
sebo, Japan, 20 November at war’s end and served the occu-
pation fleet until departing Yokosuka 21 February 1946
for Pearl Harbor and Norfolk. Giraffe reached Norfolk
3 May and decommissioned there 17 June 1946. Returned
to the War Department that date, she was stricken from
the Navy List 3 July 1946. She was subsequently sold to
Metro Petroleum Shipping Co., Inc.
Giraffe was awarded two battle stars for World War II
service.
Girasol
A bluish-white translucent opal with reddish reflections.
(PY-27 : dp. 700 ; 1. 170' ; b. 2Viy2” ; dr. lO'lO" ; s. 12 k ;
cpl. 55 ; a. 1 3")
Girasol (PY-27), formerly yacht Firenze, was built in
1926 by the Krupp Iron Works, Kiel, Germany ; acquired
16 March 1942 ; and commissioned 19 March 1942, Lieu-
tenant Herbert M. Jones, USNR, commanding.
Girasol sailed from Norfolk 10 August 1942 for shake-
down off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and subsequently
steamed via San Diego to reach Pearl Harbor 26 Decem-
ber. Attached to the Hawaiian Sea Frontier through
October, 1945, she patrolled Hawaiian waters and made
frequent voyages to Midway in addition to exacting duties
as plane guard and station ship.
Detached from the Hawaiian Sea Frontier 7 November
1945 at war’s end, Girasol decommissioned at Mare Island,
Calif., 26 January 1946. Stricken from the Navy List 1
month later, she was transferred to the Maritime Com-
mission 14 July 1947.
Gitana, see YP-59S
Glacier
A field or body of ice formed in a region where snowfall
exceeds melting; it moves slowly down a mountainside
or valley. The second and fourth Glacier were named
for Glacier Bay, Alaska ; the third Glacier for Glacier
County, Montana.
I
( AF— 1 : dp. 8325 ; 1. 388'7" ; b. 46'1" ; dr. 25'4" ; s. 12.3 k. ;
cpl. 98; a. 4 3")
The first Glacier was built as the merchant ship, SS
Port Chalmers, in 1891 by J. L. Thompson & Son, Sun-
derland, England ; purchased from the Federal Line, Lon-
don, July 1898 ; commissioned at New York 5 July 1898,
Comdr. J. P. Merrill, USN, commanding; had her name
changed to Delmonioo 6 July 1898, and to Glacier 6 days
later.
Glacier departed Hampton Roads 15 August, and for
the following 5 months she supplied ice, meat, and stores
to ships of the North Atlantic Fleet operating in the
West Indies during the Spanish-American War. Sailing
from San Juan 3 January 1899, she arrived at New York
1 week later, and decommissioned there 6 March.
Glacier recommissioned at New York 31 March 1899,
assigned to the Asiatic Station, she stood out of Hampton
Roads 24 May and arrived 15 July at Manila Bay via
the Mediterranean and Suez Canal. Operating in the
Philippines during these troubled years, she supplied
Army and Navy forces with ice, meat, and stores ; de-
livered stores to reconstructed gunboats at Hongkong;
and transported large quantities of meat and provisions
from Australia to Manila. Sailing out of Manila Bay
22 April 1903, Glacier arrived at Norfolk 29 June, and
decommissioned there 1 August.
Recommissioning there 15 December, she loaded sup-
101
plies and provisions at New York and delivered her cargo
to ships at Guantanamo, Pensacola, and the Canal Zone
(14 Feb-7 July 1904). Arriving at Boston 17 July,
Glacier decommissioned there on the 30th and, following
repairs, recommissioned 15 September and fitted out for
special duty. Glacier became a unit of the Special Serv-
ice Squadron composed of Brutus, Caesar, and Potomac,
assigned to tow the floating dry dock Dewey from Spar-
rows Point, Md. to the Philippine Islands. Departing Sol-
omons, Md. on the Patuxent River 28 December 1905, the
squadron arrived at Olongapo, Philippines, via Los Palmas
in the Canaries, Port Said, Suez, and Singapore, 10
July 1906. Following delivery of the dock, Glacier pro-
ceeded to Cavite for discharge of cargo and repairs.
She stood out of Cavite 16 August, and arrived at Boston
14 November via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, and
New York.
Departing Boston 4 January 1907, Glacier became a unit
of the Atlantic Fleet, and engaged in supplying fresh pro-,
visions to ships operating in the Atlantic and Caribbean
area until returning to New York 14 October.
As a storeship, she departed New York 5 December
and accompanied the Atlantic Fleet on its good will and
training cruise to the Pacific, stopping at various ports
in the Caribbean, South America, and Mexico en route.
Arriving 14 April 1908 at San Francisco. Glacier cruised
with the Fleet on the California coast until departing
San Francisco 29 June. She continued as supply ship
to the Atlantic Fleet on its famous voyage around the
world, visiting Honolulu, the Fiji Islands, New Zealand,
Australia, and the Philippines. On 21 October, while
at Cavite, she became detached from the Atlantic Fleet
and assigned to the Pacific Fleet in her former capacity.
The Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet reports in
1908: “The storeships Culogoa and Glacier have been in
constant attendance on the fleet, and have most success-
fully met all demands upon them. They have made the
fleet absolutely independent of the local resources at
the ports visited, which was necessary in view of the
large number of men to be subsisted.”
Loading provisions at Manila and Sydney (10 Nov-
5 Dec), Glacier joined the Pacific Fleet at Talcahuano,
Chile, 1 January 1909, and accompanied the fleet on a
cruise to South and Central American ports and to
Magdalena Bay. They arrived at Mare Island 2 June for
repairs.
Continuing in her service as supply ship to the Pacific
Fleet until 1918, Glacier was employed in delivering fresh
provisions, stores, ammunition, target material, and mail ;
transporting personnel ; and towing target rafts and coal
barges. Her principal area of operations was on the West
Coast, Mexico, and Central America. She made two trips
to Asiatic waters (22 Sep 1909-14 Feb 1910 and 8 Apr-
17 Aug 1912) to supply ships operating in the Hawaiian
area, the Philippines, and the China and Japan coasts.
From 1913 to 1917 she operated between California and
Mexico and Nicaragua, delivering stores, mail and men
to the Fleet, investigating conditions at Mexican ports,
and giving refuge to United States and other foreign citi-
zens during the unsettled conditions in Mexico. She
loaded stores, fresh meats, and ammunition at San Fran-
cisco 9 to 14 May 1917, arrived 30 June at Rio de Janeiro
and, through March 1918, delivered her cargo to ships
operating on the east coast of South America.
Departing Rio de Janeiro 2 April, Glacier arrived at
New York on the 24th, and became assigned to NOTS. As
a Naval Overseas Transport Ship, she made three trips
to Europe carrying fresh meats and general stores to naval
forces operating in European waters. The first two trips
were made from New York to the British Isles, 2 June-
26 July 1918 and 13 August-20 October 1918, and the third
trip from New York to Brest, 4 Nov 1918-A January 1919,
returning to Norfolk with a cargo of aviation material
and high explosives for New York-.
Standing in at New York 10 January 1919, she was
detached from NOTS and assigned to the Train Squadron,
Atlantic Fleet. From 6 May to 25 June 1919, she issued
stores to the Atlantic Fleet and engaged in target practice
with the fleet on the East Coast.
Glacier departed New York 24 July, arrived 17 August
at San Pedro, and became attached to the Train Squadron,
Pacific Fleet. Until 1921 she was engaged in transport-
ing stores, ammunition, and personnel to ships operating
off the California coast and Canal Zone area.
Arriving 31 October 1921 at Mare Island. Glacier decom-
missioned there 6 March 1922 and was sold 17 August to
Barde Steel & Machinery Co., Seattle, Wash., for $22,000.
II
(ACV-33: dp. 7800; 1. 495'8" ; b. 69'6" ; ew. 111'6" ; s.
18 k. ; cpl. 890 ; a. 2 5" ; cl. Prince William)
The second Glacier was originally designated AVG-33,
and changed to AVC-33 on 20 August 1942. She was built
by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. (later Todd-
Pacific Shipbuilding) of Tacoma, Wash., under Maritime
Commission Contract. Glacier was launched 7 September
1942, sponsored by Mrs. Richard P. Luker, and commis-
sioned 12 July 1943, Comdr. Ward C. Gilbert in command.
Her designation was changed to CVE-33 on 15 July 1943.
Glacier was one of a large group of escort carriers trans-
ferred to Great Britain under lend-lease. She was trans-
ferred 31 July 1943 at Vancouver, B.C. and served during
World War II as Atheling. Atheling put in to Norfolk,
Va., 6 December 1946 for return to the United States.
Her name was stricken from the Navy List 7 February
1947 and she was sold to National Bulk Carriers, Inc.,
26 November 1947.
III
( AK-183 : dp. 7,450; 1. 338'6" ; b. 50' ; dr. 21'1" ; s. 11.5 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3''.)
The third Glacier (AK-183) was launched 22 April
1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by Walter
Butler Shipbuilding, Inc., Superior, Wis. ; sponsored by
Miss Agnes Kennedy ; acquired 29 March 1945 and com-
missioned 14 April 1945, Lt. C. L. Hitchcock, USNR,
in command.
Following shakedown off Galveston, Tex., Glacier loaded
lumber and metal drums at New Orleans and sailed 18
May 1945 for Pearl Harbor, where she put in 12 June to
off-load her cargo. Underway 29 June with building sup-
plies for Kwajalein, she returned via Eniwetok to San
Francisco 5 August. Subsequently, a 5-month voyage out
of San Francisco brought general cargo to Pearl Harbor,
Tarawa, Majuro, Eniwetok, Guam, and Saipan before
Glacier moored at Norfolk 1 February 1946, her missions
accomplished. Decommissioned there 19 February 1946,
she was returned to the Maritime Commission 3 days later
and stricken from the Navy List 12 March 1946.
IV
(AGB-4 : dp. 8,650; 1. 310' ; b. 74' ; dr. 29' ; s. 16 k; cpl.
339 ; a. 2 5" ; cl. Glacier. )
The fourth Glacier (AGB^) was launched 27 August
1954 by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Roseoe F. Good ; and commissioned 27
May 1955, Comdr. E .H. Mater in command.
Icebreaker Glacier's shakedown cruise and maiden voy-
age were combined in her important role in Operation
Deep Freeze I. Her first encounter with the ice came in
December 1955, when after breaking through the Ross
Ice Pack, she carved out an ice harbor in Kainan Bay
to permit the offloading of cargo ships at the site for Lit-
tle America V. Glacier subsequently continued 400 miles
west to break ice into an offloading site for the establish-
ment of the Naval Air Facility at McMurdo Sound. In
March 1956 an exploratory voyage around the Weddel Sea
was completed; the icebreaker surveyed Vincennes Bay
in Wilkes Land and made the first landing in history on
the Princess Martha and Princess Astrid coasts. Glacier
returned to Boston, her home port, 6 May 1956 after
these accomplishments.
The ship returned to McMurdo Sound 28 October 1956 as
spearhead for Deep Freeze II, having made the earliest
102
seasonal penetration in history through the dangerous
ice belt. After supply deliveries there and at Little Amer-
ica, she led seven other Navy ships from New Zealand
through the ice pack to the two Antarctic base sites. In
January 1947 she led two cargo ships into Vincennes Bay
where the last of the seven American bases for the Inter-
national Geophysical Year was to be constructed. Glacier
departed Wilkes Station 17 February for the United States
via Melbourne with the termination of the operation.
During Deep Freeze III and the IGY of 1957-58, Glacier
participated as a launching platform for extensive
“rockoon” tests during which balloon-lifted rockets
gained information useful to the “Explorer” space satel-
lite program. In addition, the icebreaker continued her
usual ice clearing and escort duties and conducted oceano-
graphic studies in the Ross Sea.
The summer of 1958 found Glacier at the opposite end
of the earth as she escorted ships participating in Opera-
tion Sunec for the resupply of North Polar radar and
weather stations. By November of that year, however,
she was again near the South Pole at McMurdo Sound,
and after supplying the base steamed to Little America
V to begin deactivation of that station. Subsequently,
while operating in the Terra Nova Bay on the coast of
Victoria Land, she discovered two previously unknown
islands and what was possibly the largest Emperor pen-
guin rookery in the Antarctic, home of over 50,000 of the
large birds. Glacier came to the assistance of the Belgian
expedition ship Polarhav near Breid Bay, halfway around
the Antarctic continent from the Ross Sea area.
Fifth of the Navy’s Antarctic support operations, Deep
Freeze 60 (for the season 1959-60) took the ship once
more to McMurdo and on a tour of exploration into the
Bellingshausen Sea. Oceanographic and cartographic
studies were discontinued in late February 1960 when
Glacier steamed to assist Argentine icebreaker General
San Martin and Danish cargo ship Kista Dan. With
these missions accomplished, Glacier sailed for Boston
via Rio de Janeiro, and while at that port provided emer-
gency assistance to flooded areas in Brazil, finally sailing
for Boston 17 April 1960.
The icebreaker departed Boston 13 October 1960 on her
sixth Antarctic voyage and reached Port Lyttelton, N.Z.,
21 November to unload cargo. Most of December was
spent in breaking a 21-mile channel through McMurdo
Sound to open the way for the thin-hulled supply ships.
Following a return voyage to Wellington for repairs and
to receive the Navy Unit Commendation for her Bellings-
hausen achievement of the preceeding expedition, she
again entered the ice-chocked Amundsen and Bellings-
hausen Seas on a voyage of exploration and discovery.
Oceanographic work continued until March 1961 when she
sailed for Boston, arriving 27 April.
Underway again 8 October 1961 for Deep Freeze 62,
she loaded cargo at Port Lyttelton in early November and
encountered the Ross Sea ice pack 13 November, reaching
McMurdo Sound by the end of the month. After repairs
at Wellington Glacier returned to McMurdo and pressed
on to the site of Little America V for cartographic studies.
She returned to New Zealand 6 March 1962 and sub-
sequently put in at Boston 5 May after steaming 36,000
miles.
The busy ship stood out of Boston 17 September for
Deep Freeze 63, entering the pack ice 6 November and
reaching the edge of the fast bay ice of McMurdo Sound
a week later. The thickness of the ice necessitated repairs
at Wellington, by 31 December 1962 Glacier was again
churning through McMurdo Sound enroute to McMurdo
Station. She continued operations off McMurdo Station
through 1965. One of her many duties was to keep the
channel open for supply ships. On 29 December 1965
Atka (AGB-3) and Burton Island (AGB— 1) assisted her
in pushing an iceberg out of the shipping lane. After
further participation in her 11th Operation “Deep Freeze,”
Glacier returned to her home port, Boston, Mass., in the
late spring of 1966. On 1 July 1966 Glacier was struck
from the Navy List after transfer to the Coast Guard 30
June.
USS Burton Island (AGB-1), USS Atka (AGB-3), and USS Glacier (AGB-4) pushing an iceburg out of the channel in
the “Silent Land” near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 29 December 1965
256-125 0 - 68 -9
103
Gladiator
A man who fought with deadly weapons, as in the
amphitheater, for popular amusement. Hence, one who
engages in any kind of spirited contest.
I
(Tug: t. 67; 1. 76'1" ; b. 19'4" ; dr. 7'4".)
The first Gladiator was built in 1876 at St. Mary’s,
Ga. ; chartered from the Wilmington Towing Co., Wilm-
ington, N.C. ; commissioned 19 April 1918 ; and assigned
to the 5th Naval District. On 20 August 1918 tug Emily
B. owned by the same company, was substituted for Gladi-
ator, and on 20 December 1918 Gladiator decommis-
sioned and was returned to her owners.
II
(AM-319 : dp 890 ; 1. 221'2” ; b. 32' ; dr. 10' ; s. 18 k ;
a. 13”)
The second Gladiator, originally B AM-6, was launched
7 May 1943 as AM-319 by the General Engineering &
Drydock Oo., Alameda, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Made-
line A. Silva ; and acquired and simultaneously com-
missioned 25 February 1944, Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Cos-
tello in command.
Gladiator sailed from San Francisco 1 May 1944 with
a convoy for Pearl Harbor and subsequently made four
round trip escort voyages from Hawaii — one to Kwaja-
lein and three to Eniwetok — from 22 May-11 September
1944. Underway again 16 October, she reached Ulithi 12
November and commenced patrol and escort duty in
those waters. Voyages to Eniwetok, Kossol Roads, and
Saipan, were frequently made to shepherd merchantmen
to and from those strategic ports until Gladiator sailed
from Ulithi 19 March 1945 for combat at Okinawa.
Closing the beaches of Okinawa 24 March when Vice
Admiral Lee’s battle ships were bombarding the island,
Gladiator began minesweeping operations and screening
duties. On April 6 she came under attack from a Japan-
ese bomber and shot it down with the help of four
American fighters that were on the bomber’s tail during
its approach. Another plane was splashed 6 days later
when Gladiator’s automatic weapons brought it down
close aboard on the starboard beam ; debris rained about
the ship. A third enemy plane was shot down 22 April,
crashing into the sea after passing just fifty feet above
the ship’s deck ; but one man was killed and five wounded
by the plane’s strafing. Gladiator continued minesweep-
ing duties off Okinawa until sailing 19 May with a con-
voy for Saipan and Guam, subsequently returning to
Okinawa 21 June. From 8-25 July 1945 she conducted
minesweeping operations in the East China Sea, destroy-
ing six mines, and put in at Guam 11 August for major
overhaul.
Gladiator departed Guam 24 November and reached
San Francisco 15 December 1945. She steamed to San
Pedro, Calif., 30 May 1946 and after being towed to San
Diego 2 October 1946 decommissioned at that port 2 days
later.
Recommissioned 29 February 1952 at Long Beach,
Calif., Gladiator sailed 2 September for Japan, closing
Sasebo 1 month later, and steaming to Wonsan, Korea, 27
October. She swept mines in those dangerous waters
until returning to Sasebo 10 November and subsequently,
until the spring of 1953, divided her time between mine-
sweeping operations at Wonsan, Inchon, and Hungnam
and replenishment and training exercises in Sasebo and
Yokosuka.
Gladiator departed Sasebo 19 March 1953 and put in at
Long Beach 10 April. She engaged in peacetime activi-
ties— overhaul at San Francisco, training exercises off
southern California, a round trip cruise from Long
Beach to Acapulco and Balboa (15 January-12 Febru-
ary 1954), and a cruise to Bellingham, Wash., and return
(28 June-10 July 1954) — before decommissioning at
Long Beach 15 March 1955. Redesignated MSF-319,
Gladiator entered the reserve fleet berthed at Green
Cove Springs, Fla. She was later transferred to the
Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, Calif., where she
remains.
Gladiator received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Gladiola
A flowering plant of a genus closely related to the iris.
( SP-184 : t. 43 ; 1. 68'8” ; b. 14'5” ; dr. 2'7” ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1
1-pdr, 1 mg.)
Gladiola, a yacht used as a motor patrol boat, was built
in 1911 by the Hudson Yacht & Building Co. of Nyack,
N.Y. She was acquired by the Navy from Coburn Has-
kell, 17 April 1917 ; and commissioned 1 May 1917, Ens.
John S. Baker, USNRF, in command.
Gladiola was operational control of the 5th Naval
District and served in the Norfolk-Hampton Roads, Va.,
area as a Naval Port Guard craft and as a customs boat.
She decommissioned and was simultaneously returned to
her owner 25 February 1919.
Gladiolus
A plant of the iris family.
(Sc Tug : t. 81 ; 1. 88' ; b. 18'6” ; dph. 7'9” ; a. 2 12-pdr. r.
1 24-pdr. how.)
Gladiolus, formerly tug Sallie Bishop, was purchased at
Philadelphia 2 June 1864 by Commodore C. K. Stribling.
She commissioned 15 June 1864, Acting Master J. C. Ham-
lin in command.
Gladiolus departed Philadelphia 17 June 1864 to join
Rear Admiral Dahlgren’s South Atlantic Blockading
Squadron, and was assigned to Charleston station, arriv-
ing 25 June. For the next six months she was actively
engaged in towing and coaling ships of the squadron, and
served as a night picket boat protecting the powerful iron-
clads from torpedo and boarding attack. During this
period she was also assisted in the capture of several
blockade runners.
After the capture of Charleston in February 1865,
Gladiolus worked in the harbor clearing obstructions and
searching for torpedoes. She subsequently served as a
dispatch boat for the squadron between Florida ports and
Port Royal until she sailed for Washington from Charles-
ton 17 August 1865. She decommissioned at Washington
Navy Yard 30 August 1865, and was sold 15 September to
S. M. and J. M. Flanagan. Gladiolus returned to mer-
chant service under the same name and was lost in 1887.
Gladwin
A county in Michigan.
Gladwin (APA-106) was renamed Hansford (APA-
106 ) ( q.v. ) on 25 August 1944.
Gladwyne
A city in Pennsylvania.
( PF-62 : dp. 1,264 ; 1. 303'11” ; b. 37'6” ; dr. 13'8” ; s. 20.3
k. ; cpl. 214 ; a. 3 3”/50 cal. cl. Tacoma )
Gladwyne (PF-62), formerly Worcester, was launched
7 January 1944 by the Globe Shipbuilding Co., Superior.
Wis. ; sponsored by Mrs. Phyllis M. Bennett ; and com-
missioned 21 November 1944, Lt. Comdr. R. G. Miller,
USCG, in command.
After shakedown, Gladwyne sailed from Philadelphia 21
January 1945 for Casco Bay, Maine, arriving 2 days later.
Following training exercises there, she made two round
104
trip transatlantic convoy escort voyages to Oran, Algeria,
one each from New York and Norfolk, from 6 February-14
May 1945, returning to Boston each time. Refresher
training at Casco Bay occupied June, and on 31 July
Gladwyne sailed from Boston via Panama to reach Ma-
juro 5 September. She served as plane guard there and
at Kwajalein until putting in at Pearl Harbor 27 Decem-
ber 1945. Underway again 23 February 1946, Gladwyne
patrolled on weather station until mooring at San Fran-
cisco 9 April. Decommissioned there 15 April 1946, she
was stricken from the Navy List 8 October 1946 and sold
to the Mexican Government 24 November 1947. She
served Mexico as Papaloayan until disposed of in 1965.
Glance
A rapid oblique movement ; an oblique or indirect hit or
thrust.
( StTug : t. 81 ; 1. 75' ; b. 17' ; dr. 8' ; s. 8 k. )
Glance was built in 1863 as the merchant tug Glide by
Reany, Archibald & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. ; purchased by
Rear Admiral S. H. Stringham at Boston 2 June 1864, and
placed under command of Acting Ensign H. Wheeler.
Glance arrived at Hampton Roads, Va., on 20 July 1864
for service as yard tug until 13 July 1865 when ordered to
Philadelphia for identical duty. She continued yard tug
duties at Philadelphia until sold on 27 September 1883 to
Mr. W. H. Swift, Boston, Mass.
Glasgow
(SwStr: t. 252; dr. 6'9" ; a. 1 12-pdr. how., 1 12-pdr. r.)
Glasgow was originally blockade runner Eugenie, cap-
tured off Mobile Bay 6 May 1863 by R. R. Cuyler. She
was purchased from the Key West Prize Court and com-
missioned 9 July 1863, Acting Ensign N. M. Dyer in com-
mand.
Assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Eu-
genie served as a dispatch and supply ship for the squad-
ron between Mobile Bay and Pensacola, Fla. Eugenie sent
an expedition to Mermentau Lake, La., 22 December 1863,
for the capture of two British blockade runners. Schooner
Derby was captured, but had to be burnt because of heavy
enemy shore fire on the attacking party.
Eugenie was renamed Glasgow 21 January 1864, and
after a week repairing at New Orleans in early February,
was back on station with the blockading fleet off Mobile.
Serving mainly as dispatch boat, Glasgow aided in the
destruction of blockade r inner Ivanhoe under the fire of
Fort Morgan 30 May 1864, and fired at an unknown block-
ade runner under the guns of the fort 1 July. She was
present off- Fort Gaines 8 August when the fort surren-
dered to Union forces after Admiral Farragut’s historic
victory at Mobile Bay, and received the Admiral on board
for a brief visit 26 November.
During 1865, Glasgow continued her regular duties, and
in addition served occasionally, because of her speed and
light draft, as flagship of the West Gulf Squadron. She
struck an obstruction and sank in shoal water off Mobile
8 May 1865, and was not raised until 19 June. Glasgow
was taken to Pensacola for repairs and returned to duty
1 July 1866. Chosen to be retained for the post-war
cruising squadron in the Gulf, Glasgow served as store-
ship and visited New Orleans, Lakeport, La., and Mexican
ports until she entered the Pensacola Navy Yard for re-
pairs 23 January 1868. Departing Pensacola 10 March,
she spent another five months cruising with the squadron
on the lower Mississippi River and off Pensacola, return-
ing there 6 August 1868. She decommissioned 17 October
1868 at Pensacola and was sold 4 June 1869 to Thomas
McClellan.
Glass, Admiral, see Admiral Glass
Glaucus
A sea God in Greek mythology.
( ScStr : t. 1,244; 1. 209' ; b. 35'6'' ; dph. 20'8” ; s. 10k. ; a.
1 100-pdr. P. r., 2 30-pdr. r. 8 8” )
Glaucus, a screw steamer, was built in New York in
1863; purchased 17 July 1863 by Rear Admiral F. H.
Gregory; and commissioned 18 February 1864, Comdr.
C. H. B. Caldwell in command.
Glaucus was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockad-
ing Squadron, but before assuming her duties she was
chosen to transport Senor Manuel Murillo, newly elected
President of Columbia, to Cartagena. She departed 5
March from New York and arrived Cartagena 16 March.
Returning to Beaufort, N.C., 3 May 1864, Glaucus took up
blockading station off Cape Fear River. On 28 May,
while pursuing a blockade runner off the Western Bar,
Glaucus caught fire and was nearly destroyed. The crew
managed to control the flames, however ; and she proceeded
to Philadelphia for repairs, arriving 9 June 1864 and de-
commissioning 11 June. Repaired and recommissioned
22 August 1864, she broke down on her way to New
York, and had to again undergo extensive repairs. Sailing
to join the West India Convey Fleet, she grounded near
Molasses Reef in the Bahamas, and had to be towed 30
May 1865. She was decommissioned 6 June sold 12 June
1865 to John Henderson. Renamed Worchester, she had
an active merchant career before being scrapped at Boston
in 1894.
Gleaves
Albert Gleaves, born 1 January 1858 in Nashville, Tenn.,
graduated from the Naval Academy in 1877. After serv-
ing on board Hartford and Trenton, he was appointed an
Ensign in 1881. Assigned to many ships and station, he
commanded Cushing during the Spanish-American War
and later North Dakota. Promoted to Rear Admiral in
1915, in World War I he commanded the Cruiser and
Transport Force. For his outstanding contribution he was
awarded the Army and Navy Distinguished Service
Medals.
In 1919 he was promoted to Admiral. While serving
at the Naval Ordnance Proving Ground, Admiral Gleaves
made outstanding contributions in the field of gunnery
and torpedoes. While carrying out some tests on torpedo
steering devices he changed these weapons from instru-
ments of luck into instruments of precision. The gear
which he tested in Cushing provided the imprints which
made the torpedo the “terrible weapon” of World War I.
In spite of a life of constant action in war and peace, he
found time to write a biography on Captain Lawrence ;
the “History of the Cruiser and Transport Force.” and the
“Life of an American Sailor, William Hensley Emory,
Rear Admiral, USN.” After a most distinguished career,
he retired in 1921. Admiral Gleaves died 6 January 1937
at Haverford, Pa.
(DD-423: dp. 1,630; 1. 348 '4 " ; b. 36'1” ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 37
k. ; cpl. 276 ; a. 4 5'' ; cl. Gleaves )
Gleaves was launched by the Bath Iron Works, Bath,
Maine, 9 December 1939; sponsored jointly by Miss
Evelina Gleaves Van Metre and Miss Clotilda Florence
Cohe, granddaughters of Admiral Gleaves ; and commis-
sioned 14 June 1940, at Boston Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. E.
H. Pierce in command.
Departing for shakedown training soon after commis-
sioning, Gleaves operated off the Atlantic coast and in
Caribbean waters until returning to Boston 19 March 1941
to prepare for convoy duty. She departed Newport on her
first voyage 23 June 1941, and saw her convoy arrive
safely at Iceland. After patrolling in Icelandic waters
for a time, she returned to Boston 23 July.
Subsequently, Gleaves made four other convoy voyages
to Iceland, Ireland, and North Africa protecting the vital
flow of supplies to the European Theater. As the pace of
German submarine attacks increased, she made more and
105
more attacks on U-boats, but recorded no confirmed kills.
On 11 to 12 May 1942, despite the efforts of Oleaves and
the other escort vessels, seven ships of the convoy were
lost in two separate attacks by a large wolfpack.
After returning to Boston 31 March 1942, Gleaves de-
parted 10 May for participation in the Allied landings in
Sicily. After engaging in support and convoy operations
in the battle zone, Gleaves and Plunkett accepted the sur-
render of the Italian garrison on the island of Utica 5
August 1943, and later landed occupation troops on the
island. She also drove off a group of five enemy E-boats
attempting to attack shipping in the harbor of Palermo,
Sicily.
As Allied preparations for the invasion of Italy reached
a climax, Gleaves bombarded the Italian mainland In
September 1943 she helped clear the way for the Alerno
landing forces. Following the assault, Gleaves convoyed
shipping in the Mediterranean area in support of the drive
north from Salerno.
When German air and land forces combined in a de-
termined attempt to stop the landings at Anzio in Jan-
uary 1944, Gleaves was again on hand to lend decisive
gunfire support and antiaircraft cover. In May of that
year she attempted to search out and destroy German sub-
marine XJ-616 but other ships of the group sank the U-
boat. Survivors from the sunken U-boat were picked up
by Gleaves 17 May.
Gleaves next took part in the invasion of southern
France in August 1944. She escorted the Rangers in their
initial landings ; bombarded shore installations in support
of the main assault; and screened heavier units of the
fleet off shore.
Sent to San Remo on patrol and support duty, Gleaves
helped in the bombardment °f sho^-e installations there 1
October firing on shipping in the harbor of Oneglio, Italy,
with hits on two cargo ships. On the night of 1 to 2
October, Gleaves was attacked and succeeded in destroy-
ing one of three small explosives-laden German motor
boats moving down the coast to San Remo. The other
two were temporarily driven off. Returning to her sta-
tion off San Remo, Gleaves was attacked two more times
before she, by violent maneuvering, depth charges, and
well-placed gunfire, left five boats sunk in her wake.
The following morning she returned to the area to find a
sixth boat disabled; and captured it with two operators
on board, who provided the Allies much valuable
information.
In December 1944, Gleaves was assigned as fire sup-
port ship near Allied positions on the Franco-Italian fron-
tier, and ably performed this duty until sailing for the
United States in February 1945. After a period of out-
fitting at New York and training activities in the Carib-
bean, she departed 30 June 1945 from Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, for the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor 4 August.
After the war’s end, Gleaves proceeded westward to Sai-
pan and Nagasaki, Japan, with the occupation forces.
She distinguished herself for outstanding rescue and sal-
vage work during the powerful typhoon which swept
USS Gleaves (DD-423) leaves the building ways 9 December 1939.
106
through the Philippine Sea during September and
October.
While repairing her machinery at Adak, Alaska, 23
November, Oleaves received word that steamer Adabelle
Lykes in the Pacific was suffering from a smallpox epi-
demic. The veteran “can do” destroyer put to sea at top
speed from Adak on 25 November with the vital vaccine.
She met the stricken steamer next day and transferred
the life-saving supplies.
Her duty in the North Pacific terminated, G leaves trans-
ported 300 veterans from the Aleutians to Seattle, Wash.,
on “Magic-Carpet” duty, arriving 10 December 1945. She
then moved to San Francisco and on 2 January 1946 de-
parted for Charleston, S.C. At Charleston, where she ar-
rived 18 January 1946, Gleaves decommissioned 8 May
1946, and was placed in reserve at Philadelphia, Pa.
She was later moved to the Reserve Fleet at Orange, Tex.,
where she remains in 1967.
Gleaves received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Glen White
A merchant name retained.
( AK ; dp. 12,163 ; 1. 395' ; b. 55' ; dr. 27' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl. 73 ;
a. 1 5", 1 6-pdr.)
Glen White was built as Tidewater by the New York
Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J., for the American-Italian
Steam Ship Co., New York; launched 20 April 1918; re-
named Glen White; acquired from the United States Ship-
ping Board at Philadelphia on 22 July 1918 ; commissioned
the same day, Lt. Comdr. Eugene Lane, USNRF, in
command.
Glen White was assigned to NOTS and departed Phila-
delphia on 25 July 1918 to load 6,149 tons of general Army
cargo at New York, then proceeding to Hampton Roads on
5 August to join a convoy that reached St. Nazaire,
France, on the 26th. She returned to New York on 29
September. After two similar voyage carrying a total
of 12,458 tons of Army cargo to Brest and St. Nazaire,
France, she decommissioned at Baltimore 6 March 1919
and returned to USSB.
Glendale
A city in California.
(PF-36 : dp. 1,264 ; 1. 303'11'' ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20.3
k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3"; cl. Tacoma)
Glendale (PF-36) was launched 28 May 1943, by Con-
solidated Steel Oorp., Los Angeles, Calif. ; sponsored by
Miss Shirley Schlichtman ; and commissioned 1 October
1943, Lt. Comdr. Harold J. Doebler, USCG, in command.
Following shakedown off Southern California, Glendale
sailed from San Diego 12 January 1944 and reached
Cairns, Australia, 17 February. Until the fall of 1944,
she served as an antisubmarine and antiaircraft escort
ship based in New Guinea protecting arriving and depart-
ing merchantmen.
In September the frigate took part in the assault on
Morotai Island, N.W.I., sailing from Humboldt Bay, N.G.,
14 September to escort merchant ships to the island. She
returned to Humboldt Bay 24 September to continue escort
assignments between New Guinea and the Philippines.
On 5 December 1944, Glendale was escorting a convoy
from Hollandia to Leyte when attacking Japanese planes
sank SS Antoine Saugrain, a cargo ship laden with valua-
ble radar material, and severely damaged SS Marcus Daly.
She brought the rest of the convoy safely into Leyte the
next day.
Glendale departed Leyte 8 December bound for the At-
lantic and moored at Boston 24 January 1945. After
overhaul, she got underway from Casco Bay, Maine, 28
March for Seattle, arriving 26 April, before she sailed for
Cold Bay, Alaska. Decommissioning there 12 June 1945,
she was simultaneously transferred to the Soviet Navy.
Renamed EK-42’ she then served as a patrol vessel in
the Far East.
Glendale was returned to the United States by the
Soviet Union 16 November 1949 at Yokosuka, Japan, and
recommissioned 11 October 1950. In December, 1950, the
ship patrolled off Hungnam, Pusan, and Inchon, Korea, in
support of United Nations forces fighting aggression
ashore. For her actions in Korean waters, Glendale was
awarded the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. On 29
October 1951, she was decommissioned again and trans-
ferred to the Government of Thailand to serve as Tachin
(PF-1) Glendale was struck from the Navy List 20 No-
vember 1951.
Glendale was awarded five battle stars for World War II
service and four battle stars for Korean service.
Glendoveer
A former name retained.
( SP-292 : t. 33; 1. 74'; b. 12'; dr. 4'6" ; s. 12 k. ; a. 2
3-pdr. )
Glendoveer (SP-292) was built in 1907 by Jahneke
Navigation Co., New Orleans, and was purchased by the
Navy from her former owner, Ernest L. Jahneke, 3 May
1917. Glendoveer commissioned 9 May 1917 at New Or-
leans, Boatswain Jacob Hansen, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 8th Naval District as a patrol craft,
Glendoveer served in Pensacola Harbor, New Orleans,
and Biloxi, Miss, as section patrol boat and inspection
boat for merchant craft. Her duties included occasional
use as a mail boat and even rescue missions. She re-
sponded to a distress call from a seaplane lost in the fog off
Pensacola 14 February 1918 and succeeded in towing it
into the safety of the harbor.
Glendoveer continued her patrolling duties until she
decommissioned 8 February 1919 at New Orleans. She
was struck from the Navy List 17 June 1919 and sold to
Charles DeLerno 2 September 1919.
Glennon
James Henry Glennon, bom 11 February 1857 at French
Gulch, Calif., was appointed a cadet midshipman on 24
September 1874. He served as a midshipman in Lacka-
wanna, Alaska and Pensacola, and later as an officer in
Ranger (1881-85) and Constellation (1885-88). He
commanded a forward gun turret in Massachusetts when
that battleship on 4 July 1898 joined Texas in sinking the
Reina Mercedes. While executive officer and navigator
in Vicksburg, he participated in the actions against the
Philippine Insurgents. During 1912 to 1913 he was
President of the Board of Naval Ordnance and of the
Joint Army-Navy Board on Smokeless Powder.
He served as Commandant of the Washington Navy
Yard and Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory from
1915 to early 1917 when he was appointed the Navy De-
partment representative in a special mission under Elihu
Root sent to Russia. At the risk of his life, he persuaded
mutinous Russian sailors who had taken over command
of Russian ships-of-war in waters of Sevastapol, to restore
authority to the officers of the men-of-war. After com-
pleting the mission to Russia, he took command of Battle-
ship Division 5 with his flag in battleship Connecticut.
He was awarded the Navy Cross for meritorious service
in this command, including the instruction of midshipmen
and thousands of recruits for duty as armed guard crews
of merchant ships. Detached from this duty on 17
September 1918, he became Commandant of the 13th
Naval District until 3 January 1919, then was Comman-
dant of the 3d Naval District at New York. Having
reached the statutory age for retirement, he was transfer-
red to the Retired List on 1 February 1921. Rear Admiral
James Henry Glennon died at Washington, D.C., 29
May 1940.
107
I
( DD-620 : dp. 1,620; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'4" ; s.
37.5 k. ; opl. 270; a. 4 5", 2 40mm., 5 20mm., 5 21" tt.,
6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gleaves )
The first Glennon (DD-620) was launched 26 August
1942 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Kearny, N.J. ; sponsored by Miss Jeanne Lejeune Glennon,
granddaughter ; and commissioned 8 October 1942, Lt.
Comdr. Floyd C. Camp in command.
After shakedown training along the New England coast,
Glennon guarded troops and supply convoys for the occu-
pation of Sicily (ff-15 July 1943). It was here that the
giant assault on Europe began sweeping in from the sea.
She returned to New York on 3 December 1943, then
made two round-trip convoy escort voyages to the British
Isles and one to Gibraltar. She arrived in New York
from Gibraltar on 22 April 1944 and stood out of that
port 5 May with a task group which arrived Belfast,
Ireland, on the 14th. Assigned to Assault Force “U” of
the Western Naval Task Force, she arrived in the Baie de
la Seine, France, on 6 June. After patrolling around the
bombardment group for submarines and fast German
torpedo boats, she joined in gunfire support of troops
ashore.
On 7 June she hurled in 430 5-inch shells ashore in sup-
port of troops advancing north toward Quineville. Un-
der command of Comdr. Clifford A. Johnson, she was again
approaching her gunfire support station at 0830, 8 June,
when her stern struck a mine. A whaleboat picked up
survivors while minesweepers Staff and Threat arrived
on the scene, one passing a towline while the other swept
ahead of the damaged destroyer. Destroyer escort Rich
closed in the wake of the minesweepers to assist, then
felt a heavy explosion as she slowly rounded Glennon1 s
stern to clear the area. Minutes later a second explosion
blew off a 50-foot section of Rich's stem, followed by a
third mine explosion under her forecastle. She went
under within 15 minutes of the first explosion.
Minesweeper Staff found she could not budge Glennon
whose fantail seemed to be firmly anchored to the bottom
by her starboard propeller. Most of her crew boarded
Staff and those remaining on Glennon lightened her stem
by pumping fuel forward and jettisoning depth charges
and topside gear. On 9 June salvage equipment was as-
sembled ; and some 60 officers and men of the Glennon
came back on board. The following morning, just as
Comdr. Johnson was preparing to resume efforts to save
his ship, a German battery near QuinneviUe found her
range. A second salvo hit Glennon amidships and cut off
all power. After a third hit, Commander Johnson ordered
abandon ship and the men were taken off in a landing
craft. Glennon floated until 2145, 10 June 1944; then
rolled over and sank. She suffered 25 lost and 38 wounded.
Glennon was awarded two battle stars for services
in World War II.
II
( DD-840 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 33
k. ; cpl. 367; a. 6 5"; cl. Gearing.)
The second Glennon (DD-840) was launched 14 July
1945 by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; sponsored
by Miss Frances Reading Glennon, granddaughter ; and
commissioned 4 October 1945, Comdr. George W. Pressey
in command.
After shakedown off Cuba, Glennon sailed from Boston
12 February 1946 for Europe and visited many of the
nations washed by the North Sea before returning to New
York in August of the same year. Undergoing upkeep at
Boston and overhaul at Newport, Glennon conducted re-
fresher training out of Guantanamo Bay during April and
May 1947. For the next 12 months she engaged in a
rigorous schedule of tactics along the New England coast
and down the eastern seaboard to ports of Florida. In
February and March 1948 she took part in combat fleet
exercises and maneuvers in waters ranging from Cuba
to Trinidad and the Panama Canal.
Sailing from Norfolk in June 1948, Glennon served
with the Midshipman Practice Squadron and made calls
at Portugal, Italy, and French Morocco. She joined the
6th Fleet in August 1948 for Mediterranean duty, return-
ing stateside in January 1949 for overhaul at Boston. In
the winter of 1949-50 she was part of Operation “Frost-
bite,” a cold weather exercise near the Davis Strait, sub-
sequently to sail from Newport 4 January 1950 for another
“Med” cruise.
Upon return to the United States, she made a series of
reserve training cruises along the eastern seaboard and
engaged in type training along the New England coast
and into the Caribbean Sea. Underway from Newport
8 January 1951, she embarked on another “Med” cruise,
returning to Boston in May for overhaul followed by
refresher training out of Cuba.
Glennon spent January and February 1952 with a car-
rier task force conducting cold weather training in waters
ranging northward to the Davis Straits. From April to
October she was flagship of Destroyer Squadron 8, and
stood out in June for the Mediterranean, returning to
Annapolis in September 1952. For more than a decade
the destroyer continued her already established peace-
time operation pattern. Highlights of this exacting duty
included participation as a recovery station ship in the
1961 and 1962 Project Mercury flights, and in the search
for the lost nuclear powered submarine Thresher. In
August 1961 Glennon was called away suddenly to join
the task force for the Project Mercury space shot carrying
Major Grissom. In early 1962 she was again chosen to
man an Atlantic recovery station for the historic three
orbit flight of Maj. John Glenn. An extensive overhaul
at Boston terminated 24 July 1963, and through the
remainder of that year Glennon trained in the Caribbean,
acted as school ship for the Antisubmarine Warfare
School at Key West, Fla., and put in at Boston in Novem-
ber for refitting. The years 1964 and 1965 found Glennon
continuing her ASW work. In September 1964 she was
chosen to carry guests to the America’s Cup Races. Later
in May 1965 she conducted exercises called “Mule 65” in
which U.S. Army cadets from West Point were given ship-
board indoctrination. Through 1967 Glennon continued
to operate with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Glenolden
A borough in southeastern Pennsylvania.
(PC-782: dp. 280; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23' ; dr. lO'lO" ; s. 22 k.;
cpl. 65; a. 1 3", 1 40mm. , 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. PC-461)
PC-782 was laid down 26 November 1942 by Commercial
Iron Works, Portland, Oreg. ; launched 31 December 1942 :
sponsored by Mrs. G. B. Wallace ; and commissioned 19
July 1943, Lt. (j.g.) M. W. Thomas in command.
After shakedown, PC-782 conducted 3 months of patrol
and escort duty while assigned to the Northern Sector,
Western Sea Frontier, for ASW training. Sailing 4
December for duty in the Aleutian Islands, she steamed
via Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to Attu Island. During the
next 10 months she served on local patrol and escort duty
throughout the Aleutian chain.
Departing Attu 25 October 1944, PC-782 returned to
the West Coast 11 November for overhaul at Puget Sound
Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash. Between 6 and 10 March
1945 she sailed to San Francisco, and on 15 March she
departed for Pearl Harbor as escort for LST-845. Arriv-
ing 24 March, she was assigned to the Hawaiian Sea
Frontier and during the next 5 months operated as a
patrol and escort ship.
PC-782 departed Pearl Harbor 12 September and arrived
San Pedro the 21st. She sailed for the East Coast 5 Octo-
ber ; transited the Panama Canal the 16th ; and arrived
Key West several days later. Following inactivation
overhaul, she sailed 17 November for Green Cove Springs,
Fla., arriving 20 November. After serving as Naval
Reserve Training ship, PC-782 decommissioned in October
108
1949 and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While
berthed in Norfolk, Va., she was named Glenolden 15 Feb-
ruary 1956. Her name was struck from the Naval Reg-
ister 1 April 1959, and she was sold 14 September 1959 to
Hughes Bros., Inc.
Glenora, see Regulus (AK-14)
Glenville
A former name retained.
(Tug : t. 268 ; 1. 120'6" ; b. 27' ; dph. 8' ; s. 10 k.)
Glenville, a wooden ferry tug, was built in 1886 by
Lawrence and Lolks of Brooklyn, N.Y., and was chartered
by the Navy from Portchester Transportation Co., Port-
chester, N.Y. She was delivered at New York 10 April
1918.
Glenville performed general harbor duties in New York
harbor and was used as a ferry between New York Navy
Yard and Ellis Island until she was returned to her owners
11 September 1919.
Glenivood
Cities in Mills County, southwest Iowa, and in Pope
County, west-central Minnesota.
(PC-1140 : dp. 280 ; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23' ; dr. lO'lO" ; s. 22 k. ;
cpl. 65 ; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 3 20mm., 2 rkt., 4 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. PC-553)
PC-1140 was laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding Corp.,
Bay City, Mich., 8 February 1943 ; launched 14 June ; and
commissioned 22 January 1944, Lt. F. H. Beardsley, Jr.,
in command.
After shakedown at Miami, PC-1140 escorted convoy
runs in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean until early
June. Following an overhaul at Norfolk she sailed 4 July
for the Mediterranean, arriving Bizerte on the 23d. As-
signed to patrol duties, she operated along the coast of
Italy until 14 August when she departed Ajaccio, Corsica,
to escort a convoy en route to the invasion of Southern
France. PC-1140 patrolled in the assault area on the 15th,
with subsequent runs convoying rear echelon and service
troops to the newly opened front. The submarine-chaser
returned to Naples 17 August.
For the rest of the war she operated on patrol and
escort duty off the Italian and French coasts. After VE-
Day, PC-H40 sailed for the United States, arriving Key
West 14 June. She was scheduled for Pacific operations ;
however, the war came to a victorious conclusion before
deployment to the Far East. Following training exercises
off Florida, the submarine chaser arrived Norfolk 6
November. PC-1140 decommissioned in January 1947 and
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While berthed at
Green Cove Springs, Fla., she was named Glenwood (PC-
1140) 15 February 1956. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 July 1960, and she was disposed of by Navy
sale in March 1961.
PC-1140 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Glide
To flow smoothly and easily.
I
( StwStr : t. 137 ; a. 6 24-pdr. how. )
The first Glide was a sternwheel tinclad originally built
in Shousetown, Pa., in 1862 and purchased by Read Admi-
ral D. D. Porter at Pittsburgh, Pa., 17 November 1862.
She was taken to Cairo, 111., for fitting out and commis-
sioned 3 December 1862, Acting Lt. Selim E. Woodworth
in command.
After fitting out, Glide departed 3 January 1863 for the
lower Mississippi as part of the Mississippi Squadron.
She participated in the fierce engagement at Fort Hind-
man, or Arkansas Post, 11 January as part of the division
of light draft gunboats under the overall command of
Lt. Comdr. Watson Smith. As army forces launched the
assault, Glide and the other gunboats helped to silence the
powerful batteries. She passed the fort under heavy fire
and proceeded upstream to cut off possible escape routes
for the garrison.
After aiding in the important victory at Fort Hindman,
helping to open the White River, Glide served briefly there
as a gunboat and supply ship until she was sent to Cairo
for repairs in early February 1863. While she was re-
pairing there, on 7 February an unexplained fire broke
out forward and within a few minutes the tinclad was
entirely destroyed.
( SwStr : t. 232 ; a. 2 32-pdrs. ; 4 24-pdr. how. )
The second Glide was a wooden sidewheeler built at
Murraysville, Va., in 1863 and purchased 30 November
1863 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by Rear Admiral Porter. She
was converted to Navy use and sent to New Orleans for
duty with the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron, Acting
Ens. L. S. Fickett in command.
From March 1864 to August 1865, Glide served as a
blockading ship in Berwick Bay, La. During this period
she made numerous short expeditions in the bayous sur-
rounding the bay, suppressing guerrilla activity and cap-
turing small blockade runners. Glide decommissioned
1 August 1865 and was sold at public auction at New Or-
leans 12 August to J. W. Young. Returning to merchant
service, Glide was destroyed by an explosion on 1 January
1869 near New Orleans.
Glide, see Glance
Globe No. 15, see YSR-15
Gloria Dalton
A former name retained.
( IX-70 : dp. 86; 1. 87'; b. 21')
Gloria Dalton (IX-70) was built in 1925 by Craig Ship-
building Co., Long Beach, Calif., and was purchased by
the Navy 11 May 1942. She commissioned 30 May 1942
Lt. (j.g.) W. H. Sutherland in command.
Gloria Dalton performed coastal patrol duties with
home port San Diego, Calif., under Commandant, 11th
Naval District until 16 November 1942, then under Com-
mander, Western Sea Frontier. She was laid up and
decommissioned because of a need for too extensive repairs
1 October 1943, struck from the Navy List 28 June 1944,
and was transferred to the WSA for disposal. She was
eventually returned to her owner.
Gloucester
A city and port of Essex County, Mass., and a fishing
station since 1624.
I
(Gbt : dp. 786; 1. 240'8" ; b. 27'2''; dr. 12'; s. 17 k. ; a.
4 6-pdrs.)
The first Gloucester, formerly J. Pierpont Morgan’s
yacht Corsair, was built in 1891 by Neafie & Levy, Phila-
delphia, Pa. ; acquired 23 April 1898 ; and commissioned
16 Mqy 1898, Lt. Comdr. Richard Wainwright in com-
mand.
Under her far-seeing and brilliant commanding officer,
Gloucester made a name for daring starting with her
first service in Cuban waters in 1898 with the North
Atlantic Fleet, Blockading Station. She participated in
109
the Battle of Santiago 3 July 1898 against Cervera’s
fleet — a remarkable victory with no casualties attributed
to “The accuracy and rapidity of her fire, making the prop-
er service of the guns on the Spanish ships impossible.”
On 25 July 1898, she entered the harbor before the fleet
at Guanica, Puerto Rico, and, single-handed, captured
the place for the Army. The skillful handling and
gallant fighting of Gloucester excited the admiration of
all who witnessed the action, and merited the commenda-
tion of the Navy Department. As the Army was anxious
to transfer the place of disembarkation to the harbor of
Ponce, the Fleet was directed to proceed to Ponce to
reconnoiter ; capture all lighters found there ; and occupy
such positions necessary for holding the port until the
arrival of the Army. On 1 August 1898, with assistance
of Wasp, Gloucester took possession of Arroyo, and hoist-
ing the U.S. flag, Lt. Comdr. Wainwright held it until
arrival of the Army, a day later.
Subsequently Gloucester cruised along the Eastern sea-
board from New York to Provincetown in the fall of
1898, and from 1899 to 1902 served as sehoolship at
Annapolis. Recommissioned at Norfolk 15 November 1902,
she served as tender to the Commander in Chief, South
Atlantic Squadron, and cruised to ports in the West
Indies and along the east coast of South America. De-
commissioned 8 February 1905 at Pensacola, Fla., the
ship was on duty with the Massachusetts and New York
Naval Militias at New York City until recommissioned
7 April 1917 at Brooklyn.
Gloucester conducted harbor patrols at New York until
her name was struck from the Navy List 12 August 1919,
and she was sold 21 November 1919.
II
( PF-22 : dp. 1430; 1. 304'; b. 37'6" ; dr. 15'; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 190; a. 3 3", 4 40mm., 9 20mm., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h. h.) ;
el. Tacoma)
The second Gloucester (PF-22) a frigate, was launched
12 July 1943 by the Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co.,
Superior, Wis., under a Maritime Commission contract ;
sponsored by Mrs. Emily K. Ross ; acquired and simul-
taneously commissioned 10 December 1943.
Following shakedown, Gloucester was employed in
training frigate crews at Galveston, Texas. On 16 June
1944 she was attached to Escort Division 38 and was
later ordered to the Alaskan Sea Frontier for transfer
to Russia under lend-lease legislation. Leased to Russia
4 September 1945 and renamed EK-26, she served as a
patrol vessel in the Far East. Gloucester was returned
to the United States at Yokosuka, Japan, 31 October 1949
and recommissioned 11 October 1950.
She sailed from Yukosuka 27 November 1950 for Korea
and conducted patrol and antisubmarine warfare duties
at Wonsan, Pusan, Inchon, and Kusan until returning
to Yokosuka 21 January 1951. Gloucester subsequently
engaged in patrol and escort duties at Wonsan and saw
combat 18 June 1951 when with other ships she blasted
gun emplacements at Wonsan. She continued her duties
in Korean waters through the fall of 1951. On 11 Novem-
ber 1951 while cruising off Kojo in a duel with shore
batteries, Gloucester took a direct hit that killed 1 man
and wounded 11. Following repairs at Japan, she
returned to Korean waters to continue effective support
of U.N. forces ashore. Arriving at Yokosuka 5 Septem-
ber 1952, she decommissioned there 15 September 1952.
Gloucester was loaned to Japan 1 October 1953, struck
from the Navy List 1 December 1961, and transferred to
Japan in March 1962 where she serves as Tsuge (PF-292) .
Gloucester, see YP-J)^2
Glover
John Glover, born 5 November 1732 at Salem, Mass.,
became a wealthy merchant and shipowner in Marblehead,
Mass., prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
A leading member of the Marblehead committee of cor-
respondence, in 1775 he formed a local militia to defend
the area. Made up of sailing men, his unit also trained as
infantrymen and later became known as the “amphibious
regiment.” Soon after taking formal command of the
Continental Army 3 July, General George Washington
placed Glover in command of equipping and manning
armed merchant ships for the defense of the colonies, thus
forming our first deep water force, “George Washington’s
Navy.” Following the British evacuation of Boston 17
March 1776, he was ordered to New York where his regi-
ment transported troops during their evacuation from
Long Island. In December they transported Washing-
ton’s troops across the Delaware River, and, during the
successful attack on Trenton 26 December, his regiment
led the advance. Promoted to Brigadier General in Feb-
ruary 1777, he participated in the campaign against Bur-
goyne’s forces. After the British surrender 17 October, he
returned prisoners to Boston for shipment back to Eng-
land. While stationed at West Point in 1780, General
Glover served on the court that convicted Major John
Andre 29 September of spying. Early in 1782 he was dis-
patched to Massachusetts to take charge of mustering re-
cruits, but failing health forced him to retire from active
duty. He remained in Massachusetts after the war and
during January and February 1788 served as a member
of the Massachusetts convention which ratified the Federal
Constitution. He died at Marblehead 30 January 1797.
( AGDE-1 : dp. 3,426; 1. 414'6'' ; b. 44'1'' ; dr. 24'2" ; s.
27.5 k. ; cpl. 239; a. 1 5", 4 21" tt., 2 Tar. mis. ; cl. Glover)
Glover (AGDE-1) was laid down 29 July 1963 by Bath
Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; launched 17 April 1965 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. William S. Pederson, Sr., and Mrs. Claude
V. Signor, great-great-great-granddaughters of General
Glover ; and commissioned at Boston 13 November 1965,
Comdr. William W. Wilson in command.
Fitted out with advanced sonar and antisubmarine
weapons, Glover is designed to serve as an experimental
research escort for developing and testing the latest anti-
submarine weapons systems. As a research ship, she will
test equipment designed to more readily detect and track
enemy submarines, and she will evaluate tactics and pro-
cedures which may be used on future classes of escorts.
Capable of participating in offensive operations against
submarines, she will provide valuable support for hunter-
killer groups, amphibious forces, and ocean convoys.
Glover joined the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in 1966 as a unit of
Cruiser-Destroyer Forces and operated along the Atlantic
Coast and in the Caribbean. September she entered Bos-
ton Naval Shipyard for modifications.
Glynn
A county of Georgia.
( APA-239 : dp. 6,720; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17.7 k. ;
cpl 536 ; a. 1 5" ; cl. Haskell)
Glynn (APA 239) was launched 25 August 1945 under a
Maritime Commission contract by the Oregon Shipbuild-
ing Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; sponsored by Mrs. Homer D.
Angell ; and acquired and simultaneously commissioned 17
October 1945, Comdr. Ben Koerner, USNR, command.
Glynn sailed from San Diego 21 December 1945 on a
“Magic-Carpet” voyage to the Philippines and reached
Samar 8 January 1946. After touching Guam and Saipan,
she returned to San Pedro, P.I., and sailed thence for bat-
tle-scarred Okinawa, arriving 14 April. Undenvay the
next day for the United States, Glynn rode into San Diego
Harbor again 30 April at voyage’s end.
Two more round trip voyages, both out of San Francisco,
brought the busy ship to Kwajalein, Bikini, the Philip-
pines, and Okinawa from 21 May to 28 June 1946, and to
Pearl Harbor, returning to the Golden Gate 26 July 1946.
Decommissioned 12 December 1946, Glynn remained in
110
Under her brilliant Captain Richard Wainwright, USS Gloucester gained world fame in the Spanish- American War.
reserve until recommissioned 3 March 1951 at San Fran-
cisco. Training exercises off southern California occupied
her until she steamed for the Atlantic, reaching Norfolk
25 July 1951. Subsequently she conducted peacetime
training exercises in the Caribbean and Atlantic, exacting
duty which included voyages to Greenland, Nova Scotia,
Caribbean islands, and operations along the whole length
of the Eastern seaboard. In addition, she conducted
training cruises for Midshipmen.
Glynn put in at Charleston, S.C., 8 June 1955 following
inactivation overhaul at New York. Decommissioned
there 9 September 1955, she remained in reserve until
stricken from the Navy List 1 July 1960, and returned to
the Maritime Administration. She was placed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet and is at present berthed
in the James River.
Gnat
A gnat is any of various small dipterous insects or flies,
with biting mandibles ; term chiefly applied in America
to smaller forms, as buffalo gnats, black flies (genus
Simulium) or fungus gnats.
Gnat was one of five ship’s boats equipped with sails
and double banked oars for duty with Captain David
Porter’s West India Squadron which was fitted out under
an act of Congress approved 20 December 1822 to cruise
“in the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico for the suppres-
sion of piracy.” When fully organized the squadron
comprised Sea Gull, eight small schooners, Gnat, and five
other barges. The squadron was assisted by ships already
on the West India Station including John Adams, Peacock,
Hornet, Spark, Grampus, and Shark.
On 14 February 1823, ships of the squadron sailed from
Hampton Roads to fight it out with buccaneers and rout
them in hand-to-hand combat amidst the shallows and
mangrove swamps of the Caribbean. Gnat and the other
barges were loaded on two chartered schooners and pro-
ceeded directly to Porter’s base established at Thompson’s
Island (later named Key West), Fla. From there, the
small squadron was used convoying American merchant-
men in the Gulf of Mexico, chasing the pirates who dared
to venture out, and mounting boat and barge expeditions
which scoured the coasts of all the islands to the north
of Puerto Rico, including Santo Domingo and Cuba.
Every bay and inlet and key of all this region was care-
fully searched. On 8 April 1823 the pirate schooner Pilot
was run ashore near Havana ; two pirates were killed and
one captured. In July the expedition encountered the
pirate schooner Catilina near Sigaumpa Bay, Cuba. After
a running sea fight, pirates jumped overboard while others
put off in a launch for shore. Catilina' s commander, the
notorious pirate Diabolete, was killed in the action.
Those pirates not drowned or killed in the sea fight were
rounded up ashore and taken prisoners. On 25 March
1825 a pirate’s lair was destroyed east of Matanzas, Cuba.
Two pirate schooners were captured, at least 8 pirates
were killed and 19 were taken prisoner.
Commodore David Porter was succeeded in command
by Commodore Lewis Warrington in flagship Constellation.
Warrington continued the same system that had been
established by Porter, constantly watching the coasts and
protecting merchantmen until the freedom of the seas had
been assured. In his message of December 1826, the
President was able to report to Congress, that piracy had
been totally suppressed. From Florida to Cape Horn and
even into the Pacific, the Navy had put a stop to outrages
by resolute show of force.
Ill
USS Glover (AGDE-1) awaiting launch at Bath, Maine, 17 April 1965
The fate of Gnat is unknown. By the close of 1826, it
had been reported that one of the five barges had been
lost at sea. Some had fallen victim to decay, and the
remainder cruised on the Florida Station for the remainder
of their careers.
Go Deo, see YP-1 65
Godchaux, Leon, see Wildcat (AW-2)
Goethals, G. W ., see General G. W. Goethals (AP-182)
Goff
.Nathan Goff of West Virginia was appointed Secretary
of the Navy by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 to
fill out the unexpired term of Richard W. Thompson. He
was elected to the United States Senate from West Vir-
ginia in 1884 and reelected in 1886. The former Secretary
of the Navy and Senator died on 23 April 1920.
(DD-247: dp. 1215; 1. 314'4" ; b. 30'11" ; dr. 9'4" ; cpl.
122 ; a. 4 4” ; cl. Clemson)
Goff, built by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden.
N. J., was launched 2 June 1920 ; sponsored by Mrs. Nathan
Goff, widow of the former Secretary of the Navy ; and
commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19
January 1921, Lt. (j.g. ) Rodman D. deKay in command.
For the first 2 years of her long service, Goff operated
along the Atlantic coast, conducting battle practice and
exercises in the yearly Caribbean fleet maneuvers as well
as off the East Coast. In September 1922 the destroyer
was detached from this duty and assigned to the Atlantic
Fleet, European Waters. Departing Norfolk on 14 Oc-
tober 1922, she cruised primarily in the eastern Mediter-
ranean, putting in at ports in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia,
Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Greece, and Roumania. It was
a period of great unrest in the Balkans and eastern Med-
iterranean : Greece and Turkey were embroiled in another
112
bitter war, various powers were scrambling to consolidate
their gains from World War I and grab pieces of the crum-
bling Ottoman empire, and Russia, although still wracked
by the Revolution and its aftermath, was seeking further
territory and an outlet to the Mediterranean. The pres-
ence of American men-of-war amidst this tension helped
bring stability and assisted various relief agencies work-
ing to heal the wounds of past and present wars as well
as protect American lives, interests, and property. Ref-
ugees from the Greek and Turkish conflict were frequently
evacuated and eared for by the American fleet, and Goff
participated in this humanitarian service, particularly at
Marsina, where from 18 to 20 July 1923 she supervised
evacuation of hundreds of Turkish refugees.
Returning to the United States on 11 August, Goff en-
gaged in battle problems and tactical exercises off the East
Coast and then on 3 January 1924 joined the Scouting
Fleet for winter battle practice with the combined fleets
in the Caribbean. Goff returned to Norfolk for further
exercises and on 5 January 1925 sailed for Pearl Harbor,
arriving 24 April for fleet battle exercises. She returned
to New York 17 July. This established pattern of coast-
wise exercises and fleet maneuvers was broken in the fall
of 1926 as Goff and the light cruiser Milwaukee engaged
in rescue work on the Isle of Pines, Cuba, which had been
devastated by the hurricane of 19-20 October. Flying in
stores via Milwaukee's planes and sending their own doc-
tors and medical supplies ashore, the two American ships
rendered invaluable aid to the stricken island and its
predominantly American population.
After overhaul, Goff returned to the Caribbean in Janu-
ary 1927 with the Special Service Squadron. Civil war
was raging in Nicaraugua, and ships of the American
fleet cruised along the coast to protect American lives and
property, and to evacuate American citizens if necessary.
From Nicaraugua, Goff returned to her regular routine
along the Atlantic coast, tactical exercises spiced by win-
ter maneuvers in the Caribbean, a pattern which held true
for several years.
Routine was interrupted by occasional special tasks, the
most notable of which came in June 1927. Goff was part
of the flotilla which steamed out from the East Coast
to greet and escort cruiser Memphis and her special pas-
senger, Charles “Lucky” Lindburgh, as the Lone Eagle
returned from his transatlantic flight to a hero’s welcome
in New York. Goff also in June 1930 carried the Presi-
dent-elect of Colombia from Newport to West Point. She
decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 13
January 1931.
Recommissioning 2 March 1932, Lt. Comdr. Walter M.
Wynne commanding, Goff spent the following year cruis-
ing along the East Coast training naval reserve crews.
Revolution again flared up in the Caribbean, and Goff
returned there 5 October 1933 to protect Americans in
Cuba, the scene of conflict this time. Departing Cuba
2 April 1934, Goff resumed maneuvers along the East
Coast until 9 November 1935, when she joined the Pacific
fleet at San Diego. She remained in the Pacific, operating
along the coast and taking part in Hawaiian exercises,
until 4 January 1939, when she departed San Diego for
New York. Arriving there 20 April, Goff again cruised
the East Coast training reserves until 8 September, when
she entered New England waters on Neutrality Patrol.
After overhaul and refitting for European duty at New
York, Goff joined Destroyer Division 55 at Ponta Del-
gada, Azores, on 29 June 1940 to take her place as flag-
ship of the division. Cruising to Portugal, Goff and her
division operated out of Lisbon, engaging in various exer-
cises before returning to Norfolk 21 September.
Joining DesDiv 67 as flagship, Goff escorted the new
submarine Scatcolf from New London to Balboa, Canal
Zone, arriving 31 October to take up Caribbean patrol and
guard duty for the Panama Canal. After America’s entry
into the war in December 1941, Goff remained in the
Caribbean to do double duty as both convoy escort and
patrol vessel. The mild southern waters were infested
by German U-boats, and the undermanned Allied con-
voys— as many as 25 merchantmen with only four es-
corts— frequently provided easy targets. Night attacks
by German submarines cost convoys which Goff was es-
corting a total of eight merchantmen sunk and several
others seriously damaged. The hard worked destroyer
was out on patrol and convoy duty 10 days at a time and
then in port only long enough to refuel and resupply;
when this could be done at sea, it was. Escorts were at
a premium as the Allies struggled to maintain their supply
lines.
Goff finally had her chance to inflict real damage on
the German U-boats as she left the Caribbean on 16 June
1943 and put in at New York for a long-needed overhaul.
At Norfolk on 27 July, she joined the carrier Card and
destroyers Barry and Boris to form a hunter-killer team
which conducted two highly successful anti-submarine
patrols across the Atlantic. The close coordination be-
tween the carrier’s planes and her destroyer screen exacted
a heavy toll from marauding U-boats and wolf packs : dur-
ing the period Goff was with the carrier, 27 July-9
November 1943, they made two voyages from Norfolk to
Casablanca and were credited with sinking no fewer
than eight U-boats. High drama and tragedy capped
'these patrols as on 1 November Borie rammed and sunk
a U-boat, but was herself fatally hulled in the process.
For these two patrols Goff was awarded the coveted Presi-
dential Unit Citation.
After brief overhaul at New York, Goff returned to
Atlantic escort duty as on 28 November she and Barry
convoyed the seaplane tender Albemarle, loaded with aero-
nautical supplies and personnel, from Norfolk to Casa-
blanca and then on to Reykjavik, Iceland, returning to
New York on 31 December. Goff spent the first 7 months
of 1944 with Albemarle, shepherding the tender safely to
San Juan, Trinidad, Casablanca, Recife, Brazil, and
Avonmouth, England, before putting in at Boston on 13
July 1944 for overhaul.
Repairs completed, Goff engaged in antisubmarine prac-
tice at Casco Bay, Maine, and then on 28 August sailed
for Key West, arriving 3 days later. At the Florida port
she was attached to the Fleet Sound school and served in
a variety of duties, including antisubmarine work, harbor
guard, and target vessel for ships and planes in training.
The destroyer departed Key West for Philadelphia on 9
June 1945, arriving there 2 days later. Goff decommis-
sioned at Philadelphia on 21 July 1945, after 24 years of
service, and was stricken from the Navy Register on 13
August 1945. Sold to the Boston Metal Salvage Co., Balti-
more, on 30 November 1945, she was resold to the North-
ern Metal Co., Philadelphia, on 31 December 1945 and
scrapped in November 1947.
Goff received two battle stars for service in World
War II.
Go-Getter, see YT-3-lfG
Gold Heels, see Carondelet (IX-136)
Gold Shell
A former name retained.
(AO: dp. 12,000; 1. 411'6" ; b. 50'1" ; d. 24'8”; s. 12 k ;
cpl. 65; a. 2 4”)
Gold Shell was built in 1916 by Harlan and Hollings-
worth, Wilmington, Del. ; chartered from Shell Oil Co. ;
and commissioned 8 August 1917, Comdr. David R. Flem-
ing in command.
Gold Shell departed Philadelphia 26 August 1917 for
Plymouth, England, and until 10 December 1918 carried
fuel oil to various European ports in support of Allied
forces. She made a total of nine voyages to such ports as
Spithead, Scapa Flow, Tobermory, and Brest, arriving
at New York after her last crossing 10 December 1918.
Gold Shell entered the New York N°vy Yard to be simul-
taneously decommissioned and returned to her former
owner 5 March 1919.
113
Gold Star
A former name retained.
( AK-12 : dp. 4,860; 1. 391'9" ; b. 52'2" ; dr. 11/10"; s.
12 k. ; cpl. 52 ; a. none)
Gold Stai • (AK-12) was built in 1920 by Bethlehem
Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Del. : taken over by the
Navy as Arcturus from the IJSSB 8 November 1921;
commissioned as Arcturus (AK-12) 1 February 1922 at
Philadelphia, Lt. Comdr. J. Katterfield, USNRF, in com-
mand and 5 days later renamed Gold Star (AK-12) on
6 February. The ship was reclassified AG-12, 12 May
1922.
Renamed Gold Star sailed from Philadephia 18 March
1922, arriving Seattle 1 July via the Canal Zone and
California ports. During the next 2 years she served
as a cargo ship on the West Coast, making three voyages
with supplies for Alaskan radio stations. The ship
steamed out of San Francisco 9 October 1924 to assume
her duties as station ship at Guam, arriving 3 November.
During the 1920’s and 1930’s Gold Star became a fa-
miliar sight in the far-flung ports of Asia. Though as-
signed as flagship at Guam she made frequent voyages to
Japan, China, and the Philippines with cargo and passen-
gers. Prior to World War II, much of her crew was
made up of Chamorros, natives of Guam.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, 7 December
1941, Gold Star was coaling at Malangas, P.I. She sailed
for Manila 8 December, but was ordered by Commander,
Asiatic Fleet, to proceed to Balikpapan, Borneo. She
arrived 14 December as the Japanese advanced quickly
southward ; and after issuing urgently-needed provisions
to units of the Asiatic Fleet there, steamed by way of
Macassar, Celebes, to Darwin, Australia. Following her
arrival at Darwin 28 December, Gold Star served as a
coastal cargo carrier, steaming between such Australian
ports as Brisbane, Sydney, and Fremantle. She thus
contributed importantly to strengthening Australia and
to checking the Japanese advance in New Guinea. After
15 August 1943 the veteran ship continued her coastal
operations in Australia, but also began a series of cargo
voyages to New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands. Gold
Star brought many loads of vital supplies to Milne Bay as
the Allies began the push toward the Philippines.
The ship arrived Manus Island 6 January 1945 for
repairs and conversion to squadron flagship for Service
Squadron 9. Operating in this capacity the old ship
supported the mounting American advance toward Japan,
sailing to Leyte and Morotai. While conducting cargo
operations at Morotai 28 June Gold Star was attacked by
enemy aircraft but sustained no damage. She arrived
Manila 26 July via Tawitawi and remained there issuing
supplies until the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.
After supporting occupation forces in Japan, Gold Star
sailed to Seattle in February 1946 and decommissioned
there 17 April 1946. She had served over 21 years in the
Western Pacific without once returning to the United
States, and had carried countless tons of supplies, items
large and small, for the warships of the fleet. The old ship
was delivered to the Maritime Commission 30 June 1946.
and was sold for scrap 1 December 1947 to Dulien Steel
Products, Inc.
Gold Star received one battle star for World War II
service.
Goldcrest
A small European bird of the genus Regulus.
Stella Polaris, a yacht acquired by the Navy 27 October
1940, was classified a minesweeper ; designated AM-78 on
2 November 1940 ; and named Goldcrest 14 November 1940.
However, she was reclassified a coastal yacht 23 November
1940, redesignated PYc-4, and renamed Agate 19 De-
cember 1940.
I
(AM-80 : dp. 400 ; 1. 122'6" ; b. 23' ; dr. 11 ; s. 11 k. ; a. 1 3")
The first Goldcrest (AM-80), a steel merchant trawler
built as Sliawmut in 1928 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
USS Gold Star (AG-12) at Sitka, Alaska, in September 1922
114
Corp., Quincy, Mass., was acquired by the Navy from the
Massachusetts Trawling Co. of Boston ; and commissioned
at the Boston Navy Yard 15 May 1941, Lt. Conrad H.
Koopman in command.
Following shakedown training at Mine Warfare School,
Yorktown, Va., Goldcrest arrived New York 10 August
1942 to base at Staten Island while serving as an inshore
patrol and NROTC cadet schoolship under the 3d Naval
District. On 24 August, she became flagship of Division
1 of the Inshore Patrol Force. In Sandy Hook Bay, N.J.,
while on patrol 11 March 1943, she sank by gunfire three
mines that had drifted from defensive minefields. On 29
March, she assisted a damaged merchantman off Staten
Island.
Her patrol and schoolship duties continued until 5
August 1945 when she transferred to Charleston for mine-
sweeping duty. She decommissioned 12 December 1945
and was sold 20 June 1946 to her former owner.
II
( LCI ( L ) -869 : dp. 209; 1. 159'; b. 24'; dr. 5'8" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 21 ; a. 5 20mm. ; cl. LCI (L)-851 )
LCI (L)-869 was laid down by the New Jersey S. B.
Corp., Barber, N.J., 31 August 1944 ; launched 29 Septem-
ber 1944 ; and commissioned 7 October 1944, Lt. (j.g.) J. C.
Smith in command.
With shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, the new large in-
fantry landing craft departed Key West, Fla., 12 Novem-
ber for the Pacific, transited the Panama Canal on the
19th, and arrived San Diego 1 December. There she
joined LCI Group 57, sailed for Hawaii 29 January 1945,
and arrived Pearl Harbor 7 February.
LCI (L) -869 got underway for the war zone on the
15th, refueled at Johnston Island 5 days later, and
reached the Palaus, via Majuro, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and
Guam, 7 April. There she joined a picket line which had
been formed to seal off by-passed Japanese-held islands
in the area from reinforcements and to protect American
bases from invasion. While on picket station, LCI(L)-
869 repulsed a suicide swimming attack, sank several float-
ing mines which threatened American ships, and heard
countless mortar shells whine overhead.
On the afternoon of 2 September, the Japanese forces
in the Palaus surrendered. With her mission accom-
plished, LCI (L)-869 returned to the United States, de-
commissioned at Norfolk in March 1947, and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
The landing craft was named Goldcrest and re-
designated AMc(U)-24 on 7 March 1952. Goldcrest was
converted at the Charleston Navy Yard, assigned to the
6th Naval District, and operated out of Key West, Fla.
She decommissioned at Charleston in March 1955 and re-
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Charleston. There
she was reclassified a coastal minehunter and redesignated
MHC-24.. Goldcrest was struck from the Navy List 1
January 1960 and scrapped.
Golden City
A 19th century clipper ship in the Pacific trade.
( AP-169 : dp. 13,910 (trial) ; 1. 459'; b. 63'; dr. 23'; s.
16 k.; a. 15'', 4 3")
Golden City (AP-169), was launched under Maritime
Commission contract 28 October 1943 by Moore Drydock
Co., Oakland, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Roger Lapham.
She was transferred to the Navy on a bareboat charter
and commissioned 29 May 1944, Captain C. M. Furlow, Jr..
commanding.
After a brief shakedown cruise, Golden City departed
San Francisco for Pearl Harbor. Arriving there 23 June,
the ship prepared to take part in the Navy’s giant sweep
across the Pacific. As the Marianas campaign was then
underway, she sailed via Eniwetok to Guam and upon her
arrival 21 July disembarked much-needed reserves for the
Marine Brigade helping to lead the assault on that island.
Golden City returned to Eniwetok 1 August 1944, and
from there sailed to Pearl Harbor. She steamed into that
port 10 August and took part in amphibious exercises
until 15 September, exercises which would make her a
more effective fighting unit in the upcoming invasion of
the Philippines. Sailing 15 September, she stopped at
Eniwetok and Manus and arrived off Leyte 20 October
1944. By this time the initial landings had begun and
Golden City put ashore units of the 7tli Division to con-
solidate the successful assault. She then departed 22
October to bring in more troops, arriving Oro Bay, New'
Guinea, via Manus 4 November, and discharging another
load of troops at Leyte Gulf 18 November.
With the conquest of the Philippines continuing apace,
Golden City arrived Manus 24 November and sailed to
Aitape, New Guinea, w'here she arrived 6 days later.
There she loaded for the important landings in Lingayen
Gulf, western Luzon. She departed 28 December 1944
with Admiral Barbey’s San Fabian Attack Force and
made her wTay through the Philippines under severe
kamikaze attack, helping to fight off raids every day from
5 to 9 January 1945. Golden City arrived off Lingayen
Gulf 9 January and discharged her troops during the
initial assault. The Japanese were so unprepared for this
quick deep penetration by sea on the west side of the
archipelago that the only important defense they could
quickly assemble was by kamkikaze. Hence the landing
w'as virtually unopposed on the beaches. Surprise is not
the least of the advantages of the sw'ift mobility and long
reach of attack by sea.
Next day Golden City departed for Leyte Gulf, loaded
troops and supplies there 12-26 January, and got under-
way little more than 2 weeks from D-day at Lingayen
for a secondary invasion in the Luzon campaign, in
Zambales. Arriving off San Nareiso and San Antonio,
in Zambales province, 29 January, Golden City and the
other ships of Amphibious Group 9 landed 30,000 troops
to secure the Japanese escape route from Manila to the
Bataan peninsula.
After the successful conclusion of the Luzon operation.
Golden City sailed on a troop-ferrying voyage to Ulithi,
Iwo Jima, Eniwetok, and finally Pearl Harbor, w'here she
arrived 12 April 1945. From there the transport sailed for
the United States, arriving 22 April, and loaded more
troops for the Pacific fighting, then nearing its climax.
Golden City sailed again 1 June, stopping at Eniwetok,
Ulithi, and Okinawa, bringing troops out of the forw’ard
areas. She sailed into Guam 14 July and continued next
day to San Francisco, where she arrived 29 July. The
ship then made another similar voyage to and from the
Pacific, returning to San Francisco 22 September w'ith a
load of veterans, after which she sailed ro Pearl Harbor.
The w'ar over, Golden City departed 23 October 1945 to
support the landings of American forces in China, aiding
in the occupation and helping to stabilize the volatile situa-
tion there. Arriving 10 November, she discharged cargo
and passengers and sailed for Jinsen, Korea, where she
loaded troops bound for the United States. They were
disembarked at Seattle 19 December 1945.
Subsequently, Golden City made two voyages from the
West Coast to Japan and the Pacific islands, stopping at
Manus, Truk, Guam, Saipan, and other islands to em-
bark returning soldiers and sailors. She arrived Seattle
after the second of these “Magic-Carpet” voyages 27 June
1946, decommissioned 10 August 1946, and was returned
to the Maritime Commission. She later became Ocean
Eva in 1955 and Overseas Eva in 1961 while in commercial
service.
Golden City received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Golden Eagle
A former name retained.
(T-AF-52 : dp. 6,319 (lt.) ; 1. 459' ; b. 63 ; dr. 26' ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 64 ; a. none ; T. C2-S-B1 (R) )
115
Golden Eagle (T-AF-52) was laid down under Maritime
Commission contract 8 December 1941 by Moore Dry
Dock Co., Oakland, Calif. ; launched 15 March 1942 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. John B. McKee; and delivered to WSA 23
April 1943. As a merchant ship, she operated under
charter to United Fruit Co. from 1944 to 1946 and to United
States Lines from 1947 to 1948. Transferred from the
Maritime Commission, she was acquired by the Navy 1
March 1950 and assigned to MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, Golden Eagle operated out
of New York, carrying supplies to American bases in the
North Atlantic, Europe, and the Mediterranean. During
November and December 1950 she deployed to the Mediter-
ranean for provisioning operations, and during the first
6 months of 1951 she transported cargo to Bremerhaven
and Liverpool. Following a second deployment to the
Mediterranean, she departed New Y~ork 3 August for
logistics duty off Thule, Greenland. Returning to New
York 13 September, she resumed transatlantic service the
19th. While steaming to Liverpool 2 January 1952, she
participated in the rescue of seamen from the stricken
merchant ship Flying Dutchman.
Between 1952 and 1961 Golden Eagle maintained a
constant schedule of runs to ports in Western Europe.
Operating out of New York, Boston, Baltimore, and Nor-
folk, she steamed to Bremerhaven, Liverpool, and Rotter-
dam. During August and September of 1952 and 1953 she
supplied ships participating in Operation “Blue Jay” at
Thule, and cargo runs in the North Atlantic have sent her
to Newfoundland, Iceland, and Baffin Island. In addition
to provisioning and cargo duties, she carried sealed atomic
wastes from Bremerhaven and disposed of the material in
the mid-Atlantic while returning to the East Coast.
After returning to New York 10 August 1961, Golden
Eagle entered New York Navy Yard 14 August. Renamed
Arcturus 18 October, she commissioned 18 November, Cap-
tain M. B. Davis in command. After shakedown in the
Caribbean, she departed her homeport, Norfolk, for the
Mediterranean in June 1962. While deployed with the
6th Fleet, she provisioned 51 ships, both at sea and in
Spanish and Italian ports. She returned to the Mediter-
ranean in December; and between 1963 and 1965 she has
deployed six times to replenish ships of the 6th Fleet.
When not operating in the Mediterranean, Arcturus has
supported exercises in the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
During February 1966 she provisioned ships during Op-
eration “Springboard” in the Caribbean. AJfter deploying
to the Mediterranean in April, she steamed to the north-
western coast of Europe and touched ports in Holland,
Germany, and Denmark during June. Two months later
she departed Norfolk on her 10th deployment to the
Mediterranean. At present she continues to support the
mighty 6th Fleet and provides valuable aid for the con-
tinuing struggle to defend the cause of freedom in that
troubled part of the world.
Golden Gate
A United States Coast Guard name retained.
(Tug: dp. 240; 1. 110' ; b. 20'6" ; dr. 9'10" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
11)
Coast Guard tug Golden Gate, a harbor and customs
tug operating in San Francisco Bay, was taken into the
Navy under authority of an Act of Congress dated 28
January 1915, directing that in time of war the Coast
Guard should operate as part of the Navy. Accordingly,
Golden Gate was taken into the service 7 April 1917, al-
ready in commission, 1st Lieutenant C. C. McMillan,
USCG, commanding.
Golden Gate continued to operate in San Francisco Bay,
patrolling between Fort and Lima Points, until March
1918. From March to August 1918, she was engaged in
transporting Armed Guard Details to merchant vessels
in the bay, making photographs of ships in the harbor,
and acting as dispatch and mail boat. 1 August Golden
Gate returned to Harbor Entrance Patrol duty.
In December 1918, Golden Gate assumed the duty of
removing Armed Guard details from ships in the area,
and on 14 December she responded to a distress signal
from SS Lehone, taking off all hands from the rapidly
sinking ship. She had the honor of transporting officials
to SS Tenyo to receive the Japanese peace delegation.
Golden Gate continued conveying men, supplies and
dispatches in the area until detached and returned to
the Coast Guard 15 February 1919.
Golden Rocket, see Zelima (AF-49)
Goldfinch
An American lemon-yellow finch with black cap, wings,
and tail.
(AM-77: dp. 455; 1. 132'4" ; b. 24'; dr. 9'8" ; s. 10 k. ;
a. 1 3")
Goldfitich (AM-77) was built as trawler Fordham in
1929 by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, and purchased
by the Navy 18 September 1940 from F. J. O’Hara & Sons,
Inc., Boston, Mass. She was converted to a minesweeper
at Bethlehem Atlantic Yard, Boston, and commissioned at
Boston Navy Yard 30 January 1941, Lt. Comdr. W. R.
McCaleb in command.
Goldfinch was first assigned to Inshore Patrol Force,
1st Naval District, then shifted her operations to Chesa-
peake Bay, where she conducted minesweeping operations
off Norfolk and Yorktown, Va. Reporting to Newport,
R.I., 1 July, Goldfinch joined Squadron 9 for minesweep-
ing operations ranging from Argentia, Newfoundland, to
Norfolk. She became flagship of the Squadron 29 Sep-
tember at Portland, Maine.
Transferred to duty in Newfoundland, Goldfinch based
her operations during the period 1 December 1942 to May
1944 at Fort McAndrew and Argentia, Newfoundland, con-
stantly patrolling for mines to protect merchant ship-
ping and warships alike as they plied those waters. She
arrived Boston June 1944 for conversion to civilian use as
a trawler and decommissioned 18 August 1944. Delivered
to the Maritime Commission, Goldfinch was sold 9 Jan-
uary 1946 to the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Commis-
sion of New York.
II
( YMS-306 : dp. 270; 1. 136'; b. 24'6'' ; dr. 8'; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 50; a. 1 3"; cl. YMS-136 )
The second Goldfinch (YMS-306), a wooden-hulled mo-
tor minesweeper, was built as YMS-306 by Rice Brothers
Corp., East Boothbay, Maine, and commissioned 20 Jan-
uary 1944, Lt. (j.g.) K. B. Roberts in command.
YMS-306 departed Boston 6 February for shakedown
training off Norfolk, Va., and upon completion reported to
Bermuda for minesweeping duty, arriving 16 April 1944.
Returning to Norfolk, the ship prepared for Pacific duty
and departed for California 18 July 1945. She arrived
San Pedro via the Canal 14 August, and after undergoing
extensive repairs departed for Pearl Harbor, arriving 2
January 1946.
The minesweeper returned to the United States a month
later, 5 February, and sailed 7 April for the East Coast
via the Panama Canal. She arrived Charleston harbor
1 May 1946, and began a regular schedule of training and
readiness operations with Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet.
Her operations during the next years took her from Char-
leston to Panama City and Key West, Fla., and occasion-
ally as far north as Argentia, Newfoundland. She parti-
cipated in both individual and fleet training exercises,
including amphibious operations in the Caribbean in Feb-
ruary 1950 and off Onslow Bay, N.C., November 1954.
She was named Goldfinch (AMS-12) 17 February 1947.
Her designation was changed to MSO(0)-12, 7 February
1955. The ship continued her schedule of sweeping opera-
tions until 15 July 1957 when she sailed from Charleston
116
to Philadelphia. Arriving 18 July, she decommissioned
11 October 1957 and was placed in the Philadelphia Group.
Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy List 1
November 1957 and sold 2 June 1960 to the Maine Voca-
tional Technical Institute.
Goldfinch (AM-395), authorized 16 May 1045, was to
be built by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich. Her
contract was cancelled 1 November 1945.
Goldring
An edible fish of the Mississippi.
Goldring (SS-360), a Perch class submarine, was being
built at Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn., but construction
was cancelled 29 July 1944.
Goldsborough
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough, born 18 February 1805
in Washington, D.C., was appointed Midshipman 28 June
1812, but did not serve until 13 February 1816 when he
reported for duty at the Washington Navy Yard. He led
a four-boat night expedition from Porpoise in September
1827 to rescue British merchant brig Comet from Mediter-
ranean pirates. In 1830 he was appointed first officer in
charge of the newly created Depot of Charts and Instru-
ments at Washington, the rude beginning of the United
States Hydrographic Office. It was Goldsborough who
suggested creation of the depot and initiated the collec-
tion and centralization of the instruments, books and
charts that were scattered among several Navy yards.
After 2 years he was relieved by Lt. Charles Wilkes.
Goldsborough led German emigrants to Wirt’s Estates
near Monticello, Fla., in 1833; then took leave from the
Navy to command a steamboat expedition and later
mounted volunteers in the Seminole War. After cruising
the Pacific in frigate United States, he participated in the
bombardment of Vera Cruz in Ohio. He served consecu-
tively as: commander of a detachment in the expedition
against Tuxpan ; senior officer of a commission which
explored California and Oregon (1849-1850) ; Superin-
tendent of the Naval Academy (1853-1857) ; and com-
mander of the Brazil Squadron (1859-1861). During his
command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
October 1861 to September 1862, he led his fleet off North
Carolina, where in cooperation with troops under General
Burnside, he captured Roanoke Island and destroyed a
small Confederate fleet. After special administrative
duties in Washington, D.C., he took command of the
European Squadron in the last year of the Civil War,
returning to Washington in 1868 to serve as Commander of
the Washington Navy Yard until his retirement in 1873.
Rear Admiral Goldsborough died 20 February 1877.
I
( TB-20 ; dp. 255; 1. 198'; b. 20'7" ; dr. 6'10" ; s. 27 k. ;
cpl. 59; a. 2 18' tt., 4 6-pdr.)
The first Goldsborough was launched 29 July 1899 by
the Wolff & Zwicker Iron oWrks, Portland, Oreg. ; spon-
sored by Miss Gertrude Ballin ; commissioned in the
Puget Sound Navy Yard 9 April 1908, Lt. Daniel T.
Ghent in command.
Goldsborough based at San Diego, Calif., as a unit of
the Pacific Torpedo Fleet, cruising for 6 years along
the coast of California and the Pacific Coast of Mexico in
a schedule of torpedo practice, and joint fleet exercises and
maneuvers. She was placed in ordinary at the Mare
Island Navy Yard 26 March 1914 ; served the Oregon State
Naval Militia at Portland (December 1914-April 1917) ;
and again fully commissioned 7 April 1917 for Pacific
coast patrol throughout World War I. She was desig-
nated Coast Torpedo Boat Number 7 1 August 1918, her
name being assigned to a new destroyer under construc-
tion. The torpedo boat decommissioned in the Puget
Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton. Wash., 12 March 1919 and
sold for scrapping on 8 September 1919.
II
( DD-188 ; dp. 1,215; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 9'4''; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 101; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson)
The second Goldsborough was launched 20 November
1918 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; sponsored by Miss Lucetta Penning-
ton Goldsborough, daughter ; commissioned at Norfolk 26
January 1920, Comdr. Francis M. Robinson in command.
Goldsborough joined Division 25, Squadron 3, U.S.
Atlantic Fleet, departing Norfolk 25 February 1920 for
training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and returning to New
York 1 May 1920 for maneuvers and tactics off the New
England Coast. She stood out of Hampton Roads 1
September 1920 on a practice cruise in the Gulf of Mex-
ico, returning to Norfolk 10 October for operations along
the seaboard to New York until 5 January 1921 when she
sailed to join the combined Battle Fleet off Cuba ; thence
she steamed through the Panama Canal to Callao, Peru,
and back to Guantanamo Bay for further battle practice
before return to Norfolk 27 April. She entered Phila-
delphia Navy Yard 28 April for inactivation and decom-
missioned 14 July 1922. She was redesignated A VP-18
15 November 1939. She was converted in the New York
Navy Yard, recommissioned 1 July 1940 ; and redesignated
AVD-5 on 2 August 1940.
Goldsborough departed New York 12 August 1940, to
tend amphibious planes on neutrality patrol in waters
ranging from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Virgin Islands,
to Trinidad, British West Indies. She returned to Norfolk
23 January 1941 for repairs; conducted a cruise to the
coast of Mexico and returned (3 March-3 April), then
served the Patrol Wing Support Force, Patrol Squadrons,
U.S. Atlantic Fleet, at Argentia, Newfoundland ; Reyk-
javik, Iceland ; and Gungnat Bay, Greenland. She arrived
at Norfolk from Greenland 13 October 1941 for repairs,
then proceeded to Seamour Bay, Galapagos Islands, arriv-
ing 23 December 1941. Here she tended amphibious patrol
planes of Patrol Squadron 3, sometimes steaming down the
coast of the Americas as far as Valparaiso, Chile, with
time-out for service as a simulated target in Panama Bay.
She transited the Panama Canal 17 June 1942 and en-
tered Trujillo Bay, Honduras, the 21st with Commander
Patrol Squadron 3 embarked to direct operations of the
squadron on special patrols in conjunction with other naval
units attempting to locate Axis submarine bases. After
being contacted by patrol planes, a party from Golds-
borough boarded Honduran merchant ship Laguna 25 June,
and Honduran merchant ship Racer the following day.
Both were turned over to British authorities at Belize. On
3 July Goldsborough departed Puerta Castilla for Portland
Bight, Jamaica. Here she tended aircraft on special pa-
trols in the protection of convoys between Cuba and the
Panama Canal. She arrived at the Charleston Navy Yard
from Jamaica 2 October 1942 for repairs, followed by
gunnery practice in the Chesapeake Bay.
Goldsborough departed Norfolk 30 October 1942 to
escort seaplane tender Pocomoke (AV-9) to Panama and
seaplane tender Albemarle (AV-5) to aviation patrol bases
at San Juan, P.R. ; Trinidad, B.W.I. ; and Bermuda, Fla.
She returned to Norfolk 30 November 1942 to spend the
following year as escort for Albemarle while carrying men,
aeronautical cargo, and aircraft of Fleet Air Wings of the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet to Guantanamo Bay ; Trinidad ; Ber-
muda ; San Juan ; and Recife, Brazil. She returned to
Norfolk on the last of these missions 5 September 1943.
After patrol with Core (CVE-13) antisubmarine warfare
task group 5 October-15 November 1943, Goldsborough
was redesignated DD-188 on 1 December 1943.
On 4 December 1943, Goldsborough sailed with the Core
task group. Near midnight of 2 January 1944, she made
visual contact with a surfaced U-boat off the Azores,
fought through heavy seas in an attempt to ram amid-
ships. .She just missed the U-boat’s stern as it slid under
117
the sea. After two depth charge attacks, Goldsborough
lost contact. She then screened Core to Norfolk 18 Janu-
ary and proceeded to New York Navy Yard for voyage re-
pairs. Thereafter, she escorted Aucilla (AO-56) to Trin-
idad, returning to Norfolk as escort of Nitro (AE-2) then
entered the Charleston Navy Yard on 21 February 1944
for conversion to a high speed transport, and redesigna-
tion as APD-32, 7 March 1944.
Goldsborough departed Charleston 10 April and reached
Pearl Harbor, via the Panama Canal and San Diego, 9
May for amphibious assault training in Hanalei and Ka-
waihae Bay. She sailed 29 May to rendezvous with a
transport force proceeding via Ulithi to arrive off the in-
vasion beaches of Saipan 15 June 1944. An aerial bomb
exploded 400 yards to starboard as she assisted in repel-
ling a raid of enemy dive bombers. The following day
she landed the 2d Company, 1st Battalion, 2d Marines,
just south of Charon Kanoa. During the next 5 weeks
she escorted supply and troop convoys between the Mar-
shalls and Saipan, taking time out for direct gunfire sup-
port of troops on Saipan the nights of 29 June and 7 July.
She departed Saipan 28 July to train Underwater Demoli-
tion Team 4 in Hawaiian waters, then joined a Beach
Demolition Task Group that sailed from Manus, Ad-
miralty Islands, 12 October to destroy enemy facilities
and installations in the vicinity of the proposed invasion
beaches of eastern Leyte as well as on the entrance islands
of Leyte Gulf. The afternoon of 18 October 1944 she
poured a withering fire into concealed enemy positions at
Dulag, covering underwater demolition teams headed for
the shore. Two 75mm. shells straddled the high speed
transport ; and a third hit her number one stack, killing
2 and wounding 16 men. She screened the battleships and
cruisers, carrying out a relentless bombardment through
the night of the 19th and supporting troops that launched
the invasion the morning of 20 October 1944. She de-
parted the following day to embark troops at Noemfoor,
Schouten Islands, landing them on the beaches at Tolasa,
Leyte, 18 November 1944. She again arrived off Noem-
foor 19 December for transport of troops to Mios Woendi,
Padiados Islands, thence via Morofai with six merchant
ships escorted into Leyte Gulf 6 January 1945. Her next
assignment was patrolling the entrance of Lingayen Gulf.
She dispatched a medical team to damaged Gilligan 12
January, picked up two survivors, then put her rudder
full left as she opened fire on a suicide plane which just
missed the stern of Seuscns before crashing into the sea.
Goldsborough continued patrol in the Gulf and off San
Fabian until 18 January 1945.
After voyage repairs at Ulithi, Goldsborough landed
troops at Iwo Jima (3-6 March), thence via the Marianas
to Tulagi harbor in the Solomons and back to Ulithi, where
she joined transports bound for Okinawa. She arrived off
Okinawa 11 April, fought off aerial raids near Hagushi
beaches the following day and rescued a Navy fighter pilot
whose plane was damaged in aerial combat. She de-
parted Okinawa 14 April for voyage repairs at Guam,
returning 15 May 1945 to patrol off Hagushi beaches until
the 31st. Goldsborough was then routed via the Mari-
anas, Marshalls, and Pearl Harbor to San Pedro, Calif.,
where she arrived 1 July 1945. Redesignated again as
destroyer (DD-188) 10 July, she decommissioned there 11
October 1945. Her name was struck from the Navy List
24 October 1945 and she was sold for scrapping 21 Novem-
ber 1946 to Hugo Nuef Corporation, New York, N.Y.
Goldsborough received five battle stars for service in
World War II.
Ill
(DDG— 20: dp. 4,500 (f. ) ; 1. 437'; b. 47'; dr. 22' ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 354 ; a. Tar. mis. 2 5"; cl. Charles F. Adams)
The third Goldsborough was launched 15 December 1961
by the Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Co., Seattle,
Wash. ; sponsored by Mrs. Alan Bibb, wife of U.S. Sen-
ator Bibb of Nevada ; commissioned in the Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard 9 November 1963, Captain Charles D.
Allen, Jr., in command.
Goldsborough joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet 25 Decem-
ber 1963, as a unit of Cruiser-Destroyer Force with home-
port at Pearl Harbor.
After shakedown out of Puget Sound, the new guided
missile destroyer arrived Pearl Harbor 14 February 1964.
Following qualification and acceptance tests, she sailed
18 April for Sydney, Australia, for the Coral Sea celebra-
tion and returned Pearl Harbor 1 June. She operated in
Hawaiian waters in the summer and early fall, then got
underway 23 November for Yokosuka and her first West-
Pac deployment. After operations strengthening the 7th
Fleet during the escalating war in Vietnam, Goldsborough
returned to Pearl for ASW training.
The guided missile destroyer headed for the Orient
once more 9 February 1966 to bolster the 7th Fleet. In
April she provided gunfire support for Operation “Binh
Phu I” firing 594 rounds of 5" ammunition at Viet Cong
troop concentration and buildings. During the last half of
the month she screened attack carriers at Yankee Station.
Next came SEATO exercises in May and duty as station
ship at Hong Kong in June. On 26 June Goldsborough was
again off Vietnam on picket station. She sailed for Hawaii
16 July and reach Pearl Harbor on the 23d.
A month later she entered the Pearl Harbor Naval
Shipyard for overhaul and extensive modification to ore-
pare for resumed action in 1967.
Goodwill, see Palomas ( IX-91 )
Golet
A trout of the scientific name Salvelinus malma, fish
family Salmonidae ; voracious, feeding mostly on other
fishes when adult.
(SS-31 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s.
20.25 k. (surf.), 8:75 k. (submerged) ; cpl. 80 ; a. 1 3",
2 .30 cal. mg. 10 21" tt. ; cl. Balao )
Golet was launched 1 August 1943 by the Manitowoc
Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Alexander Wiley, wife or U.S. Senator Wiley of Wiscon-
sin ; commissioned 30 November 1943, Lt. Cmdr. James M.
Clement in command.
Golet departed Manitowoc 19 December 1943 via the
Mississippi River for New Orleans, arriving the 28th.
After shakedown training at Panama and final battle
practice in Hawaiian waters, she departed Pearl Harbor
18 March 1944 for her maiden war patrol off the Kurile
Island chain, Southern Hokkaido and Eastern Honshu,
Japan. Severe combinations of fog, rain and ice were
encountered and only one ship worth a torpedo came into
view. This enemy proved too fast for Golet to gain
torpedo range; she returned to Midway, 3 May 1944.
Lt. James S. Clark took command of Golet and departed
Midway 28 May 1944 to patrol off northern Honshu, Japan.
A door of silence closed behind her and Golet was never
heard from again. She had been scheduled to depart her
area on 5 July and expected at Midway about 12 or 13
July. She failed to acknowledge a message sent her on
9 July and was presumed lost 26 July 1944.
Japanese antisubmarine records available after the war
revealed that Golet was the probable victim of a Japanese
antisubmarine attack made 14 June 1944 in latitude 41°04'
North ; longitude 14°30' East. These records mention that
the attack brought up corks, rafts, and other debris and a
heavy pool of oil, all evidence of the sinking of a sub-
marine. Eighty-two gallant men of the Navy’s “Silent
Service” perished with Golet.
Goliah
A former name retained.
( S P-1494 : t. 414; 1. 135'; b. 27'1" ; dr. 16'; s. 13; a. 1
3", 2 mg.)
118
Goliah, a steam tug, was built in 1907 by John H.
Dialogue and Son, Camden, N.J., and was purchased by
the Navy from her owners, the Puget Sound Tug Co. of
Seattle, Wash., 6 December 1917. She commissioned 31
January 1918 at Mare Island, Calif., Lt. Werner Tornroth,
uSNRF, commanding.
Folowing shakedown, Goliah towed coal barges between
San Diego, Mare Island, and San Pedro until 3 March
when she departed San Diego for the East Coast. She
arrived Norfolk 8 April 1918 and for the next month made
four voyages between New London and New York with
stores and ammunition. After a voyage to Bermuda and
the A2ores 18 May-24 June as an escort tug, she arrived
at New York for overhaul, where she stayed until 8
August 1918.
Departing New London, Conn., where she had briefly
served as a patrol craft, 6 September 1918, Goliah oper-
ated as a towing ship between San Miguel, Bermuda, and
New London until arriving at Brest, France, 26 November
1918. There she took up new duties as rescue and towing
tug for convoys operating out of Brest to English ports and
occasionally to Copenhagen and Lisbon until she arrived
back in Brest 24 April 1919. Goliah performed harbor
towing work there until decommissioning 29 November
1919. She was loaned to the United States Shipping
Board 30 November and transferred to the Board’s perma-
nent custody and control 7 October 1921.
Goliath
The Philistine giant killed by David with a sling.
The monitor Catskill (q.v.) was renamed Goliath 15
June 1869.
Goodhue
A county in Minnesota.
( APA-107 : dp. 8,100; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6" ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 546; a. 2 5”; cl. Bayfield)
Goodhue (APA-107), formerly Sea Wren, was launched
under Maritime Commission contract by Western Pipe &
Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif., 31 May 1944 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Charles R. Purcell ; transferred to the Navy and
commissioned 11 November 1944, Captain L. D. Sharp, Jr.,
in command.
Goodhue underwent shakedoivn training off San Pedro
and took part in amphibious training exercises 8-21 De-
cember off San Diego, preparing for her part in the mas-
sive landings still to come in the Pacific war. The ship
loaded vehicles at San Diego and sailed 4 January 1945 for
Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, where she arrived
21 January. There the transport loaded passengers and
cargo and sailed for Kollandia, New Guinea, anchoring
4 February.
After steaming to Leyte Gulf 4-12 February, Goodhue
carried supplies to various bases in the area and took part
in amphibious training until 25 February. She then be-
gan to load troops and supplies for the Okinawa invasion,
as American forces neared the last stop in their victorious
sweep across the Pacific. More landing drills followed,
after which the transport got underway in convoy for
Okinawa 21 March. Arriving off Kerama Retto 26
March, Goodhue and the other transports put ashore troops
to secure the island group as a base for the coming inva-
sion of nearby Okinawa.
Goodhue remained at Kerama Retto during the initial
landings 1 April and while returning to sea the evening of
2 April underwent a heavy air attack. As gunners from
Goodhue, screen ships, and other transports fired furious-
ly, suicide planes attempted to crash the loaded ships.
Henrico (APA^45) took a kamikaze hit on her bridge,
and Dickerson (APD-21) was also crashed. Goodhue's
gunners splashed a plane on the starboard quarter, but
another headed directly for her from dead ahead. Unable
to bring her full firepower to bear in that direction, Good-
hue could not divert the attacker, which hit the mainmast
and fell astern of the ship. Exploding bombs from the
aircraft caused many casualties and fires, killing 27 and
wounding 117, but the ship did not suffer serious struc-
tural damage and was able to continue. Subsequently,
Goodhue was based at Kerama Retto repairing battle dam-
age, and rejoined her transport squadron 10 April. She
transferred her Army Medical Detachment to Ie Shima
by LST 17 April and landed the main body of her em-
barked troops 20 April. Nearing the beaches in a pre-
dawn operation, she landed her reinforcements and re-
tired, undergoing air attack again that afternoon. Cargo
was off loaded under cover of smokescreens by 24 April
and 2 days later Goodhue joined a convoy bound for
Ulithi.
The transport arrived Ulithi 30 April after a grueling
month at Okinawa, and departed 22 May for San Fran-
cisco. There she loaded additional troops for the Pacific
fighting and sailed again 25 June. Steaming by way of
Eniwetok and Ulithi, Goodhue arrived Manila 21 July and
disembarked troops. She then sailed for Lingayen Gulf,
loading troops, and engaged in training operations 7-13
August. Word of the Japanese surrender arrived 15 Au-
gust as another assault was about to take place.
Goodhue’s next assignment was to carry occupation
troops to Japan, and she loaded soldiers at Subic Bay and
Cebu, Philippine Islands. The convoy arrived Sagami
Bay, Japan, 8 September. Unloading her troops, the
transport brought on board nearly 1,000 liberated pris-
oners of war — English, Dutch, and Norwegian as well as
American. She sailed for Manila 12 September and dis-
embarked the men 6 days later. From there Goodhue vis-
ited Cebu and Subic Bay to load veterans on operation
“Magic-Carpet”, the giant task of transporting the vet-
eran soldiers and sailors back to the United States. Sail-
ing 11 October, the ship arrived San Pedro, Calif., via
Pearl Harbor 3 November 1945. She made one more voy-
age to the Pacific bringing back veterans of the fighting
in the Philippines, and sailed from San Francisco 2 Feb-
ruary 1946 for Hampton Roads, Va., via the Panama Ca-
nal. Goodhue arrived 19 February and decommissioned 5
April 1946. She was turned over to the Maritime Com-
mission and eventually sold to Matson Navigation Co.,
where she serves as freighter Hawaiian Citizen.
Goodhue received one battle star for World War II
service.
Goodrich
Goodrich is named after two men, father and son.
Caspar Frederick Goodrich was born 7 January 1847
in Philadelphia. Graduating from the Naval Academy
in 1864, he spent 2 years in Colorado and Frolic; 3 years
in Portsmouth and Lancaster ; and 3 years at the Naval
Academy. Between 1874 and 1881 he had duty on board
Tennessee and Kearsarge followed by a tour at the Naval
Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I. After serving as execu-
tive officer of Lancaster, flagship for the European Squad-
ron, and Inspector of Ordnance at the Washington Navy
Yard, Goodrich became Officer in Charge of the Newport
Torpedo Station in 1886. From 1891 until 1896, he com-
manded successively Jamestoxon, Constellation, and Con-
cord before he spent a year as President of the Naval War
College at Newport. Originating the Coast Signal Serv-
ice in 1898, he then served as Director. During the
Spanish-American War in 1898, he commanded St. Louis
and Newark, and received the surrender of Manzanillo.
Cuba, following that city’s bombardment 12 August. In
the years following, Goodrich commanded Iowa, Rich-
mond, Minneapolis, and Puritan at sea and served as
Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard (1900) and
the Portsmouth Navy Yard (1903) on land before his
promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral 17 February 1904
and bis appointment for 3 years as the Commander-in
Chief of the Pacific Squadron. After duty as commandant
of the New Y'ork Navy Yard 1907 to 1909, he retired 7
January 1909. Recalled to active duty in World War I,
256-125 0 - 66 - 10
119
Admiral Goodrich served as officer-in-charge of the Pay
Officers’ Material School at Princeton until 8 November
1919 when he again stepped down from active duty, end-
ing a 50-year naval career. He died in Princeton 26
January 1925.
Caspar Goodrich, son of the Admiral, was born in Italy.
Appointed a Midshipman from Connecticut 7 September
1897, he was designated a Naval Cadet 10 June 1901 and
reported to Lancaster for duty. From 1903 to 1905 Good-
rich served in Maine, Cleveland, and Chicago. Assigned
to Georgia on the Atlantic Station in June 1906, Good-
rich was killed 15 July 1907 as the result of a turret
explosion.
(DD-831; d. 2,425 t. ; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'4" ; dr. 18'6” ;
sp. 3'5 k. ; cpl. 367 ; a. 6 5", 4 21” tt. ; cl. Gearing)
Goodrich (DD-831) was launched 25 February 1945 by
the Bath Iron Works Co., Bath, Maine ; sponsored by Mrs.
Caspar F. Goodrich, widow of Admiral Goodrich and
mother of Lt. Goodrich ; and commissioned 24 April 1945,
Comdr. Dale R. Frankes in command.
After shakedown training in the Caribbean, Goodrich
transited the Panama Canal 12 November 1945 to support
the occupation of Japan. She patrolled between princi-
pal Japanese ports until October 1946; then she based at
Tsingtao, China, for patrol along the coast of Korea. The
destroyer returned to San Francisco 21 December 1946
and departed 7 January 1947 to base at Newport, R.I., as
a unit of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Goodrich overhauled in the New York Naval Shipyard,
then served in the Mediterranean Sea (2 February-22 May
1948). This was her first of many annual tours with the
“steel gray stabilizers” of the 6th Fleet, of actively coun-
tering the repeated threats of the Soviets to overrun the
defenseless nations of the Balkans and the Middle East
and exploit them for Red Imperialism. Her service in-
cluded patrol along the Israeli-Egyptian border of the Red
Sea in February 1956 to help stem the Mid-East crisis that
finally culminated in the nationalization of the Suez
Canal. When fighting erupted, she sped back to the
Mediterranean in November 1956 to protect Americans in
that area and serve notice that the United States was
determined to contain and terminate the conflict. The
destroyer supported the landing of Marines at Beirut,
Lebanon, 14 July 1958, as the Navy again met and checked
a Communist thrust against the Western democracies.
Goodrich shifted her home port in June 1959 from New-
port to Mayport, Fla. Thereafter her annual deployments
to the Mediterranean included intensive training in all
forms of naval welfare with NATO units and a constant
readiness with the 6th Fleet to meet any threat to peace
in the Mediterranean region. She interrupted her sched-
ule in January 1960, entering the Norfolk Navy Yard for
an 8-month modernization overhaul which included com-
plete renovation and latest weapons and shipboard equip-
ment. She was on Project Mercury recovery station 12
February 1962 as Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn,
USMC, made his successful orbital space flight.
Goodrich went on alert again with the 6th Fleet dur-
ing 24 October to 20 November 1962 when the Navy re-
sponded to President Kennedy’s call for a quarantine of
Cuba that choked off the flow of military supplies and
enforced the American demands for the withdrawal of
the Soviet missile experts and equipment. On 22 July
1966 the destroyer got underway from Mayport on her
13th 6th Fleet deployment. She cruised throughout the
Mediterranean for 5 months, unobtrusively patrolling
with the 6th Fleet and taking part in combined naval
warfare exercises with units of the Turkish, Greek, Brit-
ish, and Italian Navies. She returned to Mayport 20 De-
cember 1966 for upkeep and type training.
Goodson
A British name retained. William Goodson, a captain
in the British Navy, commanded Entrance in 1653.
George (DE-276) (q.v.) was renamed HMS Goodson
upon transfer to the United Kingdom under lend lease 9
October 1943.
Goodwill
(MB: 1. 26'10” ; b. 9'0”)
Goodwill, a wooden launch, was built in 1917 and taken
over from the Panama Canal Co. for use as a shore and
harbor patrol vessel in the 15th Naval District during
World War I. She was returned to her owner 31 Decem-
ber 1918.
Gopher
Any of an order of burrowing rodents, having small eyes,
short ears, very large cheek pouches, and strong claws
on the forelimbs.
The gunboat Fern (q.v.) was renamed Gopher 27 De-
cember 1905 while under repair at Detroit for duty with
the Minnesota Naval Militia.
Gordius
In mythology, first king of Phrygia. He tied a knot,
known as the Gordian Knot, so intricate that an oracle
declared that he who loosed it should be master of Asia.
Alexander the Great cut it with his sword.
( ARL-36 : dp. 2,125; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 262 ; a. 1 3” ; cl. Achelous)
Gordius (ARL-36), originally LST-1145, was redesig-
nated ARL-36 and named 27 October 1944 while building
at Chicago Bridge & Iron Works, Seneca, 111. She was
launched 7 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Helen H. Davis.
Placed in reduced commission 18 May 1945, the ship
steamed to Baltimore, Md., where she decommissioned
11 June. She was then converted to landing craft re-
pair vessel at Key Shipyard, Bethlehem Steel Co.
Gordius was placed in full commission 14 September 1945
at Baltimore, Lt. Roy L. Guy, commanding.
Operating out of Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Va.,
Gordius took up a regular schedule of exercises in Chesa-
peake Bay, and along the Virginia-North Carolina coast,
supporting the myriad landing craft during amphibious
operations. She also participated in winter maneuvers
in the Caribbean. The ship occasionally sailed to the
north Atlantic, taking part in training exercises off
Argentia, Newfoundland, and Labrador in 1948 and 1949.
Gordius also was a member of the annual resupply convoy
to Thule, Greenland, 11 June-27 August 1952, drawing
special praise for her repair of LST-938 during adverse
weather on the operation.
Gordius continued her work in support of amphibious
training until steaming into Green Cove Springs, Fla.,
10 November 1955. She decommissioned 21 December
1955, and was placed in reserve. Taken out of reserve
in early 1961, she was stricken from the Navy List 1
Ifebruary and loaned to Iran under the Military Assist-
ance Program 7 September 1961, where she serves as
Sohrab.
Gordon, General W. H., see General W. H. Gordon
( AP-117)
Gordonia
Former name retained.
( AF-43 : dp. 7,435; 1. 338'6” ; b. 50; dr. 21'1” ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 79; a. 1 3” ; cl. Adria)
120
USS Gopher circa 1906
Gordonia, a provision stores ship, was launched 30
November 1944 by Pennsylvania Shipyards of Beaumont,
Tex. under Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by
Mrs. B. S. Matthews ; and commissioned 14 May 1945 at
Galveston, Tex., Lt. Ira V. Chapman in command.
Gordonia conducted a brief shakedown cruise in the
Gulf of Mexico before departing for the Pacific. She
loaded refrigerated cargo at Mobile, Ala., transited the
Panama Canal, and arrived Pearl Harbor 1 July 1945.
There the ship reloaded stores for fleet issue and steamed
westward 10 July to bring supplies to the fleet off Oki-
nawa. After stopping at Ulithi she spent 6-23 August in
the Okinawa area dispensing much-needed stores then re-
turned to Pearl Harbor, arriving 13 September.
In the months that followed, Gordonia made three more
voyages to the Far East, carrying precious refrigerated
cargo. Her first passage was 23 October to 27 November,
and on the second, beginning January 1946, the ship vis-
ited Okinawa, Jinsen, and Taku in support of American
Marines in China. She arrived San Francisco 4 March.
After one more voyage, this time to the Philippines, Gor-
donia arrived San Francisco 13 June. There she decom-
missioned 8 July 1946 and was returned to the Maritime
Commission the same day. Gordonia was subsequently
renamed Whale Knot and is berthed with the National
Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay, Calif.
Gore
A British name retained. Sir Thomas Gore, a captain
in the Royal Navy, commanded HMS Triton from 1796 to
1801.
Hcr~og (DE-277) (q.v. ) was renamed HMS Gore upon
transfer to the United Kingdom under lend lease 14
October 1943.
Gorgas, General, see General W. C. Gorgas
Gorgon
In Greek mythology one of three snaky-haired sisters,
whose terrifying appearance turned the beholder to stone.
The second Gorgon is a British name retained.
I
The gunboat Naubuc (q.v.) was renamed Gorgon 15
June 1869 while laid up at League Island, Pa.
II
( BAM-18 : dp. 890; 1. 220'6" ; b. 32'; dr. 9'6" ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 80 ; a. 1 3”, 6 20mm. ; cl. HMS Catherine )
BAM-18 was laid down 15 August 1942 by Savannah
Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ; launched 24 Jan-
uary 1943 ; transferred to the United Kingdom under lend-
lease 28 August 1943 ; and named HMS Gorgon. During
World War II, she served the Royal Navy as a mine
sweeper off the English coast and along the English
Channel. After the war, she was returned to the custody
of the United States Navy 12 November 1946 and sold to
the government of Greece in January 1947.
Gorgona
A former name retained : one of three sisters, Stheno,
Eurayle, and Medusa, with snaky hair, who turned the
beholder to stone.
( SP-2164 : dp. 732 t. ; 1. 112' ; b. 30' ; dr. 15'6'' ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 27 ; a. none)
Gorgona was built in 1915 by the Staten Island Steam
Boat Co., Staten Island, N.Y. ; she was commissioned 23
121
July 1917 at Portsmouth, Ya., Ens. T. Gustav Freudendorf
in command.
After fitting out at Arundel Cove, Md., until 21 0?tober,
Oorgona served with the Atlantic Fleet out of Norfolk,
towing target rafts for fleet gunnery practice. She re-
mained on this duty until 24 January 1919 when she sailed
to Guantanamo, Cuba, where she towed target rafts for
Batteship Forces 1 and 2. From there she sailed to New
Orleans, towing two barges on her return, and on 5 April
she departed Cuba for Norfolk.
Brief duty at New York, on the Potomac River torpedo
range, and at Norfolk ended 4 June when Gorgona de-
parted Hoboken, N.J., for the Panama Canal. Arriving
at Coco Solo, C.Z., she decommissioned 20 June 1919 and
was turned over to the Panama Canal authority.
Gorka, Walter S., see Walter S. Gorka (DE-204)
Gorman, Arthur P., see Tuituila (ARG-4)
Gorontalo
A Dutch merchant name retained.
( AP : t. 5,884 ; 1. 395'8" ; b. 51'5" ; dr. 20'10" ; s. 9.5 k. ; a.
1 4”)
Gorontalo was a Dutch cargo ship built by Bonn and
Nees, Rotterdam, for Rotterdamsche Lloyd in 1908 and
was among Dutch ships taken over by Customs officials in
Hampton Roads 20 March 1918. She was turned over
to the Shipping Board for transfer to the Navy. Goron-
talo was operated on Army account by the Navy, com-
missioned at Newport News, Va., 4 April 1918, Lt. Oomdr.
John E. Powell, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Gorontalo proceeded to New York
where she drydocked until 26 April, and then sailed for
Baltimore to join a cargo convoy to Europe. Sailing 17
May, she arrived at St. Nazaire, France, 2 June 1918 with
vital supplies for the Army. Gorontalo returned to Bal-
timore 12 July to prepare for another voyage.
Subsequently, she made three trips to France with sup-
plies. On her second voyage, she returned to Baltimore
with over 90 tons of captured German artillery. Go-
rontalo was then converted into an animal transport and
on her third voyage carried over 500 horses to Bordeaux.
Her last voyage to Europe was out of New Orleans, and,
after arriving with a load of foodstuffs at Hamburg 27
March 1919, she returned to Rotterdam and was turned
over to her original owners. Gorontalo decommissioned
14 May 1919.
Goshawk
A large, short-winged hawk noted for its powerful flight,
activity, and courage.
Goshawk (AM-42) was authorized for construction 6
October 1917, but construction was cancelled in 1918.
I
(AM-79: dp. 585; 1. 150' b. 25'; dr. 10'3" ; s. 10 k. a
13''.)
Goshatvk, formerly Penobscot, was built by the Founda-
tion Co., Savannah, Ga., 1919, and purchased by the Navy
from W. F. Henningsen of Seattle, Wash., 3 September
1940. She was converted to a minesweeper by Winslow-
Marine, Winslow, Wash., and commissioned at Seattle,
Wash., 3 March 1941, Lt. (j.g. ) Allan Dwight Curtis in
command. Her designation was changed to AM-79 from
AMe-4 on 25 November 1940.
After shakedown, Goshawk took up minesweeping du-
ties in Puget Sound and the San Juan de Fuca Straits,
operating out of Seattle. She sailed for Alaska 6 October
1941 and swep the channels between Sitka. Ketchikan,
Adak, Seward, and Kodiak Island until 30 March 1942,
when she returned to Seattle for extensive refitting.
Goshawk resumed duty 18 August in the Seattle and
Puget Sound area and in late 1943 returned to Alaska as
a combination minesweeper and small cargo vessel. Her
classification was officially changed to IX-195, 10 October
1944. Goshawk returned to Seattle 9 June 1945 and de-
commissioned there 1 August, but continued to perform in
an “in service” status, transporting condemned ammuni-
tion for the 13th Naval District. Her name was stricken
from the Navy List 3 January 1946 and she was trans-
ferred to Maritime for disposal 7 May 1946. Goshawk
was subsequently sold to Alvin T. Davies of Tacoma,
Wash, and renamed Bering Sea.
Goshen
A county in Wyoming.
( APA-108 : dp. 8,100; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6" ; dr. 24' ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 356; a. 2 5'', 4 40mm., 18 20mm.; cl. Bayfield; T.
C3-S-A2 )
Goshen (APA-108), originally Sea Hare, was laid down
by Western Pipe & Steel Co. under a Maritime commis-
sion contract on 31 January 1944; launched 29 June;
sponsored by Mrs. James B. Black ; acquired by the Navy
13 December 1944 ; and commissioned the same day Cap-
tain Carroll T. Bonney in command.
After shakedown along the California coast, Goshen
departed Long Beach 4 February 1945, for additional com-
bat and amphibious training in tbe Hawaiian Islands.
Embarking over 1,400 troops and officers at Honolulu, she
departed there for duty in the Western Pacific. Goshen
made brief stops at Ulithi and Eniwetok before proceed-
ing to the Okinawa area where the bitter campaign to
secure that Japanese-held fortress was already underway.
The transport arrived off Hagushi beaches on 17 April
and immediately commenced disembarking troops and un-
loading cargo. Goshen completed her task 5 days later
and sailed for Saipan arriving there on the 27th. After
loading mail and passengers at Saipan, Russell, Florida,
and New Hebrides Islands, she sailed for the United
States 18 May, arrived San Francisco 3 June.
Goshen made another cruise to the Western Pacific in
July carrying troops and cargo for the final month of the
war. She was at Saipan when news of the Japanese ac-
ceptance of surrender terms was received. After the war
Goshen operated between the Philippines and Japan for
the next 4 months as she shuttled occupation troops and
cargo among the Islands.
During December the transport joined the growing num-
ber of ships engaged in Operation “Magic Carpet” — an or-
ganized project to bring the war veterans back home im-
mediately. On 10 December she steamed out of Sasebo
with over 1,400 America bound Marines, finally arriving
San Diego on the 28th.
In late January 1946 Goshen departed the West Coast
arriving Lynnhaven Roads, Va., 12 February. She de-
commissioned at Norfolk 20 April and was delivered to
WSA 2 May 1946. She was sold in 1947 to American
Mail Line, Ltd., and renamed Canada Mail.
Goshen received one battle star for World War II
service.
Gosper
A county in southern Nebraska.
( APA-170 : dp. 6720; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 18 k. ; cpl.
692 ; a. 1 5" ; cl. Haskell )
Gosper (APA-170) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland,
Oreg., 20 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E. P. Nelson;
transferred to the Navy and commissioned 18 November
1944, Comdr. F. W. McCann in command.
Gosper sailed for Seattle to load supplies 29 November
122
and arrived San Francisco 6 December to take on landing
craft. The ship then departed for shakedown training off
the coast of southern California followed by amphibious
exercises, and return to San Diego 6 January 1945. Load-
ing troops and supplies, the transport sailed for Pearl
Harbor on two voyages to aid in the Navy’s great push
across the Pacific, arriving there for the second time 27
February.
At Pearl Harbor it was decided to convert Gosper into
a much-needed casualty evacuation transport, and she
was furnished with operating rooms and other hospital
facilities. The ship was to take part in the historic
Okinawa invasion, and departed Pearl Harbor 18 March
for Ulithi, where she arrived 31 March.
Gosper arrived Kerama Retto 6 April, just 5 days after
the initial landings on nearby Okinawa. During that
grim day the ship was almost constantly under suicide
attack as the Japanese tried desperately to stop the inva-
sion. Gosper shot down at least one attacker that day,
while transports Hobbs Victory and Logan Victory and
LST-44 7 were sunk. The ship remained at Kerama
Retto caring for casualties of the bitter fighting ashore
until 17 April, after which she sailed to Ulithi and Guam,
unloading her wounded at the Naval Hospital 24 April.
Sailing to Saipan, Gosper loaded over 1,000 reserve
combat troops and got underway for Okinawa again,
arriving off the beaches 1 May. Until 10 July she stayed
at anchor at Kerama Retto, caring for the casualties and
helping to fight off the air raids incessantly mounted by
the Japanese. She sailed to Buckner Bay, on the east side
of Okinawa, 10 July, and from there joined a convoy to
Ulithi, Pearl Harbor, and San Francisco, where she
arrived 7 August 1945.
Under repair when the war ended, Gosper was pressed
into use carrying occupation forces to the Far East. She
sailed 26 August for the Philippines, anchoring at Manila
15 September. There she took on board, because of her
medical facilities, a large group of American, British, and
Canadian servicemen who had been prisoners of war
on Japanese-held islands, some since 1941. She carried
these veterans via Pearl Harbor to Seattle, where she
arrived 12 October. Gosper then joined the “Magic Carpet”
fleet for the gigantic task of bringing home the combat-
weary soldiers from the Pacific, sailing from Seattle 26
October. She made two passages to Pearl Harbor and
back, carrying veterans, and departed 8 February 1946
for the East Coast, via the Panama Canal. Gosper arrived
Newport News, Va., 24 February 1946, and decommissioned
10 April 1946. She was subsequently returned to the
Maritime Commission and placed in the National Defense
Reserve Fleet in the James River, Va., where she remains.
Gosper received one battle star for World War II
service.
Goss
Angus R. Goss born 8 January 1910 at Tampa. Fla., en-
listed in the United States Marine Corps 12 September
1930. Marine Gunner Goss was awarded the Navy Cross
and Britain’s Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for extraor-
dinary heroism in combat on Tulagi 10 August 1942. Al-
though severely wounded by a grenade explosion, Goss
ignored enemy machine-gun and rifle fire, charging into
a cave where the enemy was entrenched and singlehand-
edly destroyed the Japanese with a sub-machine gun.
( DE— 444 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306'; b. 36'8” ; dr. 9'5” (mean) ;
s. 24 k. ; cpl. 222; a. 2 5”, 2 40mm., 3 21” tt. ; cl. John
C. Butler)
Goss (DE-444) was laid down 16 December 1043 by the
Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J. ;
launched 19 March 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Jamie S. Goss,
sister-in-law of Marine Gunner Goss ; and commissioned
26 August 1944, Lt. Comdr. Claude A. Kirkpatrick in
command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Goss departed Nor-
folk 30 October and steamed via the Canal Zone and San
Francisco to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 2 Decem-
ber and reported for duty. Goss was underway 5 Decem-
ber 1944 from Pearl Harbor via Eniwetok to Kossel Roads,
Palau Islands, where she joined Tulagi (CVE-72) and
four other destroyer escorts to form a hunter-killer group
which operated off the Palau Islands.
As a unit of Vice Admiral Oldendorf’s Bombardment
and Fire Support Group, Goss sortied from Kossel Roads
1 January 1945 bound for Lingayen Gulf. In the early
hours of 5 January, as Oldendorf’s ships steamed within
150 miles of Japanese airfields on Luzon, they were spotted
by scout planes. At 0758 combat air patrol intercepted 15
to 20 enemy planes 35 miles from the formation, shot
down 9, and turned the others back. At noon another raid
was intercepted and turned back about 45 miles from the
ships. The last and heaviest air attack of the day came
at 1650 about 100 miles off Corregidor. Sixteen kami-
kazes with four escorts broke through combat air patrol
to dive at the ships. They succeeded in hitting heavy
cruisers Louisville , and HMAS Australia; escort carrier
Manila Bay ; and destroyer escort Stafford. In the fierce
fight to repel this deadly threat, Goss was credited with
shooting down two kamikazes.
Next day, cruising about 60 miles off Lingayen Gulf,
the formation began breaking up into units with the bat-
tleships, cruisers, Beach Demolition Group and their es-
corts starting their separate missions. Goss, as part of
the screen for Rear Admiral Durgin’s Lingayen Carrier
Group, gallantly carried out her mission in support of the
Lingayen Landings until 20 January. Retiring from the
area, she reached Mindoro dawn 21 January.
From 21 February to 6 June 1945 Goss operated as a
unit of Admiral Stump’s Task Group 52.1 under 5th Fleet
as part of the close air support for the invasion of Iwo
Jima. Goss continued her escort duties, next taking part
in the Okinawa operations, last stop on the island road to
Japan. This duty lasted until 30 June 1945.
Goss sortied from Ulithi 3 July as part of the screen
for Admiral D. B. Beary’s Logistic Support Group (TG
30.8). This group acted as the replenishment group for
Admiral Mitscher’s Carrier Task Force 38 as they struck
the main islands of Japan with carrier planes and battle-
ship guns. The Logistics Group operated in an area from
250 to 500 miles east of Honshu, fueling the fast carrier
strike force and furnishing reolaoement aircraft. Late
in July Goss joined Task Group 94.17, a hunter-killer team,
to operate along the shipping lanes southeast of Okinawa.
From 7 through 24 August she operated with Task Group
75.19 as hunter-killer group east of Formosa. With the
war over, Goss retired to San Pedro Bay 25 August and
cleared that port 2 days later as part of the screen for
Task Force 32 and 33, landing units of the 8th Army in
Tokyo Bay 2 September.
Goss continued her duties until 5 November when she
departed Tokyo Bay for home. After touching at Pearl
Harbor Goss arrived Los Angeles 22 November 1945. She
remained on the West Coast and decommissioned at San
Diego 15 June 1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Goss recommissioned 27 December 1950 at San Diego,
Lt. Comdr. L. R. Hayes, commanding. Goss was assigned
duty under Commandant, 11th Naval District as a reserve
training ship. Her operations consisted of readiness and
tactical cruises on the west coast from Alaska to South
America as well as visits to Hawaii, Cuba and Panama.
Goss decommissioned at Astoria, Ore., 10 October 1958 and
again joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was later
transferred to Bremerton, Wash., where she remains.
Goss received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Gosselin
Edward Webb Gosselin, born 1 May 1917 at Hamden,
Conn., was educated at Yale University. He enlisted as
an Apprentice Seaman 30 September 1940 and was com-
missioned 14 March 1941. Ensign Gosselin’s first duty
station was battleship Arizona. He reported on board
123
3 May 1941 as an Engineer when she was sunk at Pearl
Harbor. Ensign Gosselin was officially declared dead as
of 7 December 1941.
( APD-126 : dp. 1650; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5" .38 cal., 3 twin 40mm. AA. ; cl. Rudderow)
Gosselin (APD-126), launched 17 February 1944 by the
Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich., was laid down
and partially completed as destroyer escort DE-710;
sponsored by Mrs. E. N. Gosselin, mother of Ensign Gosse-
lin ; and commissioned 31 December 1944, Lt. Comdr.
Joseph B. Fyffe in command.
After shakedown in Bermuda and Chesapeake Bay
waters, Gosselin cleared Norfolk 16 February 1945 bound
for the Pacific via the Panama Canal. Touching at Pearl
Harbor, Eniwetok, and Ulithi, she arrived 6 April in the
Okinawa area where she was employed as a screen ves-
sel until 10 April. Gosselin then began convoy duty which
took her to Guam and Saipan, returning to Okinawa
27 April.
From 27 April until the end of May Gosselin was as-
signed at the Okinawa screen protecting the invasion
area, shooting down one Japanese plane, taking several
others under fire and rescuing a number of survivors and
casualties from ships hit by suicide planes.
From 1 June Gosselin was in an upkeep status, mostly
in Leyte Gulf, returning to Okinawa 17 July to form part
of the reduced screen still being maintained. Gosselin
departed Okinawa 17 August 1945 in company with
Reeves to rendezvous with the 3d Fleet, then cruising
south of Honshu. Joining the fleet, she was assigned to
carry part of a Naval Assault Battalion for the occupa-
tion of Yokosuka Naval Base. Later this assignment was
changed to duty carrying press representatives and Navy
photographers during the initial entrance into Sagami
Wan and Tokyo Bay. Gosselin was one of the first group
of ships, including Missouri (Admiral Halsey), Iowa
(Rear Admiral Badger), and H.M.S. Duke of York (Ad-
miral Sir Bruce Fraser, R.N.) to enter Sagami Wan 27
August. The next day she accompanied San Diego into
Tokyo Bay to begin the official occupation.
Gosselin was transferred 29 August to the task group
commanded by Commodore R. W. Simpson, USN, assigned
to liberate and evacuate prisoners of war. That same
day her boats were the first to reach Omori Camp, from
which the first prisoners were evacuated, and brought out
the first boatloads of prisoners. 27 September 1945 Gosse-
lin was berthed in front of the Port Director’s office, Yoko-
suka, and used as a barracks ship for shore-based and
transient personnel. She remained there until 15 De-
cember when she got underway for San Francisco via
Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor. Gosselin discharged her
passengers at San Francisco 28 December.
Gosselin remained in the United States until 22 August
1946 when she cleared San Diego with Navy and Marine
replacements hound for Yokosuka via Pearl Harbor and
Eniwetok. Discharging her passengers at Yokosuka 13
December Gosselin returned to San Diego 16 November
1946. She operated out of here until 16 July 1948 when
she departed again for the Orient. Arriving Tsingtao,
China, 14 August 1948 Gosselin made this her base of
operations. She visited such ports as Shanghai and Nan-
king and occasionally operated in the Yangtze River dur-
ing American efforts to stabilize the situation in China.
Gosselin departed Shanghai 18 February 1949 and
reached San Diego 11 March. She decommissioned there
11 July 1949 and was placed out of commission in reserve.
She berthed with the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve
Fleet, until struck from the Navy List 1 April 1964 and sold
for scrapping.
Gosselin received one battle star for World War II
service.
Gotham, see Asquith (YFB-42)
Goucher, John F., see Culehra Island (ARG-7)
Goucher, S. M., see S. M. Gouclier (No. 2487)
Goucher Victory, see Sgt. Howard E. Woodford (AP-191)
Gould Island
An island in Narragansett Bay.
( YFB-31 : dp. 569; 1. 171 '9" ; b. 54'; dr. 9'6'' ; s. 13 k.)
Gould Island (YFB-31) a steel diesel-powered ferry,
was built as Hudson by General Ship & Engineering
Works, East Boston, Mass., in 1941, and acquired from
Electric Ferries, Inc., of New York City, 4 April 1942.
She was placed in service at Newport, R.I., 14 April 1942,
and named Gould Island.
Gould Island was converted for Navy use at New Lon-
don, Conn., and used during the Second World War as a
ferry boat at Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I. She
was returned to her former owners 25 May 1946 and
stricken from the Navy List 28 January 1947.
Governor
The chief executive of a State or territory.
(AMe-82: dp. 195; 1. 97'1" ; b. 22' ; dr. 9' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
17 ; a. 2 mg. )
Governor a wooden-hulled coastal minesweeper, was
launched by Camden Shipbuilding & Marine Railway Co.,
Camden, Maine, 26 July 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Richard
Lyman ; and placed in service 29 January 1912 at Boston
Navy Yard, Lt. Alfred F. Page, Jr., in command.
After briefly acting as an escort vessel in Massachusetts
Bay, Governor sailed 8 March 1942 for Yorktown, Va.,
where she conducted shakedown training in conjunction
with the Mine Warfare School. She was assigned briefly
to the 7th Naval District, and 11 November 1942 attached
to the 8th Naval District for her wartime duty. Governor
arrived at Naval Section Base, Burrwood, La., 29 Decem-
ber 1942, and remained there conducting minesweeping
operations in the area until August 1945. After a brief
tour during that montlx with Mine Countermeasures Sta-
tion, Panama City, Fla., Governor was placed out of serv-
ice and transferred to the Maritime Commission for
disposal 11 April 1947. She was subsequently sold to a
private purchaser.
Governor Buckingham
Name retained. (Probably named for the Governor of
Connecticut. )
( ScStr : t. 886; 1. 177'6'' : b. 32' 2" ; dph. 17' ; mdr. 12' ;
sp. 8 k. ; a. 1 100-pdr., 1 20-pdr., 4 30-pdrs. )
Built under contract by Messrs Maxon Fish & Co..
Mystic, Conn., the hermaphodite brig was offered for sale
to the Navy while on the ways ; purchased at Stonington,
Conn., 29 July 1863 by Isaac Henderson for $110,000;
delivered at New York Navy Yard 30 September 1863 ; and
commissioned 13 November 1863, Acting Volunteer Lt.
W. G. Saltonstall in command. She was assigned to the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, with instructions
to report at Hampton Roads to Acting Rear Admiral S. P.
Lee.
On 20 November she stood out to sea, arriving off
Fortress Monroe on the 23d, thence to Norfolk Navy Yard.
She departed Hampton Roads 5 December to join the
Fleet off Wilmington, N.C., for active blockading duty.
Governor Buckingham lost no time in getting experi-
ence with the problem of tracking blockade runners. On
20 December with the assistance of Aries she captured the
notorious blockade runner Antonica of Nassau, which ran
ashore. Antonica’s captain and crew attempted to get
away in two small boats ; but when fired upon they gave
themselves up, and the 26 men were taken aboard as
124
prisoners. After boarding and taking possession of the
prize in early morning of 21 December, Aries and the tug
Violet sent out boats to assist, without success, as the
tide had left her fast.
On 3 January 1864, Governor Buckingham was with
the flagship Fahkee when the blockade runner Bendigo
ran aground during the chase, after efforts at salvage
failed on 11 January Bendigo was destroyed.
That same day the British blockade runner Banger was
discovered after landing her passengers from Bermuda
at Merrill’s Inlet, 5 miles NE. She was intercepted by
Minnesota, Governor Buckingham, Daylight, and Aries
when she approached the Western Bar, and was beached
and fired by her crew. Attempts by the squadron to ex-
tinguish the fire and haul her off were frustrated by Con-
federate sharpshooters, whose Are completely commanded
her decks.
Later Governor Buckingham proceeded to Norfolk Navy
Yard, for overhaul. She sailed from Hampton Roads on
3 July 1864 to return to blockade duty off Wilmington,
and soon after was attached to the 1st Division off New
Inlet. From 11 to 25 September she was at Beaufort,
S.C., then back on her old station, she chased a blockade
runner ashore on 25 September, fired five shots, three
of which took effect as the target drove high and dry on
the beach. One of the crew was killed, three wounded,
and the steamer sent the surgeon and steward to their
relief. Next day the blockade runner was set afire, but
20 bales of cotton, part of her cargo, were salvaged.
Governor Buckingham on 30 September took part off
Fort Fisher in the destruction of the blockade runner
Black Hawk from Britain. Having been damaged in sev-
eral accidental collisions, she entered Norfolk Navy Yard
for drydocking on 27 October, and returned off New Inlet
on 3 December. Later that month she took part in the
first engagement of the Fleet against Fort Fisher, re-
newing the engagement for 2 days ; then her boats were
sent in to reembark troops.
The second attack upon Fort Fisher 13 to 16 January
1865, resulted in its capture. Governor Buckingham was
stationed on the 13th off Half Moon Battery, assisting
troops from the transports to land, also landing provisions,
ammunition and entrenching tools. After the battle on
16-17 January she was employed in carrying the wounded
to the transports. On several occasions, in obedience to
orders, she shelled the woods near Half Moon Battery.
She remained in the area of Fort Fisher through Janu-
ary, dispersing bands of Confederate troops, and on the
19th shelled them out of entrenchments near the beach
until Union forces advanced and captured a number of
prisoners.
On 4 February Governor Buckingham stood out to sea,
arriving Norfolk Navy Yard on the 8th. As her boilers
and machinery were out of repair, she was decommissioned
27 March and on 12 July 1865 was sold at public auction
at New York.
Governor Davie
William Richardson Davie, born in England 20 June
1756, came to Colonial America in 1763, and graduated
from Princeton College, N.J., in 1776. Joining the Army
during the revolution, he served under Casimir Pulaski
and later took an active part in the Carolina campaign,
becoming General Nathaniel Greene’s Commissary Gen-
eral. After the war he settled in Halifax, N.C., and became
successively a prominent lawyer, State legislator, and
founder of the University of North Carolina. In 1798
Davie was elected Governor of North Carolina. He was
appointed a Brigadier General during the Quasi-War with
France ; and became a peace commissioner to Paris in 1799,
sent there by President John Adams after the XYZ affair.
Governor Davie retired to his South Carolina plantation
in 1805 and died there 29 November 1820.
(Gy: 1. 52' ; b. 15' ; dph. 5'8" ; cpl. 28; a. 1 24-pdr., 5 to
6 how.)
Governor Davie was built at Wilmington, N.C., as one
of a group of galleys authorized by act of Congress 4 May
1798. The small vessels were built and equipped by the
Navy Department but operated under the War Depart-
ment as a kind of Naval Militia.
Governor Davie was assigned to cruise the coast and
inlets of North Carolina under Captain William McKerrall
(or McKerall) during the Quasi-War with France 1798 to
1801. Late in 1801 she was ordered turned over to the
Revenue Cutter Service, but believed to have been sold
instead, probably about 1 February 1802 at Wilmington.
N.C.
Governor Jay
John Jay was born in New York City 12 December 1745,
and attended the First and Second Continental Congresses.
In 1777 he guided the drafting of the New York State
Constitution, and became Chief Justice of the State su-
preme court the same year. Jay left that post to become
President of the Continental Congress in 1778, and was
sent to Spain in 1779 as a minister plenipotentiary to
seek aid for the revolutionary cause. He was chosen to
accompany Benjamin Franklin to Paris for the successful
peace negotiations, and became Minister of Foreign Affairs
under the Articles of Confederation 1784-89. An early
supporter of the proposed new constitution, Jay was the
author of five of the famous Federalist Papers, and be-
came Chief Justice of the Supreme Court under the new
form of government. When war with Britain loomed in
1794, he successfully negotiated “Jay’s Treaty.” His last
public post was the governorship of New York, 1795 to
1801, after which he retired to his home in Bedford, New
York, where he died 17 May 1829.
(RC : t. 187 ; 1. 58' ; b. 20' ; cpl. 70 ; a. 14 guns)
Schooner Governor Jay was built at New York in 1797
for the Treasury Department Revenue Cutter Service. By
arrangement between the Secretary of the Navy and the
Scretary of the Treasury, July 1798, Governor Jay was put
under the direction of the Navy for use as a cruiser in
the developing war with France. With Captain J. W.
Leonard commanding, she received orders to cruise out
of New York between Cape Henry and Long Island with
Ganges 20 July 1798.
Governor Jay made several cruises in protection of
American commerce during the undeclared war with
France. September saw her cruising with Retaliation,
under Ba inbridge, and 11 December 1798 she was ordered
by the Secretary of the Navy to convoy ship America, in
company with General Green, to the West Indies. This
accomplished, the two ships joined Captain Decatur in
Delaware and patrolled the waters north of Cuba from
Matanzas to Havana capturing French privateers and
protecting merchant vessels.
Returning to New York in May 1799, Governor Jay was
determined by the Navy Department to be unfit for further
service and shortly thereafter was returned to the Revenue
Service.
Governor R. M. McLane
A former name retained.
( SP-1328 : dp. 144 ; 1. 120' ; b. 22' ; dr. 6'9'' ; s. 13 k. ;
a. 1 1-pdr)
Governor R. M. McLane, a steamboat, wTas built in 1884
by Neafie and Levy, Philadelphia, Pa., and was acquired
by the Navy from the Maryland State Conservation Com-
mission in August 1917. She commissioned 6 August 1917
at Norfolk, Va., Ens. S. Earle, USNRF, in command.
Governor R. M. McLane was assigned to the 5th Naval
District, and served as a patrol craft in Chesapeake Bay.
Her cruising grounds included Baltimore Harbor, the Pa-
tuxent and Severn Rivers, and Tangier Sound. During
November 1918 she was used briefly as a towing boat by
125
Naval Proving Ground, Indian Head, Md., and was re-
turned to her owner 30 November 1918.
Governor Russell
William Eustis Russell was elected governor of Massa-
chusetts three times, in 1890, 1891, and 1892, although he
was a Democrat in what was then a normally Republican
state ; he died in 1896.
(Gbt : t. 485 ; i. 157' ; b. 57' ; dr. 9'4" ; sp. 12 k. ; epl. 58;
a. 1 5", 1 3", 4 3-pdr. Hotchkiss gun)
Governor Russell, a wooden bridge ferry converted to
auxiliary gunboat, was built by William McKie, East Bos-
ton, and launched in 1898 ; purchased 11 May, she com-
missioned 24 June 1898, Lt. Charles H. Grant com-
manding.
Sailing to New York 16 July, Governor Russell departed
for Port Royal, S.C., 23 July ; however she ran into a
heavy storm 26-27 July and had to put into port at Beau-
fort, N.C. From there she went to Moorehead City, N.C.,
and then sailed for Port Royal, arriving 7 August. After
extensive repairs in drydock, Governor Russell sailed for
New York 7 September with a cargo of ammunition ; how-
ever, a second severe storm forced her to put in at Hamp-
ton Roads. Damaged by weather for which she was not
built, Governor Russell was declared unfit for service and
decommissioned 28 September 1898. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 3 July 1899.
Governor Saltonstall, see Kingbird (AMc-56)
Governor Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins, born 21 June 1774 in Scarsdale,
N.Y.. graduated from Columbia College in 1795 and took
up the practice of law in New York City. He later en-
tered politics as a Republican. He was a member of the
state constitutional convention in 1801 and of the Assem-
bly in 1803 ; was elected to Congress in 1804, but resigned
to accept appointment as an associate justice of the New
York Supreme Court. Daniel Tompkins was elected to
New York governorship in 1807, 1810, 1813, and 1816. He
served as Vice President of the United States from 1817
to 1825, presiding over the state constitutional convention
in 1821. He died at his home on Staten Island 11 June
1825.
( Sch : t. 96 ; cpl. 40 ; a. 6 g. )
Governor Tompkins was purchased in October 1812 at
Oswego, N.Y., as the merchant ship Charles & Ann.
Governor Tompkins appeared on Lake Ontario 8 Novem-
ber 1812 as a unit of Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s squad-
ron which transported and lent fire support to the Army
landings for the raid on Kingston 9 December 1812, the
capture of York 27 April 1813, and the capture of Fort
George, 27 May 1813. The effect of the latter victory
caused the British to evacuate the whole Niagara river
frontier. This allowed Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, up
above Niagara Falls, to get brig Caledonia and four
schooners past the British batteries and into Lake Erie, a
most important addition to Perry’s fleet.
Governor Tompkins joined Chauncey’s squadron in run-
ning engagements with the British squadron 7 and 11
August 1813 ; and, in a long-range engagement 11 Septem-
ber. The two squadrons again joined battle in York Bay
28 September 1813 and the British squadron was forced to
flee. The victory established Chauncey’s supremacy in
control over the lakes. He continued to blockade the
British squadron at Kingston while dispatching Lt. Jesse
D. Elliott to Lake Erie to establish a naval base there.
Elliott’s hard work until winter closed the Lakes to navi-
gation, laid the groundwork for Commodore Perry’s great
victory in the Battle of Lake Erie the following year.
Governor Tompkins was laid up at Sacket’s Harbor
on close of the War of 1812. She was sold 15 May 1815.
Governor Williams
Benjamin Williams was born near Smithfield, N.C., 1
January 1751. He served in the North Carolina Pro-
vincial Congress 1774-75 and was a captain during the
Revolutionary War. After serving in the North Carolina
Senate, he was elected to the House of Representatives
of the United States, serving 1793-1795. Williams was
elected governor of North Carolina 1799-1802 and 1807-
1808, died in Moore County, N.C., 20 July 1814.
(Gy: 1. 52'; b. 15'; dph. 5'8" ; cpl. 28; a. 1 24-pdr., 5-6
how.)
Governor Williams was one of a group of galleys built
at Wilmington, N.C. in 1798. These small vessels, author-
ized by Congress 4 May 1798, were built and equipped by
the Navy Department but operated by the War Depart-
ment as a kind of Naval Militia.
During the Quasi-War with France 1798-1801 Governor
Williams cruised the coasts and inlets of North Carolina
under Lawrence Dorsey, who held the rank of “Captain of
a Galley.” After this service in defense of the coast of
North Carolina, she was transferred to the Department
of the Treasury Revenue Cutter Service in 1802.
Gozo
A British name retained.
(AM-330: dp. 850; 1. 225' ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 8'6'' ; s. 16.5 k. ;
cpl. 85; a. 1 4”, 8 20mm.; cl. HMS Algerine)
AM-330 was laid down 5 August 1942 by Toronto Ship-
building Co., Ltd., Toronto, Canada ; launched 27 January
1943 ; transferred to the United Kingdom under lend
lease 2 October 1943 ; and named HMS Gozo. She served
as a mine sweeper in the Royal Navy during World War
II and was returned to the custody of the U.S. Navy 10
December 1946. She was sold to the government of
Greece 2 October 1948.
Grade S.
( SP-919 : t. 91 ; 1. 83'0'' ; b. 24'7" ; dr. 10'7'' ; s. 9 k.)
Grade S. (SP-919), a wooden, two-masted auxiliary
schooner built in 1893 by the Union Iron Works, San
Francisco, was purchased by the Navy from the San Fran-
cisco Bar Pilot’s Association ; and assigned to the 12th
Naval District. However, she saw no active service and
was returned to her owner in 1918 shortly after being
taken over.
Grackle
An American blackbird.
I
(AM-73: dp. 755; 1. 132'4" ; b. 24'; dr. 11'6" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 36; a. 1 3"/50 cal.)
The first Grackle (AM-73), formerly merchant fisher-
man Notre Dame, was launched in 1919 by the Bath Iron
Works, Bath, Maine ; acquired 16 September 1940 ; and
commissioned 4 February 1941, Lt. Comdr. George W.
Allen in command.
Following shakedown out of Yorktown and Newport,
Grackle departed Portland, Maine, 25 September 1941 for
service in Newfoundland as a unit of Minesweeper Divi-
sion 25, Squadron 9 of the Atlantic Fleet. Upon reach-
ing Argentia 2 October she conducted minesweeping pa-
trols out that port until 15 January 1942, and following
repairs at Boston, returned to her sweeping duties at Ar-
gentia until the spring of 1944.
Grackle put in at Boston 17 May and decommissioned
there 25 August 1944. Stricken from the Navy List 16
September 1944, she was transferred to the Maritime Com-
mission for disposal 9 September 1946.
126
II
( YMS-312 : dp. 270 ; 1. 136' ; b. 24'6" ; dr. 10' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl.
32 ; a. 1 40mm. ; cl. YM8-136 )
The second Grackle was launched 9 November 1943 by
Henry B. Nevins, Inc., City Island, N.Y. ; sponsored by
Mrs. W. G. Kroepke; and commissioned as YMS-312, 6
December 1943, Lt. (j.g.) Ray G. Huling in command.
She was redesignated Grackle (AMS-13) 18 February
1947.
YMS-312 put in at Key West 4 February 1944 after
shakedown and following sound training there steamed
to Curacao, arriving 17 February. Escort, minesweeping,
and patrol duties in Caribbean waters occupied her until
She got underway 1 September 1945 for San Pedro, Calif.,
and Hawaii.
Her duty in the Pacific terminated 9 April 1946 when
YMS-312 steamed eastward through the Panama Canal
for overhaul at Charleston, S.C. On 15 May the mine-
sweeper arrived Norfolk for operations in the Chesapeake
Bay until November 1947 when she shifted her base to
Charleston. Operations out of this base included tours
of service for the Naval Schools Mine Warfare at York-
town, Va„ and the U.S. Naval Mine Countermeasures Sta-
tion at Panama City, Fla. Periodically Grackle engaged
in minesweeping operations off Massachusetts near
Martha’s Vineyard, completing this duty 27 .Tune 1951
,vhen she reported to the Mine Warfare School at York-
town for duty as a school ship.
On 1 March 1952 she sailed for the Caribbean to join
the Mine Force in combined fleet maneuvers off Puerto
Rico, Cuba, and the Virgin Islands, and returned to York-
town near the end of March. Subsequent years were
spent in alternate periods of operations that included
school ship duties at Yorktown, amphibious exercises
along the coast of North Carolina, and mine countermeas-
ures operations along the Eastern seaboard.
Redesignated coastal minesweeper (MSC(0)-13) in
February 1955, Grackle was placed in service in reserve 16
September 1957 and was stricken from the Navy List
1 March 1963. After conversion to coastal mineliunter,
she was transferred to the government of Brazil 19 April
1963 under terms of the Military Assistance Program.
Grackle serves the Brazilian Navy as Jurvena (M-14).
Ill
The third Grackle (AM-396) was under construction at
the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich., when her
contract was terminated 12 August 1945.
Grady
George Francis Grady was born 28 April 1920 in New
York City and enlisted in the Marine Corps 11 October
1938. Assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Private First
Class Grady was killed in action on Gavutu, Solomon
Islands, 7 August 1942. Although aware that his weapon
was not functioning, Grady rushed three of the enemy
who were firing on his squad, engaged them in hand-to-
hand combat, and succeeded in overpowering two of them
before he himself was killed. For his courage and self-
sacrifice, Grady was posthumously awarded the Navy
Cross.
(DE-445; dp. 1350; 1. 306'; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; 3 21" tt. ;
cl. John G. Butler)
Grady (DE— 445) was launched by Federal Shipbuilding
& Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J., 2 April 1944 ; sponsored
by Miss Margaret Grady, sister of the namesake; and
commissioned 11 September 1944. Lt. Comdr. Francis R.
King in command.
Grady conducted her shakedown training at Bermuda
2 October-2 November. Returning to Boston, the ship
sailed 17 November for Norfolk, Va„ escorting transport
Chilton, and from Norfolk continued through the Panama
Canal to San Diego, where she arrived 4 December.
Grady sailed immediately via San Francisco for Pearl
Harbor, where she arrived 15 December 1944. Until 23
December she operated with carrier Saratoga during
flight qualifications, rescuing three downed aviators.
With the American offensive in the Pacific then entering
its climactic phase, Grady departed 26 December 1944
for Eniwetok and Ulithi, arriving the latter base 10 Jan-
uary 1945. For the next month the ship acted as escort
to a vital tanker group engaged in refueling units of the
3d Fleet at sea, units then engaged in air strikes against
Formosa and the Chinese mainland. She then proceeded
off Iwo Jima 10 February to screen escort carriers during
the pre-invasion bombardment. During the assault 19
February Grady patrolled in an anti-submarine screen,
and departed the area 2 March en route to Saipan.
Arriving at Saipan 5 March, Grady refueled and de-
parted the next day for Espiritu Santo. Upon her arrival
19 March, the ship joined in preparations for the upcom-
ing Okinawa invasion, last giant step on the long sea road
to Japan. She got underway in convoy 25 March, and
after stopping at Ulithi arrived off the invasion beaches
9 April. As the bloody fighting raged ashore, Grady and
the other ships engaged in equally fierce radar and anti-
submarine picket duty were savagely attacked by Jap-
anese suicide planes. Grady and Metcalf downed one of
the kamikazes 16 April while at station D-37 off Okinawa.
The escort vessel escorted five fast transports to Saipan
5-16 May, and then returned to the picket stations off Oki-
nawa, occasionally helping to provide anti-aircraft fire in
the huge transport anchorages. Grady continued this ar-
duous duty until 28 June, when she sailed for Leyte Gulf.
Arriving 1 July in the Philippines, she was assigned as off-
shore patrol vessel and remained in the islands until 5
November 1945, twice making convoy voyages to Okinawa.
Grady began the long voyage home 5 November, 2
months after the surrender of Japan. Cruising via Manila
Bay and Pearl Harbor, she arrived at San Pedro, Calif., 26
November. Scheduled for deactivation, the ship was
towed to San Diego and decommissioned 2 July 1946.
Placed in the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Grady remained inactive until 27 April 1947, when she was
placed in an “In Service in Reserve” status. For the
next 3 years the ship served as a Naval Reserve Training
vessel under the 13th Naval District. Based at Belling-
ham, Wash., she cruised for 2 or 3 week periods training
reservists. Grady was placed in an “In Commission In
Reserve” status 1 August 1950, and recommissioned in the
active fleet 21 November 1950. The ship was placed under
the 12th Naval District at San Francisco, continuing her
important role as training ship for reserve officers and
men, and as school ship for Fleet Sonar School, San
Diego, Calif. Grady decommissioned a second time 18 De-
cember 1957 and was placed in reserve at Stockton, Cali-
fornia.
Grady received three battle stars for World War II
Service.
Graf W alder see
Original name retained. Named for General Alfred
Graf von Waldersee, born in Germany in 1832. In 1881
he became chief assistant to the elder von Moltke to suc-
ceed him in 1888 as Chief of the General Staff. He com-
manded the foreign armies sent to Peking in 1900 to
quell the Boxer Rebellion. General von Waldersee died in
1904.
( AP : dp. 25,000 ; 1. 585' ; b. 62' ; dr. 32'3" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 553)
Graf Waldersee, a Hamburg-America liner built in 1898
to 1899 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany, was taken
over from Germany at the close of World War I ; and
commissioned at Spithead, England, 28 March 1919, Comdr.
Lemuel M. Stevens in command.
Graf Waldersee was assigned to the Cruiser and Trans-
port Division, NOTS. She arrived at Brest, France, 30
March, and embarked 1,526 passengers, mostly homeward-
127
bound veterans; departed 7 April and arrived New York
20 April 1919. In two subsequent voyages from New York
to Brest (18 May-2 June and 7-30 August), she returned
4,108 additional civilians and troops to the United States.
She decommissioned at Stapleton, N.Y. 25 November 1919
and returned to the USSB.
Graffias
Common name of the Star Beta Scorpii in the constella-
tion Scorpio.
(AF-29: d. 7,770 t. ; 1. 468'11" ; b. 63' ; dr. 25'11" ; sp. 16
k. ; cpl. 319 ; a. 1 5”, 4 3" ; cl. Hyades T C-2-5-E1)
Graffias, ex-Topa Topa, was built in 1943 by the Gulf
Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Ala. ; acquired by the
Navy 19 February 1944; converted by the Bethlehem
Steel Co., Baltimore, Md. ; and commissioned at Balti-
more 28 October 1944, Lt. Comdr. B. P. Caraher in
command.
After a brief shakedown along the East Coast, Graffias
sailed for the Pacific 25 November as a unit of ServRon
Ten. Beaching Ulithi 31 December, she discharged her
valuable cargo of provisions and returned to San Fran-
cisco a month later. Laden with foodstuffs and provi-
sions for the staging areas and the front, Graffias made
two more San Francisco-Ulithi voyages through May 1945.
The refrigerator-cargo ship returned to Pearl Harbor
31 May and from there sailed again to Ulithi with provi-
sions, returning to Hawaii 14 July. After repairs at
Pearl Harbor, Graffias sailed to Adak, Alaska, reaching
port 18 August. With the Japanese capitulation, she
began a new task — bringing desperately needed provisions
to the starving island and to American occupation forces.
Graffias reached Ominato, Honshu, 9 September, and after
replenishing American bases at Wakayama, Nagasaki, and
Sasebo, sailed for the States with home and discharge-
bound passengers. Putting in at Seattle 26 October,
she disembarked her passengers and checked into Bremer-
ton Navy Yard for overhaul.
By January 1D46 Graffias was well embarked on the
routine which she was to follow until the Korean War,
replenishing scattered American bases across the Pacific.
Taking on cargo at Seattle or San Francisco, she would
discharge provisions at such far-flung points as Wake,
Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Bikini, Okinawa, the Philippines,
Guam, Saipan, Formosa, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Yoko-
suka. These Pacific replenishment cruises, whose dura-
tion was 2% months on the average, were supplemented
by periodic overhauls and participation in various fleet
exercises.
When war broke out in Korea in June 1950, Graffias
sailed to Sasebo, Japan, her new home port, to begin the
vital task of provisioning United States and United
Nations ships and troops. For three hectic years she
shuttled between Sasebo and various at-sea replenishment
areas to effect cargo transfer, as well as making frequent
stops along the Korean coast.
As the conflict ended with an uneasy armistice in Au-
gust 1953, Graffias remained on duty with the 7th Fleet
to continue her essential but unheralded task of replen-
ishing ships and troops. Replenishment cruises took
her across the ocean to Hong Kong and Formosa as well
as Okinawa and the Philippines. During the intensifica-
tion of the Quemoy-Matsu situation in the summer of 1955,
and thereafter, Graffias made frequent stops at Formosa
to provision American and Chinese Nationalist forces as
well as a beefed-up 7th Fleet.
In the decade that followed, Graffias operated almost
continuously out of Sasebo supplying American naval
ships in Far Eastern ports especially, in the Philippines,
Formosa, Hong Kong and Vietnam. She departed Sasebo
26 February 1964 for her new home port San Francisco.
Following a thorough overhaul, she headed westward
again 27 June and reached Yokosuka 13 July. On the last
day of July, she sailed for Subic Bay, P.I. When North
Vietnamese motor torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers
Maddox (DD-731) and Tamer Joy (DD-951) in the Gulf
of Tonkin 4 August, Graffias was order to the area to
provide logistic support. A week after the attack she
replenished the two destroyers and subsequently supplied
many other ships of the 7th Fleet. After setting a re-
plenishment record during the deployment by transferring
supplies at an average rate of 168.9 short tons per hour,
Graffias steamed home via Hong Kong, Yokosuka and
Pearl Harbor, arriving San Francisco 12 October.
Following two deployments to the Far East in 1965,
supporting the Allied struggle in Vietnam, Graffias oper-
ated along the Pacific Coast in 1966 until sailing for Orien-
tal waters 10 December. On the last day of 1966 she
departed Yokosuka to resume underway replenishment
operations supplying ships of the 7th Fleet fighting off
Vietnam in 1967.
A unit of ServRon 7, she remains today in the Pacific
performing this supply and replenishment duty so neces-
sary to the Navy.
Grafton
A county in New Hampshire.
I
( APA-109 : dp. 8576 light ; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6'' ; cpl.
553 ; s. 17 k. ; a. 2 5" ; cl. Bayfield)
The first Grafton (APA-109), formerly Sea Sparrow,
was launched under Maritime Commission contract by
Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif., 10 August
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. S. Belither ; and commissioned and
acquired simultaneously 5 January 1945, Captain C. D.
Emory in command.
After a 10-day period loading supplies and landing
craft at Oakland, Calif., Grafton conducted her shakedown
training off San Pedro. Subsequently, the ship underwent
amphibious training 3-19 February before sailing for the
great Pacific assaults to come. She departed 10 April with
1,000 Seabees and arrived Pearl Harbor 6 days later.
Loading another group of Seabees at Pearl Harbor,
Grafton sailed 27 April for Samar, Philippine Islands, via
Eniwetok and Kossol Roads, and unloaded her Seabees
on that busy island 17 May 1945.
Victory was then in sight on battle-scarred Okinawa,
and Grafton departed Samar 23 May to pick up a B-24
bomber service group in the Palaus. The group was de-
livered at Okinawa 24 June as the transport anchored
off the Hagushi beaches. During the next 4 nights Graf-
ton experienced heavy air attacks, assisting the defense
of the assault fleet with her anti-aircraft battery. She
loaded 1000 Japanese POW’s 28 June and sailed for
Saipan and Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 13 July and
unloaded her prisoners. Three days later Grafton was
on her way back to San Francisco with wounded, arriving
there 22 July 1945.
After a short stay in the United States, Grafton got
underway 7 August for Pearl Harbor. She arrived 6
days later with fresh troops for the Pacific fighting, then
drawing to its close. With the surrender of Japan the
transport embarked 5th Marine Division occupation forces
and sailed for Japan 1 September 1945. She arrived off
Sasebo 22 September after a stop at Saipan and unloaded
both the Marines and their equipment. She then sailed
for Lingayen Gulf, via Manila, to embark additional occu-
pation troops. Arriving 3 October, the ship loaded troops
and steamed toward Japan, passing Okinawa only two
days after the great typhoon had devastated the island.
She arrived Sasebo 15 October and disembarked her troops.
Grafton was assigned 22 October to the “Magic Carpet”
fleet, and departed for Saipan to begin the gigantic task
of returning the thousands of veterans to the United
States. Arriving 27 October, she loaded 1,700 troops and
sailed for San Francisco, arriving 11 November. Subse-
quently, the ship made two more voyages, both to Guam,
and arrived Seattle with her final load of veterans 11
February 1946.
Designated for return to the Maritime Commission,
128
Grafton sailed for Norfolk, via San Francisco and the
Panama Canal, arriving in Hampton Roads 21 March
1946. Decommissioned 16 May, she was returned the next
day and subsequently sold to American Mail Lines in
1947, where she serves as Java Mail.
II
(PCS-1431 : dp. 251 ; 1. 136' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl.
59; a. 1 40mm., 2 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
PCS-11,13)
The second Grafton was laid down as PCS-1431 by
Gibbs Gas Engine Corp., Jacksonville, Fla. ; 12 May 1943 ;
launched 2 November; sponsored by Mrs. John R. Thomp-
son ; and commissioned 24 March 1944, Lt. George J.
Meyer in command.
After shakedown off the coast of Florida PCS-1431 was
assigned to the Fleet Sonar School, Key West, Fla., where
she assisted future submariners in learning the skills of
offensive and defensive undersea warfare. She remained
off Key West throughout the war years, and continued
similar sendees out of Florida from 1946 to 1955.
During May 1955, PCS-1431 was designated a Naval
Reserve training ship. She decommissioned 13 July 1955,
and for the next 10 years she performed reserve opera-
tions along the Ohio River, including Wheeling, W. Va„
and Louisville, Ky. PCS-1431 was named Grafton 15
February 1956. She was struck from the Navy List 1
July 1965, and was sold in April 1966.
Graham
Secretary of the Navy William A. Graham was born in
1804 and died 1875. Graduating from University of North
Carolina 1824, he was admitted to the bar 1826. From
1833 he repeatedly was elected to House of Commons,
of which he was speaker 1839-40. From 1840-43 he was
in the U.S. Senate, and 1844 and 1846, elected Whig gov-
ernor of North Carolina, declining a third term. From
1850-52, he was Secretary of the Navy, when he organized
Perry’s Expedition to Japan, during the administration
of President Filmore.
( DD-192 : dp. 1,215; 1. 310'0” ; b. 30'liy2”; dr. 9'4" ;
s. 35 k. ; cpl. 122 ; a. 4 4” ; 1 3” AA ; 12 21” tt.)
Graham (DD-192), Torpedo Boat Destroyer, was
launched 22 March 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuild-
ing & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., sponsored by Mrs.
Robert F. Smallwood, granddaughter of Secretary of Navy
William A. Graham ; and commissioned at Norfolk, Va.,
Navy Yard, 13 March 1920, Lt. Comdr. Paulus P. Powell
in command.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, after several trial runs
on East Coast, Graham was at first given the special duty,
together with two other U.S. Destroyers, of a moving
picture boat carrying the moving picture photographers,
in connection with the International Cup Race, under
the auspices of the New York Yacht Club, beginning 15
July 1920 and on alternate days thereafter until 27 July,
when the Race was completed.
Graham then joined the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet at New-
port, R.I., for exercises and training along the east coast,
and for neutrality patrol and exercises off Guantanamo
Bay and in Canal Zone. In 1921, she participated in
combined division, squadron and fleet maneuvers off South
America, visiting Callao, Peru, and Balboa, C.Z., before
returning to Hampton Roads, where she took part in the
Presidential Fleet Review at Norfolk, Va., in April 1921.
She also participated in the historic bombing tests on
former German ships off the Virginia coast that summer.
27 October, in company with the 20th Division, she escorted
S.S. Paris, on which General Fooch was a. passenger, to
New York, and convoyed that up Ambrose Channel, N.Y.
Then she commenced antiaircraft practice. On 12 Novem-
ber 1921 she had a change of status from operative com-
mission to reduced complement. She was en route to New
York from Charleston, S.C., when on 16 December she
collided with SS Panama off the New Jersey coast and
had to return to New York.
Graham decommissioned at New York Navy Yard 31
March 1922, and was sold for scrapping, 19 September
1922.
Graham County
Counties in Arizona, Kansas, and North Carolina.
(LST-1176 : dp. 3,560 (lt) ; 1. 445' ; b. 62' ; dr. 16'8” ; s. 17
k. ; cpl. 172 ; a. 4 3” ; cl. Suffolk County)
Graham County (LST-1176) was laid down by New-
port News shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News,
Va., 4 February 1957; launched 9 September; sponsored
by Mrs. Ralph Otis Davis ; and commissioned 17 April
1958, Lt. Comdr. Gordon H. MeCrea in command.
After shakedown Graham County continued tests and
repairs throughout 1958. Assigned to the Atlantic am-
phibious force, the LST engaged in training exercises
along the Atlantic coast until late November 1960 when
she embarked a detachment of marines and sailed for
her first extended deployment. Touching ports in the
Caribbean and Brazil, she sailed on to Africa, arriving
Monrovia, Liberia, 5 January 1961. She stopped at other
ports in Africa including the Congo, where she embarked
500 Guinean troops of the U.N. peacekeeping force for
transport to their country. Graham County returned to
Little Creek, Va., 17 May.
Following the assassination of Dominican Republic
President Trujillo in early June, the LST, together with
units of the fleet, steamed toward the Caribbean ready
to assist if needed. Returning in early July, she resumed
training operations for the next 2 years.
On 10 January 1964, Graham County with 170 marines
on board departed Little Creek for amphibious exercises
in the Mediterranean. Training was postponed, however,
when the Cyprus crisis errupted ; and Graham County,
along with other units of Amphibious Squadron 4, rushed
to the scene prepared for any mission. After 78 con-
secutive days in the area, she resumed her training
exercises with the fleet. Returning home 21 June, Graham
County resumed amphibious operations in the Atlantic and
Caribbean for the rest of the year.
Grainger
A county in Tennessee.
( AK-184 : dp. 7,125 ; 1. 338'6” ; b. 50' ; dr. 21'1” ; s. 11.5 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3” 50 cal. ; cl. Alamosa )
Grainger, ex-M.C. Hull 2115, was launched under
Maritime Commission contract 7 May 1944 by the Walter
Butler Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Superior, Wis. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Carl Bong; and commissioned 26 January 1945,
Lt. Henry J. Johnson in command.
After shakedown training out of Westwego, La., and
Galveston, Tex., Grainger was assigned to the Naval
Training Center, Miami, Fla., for duty as a school ship.
She trained personnel in cargo handling and ship opera-
tion and maintenance until 14 September when she de-
parted New Orleans and proceeded by way of the Canal
Zone to arrive at San Pedro, Calif., 12 October. Depart-
ing San Francisco 31 October Grainger sailed for Saipan.
Tinian, Guam, and Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island. Hav-
ing discharged all her cargo she left Manus Island 17
February 1946 and after touching at Pearl Harbor
reached San Francisco 13 May. Ten days later Grainger
proceeded to Seattle, Wash., and arrived there 26 May
and began her inactivation overhaul. She was decommis-
sioned there 25 July 1946 and returned to the Maritime
Commission the next day. Her name was stricken from
the Navy List 15 August 1946.
Grainger was taken into the Navy again 9 May 1947
and commissioned 12 June 1947 at the Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash.; Lt. Comdr. Ralph E.
Deckwa, USN, in command, and her name reinstated on
129
the Navy List 23 June. Departing Bremerton she reached
San Diego 18 July then sailed for Port Hueneme, Calif.
Departing Port Hueneme 21 August 1947 Grainger
touched at Pearl Harbor before she arrived at Guam 19
October to take up duty there. Grainger supplied the
islands of the Marianas and the Eastern Carolines, with
occasional trips to the Palau Islands until 9 April 1949
when she arrived Pearl Harbor. After overhaul Grainger
cleared Pearl Harbor 13 July and touched at San Fran-
cisco before reaching Seattle 16 August. Departing Seat-
tle 28 August she carried out cargo operations at Kodiak
and Adak, Alaska, before returning to Seattle 2 October
1949.
Grainger cleared Seattle a week later to take up her
duty at Guam again, arriving there 20 December. She
carried out her operations for the next 6 months supplying
the Marshalls and the Marianas.
With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea and shortage
of ammunition ships in the Far East Grainger loaded with
aircraft ammunition and cleared Guam 14 July 1950. She
was to rendezvous with Admiral Struble’s Task Force 77
on the 23d and rearm the carrier Valley Forge , but due
to weather conditions had to complete her mission in
Sasebo. Japan, the next day. Here Grainger was as-
signed to the Logistics Support Group (Captain B. L.
Austin) for the 7th Fleet as a replenishing ammunition
ship. She continued this important job until 15 Septem-
ber when she got underway for the objective area in sup-
port of the landings at Inchon, one of the most successful
amphibious operations in history. Grainger participated
in the landings 16 September and after landing her cargo
remained in Inchon Harbor until 7 October, when she
retired to Sasebo.
Departing Sasebo 21 October 1950 Grainger returned to
Guam on the 28th and resumed her task of logistic sup-
port to the Marianas and the Carolines. Departing Kwa-
jalein 2 March 1951 Grainger sailed for Pearl Harbor
arriving 13 March. Here she took up duty contributing
logistic support to Midway Island and Kwajalein atoll
until 18 June 1953. The ship then cleared Pearl Harbor
to take up duty in Sasebo, where she arrived 12 July.
With the exception of a voyage to Inchon, Korea, with
refrigerated and dry stores for occupation troops (6-13
October) Grainger steamed between Sasebo and Yokosuka
until 19 March 1954, returning to Pearl Harbor 2 April to
take up her familiar runs to Kwajalein and Midway.
5 March 1955 found Grainger again rotating to Sasebo
where she arrived 29 March. Her visits included Buckner
Bay, Okinawa ; Subic Bay, P.I. ; Kaoh.siung, Formosa ;
and Hong Kong.
Grainger departed Yokosuka 11 September and going
by way of Pearl Harbor reached Long Beach, California
20 October 1955; 2 days later she shifted to San Diego
to undergo inactivation overhaul. Grainger decommis-
sioned there 7 February 1956 and was turned over to the
San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. Grainger re-
mained out of commission in reserve there until she was
disposed of and her name stricken from the Navy List
1 April 1960.
Grainger received two battle stars for Korean service.
Grampus
A species of dolphin.
I
(Sch: dp. 171%; 1. 97'; b. 23'6" ; dph. 9'6" ; cpl. 64; a.
12 guns)
The first Grampus, a schooner built at Washington Navy
Yard under the supervision of naval constructor William
Doughty on a design by Henry Eckford was laid down in
1820 on a 73-foot keel ; and launched in early August 1821.
The necessity of suppressing piracy and of maintaining
ships to catch slavers led to the building of five such
schooners, largest of which was Grampus. This was the
first building program undertaken by the Navy since the
War of 1812.
Lt. F. H. Gregory commanded Grampus on her first
cruise, which took her to the West Indies in pursuit of
pirates. In the company of Hornet, Enterprise, Spark,
Porpoise, and Shark, Grampus engaged in convoying mer-
chant vessels throughout 1821, the presence of the squad-
ron having a marked effect on piratical activity among
the islands.
On 16 August 1822, Grampus gave chase to a brig flying
Spanish colors, but which Lt. Gregory suspected was a
pirate. When he called upon her commander to surren-
der, he tvas met with cannon and small arms fire. To
this rebutt, Grampus answered in turn, and reduced the
bogus Spaniard to a floating wreck in 3% minutes. The
brig struck her colors and Lt. Gregory discovered that she
was Palmyra, a Puerto Rico-based pirate carrying the
papers of a privateer as a subterfuge.
Grampus continued her duties in the protection of ship-
ping in the Caribbean Sea and in the South Atlantic
Ocean until August 1841, when she was detached from
the African Squadron while lying at Boston Navy Yard.
Attached to the Home Squadron at Norfolk, Va., 23 Janu-
ary 1843, Grampus was lost at sea in March, presumably
after having foundered in a gale off Charleston, S.C.
130
II
(SwStr : t. 230; 1. 180' b. 27'; dph. 5')
Rear Admiral D. D. Porter purchased Grampus, for-
merly Ion, for the U.S. Navy on 22 July 1863 at Cincin-
natti, Ohio, for $9,750.00. She was utilized as a receiving
ship in the Mississippi Squadron, and stationed at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio. By 14 November 1863, Acting Master Eli-
jah Sells in command, she was recognized as a “nice
little receiving vessel in first-rate order,” but contained
no furnishings or weapons other than 10 cutlasses and
revolvers.
Acting Ens. C. W. Litherbury in command, Grampus
at Cincinnati, Ohio, assisted in stripping of certain ships
for conversion to gunboats, and effected their delivery to
fleet staging points for the Mississippi Squadron, prin-
cipally Cairo and Mound City, 111. Grampus was sold
to D. D. Holliday & Bros on 1 September 1868 at Mound
City, 111.
III
The third Grampus (SS— 4), commissioned 9 June 1908
and was renamed AS (q.v.) 17 November 1911.
IV
( SP-1708 : 1. 126')
The fourth Grampus, originally Boothbay, was built by
Neafie and Levy, Philadelphia ; purchased from the East-
ern Steamship Line of Boston ; and commissioned 14
December 1917 at the Boston Navy Yard. Her name was
changed to Grampus November 1920. Assigned to ferry
service between the Washington Navy Yard, Indian Head,
Md., and Dahlgren, Va., Grampus decommissioned 11 De-
cember 1930. Her name was struck from the Navy List
on 30 December 1930 and she was later sold to the Bux-
ton Line of Norfolk, Va.
V
( SS-207 : dp. 1,475 t. ; 1. 307'2'' ; b. 27'3''; dr. 13'3'' ;
s. 20 k . ; a. 10 tt., 1 3" ; cpl. 59 ; cl. Tambor )
The fifth Grampus (SS-207), built by the Electric Boat
Oo. of Groton, Conn., was launched 23 December 1940;
sponsored by Mrs. Clark H. Woodward; and commis-
sioned 23 May 1941 at New London, Lt. Comdr. Edward
S. Hutchinson in command.
After shakedown in Long Island Sound, Grampus
sailed to the Caribbean with Grayback on 8 September
to conduct a modified war patrol, returning to New Lon-
don 28 September. The Japanese attack on Pearl Har-
bor found Grampus undergoing post-shakedown overhaul
at Portsmouth, N.H., but soon ready for war on 22 De-
cember, she sailed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor
on 1 February 1942 via the Panama Canal and Mare
Island.
On her first war patrol (8 February-4 April 1942)
Grampus sank an 8,636-ton tanker, the only kill of her
short career, and reconnoitered Kwajalein and Wotje
atolls, later the scene of bloody but successful landings.
Grampus' s second and third patrols were marred by a
heavy number of antisubmarine patrol craft off Truk and
poor visibility as heavy rains haunted her path along
the Luzon and Mindoro coasts. Both patrols terminated
at Fremantle, Australia.
Taking aboard four coast watchers, the courageous men
who were stationed on Japanese-held islands to radio back
vital information on shipping, military buildup, and
weather, Grampus sailed on 2 October 1942 for her fourth
war patrol. Despite the presence of Japanese destroy-
ers, she landed the coast watchers on Vella Lavella and
Choiseul Islands while conducting her patrol. This
patrol, during the height of the Guadalcanal campaign,
took Grampus into waters teeming with Japanese men-
of-war. She sighted a total of four enemy cruisers and
79 destroyers in five different convoys. Although she con-
ducted a series of aggressive attacks on the Japanese
ships, receiving 104 depth charges for her work, Grampus
was not credited with sinking any ships. She returned
to Australia 23 November.
Grampus’ fifth war patrol (14 December 1942-19 Jan-
uary 1943) took her across access lanes frequented by
Japanese submarines and other ships. Air and water
patrol of this area was extremely heavy and although
she conducted several daring attacks on the 41 contacts
she sighted, Grampus again was denied a kill.
In company with Grayback, Grampus departed Bris-
bane on 11 February 1943 for her sixth war patrol from
USS Grampus (SS— 4), renamed A-3 on 17 November 1911
131
which she failed to return ; the manner of her loss still
remains a mystery today. Japanese seaplanes reported
■sinking a submarine on 18 February in Grampus' patrol
area, but Grayback reported seeing Grampus in that same
area on 4 March. On 5 March two Japanese destroyers,
themselves lost 2 days later, conducted an attack in
Blackett Strait, where a heavy oil slick was sighted the
following day, indicating Grampus may have been lost
there in a night attack or gun battle against the DD’s.
When repeated attempts failed to contact Grampus, the
valiant submarine was reluctantly declared missing and
presumed lost with all hands. Her name was struck
from the Navy list on 21 June 1943.
Grampus received three battle stars for World War II
service. Her first, fourth, and fifth war patrols were
designated successful.
VI
(SS-523: dp. 1,570; 1. 311'8" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 76 ; a. 10 21” tt. ; cl. Tench )
Built at the Naval Shipyard, Boston, Grampus (SS-
523) was begun in 1944 but left uncompleted at the end
of the war. Construction was resumed in 1948, and
Grampus launched 26 October 1949, Mrs. Clark H. Wood-
ward, who also sponsored the previous Grampus, sponsor.
She commissioned the same day, Comdr. George F. Sharp
in command.
With her new snorkeling equipment, which permitted
her bo remain submerged for periods far longer than the
World War II fleet class ships, Grampus served as a pro-
totype for the “Guppy” class submarines and also incor-
porated many features to appear later in nuclear sub-
marines. Attached to SubDiv 61 at Norfolk, she has
participated in a variety of exercises along the East
Coast and in the Caribbean, including torpedo and at-
tack exercises, snorkeling tests and demonstrations, and
antisubmarine training. Grampus also did a great deal
of work with the early HUK (Hunter-Killer) antisubma-
rine patrols, now a vital part of American defenses, to
whose development she greatly contributed.
From 5 January to 2 April 1955 Grampus proceeded
independently to the Mediterranean, where she “showed
the flag” at Algiers, Naples, Barcelona, Malta, Beirut,
Monaco, and Gibraltar before returning to Norfolk and
her routine of exercises and tests, spaced with regular
overhauls at Portsmouth and Philadelphia. During the
late 1950’s and early 1960’s Grampus operated out of
Norfolk in the North Atlantic.
Under the command of Lt. Comdr. D. A. Kilmer, Gram-
pus sailed with Task Force “Alfa” for 6 weeks prior to
13 February 1964. On 3 April, she deployed with the 6th
Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea until 3 August.
She operated out of the Virginia Capes until entering
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in mid-April 1965 for over-
haul. After refresher training and shakedown in the fall,
Grampus operated along the East Coast engaging pri-
marily in ASW exercises.
She departed Norfolk 13 May 1966 for the eastern At-
lantic and Northern European countries to participate in
NATO ASW exercises. Back in Norfolk 30 August, she
resumed operations in the Virginia Capes area and Carib-
bean until sailing 29 December to Philadelphia for repairs
in the naval shipyard. Shipshape again, she resumed
operations with the Atlantic Fleet.
Grand Canyon
A western landmark, the grand canyon of the Colorado
River.
(AD-28 : dp. 11,755 ; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6” ; dr. 27'6” ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 977 ; a. 2 5”, 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. Shenandoah)
Grand Canyon (AD-28) was launched 27 April 1945 by
Todd-Pacific Shipyard, Inc., Tacoma, Wash. ; sponsored
by Mrs. W. L. Mann ; and commissioned 5 April 1946,
Captain W. D. Hoover in command.
After brief shakedown off the coast of southern Cali-
fornia Grand Canyon departed Port Townsend, Wash., 26
June 1946 en route Newport, R.I., via the Canal Zone. She
arrived Newport 20 July. Assigned the task of keeping
our destroyers in operation, Grand Canyon cleared New-
port 17 September 1946 for her first tour with the 6th
Fleet in the Mediterranean. After a visit to Palermo,
Sicily, and a 4%-month stay at Naples she returned to
the States, arriving Norfolk 1 March 1947.
Between 1 November 1947 and 12 November 1954 Grand
Canyon continued her support of 6th Fleet destroyers,
making six Mediterranean deployments. During this
time she participated in some of the largest peacetime
service operations ever undertaken.
Grand Canyon continued her tender duties in the U.S.
until 24 September 1956 when she again departed for the
the Mediterranean for her eighth tour. By 20 October
the Suez Crisis had reached the serious stage and the
majority of the 6th Fleet proceeded into the Eastern Med-
iterranean. During this period Grand Canyon, as flag-
ship, cook part in fleet exercises and visited the ports
of August Bay, Sicily ; Messina, Sicily and Taranto, Italy.
As the Suez problem subsided she sailed for Cannes,
France, 20 December, in time for the Christmas holi-
days. Grand Canyon returned to Fall River, Mass., 13
March 1957.
The third of September 1957 found Grand Canyon un-
derway with other units of the Atlantic Fleet, this time
to participate in NATO fall exercises. By the 16tli she
had crossed the Arctic Circle operating west of Norway.
After visits to Trosmo, Norway and Portland, England,
Grand Canyon returned Newport, R.I. 21 October.
Grand Canyon continued her tender duties out of Fall
River, Mass., until 1 August 1958 when she sailed for Suda
Bay, Crete, to support the 6th Fleet in operations off
Lebanon. For the next 4 months she supported destroyers
and other types while helping to stabilize the situation
and block aggression in Asia Minor. Besides Suda Bay,
Grand Canyon visited Izmir, Turkey ; Athens, Greece ; Na-
ples, Italy ; and Barcelona, Spain, before returning home
in December.
Grand Canyon spent most of 1959 with tender duties at
Newport except for duty at Charleston, S.C., between 29
August 1959 and 11 January 1960. She cleared Charles-
ton 11 January 1960 to participate in Operation “Spring-
board,” returning to Newport 7 February ; thence to Ber-
muda and New York before returning to Newport. Be-
tween October 1960 and August 1961 Grand Canyon tended
ships at Newport, Boston, and Norfolk.
After her ninth Mediterranean tour August 1961 to
March 1962 Grand Canyon returned to Newport and again
took up her duties there until the fall. She proceeded to
San Juan, P.R., arriving 3 November 1961 to start tending
ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Fleet during the
Cuban missile crisis and subsequent quarantine. Grand
Canyon again helped demonstrate the mobility and versi-
tility of sea power. She returned to Newport 5 De-
cember.
Grand Can/yon made her tenth deployment to the Med-
iterranean between 6 February and 27 June 1963. The
ship entered Bethlehem Steel Yards, East Boston, Mass.,
for modernization and refitting. With the completion of
modernization 3 January 1964, Grand Canyon sailed for
Guantanamo Bay and San Juan, P.R., on training cruises.
Returning to Mayport, Fla., 11 May, she tended destroyers
there until her departure for Newport, R.I., 20 June for
similar duties at that station.
On 27 November, Grand Canyon, departed Newport for
her 11th Mediterranean cruise, relieving Shenandoah (AD-
26) as 6th Fleet tender. She reached Palma, Mallorca,
11 December and until 16 April 1965 tended ships in
French, Italian, and Spainsh ports. After returning to
Newport 27 April, she served there and at Norfolk, Va.,
during the next 11 months. Between 29 March 1966 and
12 August she again served ships of the 6th Fleet in the
Mediterranean. During the remainder of the year she
operated out of Newport. Into 1967 Grand Ca/nyon con-
tinued to provide tender and repair facilities for destroy-
132
er-type ships of the Atlantic Fleet and the mighty 6th
Fleet.
Grand Forks
A city in North Dakota.
(PF-11 : dp. 1,246; 1. 304'; b. 38'; dr. 12'; s. 20 k. ; cpl.
141 a. 3 3" 2 40mm. ; cl. Tacoma)
Grand Forks was launched by Kaiser Co., Richmond,
Calif. ; 27 November 1943, Mrs. T. H. Thoreson sponsor.
She commissioned 18 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. Christian
W. Peterson, USCG, in command.
After shakedown, 7 August 1944 Grand Forks sailed
from San Francisco to take station in the Northern
Pacific off the California coast as a plane guard ship,
returning to San Francisco 3 September. She continued
on this duty until decommissioning, spending an average
of 3 weeks at sea and 2 in port. Late in the night 11
October 1944 Grand Forks picked up a distress call from
a PB2Y about to make an emergency landing. Sending
up flares and star shells to guide the plane through the
dark, Grand Forks rescued 15 crewmen and passengers
from the sea, as well as 114 sacks of mail.
While in port from guard duty on 31 May 1945, Grand
Forks was toured by several members of the American
delegation to the San Francisco Peace Conference, in-
cluding Secretary of State and Mrs. Edward Stettinius,
Nelson Rockefeller, and Alger Hiss.
She continued on plane guard duty until 19 March 1946
and then sailed from San Francisco to Charleston, S.C.,
where she decommissioned 16 May 1946. Grand Forks
was stricken from the Navy Register 19 June 1946 ; sold
to J. C. Berkwit & Co. of New York 19 May 1947, and
scrapped 1 November 1947.
Grand Gulf
A Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi below
Vicksburg, Va.
( ScStr : t. 1200; 1. 210'4'' ; b. 34'6'' ; dph. 20'6" ; s. 11.5
k. ; a. 1 100-pdr., 2 30-pdrs., 3 8''.)
Grand Gulf was purchased in New York as Onward
14 September 1863 from her builders, Cornelius and Rich-
ard Poillon ; and commissioned 28 September 1863, Comdr.
George Ransom in command.
Grand Gulf stood to sea from New York oil 11 October
and 9 days later joined the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron off Wilmington, N.C. Her two exits to the
sea at Beaufort and the Cape Fear River made Wilmington
one of the most important and most difficult to blockade
of all Confederate ports. She remained on blockade duty
there, with intervals for repair at the New York and
Norfolk Navy Yards, until 4 October 1864.
On 21 November 1863, assisted by Army Transport
Fultcrn, Grand Gulf took blockade runner Banshee with a
general cargo of contraband from Nassau. Off the Caro-
lina coast, Grand Gulf , 6 March 1864, captured the Brit-
ish steamer Mary Ann trying to run the blockade with a
cargo of cotton and tobacco; seizing the cargo and 82
passengers and crew members, Grand Gulf put a prize
crew on the steamer and sent her to Boston. A second
British ship, Young Republic, fell captive to Grand Gulf
after a wild chase 6 May 1864, with both ships steaming at
full speed and the blockade runner throwing overboard
bale after bale of precious cotton and even the anchor
chain in a futile attempt to lighten ship. Grand Gulf
garnered some 253 bales of cotton as well as 54 prisoners
from this prize. Two weeks later, Rear Admiral S. P.
Lee wrote Ransom congratulating him on taking the
prize ; “Every capture made by blockaders deprives the
enemy of so much of the ‘sinews of war,’ and is equal to
the taking of two supply trains from the rebel Army.”
Returning to New York 4 August 1864, she was ordered
out in search of the Confederate raider Tallahassee, re-
ported in Long Island Sound. However, 17 August she
gave over the search to tow into port demasted brig Bil-
low, and claim her as a prize. Billow had been captured
by Tallahassee ; scuttled but did not sink Grand Gulf left
New York 23 September to convoy California steamer
Ocean Queen to Aspinwall (now Colon), Panama, arriving
USS Solcy (DD-707) alongside USS Grand Canyon (AD-28) at Augusta, Sicily, 16 December 1950
133
there 3 October and returning to New York 16 October.
From 24 October to 16 November she and Ocean Queen re-
peated the voyage. One day from New York on the out-
ward passage, Grand Gulf, herself leaking badly, took into
tow sinking British bark Linden. She then put into New
York Navy Yard for extensive repairs.
With the ironclad Casco in tow, Grand Gulf put to sea
8 March 1865 ; arriving at Hampton Roads 12 March, she
left Casco there and 17 March sailed to join the West Gulf
Blockading Fleet off Galveston. She reached Galveston
4 April and remained on blockade duty until 25 June,
when she steamed up the Mississippi to New Orleans.
There she served as a prison ship and site for courts mar-
tial until 18 October, when she cleared New Orleans for
New York.
Arriving in New York 2 November, Grand Gulf decom-
missioned 10 November and was sold 30 November to C.
Comstock & Co. She was later resold to William F. Feld
& Co. of Boston ; renamed General Grant ; and put in serv-
ice in their Merchants of Boston SS. Co. operating be-
tween Boston and New Orleans. She burned and sank at
a wharf in New Orleans 19 April 1869.
Grand Island
A city in Nebraska.
(PF-14: dp. 1,430; 1. 304'; b. 38'; dr. 12'; s. 20 k. ; a.
3 3'', 2 40mm.; cl. Tacoma)
Grand Island, a patrol frigate, was originally PG-122
and launched by Kaiser Cargo, Inc., Richmond, Calif., 19
February 1944 ; as PF-14 ; sponsored by Mrs. William
Shackleton ; and commissioned 27 May 1944, Lt. Comdr.
H. L. Morgan in command.
After completing her shakedown cruise off the coast of
southern California, Grand Island reported for duty with
the 12th Naval District 12 September 1944. She subse-
quently performed weather station and plane guard duty
out of San Francisco and participated in several train-
ing exercises with patrol forces on the West Coast. She
also was engaged from time to time in antisubmarine
escort duty. Grand Island departed San Francisco 26
March 1946, arrived Charleston, S.C., 13 April 1946 via the
Canal Zone, and was turned over to the 6th Naval District
for disposal. She decommissioned 21 May 1946 and was
stricken from the Navy Register 19 June. Declared not
essential to the defense of the United States, the frigate
was turned over to the State Department Foreign Liquida-
tion Corporation and finally transferred to Cuba 16 June
1947, where she serves as Maximo Gomez.
Grand Rapids
A city in Michigan.
( PF-31 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6'' ; dr. 13'8'';
s. 20 k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3'', 2 40mm. ; cl. Tacoma)
Grand Rapids (PF-31), formerly designated PG-139,
was launched by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc.. Supe-
rior, Wis., 10 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Ted
Booth ; and commissioned 10 October 1944, Lt. Comdr.
T. F. Knoll, USOG, in command. The ship had been
taken down the Mississippi River and outfitted at Plaque-
mine, La., before being commissioned at New Orleans.
Outfitted as a weather ship, Grand Rapids sailed 17
October for Bermuda and her shakedown cruise, but was
damaged at sea by a hurricane and returned to Algiers,
La. for repairs. She proceeded toward Bermuda again
27 October, and after her shakedown training put in at
Boston, 4 December 1944. Grand Rapids steamed out
of Boston 6 January 1945 for duty as a weather picket
ship off Newfoundland.
Grand Rapids operated as a weather ship out of Argen-
tia until returning to Boston 6 June 1945. The ship soon
sailed for her station 7 July, and continued sending vital
weather reports for the north Atlantic area until finally
returning to Boston 15 January 1946. Grand Rapids de-
commissioned at Boston 10 April 1946, was sold to Sun
Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa., 14 April 1947,
and subsequently scrapped.
Grand River
Rivers in Louisiana, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, South
Dakota ; formerly the name of the Colorado River from
its source to its junction with the Green River in south-
eastern Utah.
(LS MR-505 : dp. 790; 1. 206'3'' ; b. 34'6''; dr. 7'2" ; s. 13
k. ; cpl. 138; a. 15'', 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2" m., 10
rkt. ; cl. LSMR-401 )
Grand River (LSMR-505) was laid down as LSHRr-
505 on 31 March 1945 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc.,
Houston, Tex. ; launched 28 April 1945 ; and commissioned
14 June 1945, Lt. Hall B. Wessinger in command.
After shakedown along the East Coast, LSMR-505 de-
parted Portsmouth, Va., 7 August for duty in the Pacific.
As World War II came to an end, LSMR-505 was assigned
to Squadron 3 operating along the West Coast. Based
at San Diego, she engaged in training exercises off Cali-
fornia until March 1946. Arriving Astoria, Oreg., 22
March, LSMR-505 reported for duty in an inactive status.
She decommissioned 20 May 1946 and entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet. While berthed in the Columbia River Re-
serve Group, she was named Grand River 1 October 1955.
Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958.
Grange Victory, see Pvt. Joseph F. Merrill ( AKV-^)
Granite
Natural igneous rock formation, usually white, red, or
grey, very hard and durable. Figuratively, unyielding
firmness or endurance.
( Sip : t. 75 ; a. 1 32-pdr. ; 1 30-pdr. )
Granite, wooden sailing sloop, was transferred from
Light House Board 19 January 1862, and assigned in
North Atlantic Blockading Station to Sound of North
Carolina in Goldsborough’s Expedition to Roanoke Island,
Acting Master’s Mate Ephraim Boomer in command.
She participated in the capture of Confederate works
on Roanoke Island, N.C., 7-8 February 1862. For the
remainder of the Civil War, she operated in the sounds
of North Carolina.
Granite decommissioned at Washington 29 June 1865
and was returned to the Lighthouse Board.
Granite City
A city in Illinois.
(SwStr : t. 450; 1. 160'; b. 23'; dph. 9'2" ; a. 6 24-pdr.
howitizers, 1 12-pdr. rifle)
Granite City was originally a Confederate blockade
runner, and was captured in the Bahama Islands 22 March
1863 by U.S.S. Tioga. She was bought by the United
States from the New York Prize Court for $55,000 and
delivered to the Navy at New York 16 April 1863, Acting
Master Charles W. Lamson in command.
Assigned to the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron,
Granite City arrived in New Orleans for duty 27 August
1863. She was detained for a time in quarantine because
of sickness on board, but departed 4 September to take
part in the ill-fated Sabine Pass Expedition, which was
intended to provide a Union lodgement in Texas and pre-
vent possible French moves into that State from Mexico.
Granite City was ideally suited to help support the troop
landings because her shallow draft allowed her to cross
the bar and lie close to shore. She crossed the bar in
134
company with Sachem, Clifton, and Arizona on 8 Septem-
ber, but the withering fire of Confederate batteries forced
the gunboats and their transports to withdraw. Sachem
and Clifton were disabled and captured in the action,
though Granite City suffered no damage.
For the next 8 months, Granite City, though often in
need of repairs to her weak machinery, actively partici-
pated in the blockade of the Texas coast. She captured
schooner Anita 27 October 1863, schooner Amelia Ann 16
November, and bark Teresita 17 November. In addition,
the steamer supported two landings of troops on the
Texas coast. With Sciota, she shelled Confederate cavalry
off Pass Cavallo 31 December 1863, allowing Union recon-
naissance forces to land successfully. Again on 19 Janu-
ary 1864, the two ships covered the landing of several
hundred troops near Smiths Landing, Tex., and defended
them by shelling shore positions.
After 3 more months of grueling blockade duty, Granite
City was dispatched with steamer Wave to Calcasieu
Pass, La., to receive refugees. While engaged in this
duty, 28 April 1864, the ships were attacked by Confed-
erate troops and shore batteries. After an hour’s sharp
engagement, both ships surrendered, placing Granite City
in Confederate hands for the second time.
Fitted out as a Confederate blockade runner, her origi-
nal occupation, Granite City was loaded at Galveston and
ran out of Velasco, Tex., 20 January 1865. The night was
foggy and she succeeded in eluding the blockading squad-
ron for a time, but the next day she was chased ashore by
steamer Penguin, and soon broke up on the beach.
Granite State
A sobriquet applied to the State of New Hampshire.
Ship-of-th e-line New Hampshire (q.v.) was renamed
Granite State 30 November 1904 while out of commission
at New York City.
Grant
A Coast Guard name retained.
Grant was a revenue cutter built in 1870 and 1871 by
Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, Del. She served the
Revenue Cutter Service in both the Atlantic and Pacific
preventing smuggling and protecting shipping. At the
outbreak of the War with Spain, she was ordered to co-
operate with the Navy 11 April 1898. Throughout the
conflict, she patrolled the Pacific coast and was returned
to the Treasury Department 15 August 1898. Grant con-
tinued to serve the Revenue Cutter Service in the Pacific
until sold to A. A. Cragin of Seattle, Wash., 28 November
1906.
Grant, Albert W ., see Albert W. Grant (DD-649)
Grant, President, see Harris (AP-8)
Grant, V. S., see TJ. S. Grant (AP-29)
Grant County
Counties in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Da-
kota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, West
Virginia, and Wisconsin.
(LST-1174 : dp. 3,560 (it.) ; 1. 445'; b. 62'; dr. 16'8'' ; s.
17 k. ; cpl. 172 ; a. 4 3" ; cl. Suffolk County)
Grant County (LST-1174) was laid down by Avondale
Marine Ways, Inc., Avondale, La., 15 March 1956 ; launched
12 October 1956; sponsored by Mrs. John Martin Higgins;
and commissioned 17 December 1957, Lt. Comdr. R. B.
Nichols in command.
After shakedown, Grant County performed amphibious
exercises along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean
throughout 1958. From 1958 to 1962 the LST excelled in
training and experimental amphibious operations in the
Atlantic, Caribbean, and on two occasions the Mediter-
ranean (1958. 1961).
Following operations with Marines at Camp Pendleton
in October 1962, Grant County was dispatched to Florida
for assignment during the Cuban missile crisis. Her con-
stant training paid dividends, for the show of strength
displayed by the Navy averted an atomic catastrophe, and
once again left undisputed America’s claim to superiority
of the sea. When the crisis eased, Grant County re-
sumed her training, and remained on alert in the event
of another flare-up.
In May 1965, the Communist threat to the Western
Hemisphere struck again, this time in the Dominican Re-
public. President Johnson ordered Marines to the Carib-
bean island to protect American interests and help stabi-
lize the government. When the situation showed signs
of diminishing, Grant County departed Little Creek, Va.,
1 June for the Caribbean. She embarked Marines and
Seabees stationed in the Dominican Republic and returned
them to the United States. On 3 October she sailed for
another Mediterranean deployment and participated in
amphibious exercises before returning home 31 March
1966.
During the next 4 months Grant Comity participated
in intermittent amphibious exercises along the Atlantic
Coast and in the Caribbean. During August she made two
runs to the Dominican Republic to return troops and
equipment to the United States. She continued shuttle
runs along the East Coast until 1 December when she
began a 3-month overhaul. In March 1967 she resumed
training and readiness operations with amphibious forces,
and at present she ranges the seas from the Virginia
Capes to the Caribbean while maintaining the efficiency
and readiness of her crew and equipment.
Granville
A county in North Carolina.
( APA-171 : dp. 12.450; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 18 k. :
cpl. 536; a. 1 5''; cl. Haskell)
Granville (APA-171) was launched 23 October 1944
by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg., under
a Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. Low-
ell Stockman ; transferred to the Navy 21 November 1944
and commissioned the same day, Captain R. A. MacKer-
racher in command.
Granville began her transport duties when she cleared
San Francisco 26 January 1945 carrying passengers to
Pearl Harbor, the Marshalls, Carolines and Marianas.
Departing Honolulu 18 April 1945 Granville sortied from
Saipan 2 May to land 1,350 troops of the 10th Army on
Okinawa 6-8 May. Already begun, Okinawa was the cli-
max of America’s amphibious sweep across the Pacific.
Departing Okinawa 15 May 1945 Granville delivered
casualties to San Francisco 10 June via Ulithi, Guam and
Pearl Harbor. Clearing San Francisco 26 June she called
again at Okinawa with more troops. Granville departed
Okinawa 23 August and loaded occupation troops at Lin-
gayen Gulf 10-20 September 1945. Putting her troops
ashore at Wakayama, Japan, 25 September she called at
Mindanao, P.I., 0-14 October to embark 1,447 troops of
the 2d Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment. Granville
sailed from Mindanao 15 October and landed her troops
at Matsuyama 21-24 October 1945 ; part of the 5tli Fleet
landing of X Corps (Central Occupation Group), 6th
Army in Kyushu and western Honshu.
Departing Matsuyama, Japan 28 October 1945, Gran-
ville was assigned to the “Magic-Carpet” fleet carrying
veteran troops to the United States from the Solomons,
New Guinea, Admiralties, New Hebrides, and New Cale-
256-125 O -68 - 11
135
donia. She returned to San Francisco from her last voy-
age 25 January 1946, sailed from San Francisco 15 Febru-
ary and reached Norfolk 9 March 1946 via the Canal Zone.
Granville decommissioned there 10 May 1946. She was
returned to the Maritime Commission the next day and
her name stricken from the Navy List 21 May 1946.
Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, she is now
berthed in James River, Va.
Granville earned one battle star for World War II
service.
Granville S. Hall
Granville Stanley Hall was born in 1846 at Ashfield,
Mass., and graduated from Williams College in 1867.
After teaching at Antioch and Harvard and studying
psychology in Germany, Hall organized a psychological
laboratory at Johns Hopkins in 1882. Soon becoming a
leader in his field, he founded the “American Journal of
Psychology” in 1887; authored numerous books and ar-
ticles; and served as first President of Clark University
1889 to 1920. He died in 1924.
(YAG^tO: dp. 11,600; 1. 442'; b. 57'; dr. 28'; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 8 to 15)
Granville S. Hall (YAG-40), a Liberty ship, was
launched under Maritime Commission contract 24 October
1944 by J. A. Jones Construction Co., Inc., Panama City,
Fla. ; sponsored by Mrs. Isabelle Gabriel ; and placed in
service in October 1944 for Coast-Wise Lines. She oper-
ated as a general merchant cargo vessel until entering
the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif.,
June 1952.
Taken out of reserve in May 1953, Granville S. Hall
was transferred to the Navy and designated YAG^IO.
The ship was fitted out with scientific instruments of all
kinds, including nuclear detection and measurement de-
vices. These enabled her to explore fallout areas and
carry out ship decontamination tests. Granville 8. Hall
was also equipped with remote control devices which al-
lowed her to be operated by a small crew in a sealed hold,
and thus making her able to explore fallout areas of heavy
concentration.
Granville S. Hall operated in an “Inservice” category
until 1957, taking part in Operation “Castle,” atomic
bomb tests March-May 1954 and other radioactivity and
remote control tests designed to enrich the Navy’s and
mankind’s knowledge of these scientific areas. She was
placed in the San Diego Reserve Fleet in late 1957.
The ship was reactivated in May 1962 and commissioned
20 October 1962, at Triple A Machine Shop, San Fran-
cisco, Calif., Lt. Oomdr. H. W. Kepler in command . With
her sister ship, George Eastman, she arrived Pearl Har-
bor 24 November for underway training, and following
completion resumed her scientific work. Since 1962 she
has operated in waters off Hawaii carrying on experiments
in ship protection and scientific warfare, and at present
continues her vital role.
Grapeshot
Acquired in January 1877, Grapeshot served as an ord-
nance tug at New York until she was sold 1 January 1880.
Grapple
To take hold of.
( ARS-7 : dp. 1,897 ; 1. 213'6" ; b. 39' ; dr. 14'1" ; s. 14.8 k. ;
cpl. 120; a. 4 40mm. ; cl. Diver)
Grapple (ARS-7) was launched by Basalt Rock Co.,
Napa, Calif., 31 December 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas
D. Rose; and commissioned 16 December 1943 at Vallejo,
Calif., Lt. Robert Fisher in command.
One of the first ships designed to operate as a combat-
salvage vessel, Grapple conducted shakedown off the Cali-
fornia coast until 15 February 1944 when she sailed for
Pearl Harbor with barge YW-69 in tow. With three
barges in tow, she departed Pearl 21 March 1944, pro-
ceeded via Majuro and Tarawa to Espiritu Santo, New
Hebrides, Florida Island, and Guadalcanal. There Grap-
ple performed miscellaneous screening exercises and read-
ied for her part in the upcoming invasion of Guam, an-
other step in America’s sweep to victory across the Pacific.
On 15 June she came under enemy attack for the first
time as three Japanese dive bombers came out of the sun
in a surprise attack. Alert antiaircraft crews shot down
one of them and seriously damaged another.
Grapple cleared Kwajalein, staging area for the Guam
assault, on 15 July, then 6 days later was standing off
Guam in support of the first wave of assault troops. Her
vital salvage work at Guam included pulling stranded
landing craft off the beaches and repairing damaged ships,
usually within range of enemy fire. Demolition crews
from Grapple, also performed the important work of clear-
ing the Apra Harbor entrance of a Japanese freighter
sunk by American bombers. After the consolidation of
Guam, Grapple returned to Espiritu Santo via Eniwetok
for repairs and preparation for next major assault.
Rendezvousing with a convoy at Florida Island, Grapple
sailed 4 September for the initial assault phase on Peleliu
Island, Palaus, which began 15 September. Under con-
stant fire from enemy shore batteries, she laid small-craft
mooring buoys inside Peleliu’s protective reef before being
dispatched to aid Wadleigh (DD-689), badly damaged in
a mine field. While working on the disabled destroyer, a
project which lasted over 2 weeks, Grapple also assisted a
number of beached landing craft and effected temporary
repairs on others.
On 24 December Grapple entered Leyte Gulf, late the
scene of one of the war’s bloodiest and most decisive naval
battles, for further salvage work. Four days later she
sailed into Mindanao Gulf to salvage William Sharon, an
abandoned Liberty ship still smouldering from kamikaze
attacks. The salvage ship, with Sharon in tow, and her
two destroyer escorts were attacked by Japanese fighter
planes in the pre-dawn hours of 30 December, but the
planes were driven off.
From Leyte Grapple headed north as the invasion of
the Philippines unfolded deep into enemy held territory at
Lingayen Gulf, again in the initial assault phase. Bril-
liant salvage work at Lingayen Gulf from 6 January to 26
February 1945 earned Grapple and her crew the Navy Unit
Citation.
She remained on fire-fighting, rescue, and salvage station
at Ulithi and Saipan through 7 May, distinguishing her-
self in fire-fighting efforts on the carrier Randolph, hit by
kamikazes on 11 March. After towing a derrick and a
lighter to Leyte, Grapple sailed for Pearl Harbor. On
6 June she was diverted to assist William- Hawkins, adrift
near Johnston Island ; taking the merchantman in tow,
she reached Hawaii 11 June, stopping only long enough
to disengage her tow before continuing to Portland, Oreg.,
where she docked 22 June.
Japan surrendered before Grapple reached Hawaii
again on 19 October. There she performed various duties
until returning to the coast. She reached San Diego 15
May, decommissioned there 30 August 1946 and went in
reserve.
With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Grapple re-
commissioned 26 December 1951 at San Diego, Lt. Roy
Coniam in command. After training exercises, she sailed
to Pearl Harbor and from there to Japan, reaching Sasebo
8 May 1952. Five days later she sailed for Korea and
joined British units of the United Nations Fleet off Daido
Ko 17 May. Later she sailed to Ullong Do and was tem-
porarily converted into a floating laboratory as Navy
doctors frantically tried to stem a typhoid epidemic
sweeping the peninsula.
On 8 August Grapple began “flycatcher” duty off the
Korean coast, patrolling at night to thwart enemy sam-
pans laying mines in the shallows. While at anchor near
Wonsan 12 August, Grapple came under heavy fire from
shore batteries, and before she could clear the area was
hit just below the water line. Her damage control party
136
removed the unexploded projectile and patched up the
6" by 15" hole. Three days later, still on patrol, Grapple
received more serious injuries — this time at the hands
of a friend. Because of a mistake in identification sig-
nals, Chief opened fire on Grapple at a range of about 900
yards. Several shells fell short or exploded above the
ship, but one 3" projectile hit just above the pilot house,
killing 2 men, injuring 11 others, 3 critically, and doing
extensive damage to pilot house and gun deck. After
repairs at Sasebo, Grapple returned to Korea, making
three more “flycatcher” patrols to protect U.S. ships op-
erating off shore before returning to Pearl Harbor 9
December 1952. She then sailed for overhaul at Seattle.
Subsequently, Grapple has based at Pearl Harbor, per-
forming a variety of salvage duties in the mid-Pacific and
other areas. In 1953, 1955, 1956, and 1957, late summer
Arctic supply cruises took her through Aleutian waters
and into the hazardous ice floes of the Arctic Circle to
repair and supply units of the fleet stationed there. In
nine Western Pacific cruises to date, Grapple has crossed
the Pacific to Korea, Japan, Formosa, the Philippines,
South Vietnam, and Hong Kong. On these, Grapple ex-
tensively trained ROK and Nationalist Chinese divers in
newest salvage techniques.
Extraordinary duties for Grapple included blasting the
coral reef to widen the harbor entrance at Johnston Island
in April 1954 prior to nuclear testing. In addition while
prepared to act during a flare-up in the Quemoy-Matsu
area in August and September 1958, she assisted Hilo.
Hawaii, in mopping up after a devasting tidal wave May
1960. During July and August 1964 she participated in
the successful salvage operation of freeing Frank Knox
(DDR-742), grounded on Pratas Reef in the South China
Sea.
Departing Pearl Harbor 16 November 1966, Grapple
reached waters off South Vietnam 10 December for sal-
vage and rescue operations. Late in the month she pre-
pared to salvage a grounded tug from a reef north of
Hue, South Vietnam. Grapple is still on station in the
Pacific, providing valuable salvage and rescue work for
planes and ships as well as participating in a variety of
miscellaneous duties and exercises.
Grapple received one battle star for World War II serv-
ice and one for Korean service.
Grasp
To make the motion of seizing or trying to seize ; to
clutch ; to grip.
( ARS-24 : dp. 1,360; 1. 213’6" ; b. 39'; dr. 14'4" ; s.
15 k. ; cpl. 120; a. 4 40mm. 4 .50 cal. mg. ; cl. Diver)
Grasp (ARS-24) was launched 31 July 1943 by the
Basalt Rock Co., Napa, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. J. B.
McDonough ; and commissioned 22 August 1944, Lt.
Comdr. Jacob F. Lawson, in command.
After fitting out at San Francisco and shakedown along
the California coast out of San Diego, Grasp sailed for
the Pacific, reaching Hawaii 27 October 1944. From
Pearl Harbor she headed for combat, reaching Manus,
Admirality Islands, 24 December to prepare for her role
in the upcoming Lingayen Gulf operations. Joining the
battle group, under the overall command of Admiral T. C.
Kincaid, Grasp sailed for the Philippines 1 January 1945.
Enroute the ships were attacked by heavy concentrations
of Japanese aircraft, including the suicidal kamikazes.
Overcoming all attacks in which Grasp shot down one
plane and assisted against others, the fleet forced its way
deep into enemy waters and landed General MacArthur’s
troops at Lingayen Gulf 9 January. Grasp was there to
assist battle-damaged ships, and clear the harbor of sun-
ken craft. In addition to aiding Warhawk and Otis Skin-
ner, damaged by the Japanese, Grasp pulled two landing
craft off the beaches and salvaged an enemy cargo sub-
marine hazardous to shipping.
From Lingayen Gulf, Grasp sailed to Tacloban Har-
bor, Philippines, with an injured APD, Brooks, in tow.
There she joined TG 78 and on 29 January 1945 par-
ticipated in the initial landings at Zambales, Luzon.
After helping to make this another of the fleet’s long role
of successful amphibious assaults, Grasp sailed to Manila
Harbor 2 March. As part of the harbor clearance force
under Commodore W. A. Sullivan, she remained in the
Manila area for over a year. Grasp salvaged sunken
ships in the harbor and also made emergency repairs to
various naval and merchant ships. Departing the Philip-
pines 27 April 1946, she reached San Pedro, Calif., via
Pearl Harbor and Astoria, Oreg., 5 June. Grasp decom-
missioned there 12 December 1946 and was placed in
reserve.
When the Korean war broke, ships again immediately
became in short supply. Grasp recommissioned at San
Diego 10 October 1950 and prepared for combat. Reach-
ing Sasebo, Japan, via Pearl Harbor 12 February 1951,
Grasp at once proceeded on to Wonsan, Korea, for salvage
and patrol work. As she patrolled the coast between
Wonsan and Songjin, both under blockade and seige by
the fleet, Grasp came frequently under fire from Com-
munist North Korean shore batteries, but was never hit.
The two Korean ports were under seige with daily bom-
bardment and minesweeping because of their value as a
ditching place for pilots who could not make it back to
the carriers steaming off the coast. With the heavy sea
protection these pilots could ditch at Wonsan with some
confidence of rescue. After 2 months on the line off Korea.
Grasp returned to Sasebo 15 April to continue repair work
on damaged ships.
After two more cruises along the Korean coast, inter-
spersed with repair work in Japan, Grasp returned to
Pearl Harbor 10 October and remained there until sailing
for the States 29 January 1952. After quick repairs at
San Diego, Grasp returned to Pearl Harbor 12 March and
from there steamed to Subic Bay, Philippines, for salvage
operations. She reach Sasebo again via Pearl Harbor
16 August and immediately returned to her duties of a
month of patrol and rescue work along the Korean coast
followed by a month of salvage and repair work in Japan.
Returning to San Diego 22 May 1953 for local operations
and repair work. Grasp sailed to Pearl Harbor 19 July
and was there when the armistice came 27 July.
Despite the termination of open warfare Korea was to
remain an important port of call for Grasp as the salvage
ship’s peacetime duties settled into a pattern of yearly
WesPac cruises out of Pearl Harbor intermixed with local
operations and salvage work out of the Hawaiian port.
As she sailed each year to join the 7th Fleet in its mas-
sive peacekeeping and patrol work in the western Pacific,
Grasp visited such Asian ports as Yokosuka, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Manila, Okinawa, and Eniwetok. America’s
participation in the struggle against communism in Viet-
nam added Saigon to this list in 1963. and Grasp was also
at Johnston Island in the spring of 1962 in connection with
nuclear weapons tests being conducted there. Another
break in the pattern came in 1956 and again in 1957 as
Grasp sailed north to participate in Arctic resupply and
salvage operations in the icy Alaskan waters. Between
October 1964 and March 1965 she conducted yet another
deployment to the Western Pacific for salvage operations
out of the Marianas and the Philippines. After returning
to Pearl Harbor in mid-March, she was assigned to
salvage and towing duty out of Guam, Marianas. De-
parting Pearl Harbor 2 November, she reached Guam the
27th. Since that time she has operated out of Guam to
the Philippines and Southeast Asian waters and has con-
tinued to provide rescue and salvage facilities to ships of
the powerful 7th Fleet.
Grasp was awarded two battle stars for World War II
service.
Gratia
An astronomical body.
(AKS-11 : dp. 14.350; 1. 441 '6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ;
s. 12.5 k. ; cpl. 195 ; a. 1 5", 1 3", 8 20mm ; cl. Acuhens
T. EC2-S-C1 )
137
Gratia (AKS-11) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Delta Shipbuilding Co., New Orleans,
La., 21 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. John W. Boat-
wright; acquired by the Navy 20 November 1944; and
commissioned the same day, Lt. Charles B. Gray in com-
mand.
She remained in commission only long enough to sail
to Galveston, where she decommissioned 23 November to
undergo conversion. She recommissioned 5 May 1945, Lt.
Comdr. William Jonelli in command, and sailed for the
Pacific as part of Service Squadron 8. Operating out of
Manila, Gratia carried stores and passengers to ports in
the Philippines, the Admiralties, and New Guinea. In
January 1946, she departed Manila the final time, reaching
San Francisco 4 April via various Japanese ports and
Pearl Harbor. After returning to Pearl Harbor 30 May,
Gratia decommisioned there 1 July 1946, and was towed
to San Francisco. Her name was struck from the Navy
Register 17 July 1947 ; and she was transferred to the
Maritime Commission. Gratia was part of the National
Defense Reserve Fleet, berthed in Suisun Bay Calif., until
the fall of 19G4 when she was scrapped.
Gratitude
A merchant name retained.
( SP-3054 : dp. 214; 1. 133'8”; b. 20'; dph. 7'; s. 13 k.)
Gratitude (SP-3054), was built as a freight and pas-
senger steamer at Philadelphia in 1880 and acquired by
the Navy from her owners, Bennett’s North Carolina
Line, in April 1918, at Portsmouth, Va.
Gratitude operated as a passenger and freight steamer
with a civilian crew in the Hampton Roads area. She
was taken over by a Navy Captain and crew on a bare
boat basis in October 1918, and continued her operations
in the Norfolk area under the 5th Naval District. Grati-
tude was returned to her owner 15 September 1919 at
Norfolk.
Gray
Ross Franklin Gray, born 1 August 1920 at Talledego
Springs, Ala., enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps 22 July
1942. Following training at Parris Island, S.C., and New
River, N.C., he was sent to the Pacific where he partici-
pated with the 4th Marine Division in the invasions of
Roi-Namur, Marshalls, and Saipan and Tinian, Marianas.
Promoted to Sergeant in August 1944, he returned to the
United States for specialized training in the installation,
reconnaissance, and neutralization of mine fields. After
rejoining the 4th Division, he took part in the bloody in-
vasion of Iwo Jima 19 February 1945. On 21 February
his platoon came under heavy enemy fire while advancing
toward high ground northeast of Number 1 airfield. After
withdrawing his men from the field of fire, he advanced
alone through a heavily mined area ; though assailed by
furious enemy fire, he cleared a path through the field to
a network of strongly fortified gun emplacements. Armed
only with satchel charges, Sergeant Gray systematically
approached, attacked, and destroyed six Japanese gun
positions by boldly hurling short-fused explosives while
under continuous vicious fire. Singlehandedly, he wiped
out a strong enemy garrison and completely disarmed a
large mine field before rejoining his unit. Fatally
wounded by an enemy shell 27 February, Sergeant Gray
was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his
great personal valor, daring tactics, and tenacious per-
severance in the face of extreme peril.
(DE-1054 : dp. 2,624 ; 1. 414'6” ; b. 44' ; dr. 18' ; s. 27.4 k. ;
cpl. 247; a. 1 5", 4 21" tt., ASROC, DASH; cl. Knox)
Gray (DE-1054) was laid down 19 November 1966 by
Todd Shipyards Corp„ Seattle, Wash., with her comple-
tion planned for the winter of 1969. Once completed and
commissioned, she will screen attack and support ships
and operate against submarines. Operating either alone
or with a hunter-killer group, she will be able to seek
out and destroy enemy submarines with the latest and
most advanced ASW equipment. Moreover, her ability
to perform blockade, surveillance, and search and evacua-
tion missions at a moment’s notice will add to the Navy’s
deterrent force and aid in the continuing task of “keeping
the peace.”
Gray, Carl R., see Carl R. Gray (No. 26T1)
Gray, John P., see John P. Gray (DE-673)
Gray Gull, see Y P-260
Grayback
Lake herring, a small fish of great commercial impor-
tance in the Great Lakes.
I
(SS-208: dp. 1,475; 1. 307'2" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 13'3" ; s.
20.9 k. (surf.), 8.75 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 65; a. 1 3", 10 21"
tt. ; cl. Tambor)
Grayback (SS-208) was launched by the Electric Boat
Co., Groton, Conn., 31 January 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Wilson Brown, wife of Rear Admiral Wilson Brown,
Superintendent of the Naval Academy ; and commissioned
30 June 1941 at New London, Lt. Willard A. Saunders in
command.
Attached to the Atlantic Fleet Grayback conducted her
shakedown cruise in Long Island Sound out of Newport,
New London, and New York. In company with Grampus
she departed New London 8 September for patrol duty
in the Caribbean and Chesapeake Bay ; then arrived Ports-
mouth, N.H., 30 November for overhaul. With America’s
entry into the war Grayback sailed for the Pacific 12 Janu-
ary 1942 and arrived Pearl Harbor 8 February. There
she joined the submarine fleet which was to wreak such
havoc on the vital shipping lanes of the Japanese Empire.
Grayback' s first war patrol from 15 February to 10
April took her along the coast of Saipan and Guam.
There she participated in a deadly 4-day game of hide-
and-seek with an enemy submarine ; the enemy I-boat
fired two torpedoes at Grayback on the morning of 22 Feb-
ruary, then continued to trail her across the Pacific.
Grayback spotted the enemy conning tower a couple of
times, and the Japanese ship broached once ; but Gray-
back could not get into position to attack. After 4 nerve-
wracking days, Grayback shook the other sub and contin-
ued on patrol. First blood for her came on 17 March
as she sank a 3,291-ton cargo ship off Port Lloyd.
Grayback's second war patrol met a dearth of targets
although she even took the unusual and risky measure of
patrolling surfaced during the day. On 22 June she
arrived Fremantle, Australia, which was to remain her
home base for most of the war. Her third and fourth
war patrols, in the South China Sea and St. George’s
Passage, were equally frustrating as Grayback was ham-
pered by bright moonlight, shallow and treacherous
water, and enemy patrol craft. Despite these hazards,
she damaged several freighters and also got in a shot at
another Japanese submarine. However, the very pres-
ence of Grayback and her sister ships in these waters —
the threat they presented to shipping and the number of
enemy escorts they tied up — was an important factor in
the successful conclusion of the Guadalcanal campaign.
America’s first offensive campaign in the Pacific war.
The fifth war patrol began as Grayback sailed from
Australia 7 December 1942. Only a week out of port,
Pharmacist’s Mate Harry B. Roby was called upon to
perform an emergency appendectomy, the second to be
done on a patrolling submarine. With Grayback running
silent and steady a hundred feet beneath the surface, the
138
untutored Roby successfully removed the infected appen-
dix, and his patient was back standing watch by the end
of the patrol. Then 25 December, Grayback enjoyed “a
Jap appetizer for Christmas dinner,” as she battle sur-
faced to sink four landing barges with her deck guns.
Four days later she was again fired on by an enemy sub-
marine but maneuvered to avoid the torpedoes. On 3
January 1943 she gained her revenge by sending to the
bottom 1-1 8 one of 25 Japanese submarines chalked
up by the Pacific submarines.
On 5 January Gray back served as beacon ship for the
bombardment of Munda Bay and also indulged in some
hair-raising rescue work. Lying off Munda early in the
morning of 5 January, she received word that six sur-
vivors of a crashed B— 26 were holed up on the island.
Grayback sent ashore two men, then submerged at dawn
to avoid enemy aircraft. The submariners located the
downed aviators, three of whom were injured, and hid
out with them in the jungle. As night fell, Grayback
surfaced offshore and by coded light signals directed the
small boat “home safe” with the rescued aviators. For
this episode skipper Edward C. Stephan received the Navy
Cross.
Grayback continued on patrol, torpedoing and damag-
ing several Japanese ships. On 17 January she attacked
a destroyer escorting a large maru, hoping to disable
the escort and then sink the freighter with her deck
guns. However, the destroyer evaded the torpedoes and
dropped 19 depth charges on Grayback. One blew a gas-
ket on a manhole cover; and the submarine, leaking
seriously, was ordered back to Brisbane where she arrived
23 February.
On her sixth war patrol from 16 February to 4 April,
Grayback again had a run of bad luck and returned
empty-handed from the Bismarek-Solomons area. Her
newly installed SJ radar had failed to function ; and al-
though she had taken several shots at marus, none were
sunk.
The seventh patrol was more successful. Departing
Brisbane 25 April, Grayback intercepted a convoy whose
position had been radioed to her by Albaoore 11 May. In
a night surface attack Grayback fired a spread of six tor-
pedoes at the seven freighters and their three escorts.
The three escorts charged and she had to go deep to elude
the attacking enemy. She was credited with the sinking
of caro ship Yodoyawa Maru. On 16 May she torpedoed
and seriously damaged a destroyer. The following day
Grayback intercepted four marus with one escort and
sqnk freighter England Maru and damaged two others
before she was forced to dive. She arrived Pearl Harbor
30 May, then proceeded to San Francisco for a much
needed overhaul.
Arriving Pearl Harbor 12 September, Grayback pre-
pared for her eighth war patrol. Sailing 26 September
with Shad, she rendezvoused with Cero at Midway to
form the first of the Submarine Force’s highly successful
wolfpacks. The three submarines under Captain C. B.
Momsen in Cero, cruised the China Sea and returned to
base with claims of 38,000 tons sunk and 63,300 damaged.
Grayback accounted for two ships, a passenger-cargo ves-
sel torpedoed 14 October and a former light cruiser,
Awata Maru, torpedoed after an end-around run on a
fast convoy 22 October. Wolfpack tactics came into play
27 October as Grayback closed a convoy already attacked
by Shad and administered the coup de grace to a 9,000 ton
transport listing from two of Shad’s torpedoes. The sub-
marines had now expended all torpedoes, and on 10
November they returned to Midway.
With almost a quarter of her crew untested in battle,
Grayback departed Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea
2 December for her ninth war patrol. Within 5 days of
her first contact with Japanese ships, she had expended
all her torpedoes in a brilliant series of attacks which
netted four ships for a total of over 10,000 tons. On the
night of 18 to 19 December Grayback wreaked havoc
on a convoy of four freighters and three escorts. She
sent freighter Gyokurei Maru and escort Numakaze to the
bottom and damaged several others in surface attack.
Two nights later, 20 to 21 December, she spotted another
convoy of six ships; and, after an end-around run she
fired a spread of nine torpedoes into the heart of the
Japanese formation. This first attack sunk one freighter
and damaged another before Grayback dived to elude
depth charges. Three hours later she surfaced and sank
a second freighter. After an unsuccessful attack the fol-
lowing night had exhausted her torpedo supply, Grayback
headed home. Undaunted by lack of torpedoes, the sub-
marine battled surfaced 27 December and sank a good-
sized fishing boat with deck guns before reaching Pearl
Harbor 4 January 1944.
Grayback’ s tenth patrol, her most successful in terms of
tonnage sunk, was also to be her last. She sailed from
Pearl Harbor 28 January 1944, for the East China Sea.
On 24 February Grayback radioed that she had sunk two
cargo ships 19 February and had damaged two others.
On 25 February she transmitted her second and final
report. That morning she had sunk tanker Toshin Maru
and severely damaged another. With only two torpedoes
remaining, she was ordered home from patrol. Due to
reach Midway on 7 March, Grayback did not arrive.
On 30 March ComSubPac reluctantly listed her as missing
and presumed lost with all hands.
From captured Japanese records the gallant subma-
rine’s last few days can be pieced together. Heading home
through the East China Sea, on 27 February Grayback
used her last two torpedoes to sink the freighter Ceylon
Maru. That same day, a Japanese carrier-based plane
spotted a submarine on the surface in the East China Sea
and attacked. According to Japanese reports the subma-
rine “exploded and sank immediately,” but antisubmarine
craft were called in to depth-charge the area, clearly
marked by a trail of air bubbles, until at last a heavy oil
slick swelled to the surface. Grayback had ended her last
patrol, one which cost the enemy some 21,594 tons of
shipping.
The fighting submarine’s career, so tragically ended,
had been an illustrious one. Grayback ranked 20th
among all submarines in total tonnage sunk with 63,835
tons and 24th in number of ships sunk with 14. Subma-
rine and crew had received two Navy Unit Commenda-
tions for their 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th war patrols.
Grayback received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
II
(SSG-574 : dp. 2,768 ; 1. 317'7" ; b. 27'2" ; dr. 19' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 87; a. 8 tt., 1 Regulus launcher; cl. Grayback)
The second Grayback (SSG-574) was launched by the
Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif., 2 July 1957 ;
sponsored by Mrs. John A. Moore, widow of the last skip-
per of the first Grayback ; and commissioned at Mare
Island 7 March 1958, Lt. Comdr. Hugh G. Nott in com-
mand.
The first of the Navy’s guided missile submarines to
carry the Regulus II sea-to-surface missiles, Grayback
conducted tests and shakedown along the West Coast.
While operating out of Port Hueneme, Calif., in Septem-
ber she carried out the first successful launching of a
Regulus II missile from a submarine, which pointed the
way to a revolutionary advance in the power of navies
to attack land bases. Departing San Diego 30 October,
Grayback arrived Pearl Harbor 8 November for a month
of exercises and maneuvers before returning to Mare
Island for her “10, 000-mile checkup.”
On 9 February 1959, Grayback departed Mare Island to
make Pearl Harbor her permanent home base, reaching
Hawaii 7 March via Port Hueneme, and Long Beach,
Calif., and Mazatlan, Mexico. After a series of exercises
there, she cruised to Dutch Harbor, Unmak and Sequam
Islands, and Kodiak, Alaska, for further missile exer-
cises from 3 to 31 July. This was followed by the first of
her nine deterrent missile strike missions to date, as from
21 September to 12 November she patrolled secretly
through Pacific waters with a full load of missiles ready
for retaliation 1000 miles inland in event of war. Gray-
139
USS Grayback (SS-20S)
back’s first patrol terminated at Yokosuka, Japan, as did
two others. She returned to Pearl Harbor 8 December.
On 22 February 1960, Grayback modified her missile
launching system and simplified her complex electrical
circuits. After this, she again took up deterrent missile
strike missions. Over the next 2 y2 years she completed
seven missions for a total of nearly 18 months at sea,
much of this time submerged. In addition to Yokosuka
both Adak, Alaska and PeaTl Harbor also served as termi-
nation points for these patrols. On her nine patrols she
spent more than 20 months at sea and logged well over
130,000 miles on deterrent missile strike missions.
As more and more Polaris submarines became opera-
tional, they assumed the deterrent functions previously
assigned to Grayback and her sister ships. She decom-
missioned at Mare Island 25 May 1964. At present she
is being converted to a submarine troop transport and
will serve the Navy as Grayback (APSS-574). Conver-
sion is scheduled to be completed in December 1968.
Graylag
A common gray goose.
(AM-364: dp. 720; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
a. 1 3” ; cl. Admirable)
Graylag (AM-364), a steel-hulled fleet minesweeper,
was launched by Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Astoria,
Oreg., 4 December 1943 ; and commissioned 31 August
1945, Lt. S. M. Janney in command.
After steaming to San Diego 11 October, Graylag got
underway 1 November for Pearl Harbor, where she
arrived eight days later. The ship picked up passengers
and returned to San Diego 29 November. Graylag then
steamed by way of the Panama Canal to New Orleans
7 to 26 December 1945. and arrived 27 March 1946 at
Orange, Tex., after overhaul. She decommissioned 12
August 1946, was placed in reserve, and remains there
through 1967. Graylag’ s designation was changed to
MSF-364 on 7 February 1955.
Grayling
A fresh water game fish closely related to the trout.
I
The first Grayling (SS-18) was renamed D-2 (q.v.) 17
November 1911 while on duty with the Atlantic Torpedo
Fleet.
II
( SP-1259 : t. 4 ; 1. 33'6" ; b. 7' ; dr. 2'10" ; s. 14 k. ; a. 1 mg.)
The second Grayling (SP-1259) was built by Boyden
of Amesburg, Mass., in 1915 and acquired by the Navy
from her owner, E. E. Gray, 7 May 1917. She commis-
sioned 22 May 1917 and was used by the 1st Naval District
as a patrol craft in Boston harbor until returned to her
owner 30 November 1918.
III
(SP-289: t. 4; 1. 50' ; b. 10'3" ; dr. 3' ; s. 10 k.; a. 1 1-pdr.)
The third Grayling (SP-289) was built by Peterson,
Hudson River, N.Y. ; acquired by the Navy from her owner,
Myer Resebush, 22 May 1917 ; and commissioned the same
day, Boatswain Robert L. Kemp, USNRF, in command.
She served as a patrol boat on local and coastal waters
around Norfolk, Va., during the remainder of World War
I. She decommissioned 15 January 1919 and was re-
turned to her owner the same day.
IV
( SS-209 : dp. 1,475 ; 1. 307'2" ; b. 27'3'' ; dr. 13'3" ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 59; a. 1 3'', 10 21" tt. ; cl. Tambor)
140
USS Grayling (88-18) was renamed D-2 on 17 November 1911.
The fourth Grayling (SS-209) was laid down at the
Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., 15 December 1939;
launched 4 September 1940 ; sponsored by Mrs. Herbert
F. Leary ; and commissioned 1 March 1941, Lt. Comdr. E.
Olson in command.
After conducting tests and sea trials, she was called
upon 20 June 1941 to assist in the search for submarine
0-9, which had failed to surface after a practice dive off
Isle of Shoals. 0-9 was subsequently discovered on the
bottom, but rescue efforts failed ; Grayling participated 22
June in the memorial services for those lost.
Joining the Atlantic Fleet, Grayling sailed on shake-
down cruise 4 August to Morehead City, N.C., and St.
Thomas, Virgin Islands, returning to Portsmouth 29 Au-
gust. After final acceptance, she departed 17 November,
armed at Newport, R.I., and sailed for duty with the
Pacific Fleet. Grayling transited the Panama Canal 3
December and moored at San Diego 10 December.
Grayling sailed for Pearl Harbor 17 December, arrived
24 December, and had the honor of being chosen for the
Pacific Fleet change of command ceremony 31 December
1941. On that day Admiral C. W. Nimitz hoisted his flag
aboard Grayling as Commander Pacific Fleet and began
the Navy’s long fighting road back in the Pacific.
After the ceremonies, Grayling stood out of Pearl Har-
bor on her first war patrol 5 January 1942. Cruising the
Northern Gilbert Islands, Grayling failed to register a
kill, but gained much in training and readiness, returning
to Pearl Harbor 7 March.
Her second patrol, beginning 27 March, was more suc-
cessful. Cruising off the coast of Japan itself, Grayling
sank her first ship 13 April, sending the cargo freighter
Ryujin Maru to the bottom. She returned to Hawaii 16
May.
Grayling returned to action in June as all available
ships were pressed into service to oppose the Japanese
advance on Midway. As part of Task Group 7.1, Grayling
and her sister submarines were arranged in a fan-like re-
connaissance deployment west of Midway, helping to pro-
vide knowledge of Japanese movements.
As Naval planners established a submarine blockade of
Truk in connection with the offensive in the Solomons,
Grayling began her third war patrol 14 July 1942 around
the Japanese stronghold. She damaged a Japanese sub-
marine tender 13 August, but was forced to return to
Pearl Harbor 26 August by fuel leaks.
At Pearl Harbor Grayling repaired and was fitted with
surface radar, after which she began her fourth patrol 19
October. Although attacked by gunfire and six separate
depth charge runs by Japanese destroyers, Grayling suc-
ceeded 10 November in sinking a 4,000-ton cargo ship
southwest of Truk. She also destroyed an enemy schooner
4 December before putting into Fremantle, Australia, 13
December.
141
Changing her base of operations to Australia, Grayling
stood out of Fremantle 7 January 1943 on her fifth patrol,
this time in Philippine waters. She sank cargo ship
Ushio Maru west of Luzon 26 January and damaged an-
other Japanese ship the next day. After sinking a
schooner 24 February, Grayling returned to Fremantle.
Grayling left Australian waters 18 March on her sixth
war patrol and cruised in the Tarakan area and the Verde
Island Passage. There she attacked and sunk cargo ship
Shanghai Maru 9 April and damaged four other ships
before returning to Fremantle 25 April.
Her seventh war patrol, commencing 18 May, took
Grayling into the waters off northwest Borneo, where she
damaged a freighter and two smai er ships before return-
ing to her base 6 July.
Grayling began her eighth and last war patrol in July
from Fremantle. She made two visits to the coast of
the Philippines delivering supplies and equipment to guer-
rillas at Pucio Point, Pandan Bay, Panay, 31 July and 23
August 1943. Cruising in the Philippines area, Grayling
recorded her last kill, the passenger-cargo Meizan Maru 27
August in the Tablas Strait, but was not heard from again
after 9 September. Grayling was officially reported “lost
with all hands” 30 September 1943, after having recorded
five major kills totalling 20,575 tons. All but the first of
Grayling's eight war patrols were declared “successful.”
Grayling received six battle stars for World War II
service.
The name Grayling was assigned to SS-^92 on 29 August
1944, but was cancelled 12 August 1945 prior to con-
struction.
V
( SS (N)-646 : dp. 4,140; L 292'3" ; b. 31'8" ; s. 16 k. ; cpl.
107 ; a. 4 tt. ; cl. Sturgeon)
The fifth Grayling was laid down at the Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H., 12 May 1964 ; launched
22 June 1967 ; sponsored by Miss Lori Brinker, daughter
of Lt. Comdr. Robert Brinker, who commanded Grayling
CSS-209) when she was lost in action; and is to com-
mission in the spring of 1968. Once commissioned, she
will become a key element in the under-water deterrent
force of the Navy and will contribute to the vital, con-
tinuing task of “keeping the peace” over the vast reaches
of global waters. Designed to attack and destroy all
types of enemy ships, she can operate for long periods
at great depths and at high submerged speeds, making
her a potent and effective challenge to enemy submarines.
Operating under nuclear power, she can conduct long-
range reconnaissance patrols and surveillance missions
without risking detection by surface ships. Moreover,
she is designed to carry out extensive ASW operations,
either alone or with other fleet submarines and destroyer-
type surface ships.
Grayson
Cary Travers Grayson was bora in Culpeper, Va., 11
October 1878. After completing his medical studies, he
was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon, USN, 14 July
1903. A variety of posts led Grayson to Washington,
where on 12 December 1912 he was assigned to the Bureau
of Medicine and Surgery with additional duty as Aide to
the White House. Commissioned Rear Admiral 29 Au-
gust 1916, he served as personal physician and aide to
President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. Before
transferring to the Retired List 20 December 1928, Ad-
miral Grayson received the Navy Cross for exceptionally
meritorious service as aide and physician to President
Wilson. He was also made Commander of the National
Order of the Legion of Honor by the French government.
Admiral Grayson served as chairman of the American
Red Cross from 1935 until his death 15 February 1938.
Assigned the name Grayson on 19 May 1938. DD-429 was
renamed Livermore (q.v.) on 23 December 1938 prior
to being laid down.
I
(DD 435: dp. 2,525; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 13'6" ; s.
37.4 k. ; cpl. 276 ; a. 4 5", 5 21" tt. ; cl. Gleaves)
Grayson (DD 435) was laid down 17 July 1939 by the
Charleston Navy Yard, S.C. ; launched 7 August 1940 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Alice Gertrude Gordon Grayson Harri-
son (Mrs. George Leslie Harrison), widow of Rear Ad-
miral Grayson ; and commissioned 14 February 1941, Lt.
Comdr. Thomas M. Stokes in command.
After shakedown along the New England coast and in
Chesapeake Bay, Grayson joined Destroyer Division 22 of
the Atlantic Fleet. On 28 August the new destroyer be-
came flagship of DesRon 11 operating in the Carribbean
out of Guantanamo Bay. She reported for neutrality
patrol in the North Atlantic waters between Newfoundland
and Iceland 26 October.
After 10 months patrolling and protecting convoys in
the icy North Atlantic, Grayson was ordered to the Pacific
to join an American fleet battered but resolutely carrying
the war to the enemy. She sailed from San Diego 2
April 1942 as part of Hornet's escort and rendezvoused at
sea 13 April with Enterprise under Admiral William
“Bull” Halsey. From this fast carrier force, steaming
less than 800 miles from the Japanese home islands, Gen-
eral “Jimmy” Doolittle launched his famed B-25 raid on
Tokyo 18 April, bringing war to the enemy’s own land.
The task group sailed into Pearl Harbor 25 April.
Grayson departed almost immediately for repairs in Cali-
fornia, but soon returned to the Pacific war.
Grayson again found herself with a fast carrier force
as she sailed from Pearl Harbor 15 July to escort Enter-
prise and Hornet. Reaching Guadalcanal via Tongatahu
7 August 1942, the carriers launched their planes to cover
Marine landings there, America’s first major blow of the
war on the road to Japan ; and then operated in the area
to block Japanese reinforcements. As they maneuvered
off Guadalcanal, Enterprise was hit by Japanese bombs 24
August in an action-filled half-hour which saw Grayson
down two planes and damage a third. The task group
dispersed, Enterprise returning to Pearl Harbor for re-
pairs, and Grayson joined TF 11, built around Saratoga
under Admiral Fletcher. Action soon followed. Sight-
ing a Japanese submarine on the surface the next day, 25
August, Grayson closed for the kill. After expending 46
depth charges, her entire supply, in a series of five attacks,
the destroyer finally had the satisfaction of seeing a huge
air bubble and oil slick rise to the surface indicating the
death of another Imperial submarine.
The battle-proven ship and crew remained in the bitterly
contested waters around Guadalcanal for nearly 8 months
in a variety of duties. The versatile Grayson convoyed
troop transports loaded with reinforcements from Noumea
and other staging areas to Guadalcanal, patrolled in “The
Slot”, served as a radar picket ship, and performed valu-
able rescue work. On 18 October she picked up 75 sur-
vivors from, DD Meredith, sunk by serial torpedo 15 Octo-
ber, and helped escort the barge Vireo, loaded with des-
perately needed fuel and ammunition, to Guadalcanal.
Returning to Pearl Harbor 15 April 1943 for overhaul,
Grayson continued on to the States for further repairs
and finally sailed to New Caledonia, arriving 24 Septem-
ber. She accounted for at least four and possible two
more Japanese barges loaded with evacuees from Kolom-
bangara during three nights of action, 30 September-3
October, with DesRon 21 under Commander A. D. Chand-
ler. After 3 months of patrol duty, Grayson sailed for
Puget Sound Navy Yard 16 December for overhaul.
Grayson soon returned to the Pacific, putting in at
Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, 10 February 1944. Patrol
duty in the Solomons, Carolines, and Marshalls occupied
her the following 6 months. On 30 March Grayson sup-
ported initial assault landings on Pityiliu Island Admiral-
ties : from 22 to 24 April she was fighter-director ship fo”
the landings at Tanahmerah Bay, Dutch New Guinea.
She bombarded Biak Island 27 May and Noemfoor Island
2 July prior to invasion landings.
142
On 1 September 1944 Grayson joined TG 38, for carrier
strikes against the enemy in the Palau Islands, scene of
the next major invasion. She returned to Seeadler Har-
bor 31 September. She again sailed 2 October for a major
strike against Okinawa and the Philippines. Japanese
planes harassed the withdrawal, and on 15 October Gray-
son rescued 194 men from the torpedoed light cruiser
Houston, who was towed safely to Ulitbi.
From Ulithi, Grayson sailed straight to Saipan, where
on 3 November she took up radar picket and lifeguard
duty. Finally Grayson was ordered home, reaching
Seattle 9 June 1945 for her first real rest since the war
began.
Grayson returned to Pearl Harbor 1 September 1945,
the day of the signing of the Articles of Surrender in Tokyo
Bay. After brief training she sailed for the United
States. Transiting the Panama Canal 8 October, she
put in at Charleston, S.C., 16 October. Eleven days later
the battle-scarred “tin can” hosted over 5,000 visitors as
a grateful and jubilant public paid tribute on Navy Day.
Grayson remained at Charleston until decommissioned, 4
February 1947, and was placed in reserve. At present
she is berthed at Orange, Tex.
Grayson received 13 battle stars for World War II
service.
Greasy Ann No. 10, see YC-966
Greasy Mary No. 9, see YC-965
Great Lakes
The region of the Canadian-United States borderland
containing and surrounding Lakes Superior, Michigan,
Huron, Erie, and Ontario drained by the St. Lawrence
River.
Great Lakes (AD-30) was building at the Todd Pacific
Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash., but was cancelled 7 Janu-
ary 1946.
Great Northern
Former name retained.
(AG-9: t. 8,255; 1. 509'6" ; b. 63'1" ; dph. 21'; s. 23 k. ;
cpl. 559; a. 4 6")
Great Northern (AG-9), was built by William Cramp
& Sons in 1915 ; acquired from her owners, Great Northern
Pacific Steamship Co. 19 September 1917 by the USSB ;
converted to a transport at the Puget Sound Navy Yard ;
and commissioned there 1 November 1917, Captain W. W.
Phelps in command.
Embarking nearly 1,400 passengers at Puget Sound,
including 500 “enemy aliens,” women and children as well
as men, Great Northern sailed for the East Coast 21 Janu-
ary 1918, reaching New York 9 February via the Panama
Canal and Charleston. On 7 March she sailed from
Hoboken, N.J., for Brest, France, with 1,500 members
of the AEF. Great Northern returned to Hoboken 30
March with wounded veterans. From then until August
1919 she made a total of 18 transatlantic voyages, first
carrying troops to the fighting zones and then bringing
home the victorious “doughboys.” Great Northern decom-
missioned at New York 15 August 1919 and was trans-
ferred to the U.S. Army Transportation Service the
same day.
While in the US ATS, Great Northern was based mainly
in the Pacific. In late 1919 and early 1920 she made two
long trips from Honolulu to Vladivostok to pick up approx-
imately 3,000 American officers and men returning from
the Allies’ campaign against the Russian Communists.
Great Northern also took a Congressional party on a long
Pacific inspection, touching at Hong Kong, Honolulu,
Cavite, and then returning to San Francisco, in the
summer of 1920.
The transport’s varied career took another turn when
she was acquired by the Navy from the War Department
3 August 1921. Great Northern recommissioned at Mare
Island 11 August 1921, Captain .1. K. Taussig command-
ing, and sailed almost immediately for the East Coast.
After disembarking passengers at the Canal Zone, Santo
Domingo, Haiti, and Hampton Roads, she put into New
York 7 October. Nine days later, 16 October 1921, Ad-
miral Hilary P. Jones, Commander-in-Chief Atlantic
Fleet, and his staff reported on board Great Northern
to make her the flagship for the Atlantic Fleet.
On 19 November 1921 Great Northern’s name was
changed by Presidential order to Columbia ( q.v .) to honor
a name long famous in Navy annals. She remained in
New York harbor, functioning as a floating command
post, through the rest of 1921. Columbia sailed for the
Caribbean to join the annual Atlantic Fleet winter exer-
cises 7 January 1922, reaching Guacanayabo, Cuba, via
Charleston and Key West 18 January. Three days later
she joined the battleships Wyoming, Arkansas, North
Dakota, and Delaware at Guantanamo Bay.
Columbia sailed north 24 February, reaching New York
3 days later. That same day, 27 February 1922. Admiral
Jones shifted his flag to Maryland, and Columbia sailed
for Chester, Pa. She decommissioned there 4 March 1922
and was transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board. Return-
ing to merchant service, she was renamed H. F. Alexan-
der with Canadian Pacific Lines until 1912, when she was
taken over by the War Shipping Administration for use
as a troop transport. Renamed George S. Simonds, she
served through World War II, was laid up in the Mari-
time Commission reserve fleet for a time, and then
scrapped.
Great Republic, see Pictor ( AF-54)
Great Sitkin
A volcano in the Aleutian Islands.
( AE-17 : dp. 13,910; 1. 459'2” ; b. 63' ; dr. 28'3'' ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 267 ; a. 1 5'', 4 3", 4 40mm., 16 20mm. ; cl. Wran-
gell; T. C2-S-AJ1)
Great Sitkin (AE-17) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co.,
Wilmington, N.C., 20 January 1915; sponsored by Miss
Anne L. Dimon ; and commissioned at Charleston, S.C.,
11 August 1915, Lt. Comdr. William F. Smith in command.
After shakedown out of Norfolk, Great Sitkin sailed to
New York 25 November to begin dumping condemned am-
munition in an assigned area off Sandy Hook, N.J. She
continued this duty for nearly a year, returning to Nor-
folk in November 1946. Great Sitkin’s pattern of opera-
tions for the next few years took her to the Caribbean
and the Canal Zone on ammunition replenishment trips,
as well as twice to Gibraltar. In addition, she partici-
pated in local operations.
Since 1951 Great Sitkin has served as a mobile ready
reserve source of ammunition for the Fleet. She has reg-
ularly deployed to the Mediterranean to support the 6th
Fleet, a bulwark of freedom in the region, and has served
the Fleet during crises in trouble spots such as Lebanon
and Suez. When not deployed in the Mediterranean, she
has operated out of New York, participating in various
fleet maneuvers in the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, she sailed for
the Caribbean 23 October, following President Kennedy’s
announcement of a naval quarantine around the Commu-
nist island. She cruised the Caribbean during the next
several weeks carrying reserve ammunition for American
ships on quarantine duty off Cuba. Departing the Carib-
bean 16 December, she returned to New York and re-
sumed her pattern of operations in the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean.
Between August 1963 and July 1966 Great Sitkin has
deployed three times with the 6th Fleet, and during these
tours she has participated in several Fleet and NATO
143
USS Great Northern held the record for speedy “Turn-Arounds” during World War I.
exercises. After a 3-month overhaul Great Sitkin left
Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Hoboken, N.J., in December
1966 for training exercises off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
At present she continues to support American ships in the
Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and she stands ready to
supply ammunition necessary for the continuing task of
“keeping the peace.”
Great Western
A former name retained.
(SwStr: t. 429; a. 1 12-pdr., 1 32-pdr., 1 6-pdr.)
Great Western, a sidewheel steamer, was built at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, in 1857 and was purchased by the War
Department 10 February 1862. She was transferred to
the Navy 30 September 1862, but had been used since her
purchase by the Western Flotilla.
Great Western was used as an ordnance boat for the
Navy on the western waters, and in that capacity oper-
ated from Cairo, 111., to various points on the Mississippi
and its tributaries. She supplied ships at the mouths
of the White and Arkansas Rivers with ammunition and
ordnance, and occasionally fired at Confederate batteries
ashore in the almost daily engagements in keeping open
the far-spreading river highway system by which the
Union divided and destroyed the South. While with the
Mortar Flotilla 30 July 1862 she fired on cavalry attack-
ing the boats near the mouth of the Arkansas River and
succeeded in driving them off.
During 1862 and the first half of 1863, the overriding
concern of Union forces was the capture of Vicksburg,
and Great Western spent much of her time during this
period near the mouth of the Yazoo River above the city
in support of combined operations there. She provided
support for the joint attacks of December 1862 above the
city, and remained in the area until the Confederate
stronghold fell in July 1863.
Following the fall of Vicksburg, Great Western con-
tinued her duties as supply ship for the squadron, being
stationed at Skipwith’s Landing, Miss., and Goodrich’s
Landing, La. In July 1864 she was sent to Cairo, 111.,
the great Union naval base in the west, to act as a receiv-
ing ship. Great Western was transferred as receiving
ship, Mound City, 111., in March 1865, and was subse-
quently sold at auction there to John Riley 29 November
1865.
Greater Buffalo, see Sable (IX-81)
Grebe
A swimming bird closely related to the loon but with
lobate rather than webbed toes.
(AM-43 : dp. 950; 1. 187'10" ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 9'9" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 59; a. 2 3")
Grebe, built by the Staten Island Steam Boat Co.,
launched 17 December 1918 ; was sponsored by Miss Emma
Youmans and commissioned at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard 1 May 1919, Lt. Niels Dustrup in command.
From 9 July 1919 until 1 October, Grebe, based at
Kirkwall, Orkneys, was part of a minesweeper flotilla
clearing the North Sea of mines laid by the Allies during
World War I. She returned to Portsmouth, N.H., 28
November 1919 via Davenport, Brest, Lisbon, the Azores,
Bermuda, and New York. After extensive repairs. Grebe
moved to the Boston Navy Yard 4 November 1920; from
there she sailed the coast from Maine to New Jersey cali-
brating radio compass stations and doing miscellaneous
towing and rescue work. On 29 April 1921 she rescued
139 passengers from the Portuguese steamer Mormugao,
which had run aground off the Massachusetts coast.
Grebe’s next duty took her to Newport, R.I., on 2 June;
she escorted submarine G-l in diving trials until 23 June
when G-l sank in 16 fathoms. After participating in
salvation operations, Grebe returned to Boston on 22 July
144
to resume radio compass station calibration and other
duties. From there she made a round trip to Norfolk,
Guantanamo, and the Canal Zone which occupied her
from 1 December 1921 until 18 March 1922, when she
returned to Portsmouth. There she decommissioned 12
May 1922.
Grebe recommissioned 15 November 1922, Chief Boat-
swain Albert C. Fraenzel commanding. On 16 December
she sailed for St. Thomas, capital of the Virgin Islands,
where she served as station ship until 1931. Grebe made
an average of a trip a week between St. Thomas, St.
Croix, and San Juan carrying stores and passengers, both
military and civilian ; she also towed coal barges and
dredges to San Juan, Fort de France, Martinique, and
other Caribbean ports. While at St. Thomas, Grebe was
invaluable in assisting disabled ships, mainly those
grounded on coral reefs, and in searches for missing ships.
This work was interrupted by a yearly 5-week repair
period at Charleston, S.C.
Grebe’s finest moment came in 1930. A hurricane laid
waste large parts of the Domincan Republic and killed
thousands in September. Carrying trained medical men
and emergency supplies Grebe was the first ship to reach
devastated Santo Domingo. She remained there 2 weeks,
helping unload other ships and clear debris.
17 March 1931 Grebe brought Dr. Paul M. Pearson,
Governor-appointee, and his staff from San Juan to St.
Thomas; nucleus of the Virgin Island’s first civilian
government.
Grebe then returned to Boston. There on 12 July 1931
she took in tow historic Constitution. A long campaign
had resulted in restoration of the famed ship to its
original condition, and Grebe was to spend the next 3
years as her tender and towing ship as they visited every
major American port, East and West Coast. Millions of
Americans thrilled to their heritage touring “Old Iron-
sides” in New York, Norfolk, Key West, Galveston, Guan-
tanamo, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, and the Canal
Zone.
12 May 1934 Grebe relinquished her duties with Consti-
tution, entering the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul.
After a brief tour of duty at Norfolk, 21 August to 14
September, she sailed for Guantanamo towed for fleet
gunnery practice until 12 October, then sailed to San
Pedro, arriving 19 November. Operating there until mid-
1940; she performed a variety of tasks, including towing
for target practice, participating in fleet problems, mine-
sweeping exercises, training squadron details, and harbor
service. Her tour there was interrupted by two voyages,
the first to Pearl Harbor 6-31 May 1935 for fleet problems
and the second to Guantanamo and Norfolk 26 December
to 7 May 1939 for gunnery exercises.
Sailing from San Pedro 3 June 1940, Grebe arrived
Pearl Harbor 17 June to tow for gunnery and bombing
practice, and participate in minesweeping training. Two
trips back to the mainland, 1 August to 9 September and
27 September to 13 October 1941, in company with
Bobolink on passenger and stores runs interrupted her
Hawaiian duty.
Grebe was in yard availability at Pearl Harbor 7 Dec-
ember 1941. Her 3” guns had been dismantled for the
overhaul so she could fight only with rifles and pistols.
She was credited with shooting down one of three
unidentified planes flying low over the Navy Yard. On
24 January Grebe departed for Palmyra Island with
YO-43 in tow where she arrived 5 days later. She
returned to Honolulu 5 February and continued from
there until autumn. Her classification was changed to
AT-134 on 1 June 1941.
On 30 September Grebe joined a convoy for Johnston
Island and returned 9 October. On 9 November 1942
Grebe was underway again with YC-737 and YB-9 in tow
and accompanying YO-44, for Canton Island. Calling
there 25 November she proceeded to Pago Pago, Samoa
arriving 28 November.
On 6 December 1942 Grebe grounded while attempting
to float SS Thomas A. Edison at Vuata Vatoa. Fiji
Islands. Salvage operations were broken up by a hurri-
cane that destroyed both ships 1-2 January 1943. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 28 July 1943.
Grebe earned one battle star for World War II service.
Grecian
A British name retained.
( B AM-19 : dp. 890; 1. 220'6" ; b. 32'; dr. 9'6" ;
s. 18 k. ; cpl. 80 ; a. 1 3", 6 20mm. ; cl. HMS Catherine)
B AM-19 was laid down 7 September 1942 by Savannah
Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ; launched 10
March 1943 ; transferred to the United Kingdom under
lend-lease 22 September 1943; and named HMS Grecian.
Returned to the United States Navy in England after the
war, the mine sweeper was transferred to the government
of Turkey under the Military Assistance Program in
January 1947. She serves the Turkish Navy as Edincik
( M-509) .
Greely, General A. W see General A. W. Greely ( AP-141)
Green, William F,, see William F. Green (No. 3664)
Green Dragon
( SP-742 : t. 17 ; 1. 60' ; b. 10'3" ; dr. 4'2" ; s. 10 k. ;
a. 1 1-pdr., 1 mg.)
Green Dragon was built in 1901 by J. Smith of Port
Washington, Long Island, and acquired 19 July 1917 from
Edward German of Newport, R.I. During World War I
she served as a coastal patrol boat in the Second Naval
District along the New England coast from Chatham,
Mass., to New London, Conn. She was sold 25 February
1922 to George E. Clement & Son of Philadelphia.
Green Island
An island off the coast of Maine.
( YFB-32 : dp. 167; 1. 117'; b. 24'; dr. 8'9" ; s. 9 k.)
Green Island (YFB-32), a wooden steam ferryboat,
was built as Aucocisco in 1897 by South Portland Ship-
building Co., South Portland, Maine, and was acquired 3
April 1942 from her owner, Casco Bay Lines, Inc., Port-
land, Maine. She was placed in service with 1st Naval
District 5 May 1942 at Portland, Maine, and renamed
Green Island.
Used to transport fleet liberty parties in Casco Bay,
Maine, Green Island continued in service until returned to
her former owner 18 December 1945. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 20 March 1946.
Green River
Rivers in Illinois, Kentucky, Washington, and Wyoming,
Utah, and Colorado.
(LSMR-506 : dp. 790; 1. 206'3" ; b. 34'6" ; dr. 7'2" ; s. 13
k. ; cpl. 138; a. 1 5”, 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2" m., 10
rkt. ; cl. LSMR-IfOl )
LSMR-506 was laid down 31 March 1945 by Brown Ship-
building Co., Inc., Houston, Tex. ; launched 28 April 1945 ;
and commissioned 19 June 1945, Lt. Howard E. Moore in
command.
After shakedown off the East Coast, LSMR-506 de-
parted Portsmouth, Va. 7 August, enroute to San Diego,
arriving there on the 29th. While enroute, World War II
ended. LSMR-506 was assigned to Squadron 3, operat-
ing along the West Coast from San Diego. Departing 18
March 1946, LSMR-506 arrived Astoria, Oreg., 4 days
later. She decommissioned 20 May 1946 and entered the
145
Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed with the Columbia
River Group, she was named Green River 1 October 1955.
Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958
and she was sold.
Greenbrier River
A river in southeastern West Virginia.
( LSMR-507 ; dp. 790; 1. 206'3" ; b. 34'6" ; dr. 7'2" ; s. 13
k. ; cpl. 138; a. 1 5", 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2" m., 10
rkt. ; cl. LSMR-m )
LSMR-507 was laid down 31 March 1945 by Brown
Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex. ; launched 28 April 1945 ;
and commissioned 22 June 1945, Lt. Alvin G. Walser in
command.
Departing Houston 27 June, LSMR-507 steamed via
Galveston to Charleston, S.C., where she arrived 7 July.
From 28 to 30 July she sailed to Little Creek, Va., for
training in Chesapeake Bay and along the Virginia coast.
Assigned to LSMR Squadron 4, she departed Little Creek
4 October for the Great Lakes. She touched at Halifax,
Quebec, and Montreal and arrived Rochester, N.Y., 16
October. During the next 3 weeks she sailed to Detroit
and Chicago before returning to Rochester 1 November,
and then to Little Creek 17 November.
During the next 2 months LSMR-507 continued opera-
tions out of Little Creek. She departed 29 January 1946,
for operations off San Juan, P.R., and later out of Guan-
tanamo Bay. She returned to Little Creek 24 March.
Following duty out of Norfolk and Baltimore, LSMR-
507 departed Little Creek for the West Coast 18 October,
arriving San Diego 20 November. Assigned to LSMR
Squadron 3, she operated out of San Diego ; decommis-
sioned there 5 February 1947 ; and entered the Pacific Re-
serve Fleet. While berthed at San Diego, she was named
Greenbrier River 1 October 1955. Her name was struck
from the Naval Register 1 October 1958.
Greencastle
A city in west-central Indiana and a borough in southern
Pennsylvania.
(PC-1119 : dp. 280 ; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23' ; dr. lO'lO" ; s. 22 k. ;
cpl. 65 ; a. 2 3", 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. PC-lt61)
Greencastle (PC-1119) was laid down as PC-1119 12
June 1942 by DeFoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich. ;
launched 11 August 1942 ; and commissioned at New
Orleans, La., 18 December 1942, Lt. Comdr. James Duffy
in command.
After shakedown off Key West, she sailed 19 January
1943 for the Southwest Pacific. Steaming via New Cal-
edonia, she reached Brisbane, Australia, 12 March and
was assigned duty as flagship Allied Local Defense Forces,
Northwest Australia. During the next 6 months she oper-
ated out of Brisbane, Townsville, and Cairns, Queensland,
escorting convoys between Australia and New Guinea.
During June and July she helped repel enemy planes that
attacked Allied shipping at Port Moresby.
PC-1119 transferred her base to Milne Bay, New Guinea,
in September, and from there she escorted convoys mov-
ing men and supplies along the coast of Huon Gulf. On
2 October she supported amphibious landings at Finsch-
hafen, which was to become the jumping off point for the
invasion of New Britain. Transferred to the 7th Amphib-
ious Force 6 December, she supported the initial invasion
during landings at Arawe, New Britain, 17 December.
Nine days later she supported landings by the 1st Marine
Division at Cape Gloucester ; then, after steaming along
the northern coast of New Guinea, she participated in the
assault against Saidor 2 January 1944.
During the next 3 months PC-1119 escorted convoys
along the New Guinea coast to the Admiralties and New
Britain. She supported an amphibious landing at Tala-
sea, New Britain, 7 March. Driving westward along
New Guinea, she joined the assault at Aitape 22 April ;
and, as an escort and patrol ship, she supported landings
3 July at Noemfoor, Schouten Islands. During this inva-
sion she patrolled on anti-shipping sweeps as the Japanese
attempted to send reinforcements by barge. After steam-
ing to Australia in August, she returned to Aitape 3 Sep-
tember to prepare for operations in the Moluccas.
Between 15 and 24 September she steamed off Morotai,
where she controlled landing craft and provided antiair-
craft cover for supply transports. Departing 24 Septem-
ber, she sailed via Biak to Humboldt Bay where she
arrived the 28th.
PC-1119 departed 9 October for the invasion of the
Philippines. Steaming via Manus, Admiralties, she closed
the coast of Leyte 20 October. After laying down shoal
bouys at the northern end of Leyte Gulf, she served as
landing control ship during the assault against Tacloban
airfield. She remained off Leyte ; and between 23 and 25
October she helped repel heavy enemy air attacks, during
which she splashed three Japanese raiders.
Late on the 25th she sailed to search for survivors from
gallant ships lost during the Battle off Samar. During
mid watch 27 October she rescued 183 men from Gambier
Bay (CVE-73), then returned the same day to Leyte
Gulf. Resuming duty as control and fire cover ship, she
served in Leyte Gulf until 9 November. She sailed for
New Guinea the 9th and reached Hollandia the 16th.
After repairs, she steamed to Sansapor, New Guinea,
12 December to prepare for the invasion of Luzon. De-
parting in convoy 30 December, she reached Lingayen
Gulf 9 January 1945 and there served as control ship for
the landings at San Fabian Beach. The Japanese
launched heavy air attacks against American shipping :
and, while PC-1119 was returning to Leyte as a convoy
escort, she was narrowly missed by suicide planes on the
12th and 13th.
The veteran sub chaser returned to Luzon 29 January ;
and, after supporting landings at San Felipe and San
Narciso by troops of the 8th Army, she arrived Subic Bay
3 February. On the 15th she escorted landing craft from
Subic Bay for landings at Marivales, Bataan. The fol-
lowing day she served as fire support ship during the as-
sault against Corregidor. As the first amphibious wave
closed the beach, she poured gunfire into enemy pillboxes
and gun positions and silenced two Japanese guns. She
was briefly caught in enemy crossfire between Corregidor
and Caballo. Although damaged by an enemy shell, she
embarked casualties from LCM’s and evacuated them
while under fire to an offshore LST.
PC-1119 operated off western Luzon and Mindoro on
antishipping sweeps until 11 March when she sailed for
Leyte. Arriving the 14th, from 19 to 24 March she steamed
via the Palaus to Hollandia. After repairing battle
damage, she departed 30 June and returned to Subic Bay
8 July. During the next month she searched for enemy
submarines off Luzon between Subic and San Fernando.
Assigned to the Philippine Sea Frontier 14 August, after
the end of hostilities she patrolled the South China Sea
to accept the surrender of Japanese submarines.
Remaining in the Philippines after the end of the war,
PC-1119, “a little ship with a number instead of a name,”
compiled a Pacific war record that equaled many a larger
ship. Assigned to the 16th Fleet 19 March 1946, she
returned to the United States and reported for duty 10
August. She decommissioned 9 January 1947 at Green
Cove Springs, Fla., and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
While berthed at Green Cove Springs, she was named
Greencastle 15 February 1956. She was sold to Boston
Metals Co., Baltimore, Md., for scrapping 1 July 1958.
Greencastle received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Greene
Samuel Dana Greene, born 11 February 1839 in Cum-
berland, Md., was appointed acting midshipman 21 Sep-
tember 1855. He was executive officer in Monitor during
her classic battle with ironclad C.S.S. Virginia 9 March
1862 and assumed command after his Captain Worden
146
was wounded. He was also executive officer in Monitor
in the engagements in the James River, Va.. April-May
1862, and when she foundered in a gale. Commander
Greene died 11 December 1884 at Portsmouth, N.H., and
was buried in Bristol, R.I.
( DD-266 : dp. 1,215; 1. 314'4y2"; b. 30'liy2”; dr. 9'4” ;
s. 34.12 k. ; cpl. 122; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21” tt. ; cl. Clcmson.)
Greene (DD-266) was launched 2 November 1918 by
the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. John Stevens Conover, the namesake’s
daughter; and commissioned 9 May 1919, Comdr. R. A.
Theobald in command.
Greene sailed from Newport 5 June 1919 for Brest via
Plymouth, England, and returned to New York 27 July.
Underway again 18 August, she put in at San Diego,
Calif., 22 December and decommissioned there in March
1920. Remaining in the Reserve Destroyer Force until
10 September 1921, she sailed from San Diego that date
for the Puget Sound Navy Yard. Greene returned shortly
thereafter to San Francisco, arriving 2 December 1921,
and decommissioned there 17 June 1922.
Recommissioned 28 June 1940 at San Diego, Greene
was towed to San Francisco and was redesignated
AVD-13 6 April 1941 following conversion. She sailed
27 April for the Caribbean and conducted training and
tended seaplanes off Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
One week after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
Greene sailed for Brazil. Until the summer of 1942 she
served as seaplane tender at Natal with one call at Rio
de Janeiro for repairs in February 1942. She returned
to Charleston 18 July 1942. She escorted a convoy from
Norfolk to Bermuda and operated in the South Atlantic
for the next 6 months as a convoy escort, making two
voyages to Rio de Janeiro. Back at Norfolk 26 February
1943, she steamed thence to Argentia, Newfoundland, to
operate with Bogue, one of the new escort carriers de-
signed to hunt down German submarines in the North
Atlantic. Both warships sailed 23 April to escort a con-
voy to Londonderry, Ireland, and made the eastward
passage without incident. On the return leg of the voy-
age, however, one of the first major engagements between
carrier-based aircraft and submarines attempting a ren-
dezvous for mass attack occurred 21-22 May when
Bogue’s planes made six attacks on submarines and sank
U-569 in 50-40 N., 35-21 W. Twenty-four Germans were
captured.
• During a second antisubmarine patrol from 31 May
to 20 June 1943, Bogue and her escorts, including Greene,
shared repeated successes, sinking U-217 5 June in
30-18 N., 42-50 W„ and U-118 in 30-49 N„ 33-49 W. one
week later. For these two successful antisubmarine
operations Greene received the Presidential Unit Citation.
The Bogue group was the first of a series of hunter-killer
units which was to spell the doom of the German subma-
rine menace.
Subsequently, until the fall of 1943 Greene escorted a
fast troop convoy from Norfolk to the United Kingdom
and return, and operated off Bermuda. On 5 October she
sailed as carrier escort for Core in company with Belknap
and Goldsborough. On 20 October the group sank U-378
in 47-40 N„ 28-27 W.
Greene returned to Charleston 19 January 1944 for con-
version to high speed transport and was designated APD-
36 on 1 February 1944. After intensive training she stood
out 12 April for Oran, Algeria, to take part in Operation
Dragoon — the invasion of Southern France. On 14
August, when she left the staging area at Propriano,
Corsica, and landed American and Canadian troops on
the Levant and Port Cros Islands off the coast of France
between Toulon and Cannes. Greene's troops were as-
signed to the mission of seizing the strategic islands and
silencing long range coastal batteries thought to be em-
placed there. That day, the islands were secured — many
of the German “guns” turned out to be stove pipes — and
the stage was set for the 15 August D-day assault on the
mainland.
With her tasks accomplished, Greene served on escort
duty in the Mediterranean until departing Oran 6 Decem-
ber 1944 for Norfolk, where she put in 21 December.
Underway once more 29 January 1945, the far-ranging
warship steamed via Panama to reach Ulithi 31 March
and commenced escort duties. During April she escorted
four carriers to Okinawa while the battle for that island
raged. She returned to Guam to meet another Okinawan
convoy, and stood antisubmarine picket line duty off
Okinawa. Until the fall of 1945 Greene continued escort
duties between Okinawa, Saipan, and the Philippines. At
war’s end, she evacuated ex-prisoners of war from Naga-
saki after that port had been razed by the second atomic
bomb dropped on Japan, and moored at Okinawa 24 Sep-
tember.
. Greene's long dynamic career came tt an end in a
dramatic manner. During the famous 9 October 1945
typhoon at Okinawa, winds in excess of 100 knots drove
her aground on the northwest coast of Kutaka. Dam-
aged beyond economical repair, all useful material was
salvaged. She decommissioned 23 November 1945. Greene
was struck from the Navy List 5 December 1945.
Greene received three battle stars and the Presidential
Unit Citation for World War II service.
Greene, Eugene A., see Eugene A. Greene (DD-711)
Greene, Howard, see Howard Greene (No. 2200)
Greenfish
One of various labroid fishes, Florida bluefish or lady-
fish.
( SS-351 : dp. 1,526 ; 1. 311'9” ; b. 27'3” ; dr. 15'3” ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 66; a. 1 5”, 10 21” tt. ; cl. Balao)
Greenfish (SS-351) was launched by the Electric Boat
Co., Groton, Conn., 21 December 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Thomas J. Doyle; and commissioned 7 June 1946, Comdr.
R. M. Metcalf commanding.
Greenfish's shakedown cruise 22 July to 13 September
1946, took her to Barranquilla, Colombia ; the Canal Zone ;
Callao, Peru ; and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Exercises
out of New London and in Chesapeake Bay carried her
through the year, and the early months of 1947 found
Greenfish back in the Caribbean for fleet exercises. On
11 February 1947 she effected one of the first transfers of
personnel from an aircraft carrier, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
to a submarine by helicopter. Various exercises along
the American coast and in the Caribbean occupied Green-
fish until 8 January 1948, when she entered the Electric
Boat Co. yards for GUPPY (Greater Underwater Pro-
pulsion Power) conversion.
This conversion included the installation of snorkeling
equipment on Greenfish to enable her to steam on diesel
engines while submerged, which required the enlargement
of her “sail.” In addition, more batteries were installed
to increase her submerged speed and permit the ship
to remain completely submerged for longer periods. Re-
turning to New London 21 August 1948. Greenfish sailed
on her “second” shakedown cruise 1 September, with Rear
Admiral James J. Fife, Commander, Submarine Force,
Atlantic Fleet, aboard. She transited the Panama Canal
9 September and engaged in exercises at Balboa before
returning to New London 24 September.
The new GUPPY submarine was attached to the Pacific
Fleet, and sailed for Pearl Harbor 23 October. She
reached her new home 25 November 1948. With the ex-
ception of ASW and harbor defense exercises in Puget
Sound Jamiary-February 1950 and a subsequent Mare
Island overhaul, Greenfish operated out of Pearl Harbor
on local exercises through 1951.
Departing Pearl Harbor 15 November 1951, Greenfish
sailed to Yokosuka, Japan, for Korean War duty. After
a patrol 31 January to 1 March 1952, she participated in
147
exercises at Okinawa and then returned to Hawaii 2 June.
Local and special operations filled her time until 5 Novem-
ber 1954, when she entered the Pearl Harbor Shipyard
for another modernization overhaul.
Greenfish, overhaul completed 6 July 1955, sailed for
deployment with the 7th Fleet 15 September and reached
Yokosuka 29 September. From 19 October to 15 Novem-
ber she engaged in special operations, and then embarked
on a tour of Southeast Asia. Ports visited by Greenfish
during her 2-month cruise include Manila, Singapore,
Rangoon, where she was the first submarine ever to visit
and was inspected by Burmese Prime Minister U Nu. and
Hong Kong. After further exercises off Okinawa and
Yokosuka, Greenfish returned to Pearl Harbor 13 March
1956.
The following 5 years fell into a pattern for Green-
fish— local operations out of Pearl Harbor, special opera-
tions, exercises along the American coast, and periodic
overhauls. Greenfish entered Pearl Harbor Shipyard 15
December 1960 for a FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and
Modernization) overhaul and extensive conversion to a
GUPPY-III class ship. This included cutting Greenfish
in half and adding a 15-foot section of hull to permit more
batteries and other equipment.
Conversion completed, Greenfish departed 28 July 1961
for shakedown, operations at Pearl Harbor, and in De-
cember sailed to serve with the 7th Fleet. In addition to
special operations, the submarine participated in various
fleet and ASW exercises and visited several ports, includ-
ing Hong Kong, Manila, and Okinawa. Returning to
Pearl Harbor June 1962, Greenfish engaged in local opera-
tions until October, when the Cuban missile crisis sent
her to Japan to strengthen the 7th Fleet. Upon return to
Hawaii December 1962, she underwent a brief overhaul
and then resumed her peace time schedule of local and
special operations interspersed with training exercises.
Based at Pearl Harbor, she participated in various
ASW exercises while maintaining the high tempo of train-
ing and readiness for her crew. From 30 March 1964 to
4 September she underwent overhaul ; and, after a cruise
to the Pacific Coast and back, Greenfish departed for the
Far East 27 January 1965. She arrived Japan early in
February and during the next 4 months operated with the
7th Fleet in waters from Japan to the Philippines. She
returned to Pearl Harbor 1 August, continued type train-
ing into 1966, and deployed once again to the Western
Pacific 1 February 1966. She completed her duty with the
7th Fleet 1 July and returned to Hawaii later that month
to resume readiness exercises out of Pearl Harbor. Into
1967 she continued to serve the cause of peace as a unit
of the Pacific Fleet’s powerful submarine force.
Greenlet
Any of several grayish, plainly colored, sweet singing
birds of the vireo family, found primarily in the eastern
United States.
( ASR-10 : dp. 2,040; 1. 251 '4" ; b. 42'; dr. 14'10" ; s. 15
k. ; cpl. 102; a. 2 3", 8 20mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Chanticleer)
Greenlet (ASR-10) was laid down by Moore Dry
Dock & Shipbuilding Co., Oakland, Calif., 15 October
1941 ; launched 12 July 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. B. P.
Flood ; and commissioned 29 May 1943, Comdr. F. W. Laing
in command.
After shakedown, Greenlet conducted patrol and escort
runs out of San Diego before sailing for Pearl Harbor
24 July. Constructed as a submarine rescue ship, she
served at Pearl Harbor and at Midway for more than
a year, making escort runs and conducting refresher
training for patrol-bound submarines. As the progress of
the war advanced steadily across the Pacific, she sailed
to Guam 21 December 1944 to carry invaluable submarine
training closer to the patrol areas.
While at Midway and Guam, Greenlet helped train
some 215 submarines, among them such fighting boats as
Tang , Tautog, Bari, Snook, Drum, and Rasher. In-
directly, she contributed to the sinking of 794 enemy
ships, including a battleship and 6 aircraft carriers.
Eleven of the submarines trained by Greenlet were lost
during the war, but her charges sank more than 2,797,000
tons of Japanese military and merchant shipping.
As the bloody war in the Pacific drew to a close,
Greenlet departed Guam for Japan 16 August 1945. She
reached Sagami Wan, Honshu, 28 August ; entered Tokyo
Bay the following day ; and was present during the sign-
ing of Japanese surrender 2 September. After placing
buoys over wrecks in the harbor and channel at Tokyo,
she stripped and demilitarized Japanese miniature sub-
marines based in Yokosuka harbor. On 1 November she
escorted three Japanese fleet submarines to Sasebo and
converted them for American crews. Departing Sasebo
11 December, she escorted former Japanese submarines
1-14, 1-400, and 1-401 to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived
via Guam and Eniwetok 6 January 1946.
After returning to San Francisco early in 1946, Green-
let spent the following 5 years operating primarily out of
San Diego where she trained divers and serviced sub-
marines. From September 1946 to May 1947 and from
September 1948 to March 1949 she deployed to the West-
ern Pacific. Operating from the coast of China to the
Philippines, she trained and supported fleet submarines
stationed in the Far East.
As a result of Communist aggression in South Korea,
Greenlet departed San Diego for the Far East 6 July
1950. During the next 6 months she operated out of
Yokosuka while providing valuable services to the fighting
submarine fleet. Sailing for Pearl Harbor 6 January
1951, she served there throughout the remainder of the
Korean conflict and continued to provide assistance in
the training of submarine crews.
Since the Korean Armistice in 1953, Greenlet has re-
mained at Pearl Harbor, training divers and submariners,
participating in readiness operations, and assisting in serv-
icing and salvaging operations. On 29 May 1958 she
unsuccessfully attempted to keep Stickleback (SS-415)
afloat rammed during exercises off Ohau, Hawaii.
Between 1953 and 1967 Greenlet made eight deployments
to the Western Pacific. Operating from Japan and
Okinawa to the Philippines and Australia, she rendered
training and repair services to submarines, trained divers,
and participated in mine recovery and submarine rescue
and salvage exercises. During rescue training duty 6
January 1964, she sent her submarine rescue chamber to
a depth of 942 feet off the coast of Japan. From the
conflict in Korea to the conflict in Vietnam - she helped
keep the men and boats of the submarine service ready
to meet the vast responsibilities in the tension filled Far
East.
Into 1967 the vital task of “keeping the peace” presents
a greater challenge than ever before. To meet this
challenge and to preserve the peace, she remains on duty
with the U.S. Pacific Submarine Fleet, filling a most
useful and vital role for the security of the free world
and for the forces of freedom in Southeast Asia.
Greenling
An elongate, fine-scaled fish found from Kamchatka to
California.
I
( SS-213 : dp. 1526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20 k.;
cpl. 60 ; a. 1 3”, 10 21” tt. ; cl. Gato)
Greenling (SS-213) was launched by Electric Boat Co.,
Groton, Conn., 20 September 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. R. S.
Holmes ; and commissioned at New London, Conn., 21
January 1942, Lt. Comdr. H. C. Bruton in command.
After shakedown training out of New London, Green-
ling departed 7 March 1942 for the Pacific. She arrived
Pearl Harbor 3 April and sailed 20 April for her first war
patrol in the Marshalls and Carolines. The submarine
attacked cargo ship Scia Maru four times 30 April-1 May
off Eniwetok, but due to faulty torpedoes was not able to
148
USS Greenlet (ASR-10) during December 1959
sink her. The tenacious submarine even closed for a night
gunfire attack in an attempt to cripple her adversary.
Finally forced by Japanese aircraft to break off the
attack, Greenling turned her attention to the huge Japa-
nese base at Truk. As the Japanese converged on the
Solomons, Truk became a busy shipping point and a fertile
ground for submarine operations. The submarine re-
corded her first kill 4 May when she hit cargo ship
Kinjosan Maru amidships, breaking her in two. As the
Japanese were turned back in the important Battle of the
Coral Sea, history’s first big carrier air battle, Greenling
attempted to intercept the retiring enemy units, but her
speed was no match for the fast Japanese heavy units.
The submarine departed the Truk area 4 June, the day of
Japan’s first great naval defeat at the Battle of Midway,
and arrived Pearl Harbor 16 June.
Greenling departed on her second war patrol 10 July
1942. One of the first submarines to operate in the Truk
area, she now joined in the undersea blockade of that
important base, in an attempt to cut its supply lines to
Japan. After damaging ships 26 and 29 July Greenling
sank transport Brazil Maru off Truk, and just after mid-
night the same night attacked cargo ship Palau Maru,
which she torpedoed and sank. Next morning the sub-
marine took periscope photographs of Truk, and steamed
to the New Ireland area, attempting to intercept Japanese
fleet units retiring from the Solomons. The submarine
encountered surface opposition in the area, but evaded a
destroyer attack 20 August and set course back to Mid-
way. En route she destroyed a large Japanese trawler
with her deck gun, and arrived Midway 1 September 1942.
Greenling' s third war patrol took her off the Japanese
home islands. Departing Midway 23 September, the sub-
marine sank cargo ship Kinkai Maru 3 October, Setsuyo
Maru the next day. She fired three torpedoes at cargo
ship Takusei Maru 14 October, scored three hits, and
watched her sink in the space of 6 minutes. This attack
brought a host of escort vessels to search for Greenling,
but she evaded them and attacked a large freighter 18
October. One torpedo set the target aflame, but the
second “fish” ran erratically, circled, and almost hit
Greenling. The next ran true, however, and cargo ship
Eakonesan Maru was sent to the bottom. After destroy-
ing a sampan in the Tokyo-Aleutians shipping lanes 21
October, Greenling returned to Pearl Harbor 1 November.
The attrition on Japanese shipping by submarines was
already being felt and would be a major factor in her
eventual defeat.
Steaming into the Solomons-Truk area for her fourth
war patrol, Greenling departed Pearl Harbor 9 December
1942. Immediately -upon her arrival off Bouganville 21
December she attacked a tanker and two escorts, sinking
Patrol Boat 35 before being driven down by depth charge
attacks. Moving to the familiar Truk traffic lanes, she
sank freighter Nissho Maru 30 December. She attacked
a large tanker with destroyer escort early 10 January
1943, but after scoring one hit was opened upon by the
tanker’s large deck gun and was forced to break off the
action. Off New Britain 16 January she torpedoed and
sank cargo ship Kimposan Maru and destroyed a tug with
her deck gun, then reconnoitered the Admiralty Islands
before steaming to Brisbane, Australia.
The submarine arrived Brisbane 31 January 1943 and
remained there until departing on her fifth war patrol 21
February. Greenling steamed to the Solomons-Bismarck
area, and landed a party of intelligence agents on the
coast of New Britain 2 March. In a patrol characterized
by bad weather, she scored no hits on enemy shipping and
returned to Brisbane 26 April 1943.
Greenling cleared Brisbane 17 May to conduct her sixth
war patrol in the Solomons-New Guinea area, long the
scene of bitter sea and land fighting. During this patrol
she damaged ships 9 June, 10 June, and 27 June, but was
unable to record a sinking because of heavy escort activity.
She returned to Brisbane 8 July 1943.
The submarine sailed 29 July on her seventh war
patrol, which consisted largely of special missions. She
landed a party of Marine Raiders in the Treasury Islands
22-23 August to select a site for a radar station and pre-
pare for the landings there, scheduled for October.
Greenling reconnoitered Tarawa 10 September and sailed
to San Francisco via Pearl Harbor for overhaul.
Returning to action 5 December at Pearl Harbor, Green-
ling sailed for her eighth war patrol 20 December 1943,
149
in the Caroline Islands. She ended the old year with a
late night attack, which sank freighter Shoho Maru,
reconnoitered Wake Island, and returned to Midway 28
January 1944. Her ninth war patrol, 20 March-12 May
1944, was a special mission entailing photographic recon-
naissance of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan in the Marianas
Islands, work which did much to aid the coming amphib-
ious campaign for the Marianas.
Greenling sailed from Pearl Harbor on her 10th patrol
9 July 1944. Operating off Formosa, she formed a co-
ordinated attack unit with Billflsh and 8 ail fish. Closely
watched by enemy aircraft Greenling recorded no torpedo
sinkings, though she sank a trawler with gunfire 8 August.
She returned to Midway 12 September 1944.
The veteran submarine departed 5 October 1944 for her
11th war patrol, in the ocean approaches to Tokyo.
Sighting a 5-ship convoy 7 November, she fired 4 torpedoes
and sank both oiler Kota Maru and transport Kiri Maru 8.
Continuing to prowl off Japan, Greenling sank her last
ship 10 November 1944 when she torpedoed old destroyer
Patrol Boat JfG. She returned to Pearl Harbor 23 Novem-
ber 1944.
Greenling' s last war patrol, her 12th, was carried out in
the Nansei Shoto Islands. Departing Pearl Harbor 26
December she found no targets until 24 January 1945,
when she intercepted a nine-ship convoy. While making
her approach Greenling was attacked by escorts, and after
a 4-hour depth charge attack managed to make her
escape. The submarine suffered minor damage and
steamed to Saipan 27 January 1945 for repairs. There
it was decided to send her to the United States, and
Greenling steamed via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco,
thence through the Canal to Portsmouth, N.H. After
overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the submarine
decommissioned 16 October 1946 at New London, Conn.
Greenling was placed in service for the 1st Naval Dis-
trict in December 1946. Stationed at Portsmouth, N.H.,
she assisted in the training of reservists there and at
Boston. The submarine continued this vital service until
18 March 1960, when she was placed out of service at
Boston. She was sold 16 June 1960 to Minichiello Broth-
ers, Chelsea, Mass., and scrapped.
Greenling received ten battle stars for World War II
service and a Presidential Unit Citation for her outstand-
ing performance in her first three war patrols. All her
patrols except the fifth, tenth, and twelfth were desig-
nated successful.
II
(SS(N)-614; dp. 3732; 1. 292'3”; b. 31'8” ; dr. 24';
s. over 30 k. ; cpl. 99 ; a. 4 21” tt. : cl. Thresher)
The second Greenling (SS(N)-614), an attack sub-
marine, was launched by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.,
4 April 1964 ; sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Bruton ; and
commissioned 3 November 1967, Comdr. Guy H. B. Schaf-
fer in command.
Greensboro
A city in North Carolina.
(PF-101 : dp. 1.264; 1. 303'11” ; b. 37'6” ; dr. 13'8” ;
s. 20 k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3”; cl. Tacoma)
Greensboro (PF-101), ex-PG-209, ex-MC Hull 1973 was
launched under Maritime Commission contract 9 Febru-
ary 1944 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland,
Ohio ; sponsored by Mrs. C. I. Carlson : and commissioned
at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Md., 29 January
1945, Lt. Omdr. Henry P. Kniskern, USCG, in command.
Manned by a Coast Guard crew, Greensboro remained
at Curtis Bay, Md., undergoing outfitting and conversion
for weather patrol duty. On 14 February she cleared
Baltimore Harbor for Bermuda via Norfolk for shake-
down, then escort duties to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and
Kingston, Jamaica.
Greensboro arrived Boston 23 March for further con-
version to air-sea rescue and weather patrol ship. Sailing
11 April she conducted ASW exercises out of Casco Bay,
Maine, en route to Argentia, Newfoundland, arriving
22 April. For 10 months she performed vital air-sea
rescue and weather patrol duty, with occasional escort
missions, operating out of Newfoundland, the Azores and
Recife, Brazil. Greensboro returned to Boston 17 Febru-
ary 1946 and remained there until she decommissioned
14 March 1946. Her name was struck from the Navy
List 23 April 1947 and sold for scrapping 22 April 1948
to the Southern Shipbuilding Co., New Orleans, La.
Greenville Victory
A former name retained.
( T-AK-237 : dp. 4,512 ; 1. 455'3” ; b. 62' ; dr. 28'6 ' ; s.
17 k. ; cpl. 52 ; a. none ; T. VC2-S-AP3)
Greenville Victory (T-AK-237) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract by California Shipbuilding
Corp., Los Angeles, Calif. ; 21 March 1944 ; launched 28
May 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Mary J. Yukov ; and
delivered to WSA 8 July 1944.
During the remainder of the war, Greenville Victory
served as a merchant ship under charter to Sea Shipping
Co. of New York. Following World War II, she trans-
ported cargo in the Atlantic and the Pacific. She was
transferred to the Army Transportation Service in the
spring of 1948. Acquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, she
was assigned to MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, Greenville Victory , from
1950 to 1953, operated in the Atlantic and the Caribbean,
carrying military eai jo to French, English, and German
ports; Guantanamo Bay; and the Canal Zone. Between
19 February and 9 May she sailed out of New York to
the Far East and back, loaded with ammunition for
Korea. After completing a run to Europe and back, she
again departed New York 9 July for the Far East. She
reached Yokohama, Japan, 9 August and during the next
2 months operated in the Western Pacific, carrying ammu-
nition to Formosa and to French forces fighting Com-
munist Viet-Minh guerillas in French Indochina. Sailing
from Yokohama 4 October via San Francisco, she reached
New York 6 November 1953 to resume cargo runs to
Europe.
During the next 2 yeaTs, Greenville Victory steamed
primarily between New York and West European ports.
In June and July 1954 she sailed to the Western Mediter-
ranean to replenish at sea ships of the mighty 6th Fleet.
On 16 November she departed Newport, R.I., for Antarc-
tica and arrived at McMurdo Sound 16 January 1956 to
provision ships of Task Force 43. Departing Antarctica 5
February, via New Zealand, she arrived New York 28
March.
Between 1956 and 1964 Greenville Victory maintained a
busy schedule transporting cargo to American bases scat-
tered throughout the world. She replenished Task Force
43 on three more Antarctic deployments; and, from De-
cember to February of 1956-57, 1957A38, and 1960-61, she
operated in Antarctic waters. Cargo runs sent her to the
Caribbean in 1958, 1960, and 1962 and to Thule, Greenland,
during September and October 1958. She also deployed
with the 6th Fleet five times between June 1956 and March
1964 ; and on two deployments in 1963 and 1964 she tran-
sited the Suez Canal, steaming to India and Pakistan.
Greenville Victory departed Norfolk, Va., 6 October 1964
to participate in the massive transatlantic trooplift exer-
cise, “Steel Pike I.” Departing Morehead City, N.C.,
8 October, she closed the Spanish coast off Rota 19 Oc-
tober. For more than 2 weeks she discharged supplies
and cargo in support of amphibious and shore operations.
Departing Rota 7 November, she steamed via Morehead
City to New York, arriving 20 November.
In response to American determination to protect the
integrity and independence of South Vietnam from ex-
ternal Communist aggression, Greenville Victory departed
New York 22 November for duty in the Western Pacific.
Sailing via San Diego, she arrived Guam 24 December.
During the next month she steamed to Okinawa, Korea,
150
and Japan, carrying cargo. Arriving Manila, Philippines,
26 January 1965, she sailed the 28th for Pearl Harbor and
San Francisco. After reaching the West Coast 25 Febru-
ary, she made a run out of San Francisco to Seattle,
Wash., then sailed for the Gulf Coast 15 March, arriving
New Orleans the 28th.
During the next 5 months, Greenville Victory made
cargo runs in the Atlantic out of Norfolk and New York.
She departed New York 20 October after a voyage to
Labrador and hack ; and, steaming via Norfolk and Long
Beach, she reached Yokohama, Japan, 22 November.
Loaded with military cargo, she sailed for South Vietnam
the 30th and arrived Saigon 16 December. The following
day she sailed via Vung Tau for the West Coast, arriving
San Francisco 3 January 1966.
Greenville Victory replenished her holds with vital mili-
tary supplies for the forces of freedom in Southeast Asia
before returning to the Western Pacific. Sailing via
Sasebo, Japan, she reached Bangkok, Thailand, 13 Febru-
ary, sailed the 22d for South Vietnam and arrived Vung
Tau the next day. Having unloaded, she sailed 1 March
for the West Coast to transport additional military ma-
terial from the United States to Vietnam. She continued
operations between the United States and the Western
Pacific until transferred to the Atlantic at mid-year. In
1967 she is busy supplying Allied forces in Europe.
Greenivell, Nettie B., see YF-5^3
Greenwich
A former name retained.
(Whaler : t. 338 ; cpl. 25 ; a. 10 guns)
Prize ship Greenwich was a whaler cruising as a letter-
of-marque ship and was captured off the Galapagos
Islands by Essex, Lt. David Porter, 28 May 1813. Porter
converted her to a storeship and placed her under the
command of Lt. John M. Gamble, of the Marine Corps.
Greenwich cruised with Essex off South America until
3 October 1813 when the ships departed for the Marquesas
Islands for overhaul and provisioning.
Upon his arrival in the Marquesas, Porter erected a
fort on what he called Madison Island, and before leaving
for Chile 12 December placed prizes Greenwich, Seringa-
patam, and Sir Andrew Hammond under the protection of
its guns. Soon after Porter’s departure, Gamble, who
was left in charge, was forced to land a detachment to
quiet the threatening natives.
Lieutenant Gamble, despairing of Porter’s return, began
to prepare for departure from the islands in April 1814
by rigging Seringapatam and Sir Andrew Hammond for
sea. Evidence of an impending mutiny was discovered,
and although Gamble transferred all ammunition to
Greenicich as a precaution, the mutineers attacked and
captured Seringapatam 7 May 1814, wounding Gamble.
Two days later the determined officer attempted to get
Sir Andrew Hammond to sea, but was attacked again,
losing four of his men.
His entire party now reduced to eight men. only four
of whom were fit for duty, Gamble finally put to sea in Sir
Andrew Hammond and made the 2,000-mile voyage t the
Sandwich Islands without a chart, only to be captured
there by the British 19 June 1814. Greenwich was burned
by Gamble before he departed the Marquesas.
Greenwich Bay
A bay off the Rhode Island coast.
(AVP-41: d. 1,766 t. ; 1. 310'9" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 13'6" ; s.
18 k. ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm. ; cpl. 315 ; cl. Bamegat)
Greenwich Bay (AVP-^41) was launched 17 March 1945
by the Lake Washington Shipyard, Haughton, Wash. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Francis B. Johnson, wife of the Com-
mander Fleet Air Wing 6 ; and commissioned 20 May 1945,
Comdr. Peter F. Boyle in command.
Departing San Diego 26 August after an intensive
shakedown, the new seaplane tender sailed for Taku,
China. 5 October via Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Okinawa.
Greenwich Bay spent the rest of 1945 along the China
coast, touching at Tsingtao and Shanghai as well as Taku,
tending seaplanes of the 7th Fleet. She operated in
Japanese waters during January 1946, and after a short
stint in the Philippines, sailed for the States 1 May.
Reaching Norfolk 1 July 1946 via Hong Kong, Singapore,
Naples, Casablanca, and Gibraltar, Greenwich Bay con-
tinued on to New York for overhaul.
Greenwich Bay reported to the Potomac River Naval
Command 19 February 1947 to serve as escort to Wil-
liamsburg, the Presidential Yacht. This assignment
ended 21 June 1948 as she departed Norfolk for an around-
the-world cruise. During her 4 month sailing, Green-
wich Bay made good-will visits to Gibraltar, Port Said,
Muscat, Bahrein, Kuwait, Trincomalee (India), Fre-
mantle, Pago Pago, Papeete (Tahiti), and Coco Solo be-
fore returning to Norfolk 14 October.
Greenwich Bay sailed 30 April 1949 to assume duties
as flagship for Commander, U.S. Navy Middle East Force.
Every year since then she has repeated this duty, sailing
through the Mediterranean to operate as flagship in the
Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean for 4 to 6
months. In addition to operating with Allied naval units
in these areas, Greenwich Bay has done extensive work
in the People-to-People program, particularly in carrying
drugs and other medical supplies to the Arabian and
African nations and operated as an important tool of
diplomacy, helping to maintain peace in this oil-rich land.
In 1950 the tender’s crew distinguished itself in Bahrein,
Arabia, as Air France planes crashed there on 13 and 15
June while attempting to make early-morning landings on
a fog-shrouded field. Greenwich Bay sent out a total of
six search-and-rescue missions on the 2 tragic days. On
15 June one of her launches, containing both her captain
and medical officer, succeeded in rescuing nine survivors
of the crash. For her heroic action Greenwich Bay re-
ceived the special commendation and thanks of both the
Arabian and French governments.
When the Suez Crisis flared up in 1956 and seemed to
threaten war, Greemoich Bay extended her normal cruise
in the Persian Gulf to be able to evacuate American de-
pendents and civilians if necessary. As a result of the
blocking of the canal, she had to return to the States
around the Cape of Good Hope. In her Middle East
duties, which are punctuated by local operations and
exercises out of Norfolk, Greenwich Bay has been visited
by many outstanding figures, including King Ibn Saud
of Saudi Arabia, the Shah of Iran, His Imperial Majesty
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and the Shaikh of Kuwait.
Ports which she has visited as part of her official duties
as flagship include virtually every major Mediterranean,
Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Red Sea city as well as
several African ones. Among them are Recife, Lisbon,
Malta, Bombay, Istanbul, Athens, Beirut, Mombassa
(Kenya), Cannes, Karachi, and Madras. Greenwich Bay
has made 15 Mediterranean deployments protecting
American interests and helping to maintain peace in the
Middle East. In a conversation with Admiral R. R.
Carney and Captain (now Rear Admiral) E. M. Eller,
Commander Middle Eastern Force, the late King Iban
Saud expressed the Navy’s role in this historic region :
“The Navy loves freedom. It is the Bedouin of the sea.”
Greenwich Bay was struck from the Navy List 1 July
1966 and sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md.
Greenwood
Frank Greenwood was born in Methuen, Mass., 10 Janu-
ary 1915 and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 17 July 1940.
He was later appointed Midshipman, received training at
the Naval Reserve Midshipman’s School, and commis-
sioned 12 December 1940. Lt. (j.g.) Greenwood was
256-125 0 - 68 - 12
151
killed 12 November 1942 when his ship Erie was torpedoed
while on convoy duty in the Caribbean.
(DE-679: dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'5'' ; s. 23.5 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3'', 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp.,
1 dcp. (hh) ; cl. Buckley)
Greenwood (DE-679) was launched by the Fore River
Ship Yard, Quincy, Mass., 21 August 1943 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Laura Greenwood, mother of Lt. (j.g. ) Greenwood;
and commissioned 25 September 1943, Lt. Comdr. A. W.
Slayton in command.
Greenwood sailed for the Pacific 29 November 1943,
reaching Samoa, via the Panama Canal 26 December.
She spent nearly a year in the South Pacific escorting
transports and cargo ships through the New Hebrides
and the Solomons, with side trips to Australia. On 30
December 1944 Greenwood sailed from New Guinea to
join Admiral Kinkaid’s 7th Fleet at Leyte Gulf. After
escorting 26 merchantmen and LSTs to the Philippines
and screening them while there, Greenwood sailed for
Ulithi. There she picked up a convoy of supply and troop
ships bound for Iwo Jima, still the scene of bloody battle,
and sailed 5 March- Departing the Iwo Jima area 27
March, Greenwood sailed to Eniwetok, where she con-
ducted submarine and antisubmarine training exercises.
After war’s end, Greenwood sailed for a much-needed
overhaul at Mare Island, and on 4 September 1945
steamed under the Golden Gate Bridge to end 22 months
continuous service in the Pacific.
Following overhaul, Greenwood sailed for the East
Coast via Panama 2 January 1946. After exercises with
the Atlantic Fleet at Panama, she continued to New Lon-
don, arriving 10 April. The following 3 years saw
Greemvood functioning as an escort along the East Coast
from Maine to Key West. On 2 May 1949 she reported
at Key West for duty as school ship for the Fleet Sonar
School, and remained in that useful service for nearly
6 years. After tours of escort duty at Norfolk and New-
port, R.I., 1954 through 1957 Greenwood returned to Key
West in July 1957. Six months later she was designated
Selected Reserve Training Ship for the 6th Naval Dis-
trict, based at Charleston.
Placed out of commission in service 2 September 1958,
Greenwood served as a reserve training ship until 2 Octo-
ber 1961, when she recommissioned in response to the
renewed Berlin crisis. After training along the coast, she
reported to Key West for further duty with the Fleet
Sonar School 7 January 1962. As world tension eased,
Greenwood decommissioned again 1 August 1962 but
again stayed in service. Operating out of St. Petersburg,
Fla., she continued to conduct reserve training cruises
designed to keep the Navy’s fighting strength and poten-
tial at their peak through the next five years. Greenwood
was struck from the Navy List 20 February 1967 and
sold for scrapping. Greenwood received 2 battle stars for
World War II service.
Greer
James A. Greer, bom 28 February 1833 in Cincinnati,
Ohio, enlisted in the Navy in 1848. He entered the Naval
Academy in 1853 and graduated as a Passed Midship-
man the following year. After participating in the Para-
guay Expedition, he cruised the west African coast until
the outbreak of the Civil War. Greer was serving on
board San Jacinto 7 November 1861 when she stopped
the British steamer Trent and removed the Confederate
commissioners on their way to England, thereby nearly
drawing Great Britain into the war on the Confederate
side. Green served in St. Louis from 1862 to 1863 and was
then attached to Rear Admiral Porter’s Mississippi Squad-
ron. While in command of the ironclads Carondelet and
Benton, he participated in the Vicksburg campaign and
the shelling of Grand Gulf as well as the abortive Red
River expedition. After commanding the Naval Station
at Mound City, he assumed command of the flagship
Blackhawk and then was in charge of conveying Army
transports up the Tennessee River. A tour of duty as
Assistant to the Commandant at Annapolis after the war
was followed by command of Mohongo on the Pacific Sta-
tion, where Greer was commended for defending Ameri-
can interests in Mexico. After duty at the Naval Acad-
emy between 1869 and 1873, Greer returned to the Pacific
Station. In 1878 he commanded Tigress when that ship
was sent to find and aid Polaris, wrecked on an Arctic
expedition. After special service in Constitution during
the Paris Exposition, Greer held a variety of shore posts
and then served as commander of the European Squadron
from 1887 to 1889. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1892,
he retired 28 February 1895. Admiral Greer died in
Washington 17 January 1994.
( DD-145 : dp. 1,165; 314'4" ; b. 30'11" ; dr. 9'; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 133; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wiokes)
Greer (DD-145) was launched by William Cramp &
Sons Ship & Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1
August 1918; sponsored by Miss Evelina Porter Gleaves,
daughter of Rear Admiral Gleaves; and commissioned 31
December 1918, Comdr. C. E. Smith in command.
Greer's shake down took her to Azores, from which she
rendezvoused with George Washington, carrying Presi-
dent Woodrow Wilson home from the Versailles Peace
Conference, and escorted her to the United States. After
exercises in coastal waters, Greer was assigned to Trep-
assy Bay, Newfoundland, for duties during a transatlantic
flight by four Navy seaplanes, one of which, NC-4, safely
completed the historic undertaking. After further train-
ing exercises and a European cruise, Greer was assigned
to the Pacific Fleet, reaching San Francisco 18 November
1919.
Six months’ duty with the Pacific Fleet terminated 25
March 1920 when Greer sailed to join the Asiatic fleet.
After standing by off Shanghai to protect American lives
and property during riots there in May, Greer sailed to
Port Arthur and Darien on intelligence missions and re-
turned to Cavite, P.I., for fleet exercises. The destroyer
returned to San Francisco 29 September 1921 via Guam,
Midway, and Pearl Harbor. Greer decommissioned at
San Diego 22 June 1922, and was placed in reserve.
Greer recommissioned 31 March 1930, Comdr. J. W.
Bunkley in command. Operating with the Battle Fleet,
she participated in a variety of exercises along the coast
from Alaska to Panama, with an occasional voyage to
Hawaii. Transferred to the Scouting Fleet 1 February
1931, she cruised off Panama, Haiti, and Cuba before
being attached to the Rotating Reserve from August 1933
to February 1934. Training exercises, battle practice,
and plane guard duty filled Greer's peacetime routine for
the next 2 years. She sailed for the East Coast and duty
with the Training Squadron 3 June 1936. After conduct-
ing Naval Reserve cruises throughout that summer, Greer
sailed for the Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 September and
decommissioned there 13 January 1937.
As war swept across Europe, Greer recommissioned 4
October 1939, Comdr. J. J. Mahoney in command, and
joined Destroyer Division 61 as flagship. After patrolling
the East Coast and Carribbean, Greer joined the Neutral-
ity Patrol in February 1940. Detached from this duty 5
October, the destroyer patrolled the Carribbean that
winter. She joined other American ships on operations
in the North Atlantic early in 1941, out of Reykjavik,
Iceland, and Argentia, Newfoundland. United States
ships, as non-belligerents, could not attack Axis subma-
rines ; but, as the German high command stepped up the
pace of the war through the summer of 1941, Greer found
herself involved in an incident which brought America’s
entry into the war nearer.
The “Greer Incident” occurred 4 September. At 0840
that morning Greer , carrying mail and passengers to Ar-
gentia, was signaled by a British plane that a Nazi sub-
marine had crash-dived some 10 miles ahead. Forty
minutes later the DD’s soundman picked up the underseas
marauder, and Greer began to trail the submarine. The
plane, running low on fuel, dropped four depth charges at
1032 and returned to base, while Greer continued to dog
152
the U-boat. Two hours later the German ship began a
series of radical maneuvers and Greer’s lookouts could see
her pass about 100 yards off. An impulse bubble at 1248
warned Greer that a torpedo had been fired. Ringing up
flank speed, hard left rudder, Greer watched the torpedo
pass 100 yards astern and then charged in for attack.
She laid a pattern of eight depth charges, and less than
two minutes later a second torpedo passed 300 yards to
port.
Greer lost sound contact during the maneuvers, and
began to quarter the area in search of the U-boat. After
2 hours, she reestablished sound contact and laid down a
pattern of 11 depth charges before discontinuing the en-
gagement. Greer had held the German raider in sound
contact 3 hours and 28 minutes ; had evaded two torpedoes
fired at her ; and with her 19 depth charges had become
the first American ship in World War II to attack the
Germans.
When news of the unprovoked attack against an
American ship on the high seas reached the United States,
public feeling ran high. President Roosevelt seized this
occasion to make another of his famed “fireside chats,”
one in which he brought America nearer to outright in-
volvement in the European war. Declaring that Germany
had been guilty of an act of piracy, President Roosevelt
in effect unleashed American ships and planes for offen-
sive action as he stated “in the waters which we deem
necessary for our defense, American naval vessels and
American planes will no longer wait until Axis subma-
rines lurking under the water, or Axis raiders on the
surface of the sea, strike their deadly blow — first.” The
period of “undeclared war” in the Atlantic had begun.
Greer remained in the North Atlantic through 1941,
shepherding convoys to and from MOMP, the mid-ocean
meeting point at which American ships took over escort
duties from the hard-pressed Royal Navy. After over-
haul at Boston, she turned south 3 March 1942 to resume
patrol duty in the Caribbean, fast becoming a favorite
German hunting ground. In addition to regular escort
duties, Greer performed many other tasks, including res-
cuing 39 victims of German U-boats. In May she stood
guard off Pointe a Pitre, Guadaloupe, lest the Vichy
French government try to get cruiser Jeanne d’Arc to sea.
Sailing from Guantanamo 23 January 1943, Greer sailed
to Boston then headed for the Atlantic convoy duty. De-
parting Argentia, Newfoundland 1 March 1943, she es-
corted merchantmen for Northern Ireland. During
heavy North Atlantic gales, the convoy lost seven ships to
three separate U-boat attacks before reaching London-
derry 13 March. Greer then escorted 40 merchantmen
on the return voyage without incident, and continued on
to Hampton Roads 15 April with tanker Chicopee.
After exercises in Casco Bay, Greer departed New York
11 May with a convoy of 83 ships. Reaching Casablanca,
Morocco, 1 June, the destroyer patrolled off the North
African port and then recrossed the Atlantic, arriving
New York 27 June. After another run to Northern Ire-
land, Greer returned to New York 11 August.
After steaming to Norfolk, she sailed for the British
West Indies 26 August to serve briefly as plane guard to
Santee. She rendezvoused with a convoy in the Carib-
bean and headed for North Africa. Diverted to New
York, she docked there 14 September. Routine training
exercises turned into tragedy 15 October as Greer collided
with Moonstone (PYc-9) in the New York Harbor. Moon-
stone sank in less than 4 minutes, but Greer rescued all
the crew but one.
After repairs, the destroyer escorted French crusier
Gloire from New York to Norfolk. Greer sailed 26 De-
cember with another Casablanca-bound convoy and after
an uneventful crossing returned to Boston 9 February
1944. This was the final transatlantic crossing for the
old four-stack destroyer, as she and her sister ships were
replaced by newer and faster escorts.
The veteran destroyer spent the remainder of her long
career performing a variety of necessary tasks in Amer-
ican waters. After a tour of submarine training duty
at New London, Greer became plane guard for several
new carriers during the summer of 1944. Operating from
various New England ports, she served with Ranger,
Tripoli, Mission Bay , and Wake Island. Sailing to Key
West in February 1945, Greer continued plane guard
duty until 11 June when she sailed to the Philadelphia
Navy Yard.
Greer decommissioned 19 July 1945. Her name was
struck from the Navy list 13 August and her hulk was
sold to the Boston Metal Salvage Co. of Baltimore 30
November 1945.
Greer received one battle star for World War II service.
Greer, Charles R., see Charles R. Greer (DE-23)
Greer County
A county in Oklahoma.
( LST-799 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
119 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-542)
LST-799 was laid down by Jeffersonville Boat & Ma-
chine Co., Jeffersonville, Ind., 25 August 1944; launched
3 October ; sponsored by Miss Mary R. Whalen ; and com-
missioned at New- Orleans 21 October, Lt. Daniel C. Millet
in command.
Following shakedown off Florida, LST-799 loaded con-
struction equipment at Gulfport, Miss., and steamed 29
November for the West Coast. Loading ammunition
cargo at San Francisco she departed 13 February 1945 ;
and arrived Saipan 24 March. Two days later she was
en route to Okinawa, where the largest amphibious op-
eration of the Pacific war was about to begin. Under
the threat of enemy air raids, LST-799 approached the
beaches of Okinawa 2 April, one day after the initial
landings. On 3 April LST-599 was hit by a kamikaze
and a fire-rescue party from LST-799 assisted in
extinguishing the blaze caused by the impact.
The landing ship was on General Quarters consistently
during the next month as the enemy made a futile effort
to stop the accelerating American drive across the Pacific
toward Japan. Departing Okinawa 8 May, LST-799
sailed to Ulithi and for the rest of the war shuttled cargo
among the American held bases. Following the hard
fought victory which ended World War II, she supported
occupation forces in Japan and the Philippines until 22
April 1946 when she decommissioned at Japan.
Following the Communist aggression in Korea in the
summer of 1950, LST-799 recommissioned at Yokosuka
26 August 1950. On 5 September she departed with a
cargo of ammunition and provisions, arriving Pusan,
Korea 2 days later. There she loaded a tank unit of the
5th Marines and sailed for the landings at Inchon. The
magnificently executed landings turned the tide of the
conflict. General MacArthur summed up the success of
the 15 September assault : “The Navy and Marines have
never shone more brightly than this morning.”
After the Inchon landings, LST-799 sailed for Wonsan,
arriving there 25 October. During December an over-
haul was interrupted to participate in the evacuation of
American and South Korean troops at Hungnam. On 24
December she embarked final covering elements of the
U.S. 3d Division, and sailed for Pusan arriving the 27th.
In early 1951, she completed overhaul and was equipped
with helicopter landing facilities. Assigned as a mine
squadron flagship, she performed logistic support for
minesweepers off the Korean east coast. She remained
off Korea until September 1952; and, in addition to
logistics, performed helicopter rescue operations, engaged
in the coastal blockade, and participated in the Wonsan
Harbor Control System.
Following extended overhaul at Long Beach, Calif.,
LST-799 returned to the Western Pacific 9 April 1953.
She resumed duties out of Wonsan as a Mine Squadron
Flagship. After the armistice, she continued evacuation
and training in the Far East, until sailing for the United
States late in November 1953.
153
From 1954 to 1956, LST-799 made two cruises to the
Western Pacific. On 1 July 1955, she was named Greer
County. Upon return from her 1956 cruise, she became
Flagship of Mine Squadron 7 operating along the West
Coast. She decommissioned 18 January 1960. Greer
County was struck from the Navy List 1 November 1960
and she was sold for scrapping.
LST-799 received one battle star for World War II
service and nine stars for the Korean conflict.
Gregory
Francis Hoyt Gregory was born in Norwalk, Conn.,
9 October 1789. While in the merchant service, he was
impressed by the British in an incident typical of those
which led in part to the War of 1812. After escaping,
Gregory was appointed a midshipman 16 January 1809 by
President Jefferson and reported to Revenge, commanded
by Oliver Hazard Perry. In March 1809 he was trans-
ferred to the Gulf Squadron at New Orleans. While serv-
ing in Vesuvius and as captain of Gun Boat 162, Gregory
participated in the capture of an English brig smuggling
slaves into New Orleans and three Spanish pirate ships.
During the War of 1812, he served on Lake Ontario under
Commodore Isaac Chauncey and participated in attacks
on Toronto, Kingston, and Fort George. In August 1S14
Gregory was captured by the British ; refused parole, he
was sent to England and remained there until June 1815.
After he was released by the British, Gregory joined the
Mediterranean Squadron and operated along the North
African coast until 1821. In that year he became captain
of Grampus and spent the following 2 years cruising the
West Indies, to suppress piracy. While in the Indies,
Gregory captured the notorious pirate brig Panchita and
destroyed several other pirate ships. After fitting out
the frigate Brandywine, destined to carry LaFayette back
to France, in 1824, Gregory sailed a 64 gun frigate to
Greece for the revolutionary government. From 1824-
1828 he served at the New York Navy Yard, and in 1831
reported to the Pacific Station for a 3-year cruise in com-
mand of Falmouth. Gregory served as commander of the
Station for 1 year.
From the Pacific, Gregory — appointed a Captain in
1838 — sailed to the Gulf of Mexico, where he commanded
North Carolina and Raritan and served in the blockade
of the Mexican coast during the war with that country.
After the Mexican War, Gregory commanded the squadron
off the African coast, with Portsmouth as his flagship,
until June 1851. Returning to the States, he became
Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard in May 1852 and
served there through February 1856. His subsequent
retirement ended a navy career which spanned nearly 50
years. When the bloody Civil War rolled across the land,
Gregory returned to naval service to superintend the
building and fitting out of naval vessels in private ship-
yards. Promoted to Rear Admiral 16 July 1862, he served
throughout the 4 years of war and then retired again.
Admiral Gregory died 4 October 1866 in Brooklyn, and
was buried at New Haven, Conn.
I
(DD-82: dp. 1,191; 1. 314'4” ; b. 30'11" ; dr. 9'2” ; s.
34.75 k. ; a. 4 4", 12 21” tt. ; cpl. 141; cl. Wickes)
Gregory (DD-82) was launched 27 January 1915 by
the Fore River Ship Building Co., Quincy, Mass. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. George S. Trevor, great-granddaughter of
Admiral Gregory ; and commissioned 1 June 1918, Comdr.
Arthur P. Fairfield in command.
Joining a convoy at New York, Gregory sailed for Brest,
France, 25 June 1918. She spent the final summer of the
war escorting convoys from the French port to various
Allied ports in Britain and France. As the war neared
its close, Gregory was assigned to the patrol squadron at
Gibraltar 2 November 1918. In addition to patrolling in
the Atlantic and Mediterranean, Gregory carried passen-
gers and supplies to the Adriatic and aided in the execu-
tion of the terms of the Austrian armistice. After six
months of this duty, the flush-deck destroyer joined naval
forces taking part in relief missions to the western Med-
iterranean 28 April 1919. In company with USS Arizona,
Gregory carried supplies and passengers to Smyrna, Con-
stantinople, and Batum. She then sailed for Gibraltar
with the American counsul from Tiflis, Russia and some
British army officers. Debarking her passengers on the
rocky fortress, Gregory sailed for New York reaching the
States 13 June 1919.
After brief tours in reserve at Tompkinsville, N.Y., the
Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard,
Gregory sailed to Charleston, S.C., 4 January 1921. A
year of local training operations out of the southern port
ended 12 April 1922 when Gregory entered the Philadel-
phia Navy Yard. She decommissioned 7 July 1922 and
went into reserve.
As war broke again over Europe, threatening to involve
the United States, Gregory and three other four-stackers
were taken out of mothballs for conversion to high-speed
transports. The DDs were strippc 1 of virtually all their
armament to make room for boats, while other important
modifications were made for troops and cargo. Gregory
recommissioned 4 November 1940 as APD-3 and joined
Little, Collioun, and McKean to form Transport Division
12. None of these valiant ships were to live through the
Pacific war — all but McKean were lost during the Guadal-
canal campaign.
Gregory and her sister APD’s trained along the East
Coast for the following year perfecting landing techniques
with various Marine divisions. On 27 January 1942, with
war already raging in the Pacific, she departed Charleston
for Pearl Harbor. Exercises in Hawaiian waters kept
TransDiv 12 in the Pacific through the spring, after
which they returnee to San Diego for repairs. They
sailed for the Pacific again 7 June, reaching Pearl Harbor
a week later to train for the upcoming invasion of Guadal-
canal, America’s first offensive effort in the long Pacific
campaign.
Departing Noumea 31 July 1942, Gregory joined TF 62
(Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher) and steamed for Guadal-
canal. After sending her Marines ashore in the first
assault waves 7 August, Gregory and her sister APD’s
remained in the area performing a variety of tasks in one
of history’s most desperately fought over areas. The
versatile ships patrolled the waters around the hotly-
contested islands — waters which were to gain notoriety
as “Iron Bottom Sound” — and brought up ammunition &
supplies from Espiritu Santo.
On 4 September Gregory and Little were returning to
their anchorage at Tulagi after transferring a Marine
Raider Battalion to Savo Island. The night was inky-
black with a low haze obscuring all landmarks, and the
ships decided to remain on patrol rather than risk thread-
ing their way through the dangerous channel. As they
steamed between Guadalcanal and Savo Island at ten
knots, three Japanese destroyers ( Yudachi , Hatsuyuki,
and Murakumo) entered the Slot undetected to bombard
American shore positions. At 0056 on the morning of
5 September, Gregory and Little saw flashes of gunfire
Which they assumed came from a Japanese submarine
until radar showed four targets — apparently a cruiser had
joined the three DD’s. While the two outgunned but
gallant ships were debating whether to close for action
or depart quietly and undetected, the decision was taken
out of their hands.
A Navy pilot had also seen the gunfire and, assuming
it came from a Japanese submarine, dropped a string of
five flares almost on top of the two APD’s. Gregory and
Little, silhouetted against the blackness, were spotted
immediately by the Japanese destroyers, who opened fire
at 0100. Gregory brought all her guns to bear but was
desperately overmatched and less than 3 minutes after
the fatal flares had been dropped was dead in the water
and beginning to sink. Two boilers had burst and her
decks were a mass of flames. Her skipper, Lt. Comdr.
H. F. Bauer, himself seriously wounded, gave the word
to abandon ship, and Gregory' is crew reluctantly took to
154
the water. Bauer ordered two companions to aid another
crewman yelling for help and was never seen again ; for
his brave and gallant conduct he posthumously received
the Silver Star.
At 0123, with all of Gregory's and most of Little’s crew-
in the water, the Japanese Ships began shelling again —
aiming not at the crippled ships but at their helpless
crews in the water. All but 11 of Gregory’s crew sur-
vived, 6 of them swimming through the night all the way
to Guadalcanal. Gregory sank stern first some 40 minutes
after the firing had begun, and was followed 2 hours later
by Little. Fleet Admiral Nimitz, in praising the coura-
geous ships after their loss, wrote that “both of these
small vessels fought as well as possible against the over-
whelming odds . . . With little means, they performed
duties vital to the success of the campaign.” Gregory's
name was struck from the Navy List 2 October 1942.
Gregory received two battle stars for service in World
War II.
II
(DD-802: dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 29'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 320; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt., 10 40mm., 7 20mm.,
2 dct., 6 dcp. ; cpl. 320 ; cl. Fletcher)
Gregory (DD-802) was launched by the Todd-Pacific
Ship Building Co., Tacoma, Wash., 8 May 1944 ; spon-
sored by Miss Ann McGuigan, daughter of Captain Mc-
Guigan, superintendent of construction at Tacoma ; and
commissioned 29 July 1944, Commander Bruce McCandless
commanding.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Gregory sailed
for the Pacific with Hull (DD-350), reaching Pearl Har-
bor 23 October 1944. Two months of local operations
terminated in January 1945 as Gregory began practice for
the impending invasion of Iwo Jima, next-to-last great
campaign of the long and bloody Pacific war. Gregory
sailed for the island 22 January, arriving off Iwo Jima via
Saipan and Eniwetok on D-day, 19 February. For the
next month she remained off the rocky coast under almost
constant fire to screen transports and provide fire support
for the invasion forces. Departing Iwro Jima 15 March,
Gregory reached Saipan 4 days later to prepare for her
role in the Okinawa campaign.
Okinawa, last step prior to invasion of the Japanese
home islands themselves, involved over a thousand ships
and half a million men, under Admiral R. A. Spruance,
in the Pacific’s war largest amphibious effort. Gregory
joined this modern armada as it sailed from Saipan 27
March and was off Okinawa 1 April 1945 as the first waves
of Marines waded ashore to bloody battle. Her task
group, under Admiral Jerauld Wright, conducted a “dem-
onstration landing” on the southeast coast, hoping to dis-
tract some Japanese attention from the actual invasion
along Okinawa’s western coast. This diversion complete,
Gregory remained off Okinawa on patrol and radar picket
station.
On the afternoon of 8 April, Gregory’s lookouts spotted
three Japanese planes coming in out of the setting sun,
a favorite kamikaze device. One of the suicide craft,
pieces of fuselage spinning wildly off as Gregory’s guns
registered hit after hit, crashed into the destroyer amid-
ships just above the waterline to port. Gregory shuddered
under the impact and began to slow in the water as power
failed in her forward engine and fire rooms flooded. The
two other kamikazes mercilessly pressed on their attack,
but the wounded DD downed both of them in blazing
gunfire. Gregory then steamed to the anchorage at
Kerama Retto for temporary repairs, and on 19 April
departed Okinawa. After escorting the carrier Intrepid
to Pearl Harbor, she sailed for San Diego, reaching there
18 May for battle repairs. While Gregory was still in
overhaul, the Japanese surrendered and the destroyer
was placed in inactive status, in Commission in reserve,
at San Diego. She decommnssioned 15 January 1947.
Gregory’s rest was to be brief, as Communist forces
launched their war in Korea 24 June 1950 and the U.S.
Navy joined United Nations forces; she recommissioned
27 April 1951, Comdr. H. C. Lank in command. Reaching
USS Gregory (DD-802) took less than a year from keel to commissioning.
155
Yokosuka, Japan, via Pearl Harbor and Midway 16
August 1051, Gregory immediately began patrol duty along
the Korean coast. Her principal duties were screening
American carriers, such as Essex and Boxer, from which
air strikes against North Korean positions and supply
lines were launched ; blockading the coast, and participat-
ing in coastal bombardment as the tide of war ebbed and
flowed along the Korean peninsula. In addition, she was
frequently assigned to the Formosa patrol, intended to
prevent Communist action against the beleaguered repub-
lic. Here Gregory came under fire from mainland Com-
munist Chinese shore batteries. While on a search-and-
rescue mission for a downed P2V 19 January 1953, she
closed to within 8,000 yards of Nan-ao Tao, a Communist-
held island just off the China coast. Though shore bat-
teries opened fire on her Gregory did not return the fire,
instead clearing the area immediately to continue her
SAR mission.
After the Korean Armistice ended the shooting war in
August 1953, Gregory returned to a peactime routine of
local operations out of San Diego interspersed with yearly
deployments, usually 6 months long, to the Far East.
These deployments took her to Yokosuka, Sasebo, Hong
Kong, Bangkok, Sydney, Okinawa, the Philippines, and
Formosa for training maneuvers with American and other
warships. In the fall of 1958 Gregory spent a tension-
filled 2% months off the China coast during one of the
periodic intensifications of the Quemoy-Matsu crisis.
Gregory earned the Battle Efficiency “E” three times
during her post-war career— 1955, 1956, and 1959.
Gregory decommissioned at San Diego 1 February 1964
and entered the reserve. She was struck from the Navy
List 1 May 1966, renamed Indoctrinator, and now serves as
an inoperable trainer at San Diego.
Gregory earned two battle stars during World War II
and four battle stars during the Korean conflict.
Greiner
Kenneth Frederick Greiner was born in Hibbing, Minn.,
27 April 1910 and enlisted as a Seaman, Second Class, 28
September 1935. He became an Aviation Cadet in 1936,
underwent fight training, and was honorably discharged
7 April 1936. Lt. (j.g. ) Greiner was appointed to the
Naval Reserve 29 March 1941, and after attending an
aeronautical engineering course at the University of Min-
nesota reported to Naval Air Station, Dutch Harbor,
Alaska, 1 October 1941. He was killed in enemy action
there 4 June 1942 during the Japanese attack on the
Aleutians.
( DE-37 : dp. 1140; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21
k. ; cpl. 156 ; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h. ) cl. Evarts)
Greiner (DE-37), originally intended for Great Britain
under Lend-Lease, was launched as BDE-37 20 May 1943
by the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., and
commissioned 18 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. F. S. Dowd in
command.
Following shakedown and training exercise along the
California-Washington coast, Greiner sailed for Pearl
Harbor, reaching there 31 October 1943. A series of
training and patrol operations kept her in the Hawaiian
area until 23 December, when she sailed for recently won
Tarawa as flagship of Escort Squadron 28. Greiner
spent virtually a year in the Gilberts-Marshalls area, as
the great American island offensive swept westward to-
ward Japan. The ship performed a variety of tasks, in-
cluding the most important job of escorting transport
vessels to the assault areas. She rescued 13 men from
a downed PBM 26 January 1944, and shelled Kusaie Is-
land, in the Carolines, in reply to a salvo from Japanese
batteries 1 June 1944.
Greiner spent 3 months at Pearl Harbor for repairs and
operations July-October 1944, and after anti-submarine
exercises in Hawaiian waters spent December patrolling
around Wotje, Mili, Jaluit, and Maloelap atolls, leap-
frogged earlier in the war. She spent the remainder of
the war in the Gilberts and Marshalls plane-guarding and
screening escort carrier forces, except for a short voyage
to Okinawa 29 June to 3 July 1945.
Greiner steamed back to the United States from Kerama
Retto 3 July 1945, and arrived San Francisco 28 July via
Ulithi, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor. She decommis-
sioned at Oakland 19 November 1945 and was stricken
from the Navy List 5 December. The ship was subse-
quently sold to J. G. Berkwit & Co. 10 February 1945,
and resold in 1947.
Greiner received three battle stars for World AVar II
service.
Grenadier
A soft-finned deep sea fish with a long, tapering body
and short, pointed tail.
I
(SS-210: dp. 1,475; 1. 307'2" ; b. 27 '3" ; dr. 13'3" ;
s. 20 k. (surf.), 8.75 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 80; a. 1 3",
10 21" tt. ; cl. Tambor)
The first Grenadier (SS-210) was laid down by Ports-
mouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., 2 April 1940-
launched 29 November 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Walt**’
S. Anderson, wife of the Director of Naval Intelligence
and commissioned 1 May 1941, Lt. Comdr. Allen R. Jo^-*
in command.
On 20 June Grenadier participated in the search fo>
0-9, who failed to surface after a deep test dive, and wa*
present 2 days later as memorial exercises were con
ducted over the spot where 0-9 and her crew lay. After
shakedown in the Caribbean, Grenadier returned to Ports-
mouth 5 November for refit. Less than three weeks after
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed for the
Pacific to join the submarine fleet which was America’s
first line of attack in the Pacific.
Grenadier's, first war patrol from 4 February to 23
March 1942 took her near the Japanese home islands, off
the coast of Honshu, and brought her several targets but
no sinkings. On 12 April Grenadier departed Pearl
Harbor for her second war patrol, along the Shanghai-
Yokohama and Nagasaki-Formosa shipping lanes. On
8 May she torpedoed and sank one of her most important
kills of the war, transport Taiyo Maru. Post-war exam-
ination of Japanese records showed Taiyo Maru to be
more than just the ordinary transport ; she was en route
to the East Indies with a group of Japanese scientists,
economists, and industrial experts bent on expediting the
exploitation of the conquered territory. Their loss was
a notable blow to the enemy war effort.
On 25 May Grenadier was diverted from her patrol area
to Midway, where she formed part of the submarine
patrol line as the American fleet in a bloody but brilliant
battle handed the Imperial Navy its first defeat in some
three hundred years. Grenadier’s third war patrol was
in the Truk area, heavily patrolled by enemy ships and
planes. Although she sighted some 28 Japanese ships,
enemy planes effectively hampered her, and she returned
to her new base, Fremantle, Australia, empty-handed.
The Malay Barrier was the site of Grenadier’s fourth
war patrol from 13 October to 10 December. After laying
a minefield off Haiphong, Indochina, the submarine made
an unsuccessful attack on a large freighter. During the
severe depth charging which followed, sea water seeped
into the batteries ; Grenadier’s crew suffered headaches
and nausea from chlorine gas poisoning for the remainder
of the patrol. To increase the misery, on 20 November
Grenadier spotted a Ryujo class carrier, escorted by a
cruiser and a destroyer, heading through the Strait of
Makassar too distant to shoot. Grenadier surfaced to
radio the carrier’s location and course to Fremantle in
hope that another submarine could capitalize on it.
Grenadier's fifth war patrol between 1 January and
20 February 1943, brought her considerably better fortune
than earlier patrols. A 75-ton schooner fell victim to her
deck guns 10 January, and two days later Grenadier
156
sighted a small tanker with a barge in tow. Judging
the target not worth a torpedo, she slipped silently into
the column behind the two Japanese ships. At dusk she
battle surfaced. With binoculars lashed to the deck
guns as sights, she raked tanker and barge sinking them
immediately. The remainder of her patrol, along the
Borneo coast through shallow and treacherous waters,
was hampered by fathometer failures. She conducted an
aggressive attack on two cargo ships 22 January but did
not sink them.
The battle-tired submarine departed Australia 20 March
on her last war patrol and headed for the Straight of
Malacca, gateway between the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Patrolling along the Malay and Thai coasts, Grenadier
claimed a small freighter off the island of Phuket 6 April.
She remained in the area and late in the night of 20 April
sighted two merchantmen and closed in for the attack.
Running on the surface at dawn 21 April, Grenadier
spotted, and was simultaneously spotted by, a Japanese
plane. As the sub crash-dived, her skipper, Comdr. John
A. Fitzgerald commented “we ought to be safe now, as
we are between 120 and 130 feet.” Just then, bombs
rocked Grenadier and heeled her over 15 to 20 degrees.
Power and lights failed completely and the fatally
wounded ship settled to the bottom at 267 feet. She tried
to make repairs while a fierce fire blazed in the maneu-
vering room.
After 13 hours of sweating it out on the bottom Grena-
dier managed to surface after dark to clear the boat of
smoke and inspect damage. The damage to her propul-
sion system was irreparable. Attempting to bring his
ship close to shore so that the crew could scuttle her and
escape into the jungle, Comdr. Fitzgerald even tried to
jury-rig a sail. But the long night’s work proved futile.
As dawn broke, 22 April, Grenadier's weary crew sighted
two Japanese ships heading for them. As the skipper
“didn’t think it advisable to make a stationary dive in
280 feet of water without power,” the crew began burning
confidential documents prior to abandoning ship. A
Japanese plane attacked the stricken submarine; but
Grenadier, though dead in the water and to all appear-
ances helpless, blazed away with machine guns. She hit
the plane on its second pass. As the damaged plane
veered off, its torpedo landed about 200 yards from the
boat and exploded.
Reluctantly opening all vents, Grenadier’s crew aban-
doned ship and watched her sink to her final resting place.
A Japanese merchantman picked up 8 officers and 68
enlisted men and took them to Penang, Malay States,
where they were questioned, beaten, and starved before
being sent to other prison camps. They were then sep-
arated and transferred from camp to camp along the
Malay Peninsula and finally to Japan. Throughout the
war they suffered brutal, inhuman treatment, and their
refusal to reveal military information both frustrated and
angered their captors. First word that any had survived
Grenadier reached Australia 27 November 1943. Despite
the brutal and sadistic treatment, all but four of Grena-
dier’s crew survived their 2% years in Japanese hands
to tell rescuing American forces of their boat’s last patrol
and the courage and heroism of her skipper and crew.
Grenadier received four battle stars for World War II
service.
II
( SS-525 : dp. 1,570; 1. 311'8" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 76 ; a. 10 21” tt. ; cl. Tench)
The second Grenadier (SS-525) was laid down by
Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass., 8 February 1944 ;
launched 10 February 1951 ; sponsored by Mrs. John A.
Fitzgerald, wife of the first Grenadier’s last skipper ; and
commissioned the same day, Comdr. Henry G. Reaves in
command.
One of the first “Guppy” submarines, Grenadier was
equipped with a snorkel to permit indefinite running in
an awash condition. Grenadier proved the worth of this
device during her shakedown. Returning from the Carib-
bean cruise, the new submarine made the 7-day voyage
from Guantanamo Bay to New London, Conn., submerged.
Almost 2 years of intensive training exercises out of New
London were capped by her first yard overhaul at Phila-
delphia, extending from 16 December 1952 to 22 April 1953.
In June 1953 Grenadier participated in the annual mid-
shipman cruise to Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian
ports. Returning to New London via the Caribbean, she
then supported ASW exercises during November, as a
carrier task force perfected its antisubmarine operations.
Grenadier continued training and battle exercises along
the New England coast and off the Virginia Capes and
in August 1955 cruised to Montreal, Quebec, via the St.
Lawrence River.
Grenadier departed New London 3 January 1956 on the
first of several Mediterranean cruises. During a 3-month
deployment she steamed throughout the Mediteranean and
both showed the flag and participated in attack and anti-
submarine exercises with various units of the 6th Fleet.
On two subsequent Mediteranean deployments from 8
November 1957 to 27 January 1958, and from 10 April
to 8 August 1962 she operated with the mighty 6th Fleet
to bolster peace keeping operations in that troubled region
of the world.
Between these cruises, the submarine participated in
exercises along the East Coast and was a frequent visitor
to Caribbean waters. Grenadier operated out of New
London until 15 September 1959, she transferred to Key
West, Fla. From there Grenadier served more frequently
in the Caribbean, and also patrolled and held exercises
along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida.
While on special antisubmarine exercises in the North
Atlantic on the morning of 29 May 1959, Grenadier, in
company with a patrol plane, sighted and photographed a
Russian submarine prowling the waters off Iceland. It
was the first confirmed sighting of a Soviet submarine in
the Atlantic.
Grenadier again confronted Russian ships when the
Cuban missile crisis threatened nuclear war in October
1962. In company with Balao, Tlireadfin, Trutta, and
Chopper, she formed part of the American fleet that
blockaded and quarantined the Communist island. After
the Russian offensive missiles were pulled out of Cuba,
Grenadier was one of several ships dispatched to Cuba in
November to assert and confirm America’s rights and
position there.
Since 1962 Grenadier has continued patrols and training
operations out of Key West. Assigned to SubRon 12,
she has participated in exercises along the Atlantic coast
and in the Caribbean. In addition, she has provided valu-
able aid during the perfecting of advanced sonor and
ASW equipment. She distinguished herself in 1966 gath-
ering navigational data and other information in the
Caribbean. She continues to serve the Atlantic Fleet
into 1967.
Gresham
(RC : dp. 1,090; 1. 205'6” ; b. 32'0” ; dr. 12'6” ; s. 14.5 k. ;
cpl. 103; a. 4 3”, 2 mg.)
Gresham, a revenue cutter built in 1896 by Globe Iron
Works Co., Cleveland, Ohio, was commissioned by the Rev-
enue Cutter Service 30 May 1897 for service out of Mil-
waukee in Lake Michigan and adjacent waters. On 24
March 1898 she was ordered to cooperate with the Navy
during the Spanish- American War. Following alterations
at Ogdensburg, N.Y., she arrived Boston 30 April and
patrolled northern coastal waters.
Gresham was returned to the Treasury Department 17
August 1898 and operated in the Revenue Cutter Service
until World War I. When the United States entered the
World War, Gresham was transferred to the Navy 6 April
1917. For the duration of hostilities, she performed patrol
and escort duty in the North Atlantic protecting Allied
shipping from the menace of U-boats vainly trying to
interrupt the growing flow of American fighting men and
equipment which doomed the Central Powers. After the
war ended, Gresham was returned to the Treasury Depart-
ment 28 August 1919.
157
Gretchen
A former name retained.
I
( SPH123 : t. 84 ; 1. 86' ; b. 13%' ; dr. 4’ ; s. 10 k. )
The first Gretchen was a motor boat taken over by the
government for section patrol 30 July 1917 from its owner,
Sylvanus Stokes. Found unsuited for patrol duties by the
5th Naval District, where she was assigned, Gretchen was
returned to her owner 1 November 1917.
II
( SP-1181 : t. 11 ; 1. 54' ; b. 12' ; dr. 3%' ; s. 9 k. ; a. 2 6-pdr.)
The second Gretchen, a motor boat, was built by White
of Belhiven, N.C., in 1902, taken over by the government
from her owners, the North Carolina Fisheries Commis-
sion, 20 August 1917, and commissioned 24 August 1917 at
Oriental, N.C., Master I. H. Scarborough, USNRF, in
command.
After fitting out at Norfolk, Va., Gretchen was assigned
to patrol station at Wanchese, N.C., and cruised Albemarle
and Pamlico Sounds for the months of her commissioned
service. She also performed inspection and patrol duties
for the North Carolina Fisheries Commission during the
period. Gretchen was decommissioned and simultaneously
returned to her owners by the 5th Naval District 1 Jan-
uary 1919.
Grey Fox
A former name retained.
( SP-52 : t. 19; 1. 50'; b. 10'2" ; dr. 2'3" ; s. 27 k. ;
a. 1 1-pdr.)
Grey Fox, a yacht, was built by Robert F. Smith & Sons
in 1916 ; was purchased from St. George Barber of Chester-
field, Md., at Annapolis, Md., and commissioned 27 May
1917, Chief Machinist N. N. Tonest in command.
Grey Fox was used by the 5th Naval District at Norfolk
as a harbor dispatch vessel and as a public Works Officer's
boat under the direction of the Joint Board for Control of
War Construction Activities. She was laid up in ordinary
at the submarine base, Norfolk Naval Operating Base,
6 June 1919. Grey Fox was intended for use by the War
Department Ordnance Salvage Board in the York and
James Rivers, but was found to be in need of extensive
repairs and was sold at Norfolk to William Thewes
18 February 1920.
Greyhound
A breed of tall, slender, swift hound with a narrow
pointed head.
I
(Sch. dp. 65'; cpl. 31; a. 3 g.)
Greyhound was one of several ships purchased in 1822
to augment Commodore David Porter’s “Mosquito Fleet”
combating piracy in the West Indies. With Master-Com-
mandant John Porter in command, she joined the West
Indies Squadron in early 1823 and was almost immediately
dispatched to Puerto Rico to seek that island’s aid in
suppressing the pirates. Returning from this mission,
Greyhound was placed under Lt. Lawrence Kearny and
sent to patrol the Cuban coast.
While patrolling with Beagle on 21 July, Greyhound
gave chase to an unidentified ship off the Cuban coast
near Vera Cruz; the ship turned out to be a legitimate
Colombian privateer: a rare thing in those waters. Lt.
Kearny then decided to go ashore in search of game to
supplant his ship’s food supply ; his boat, when it neared
the shore, was attacked from ambush and forced to re-
turn to Greyhound. When another attempt to land the
following day met the same reception, Lt. Kearny sent
ashore a party of marines and seamen, under the com-
mand of Lt. David Glasgow Farragut, to attack the pirate
camp. Menwhile the two schooners closed the shore and
began to bombard the camp, effectively trapping the pi-
rates between landing party and the sea. After a brief
but fierce struggle, the pirates, including some women and
children, fled inland. Exploring the village, Farragut
and his men discovered several large caves filled with rich
plunder of all sorts and they burned the village and the
eight small boats they found in the harbor, then returned
to the schooners.
Greyhound continued coastal patrol until, with the on-
set of the yellow fever season, the “Mosquito Fleet” sailed
north for healthier weather. Greyhound did not return
to the Caribbean with Porter the following spring. Found
unfit for further service, she was sold at Baltimore in
1824.
II
( Sp-437 ; 1. 40' ; b. 9' ; dr. 2'3" ; s. 18 k. ; a. 1 1-pdr.)
Greyhound (SP-437) was built in 1916 by Great Lakes
Boat Building Corp., Milwaukee, Wis. ; and purchased
from Mrs. Ida W. Seybert 20 June 1917 at Key West, Fla.
Assigned to section patrol in the 7th Naval District,
Greyhound cruised in Tampa Bay and served as a Key
West Harbor patrol boat, until her sale 2 July 1919.
III
(IX-106 : t. 3,731; 1. 407'; b. 61'3" ; dr. 18'; s. 15 k.)
Greyhound (IX-106) was built by the Delaware River
Steamboat Co., Chester, Pa., in 1906 ; taken over by the
Navy on the West Coast in 1918; and commissioned as
Yale 25 March 1918. She saw extensive service shuttling
troops across the English Channel until she decommis-
sioned at the Bremerton Navy Yard in 1920. After 15
years of fast passenger service along the West Coast,
Yale was laid up in 1935 ; in 1940 she was moved to Sitka,
Alaska, where she served as a workers’ dormitory. She
was again acquired by the Navy 30 April 1943 and com-
missioned 8 August 1943, Lt. Cotndr. W. N. VanDenbrugh,
in command. She was named Greyhound 19 August 1943.
After brief service Greyhound decommissioned 31 March
1944, and began duty as a floating barracks for personnel
at various Puget Sound training schools. She was placed
out of service on 9 March 1948 and her name was struck
18 June 1948. She was turned over to the Maritime Com-
mission 12 November 1948 and placed with the National
Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash, until 5 June
1949 when she was sold for scrapping.
Gridley
Charles Vernon Gridley was born 24 November 1844 in
Logansport, Ind., and was appointed to the Naval Acad-
emy in 1860. Reporting for duty with his class in Sep-
tember 1863, Gridley joind the sloop-of-war Oneida with
the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and distinguished
himself with Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay 5
August 1864. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1867 and Com-
mander in 1882, he spent the next 30 years at various sta-
tions around the world, including a tour as instructor at
the Naval Academy. Captain Gridley took command of
Olympia, Admiral Dewey’s famous flagship, 27 April 1898,
a post which he held despite failing health during the
Battle of Manila Bay 1 May 1898. It was that morning
that Dewey gave his famous command : “You may fire
when you are ready, Gridley,” immortalizing the doughty
captain. After the destruction of the Spanish squadron
and the capture of Manila, Gridley was obliged to leave
his command because of his health, and died en route to
the United States at. Kobe, Japan, 25 May 1898.
I
( DD-92 : dp. 1060; 1. 315'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'2" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 100; a. 4 4", 12 21" tt.)
158
The first Gridley was launched by the Union Iron Works
of San Francisco, Calif., 4 July 1918; sponsored by Mrs.
Francis P. Thomas, daughter of Captain Gridley; and
commissioned 8 March 1919, Comdr. Frank Jack Fletcher
in command.
After fitting out at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Gridley
departed San Diego 24 March 1919, transitted the Panama
Canal, and joined the Destroyer Force for maneuvers in
Cuban waters. She then repaired briefly at Norfolk,
Va., before putting into New York 26 April 1919. Grid-
ley's first assignment was with a group of destroyers
posted , along the route of the Navy’s transatlantic sea-
plane flight. Gridley and her companions sent up smoke
and flare signals to guide the intrepid flyers and with the
help of the surface ships NC-^1 was able to land in the
dense fog at the Azores 17 May 1919. Subsequently Grid-
ley participated in the search for NC-1, forced down in
the fog, and then acted as guard ship on the last leg
of NC-4’s historic flight, which was completed at Plym-
outh, England. 31 May 1919.
Gridley arrived Brest, France, 31 May and spent the
next 2 months in various ports of the Mediterranean trans-
porting passengers and making goodwill visits. She ar-
rived back at New York 31 July. Operating out of Ports-
mouth, N.H., Gridley embarked Major General Lejeune
and Brigadier General Butler of the Marine Corps at
Charleston 2 September 1920, for an inspection tour of
Caribbean bases and commands, including posts in Cuba,
Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Her distinguished
passengers disembarked 27 September 1920.
In the following years Gridley was active training officers
and men of the Naval Reserve Force, operating out of
Charleston, Newport, New York, and Philadelphia. She
decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 22 June 1922
and remained inactive until her name was stricken from
the Navy List 25 January 1937. Gridley’s hulk was sold
for scrapping 19 April 1939.
II
( DD-380 : dp. 1850; 1. 341'5" ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 10'4" ; s. 40
k.; cpl. 158; a. 4 5", 16 21" tt. ; cl. Gridley)
The second Gridley was launched at the Fore River
plant of Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass., 1
December 1936; sponsored by Mrs. Lewis Buddy III,
daughter of Captain Gridley ; and commissioned 24 June
1937, Comdr. Leroy W. Busbey, Jr., in command.
Gridley fitted out at Boston Navy Yard, and conducted
shakedown in the Caribbean area until 27 October 1938,
visiting Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Venezuela. She then
underwent alterations at the Boston Navy Yard until 13
June 1938, when she departed that port, transited the
Panama Canal, and entered San Diego harbor 5 July 1938.
Joining Destroyer Division 11, Gridley spent the next
months in tactical maneuvers off the coast of California,
and 4 January 1939 departed with the Battle Force for
combined maneuvers in the Caribbean. She participated
in Fleet Problem 20 with the Fleet off Cuba and Haiti,
after which she returned to Boston for repairs.
The destroyer again sailed into San Diego 13 July 1939
and became flagship of Division 11. She conducted
maneuvers off California until 2 April 1940, when Gridley
and other ships of the fleet conducted Fleet Problem 21 in
Hawaiian waters. Subsequently, Gridley operated out of
Hawaii.
Gridley cleared Pearl Harbor 28 November 1941 as part
of the antisubmarine screen for famed carrier Enterprise,
flagship of Admiral Halsey, and after a stop at Wake Is-
land, reversed course for Pearl Harbor. The Task Force
was approaching that base on the morning of 7 December
when the astounding message heralding the beginning
of the war was received : “Air raid on Pearl Harbor, this
is no drill.” Gridley entered the harbor next day to help
protect against renewed attack, and during the next 5
months was occupied escorting transports and repair ves-
sels to and from Pearl Harbor and South Pacific ports.
Her last such voyage was completed 27 May 1942 and 5
June she arrived at Kodiak, Alaska, with cruiser Nash-
ville. In the Alaskan theater, Gridley escorted transports
and patrolled the Japanese-held islands of Kiska and
Attu, assisting in the bombardment of Kiska 7 August 1942.
She acted during this period as flagship for famous de-
stroyerman Comdr. Frederick Moosbrugger.
Departing Dutch Harbor 25 September 1942, Gridley
joined the Saratoga task force in Hawaiian waters and
later performed escort missions for both combatant and
non-combatant ships in the Fijis and New Hebrides. In
December 1942 she escorted oiler Cimarron out of Noumea
to fueling rendezvous with the carrier task forces support-
ing the bitter fighting in the Solomons. Shifting her base
of operations to Purvis Bay, in the Solomons, 13 July.
Gridley guarded the high-speed transports which rescued
survivors from Helena in Parasco Bay 16 July 1943, and
teamed with destroyer Maury to escort infantry landing
craft from Guadalcanal for the landings on Tambatuni,
New Georgia. She bombarded shore installations near
the invasion beaches 25 July and screened the ships sup-
porting the landing. In company with six other destroyers
she destroyed Japanese landing barges in Vella Gulf 10
August, and screened Saratoga during air operations in
the Solomons until 25 August.
Gridley returned to Pearl Harbor with escort carriers
Suxvanee and Long Island 4 September 1943 and then de-
parted for San Diego, where she remained for repairs 11
September to 26 October 1943. The Gilbert Islands were
her next destination, and Gridley left Pearl Harbor once
more 10 November 1943 for Makin Island. She assisted
in the bombardment of that island, screened aircraft car-
riers, and then conducted independent patrol in the area
until setting course for Hawaii 1 December.
Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher’s Carrier Task Force 58
departed Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944 for the great
offensive in the Marshalls, with Gridley again acting as
screening ship for Saratoga. Gridley guarded the carrier
during the crucial strikes against Wotje and Eniwetok,
and 8 March sailed for the New Hebrides with carriers
Yorktown, Princeton, and Langley, assisting them in sup-
port of the developing New Guinea offensive. The veteran
destroyer sailed with the Hornet task force 7 June 1944
to take part in the invasion of the Marianas, where the
carriers pounded Saipan, Rota, and Guam. In all these
operations Gridley and her sister destroyers rendered in-
valuable service protecting the carriers against air and
submarine attack.
Gridley was with American forces in the pivotal Battle
of the Philippine Sea 19 to 20 June 1944, when four massive
waves of Japanese torpedo bombers and escorting fighters
were decimated by fleet air and s ace units. Gridley's
antiaircraft fire helped to protec „he aircraft carriers,
with the result that Japanese air strength was virtually
ended with this battle.
Gridley departed Eniwetok Atoll 30 June 1944 bound
with the carriers for strikes on Iwo Jima, Guam, Yap,
Ulithi, and the Volcano Islands. She supported directly
the American landings on Peleliu 15 September 1944,
shooting down at least one Japanese attack plane. After
screening the carriers in attacks on Okinawa and Formosa,
Gridley joined the mounting American forces for the
invasion of the Philippines. While protecting the large
ships off Luzon 28 October 1944 she and destroyer Helm
detected and sank Japanese submarine I-5h with a series
of devastating depth charge attacks. In the succeeding
days, Gridley fought off Japanese suicide planes and re-
turned to Ulithi with damaged carriers Franklin and
Belleau Wood 2 November.
Gridley was soon at sea avain, however, clearing Ulithi
5 November with the fast carrier task force for the Leyte
operation. She later joined a group of escort carriers
and served as a bombardment and patrol ship during the
landings in Lingayen Gulf until 10 February 1945.
After stopping again at Ulithi, Gridley escorted battle-
ship Mississippi en route to Pearl Harbor, and then sailed
via San Diego and the Panama Canal for New York, where
she arrived 30 March 1945. She entered the New York
Navy Yard next day for much-needed repairs, and after
finishing her overhaul departed the United States 22 June
159
USS Gridley (DD-380) , a veteran of World War II
for the Mediterranean. Gridley spent the next 7 months
in passenger, freight, and convoy operations between
Casablanca, Oran, Naples, and Marseilles.
Subsequently, Gridley returned to New York in Feb-
ruary 1946 and then sailed on the 20th of that month for
Hawaii. She embarked military passengers and cargo
at the Panama Canal and San Diego before arriving at
Pearl Harbor 16 March for inactivation. Gridley de-
commissioned at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard 18 April 1946
and was sold for scrapping 20 August 1947.
Gridley was awarded 10 battle stars for service in
World War II.
Ill
( DLG-21 : dp. 7,400 (f.) ; 1. 533' ; b. 53' ; dr. 26' ; s. over 30
k. ; cpl. 373 ; a. 4 3'', terrier mis. 3, 1 ASROC ; cl. Leahy)
The third Gridley, a guided missile frigate, was launched
by Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Co. of Seattle, Wash.,
31 July 1961; sponsored by Mrs. Stewart D. Rose, great-
granddaughter of Captain Gridley ; and commissioned 25
May 1963, Captain P. A. Lilly in command.
After outfitting at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Brem-
erton, Wash., Gridley made a goodwill visit to British
Columbia and then conducted acceptance trials out of
her homeport, Long Beach, Calif. The powerful new
frigate returned to Puget Sound Shipyard 8 November to
9 December 1963, after which she joined the Pacific Fleet
as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 19.
Following shakedown out of San Diego early in 1964,
Gridley departed Long Beach 8 April and steamed via
Pearl Harbor to Australia for commemoration of the
Battle of the Coral Sea, arriving Adelaide, South Austra-
lia, 5 May. The new guided missile frigate next headed
for the Philippines, stopping at Subic Bay 29 through 31
May before proceeding to Okinawa 2 June and Sasebo,
Japan, on the 8th.
Heading South once more, she returned to Subic Bay
and visited Hong Kong. On 4 August she got underway
for the South China Sea escorting Constellation (CVA-64)
to strengthen American naval forces off Vietnam after
Communist motor torpedo boats had attacked destroyers
Maddox (DD-731) and Turner Joy (DD-951) in the Gulf
of Tonkin. But for a brief visit to Subic Bay, she re-
mained on station serving screening and picket duty, co-
ordinating antiaircraft warfare efforts, and relaying
communications. Before she left the fighting zone 6 Sep-
tember, the ship’s competent and dedicated service won
her the Navy Unit commendation. She departed Subic
Bay 7 November and reached Long Beach on the 21st.
Gridley operated along the West Coast until heading
back to the Western Pacific 10 July 1965. Stopping at
Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka en route, she steamed to the
South China Sea to support aircraft carriers of the 7th
Fleet as the flattops hammered Communist targets in Viet-
nam. On four different occasions in the next 4 months,
she rescued pilots who ditched at sea. She returned to
Yokosuka 7 December but resumed station in the South
China Sea on the 22d to serve as “Tomcat,” responsible
for checking-in planes returning to their carriers. Early
in 1966 she headed for home and reached Long Beach 1
February.
Gridley operated along the California coast until sailing
for the Orient 18 November. She left Subic Bay 2 Janu-
ary 1967 for plane guard duty in the China Sea and the
Gulf of Tonkin. After varied duties in the fighting zone,
she sailed for Australia en route to the West Coast and
arrived Long Beach 8 June to prepare for future action.
Griffin
Robert Stanislaus Griffin was born 27 September 1857,
and graduated from the Naval Academy iii 1878. He
served in Tennessee, Philadelphia, and Vicksburg, and
took part in the Cuban blockade of 1898 in gunboat May-
flower. Griffin rose from Fleet Engineer, North Atlantic-
Fleet, in 1904 to Engineer in Chief and head of the Bureau
of Steam Engineering in 1913. Until 1921, Rear Admiral
Griffin performed outstanding service in designing, build-
ing, and maintaining ship machinery, and in converting
160
captured German vessels. He was awarded the Distin-
guished Service Medal by the President. Rear Admiral
Griffin died 21 February 1933 at Washington, D.C.
(AS-13 : dp. 14.000; 1. 492'; b. 71'; dr. 25'10" ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 911; a. 14", 13")
Griffin (AS-13), originally Mormacpenn, a Maritime
Commission C-3 type pre-war cargo ship, was launched
by Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock., Chester, Pa., 11 October
1939. She served briefly with Moore-MeCormack, Inc.,
was acquired by the Navy in 1940, renamed Griffin (AS-
13) and converted to a submarine tender at Robbins Dry
Dock & Repair Co., Brooklyn, N.Y. Griffin commissioned
31 July 1941, Comdr. S. D. Jupp in command.
Her conversion completed in September 1941, Griffin
conducted shakedown off the East Coast and sailed with
a sub squadron to Newfoundland 22 November 1941. Re-
called to Newport, R.I., after Pearl Harbor, the ship was
assigned to the Pacific Fleet, and departed 14 February for
Australia.
Griffin arrived Brisbane 15 April 1942 to tend Submarine
Squadron 5. Early in the war, the United States devel-
oped a major submarine base in Australia ; and submarines
tended by Griffin struck hard at Japanese shipping while
surface forces strengthened themselves for the first Pacific
offensives. During this period Griffin also repaired mer-
chant ships at a time of great need. The tender departed
Brisbane for the Fiji Islands 11 November and 1 Decem-
ber sailed to Bora Bora to escort Submarine Division
53 to the Canal Zone. Arriving Balboa 7 January 1943,
Griffin continued north to Oakland, Calif., arriving 20
January.
After repairs at San Diego, Griffin again departed for
the Pacific, sailing 27 April 1943. She arrived Pearl Har-
bor 4 May to take up her vital support duties, and re-
mained until 3 January 1944. The ship performed refits,
battle repairs, and general upkeep on submarines before
sailing to Mare Island to arrove 10 January.
Griffin returned to Pearl Harbor 17 March, and departed
8 April for the great submarine base at Fremantle, Aus-
tralia. She arrived 8 May and immediately set about
servicing the growing submarine fleet. The tender re-
mained at Fremantle until 20 November 1944, during her
Stay founding a rubber fabrication shop which solved
one of the great shortages on board the submarines. She
then moved closer to the Japanese shipping lanes at Mios
Woendi, New Guinea, arriving 9 December. There she
tended submarines, surface craft of all kinds, and even
lent her repair equipment to shore facilities. Griffin re-
mained at Mios Woendi until 1 February 1945 when she
sailed for Subic Bay, via Leyte.
Arriving 10 February, Griffin set up one of the initial
submarine repair facilities in the Philippines since 1942.
She also helped to salvage damaged destroyer LaVallettc.
Shifting base, the tender sailed 22 March via Leyte, and
arrived in the Hawaiian Islands 10 April. After a brief
stay at Pearl she departed 10 May for Midway, arrived
4 days later, and set up another repair facility for sub-
marines. By that time submarines supported by Griffin
had practically annihilated Japanese merchant shipping
and had played a decisive role in the great Pacific offen-
sive. She remained at Midway until 10 September, then
sailed to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, entering the
bay 24 September. Decommissioned at Mare Island 12
October 1945, the ship was placed in reserve. Later she
transferred to the Stockton group, Pacific Reserve Fleet,
where she remains in reserve, in service, tending reserve
submarines through 1967.
Griffin, Daniel T., see Daniel T. Griffin (DE-54)
Griggs
A county in North Dakota.
( APA-110 ; dp. 11.760; 1. 492'; b. 69 '6" ; dr. 26'6" ; s.
18 k. ; cpl. 478 ; a. 2 5'', 8 40mm. ; cl. Windsor ; T. C3-5-A3)
Griggs (APA-110), a C-3 type transport was built by
the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss. ; ac-
quired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis 13 December
1944; sponsored by Mrs. Betty Bennett Banker; and com-
missioned 14 December 1944, Captain Arthur C. Wood in
command.
After shakedown at Galveston, Texas, Griggs trained
precommissioning crews out of Newport, R.I., before
reaching Norfolk 31 March 1945. There she embarked
40 officers and 1,416 men of the 41st Marine Depot Com-
pany and the 55th Marine Replacement Draft. Clearing
Norfolk 26 May Griggs sailed via Canal Zone and dis-
charged her passengers at San Francisco 1 June 1945.
She departed Port Hueneme 17 June with 1,032 Seabees
embarked and touched at Eniwetok and Ulithi before dis-
charging her passengers at Okinawa and Manila Bay, P.I.
After delivering occupation troops to Japan from Lin-
gayen Gulf and Mindanao, Griggs took up “Magic Car-
pet” duty and departed Saipan 2 November 1945, en route
to San Diego, where she arrived 13 days later with many
happy war veterans. Griggs made two more “Magic
Carpet” voyages returning to San Francisco from her last
trip 21 February 1946.
Departing San Pedro, Calif.. 12 March 1946, Griggs
sailed via Canal Zone and reached Norfolk 28 March. She
remained there until decommissioned at Portsmouth Navy
Yard, Portsmouth, Va., 27 May 1946. Delivered to the
WSA the next day, her name was stricken from the Navy
List 19 June 1946. Sold to Moore McCormack Lines 21
April 1948, she became Mormacrey.
Grimes
A county in Texas.
( APA-172 : dp. 14,837 ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 692 ; a. 1 5'', 12 40mm. ; cl. Haskell )
Grimes (APA-172) was acquired by the Navy from
the Maritime Commission on loan charter basis 23
November 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harry Fielding ; and
commissioned 23 November 1944, Captain J. McDonald
Smith in command.
After shakedown out of San Pedro, Grimes returned to
Seattle 25 January 1945 ; embarked over 240 troops ; then
departed Seattle 1 February for Honolulu in support of
the Navy’s great Pacific offensive. After conducting
exercises off Maui Island, Grimes was underway 20 Febru-
ary 1945, with Transport Division 59 and anchored off
the northeast coast of recently secured Iwo Jima 14
March and began embarking units of the 4th Marine
Division for evacuation to the Philippine area. While
riding to anchor Grimes was brought under fire at a dis-
tance of about 1,000 yards from small arms positioned
in caves and crevices near the waters edge. No damage
or casualties resulted. Grimes cleared the area 20 March
and discharged 1,618 passengers at Pearl Harbor 4 April
1945.
After shuttling troops among the Hawaiian Islands,
Grimes departed Honolulu with officers and enlisted pa-
tients of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Merchant Marine.
Reaching San Francisco 30 May 1945, she disembarked
her passengers, then sailed for Seattle. With 1,512 Army
and Navy passengers on board, the transport sailed from
Seattle 16 June and discharged troops at Honolulu and
Okinawa before putting in at Guam 14 August. Here
she took aboard 900 officers and men of the 6th Marine
Division and 8 war correspondents. Sailing the next day
Grimes rendezvoused with units of the 3d Fleet 19 August
for the initial occupation of Japan ; she anchored in Tokyo
Bay 30 August 1945 and landed her troops and cargo
for the occupation of Yokosuka Naval Base without
incident.
Grimes sortied from Tokyo Bay 1 September 1945 as
part of Task Unit 30.3.5 en route Saipan to lift units of
the 2d Marines for the occupation of Nagasaki. Sailing
from Saipan 18 September she put her troops ashore 23-25
September 1945. Grimes carried out her transport duties
in the Pacific until 15 June 1946 when she sailed from
161
Sasebo, Japan. Going by way of the Canal Zone she
reached Norfolk 18 July.
Grimes remained at Norfolk and decommissioned there
26 February 1947. She remained in the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet until 1 October 1958, when her name was struck
from the Navy List and she was transferred to the Mari-
time Commission. She was placed in the National De-
fense Reserve Fleet at Wilmington, N.C., and in October
1964 she was transferred to James River, Ya.
Grimes received one battle star for World War II
service.
Grindall
A British name retained.
( DE-273 : dp. 1,150; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. ll'lO" ;
s. 19% k. ; cpl. 198 ; a. 3 3" 50 cal. cl. Evarts)
Grindall was launched as Sanders (DE-273 ) 4 June
1943 at the Boston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. Sarah
Sanders, widow of the ship’s namesake, Chief Boatswain
Eugene Thomas Sanders, who served in the U.S. Navy
from 1919 to 7 December 1941 when he was killed in action
in the Pacific.
Assigned to the United Kingdom under terms of lend-
lease 10 June 1943 her name was changed to HMS Grin-
dall,
Following service with the United Kingdom, Grindall
was commissioned as DE-273 by the United States at
Chatham, England, 20 August 1945, Lt. Burrill D. Barker,
Jr., USNR, in command. As flagship of reconstituted
Task Group 21.3 consisting of 10 lend-lease destroyer
escorts, Grindall sailed from Chatham 28 August, arriv-
ing at Philadelphia 8 September 1945. She decommis-
sioned there 19 October 1945 ; her name was struck from
the Navy List 1 November 1945 ; and scrapped by the
Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 May 1946.
Grinnell
A city in Iowa.
(PC-1230 : dp. 315 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 59 ;
a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct.)
PC-1230 was laid down by Leathern D. Smith Ship-
building Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 20 December 1942;
launched 10 March 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Ann Duffy ;
and commissioned 15 July, Lt. Carrol E. Church in com-
mand.
Following shakedown PC-1230 performed escort duty
between Florida and the West Indies, prior to departing
New Orleans 7 December. Enroute to the South Pacific,
she transited the Panama Canal, arriving Bora Bora,
Society Islands, 13 February 1944. Assigned to convoy
escort duty, the submarine chaser ranged the South Pa-
cific for the next 6 months maintaining a constant vigil
for enemy submarines.
In early September PC-1230 prepared for the invasion
of the Palau Islands, a preliminary step toward the inva-
sion of the Philippines. Departing Tulagi on the 4th
she sailed for the Palaus, arriving Pelelieu 15 September.
For the next 10 days she assisted the invasion efforts
by performing harbor entrance control duties until these
tiny islands were in American hands.
While American forces were liberating the Philippines,
PC-1230 continued harbor entrance control out of Pele-
lieu, a strategic staging area. From November 1944 to
March 1945 she performed patrol, escort, and other assign-
ments in the Palau and Marshall Islands. Departing
Eniwetok 4 March she steamed to Pearl Harbor for con-
version to Landing Control Ship.
Following overhaul and amphibious training PC-1230
returned Eniwetok 18 June. For the rest of the war she
engaged in training, patrol, and escort duty in the Mar-
shalls, Marianas, and Philippines. After VJ-Day, PC-1230
remained in the Far East for escort duty in the Philip-
pines and harbor control out of Tokyo Bay.
Upon returning to the United States she decommis-
sioned in March 1946, and joined the Pacific Reserve
Fleet. PC-1230 was named Grinnell 15 February 1956.
She was sold in April 1960.
PC-1230 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Griswold
The first Griswold was a former name retained. The
second Griswold is named for Ens. Don T. Griswold, Jr.,
born 8 July 1917 in Bryan, Tex. After attending Iowa
State, Griswold joined the Naval Aviation Corps. During
the crucial Battle of Midway, 6 June 1942, his scout-
bomber scored a hit on a Japanese ship but paid dearly
for it as he was hit by antiaircraft fire and plunged into
the sea. Ens. Griswold was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross.
I
( SP-3138 : dp. 133; 1. 92'2'' ; b. 25'; dr. 5'6'' ; s. 10 k.)
The first Griswold (SP-3138), a wooden ferryboat, was
built in 1899 by A. Nicholson, of Albany, N.Y., and was
taken over by the Navy 12 August 1918, from her owner,
East and West Shore Ferry & Transportation Co., New
Haven, Conn. She commissioned 3 September 1918, at
New York, Ens. W. J. Wilson, USNRF, in command.
Griswold was assigned to the 3d Naval District, and
was used during her commissioned service as a ferry
between the Bayonne, N.J., fuel depot and St. George,
Staten Island, N.Y. She was detached from that duty
9 June 1919 and was simultaneously decommissioned and
returned to her owner 20 June 1919.
II
(DE-7 ; dp. 1,140; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35' ; dr. ll'lO" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(hh.) ; cl. Evarts)
The second Griswold (DE-7) was launched 28 April
1943 at the Boston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. Don T.
Griswold, mother of Ens. Griswold ; and commissioned
the same day, Lt. Comdr. Charles M. Lyons in command.
After shakedown in Bermuda, Griswold headed for the
Pacific, reaching Bora Bora, Society Islands, via Norfolk
and the Panama Canal 23 July 1943. Immediately
pressed into service, she escorted convoys through the
South Pacific, until April 1944. On 12 September she con-
ducted a 4-hour attack on a Japanese submarine off Gua-
dalcanal ; and, although debris and an oil slick rose to the
surface, she was not credited with a kill.
Undaunted, Griswold struck again 3 months later and
this time recorded a kill. At 2200 on the night of 23
December, patrolling off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, she
was dispatched to investigate a periscope sighting. Alert
sonar operators picked up the contact immediately, and
held it for the next 5 hours as the determined DE con-
ducted attack after attack on the elusive Japanese raider.
Oil slicks and air bubbles after the sixth and seventh
attacks told Griswold that her quarry was hit — this was
confirmed shortly before 0300 on 24 December when a
periscope poked out of the water. Griswold charged in
for her eighth attack, laying a lethal pattern of twelve
depth charges. A heavy oil slick dotted with debris rose
to the surface, and the tenacious ship and crew were
credited with sinking 1-39.
After overhaul at Mare Island, the escort ship returned
to the Pacific theatre on 3 June 1944 to escort convoys
and participate in training exercises out of Pearl Harbor
well into 1945. From 12 March to 6 May 1945, she re-
mained on station at Eniwetok as flagship for Commander
Task Group 96.3 under Comdr. T. F. Fowler. The long
Pacific campaign was moving into its final phase that
spring as American forces invaded Okinawa, a short
step from the Japanese home islands ; and Griswold soon
moved up to the front.
Reaching Okinawa on 27 May, Griswold immediately
162
took up station on the ASW screen, and was shortly re-
warded with two kamikaze kills, 31 May and 5 June.
The second of these would-be kamikazes dived on Gris-
wold; but she evaded him and the marauder exploded into
the ocean so close that fragments of the Japanese plane
showered over her. That same day two other American
ships were seriously damaged by kamikazes as Japan
made her desperate, and futile, effort to reverse the tide of
war.
On 29 June Griswold departed Okinawa, escorting a
convoy to Leyte Gulf, Philippines, and continuing on to
Ulithi for screening work. At war’s end she sailed tri-
umphantly into Japanesee waters, anchoring in Tokyo
Bay on 10 September. Embarking passengers for state-
side, Griswold cleared Tokyo 6 days later and arrived
San Pedro, Calif., 8 October via Eniwetok and Pearl
Harbor. She decommissioned there 19 November 1945
and was struck from the Navy List 5 December. The hulk
was sold to Dulien Steel Products, Seattle, Wash., for
scrapping 27 November 1946.
Griswold received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Grommet Reefer
A former name retained.
(T-AF-53 : dp. 3,277 ; 1. 338'8" ; b. 50' ; dr. 21' ; s. 10.5 k. ;
a. none ; T. C1-M-AV1)
Grommet Reefer (T-AF-53) was laid down under Mari-
time Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders,
Inc., Riverside Yard, Duluth, Minn., 1 January 1944 ;
launched as Kenneth E. Gruennert 29 July 1944; spon-
sored by Mrs. Walter A. Blodsoe ; and delivered to WSA
9 December 1944 for use as a merchant cargo ship. Prior
to 1950 she was owned by WSA and the Maritime Com-
mission ; and, as Kenneth E. Gruennert and later as
Grommet Reefer , she was operated by several merchant
lines, including Grace Lines, Inc., and Alaska Transpor-
tation Co.
Grommet Reefer was transferred to the Navy by the
Maritime Commission 1 March 1950 and assigned to
MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, she operated in the
Pacific out of West Coast ports, carrying military cargo
and frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs. She steamed to
American bases in the Marshalls, the Marianas, and other
islands in the Western Pacific for more than a year.
After returning to San Francisco 25 March 1951, she
departed for the East Coast 4 April and reached New York
25 April.
Departing New York 29 June, Grommet Reefer sailed
to the Mediterranean where she steamed to ports in North
Africa and Italy before returning to New York 13 August.
After completing a cargo run to Bremerhaven and back,
she sailed 22 October for a 2-month deployment to the
Mediterranean. From January to April 1952 she made
three round-trip voyages to Western Europe, and during
the next 2 months she supplied American bases in Labra-
dor and Greenland.
Grommet Reefer resumed Mediterranean duty in Sep-
tember and operated between North Africa and Italy be-
fore returning to New York 10 November. After loading
cargo, she departed for North Africa 5 days later. On
10 December she departed Casablanca, Morocco, for Leg-
horn, Italy. Loaded with Army cargo, she went aground
on a reef during a storm off Leghorn 15 December. 1952.
She broke in half the next day, and her stern section sank
without loss of life. The bow section and cargo were
salvaged, and the bow was transferred to the Maritime
Administration 23 July 1953.
Grosbeak
Any of several species of finches, having a thick, strong,
conical bill.
I
(SwStr ; t. 196; 1. 164'; b. 28; dph. 4'6" ; a. 2 20-pdr. P.r. ;
2 30-pdr. P.r.; 1 12-pdr. sb.)
Grosbeak, renamed from Fanny , was purchased at
Mound City, 111., 3 February 1865 ; and commissioned
24 February, Acting Master Thomas Burns in command.
After brief duty in Kentucky with the iron-clad monitor
squadron stationed there. Grosbeak joined the Mississippi
squadron patrolling the river from Cairo to the White
River. When the river steamer Sultana caught fire and
exploded off Memphis 27 April, Grosbeak rescued 60 to
80 survivors and transferred them to hospital. She also
transported wounded men from boats further down the
river to Memphis for proper care. As the war ended,
Grosbeak returned to Mound City and was sold there
17 August 1865.
II
( S P-566 : 1. 38'; b. 8'4''; dr. 2'6" ; s. 18 k. ; a. 1 mg.)
Grosbeak built by Rice Brothers, Boothbay, Mass., was
acquired from her owner R. C. Robbins, Hamilton, Mass.,
17 April 1917. She served as a coastal patrol craft along
the New England coast from Chatham, Mass., to New
London, Conn., during World War I. Her name was
struck from the Navy List in 1919 and she was sold to
Clarence Kugler, Philadelphia, 21 March 1920.
III
(AMc-19; dp. 185; 1. 81 '2" ; dr. 9'8" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 16)
Grosbeak, the former wooden purse seiner Del Rio, was
built by J. M. Martinac, Tacoma, Wash., in 1935 ; and
commissioned 11 November 1940, Ens. T. F. Martin in
command.
Following conversion to an auxiliary minesweeper at
Alameda, Calif., Grosbreak joined Mine Division 1 at San
Francisco 16 April 1941. Her major duty was sweep-
ing San Francisco Bay and nearby waters, but she was
also used for training reserve and junior officers in small
boat handling and minesweeping. Grosbeak decommis-
sioned 12 September 1944. Her name was struck from
the Navy List 14 October; and she was returned to her
former owner at San Pedro, Calif., 2 April 1945.
A contract for constructing Grosbeak (AM-397) was
awarded Defoe Ship Building Co., Bay City, Mich., but
cancelled 12 August 1945 before her keel had been laid.
IV
(YMS-317 : dp. 270 ; 1. 136' ; b. 25' ; dr. 8' ; s. 15 k. ; cpl. 32)
Grosbeak (AMS-14), was launched as YMS-317, by the
South Coast Co., Newport Beach, Calif., 27 Februao’ 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Marjorie Boutelle; and commissioned
18 November 1943, Lt. John B. Warner in command.
After shakedown, YMS-317 swept the San Francisco
Bay area until 3 May 1944, when she sailed for Pearl
Harbor. In the Pacific, she acted as an escort vessel to
convoys in back and staging areas, such as Eniwetok,
Saipan, and Kwajalein, as well as patrolling and mine-
sweeping in these areas. After the war’s end, YMS-317
returned to Pearl Harbor for a badly-needed overhaul.
She reached Charleston, S.C. via San Pedro and the
Panama Canal in June 1946 and again underwent over-
haul. The ship was named Grosbeak and redesignated
AMS-14 18 February 1947.
Grosbeak spent most of her post-war career at the Mine
Warfare School. Yorktown, Va., and the Naval Minecraft
Base at Charleston as a training ship. She also par-
ticipated in various experiments at the Naval Mine
Countermeasures Station, Panama City, Fla., and engaged
iu numerous exercises along the coast from New England
to the Gulf of Mexico. From 24 February to 19 March
1950 Grosbeak was in the Caribbean to participate in
Operation PORTEX out of Vieques Island, P.R., and in
163
Groton
February 1951 she became the first of her type to journey
from Yorktown to Charleston via the intracoastal water-
way.
The minesweeper received the coveted Battle Efficiency
“E” for outstanding performance in her class in 1950, 1951,
and 1952, one of the few ships in the Navy to receive
three such awards. When she was not engaged in sweep-
ing exercises, Grosbeak underwent periodic overhauls at
Charleston and also visited Miami and New York.
Scheduled for deactivation, Grosbeak sailed to Green
Springs Cove, Fla., 16 November 1955 and decommissioned
there 7 December 1955. The hulk was approved for dis-
posal 27 October 1959 and Grosbeak’s name was struck
from the Navy List 1 November 1959.
Grosse Pointe
A city in southeastern Michigan.
(PC-1546 ; dp. 280 ; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23' ; dr. lO’lO" ; s. 22 k. ;
cpl. 65 ; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 5 20mm„ 2 rkt., 4 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. PC-553)
PC-1546 was laid down 28 November 1943 by Con-
solidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, N.Y. ;
launched 30 January 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. G. Feeney ;
and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard 5 June
1944, Lt. James O. Watts in command.
After shakedown and ASW training off the East Coast,
PC -15 1)6 departed New York 10 August to escort a troop
and supply convoy to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Assigned
to the Eastern Sea Frontier, she screened eight convoys
between New York and Cuba during the next 5 months.
In January and February 1945 she patrolled the coastal
sealanes, searching for German submarines. Resuming
escort duties in March, she made five more runs along
the East Coast and returned to New York 22 May.
PC-1546 departed for the Pacific 12 June; and, steam-
ing via the West Coast, jHawaii, and the Marshalls, she
reached Ulithi, Carolines, 8 August. During the next 2
months she patrolled on air-sea rescue duty between Ulithi
and Guam. After shifting her base to Guam 21 October,
she resumed air-sea rescue patrols in the Marianas. She
operated in the Western Pacific during the next 32 months ;
and patrols and passenger runs sent her to Okinawa,
Korea, Japan, the Bonins, and the Carolines. Departing
Guam 14 July 1948, she steamed to Midway; and, after
serving as air-sea rescue ship between 25 July and 10
September, she sailed for overhaul at Pearl Harbor.
PC-1546 resumed air-sea rescue patrols 9 January 1949
out of Tutuila, American Samoa. After returning to Pearl
Harbor 12 April, she was assigned to the Patrol Group,
Hawaiian Sea Frontier. For almost 5 years she continued
air-sea rescue patrols in the Central Pacific, operating
primarily out of Midway, Johnston Island, and Kwajalein.
Between 29 January and 5 May 1954 she served at Bikini,
Marshalls, during the testing of the hydrogen bomb. She
departed Kwajalein 8 December, reached Pearl Harbor 14
December, then sailed for the West Coast 19 February
1955. Arriving San Francisco 26 February, she under-
went overhaul before sailing for Astoria, Oreg., 11 June.
After arriving 14 June, she decommissioned 12 August and
entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed with
the Columbia River Group, she was named Grosse Pointe
15 February 1956. Under terms of the Military Assistance
Program she was loaned to the Republic of Korea 21
November 1960, and she serves the Korean Navy as Kun
Chong San (PC-708).
Grosser Kurfurst
A former name retained.
Grosser Kurfurst was renamed Aeolus ( q.v. ) 6 Septem-
ber 1917.
A city in Connecticut.
I
(PF-29: dp. 1,264; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20k. ;
cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma)
Groton (PF-29), formerly PG-137, was launched under
Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Ship-
building Co., Inc., Superior, Wis., 14 September 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Percy Palmer ; and commissioned 5 Sep-
tember 1944, Lt. P. L. Chase, USCGR, in command.
After shakedown training off Bermuda, Groton reported
for Atlantic duty 30 October 1944. She departed for her
first duty station 2 November, arriving in Argentia, New-
foundland, 3 days later. The ship sailed 6 November for
her weather station in the north Atlantic, sending impor-
tant reports to allied weather stations and helping to
guide wartime traffic safely to Europe. Groton remained
on this duty, based at Argentia, until sailing for Boston
7 February 1945. She had but a short respite, and was
back on her weather station 10 days later.
Groton performed weather picket duty in the Atlantic
until 15 November 1945 when she returned to Boston for
transfer to the Coast Guard. The ship simultaneously
decommissioned and commissioned in the Coast Guard
13 March 1946. Serving the Coast Guard on loan, Groton
again was assigned to weather duty off Argentia until
decommissioning 25 September at New Orleans, La.
After being moved to Lake Charles, La., in November,
Groton returned to New Orleans in January 1947. Turned
over to the State Department for disposal, she was sold
to the Government of Colombia 26 March 1947, where she
now serves as Almirante Padilla.
II
(PCE-900 : dp. 640 ; 1. 185' ; b. 33' ; dr. 9' ; s. 16 k. ; cpl. 96 ;
a. 1 3", 3 40mm., 4 20mm., 4 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 2 dct. ;
cl. PCE-881 )
PCE-900 was laid down by Willamette Iron & Steel
Corp., Portland, Oreg., 11 January 1943 ; launched 11
August ; sponsored by Mrs. Clara Goff ; and commissioned
at Portland 12 April 1945, Lt. Arthur Maddalena, Jr., in
command.
After shakedown off the West Coast, PCE-900 departed
San Pedro 5 June, arriving Pearl Harbor on the 13th.
As the war still raged in the Western Pacific, she was
assigned to plane guard station out of Pearl Harbor.
Throughout the war and following the Japanese sur-
render, PCE-900 continued operations in the vicinity of
Hawaii.
She remained in the Pacific for the next 3 years, then
sailed to the East Coast for duties in the 1st Naval Dis-
trict. PCE-900 was assigned as a Naval Reserve training
ship out of Boston, where she operated until 1955. She
decommissioned 19 August 1955, and joined the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet. PCE-900 was named Groton 15 February
1956 ; and, after many years of productive service to the
Navy, she was struck from the Navy List 1 February 1960.
Grouper
A salt-water fish noted as a gamefish and for its food
values.
( SS-214 ; dp. 1,525; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'2" ; dr. 16'10'' ; s. 20.9
k. ; cpl. 80; a. 13", 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
Grouper was launched by the Electric Boat Co., Groton,
Conn., 27 October 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Albert F.
Church ; and commissioned at New London 12 February
1942, Lt. Comdr. C. E. Duke in command.
After shakedown in Long Island Sound, Grouper sailed
for Pearl Harbor 30 March 1942 to join the Pacific Sub-
marine Force which was to play havoc on Japanese ship-
ping. Before departing for her first war patrol, Grouper
164
was assigned to the submarine screen which ringed the
area as the American and Japanese fleets clashed in the
decisive Battle of Midway. Patrolling the fringe of the
fighting 4 June, Grouper sighted two burning enemy car-
riers, but could not close for attack because of heavy air
cover. On that day she was strafed by fighter planes and
driven deep in a series of aircraft and destroyer attacks
which saw over 170 depth charges and bombs dropped on
the novice submarine.
On 5 June as the battle still raged. Grouper crash-dived
to avoid heavy bombers, then after 3 days at Midway to
fuel and provision, Grouper sailed on her first war patrol
12 June. She torpedoed and damaged two Japanese
marus in the China Sea before returning to Pearl Harbor
30 July. On her second patrol (28 August-9 October)
Grouper had the satisfaction of sending to the bottom two
freighters, Tone Maru on 21 September and Lisbon Marti
on 1 October. Her third patrol, made 12 November to 31
December as she patrolled to Brisbane, Australia, was
enlivened by the sinking 17 December of Bandoeng Maru,
a passenger-freighter headed for the Solomons with troop
reinforcements.
During her fourth war patrol (21 January-18 March
1943) Grouper rescued an aviator stranded on Rengi
Island for several days and located several key Japanese
radar installations in the Solomons. Her next four
patrols netted her no further kills, despite several deter-
mined attacks, but illustrated the varied tasks submarines
took on during the war. In addition to her regular patrol
duties, which harassed Japanese shipping and tied up
valuable warships desperately needed by the enemy,
Grouper landed 50 men and 3,000 pounds of gear on New
Britain Island to carry on guerrilla warfare and at the
same time rescued an American aviator stranded there
almost 3 months. At the conclusion of her eighth patrol,
Grouper headed for the States and overhaul, reaching
San Francisco 19 October 1943.
After returning to Pearl Harbor 7 January 1944 for
additional repairs, the veteran submarine sailed for her
ninth war patrol 22 May. This patrol netted Grouper
what was to be her last kill of the war, Kumanoyama
Maru, which she sank in a night surface attack 24 June.
Grouper's final three war patrols found a lack of targets —
American submarines had done their job on Japanese
shipping too well for Grouper's purposes. She stood life-
guard duty during several air strikes and rescued seven
downed aviators during raids on the Palaus in September
1944.
Returning to Pearl Harbor from her 12th war patrol
26 April 1945, Grouper sailed for San Francisco and over-
haul the following day. She returned to Pearl Harbor 6
August, but V-J Day cancelled plans for another patrol,
and on 9 September Grouper in company with Toro and
Blackfish, sailed for New London. Four years of local
operations and training exercises along the coast to
Florida and. in the Caribbean followed for Grouper.
During this period she chalked up two “firsts in 1946
she became the first submarine to have a Combat Infor-
mation Center installed, and the following year she
effected the first discharge and recovery of men from a
submerged and underway submarine.
These operations ended 5 March 1950 as Grouper
entered the Mare Island Ship Yard for conversion to the
Navy’s first “killer” submarine. Her classification was
changed to SSK-214 on 2 January 1951. With the addi-
tion of a snorkel and extensive sonar and radar facilities,
Grouper emerged from the yard 27 June 1951 to pioneer
in research on the deadly submarine-versus-submarine
warfare. For the next 8 years, as a unit of Submarine
Development Group 2, Grouper worked to develop and test
concepts of hunter-killer antisubmarine warfare. In
this duty she ranged along the East Coast from Nova
Scotia to Florida as well as participating in Caribbean
exercises. In 1953 and 1955 exercises took Grouper across
the Atlantic to Rothesay, Scotland, via Iceland. In the
fall of 1957 she then participated in NATO maneuvers.
Grouper was reclassified AG(SS)-214, 17 May 1958, and
on 28 November 1959 she entered the Portsmouth, N.H.,
Navy Yard for extensive modification. Her forward
torpedo room was converted into a floating laboratory,
work benches and additional berths for scientists were in-
stalled, and various types of sonar gear were added top-
side. Thus equipped, Grouper departed Portsmouth 23
June 1960 to embark on the fourth phase of her long
career, research vessel for the Naval Research and Under-
water Sound Laboratories. Her duties as a floating
laboratory took her frequently to the Caribbean and Ber-
muda, although she retained New London as her home
port and engaged in operations there and as far north as
Nova Scotia. Her efforts were focused on the study of
sound propagation in water. In December 1962 Grouper
entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for overhaul and
modification to prepare for further work in this field.
Grouper left the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in May
1963 to resume her investigation of waterborne sound.
In June of 1964 Grouper was awarded the coveted
Battle Efficiency “E”. In November 1965 the submarine
again entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for over-
haul and equipment modifications to increase her useful-
ness as a floating underwater sound laboratory. She de-
parted Philadelphia 1 May 1966, reached New London 1
June, and headed for the Caribbean for intensive research.
Her studies during 1966 also took her to Narragansett
Bay and twice to Bermuda. At the beginning of 1967
Grouper was at New London preparing to resume gather-
ing knowledge of underwater sound propagation.
At present Grouper is still adding accomplishments as a
floating laboratory to her long and outstanding record
during both war and peace.
Grouper received 10 battle stars for World War II
service.
Grouse
A game bird, smaller than the domestic hen, with mot-
tled plumage; also known as “prairie hen” and “sage-
cock.”
I
( AMc-12 ; dp. 200 ; 1. 80' ; b. 25' ; s. 11 k.)
The first Grouse (AMc-12), formerly New Bol, was
launched in 1938 by Martinac Shipbuilding Co., Tacoma,
Wash.; acquired in 1940; and commissioned 20 June 1941
at San Diego, Lt. (j.g.) Theodore L. Bergen in command.
After shakedown off San Diego, Grouse performed patrol
and minesweeping duties in the 11th Naval District until
she decommissioned 26 August 1944. Struck from the
Navy List 23 September 1944, she was transferred to the
Maritime Commission for disposal 5 February 1945.
II
( YMS-321 : dp. 296 ; 1. 136' ; b. 24'6" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl. 33 ; a.
1 3")
The Grouse (YMS-321) was launched 20 February
1943 by A1 Larson’s Boat Shop, Terminal Island, Calif. ;
sponsored by Mrs. H. Doty; and commissioned as YMS-
321 on 25 October 1943, Lt. (j.g.) Newman in command.
After shakedown and patrol out of San Diego, YMS-
321 sailed for Pearl Harbor 21 April 1944, arriving 1 May.
A month later she sailed for sweeping and patrol duties
in the Guam-Saipan-Tinian area. YMS-321 was also
pressed into service as a convoy escort in these staging
areas, and on 28 November 1944 was in Tinian harbor dur-
ing a Japanese air-raid. After escorting a convoy to
Eniwetok, she swept the harbor at Maug Island, Mari-
anas, 15 March 1945, and then bombarded the beach the
following day. The wooden minesweeper patrolled
around I wo Jima in April 1945 and exploded two floating
mines before returning to Saipan.
As the long Pacific war drew to a close, YMS-321 re-
turned to Pearl Harbor 15 August 1945, and from there
returned to San Diego 29 August. After overhaul and
operations along the West Coast, she sailed for the East
Coast 5 April 1946, arriving Charleston on the 29th.
165
YMS-321 was reclassified AMS-15 on 25 February 1947,
and named Grouse. For the next 10 years the small
coastal minesweeper operated along the East Coast in
a variety of capacities. Although her primary duty was
training student officers and enlisted men at the Mine
Warfare School, Yorktown, Va., Grouse also participated
in experimental work at Countermeasures School and
Mine Defense Laboratory, at Panama City, Fla. Various
minesweeping exercises and regular overhauls consumed
most of the rest of her time, although in 1954 and 1955 she
was attached to the Hydrographic Office for Project
“Vamp,” a special coastal survey along the Virginia and
Massachusetts shores.
On 1 March 1955 Grouse was reclassified MSC (0)-15.
Sailing to Portland, Maine, 7 September 1957, she de-
commissioned and was placed in reserve 12 September
1957. Grouse was placed in service, in reserve, 13 No-
vember 1958, Lt. (j.g. ) K. G. Houghton in command,
and proceeded to Portsmouth, N.H., for overhaul. As-
signed to the 1st Naval District as a reserve training
ship. Grouse was based at Portsmouth and used to train
reservists from the area in new minesweeping tactics.
This work took her along the New England Coast as well
as to Chesapeake Bay and to Charleston.
While on a training mission, Grouse went aground off
Rockport, Mass., on the night of 21 September 1963.
There were no injuries to the crew, but all efforts to
dislodge Grouse from the rocks failed. Grouse was
destroyed by explosives 28 September 1963, and her name
was struck from the Navy List the same day.
Grouse (AM-398) was begun at Defoe Shipbuilding
Co., Bay City, Mich., but. her contract was terminated 12
August 1945.
Groves
Stephen William Groves, born 29 January 1917 in
Millinockei, Maine, after a brief period period of enlisted
service was appointed Aviation Cadet 15 February 1941.
Ens. Groves was a member of Fighter Squadron 8 (on
Hornet) during the epochal Battle of Midway. He
hurled his fighter into a mass of Japanese aircraft
threatening American carrier formations. Groves suc-
cessfully pressed home his attack against desparate odds,
thereby playing a key role in this decisive battle before
he was presumed dead the next day, 5 June 1942, and
received the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism.
Groves (DE-543), a John C. Butler- class escort vessel,
was building at Boston Navy Yard, but was cancelled 5
September 1944.
Growler
A large-mouth black bass.
I
(Sip: t. 53; a. 2g.)
Growler , a wooden sloop, was purchased as Experi-
ment on Lake Ontario during 1812, and was first com-
manded by Sailing Master M. P. Mix. She was actively
employed with Chauncey’s squadron on Lake Ontario
from 1812 to 1814. Growler took part in attacks on
Kingston, York, and Fort George and the engagement
with the British squadron 7 to 11 August 1813. She was
captured by the British 10 August 1813. Recaptured 5
October 1813, Growler was libelled and purchased by
the Navy, rejoining the squadron. The British captured
her again 5 May 1814 at Oswego, N.Y., and she was taken
into the Royal Navy as Hamilton.
II
(Sip: t. 112; 1. 64’; b. 20'4” ; dph. 5'8” ; a. 10 18-pdr.
car., 1 6-pdr.)
The second Growler was a sloop purchased on Lake
Champlain in 1812. She cruised under the command of
Lt. Sidney Smith as part of Commodore Macdonough’s
squadron until she was taken by the British near Isle
Aux Noix, Canada, 3 June 1813. Growler was then taken
into the Royal Navy as Shannon, and later Chub. Under
the latter name she was captured by the American Squad-
ron in the Battle of Lake Champlain 11 September 1814.
She saw no further service, however, and was sold at
Whitehall, N.Y. in July 1815.
Ill
(SS-215: dp. 2,424; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'2" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 66; a. 1 3”, 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
Growler (SS-215) was launched 2 November 1941, by
Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs. Robert
L. Ghormley ; and commissioned 20 March 1942, Lt. Comdr.
Howard W. Gilmore in command.
Growler’s first war patrol began 29 June 1942 as she
cleared Pearl Harbor for her assigned patrol area around
Dutch Harbor, Alaska ; topping off at Midway on 24 June,
she entered her area on 30 June. Five days later she saw
her first action ; sighting three destroyers, Growler closed
them for a submerged torpedo attack and then surfaced.
Her torpedoes struck the first two targets amidships,
putting them out of action, and hit the third in the bow,
but not before she had fired two torpedoes at Groicler. As
the Japanese torpedoes “swished down each side” of
Growler, she dived deep, but no depth charges followed.
One of the torpedoed destroyers, Arare, was sunk, and the
other two were severely damaged. Growler completed
her patrol without finding any more targets, and on 17
July berthed at Pearl Harbor.
On 5 August Growler began her second and most suc-
cessful war patrol, entering her area near Taiwan on 21
August. Two days later she conducted a submerged night
attack on a freighter, surfacing to give chase when both
torpedoes ran under the target and failed to explode;
the freighter’s quick exit into shallow waters prevented
Growler from gun attack. Patrolling amidst a large fish-
ing fleet on 25 August, Growler sighted and fired at a large
passenger freighter but all three torepdoes missed ; after
a 3-hour depth charge attack, in which some 53 ash cans
were dropped, Growler surfaced and almost immediately
spotted a convoy. After 2 hours of maneuvering, she
failed to catch up with the main body of the convoy but
did fire at and sink an ex-gunboat, the Senyo Maru. No
more ships appeared in this immediate area for 3 days,
so Growler shifted to the east side of the island. First to
fall victim was Eifuku Maru, a 5,866-ton cargo ship
Growler sank within 40 minutes after first sighting her on
31 August. On 4 September Growler sank by gunfire the
Kashino, a 4,000-ton supply ship ; 3 days later she sent two
torpedoes into the 2,204-ton cargo ship Taika Maru, which
broke in half and sank in 2 minutes. On 15 September
Growler cleared her patrol area, and arrived back at Pearl
30 September.
During refitting, new surface radar was installed, as
well as a new 20mm. gun ; thus equipped, Growler sailed
from Hawaii for her new patrol area in the Solomon Is-
lands across the key Truk-Rabaul shipping lines. Her
patrol area in these days of bitter fighting over Guadal-
canal was almost continually covered by enemy planes,
and only eight enemy ships were sighted with no chance
for attack. Growler cleared the area 3 December and
arrived in Brisbane, Australia, 10 December.
New Year’s Day of 1943 saw Growler sail from Brisbane
for what was to prove one of the most gallant actions
in naval history. Entering her patrol area, again athwart
the Truk-Rabaul shipping lanes, on 11 January, she
waited only 5 days before sighting an enemy convoy.
Maneuvering inside the escorts, Growler fired two tor-
pedoes and saw them hit ; then, as her war diary reports,
she was in the unfortunate predicament of being about
400 yards from the destroyer and had to dive without
being able to continue the attack. She was credited
with sinking Chifuku Maru, a passenger-cargo ship.
166
The patrol continued as normal, with two further at-
j tacks, but no sinkings until shortly after 0100, 7 February
when Growler stealthily approached a gunboat for a night
surface attack. The small fast ship suddenly turned to
) ram. Comdr. Gilmore then took the only move to save
I his ship ; he brought Growler left full rudder and rammed
I the enemy amidships at 17 knots. Machine gun fire raked
the bridge at point blank range. The courageous sub
seemed lost. Comdr. Gilmore cleared the bridge except
for himself. Desperately wounded, he realized that he
could not get below in time if his ship were to be saved.
“Take her down” he ordered ; and, as he floated in the
sea, he wrote another stirring tale of inspirational naval
history. For his heroic sacrifice to ship and crew, Comdr.
Gilmore was awarded the Medal of Honor, one of six
submariners to receive this medal of valor.
Severely damaged but still under control, Growler re-
turned to Brisbane under command of her exec., Lt.
Comdr. A. F. Schade ; she docked 17 February for exten-
sive repairs.
Growler’s fifth, sixth, and seventh patrols, out of Bris-
bane to the Bismarck-Solomons area, were relatively un-
eventful ; heavy enemy air cover and a lack of targets
resulted in her coming home empty-handed from all but
the fifth, on which she sank the passenger-cargo ship
Miyadono Marti. The seventh patrol was marred by
trouble with the storage battery and generators, and on
27 October 1943, only 11 days out of Brisbane, she was
ordered to Pearl Harbor, arriving 7 November, and from
there to the Navy Yard at Hunter’s Point, Calif., for an
extensive overhaul and refitting.
Returning to the Pacific, on 21 February 1944, Growler
departed Pearl Harbor, and after refueling at Midway,
headed for her patrol area. However, a week out of
Midway a typhoon’s high seas and wind delayed her ar-
rival to the patrol area. Once there. Growler was again
plagued by violent weather which made even periscope
observation almost impossible.
Growler returned to Majuro 16 April, and departed
there 14 May to take up patrol in the Marianas-Eastern
Philippines-Luzon area, where the first stages of the
attack on the Marianas and the Battle of the Philippine
Sea were getting underway. Rendezvousing with Bang
and Seahorse to form a wolfpack, she continued the patrol
closing several targets but achieving firing position only
once, when she sank the cargo vessel Katori Maru.
Her 10th patrol, from Pearl Harbor 11 August, found
her in a new wolfpack, nicknamed “Ben’s Busters” after
Growler’s skipper Comdr. T. B. Oakley ; in company with
Sealion and Pampanito, she headed for the Formosa
Straits area. Aided greatly by reconnaissance and guid-
ance from planes, the wolfpack closed a convoy for night
surface action 31 August; their torpedoes plunged the
Japanese into chaos, with their own ships shooting at
each other in the dark, but no sinkings were reported.
Two weeks later, 12 September, the wolfpack sighted a
second convoy and closed for torpedo action. A destroyer
spotted Growler and attacked her, but the sub calmly
fired a spread at the destroyer. Heavily damaged by the
torpedoes, the flaming destroyer bore down on Growler
and only adroit maneuvering took her out of the enemy’s
way ; paint on the bridge was seared by the heat of the
passing destroyer. Meantime Growler’s other torpedoes
and those of Sealion and Pampanito were hitting the con-
voy, and when Ben’s Busters returned to Fremantle 26
September, they were credited with a total of six enemy
ships. Growler had sunk the destroyer Shikinami and
the frigate Mirado; and her companions had racked up
two each. The submarines had also rescued over 150
Allied prisoners from one of the torpedoed ships which
had served the Japanese as a prison ship. This difficult
operation had been carried out despite rough seas caused
by an approaching typhoon.
Growler’s 11th and final war patrol began out of Fre-
mantle 20 October in a wolfpack with Hake and Hard-
head. On 8 November the wolfpack, headed by Growler,
closed a convoy for attack, with Growler on the opposite
side of the enemy from Hake and Hardhead. The order
to commence attacking was the last communication ever
received from Growler. After the attack was underway,
Hake and Hardhead heard what sounded like a torpedo
explosion and then a series of depth charges on Growler’s
side of the convoy, and then nothing. All efforts to con-
tact Growler for the next 3 days proved futile, and the
gallant submarine, veteran of seven successful war pa-
trols, was listed as lost in action against the enemy,
cause unknown.
( Prowler received eight battle stars for her service in
World War II.
IV
( SSG-577 : dp. 2,768 ; 1. 317'7" ; b. 27'2" ; dr. 19' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 87 ; a. Regulus mis. ; cl. Grayhack)
The fourth Growler (SSG-577), second of the Regulus
II guided missile submarines, was built by the Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H. At her launching
5 April 1958 she was sponsored by Mrs. Robert K. Byerts,
widow of Comdr. Thomas B. Oakley, Jr., who commanded
the third Growler on her 9th, 10th, and fatal 11th war
patrols. Growler commissioned at Portsmouth on 30 Au-
gust 1958, Lt. Comdr. Charles Priest, Jr., in command.
After training exercises off the East Coast Growler
sailed south for her shakedown cruise, arriving at the
Naval Air Station, Roosevelt Roads, P.R., on 19 February
USS Growler ( SS-215) at Groton, Conn., 21 February 1942
256-125 0 - 68 - 13
167
“Take Her Down” — famous last words of Comdr. Howard W. Gilmore, Commanding Officer of USS Growler (SS-215)
168
1959. After a brief run back to Portsmouth, she returned
to the Caribbean in March to train in launching Regulus
I and II guided missiles. Growler returned to Portsmouth
19 April via Fort Lauderdale and New London.
Growler then proceeded to the Pacific via Norfolk, Key
West, and the Panama Canal, putting in at Pearl Harbor
on 7 September to serve as flagship of Submarine Divi-
sion 12. At Pearl Harbor the guided missile sub partici-
pated in a variety of battle and torpedo exercises as well
as missile practice before beginning her first Regulus
Deterrent Mission. On this mission, which lasted from
12 March to 17 May 1960, Growler departed Hawaii with
a full store of Regulus II sea-to-surface missiles, armed
with nuclear warheads, and patrolled under a strict cloak
of secrecy. The threat of Growler and her sisters, shad-
owy submarines silently gliding through unknown seas
with their potent cargo, should deter any but the most
foolhardy foe. The attitude of her crew, at sea on these
silent missions for 2 months and more at a stretch, sub-
merged for hours and even days, is nowhere better ex-
pressed than in the poem which traditionally opens each
year’s log. On New Year’s Day 1961, as Growler prowled
deep on her second patrol, Lt. (j.g.) Bruce Felt wrote:
“Not our idea, of fun and good cheers, but doing our job
to ensure many New Years.”
From May 1960 through December 1963 Growler had
made nine such deterrent mission patrols, one of which, the
fourth, terminated at Yokosuka, Japan, on 24 April 1962,
as the Navy proudly displayed one of its newest and most
effective weapons.
Returning to Mare Island, Calif., in May 1964, Growler
decommissioned 25 May and was placed in reserve. At
present she is berthed at Mare Island with the Pacific
Reserve Fleet.
Grumium
A star.
(AK-112: dp. 4,023; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'1" ; dr. 28'4" ; s.
11 k. ; cpl. 198; a. 15”, 13" ; cl. Crater -T. EC2-S-C1)
Grumium (AK-112) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract as William G. McAdoo by Perma-
nente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif., 20 December 1942 ;
sponsored by Mrs. T. Y. Sturtevant ; and acquired by the
Navy from the Maritime Commission 5 October 1943.
The ship was converted by Todd Shipyard, Seattle,
Wash., and commissioned Grumium (AK-112) 20 October
1943, Lt. Comdr. B. J. Parylak in command.
Grumium loaded supplies at San Francisco 9 November
and got underway from San Pedro 19 November 1943
bound for Pago Pago. The ship unloaded drum gas there
and at Funafuti 8 to 11 December, after which she pro-
ceeded to Kwajalein 6 March and Eniwetok 15 March
delivering the much-needed oil and aviation fuel. After
another stop at Kwajalein 26 to 28 April Grumium re-
turned to Sail Francisco via Pearl Harbor, arriving in
California 27 May 1944.
At San Francisco Grumium was transferred to the direct
control of Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific Fleet, and
underwent conversion to an aviation support ship. She
was redesignated IX-174, 20 June 1944 and 2 days later
was underway for Pearl Harbor once more, to supply
American fast carrier aircraft, then increasing greatly in
numbers.
Grumium arrived Pearl Harbor 30 June and 10 July con-
tinued to Roi Island. Arriving 19 July the ship trans-
ferred supplies to aircraft groups until early September,
then returned to Pearl Harbor. She sailed with another
load of aviation supplies 28 September, calling at Ulithi
and Eniwetok before arriving Manus 17 November.
There she supplied carrier forces making the supporting
strikes for the Philippine campaign, as America’s great
island offensive gained momentum. Remaining at Manus
until 5 December 1944, Grumium sailed to a closer ad-
vance base, Ulithi, arriving four days later. From Ulithi
the ship supported the far reaching and devastating air
raids on the Philippines, Okinawa, and Formosa in the
months to come.
As onrushing U.S. forces moved ever north and west,
supplies had to be moved into new advance bases, and
Grumium sailed 14 January 1945 to bring up aviation sup-
plies from Manus to Ulithi. Then she made a similar
voyage to Roi Island before moving her supply base to
Guam 16 March 1945. The ship was soon to carry her
support activities to the assault area itself, however, and
rendezvoused with an Okinawa-bound convey at Saipan
23 March.
As American forces stormed ashore at Okinawa 1 April
and began that bitterly-fought campaign, Grumium made
preparations to supply the cruising carrier groups from
Kerama Retto, near Okinawa. Arriving 2 April, she
serviced the escort carrier groups protecting the landing
and providing group support. Japanese forces were de-
termined to defeat the assault and quickly expanded
suicide attacks against the assembled ships. Grumium
came under savage air attack at Kerama Retto 6-7 April ;
of the many planes destroyed she helped shoot down one.
She also rescued survivors from a suicide crash on Pink-
ney (APH-2) 28 April and a bomb hit on Terror (CM-
5) 30 April.
While Grumium was at Kerama Retto, a special desig-
nation for aviation supply ships was established ; and she
became AVS-3 on 25 May 1945. She departed the
Okinawa area 6 June, arrived Guam 14 June, and arrived
Eniwetok to supply the carrier forces 1 July 1945.
Grumium remained there during and after the final oper-
ations of the war providing vital supplies until departing
for the Hawaiian Islands 12 October. Stopping briefly at
Pearl Harbor, she arrived Norfolk via the Panama Canal
25 November for deactivation. Decommissioned 20
December 1945, she was redelivered to the Maritime Com-
mission 27 December 1945. Subsequently she joined Mari-
time Commission’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, James
River, Va., where she remains.
Grumium received one battle star for World War II
service.
Grundy
Counties in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Virginia.
( APA-111 : dp. 8393 light; 1. 592'; b. 69'6” ; dr. 26'6” ;
s. 18; cpl. 585; a. 2 5"; cl. Windsor; T. C3-S-A3)
Grundy (APA-111), was launched under Maritime
Commission contract 16 June 1944 by Ingalls Shipbuild-
ing Co., Pascagoula, Miss. ; sponsored by Mrs. Lena Moore
Gnatt; and commissioned 3 January 1945, Captain J. M.
Cabanillas in command.
After loading supplies at New Orleans, the new trans-
port conducted shakedown training out of Galveston, Tex.,
until 28 January 1945. She departed 4 February for her
first assignment, as school ship for pre-commissioning
crews at Newport, R.I. Arriving Newport 10 February,
Grundy held underway drills and training for the crews
of nearly finished ships, helping to speed their delivery
as active fighting units. This duty was completed 31
March, and Grundy sailed for Hampton Roads.
The ship arrived Norfolk, Va., 1 April and immediately
embarked Seabees for transportation to the Pacific. De-
parting 14 April, she sailed to Pearl Harbor via the
Panama Canal, arriving there 2 May 1945. At Pearl
Harbor Grundy performed amphibious exercises and
loaded cargo and passengers for the western Pacific. She
departed 7 June ; stopped at Eniwetok, Guam, and Saipan ;
and anchored 1 July at Ulithi to join an Okinawa-bound
convoy.
Grundy departed in convoy for battle-scarred Okinawa
10 July, and after her arrival 4 days later unloaded her
troops and cargo. She then sailed to Ulithi and Peleliu
to bring troops from those islands to Guam, where she
arrived 31 June. Grundy remained there until 2 August
when she got underway for Pearl Harbor, unloading her
supplies upon arrival 10 August. The war ended while
Grundy was on her way to San Diego, where she arrived
19 August.
169
Her troop spaces loaded with replacement units,
Grundy sailed from Seattle 1 September 1945, and after
a stop at Eniwetok arrived Leyte 19 September. There
she remained until 26 September, when the transport
group of which she was a part departed for Yokohama
with occupation troops. Arriving in Japan 4 days later,
Grundy put ashore her contingent of the occupation
forces, embai’ked veteran troops, and sailed for San
Francisco 8 October. She arrived 19 October 1945.
The busy transport’s next duty was as part of the
“Magic Carpet” fleet, performing the gigantic task of re-
turning the thousands of servicemen to the United States
from the Pacific. Carrying replacement troops, she
sailed 26 October for Okinawa, arriving 12 November.
She then sailed for Shanghai, China, with troops to aid
in the occupation and to help stabilize the tense situation
there. Grundy arrived Shanghai 17 November, and sailed
23 November to embark a group of soldiers for transporta-
tion to Seattle from Korea. The transport sailed from
Jinsen 5 December and arrived at her revised destination.
Portland, Oreg., on Christmas Day 1945.
Designated for return to the Maritime Commission,
Grundy sailed via San Francisco and the Panama Canal to
Norfolk, where she arrived 8 March 1946. She decom-
missioned 8 May, and was returned to the Maritime Com-
mission 13 May. The ship was subsequently acquired by
Moore-McCormack lines, and renamed Mormacsurf. In
1966 she was part of a six-ship west coast fleet sold to
Grace Lines, serving at present as Santa Anita.
Grunion
A small fish of the silversides family, indigenous to the
western American coast.
(SS-216: dp. 1,525; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'; dr. 17'; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 70; a. 1 4", 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
Grunion was launched by the Electric Boat Co., Groton,
Conn., 22 December 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Stanford C.
Hooper, wife of Rear Admiral Hooper; and commissioned
11 April 1942, Lt. Comdr. M. L. Abele in command.
After shakedown out of New London, Grunion sailed
for the Pacific 24 May. A week later, as she transited the
Caribbean for Panama, she rescued 16 survivors of USAT
Jack, torpedoed by a German U-boat, and conducted a
fruitless search for 13 other survivors presumed in the
vicinity. Arriving at Coco Solo 3 June, Grunion de-
posited her shipload of survivors and continued to Pearl
Harbor, arriving 20 June.
Departing Hawaii 30 June after 10 days of intensive
training, Grunion touched Midway ; then headed toward
the Aleutians for her first war patrol. Her first report,
made as she patrolled north of Kiska Island, stated she
had been attacked by a Japanese destroyer and had fired
at him with inconclusive results. She operated off Kiska
throughout July and sank two enemy patrol boats while
in search for enemy shipping. On ?0 July the submarine
reported intensive antisubmarine activity ; and she was
ordered back to Dutch Harbor.
Grunion was never heard from nor seen again. Air
searches off Kiska were fruitless ; and on 5 October Grun-
ion was reluctantly reported overdue from patrol and as-
sumed lost with all hands. Captured Japanese records
show no antisubmarine attacks in the Kiska area, and the
fate of Grunion remains a mystery. Her name was struck
from the Navy List 2 November 1942.
Grunion received one battle star for World War II
service.
Guadalcanal
A volcanic island 90 miles long and 25 miles wide in
the Pacific Ocean, Solomon Islands group. Guadalcanal
was captured by the Japanese in 1942. Before they could
develop it as a bastion Admiral Kelly Turner’s amphibious
force struck in August. The next 4 months saw some of
the bitterest fighting of World War II. Six major naval
battles and uncounted smaller engagements were fought
in the waters adjacent to the island. The victory on
Guadalcanal was the next great step to victory following
Midway.
I
(CVE-60 : dp. 7,800 ; 1. 512' ; b. 65' ; ew. 108'1" ; dr. 22'6" ;
s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860; a. 1 5", 16 40mm., 20 20mm., 28 ac. ;
cl. Casablanca; T. S4^S2-BB8)
The first Guadalcanal (CVE-60), an escort aircraft
carrier, was converted from a Maritime Commission hull
by Kaiser Co., Inc., of Vancouver, Wash. Originally
Astrolabe Bay (AVG-60), she was reclassified ACV-60, 20
August 1942 and launched as Guadalcanal (ACV-60) 5
June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Alvin I. Malstrom. She
was reclassified CVE-60 on 15 July 1943 ; and commis-
sioned at Astoria, Oreg., 25 September 1943, Captain D. V.
Gallery in command.
After shakedown training, Guadalcanal performed pilot
qualifications out of San Diego, Calif., and then departed
15 November 1943, via the Panama Canal, for Norfolk, Va.,
arriving 3 December. There she became flagship of
antisubmarine task group 21.12, and with her escort de-
stroyers set out from Norfolk 5 January 1944 in search
of enemy submarines in the North Atlantic. On 16 Jan-
uary aircraft from Guadalcanal sighted three submarines
fueling on the surface and in a rocket and bombing at-
tack succeeded in sinking German submarine U-544- Re-
USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) alongside captured German submarine U-505
170
The sub at this point was running in a tight circle to the right, fully
surfaced and it was known that most of her crew had abandonee her.
PAST III TEL CAPT170S
At 1135 ConCortDlv 4 ordered the JerJce and Chatelaln to picic up sur-
vivors and sent away the Pillsbury's boarding Darty.
At 1203 the carrier headed back toward the scene of action to get her
boarding parties aboard, hawing in the meantime recowered the fighter places
which had assisted the Chatelaln. Carrier's boarding parties were called
away at 1230.
After lowering her boat the Plllsbury pursued the sub around the circle
trying to get lines aboard. From the carrier's bridge It looked for all the
world like rodeo with a cowboy trying to rope a wild horse. The Plllsbury
did rope the sub, sewer&l tines. The first time she got a line aboard.
CTO 22,3 broadcast by TBS:
"Bluejay to Dogwood - Rides Cowboy. Out."
But in the struggle alongside the runaway sub the Plllsbury was holed by the
bow planes of the sub, and one engine room was flooded to the water line,
forcing her to haul clear and stop.
Meantime the Plllsbury' s boarding party, commanded by lleut. (J.g.)
A. L. David, had gotten alongside and looped fron the whaleboat to the deck
of the circling rub. There was only one dead man on deck, but the boarders
did not know how many nen might be below. The sub was still running at about
7 knots and it seemed highly prorable that part of the crew was still below
setting demolition charges and scuttling. Without hesitation this party took
their liwee In their hands and plunged down the conning tower hatch to capture
and sawe the boat. They found no one below and immediately went to woric closing
walwes, and replacing the cower on a strainer through which a solid stream oJ
water, 6" in diameter, wae pouring into the boat. Then, not knowin at what
moment the boat might either blow up or sink, they turned to, seising All the
important looking papers they could find and passing them up on deck.
COh'CLUSIOK
From the time that we sailed from Horfolk the whole task group wae
determined that we would come hack dragging a sub behind us....8Lnd they
had what it took to do it. When remarkable luck was required, we had it.
When perfect cooperation between aircraft and surface vessels was required -
it wae there. When a clean cut knock out punch was needed, the Chatelaln
produced it. When outstanding heroism was required, it wae cosuaonplaoe
among the boarding parties.
I bellews ewery man in the task group would have volunteered for the
boarding parties, and those who could not go were very envious of those
who did.
It is a great pleasure to report that all hands in the task group did
their duty in an exesq>lar7 manner in keeping with the highest traditions
of the U. S. Hhwy.
171
plenishing at Casablanca, the task group headed back for
Norfolk and repairs, arriving 16 February.
Departing again with her escorts 7 March, Guadal-
canal sailed without incident to Casablanca and got un-
derway from that port 30 March with a convoy bound
for the United States. Scouring the waters around the
convoy 8 April northwest of Madeira, the task group dis-
covered German submarine TJ-515 and closed in for the
kill. Guadalcanal aircraft and destroyers Chatelain,
Flaherty, Pillsbury, and Pope made several well coordi-
nated attacks on the intruder with rockets and depth
charges throughout the night. Losing depth control on
the afternoon of 9 April, the submarine was forced to
surface amid the waiting ships, and was immediately
devastated by point blank rocket and gunfire. As Wild-
cat fighters from Guadalcanal strafed the submarine, her
captain, German ace Kapitanleutenant Werner Henke,
ordered abandon ship and she went to the bottom.
Again on the night of 10 April the task group caught
German submarine U-68 on the surface in broad moon-
light 300 miles south of the Azores and sank her with
depth charges and rocket fire. The convoy arrived safely
at Norfolk 26 April 1944.
After voyage repairs at Norfolk, Guadalcanal and her
escorts departed Hampton Roads for sea again 15 May
1944. Two weeks of cruising brought no contacts, and
the task force decided to head for the coast of Africa to
refuel. Ten minutes after reversing course, however,
Chatelain detected a submarine, TJ-505. The destroyer
loosed one depth charge attack and, guided in for a more
accurate drop by circling Avenger aircraft from Guadal-
canal, soon made a second. This pattern blasted a hole
in the outer hull of the submarine, and rolled the U-boat
on its beam ends. Shouts of panic from the conning
tower led her inexperienced captain to believe his boat
was doomed, so he blew his tanks and surfaced, barely
700 yards from Chatelain. The destroyer fired a torpedo,
which missed, and the surfaced submarine then came
under the combined fire of the escorts and aircraft, forcing
her crew to abandon ship.
Captain Gallery had been waiting and planning for such
an opportunity, and having already trained and equipped
his boarding parties, ordered Pillsbury' s boat to make for
the German sub and board her. Under the command of
Lt. (jg) A. L. David, the party leaped onto the slowly
circling submarine and found it abandoned. Braving un-
known dangers below, David and his men quickly cap-
tured all important papers and books while closing valves
and stopping leaks. As Pillsbury attempted to get a tow-
line on her, like a cowboy roping a steer, the party man-
aged to stop her engines. By this time a larger salvage
group from Guadacanal arrived, and began the work of
preparing U-505 to be towed. After securing the towLne
and picking up the German survivors from the sea,
Guadalcanal started for Bermuda with her priceless prize
in tow. Fleet tug Abnalci rendezvoused with the task
group and took over towing duties, the group arriving in
Bermuda 19 June.
For their daring and skillful teamwork in this remark-
able capture, Guadalcanal and her escorts shared in a
Presidential Unit Citation. The captured submarine
proved to be of inestimable value to American intelligence,
and its true fate was kept secret from the Germans until
the end of the war.
Arriving in Norfolk 22 June 1944, Guadalcanal spent
only a short time in port before setting out again on patrol.
She departed Norfolk 15 July and between then and 1 De-
cember made three anti-submarine cruises in the Western
Atlantic. She sailed 1 December for a training period in
waters off Bermuda and Cuba that included refresher
landings for pilots of her new squadron, gunnery practice,
and anti-submarine warfare drills with Italian submarine
R-9. Guadalcanal arrived Mayport, Fla., for carrier
qualifications 15 December and subsequently engaged in
further training in Cuban water until 13 February 1945
when she arrived back in Norfolk. After another short
training cruise to the Caribbean, she steamed into May-
port 15 March for a tour of duty as carrier qualification
ship, later moving to Pensacola for similar operations.
After qualifying nearly 4,000 pilots, Guadalcanal returned
to Norfolk, Va., and decommissioned there 15 July 1946.
Guadalcanal entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Nor-
folk and was redesignated CVU-60 on 15 July 1955, while
still in reserve. Her name was finally stricken from the
Navy List 27 May 1958 and she was sold for scrap to the
Hugo Neu Corp. of New York 30 April 1959.
Guadalcanal was awarded three battle stars and a Presi-
dential Unit Citation for service in World War II.
II
(LPH-7 : dp. 18,000 (f.) ; 1. 592' ; b. 84' ; ed. 105' ; dr. 27' ;
cpl. 900 ; cl. I wo Jima)
The second Guadalcanal (LPH-7), an amphibious as-
sault ship, was launched by the Philadelphia Naval Ship-
yard 16 March 1963, sponsored by Mrs. David Shoup, wife
of the former Commandant of the Marine Corps ; and com-
missioned 20 July 1963, Captain Dale K. Peterson in
command.
Upon completion of sea trials and outfitting, Guadal-
canal departed Philadelphia to join the Amphibious
Forces, United States Atlantic Fleet. One of a new class
of ships designed from the keel up to embark, transport,
and land assault marines by means of helicopters, she
lends new strength and flexibility to amphibious opera-
tions. After departing Norfolk 23 October 1963 for 6
weeks shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
Guadalcanal steamed to Onslow Beach, North Carolina, 6
December for practice amphibious landings. She then
carried on training and readiness operations with the
Atlantic Fleet, based in Norfolk until departing for Pan-
ama 11 February 1964. Following 2 months on station as
flagship for Commander PhibRon 12 with the 12 Marine
Expeditionary Unit embarked and ready to land anywhere
needed. Guadalcanal entered Philadelphia Naval Ship-
yard 26 May, but was deployed again 7 October as a unit
of Operation “Steel Pike 1”, a NATO landing exercise on
the beaches of southern Spain.
Guadalcanal has continued to serve in the Atlantic
Fleet into 1967. One of the highlights of her career oc-
curred 21 July 1966 when she recovered Gemini X astro-
nauts after their spacecraft landed in the Atlantic east of
Cape Kennedy.
Guadalupe
A river in Texas.
(AO-32 : dp. 7,256 ; 1. 552' ; b. 75'3'' ; dr. 31'6" ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 285; cl. Cimarron)
Guadalupe (AO-32) was launched as SS Esso Raleigh
26 January 1940 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry-
dock Co., Newport News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. W. L.
Inslee, wife of the late manager of the Traffic Division,
Marine Department, Standard Oil of New Jersey ; taken
over by the Maritime Commission as MC Hull #12;
acquired by the Navy 1 June 1941 ; and commissioned 19
June 1941, Comdr. Harry B. Thurber in command.
Six weeks of coastwise voyages carrying oil from Texas
to New Jersey ended 16 August as Guadalupe docked at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard. Receiving as deck cargo six PT
boats later to form the famous squadron commanded by
Lt. Comdr. John Bulkeley, Guadalupe sailed for the west-
tern Pacific 3 days later. After discharging cargo and
oil at Pearl Harbor, Manila, and Cavite, the tanker re-
turned to Norfolk 13 November via San Diego. After
America’s sudden plunge in war, she put into Baltimore to
be fitted with guns.
In January 1942 Guadalupe sailed to the Pacific, where
she was to participate in virtually every major cam-
paign of the long and bloody war. After months of
developing techniques for fueling at sea, a science then
in its infancy, Guadalupe sailed from Pearl Harbor 2
June 1942 to refuel American ships participating in the
172
momentous Battle of Midway, the first naval defeat in-
flicted on the Japanese in 350 years. From Midway
Guadalupe sailed north to spend the rest of the summer
supporting American forces in the Attu campaign.
As the United States launched its first offensive effort
in the Pacific, Guadalupe sailed south to spend the final
four months of 1942 fueling warships operating in and
around Guadalcanal. The first half of 1943 saw her in
overhaul in the United States and operating in the Aleu-
tians, with two shuttle trips to Pearl Harbor with fuel and
planes. Departing Pearl 22 August Guadalupe sailed to
the central Pacific to support the Gilberts campaign,
working with such famous fighting ships as Essex, Inde-
pendence, Washington, Enterprise, Lexington, and York-
toxen. After a late winter overhaul, she returned to the
Pacific theater in February 1944 operating in support of
Vice Admiral Mitscher’s carrier force during the Truk
campaign. A short break at Pearl Harbor ended as
Guadalupe sailed 11 May to operate in support of the 5th
Fleet during the Marianas campaign. From there she
sailed in late August to support Admiral “Bull” Halsey’s
3d Fleet in action against the Japanese in the Palau and
Philippine areas. One of her major tasks was refueling
ships during the climactic Battle of Leyte Gulf.
On 29 December 1944 Guadalupe sailed from Ulithi
with units of TF-38, then preparing for the invasion of
Lingayen Gulf. Joining a fast carrier strike force under
Admiral J. S. McCain, Guadalupe steamed through Luzon
Strait into the China Sea on the night of 9 to 10 January
1945, concurrent with the first invasion waves on Lingayen
Gulf. During the transit of the Strait, another tanker,
Nantahala, collided with Guadalupe, putting a large hole
in the bow. Jury-rigged repairs enabled Guadalupe to
continue with the fast carrier group — which included
Yorktown, Cowpens, and South Dakota — as they con-
ducted strikes against Japanese positions on Formosa
and along the China coast. This action diverted the
enemy from the main action at Lingayen Gulf, and
crippled his land-based air power.
A month’s availability at Ulithi to repair her damaged
bow ended in late February and Guadalupe again steamed
for battle, this time operating in support of the Iwo Jima
invasion. After 2 weeks, off Iwo Jima, 24 February to
7 March, Guadalupe returned empty to Ulithi to prepare
for her role in the bloody Okinawa campaign. Depart-
ing Ulithi 25 March 1945, Guadalupe spent 3 weeks off
Okinawa, returned to Ulithi for more fuel, and then
spent another 3 weeks off Okinawa. As the fierce struggle
raged for this rockbound island, last step before the
Japanese home islands, Guadalupe operated through
heavy weather and high seas to provide other services,
as well as her normal duties of refueling the giant invasion
fleet, largest ever assembled in the Pacific.
Okinawa marked the end of Guadalupe’s service in the
Pacific war. She sailed for the States and overhaul 24
May, and was 2 days out of Pearl Harbor on her way
back to the struggle when the Japanese capitulation
ended the long war 15 August 1945. From Pearl, Guada-
lupe went to Jinsen, Korea, where she replenished units
of the 7th Fleet occupying Yellow Sea ports. The tanker
sailed for Okinawa 22 October and remained there
through 1945.
In the post-war period Guadalupe remained on duty
in the Pacific, supplying vital fuel oil to American units
in Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and scores of
islands. Some of this fuel oil she picked up at Bahrein,
Arabia, as she sailed from the Far East to Norfolk via
the Suez and Gibraltar in 1948, returning over the same
route.
When North Korean Communist troops hurled them-
selves across the 38th parallel 24 June 1950, Guadalupe
was undergoing repairs at Long Beach, Calif., but she
was soon ready for an active part. Sailing for the
Pacific 29 July, she spent three months shuttling fuel
oil between Hawaii, Kwajalein, and Guam before joining
the 7th Fleet at Sasebo, Japan, 1 December 1950. Oper-
ating with various units of the fleet, Guadalupe visited
Okinawa, Hong Kong, and Formosa in addition to refuel-
ing American and United Nations ships in the Korean
replenishment area. She also sailed along the Korean
coast to support the siege of Wonsan harbor.
An uneasy peace settled over the war-torn peninsula
in August 1953, while Guadalupe was undergoing over-
haul in California, but she returned to the Pacific to
support American forces on the Formosa Patrol and
training operations. From that time, the tanker’s year
settled into a routine of six months deployment with the
7th Fleet and 6 months operating out of Long Beach. In
her Far East operations, Guadalupe has visited every
major Pacific port — Hong Kong, Manila, Tokyo, Ceylon,
Formosa— while playing her unsung but vital role in
keeping the peace. At present she continues her impor-
tant role as a fleet oiler supporting American ships off
the coast of Vietnam.
Gualala
A river in California.
( AOG-28 : dp. 2,270 ; 1. 220'6" ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'1" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 62 ; a. 1 3", 2 40mm. ; cl. Wautauga)
Gualala (AOG-28) was launched 3 June 1944, by the
East Coast Ship Yard Inc., Bayonne, N.J., under a Mari-
time Commission contract; acquired by the Navy 19 Au-
gust 1944 ; and commissioned 25 August 1944, Lt. Gerald
T. Allworth, USCG, in command.
After completing trials, Gualala sailed from New York
23 October 1944 ; touching at Guantanamo and Christobal,
she transited the Panama Canal 8 November, proceeding
from there to Biak Island via Bora Bora and New Guinea.
Arriving 13 January 1945, Gualala sailed the seas between
Biak, Morotai, and Mios Woendi serving as a fueling ship
for fleet units. Departing Mios Woendi 4 June, she
touched at Morotai before reaching Balikpapan, Borneo,
the 16th. Gualala continued her fueling duties through-
out the Philippines and at Saipan until 26 December 1945.
when she sailed for San Francisco via Pearl Harbor.
Arriving San Francisco 31 January 1946, Gualala re-
mained there until decommissioning 29 March 1946, at
the Kaiser Shipyard No. 2, Richmond, Calif. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1946, and she was
transferred to the Maritime Commission 10 September
1946. The ship was subsequently sold to the Brazilian
government, and renamed Rijo.
Gualala received one battle star for World War II
service.
Guam
The largest island in the Marianas group.
(PG-43: dp. 350; 1. 159'5" ; b. 27'; dr. 5'3'' ; s. 14.5 k. ;
cpl. 59 ; a. 2 3", 8 .30 cal. mg.)
Guam (PG-43) was launched 28 May 1927 by the Kiang-
nan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China ; spon-
sored by Miss Louise Frances Bruce, and commissioned 28
December 1927, Lt. Comdr. S. G. Moore in command.
One of six new river gunboats built to replace old gun-
boats on the Yangtze for a year, Guam was then assigned
to the South China patrol. She was reclassified PR-3
there on 15 June 1928; and, after a year, she returned to
duty along the Yangtze. The China through which Guam
sailed was racked by war from the day she commis-
sioned— first, civil war as Communists battled Nationalists
for control of the ancient nation ; and then, total war as
Japanese forces sought to win and control China and her
vast resources. In such conditions, Guam several times
proved her worth.
On Independence Day 4 July 1930, Guam sailed for
Yochow and Chenglin to insure the safety of American
missionaries and other foreigners in those two cities, then
in Communist hands. As she neared Yochow, Guam was
met by a hail of rifle fire from the shore. She returned
the fire with her machine gun and three inch guns, making
173
USS Guam (PG-43) — launched in Shanghai 28 May 1927 — patrolling on China Station in 1982
five runs past the city in all. One member of Guam's,
crew was killed in the clash. Guam also evacuated Amer-
ican civilians from Wuhu to Hankow in December 1937
in front of approaching Japanese forces, and a year later
served as station ship at Standard Vacuum Oil installa-
tions in Hankow to protect American lives and property
while Chinese and Japanese armies clashed nearby.
As more and more of China fell into Japanese hands,
Guam remained perilously on Yangtze patrol. By 1939
she was “escorted” by a Japanese warship wherever she
went, and from her decks could be seen Japanese troop
movements. Guam and her sister gunboats, remaining
doggedly on station and conducting daily “Repel-Board-
ers” drills, were a reassuring sight for American civilians.
In January 1941 she was renamed Wake, as her former
name was to be used for a new battle cruiser building in
the States. On 25 November 1941 she was ordered to
close the Navy installation at Hankow, distribute the 80-
tons of supplies among American civilians remaining
there, and sail to Shanghai. When Wake reached the
China coast 30 November with her inevitable Japanese
escort, she was stripped and her crew divided between
Luzon and Oahu, two larger gunboats which then sailed
for Manila. A skeleton crew of 10 reservists, under a
Shanghai commercial pilot, remained on board to serve as
a radio outlet for the handful of Marines and the Consular
force left there. When the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor sent America into the Pacific war a week later,
Shanghai immediately fell to the enemy. After her reserv-
ist crew failed in their attempts to scuttle her, Wake was
surrendered to the overwhelming Japanese force, the only
U.S. ship to do so in the entire war.
II
( CB-2 : dp. 27,000; 1. 808'6" ; b. 91'1" ; dr. 32'4" ; s. 31
k. ; cpl. 2,251 ; a. 9 12", 12 5", 56 40mm., 34 20mm. ; cl.
Alaska)
The second Guam (CB-2) was launched 12 November
1943 by the. New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. George Johnson McMillan, wife of Cap-
tain McMillan, former governor of Guam ; and commis-
sioned 17 September 1944, Captain Leland P. Lovette in
command.
After shakedown off Trinidad Guam departed Philadel-
phia 17 January 1945 and joined the Pacific Fleet at Pearl
Harbor 8 February via the Canal Zone. Shortly there-
after Guam was visited by Secretary of the Navy For-
restal. Clearing Pearl Harbor 3 March Guam sailed into
Ulithi 13 March where she joined forces with her sister
ship Alaska and other fleet units to form another of Ad-
miral Marc Mitscher’s famed task groups.
Sortie was made from Ulithi next day and Admiral A.
W. Radford’s Task Force 58, one of the most powerful
task forces in naval history, proceeded to vicinity of
Kyushu and Shikoku, arriving the morning of 18 March.
In her group sailed some of the most gallant ships ever to
go in harm’s way : carriers Yorktown, Intrepid, Inde-
pendence, and Langley ; battleships Missouri and Wiscon-
sin; cruisers Alaska, St. Louis, San Diego, Flint; and 15
destroyers in the screen. Guam’s battle debut soon came.
The fight began with five kamikaze attacks on the carriers.
Guam’s guns were directed at the raiders. During this
first battle, the carriers Enterprise and Intrepid, both in
Guam’s force, were damaged but continued to operate.
174
Enterprise took a bomb hit near her island structure , a
suicide plane crashed Intrepid's flight deck aft and glanced
off and plunged into the sea. Continued air attacks dur-
ing the afternoon resulted in the destruction of four enemy
planes by Guam's group, one of which she splashed. The
next afternoon Guam was despatched to escort damaged
Franklin from the combat area. This lasted until 22
March.
After replenishing Guam rejoined Task Group 58.4 and
departed for combat area in vicinity of Okinawa Gunto,
Japan. On the night of 27 to 28 March 1945 Admiral F. S.
Low’s Cruiser Division 16 in Guam conducted bombard-
ment of the airfield on Minami Daito. Then until 11
May Guam supported carrier operations off the Nansei
Shoto.
After repairs and replenishment at Ulithi Guam again
departed for the waters east of Okinawa, as a unit of
Admiral Halsey’s 3d Fleet, Task Group 38.4. Here she
continued to support the carriers launching fighter sweeps
over the Kyushu aii fields. On 9 June Guam, Alaska, and
five destroyers conducted a 90-minute bombardment of
Okino Daito. Course was then set for Leyte Gulf, arriv-
ing San Pedro Bay 13 June after almost 3 months of con-
tinuous operations in support of the Okinawa campaign.
Guam now got a new assignment as flagship of Cruiser
Task Force 95, composed of large cruisers Guam and
Alaska, four light cruisers, and nine destroyers. This
force steamed into the East China and Yellow Seas be-
tween 16 July and 7 August 1945 on a shipping raid.
Direct results were few, but the fact that a surface sweep
of Japan’s home waters could be made without harm
proved the overwhelming dominance and mobility of
American sea power. Guam’s group retired to Okinawa 7
August.
A few days later Guam became the flagship of Rear
Admiral Low’s North China Force and circled the Yellow
Sea parading American naval might before the major
ports of Tsingtao, Port Arthur, and Darien. She then
steamed into Jinsen, Korea, 8 September 1945 to guarantee
occupation of that liberated country. Guam departed
Jinsen 14 November and reached San Francisco 3 Decem-
ber landing a contingent of Army troops for discharge.
Clearing San Francisco 5 December 1945, Guam arrived
Bayonne, N.J., 17 December. She remained there and
decommissioned 17 February 1947 ; Guam berthed with the
New York Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet until 1 June 1960
when her name was struck from the Navy List. She was
sold for scrapping 24 May 1961 to the Boston Metals Co.,
Baltimore, Md.
Guam received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Ill
(LPH-9 : dp. 17,000 (f.) ; 1. 592'; b. 84'; dr. 26'7'' (f.) ;
s. 20 k. ; cpl. 528; a. 8 3", 24 large amphibious
transport helo; cl. I wo Jima.)
Guam (LPH-9) was laid down by the Philadelphia
Naval Shipyard 15 November 1962; launched 22 August
USS Guam (CB-2) on 13 November 1944
175
1964; sponsored by Mrs. Vaughn H. Emory Green; and
commissioned 16 January 1965, Captain N. E. Thurmon in
command.
After fitting out and builder’s trials, the new amphibious
assault ship joined the Atlantic Fleet 21 April 1965 and
sailed for Norfolk, her homeport. Arriving Hampton
Roads the next day for training off the Virginia Capes, she
departed Hampton Roads for underway training out of
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Guam returned to Norfolk 5 July for intensive amphibi-
ous training. She sailed from Hampton Roads 29 No-
vember to participate in amphibious and ASW exercises
en route to the Caribbean. On 10 December Guam joined
the Amphibious Ready Squadron in the Caribbean as flag-
ship for Amphibious Squadron 12. There she operated
at peak readiness to protect the peace and security of the
Caribbean and Central America constantly threatened by
Communist aggression and subversion.
From 16 to 28 February 1966, Guam patrolled south of
the Dominican Republic ready to land forces on the volatile
island of Hispanola if necessary. She conducted am-
phibious exercises until entering Philadelphia Naval Ship-
yard 1 June for post shakedown availability.
She departed Philadelphia 2 August and prepared for
service as the primary recovery ship for the Gemini 11
space flight. On 18 September at 0959 EDT Guam re-
covered Astronauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon 710
miles east of Cape Kennedy. From 28 November to 12
December Guam participated in Exercise “Lantflex 66”,
and on the latter date became flagship of Amphibious
Squadron 8 and Caribbean Amphibious Ready Group.
She continued this duty into 1967 prepared to land troops
at any point in the Caribbean where she might be needed
to protect the freedom and integrity of the Americas.
Guantanamo
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 7,930; 1. 362'; b. 46'6" ; dr. 20'7" s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 68 ; a. 1 5", 1 6-pdr.)
Guantanamo was built as Registan in 1910 by W. Gray
& Co. of West Hartlepool, England; turned over to the
Navy 25 February 1918 for use as a cargo transport ; and
commissioned 21 May 1918.
Gunpowder was Guantanamo's main cargo as she plied
from New York to St. Nazaire, gunpowder to support the
Allied war effort about to reach its climax in Europe ; she
made three such trips in convoy between commissioning
and 11 December 1918 when she returned to New York
to prepare for demobilization. Decommissioned at New
York 25 January 1919, Guantanamo was returned to her
owners, New York & Cuba Mail Steam Ship Co. 4 Feb-
ruary 1919.
USS Guam (LPH-9) on builders trials 3 February 1965
176
Guard
I
One who protects or defends.
( Ship : dp. 1,846 ; 1. 160' ; b. 38' ; dr. 20'7' ; cpl. 95 ; a. 4 8''
D.r., 2 12-pdr. how.)
Guard, originally named National Guard, was renamed
2 June 1866 ; built by George D. Morgan, Portland, Conn.,
in 1857; purchased 6 July 1861, and commissioned 23
December 1862, Acting Master William Lee Hays in
command.
From commissioning until she decommissioned in 1865,
Guard served as supply ship for the West India Squadron
based at Cape Haitien, Haiti. A routine trip to Key
West for supplies in June 1865 turned into a voyage to
Boston for quarantine and decommissioning when yellow
fever broke out among the crew, leaving Guard with a sick
list of over twenty.
Decommissioned at Boston 10 November 1865, Guard
recommissioned 13 March 1866, Acting Master Lewis A.
Brown in command ; after a trip to Norfolk for supplies
and minor repairs, she sailed for Cadiz, Spain, arriving
there 16 August. For the next 3 years Guard served as
supply ship for the European Fleet, carrying supplies and
occasional passengers to such diverse ports as Lisbon,
Cartagena, Majorca, Palermo, Gibraltar, Naples, Madeira,
and Villa Franca, France. During this period she also
made three voyages to New York carrying passengers and
some invalids for hospitals there and returning with fresh
supplies. Guard returned to New York 12 October 1869
and decommissioned 5 November.
Guard recommissioned 17 January 1870, Lt. Comdr.
Edward P. Lull in command, to take part in the Darien
Expedition ; she sailed from New York 28 January, arriv-
ing in Caledonia Bay, off the Isthmus of Darien, 18 Febru-
ary. In company with Nipsic and Nyack, under the over-
all command of Comdr. Thomas O. Selfridge Jr., Guard
conducted hydrographic surveys to determine what route,
if any, would be best for a ship canal across the isthmus.
The five routes explored during the 2 years she was on this
special duty all proved impractical at the time, and the
dream of an interocean canal went unfulfilled until the
completion of the Panama Canal two generations later.
Guard’s duty in Central America was interrupted 12 Aug-
ust-3 October 1870 when she sailed from New York to
Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia with supplies.
Leaving the Darien Expedition in June 1870, Guard re-
turned to New York 22 July and decommissioned there
3 August.
On 1 February 1873 Guard again recommissioned,
Comdr. Charles A. Babcock commanding, and sailed from
New York 22 March with goods, exhibits, and construc-
tion materiel for the Vienna Exposition of 1873. She
arrived at Trieste, then a part of Austro-Hungary, via
Gibraltar and Brindisi 3 May ; after discharging her cargo
for the exposition, Guard remained there undergoing mi-
nor repairs. Many of the articles not disposed of at the
exposition were then reloaded, as well as some European
goods intended for the American Centennial Exposition
in 1876, and Guard sailed for New York 31 December
1873, arriving there 14 April 1874 via Messina, Sicily, and
Gibraltar. She decommissioned 27 April and remained
laid up in ordinary until 1877.
Guard’s final tour of duty began 18 August 1877 as she
recommissioned at New York, Lt. Comdr. F. M.‘ Green
commanding. Her mission was to determine by means
of the submarine cable the longitudes between Lisbon,
Madeira, the Cape de Verde Islands, Pernambuco, and
Buenos Aires. Sailing from New York 29 October, she
reached Lisbon 30 November and remained there until 3
February 1878, when she sailed to Madeira and from
there to the Cape de Verde Islands. Her next stop was
Porto Grande, St. Vincente, where she delivered a ship-
ment of astronomical equipment for the observatory there
before sailing for Rio de Janeiro 20 April. Arriving there
1 June, Guard conducted further astronomical surveys
off the Brazilian coast until, her work completed, she
sailed for Portsmouth, N.H., arriving there via Nor-
folk 4 December. She decommissioned 15 December 1878
and was laid up in ordinary until 27 September 1883,
when she was sold to C. A. Williams & Co. of New Lon-
don, Conn.
II
(Str : dp. 52; 1. 67'7" ; b. 12'6" ; dr. 6'3" ; s. 9 k. ;
cpl. 4 ; a. none)
The second Guard was launched for the Coast Guard
by the Mare Island Navy Yard 20 October 1913; spon-
sored by Miss Janet Crose ; and commissioned by the
Coast Guard 9 December 1913.
She served the Coast Guard on the West Coast, protect-
ing shipping, preventing smuggling, and enforcing Ameri-
can neutrality laws. When the United States entered
World War I, Guard was transferred to the Navy 6 April
1917 and served as a patrol boat along the West Coast.
After the end of the War, Guard was returned to the
Coast Guard 28 August 1919.
III
( YP-2384 : 1. 17 ; 1. 48'8" ; b. 10'0'' ; dr. 5'0" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 7 ; a. none)
Floyd Hurst (YP-2384), a wooden motor launch built
by the Norfolk Navy Yard in 1902, was purchased by the
Navy 27 February 1918 at Norfolk from T. C. Hurst of that
city and immediately placed in service as a patrol and
dispatch boat between the Washington Navy Yard and the
naval base at Indian Head, Md. She continued this duty
throughout her naval service and was renamed Guard
7 January 1921. Guard was sold to P. M. Anderson of
Washington, D.C., 5 August 1921.
Guardfish
A voracious green and silvery fish with elongated pike-
like body and long narrow jaws.
I
( SS-217 : dp. 1,526 ; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3'' ; dr. 15'3" ;
s. 20 k. ; cpl. 60 ; a. 10 21" tt., 13"; cl. Goto)
The first Guardfish, a fleet submarine, was launched
by the Electric Boat Co. of Groton, Conn., 20 January
1942, sponsored by Mrs. Edward J. Marquart. She com-
missioned at New London, Conn., 8 May 1942, Lt. Comdr.
T. B. Klakring in command.
After conducting shakedown out of New London,
Guardfish departed that base 28 June 1942 for Pearl Har-
bor via the Panama Canal, and arrived there 25 July to
prepare for her first cruise. Her first war patrol was in
the hitherto unpatrolled waters off northeast Honshu.
Guardfish departed Pearl Harbor 6 August 1942, sank a
trawler 22 August, and 24 August sank 3,114-ton cargo
ship Seikai Maru off Kinkasan Harbor. Evading escort
vessels, she proceeded up the coast and found a convoy
2 September. Guardfish attacked the next day, sinking
5,253-ton Kaimei Marti and 1,118-ton cargo ship Tcnyu
Maru. Chita Maru, a 2,376-ton freighter, retreated into
the harbor and anchored, but a remarkable long-range
shot from Guardfish left her resting in the mud. Guard-
fish returned to Midway from her spectacularly success-
ful first patrol for refit 15 September 1942.
Guardfish departed Midway on her second war patrol
30 September and headed for the East China Sea. Sur-
viving a violent attack by patrolling aircraft 19 Octo-
ber, Guardfish closed a seven-ship convoy 21 October,
sinking a 4,000-ton freighter and 6,362-ton Nichiho Maru
north of Formosa as the convoy scattered. After evading
pursuing aircraft and surface ships, Guardfish returned
to Pearl Harbor 28 November 1942. For her outstanding
success on war patrols 1 and 2 Guardfish received a
Presidential Unit Citation.
Moving her base of operations to the Truk area, Guard-
177
fish departed Pearl Harbor 2 January 1943 to patrol off
the Japanese stronghold. She sank a Japanese patrol
craft 12 January west of Kavieng, and a 1,300-ton cargo
ship the next day. Attacked by destroyer Hakaze 23
January, Guardfish sent her to the bottom with a well-
placed torpedo. Moving south toward Rabaul, she at-
tacked a large convoy near Simpson Harbor, but was
driven off by concentrated shore fire and escort attacks.
Guardfish ended her third patrol by arriving at Brisbane,
Australia, 15 February 1943.
Her fourth war patrol was conducted in the Bismarcks,
Solomons, and New Guinea area, and Guardfish recorded
no kills during this cruise, 9 March to 30 April 1943.
Departing Brisbane for the same waters 25 May 1943,
Guardfish sank 201-ton freighter Suzuya Maru, and dam-
aged another before being forced down by aircraft 13
June. She picked up a surveying party on the west
coast of Bougainville 14 July and returned to Brisbane
for refit 2 August 1943.
Guardfish departed Brisbane for her sixth war patrol
24 August 1943, landing a reconnoitering party on Bou-
gainville and then moving into cruising waters. She
sank 5,460-ton Kasha Marti 8 October and subsequently
spent 2 days as lifeguard ship during the air strikes
on Rabaul. Guardfish embarked another reconnoitering
party 19 October at Tulagi, landed them on Bougainville,
and took vital soundings in Empress Augusta Bay before
embarking the Marine party 28 October. These impor-
tant missions were carrier out a scant 2 days before the
American landings at Bougainville. Guardfish reached
Brisbane, closing out her sixth patrol, 3 November 1943.
Turning to the shipping lanes between Truk and Guad-
alcanal, Guardfish began her seventh war patrol 27
December 1943, sinking 10,024-ton oiler Kenyo Maru 14
January 1944. She then closed Truk, and sank destroyer
Umikaze 1 February during an attack on a convoy. After
serving briefly as lifeguard ship off Truk she arrived
at Pearl Harbor 18 February and from there returned to
San Francisco for repairs 9 days later.
Guardfish again put to sea from San Francisco and ar-
rived at Pearl Harbor 1 June. She then joined sub-
marines Thresher, Piranha, and Apogon to form the
famous coordinated attack group known as the “Mickey
Finns,” commanded by Captain W. V. O’Regan in Guard-
fish. The submarines patrolled the shipping lanes around
Formosa with spectacular success, Guardfish sinking
5.863-ton auxiliary Mantai Mane, 2,838-ton cargo ship
Hizan Mane, and 5,215-ton cargo ship Jinsan Maru south-
west of Formosa 17 July. After damaging another
freighter 18 July, Guardfish sank 5,872-ton Teiryie Maru
the next day, barely escaping the attacks of her escort
vessels. She arrived at Midway for refit 31 July 1944,
and for her outstanding performance on the eighth patrol
was awarded a second Presidential Unit Citation.
Putting to sea as a member of a wolfpack 23 August
1944, Guardfish and the other submarines, Thresher and
Sunfish, had a 40 minute surface gun battle with sampans
2 September. On 25 September she attacked and sank
873-ton cargo ship Miyakawa Maru #2 in the Sea of
Japan, her cruising ground for this patrol. Guardfish re-
turned to Pearl Harbor 24 October 1944.
Guardfish departed 26 November for her 10th war
patrol to cruise in the “Convoy College” area of the South
China Sea, with a wolfpack. 'She recorded no sinkings
during this cruise, but nearing Guam in the early morn-
ing darkness of 24 January she mistook Extractor, an
American salvage ship, for an I class submarine and tor-
pedoed her. Guardfish succeeded in rescuing all but 6 of
her crew of 79 from the sea, and terminated her patrol
at Guam 26 January 1945.
Guardfish’ s 11th war patrol was spent watching for
enemy fleet units attempting to escape from the Inland
Sea of Japan by way of Kii Suido. Departing Saipan on
this duty 27 February, she found no '.ships but rescued two
downed aviators 19 March before returning to Midway
11 April 1945.
Guardfish departed Midway 8 May 1945 on her 12th and
last war patrol, and was assigned lifeguard station for
the ever-increasing air attacks on the Japanese mainland.
She sank a small trawler with gunfire 16 June, and
arrived back at Pearl Harbor 26 June 1945.
The veteran submarine served with the training com-
mand after her return to Hawaii, helping to train surface
ships in the newest antisubmarine warfare tactics until 25
August 1945. She then sailed for the United States,
transiting the Panama Canal 12 September and arriving
at New Orleans 16 September. Guardfish arrived at New
London 6 November and decommissioned there 25 May
1946.
Guardfish remained inactive until 18 June 1948, when
she was placed “in service” for duty as a Naval Reserve
Training Ship at New London. Declared in excess of
Navy needs, her name was struck from the Navy List 1
June 1960. Appropriately, this ship, one of the most
successful of World War II submarines, performed her
last service as a target ship for a new submarine torpedo.
Dogfish and Blenny sank her with the newly developed
torpedoes off New London 10 October 1961.
Guardfish earned 11 battle stars for her World War II
service. Her first, second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh,
eighth, ninth, and eleventh war patrols were designated
successful.
II
(SS(N)-612 : dp. 3,770; 1. 279'; b. 32'; dr. 29'; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 99 ; a. 4 21" tt. ; cl. Thresher)
The second Guardfish (SS(N)-612) was laid down by
New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 28 February
1961 ; launched 15 May 1965 ; sponsored by Mrs. Kenneth
E. Belieu, wife of Assistant Secretary of Navy ; and com-
missioned 20 December 1966, Comdr. G. H. Hines in
command.
At present Guardfish is undergoing tests and shakedown.
Once completed, she will join the Pacific Fleet to become
yet another link in the Navy’s ever expanding underwater
deterrent force. In addition to her primary mission of
seeking out, attacking, and destroying all types of enemy
ships, she can conduct long-range reconnaissance and
surveillance patrols and can carry out extensive ASW op-
erations. Her high-speed, deep-running, far-ranging mo-
bility and her deadly array of modern armament and ASW
equipment make her an important part of the Navy’s
continuing task of “keeping the peace” over the vast
reaches of global waters.
Guardian
One who guards or protects.
(YAGR-1 : dp. 10, 160(f) ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 24';
s. 11 k. ; cl. Guardian)
Guardian (YAGR-1) was launched as Liberty Ship
Janies Squires 8 May 1945 by J. A. Jones Construction
Co., Inc., Panama City, Fla. ; sponsored by Mrs. Elisa
Broome ; and delivered 31 May to Waterman Steamship
Co. The ship served until 5 October 1945, when she was
placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James
River, Va. Taken out of reserve in 1954, she was renamed
Guardian, converted at Charleston Navy Yard, and com-
missioned YAGR-1 at Norfolk 1 February 1955, Lt. Comdr.
Robert E. Euliss in command.
The first ocean radar station ship put into service by
the Navy, Guardian conducted shakedown in Roosevelt
Roads, P.R., and surrounding waters, reporting to New-
port, R.I., her home port, 2 June 1955. Equipped with
highly sensitive radar gear to enable her to detect, track,
and report any aircraft penetrating the continental United
States, Guardian is attached to the Eastern Continental
Air Defense Command. She and her sister ships spend
3 or 4 weeks at a time off the East Coast on radar picket
duty, even in the heaviest winter weather in the North
Atlantic. In addition to radar picket duty, Guardian has
participated in ASW exercises with both American and
Canadian naval units and in local operations out of New-
178
port and Key West. Her designation was changed to
AGR-1 28 September 1958, and the ship at present re-
mains as a vital part of our Nation’s Atlantic defenses.
PT-809 (q.v.) was under the Potomac River Naval Com-
mand in November 1959 as a Civil Defense boat and as
escort to the Presidential Yacht Barbara Ann, later Honey
Fitz. The name Guardian was assigned to her at the
request of Captain Aurand, Naval Aide to President
Eisenhower, but her official designation remains PT-809.
Guardoqui
The name Gardoqui ( q.v .), carried in the U.S. Navy by
a Spanish gunboat captured during the Spanish-Ainerican
War, was erroneously spelled Guardoqui when assigned
to IX-218.
(IX-218: dp. 15,655; 1. 510'6" ; b. 68';
s. 10 k. ; cpl. 70)
Guardoqui (IX-218), ex-E. T. Bedford, was built in
1921 by the Federal Ship Building Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
acquired from the WSA and commissioned at Pearl
Harbor 23 June 1945, Lt. Harold L. Tysinger in command.
A tanker originally intended for use as Mobile Floating
Storage, Guardoqui departed Pearl Harbor for Eniwetok
27 July 1945. Reaching her destination 12 August, she
discharged her cargo of fuel and lube oil to Navy and
merchant ships for almost a month. Guardoqui departed
Eniwetok 7 September and put in at Tokyo 21 September
to discharge more lube and fuel oil.
Departing Tokyo 7 November, she transited the Panama
Canal via Pearl Harbor 28 December and came to anchor
off Mobile, Ala., 6 January 1946. Guardoqui decommis-
sioned at Mobile 13 February 1946 and was returned to
the WSA. Her name was struck from the Navy List
12 April 1946 and she was sold to her previous owner,
E. T. Bedford, 28 January 1947.
Guavina
A fish which may reach a length of 2 feet indigenous to
the West Indies and the Atlantic coasts of Central Amer-
ica and Mexico.
( SS-362 : dp. 1,810; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ;
s. 20 k. ; cpl. 80; a. 15", 10 21" tt. ; cl. Balao)
Guavina (SS-362) was launched by the Manitowoc
Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis., 29 August 1943;
sponsored by Miss Marie Roen ; and commissioned 23 De-
cember 1943, Lt. Comdr. Carl Tiedeman in command.
After shakedown, Guavina was towed dowrn the Missis-
sippi in floating drydock by tug Minnesota, reaching New
Orleans 24 January 1944. She underwent training
exercises at New Orleans and at Balboa, C.Z., before
reaching Pearl Harbor 5 April to prepare for her first
wras patrol. Guavina sailed 6 April 1944, on her first
offensive cruise. On 22 April she sank by gunfire two
trawlers loaded with lumber and cargo and 3 days later
torpedoed a large maru. Her first big kill came 26 April
when she sent torpedoes into two of the merchant ships
in a seven-ship convoy. One of them, Noshiro Maru, sank
almost immediately after three tremendous explosions.
The second maru also exploded, although persistent depth
charging prevented Guavina from staying around to
observe the sinking. After standing lifeguard duty off
Wake during air strikes 21-26 May, the submarine re-
turned to Majuro Atoll 28 May. Her aggressive first
patrol forecast even greater service for the nation.
On her second war patrol (20 June-31 July) Guavina
sailed from Majuro to Brisbane, Australia, sinking 1 ship
and rescuing 12 downed aviators. At 1324 on 3 July she
picked up an obviously important ship with four escorts,
and trailed her to get in attack position. Finally at 0348
the next morning Guavina fired four torpedoes, three of
which hit and set off a tremendous explosion. The sub
spent the next 3 hours running silent and deep to avoid
a total of 18 depth enarges and 8 aerial bomos, surfacing
at 0643 to observe the wreckage of Tama Maru. While
on lifeguard duty off Yap 2 to 21 July, Guavina picked
up a total of 12 downed B— 25 pilots, and then headed for
Brisbane via Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands.
Guavina' s third war patrol (16 August-29 September)
took her along the Philippine coast off Mindanao. On
31 August she opened fire on two small coastwise steam-
ers, chasing them almost onto the beach before finally
destroying them. Then, after a period of lifeguard duty,
on 15 September Guavitia sighted a large ship, later re-
vealed to be a transport at anchor. Closing for the kill
she loosed a salvo of thTee torpedoes. Only one hit, so
she fired three more, scoring twice. Although the target
was enveloped in fire and smoke, it still did not sink ; so
Guavina administered the final fatal blow with a spread of
two torpedoes which totally disintegrated the target.
Departing Brisbane 27 October, Guavina headed to the
South China Sea for her fourth war patrol. A night sur-
face attack 15 November netted her a large maru ; one
torpedo hit caused a violent explosion, as the maru appar-
ently was carrying aviation gasoline; a second fish sent
through the fiery waters finished her. Tanker Doica
Maru fell victim to Guavina 22 November, and a second
tanker anchored nearby met the same fate the fol-
lowing day. During the final month she searched for
additional victims. Then finding unfavorable attack con-
ditions, she sailed for port, making Brisbane 27 December.
Working first with Pampanito and then with Becuna
and Blenny, Guavina spent her fifth war patrol (23 Janu-
ary-5 March 1945) again in the South China Sea. The
value of the coordinated attack group was quickly proved
as on 6 February Guavina was directed in for the kill by
Pampanito and sank the 6,892-ton tanker Taigyo Maru.
To avoid the subsequent depth charging, Guavina pulled
the unusual maneuver of lying on the bottom near the
stern of her recent victim. She returned Pampanito’s
favor the following day by providing a diversion in the
form of four flares from her “Buck Rogers” gun as her
sister sub maneuvered for a successful shot Guavina
sank another tanker, the 8,673-ton Eiyo Maru, 20 Febru-
ary, and suffered one of the severest depth chargings of
the war. With no room to run, she lay on the bottom at
130 feet while Japanese escorts and planes dropped a
total of 98 depth charges and bombs during the next
7 hours. Battered but undaunted, she sailed to the Fiji
Islands, arriving 5 March for a badly needed refit.
On her sixth war patrol (21 March-8 May) Guavina
worked in coordination with Rock, Cobia, and Blenny in
the South China Sea. A lack of targets resulted in her
returning empty-handed, but she did rescue five B-25
crew members 28 March before returning to Pearl Harbor
8 May. With six successful war patrols behind her she
proceeded to the West Coast for overhaul. She departed
San Francisco for Pearl Harbor 6 August, but with the
end of the war returned to the States. Guavina then put
in at Mare Island and was placed in commission, in
reserve.
From March 1949, Guavina underwent extensive over-
haul and modification for conversion to a submarine oiler
at Mare Island, and was even equipped with a snorkel.
Guavina recommissioned in the active fleet as SSO-362
1 February 1950 at Mare Island. After operations along
the West Coast, she sailed to Norfolk via Balboa and
San Juan 24 July to 25 August. Further operations out
of Norfolk were followed by overhaul at Philadelphia and
on 29 January 1951, Guavina reported to Key West, her
new homeport.
Operating out of Key West, Guavina cruised to the
Caribbean and up the East Coast to Nova Scotia to test
the concepts of fueling seaplanes and other submarines,
although most of her work was in the Gulf of Mexico and
the Straits of Florida. After overhaul at Philadelphia
18 April to 26 July 1952, Guavina was redesignated
AGSS-362. Two more years of operations along the East
Coast and in the Gulf were followed by a second extensive
179
USS Guavina ( AOSS-362) fueling a P5M Patrol Seaplane in the open sea in 1955
overhaul at Philadelphia. To aid refueling, Guavina
gained a large, raised platform over the after torpedo
room, which was soon dubbed the “flight deck.”
And a flight deck it soon became as in January 1956
Guavina began testing the concept of mobile support of
seaplanes from a submarine oiler. After an initial 2-week
trial period, Guavina and a variety of seaplanes carried
out refueling development for most of 1956. Sailing
from Charleston 18 September, the submarine headed for
the Mediterranean. After her 2-month deployment there
with the 6th Fleet and Patrol Squadron 56, Guavina re-
turned to Key West 1 December, then put into Charleston
for overhaul.
Emerging from overhaul 12 July 1957 with the new
designation (AOSS-362), Guavina resumed her estab-
lished pattern of testing various applications of subma-
rine oiler and seaplane refueling concepts, operating prin-
cipally in the Caribbean. Ranging along the coast from
New London to Bermuda, she also engaged in antisubma-
rine exercises and other peacetime training missions.
Guavina sailed into the Charleston Navy Yard 4 January
1959, and decommissioned there 27 March, going into
reserve. She served as a training ship for reservists in
the 5th Naval District until struck from Ihe Navy List
30 June 1967 and used as a target for the Atlantic Fleet.
Guavina received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Gudgeon
A species of small fresh-water minnow.
I
( SS-211 : dp. 1,475 ; 1. 307' ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 13'3" ; s. 20 k. ;
epl. 85 ; a. 1 3", 10 21” tt. ; cl. Tamior)
Gudgeon was launched by the Mare Island Navy Yard
25 January 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. William S. Pye ; and
commissioned 21 April 1941 at Mare Island, Lt. Comdr.
Elton W. Grenfell in command.
After shakedown along the California coast, Gudgeon
sailed north 28 August, heading for Alaska via Seattle.
On her northern jaunt the new submarine inspected Sitka,
Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor for suitability as naval bases.
Continuing to Hawaii, she moored at the Pearl Harbor
submarine base 10 October. Training exercises and local
operations filled Gudgeon's time for the next 2 months.
When the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor 7 December,
she was at Lahaina Roads on special exercises, but re-
turned to base immediately.
America’s Pacific Fleet had been seriously damaged by
the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor but powerful strength
remained as Gudgeon and her fellow submarine soon of-
fered convincing proof. On 11 December Gudgeon, in
company with Plunger, sailed from Pearl Harbor on her,
and America’s, first submarine offensive patrol of World
War II. When she returned some 51 days later, Gudgeon
had contributed two more impressive “firsts” to the Pa-
cific submarine fleet. She was the first American sub-
marine to patrol along the Japanese coast itself, as her
area took her off Kyushu in the home islands. And on
27 January 1942 Gudgeon became the first U.S. Navy sub-
marine to sink an enemy warship in World War II, sub-
marine 1-173. The Japanese submarine had just returned
from a patrol which took her well into American waters
off the coast of California and Washington.
On her second war patrol, 22 February to 15 April 1942,
Gudgeon scored kills on two unknown marus, both
freighters, 26 and 27 March. She then checked into dry-
dock for overhaul, but undocked 3 weeks early and readied
for sea in a remarkable 40 hours to participate in the
momentous Battle of Midway. Departing Pearl Harbor
18 May, Gudgeon took station off Midway as part of the
submarine screen which encircled the two giant fleets
clashing there. Although she had a ringside seat for the
action, which saw Japan handed its first naval defeat in
350 years, Gudgeon was prevented from offensive action
by the confusion of battle and the possibility of mistaken
Identity. She returned to Pearl Harbor 14 June.
Departing for her fourth patrol 11 July, Gudgeon sank
4,858-ton Naniwa Maru in a night submerged attack 3
August, her only kill of the patrol. An aggressive attack
on a four-ship convoy 17 August seriously damaged two
marus before the patrol ended at Fremantle, Australia,
2 September. Now a part of the Southwestern Pacific
submarine forces, Gudgeon sank 8,783-ton Choko Maru
21 October during her fifth war patrol, 8 October to 1
December, and carried out a daring attack on a seven-
ship convoy 11 November, torpedoing several ships but
sinking none. The submarine’s sixth war patrol (27
December 1942-18 February 1943) was unsuccessful in
terms of ships sunk, but she carried out two special mis-
sions. On 14 January 1943 Gudgeon successfully landed
six men on Mindanao, Philippines, to carry out the vital
180
guerrilla resistance movement there. Returning from her
patrol area, Gudgeon was diverted to Timor Island 9 Feb-
ruary, and the following day rescued 28 men— Australian,
English, Portugese, and Filipino — for passage to
Fremantle.
Gudgeon's seventh war patrol (13 March-6 April)
netted her two more Japanese ships before she ran out of
torpedoes and had to return to Australia. On 22 March
she sank 5,434-ton Meigen Maru as well as seriously dam-
aging two other ships in the convoy. Five days later
Gudgeon took on 9,997-ton tanker Toko Maru in a night
surface attack punctuated by bursts of gunfire as the
Japanese ships spotted and fired on the submarine. It
took .five torpedoes to sink Toko Maru, and most of
Gudgeon’s crew enjoyed the rare treat of watching her
slide into the depths.
On her eighth war patrol, conducted as she sailed from
Australia to Pearl Harbor 15 April to 25 May 1943,
Gudgeon chalked up three more kills. Her first came 28
April as she sank Kamakura Maru, a former ocean liner.
The 17,526-ton transport was the largest Japanese trans-
port, and one of the largest enemy ships sunk by an
American submarine. Special operations interrupted
Gudgeon’s patrol as she landed six trained guerrilla
fighters and 3 tons of equipment for the guerrilla move-
ment on Panay 30 April. After sinking a small trawler,
Noko Maru, with her deck guns 4 May, Gudgeon battle-
surfaced again that same day and left a coastal steamer
burning and settling. Eight days later, 12 May, she tor-
pedoed and sank freighter Sumatra Maru. Returning to
Pearl Harbor, the veteran submarine was sent to San
Francisco for badly needed overhaul, her first since com-
missioning 2 years earlier.
A refreshed sub and crew departed Pearl Harbor for
their ninth war patrol 1 September 1943. Before return-
ing to Midway 6 October with all torpedoes expended,
Gudgeon had sunk Taiau Maru and seriously damaged
several others. Heading along the China coast for her
10th war patrol (31 October-11 December), Gudgeon
chalked up two more marus. Early in the morning of 23
November she spotted a convoy of four ships and closed
for attack. Gudgeon fired a spread of six torpedoes with
gratifying results. Frigate, Wakamiya, hit by one of the
deadly “tin fish” broke in two, sinking almost immediately.
A tanker and a freighter were also hit but managed to
escape. Gudgeon closed in to administer the kill to trans-
port Nekka Maru.
Several attacks but no kills highlighted Gudgeon’s 11th
war patrol. On 2 February 1944, she sighted a damaged
carrier with two escorts. Gudgeon closed for attack, but
the escorts spotted her in the glassy smooth sea and at-
tacked. A down-the-throat shot with four torpedoes
temporarily discouraged the destroyers and allowed
Gudgeon to seek deep water and safety, but when she sur-
faced the Japanese men-of-war were gone. Later in the
same patroi Gudgeon was forced to try another down-the-
throat shot at an enemy escort, but no hits. She returned
to Pearl Harbor 5 March 1944.
Gudgeon sailed for her 12th war patrol 4 April 1944.
The battle-tested submarine stopped off at Johnston Island
7 April, and was never seen or heard from again. On 7
June 1944, Gudgeon was officially declared overdue and
presumed lost. Captured Japanese records shed no light
on the manner of her loss, and it must remain one of
the mysteries of the silent sea.
During her 3-year career, Gudgeon earned herself a
proud place in the Pacific submarine fleet. Her total
tonnage sunk, 71,047, placed her 15th on the honor roll
of American submarines, and she had accounted for a total
of 12 confirmed kills.
For her first seven war patrols Gudgeon received the
coveted Presidential Unit Citation. She earned 11 battle
stars for World War II service.
II
(SS-567 : dp. 1,560 ; 1. 269'2" ; b. 27'2" ; dr. 17' ; s. 15.5 k ;
cpl. 83 ; a. 8 21” tt. ; cl. Tang )
The second Gudgeon, was launched by the Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H., 11 June 1952; spon-
sored by Mrs. Robert A. Bonin, widow of the first Gudg-
eon’s last commanding officer ; and commissioned 21 No-
vember 1952, Comdr. Robert M. Carroll in command.
After builders’ trials, Gudgeon sailed for Pearl Harbor,
where she joined SubRon 1, SubDiv 1, 18 July 1953. Local
operations and training exercises continued until 11 April
1954, when Gudgeon sailed to the mainland for ASW
exercises along the Washington coast. A Mare Island
overhaul occupied the remainder of the year, and Gudg-
eon returned to Pearl Harbor 9 March 1955. She sailed
21 July 1955, for the first of five WestPac tours, visiting
Yokosuka, Formosa, Hong Kong, Manila, and Guam be-
fore returning to Pearl Harbor 30 January 1956. Local
operations out of the Hawaiian port, overhaul, special
secret operations, and a second trip to the West Coast
took Gudgeon through the next 18 months.
Sailing from Pearl Harbor 8 July 1957, Gudgeon began
a history-making cruise around the world, making the
Pacific Fleet Submarine Force’s flagship the first Amer-
ican submarine to circumnavigate the globe. After exer-
cises at Yokosuka, Gudgeon sailed west 26 August 1957.
As she made her way around the world for the next 6
months, the submarine docked at Asian, African and Euro-
pean ports before a triumphal entry into Pearl Harbor
21 February 1958, 8 months and 25,000 miles since taking
departure.
After extensive overhaul, Gudgeon again settled into
the peacetime local and special operations, training ex-
ercises, and ASW activities. Three WestPac cruises, in
1959, 1961, and 1963, took her to Japan for exercises with
the 7th Fleet as well as to Subic Bay and Hong Kong
for liberty. The alternate years, 1960 and 1962, saw
Gudgeon heading back to the mainland, where she trained
and exercised along the Washington and California coasts.
Gudgeon returned from the Far East to Pearl Harbor 1
August 1963, and for the next 2 years operated in Hawaiian
waters. She departed Pearl Harbor 29 November and ar-
rived San Francisco 9 December for overhaul at Mare
Island. The ship was cut in half and an 18 foot section
was added during a conversion which gave the submarine
new and larger engines as well as much other improved
modern equipment. Modernization was completed in April
1967 and Gudgeon returned to duty in the Pacific Fleet.
Guerriere
The name of a fast 49-gun British frigate captured and
destroyed in a half-hour battle by U.S. frigate Constitu-
tion 19 August 1812. This celebrated victory fired the
nation with fresh confidence and courage at the outset
of the War of 1812.
(Fr : t. 1,508 ; 1. 175' ; b. 45'6” ; dph. 14'6” ; cpl. 400; a. 33
24-pdrs., 20 42-pdrs. )
The first Guerriere was the first frigate built in the
United States since 1801. She launched in the Philadel-
phia Navy Yard 20 June 1814. After fitting out, she
became the flagship of a squadron assembled at New York
under Captain Stephen Decatur. She sailed from New
York 20 May 1815 to lead the squadron in terminating
piratical acts against American merchant commerce by
Algiers and other Barbary States.
On 17 June 1815, off the Algerian coast, famed frigate
Constellation drove the 44-gun frigate Meshuda under the
guns of Decatur’s flagship, Guerriere. With two broad-
sides, the American frigate drove below all who were not
killed or disabled on Meshuda’s decks. The flagship of
the Algerian Fleet, Meshuda surrendered. Among her fa-
talities was Algiers’ ranking naval officer. Two days later
Guerriere led the squadron in driving the 22-gun Algerian
brig Estcdio ashore.
Guerriere arrived at Algiers 28 June 1815, ready to act
with her squadron for the capture of every Algerian ship
that entered port unless the Dey ratified the terms of a
peace treaty sent him by Decatur. The treaty was nego-
181
tiated on board Guerriere 30 June 1815, ending the pay-
ment of tribute Algiers and exacting full payment for
injuries to American commerce.
Guerriere next led the squadron in a show of force that
resulted in a peace settlement with Tunis 13 July 1815
and with Tripoli 9 August 1815. Having enforced the
peace in less than 6 weeks from time of sailing from the
United States, she combined with the entire naval force
assembled at Gibraltar under Commodore William Bain-
bridge. The 18 warships, including ship-of-the-line
Independence, 5 frigates, 2 sloops-of-war, 7 brigs, and 3
schooners, was the largest fleet ever collected under the
American flag in the Mediterranean to that time. It
marked the beginning of a permanent naval fleet in the
Mediterranean which has evolved into the powerful 6th
Fleet of today. Then, as today, the fleet was a mighty
factor for keeping the peace and strengthening the inter-
national diplomacy of the nation.
Guerriere returned to New York 12 November 1815 and
was laid up in the Boston Navy Yard for repairs 4 March
1816. She recommissioned under Captain Thomas Mac-
donough 22 April 1818 for fitting out. On 24 July 1818
she put to sea, carrying the American Minister to Russia
to his new post. After calls at Gibraltar, Cowes and
Copenhagen, she debarked the American Minister and his
family at Cronstadt, Russia, 17 September 1818. She then
cruised throughout the Mediterranean until 26 July 1819
when she departed Leghorn for Norfolk, Va„ arriving 4
October 1819. She remained and was placed in ordinary
there 8 November 1820. For the next 7 years she served
as a schoolship in the Norfolk Navy Yard, training classes
of midshipmen before the permanent establishment of a
naval academy.
Guerriere terminated her schoolship duties late in Nov-
ember 1828 when she was ordered to fit out as the flag-
ship of a U.S. Navy squadron destined for duty in the
Pacific. She sailed 13 February 1829, landing passengers
at Rio de Janeiro before rounding Cape Horn for Callao,
Peru. In the following two years she watched over
American commerce, including the whaling fleet, along
the western seaboard of South America and westward to
the Hawaiian Islands. She departed Callao 8 September
1831 and arrived in Norfolk 29 November 1831. Guerriere
decommissioned 19 December 1831 and remained in ordi-
nary at the Norfolk Navy Yard until broken up in 1841.
II
( ScSlp : 1. 319' 3" ; b. 46'; dr. 17'11" ; s. 13 k. ; a. 2100-
pdrs., 1 60-pdr., 4 20 pdr., 6 9'')
The second Guerriere launched 9 Sep 1865 in the Boston
Navy Yard and commissioned 21 May 1867, Comdr.
Thomas Corbin, in command. She sailed from New York
28 June 1867 to serve as flagship of the South Atlantic
Squadron protecting American commerce and interests
along the coast of South America. She was relieved as
flagship by Lancaster 17 June 1869 and sailed from Rio de
Janeiro the 25th for the New York Navy Yard where she
decommissioned 29 July 1869.
Guerriere recommissioned at New York 10 August 1870.
At Portsmouth, N.H., 27 September, she received the body
of the late Admiral David G. Farragut for transport to
New York. The following day she went fast aground on
Great Point, Nantucket Shoales and transferred Admiral
Farragut’s remains to merchant steamer Island Home.
She got afloat 1 October 1870 and continued to New York
the following day.
Guerriere departed New York 17 December 1870 for
Lisbon, thence past Gibraltar for cruising with the Medi-
terranean Squadron. On 7 April 1871 she was host to the
Bashaw of Tripoli, who inspected the ship and presented
Guerriere’ s captain with the anchor of the frigate
Philadelphia. This anchor had laid on the beach for
more than half a century after the destruction of the
frigate in Tripoli Harbor by Captain Stephen Decatur in
“the most bold and daring act of the age.” From Trip-
oli the sloop cruised to the ports of Egypt, Lebanon,
Italy and France. On 1 December 1871 she stood out of
Villefranche with the remains of Major General Ander-
son, which were transferred to Army authorities off Fort
Monroe, Va., 6 February 1872. She remained at Norfolk
until 10 March, then sailed for the New York Navy Yard
where she decommissioned 22 March 1872. She was laid
up in ordinary there until 12 December 1872 when she
was sold to D. Buehler of New York.
Guest
Commodore John Guest was bora in Missouri 7 March
1822 ; appointed Midshipman 16 December 1837 ; served in
frigate Congress during the Mexican War ; and, protected
foreign residents from Chinese Imperial forces at Shang-
hai in April 1854. He commanded Owasco and Sangamon
in the Civil War, passing the forts for the capture of New
Orleans and engaging Confederate batteries in the seige
of Vicksburg. He also took part in the capture of the
forts at Galveston, Tex., and the capture of Fort Fisher,
N. C. Commodore Guest died 12 January 1879.
( DD— 472 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8'' ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 35.5
k. ; cpl. 329 ; a. 5 5'' .38 cal., 2 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21"
tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Guest was launched 27 September 1941 by the Boston
Naval Shipyard ; sponsored by Mrs. Ann Guest Walsh,
granddaughter of Commodore John Guest ; commissioned
15 December 1942, Comdr. Henry Crommelin in command.
After shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay, Guest
made a cruise to Trinidad with aircraft carrier Independ-
ence (CVL-22). This was followed by a convoy escort
voyage from New York to Casablanca and return to
Boston (28 April-31 May 1943). She departed Boston 20
July for brief training in Hawaiian waters, then joined
the 3d Fleet 28 August at Efate. New Hebrides Islands.
After an offensive sweep to the Santa Cruz Islands and
several escort missions to Noumea, New Caledonia, she
departed Efate 28 October for invasion of Bougainville.
She guarded transports during the initial landings 1
November assisting in shooting down two enemy bomb-
ers. In the following months she escorted troop and
logistic convoys from Guadalcanal to Cape Torokina, twice
driving off bombers and torpedo planes which attacked her
convoy. She silenced Japanese coastal defense guns at
Motupene Point, Bougainville, 4 December 1943, and
bombarded the Saba River area 25 January 1944.
Guest protected transports landing the marine raiders
on Green Island 31 January 1944. As the raiders re-
embarked the next morning, she made two depth charge
attacks for tremendous explosions on a diving submarine.
Hudson (DD^4"5) followed up this attack to complete
the kill of 1,400-ton Japanese submarine 1-171. Guest
again screened transports during invasion of Green
Islands 15 February 1944. She bombarded Kavieng, New
Ireland 25 February, and, the Sanba River area on Bou-
gainville 17 March. She rescued the crew of PT-283 on
the latter date. Her 5-inch gunfire destroyed the
grounded Japanese freighter Meisyo Maru 30 April to the
east of Nemto Island. After amphibious assault training
in the New Hebrides, she departed Roi, Marshall Islands,
10 June 1944 for the invasion and capture of the Marianas
Islands.
Guest poured gunfire ahead of troops landing on Saipan
15 June 1944, then helped repel four massive air raids
against Admiral Mifscher’s Fast Carrier Task Force in
the Battle of the Philippine Sea. She also conducted
pre-invasion bombardment of Guam and gave direct gun-
fire support to the landings there 21 July 1944. She re-
mained on bombardment support and patrol stations until
9 August, then sailed for amphibious warfare exercises
in the Solomons.
Guest departed Purvis Bay, Solomon Islands, 6 Sep-
tember 1944. A unit of Rear Admiral Oldendorf’s West-
ern Fire Support Group, she bombarded Anguar in the
Palau Islands 12 September 1944. The following day
she rescued 7 officers and 45 men of destroyer Perry who
hit a mine and sank off Anguar. She departed the area
182
25 September and entered San Francisco Bay 25 October
1944 for overhaul. This was followed by training in
Hawaiian waters until 27 January 1945 when she de-
parted with a task group bound via the Marianas for Iwo
Jima. Her 5-inch guns blasted that island during the
initial invasion 19 February 1945. She continued gunfire
support until 28 February when she sailed to join the
screen of escort carriers in San Pedro Bay, Philippine
Islands.
Guest departed San Pedro Bay 27 March to guard escort
carriers giving direct support to the invasion of Okinawa.
Detached 9 May, she was assigned to antiaircraft defense
station in the Okinawa western transport area. The
night of 25 May a suicide plane glanced off her mast and
crashed alongside to starboard without causing damage.
She remained on antiaircraft defense station until 1 July
1945. She was then routed via Ulithi and the Marshalls
in the screen of escort carriers bound to Adak, Alaska,
thence to Ominato, Japan. After plane guard duty with
carriers along the coast of Honshu, she returned via Adak
to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 15 November 1945.
She decommissioned at San Diego 4 June 1946 and re-
mained in reserve until transferred 5 June 1959 on loan
to the government of Brazil. She serves the Brazilian
Navy as Para (D-27).
Guest received eight battle stars for service in World
War II.
Guffey, J. M., see J. M. Guffey
Guide
One who leads or directs another.
I
(AMc-83 : dp. 195; 1. 97'1" ; b. 22'; dr. 9'; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
17 ; a. 2 mg. ; cl. Accentor. )
The first Guide (AMc-83) was launched 20 September
1941 by the Camden Shipbuilding & Marine Railway Co.,
Camden, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. Cary Bok, Jr.; and
commissioned 17 March 1942, Lt. (j.g. ) Alvin Hero in
command.
Guide trained from the Mine Warfare School at York-
town, Va., until 17 April 1942 when she sailed to alter-
nately sweep the main shipping channels leading out of
Key West, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala. She periodic-
ally made brief visits to Pensacola for special sweeping
duties. Her homeport changed from Mobile to Naval
Station, Burrwood, La., in July 1944. She continued
sweeping the approaches to New Orleans and Mobile until
July 1945. She then served the Mine Countermeasures
Station at Panama City, Fla., for the remainder of her
career.
Guide was placed out of service 12 June 1946 and her
name was struck from the Navy List 3 July. She was
sold to a private purchaser 11 April 1947.
II
(MSO-447 : dp. 665 ; 1. 173' ; b. 35' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
75 ; a. 1 40mm. ; cl. Agile)
The second Guide (MS0^47) was launched 17 April
1954 by the Seattle Shipbuilding & Drydocking Corp.,
Seattle, Wash. ; sponsored by Miss Ann L. Larson ; and
commissioned 15 March 1955, Lt. John E. Lowell in com-
mand. Her hull classification changed from AM-447 to
MSO-447 on 7 February 1955.
Guide spent the first year of her career in coastwise
operations off California. This duty included surveys for
the Navy Hydrographic Office in the San Diego-Long Beach
area and in San Francisco Bay approaches. She departed
Long Beach 1 October 1956 and arrived in Yokosuka
31 October for minesweeping exercises that took her off the
coast of Korea, the Marianas Islands, and along the coast
of Japan. She returned to Long Beach 15 April for 2 years
of training along the western seaboard. On 2 April 1959
she again deployed for the Far East, expanding duties
to include joint mine exercises with the naval forces of
Japan, Korea and Nationalist China.
Guide returned to Long Beach from her second Asian
tour 15 October 1959 and resumed operations along the
California seaboard for the next 2 years. On 1 May 1961
she sailed on her third tour of duty with the 7th Fleet,
arriving in Yokosuka, Japan, 29 May 1961. Following
amphibious and other mine warfare exercises to the coasts
of Korea and the Philippines, she returned to Long Beach
14 November. The next 16 months were filled with mine
countermeasure and minesweeping training that took her
as far north as Seattle and Esquimalt, British Columbia.
Guide was again underway for the Far East 5 April 1963,
touching Midway and the. Marianas on her way to Japan.
She again swept to the shores of Taiwan, Korea, and the
Philippines before returning to Long Beach 5 November
1963. Coastwise training occupied her until 5 April 1965
when she sailed for Guam, Marianas Islands, arriving
3 May 1965.
Guide underwent a 3-week upkeep period at Guam. She
arrived off the coast of Vietnam 1 June to begin the first
of three periods of “Market Time” anti-infiltration patrols
to deny movement of war supplies to the Viet Cong. Her
first patrol terminated 31 June. Subsequent patrols were
carried out 25 July-12 August 1965 and 18 September-
5 October 1965. Following a liberty call at Hong Kong,
she paid a 2-day visit to Iloilo City, Panay, Republic of
the Philippines. She opened for general visiting 25-28
October and contributed books and food to assist in Amer-
ica’s people-to-people program of international friendship.
Guide joined in combined mine warfare exercises with
units of the Philippine Navy before setting course for the
Marshalls, Hawaii, and back to Long Beach, arriving
14 December 1965. The minesweeper operated along the
West Coast throughout 1966 and sailed for the Far East
early in 1967. On 1 March she was off the coast of Viet-
nam laboring to keep clear the shipping lanes which
supply Allied fighters in that war-torn land. She con-
tinued to perform this vital duty past mid year, re-
affirming her right to the proud name Guide.
Guide, see Viking (ARS-1)
Guide, see Andradite (PYc-11)
Guilford
A county in North Carolina.
( APA-112 : dp. 11,760; 1. 492'; b. 69'6” ; dr. 26' 6" ; s.
18.4 k. ; a. 2 5'' ; cl. Bayfield)
Guilford (APA-112) was launched by the Ingalls Ship-
building Corp., Pascagoula, Miss., 14 July 1944; sponsored
by Mrs. Thomas Lowry Bailey, wife of the Governor of the
State ; converted to an attack transport by Waterman
Steamship Corp., Mobile, Ala. ; and commissioned there
14 May 1945, Captain E. R. Gardner in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Guilford sailed
for Newport, R.I. Arriving 22 June 1945, she served as
a training ship for precommissioning crews until 30 July.
Guilford then took on board cargo and troops at Norfolk
and sailed for the Pacific via San Diego. After off-loading
troops at Iwo Jima and in the Japanese home islands,
Guilford was attached to Operation “Magic Carpet” 18 Oc-
tober. In two round trips from San Diego to Guam,
Saipan, Okinawa, and Japan, she transported over 5,000
veterans back to the States for discharge as well as carry-
ing out troops for the occupation of Japan. Returning to
San Diego 6 March 1946 from her final Pacific voyage,
Guilford embarked passengers for the East Coast and
sailed for Norfolk via the Panama Canal 15 March.
Guilford reached Norfolk 31 March and decommissioned
there 29 May 1946. She returned to the Maritime
Commission 31 May 1946. She subsequently was sold in
256-125 0 - 68 - 14
183
May 1947 to Pope and Talbot Lines, and was renamed
p & T Navigator. In 1963 she was resold to American
Foreign Steamship Co. and renamed American Oriole.
Guinevere
A former name retained.
I
( SP-512 : dp. 499; 1. 197'6" ; b. 32'6” ; d. 17'; s. 10
k. ; cpl. 75; a. 4 3”)
Guinevere (SP-512) was built by George Lawley &
Sons, Boston, Mass., in 1908 and acquired from her owner,
Edgar Palmer of New York, 10 June 1917. She com-
missioned 20 July 1917, Lt. Guy Davis in command.
Sailing from the Newport Coaling Station 1 August
1917, Guinevere reached Brest, France, 29 August, after
stops at St. Johns, Newfoundland, and the Azores. From
there she patrolled the French coast and escorted convoys
to Quiberon, Ushant, Lorient, and St. Nazaire. Guinevere
ran aground and was wrecked off the French coast 26
January 1918, with no loss of life ; the wreck was pur-
chased by Societe Americaine de Sauvetage 30 June 1919.
II
( IX-67 : dp. 503 ; 1. 195' ; b. 32' 6” ; dr. 15' )
Guinevere (IX-67), an auxiliary schooner, was built by
George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, Mass., in 1921, and
acquired from her owner, Edgar Palmer of New York,
24 March 1942. She commissioned 16 June 1942 at
Brooklyn, Lt. Henry H. Anderson in command.
After brief shakedown, Guinevere performed harbor
patrol at Boston, escorted newly formed convoys out to
sea, and periodically sailed to patrol off the coast of
Greenland. She decommissioned 2 August 1945 and her
name was struct from the Navy List 13 August. She
was transferred to the Maritime Commission for sale
into private ownership 25 April 1946.
Guitarro
A ray of the guitar-fish family.
( SS-363 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311 '9' ' ; b. 27'3” ; dr. 15'3” ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 60 ; a. 1 3”, 10 21” tt. ; cl. Balao)
Guitarro (SS-363) was launched 26 September 1943 by
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. of Manitowoc, Wis. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Ross T. Mclntire, wife of the Chief of the
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ; and commissioned
at Manitowoc 26 January 1944, Lt. Comdr. E. D. Haskins
in command.
Guitarro departed Manitowoc for Chicago 13 February,
and there she was place in a floating drydock. Steamer
Minnesota towed the drydock to New Orleans, arriving
22 February, and there Guitarro prepared for sea.
Steaming from New Orleans 1 March, she operated out
of Balboa, Canal Zone, for several weeks and departed
for Pearl Harbor 2 April 1944.
Arriving at Pearl Harbor 17 April, Guitarro prepared
for her first war patrol off Formosa. She got under-
way on this duty 7 May 1944. On the night of 30 May
the submarine encountered heavily escorted cargo vessel
Shisen Maru, and scoring two hits sent her to the bottom.
She evaded counter-attacks by the screen ships and headed
south for rendezvous with a wolf pack of four submarines
under the command of Comdr. F. W. Fenno. On the night
of 2 June Guitarro made a moonlight periscope approach
and fired two torpedoes at frigate Awaji, sinking her
immediately. The submarine was then forced down to
avoid depth charge, torpedo, and aircraft attacks. She
returned to Darwin, Australia, 19 June, and 2 days later
sailed for Fremantle, arriving 27 June 1944.
Departing on her second war patrol 21 July 1944,
Guitarro set course for the South China Sea off the west
coast of Luzon. She commenced her approach to the lead
escorts of a large convoy 7 August and after missing
the first target scored three hits on frigate Kusakaki,
blowing off her bow and sinking her in a spectacular
explosion. The remainder of the convoy escaped as
Guitarro eluded the determined attacks of an escort
destroyer. She surfaced the next day to sink a small
coastal vessel with her deck gun, and then steamed
toward Cape Bolinao, where she was to rendezvous with
Raton the next day.
Guitarro detected a convoy along the coastline 10
August, maneuvered from beachside, and fired four
torpedoes. Tanker Shinei Maru exploded and burned
furiously as Guitarro dived to avoid depth charges. The
submarine suffered considerable outside damage but no
serious injury, and she departed for the vicinity of Cape
Calavite with Raton. While submerged the morning of
21 August Guitarro heard a distant depth charge attack,
and soon sighted the smoke of a convoy. Hampered by
an unfavorable current and a radically maneuvering
convoy, she was unable to mount an attack on two tankers ;
but a cargo ship turned into her and received four
torpedoes. Passenger-cargo ship JJga Maru was sunk,
and Guitarro escaped amid a violent depth charge attack.
The versatile submarine, finding the water too shallow
for a torpedo attack, surfaced 27 August to engage three
coastal tankers with her deck gun and succeeded in
sinking Nanshin Maru. To other tankers were damaged
but managed to escape into shoal water. Guitarro re-
turned to Fremantle to complete her patrol 8 September
1944.
In company with Bream , Guitarro departed Fremantle
8 October 1944 for her third war patrol in Philippine
waters. As the epochal Battle for Leyte Gulf developed,
Guitarro played an important role. She sighted the Jap-
anese Central Force under Admiral Kurita on the night
of 23 and 24 October and tracked the ships through
Mindoro Strait, unable to close for an attack. Her con-
tact reports on the force were vital to the success of the
ensuing engagements, which by 26 October virtually elim-
inated the remaining Japanese naval forces in the Pacific.
Guitarro, Bream, and Raton rendezvoused 30 October
and the three boats attacked a convoy off Cape Bolinao
that night. Unable to score any hits until the next day,
Guitarro managed to work her way inside the screen and
fire no less than nine torpedoes at 0847. She observed
one cargo ship break in half and was rocked by a tre-
mendous explosion from another direct hit on an ammu-
nition ship. Guitarro was driven down 50 feet by the
force of the explosion, prompting Comdr. Haskins to re-
port : “The Commanding Officer never wishes to hit an
ammunition ship any closer than that one.” She teamed
up with Bream and Ray 4 November to sink passenger-
cargo ship Kagu Maru. After Bream’s initial attack,
Guitarro added four hits before diving to avoid escort
vessels.
Remaining off western Luzon, Guitarro and her wolf
pack next encountered cruiser Kvmano in convoy. Dam-
aged in the Battle off Samar, the cruiser had repaired at
Manila and was en route to Japan when the submarines
struck. Guitarro fired nine torpedoes and gained three
hits, but failed to sink the cruiser. Pounded by torpedoes
from the other boats, Kvmano was finally stopped, towed
ashore by one of her sisters, and eventually finished off
by carrier aircraft 25 November 1944. Guitarro, mean-
while, had returned to Fremantle 16 November. For her
outstanding performance on her first three patrols, the
submarine was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation.
Guitarro departed Fremantle 11 December 1944 on her
fourth war patrol, transiting Lombok Strait 17 December
to patrol the South China Sea. After putting in at Mios
Woendi 17 January 1945 for repairs, she made an attack
with undetermined results on a convoy off Cape Batagan.
Finding targets scarce, she returned to Fremantle 15
March.
The hard-working submarine again put out to sea 9
April on her fifth war patrol, and was unsuccessfully at-
tacked by aircraft and a patrol boat in Lombok Strait.
184
She then made her way to the northeast coast of Sumatra,
where she engaged in a new mission, the laying of mines,
off Berhala Island. After an uneventful patrol astride
the shipping lanes between Borneo and Singapore,
Guitarro anchored off Saipan 27 May 1945. Next day
she departed for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 8 June.
Arriving at San Francisco 18 June 1945, Guitarro de-
commissioned at Mare Island 6 December and was placed
in reserve. The veteran submarine recommissioned 6
February 1952, and after overhaul at San Diego engaged
in a series of training exercises off the coast until 10
September 1953. She again decommissioned 22 September
1953 and underwent conversion to snorkel equipment at
Mare Island Shipyard. Guitarro subsequently recommis-
sioned 15 May 1954 and commenced the training of
Turkish sailors prior to transfer to Turkey under the
Military Defense Assistance Program. Guitarro decom-
missioned and was loaned to Turkey 7 August 1954 where
she now serves as Prevese ( S-22 ) .
Guitarro was awarded four battle stars and a Navy
Unit Commendation for her service in World War II.
Her first, second, third, and fifth war patrols were desig-
nated successful.
Gulf Dawn, see Big Horn ( AO— 45)
Gulf Spray, see Y 0-1 42
Gulf Stream, see YM-20
Gulfport
( AK-5 : dp. 3,800; 1. 267'4" ; b. 37'2" ; dr. 18'; s. 7.5 k. ;
cpl. 52 ; a. 1 4” 50 cal., 1 6-pdr.)
I
Gulfport, formerly SS Locksun, ex-Andree Rickmers,
was built at Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1902 by Rickmers
Atkien Ges. and was owned by the North German Lloyd
SS Co. In Pearl Harbor when the United States entered
World War I, she was seized by Government orders and
converted to a cargo transport at the Honolulu Navy Yard.
She commissioned 1 September 1917 at Honolulu, Lt.
Comdr. P. F. Johnson, USNR, in command.
In company with four submarines, Gulfport sailed from
Hawaii on 30 October 1917, reaching New York 28 January
1918 via San Diego, Corinto, Nicaragua, Balboa, Key
West, and Norfolk. At New York she discharged her
cargo, primarily pineapple, and was attached to the Naval
Overseas Transportation Service.
Until she decommissioned in 1922, Gulfport served as
a cargo ship linking New York and Charleston with var-
ious Caribbean ports, particularly Guantanamo, Cuba ; St.
Thomas, Virgin Islands ; Port-au-Prince, Haiti ; and Santo
Domingo ; Dominican Republic. During this period she
made a total of 23 round trips to the West Indies, carrying
oil and other necessary supplies to American troops based
there and frequently returning with a cargo of sugar from
the islands. Gulfport was detached from NOTS on 10
October 1919 and placed under the military jurisdiction
of the Commandant, 6th Naval -District, Charleston, for
duty in the West Indies Freight Service.
Gulfport completed her last voyage to the Caribbean on
25 November 1921 as she returned to New York ; there
she decommissioned 3 March 1922 at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard and was sold to Moore & McCormack Inc. of New
York on 25 July 1922.
II
A city in Mississippi.
(PF-20 : dp. 1,264; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma )
Gulfport (PF-20), a frigate, was launched 21 August
1943 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, Ohio;
sponsored by Mrs. John C. Chambers; and commissioned
at Gulfport, Miss., 16 September 1944, Comdr. G. A. Knud-
sen, USCG, in command.
Gulfport underwent shakedown at Bermuda, B.W.I., and
then returned to Norfolk for training 2 December 1944.
The frigate was soon active as a convoy escort, however,
departing with her first convoy from Norfolk to Oran,
Algeria, 18 December. She continued on this vital duty
between Algeria and the United States until VE day.
Scheduled for conversion to a weather ship, Gulfport
entered New York Navy Yard 5 July 1945. Upon com-
pletion, she was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, sailing via
the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor to her new home
port of Adak, Alaska, where she arrived 16 September
1945. Gulfport performed weather duties so singularly
important in the movements of both ships and aircraft in
the Pacific area until decommissioning 28 May 1946 at
Seattle. Her name was struck from the Navy List 19
June 1946 and she was sold to Zidell Ship Dismantling Co.
for scrap 13 November 1947 at Seattle.
Gull
A long-winged, usually white, web-footed swimming bird
having the iower mandible hooked.
I
(AM-74: dp. 410; 1. 124'3" ; b. 23'; dr. 10'8''; s. 9 k ; a.
13")
Gull (AM-74), formerly trawler Boston College, was
built by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, in 1928;
acquired 30 August 1940; converted at the Boston Yards
of the Bethlehem Steel Corp. 30 September 1940 ; and com-
missioned 3 December 1940, Lt. Comdr. Ernest L. Posey,
USNR, in command.
Attached to the Inshore Patrol, Gull conducted mine-
sweeping operations in Massachusetts Bay until 28 March
1941 when she sailed for Norfolk via Yorktown. Home-
ported at Norfolk 6 April-26 August 1941, she operated
along the Atlantic coast as far north as Boston until sail-
ing the latter date for Argentia, Newfoundland, where
she put in 4 September. Gull continued her exacting
duties as a minesweeper at Argentia until the summer of
1944, calling at Boston for repairs as needed. She decom-
missioned at Quincy, Mass., 25 July 1944. Stricken from
the Navy List 22 August 1944, she was transferred to
the Maritime Commission for disposal 15 May 1946.
II
( YMS-324 : dp. 270 ; 1. 136' ; b. 25' ; dr. 8' ; s. 14 k ; cpl. 34)
The second Gull (AMS-16) was launched as YMS-324
by the A1 Larson Boat Shop, Terminal Island, Calif., 14
October 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. William Toman ; and
commissioned 28 February 1944, Lt. B. F. Silviera, USNR,
in command.
After shakedown and minesweeping training, YMS-324
sailed from San Pedro 20 June 1944 via Pearl Harbor and
reached Guadalcanal 1 August to prepare for the coming
invasion of Peleliu. She put in at Peleliu and swept her
first enemy mine 14 September, the day before the famous
1st Marine Division stormed ashore, and for the next
month continued minesweeping operations there and at
Ulithi. Sailing from Ulithi 14 October for the attack on
the Ngulu Islands, the ship swept mines under enemy fire
without damage or casualities and subsequently continued
her duties at Ulithi until departing 19 March 1945 for
Okinawa. YMS-324 aided in clearing the approaches to
Okinawa, and remained in those waters until the fall of
1945, returning to San Pedro, Calif., 20 September 1945,
15 months to the day from the time she left.
Redesignated Gull (AMS-16) 18 February 1947, she re-
turned to the western Pacific in the autumn of 1947, via
Pearl Harbor, and conducted peacetime training until put-
185
ting in at Chinampo, Korea, 2 November 1950 to support
United Nations forces 'by sweeping mines in those wintry
waters. Gull remained off Chinampo for more than a
month and through her untiring efforts the approaches to
that port were cleared, allowing an evacuation accom-
plished without loss of life. For this hazardous duty Gull
was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation.
On 1 August 1954 Gull was redesignated AMCU-46 and
underwent conversion at Yokosuka, Japan. Redesignated
again as MHC-46 on 7 February 1955, she returned to
Long Beach, Calif., in May, 1955, and subsequently con-
ducted peacetime training duty out of southern California
ports until 14 January 1958. Decommissioned at San
Diego that date, she was disposed of in March 1959.
Gull was awarded two battle stars for World War II
service and nine 'battle stars and the Navy Unit Com-
mendation for Korean service.
Gull was the name assigned to AM-399, to be built by
the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich., in 1945. The
contract was cancelled 16 May 1945.
Gum T ree
A gum-producing tree.
( YN-13 : dp. 700; 1. 151'8" ; b. 30' 6" ; dr. 10'6" ; s. 15 k.)
Gum Tree (YN-13) was launched 20 March 1941 by the
Marietta Manufacturing Co., Point Pleasant, W. Va. ; com-
missioned 16 September 1941, Algiers, La., Lt. George H.
Burrows in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi
River, Gum Tree sailed for Newfoundland on 25 Septem-
ber 1941, reaching Argentia 25 January 1942 after touching
at Key West, New York, Newport, Boston, and Halifax.
She spent the following 17 months laying and tending nets
off Newfoundland and then returned to the States for
overhaul. Casco Bay, off Portland, Maine, was Gum
Tree’s home port for the remainder of the war as she
tended harbor defenses there. Her designation was
changed to AN-18 20 January 1944. In September 1945
the net-tender participated in some experimental net op-
erations at Melville, R.I., and then was ordered to Orange,
Tex., where she arrived 6 December 1945. Gum Tree de-
commissioned there 20 June 1946 and was struck from
the Navy List 7 February 1947. She was transferred 27
February 1948 to the Maritime Commission at Lake
Charles, La.
Gunason
Robert W. Gunason, born 26 November 1919 in Chicago,
111., enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an apprentice seaman
24 August 1940 at Los Angeles. Following service in
Wichita he was appointed Midshipman and sent to active
duty training at the Midshipmen’s School, Prairie State,
N.Y. Promoted to Ensign 6 June 1941 and to Lieutenant
(j.g.) 15 June 1942, Lt. Gunason was killed in action 9
August 1942 while serving in Astoria, during the Battle
of Savo Island.
(DE-795: dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 23.6 k. ;
cpl. 213; a. 3 3", 41.1", 8 20mm., 3 21" tt„ 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
( h.h. ) , 2 dct.. ; cl. Buckley. )
Gunason (DE-795) was launched 16 October 1943 by
the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Mabel Meneley, the namesake’s mother; and com-
missioned 1 February 1944, Comdr. H. G. White, USNR,
commanding.
After shakedown Gunason sailed from Boston 6 April
1944 for the Caribbean, reaching Trinidad 4 days later, and
began inter-island escort duties. Until June she made
frequent escort voyages between Trinidad and Guan-
tanamo Bay, Cuba, delivering her convoys safely. De-
parting Trinidad 2 June she rendezvoused at Barbados
with a merchantman carrying one of the first loads of Bar-
badians to the United States to relieve the wartime farm
labor shortage, and escorted the ship safely to Miami.
Subsequently, following repairs at Boston, Gunason
reached Casco Bay, Maine, 25 June and joined sister
destroyer escorts bound for Hampton Roads, where all
arrived 2 July to form Task Force 61. Gunason served
with this task force until early 1945, making three trans-
atlantic escort voyages out of Hampton Roads to Bizerte,
Plymouth, and Oran respectively from 4 July 1944-8 Janu-
ary 1945. Highlights of this exacting duty included shep-
herding a stricken slow tow convoy which had been at-
tacked by U-boats. Gunason spent Christmas and New
Year’s standing by this convoy as it steamed into winter
seas at 4 knots.
Gunason was soon to change her theater of operations.
She sailed from Boston 27 January 1945 via the Panama
Canal for the South Pacific, arriving Manus 4 March. A
round trip escort voyage thence to Leyte in March set the
pattern she was to follow for the next 3 months — escort-
ing convoys entering and departing Philippine waters —
supporting America’s last giant thrusts in the Pacific. In
June Gunason escorted troopships from Hollandia to
Manila and after touching Ulithi put in at Manila again
early in July.
The ship departed Subic Bay 26 July in company with
three destroyer escorts and a flotilla of landing craft
bound for Okinawa, arriving 9 days later. A pre-dawn
air attack 5 August sent all ships off Hagushi Beach to
General Quarters, but Gunason and her charges escaped
damage. She returned to Leyte 8 August and following
an escort voyage thence to Ulithi and return, got under-
way 30 August with one of the first Leyte- Tokyo convoys,
a flotilla of LCI’s that entered Tokyo Bay 7 September.
Gunason sailed the next day for Manila, arriving 17
September, and remained in the Philippines until Novem-
ber. Duties included a trip to Batan Island with a War
Crimes Investigating Detail in which facts, later brought
forth in the Yamashita War Crimes Trial, were gleaned.
A search mission for a downed plane and a training ex-
ercise with submarines in Subic Bay occupied Gunason
until 26 November when she stood out of Subic Bay for
the United States, arriving San Diego, Calif., 17 December
1945. She operated out of there until 10 February 1947
when she sailed for the Far East via Pearl Harbor and
Guam. Gunason arrived Sasebo, Japan 10 March. She
sailed 3 days later for patrol off the eastern coast of
Korea. Gunason remained in this service, with calls at
Tsingtao and Yokosuka, until 10 September 1947, when
she departed for California.
Arriving San Diego 19 September, Gunason conducted
coastal operations until 12 December 1947, when she
entered Long Beach for inactivation. Gunason decommis-
sioned 13 March 1948 and was placed in reserve at Mare
Island. At present she is berthed at Stockton, Calif.
Gunboats, Unnamed
Commencing in the 1800’s, contracts were let for a
considerable number of ships to be designated “Gunboat”
followed by a number. Data on these unnamed gunboats
will be found in the volume of this series subtitled “Un-
named Ships and Craft of the United States Navy.”
Gunnel
A blennoid fish of the north Atlantic ranging south
as far as Cape Cod.
(SS-253: dp. 1,525; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 16'10" ; s.
20 k; cpl. 80; a. 1 5", 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato.)
Gunnel (SS-253) was launched 17 May 1942 by the
Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs. Ben
Morell, wife of the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and
Docks ; and commissioned 20 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. J. S.
McCain, Jr., in command.
Gunnel’s first war patrol (19 October-7 December
1942) covered a passage from the United States to the
United Kingdom, during which she participated in Oper-
186
ation “Torch,” the Allied invasion of North Africa. One
of six submarines assigned to Admiral Hewitt’s Western
Naval Task Force, Gunnel made reconnaissance runs off
Fedhala 6 November 1942, 2 days before the invasion, and
at D-day 8 November made infrared signals to gl ide
the approaching fleet to the beachheads. Missions well
accomplished, the submarine reached Rosneath, Scotland,
7 December to terminate her first patrol.
Following a major overhaul at Portsmouth, N.H.,
Gunnel steamed to the Pacific to conduct her second
patrol (28 May-3 July 1943) in waters west of Kyushu
Island in the East China Sea. Success crowned her
efforts when cargo ship Kayo Marti was sunk 15 June —
Gunnel’s first kill — and 4 days later when another cargo
ship, Tokitca Marti, was sent under.
After overhaul at Mare Island, Calif., the submarine
accomplished a third war patrol (17 November 1943-7
January 1944) in homeland waters of Japan off Honshu.
This, too, was successful ; on 4 December Gunnel sent
passenger-cargo ship Hiyoshi Marti to the bottom.
The fourth war patrol (5 February-6 April) took the
boat from Midway to Fremantle and in the South China,
Sulu, and Celebes Seas. Bad luck dogged Gunnel and
she was forced to return to port having made no further
kills. Her fifth and sixth patrols, (3 May-4 July) and
(29 July-22 September 1944) found her again in the
southern approaches of the Sunda Straits and cruising
in the Sulu Sea-Manila area but failed to add sunken
ships to Gunnel's score. During her seventh patrol (21
October-28 December) in the South China and Sulu Seas,
she sank the motor torpedo boat, Sagi; passenger-cargo
ship, Shunten Mam; and torpedo boat, Hiyodori. On
this same patrol Gunnel evacuated 11 naval aviators
at Palawan 1 to 2 December after the fliers had been
protected by friendly guerrilla forces for some 2 months.
She conducted her eight patrol (13 June-24 July 1945)
in the Bungo Suido area. She attacked an unescorted
Japanese submarine 9 July. The great range and speed
of the enemy, however, caused Gunnel’s torpedoes to miss.
She returned from the patrol after duty as a lifeguard
ship for B-29’s flying toward Japan on bombing missions.
Gunnel was refitting at Pearl Harbor and at war’s end
she was ordered to New London, Conn., where she decom-
missioned 18 May 1946. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 September 1958 and was sold for scrapping
in August 1959.
Gunnel received five battle stars for World War II
service. Her first, second, third, and seventh war patrols
were designated successful.
Gunnison River
A river in west-central Colorado.
LSMR^508 was named Gunnison River 1 October 1955 ;
reclassified' YV-3 in May 1960; and renamed Targeted-
( q.v .) 26 May 1960.
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is a colonial estate in Fairfax County, Va.,
about 15 miles down the Potomac River from Alexandria
and not far from Mount Vernon. Built between 1755 and
1758, it is a representative piece of Virginia’s colonial
architecture and has been designated a national shrine.
Gunston Hall was the home of George Mason, one of
Virginia’s outstanding Revolutionary figures. In addition
to serving in the Constitutional Convention, Mason was
prominent in drafting the first constitution of Virginia and
was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights,
which served as the prototype for the Bill of Rights, the
first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United
States.
(LSD-5: dp. 4,490; 1. 457'9" ; b. 72'2" ; dr. 18' ; s. 15 k. ;
a. 1 5" 12 40mm.; cpl. 326; cl. Ashland)
Gunston Hall (LSD-5) originally designated APM-5,
was launched 1 May 1943 by the Moore Drydoek Co., Oak-
land, Calif., sponsored by Mrs. Harvey S. Haislip ; and com-
missioned 10 November 1943, Comdr. D. E. Collins in
command.
After intensive shakedown along the California coast,
Gunston Hall prepared to sail for the Western Pacific,
where she was to participate in every major operation from
February 1944 to the end of the war, 18 months later.
Loading 225 men from the 4th Marine Tank Battalion
and 2 amphibious units, as well as 15 LVT’s, 15 tanks, 17
CM’s, and 15,000 gallons of gasoline, Gunston Hall de-
parted San Diego 13 January 1944. On D-Day 1 Feb-
ruary 1944 at Kwajalein Atoll, she stood offshore to un-
load her cargo as the Marines stormed the beaches on
Roi and Namur Islands. Gunston Hall remained in the
area to repair small craft until 6 February, when she re-
embarked for former passengers and equipment and sailed
to Guadalcanal via Funa Futi. The pattern she set here
held for her participation in eight further key invasion
efforts in the Pacific as the Navy “Island-hopped” marines
and Army troops ever closer to the Japanese home islands.
Through the rest of 1944, the versatile landing ship took
part in the initial assualt invasions of Emirau Island 20
March, Hollandia 22 April, Guam 21 July, Pelelieu Island
15 September, and Leyte Island 20 October. The last
assault culminated in the momentous Battle for Leyte
Gulf, one of history’s greatest naval engagements. While
not actually involved in an invasion effort, Gunston Hall
trained troops and shuttled supplies and men from the
rear islands to the staging areas.
In 1945 Gunston Hall participated in the initial assault
landings at Luzon 9 January, Iwo Jima 19 February, and
Okinawa 1 April. After the first invasion waves went
ashore at Okinawa — the Pacific’s largest amphibious op-
eration, involving over 1,200 ships and half a million men —
Gunston Hall remained anchored at nearby Kerama Retto
until 1 July to repair small craft. She was untouched
by the enemy’s fierce kamikaze attacks although she saw
several other American ships hit and crippled.
Gunston Hall terminated her Pacific war duty 1 July
1945 as she sailed for a much needed overhaul reaching
Portland, Oreg., 26 July via Guam, Eniwetok, and Pearl
Harbor. After a period of shuttling small craft along the
West Coast, she anchored at San Diego in mid-Dcember
to repair small craft. Gunston Hall returned to the
Pacific in 1946 to participate in one of the most significant
series of scientific tests of the era. Departing San Diego
17 April, she reached Bikini Atoll 5 May via Pearl Harbor
for duties in connection with Operation “Crossroads,” the
famous series of atomic bomb tests. Departing Bikini
19 August, Gunston Hall returned to San Diego 3 October
via Kwajalein and Pearl. Gunston Hall decommissioned
7 July 1947 at Terminal Island in San Francisco Bay.
Conversion to an Arctic LSD at Puget Sound Navy
Shipyard, Seattle, gave Gunston Hall a reinforced hull
and a greatly extended heating and ventilation system
which would permit her to operate effectively in the Arc-
tic. She recommissioned at Puget Sound 5 March 1949,
and, after shakedown, sailed north to participate in Op-
eration “MIKI” in the Arctic Circle and later returned
for Operation “MICOWEX.” Next training and develop-
ment operations along the West Coast occupied her until
the outbreak of war in Korea.
With elements of the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade
embarked, Gunston Hall departed San Diego 1 July 1950
and reached Pusan, Korea, via Yokosuka 3 August.
Disembarking the Marines, she took aboard 30 stretcher
cases and returned to Osaka, Japan. On 10 September
Gunston Hal) sailed from Japan to participate in the bril-
liant amphibious operation at Inchon, Korea, 15 Sep-
tember. After the Marines had landed midway up the
peninsula, threatening to cut the communist supply lines
to their troops at the tip of the peninsula, Gunston Hall
made several shuttle trips to bring reinforcements. As
the Korean conflict settled into its long and bloody pat-
tern of near stalemate, Gunston Hall continued to shuttle
troops and supplies between Japan and Korea, occasionally
also acting on fire support missions for coastal minesweep-
ers. During an overhaul in the summer of 1952, she
187
was fitted with a helicopter landing and launching plat-
form large enough to accommodate nine “whirly-birds,”
newest element in amphibious warfare.
When armistice ended the actual fighting in Korea,
Gunston Hall sailed to Cheju Do, Korea, 4 September
1953. Remaining there until 22 September, she served
in Operation “Big Switch,” the exchange of prisoners of
war. She then settled into a schedule of annual cruises
in the Western Pacific, which took her from San Diego
to various Asian ports, interspersed with Arctic resupply
cruises.
Gunston Hall was part of one of the Navy’s greatest
postwar humanitarian efforts in 1955 as she joined TG-90
(Rear Admiral Lorenzo S. Sabin) at Saigon. South Viet-
nam, for Operations “Passage to Freedom.” When the Ge-
neva Accord of July 1954 divided the former French Indo-
china, over 800,000 North Vietnamese decided to cast their
lot with the South rather than live under a Communist
government. Since badly depleted French forces could not
hope to effect the transfer of so many people, the U.S. Navy
detailed nearly- 100 ships to carry refugees and equip-
ment from Haiphong to Saigon in a 9-month period. Gun-
ston Hall made five coastal runs carrying heavy barges
between 2 January and 26 February 1955. In all, the
Navy evacuated 310,848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,-
757 tons of cargo and over 8,000 vehicles. Hard-pressed
sailors feeding and clothing the ragged refugees were re-
warded when many of the 184 children bom during the
Haiphong-Saigon passage were named after Navy vessels.
Gunston Hall’s pattern of WesPac cruises and Arctic
resupply missions was broken a second time in 1962. Dur-
ing the Cuban missile crisis, she embarked elements of
the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at San Diego and
headed for the Caribbean, transiting the Panama Canal
5 November. As the Soviets withdrew their missiles and
the crisis passed, Gunston Hall transited the Canal again
returning San Diego 15 December.
The veteran LSD sailed for the western Pacific 26
March 1963. After operations which carried her to Japan,
Okinawa, Korea, Hong Kong, and several Pacific islands,
she returned to the West Coast 13 November. Following
operations along the California coast, she departed San
Diego 6 November 1964 for duty with the 7th Fleet. Ar-
riving Subic Bay 30 November, she was under way again a
week later for Vietnam to support the fight to thwart
Communist aggression.
Relieved 8 January 1965 she headed for Hong Kong,
en route to Japan, arriving Yokosuka on the 24th. She
visited Korea and Okinawa before returning to the battle
zone. She unloaded cargo at Da Nang through 18 Feb-
ruary, then headed to Okinawa for more supplies. She
continued this pattern of duty shuttling between Pacific
ports and Vietnam until departing Yokosuka for home 6
June.
Reaching San Diego 22 June, she prepared to return to
the Orient. Sailing 6 August, she visited Hawaii, Oki-
nawa, and Japan before returning to the West Coast 7
October.
After operations out of San Diego, Gunston Hall again
turned her prow toward the setting sun 16 May 1966. She
reached Chu Lai, Vietnam, 27 May and debarked the 9th
Marine Engineers before sailing for Subic Bay to resume
shuttling between Vietnam and nearby friendly ports,
bringing war materiel to the Allies. She participated in
Exercises “Hilltop VII” and “Mudpuppy I” in the Philip-
pines before loading three experimental Navy Patrol Air
Cushion vehicles 15 December for transportation to San
Diego. Back home early in January 1967, Gunston Hall
prepared for future action.
Gunston Hall earned nine battle stars for World War
II service and another nine battle stars during the Korean
War.
Gurke
Henry Gurke was born 6 November 1922 at Neche,
N. Dak. Enlisting in the Marine Corps 15 April 1942, he
participated in the invasion and occupation of Pavuvu,
Russell Islands. Private Gurke was killed during the
battle for Bougainville 9 November 1943. He and an-
other Marine were sharing a foxhole to defend a vital
road when a Japanese grenade dropped directly in on
them. Knowing that his companion manned an automatic
weapon with greater fire power than his own and could
thereby provide more effective resistance, Gurke thrust
the other Marine aside and threw himself over the gren-
ade to smother the explosion. For his gallantry above
and beyond the call of duty, Private Gurke was post-
humously awarded the Medal of Honor.
(DD-783: dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 40'11” ; dr. 18'6" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 10 20mm., 6 dcp., 2
dct., 10 21” tt ; cpl. 336 ; cl. Gearing)
Gurke (DD-783) was launched 15 February 1945 by
the Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Wash. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Julius Gurke, mother of Private Gurke;
and commissioned 12 May 1945, Comdr. Kenneth Loveland
in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Gurke sailed
for the Western Pacific 27 August 1945, reaching Pearl
USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) during December 1959
188
Harbor 2 September. From there she continued west to
participate in the occupation of Japan and former Japa-
nese possessions. Returning to her home port, San Diego,
in February 1946, Ourke participated in training opera-
tions until 4 September 1947 when she sailed for another
WesPac cruise. Two further WesPac cruises, alternating
with operations out of San Diego and a cruise to Alaska
in 1948 to aid in the celebration of the 50th anniversary
of the Yukon gold rush, filled Ourke’ s, schedule until the
outbreak of the Korean AVar.
Gurke departed San Diego 5 August 1950 and arrived at
Yokosuka 19 August to screen fast carrier task forces
off the west coast of Korea, 25 August-6 September. She
shared with five other destroyers the award of the Navy
Unit Commendation to Task Element 90.62 for extraordi-
nary heroism in support of the landing at Inchon, 13-15
September 1950. Steaming up Flying Fish (So Sudo)
Channel at flood tide the first day, Ourke bombarded
AVolmi Do and the Inchon waterfront. Communist fire
concentrated on three of the “sitting duck” destroyers,
Ourke taking three hits that caused no casualties and only
minor damage. The destroyer’s 5-inch batteries opened
in a prelanding shore bombardment 15 September 1950
until the first assault wave of Marines crossed the line
of departure for AVolmi Do which was secured by high
noon. AVolmi Do was no longer a dominating threat over
approaches into Inchon by landing assault craft that
would be borne in on the incoming afternoon tide. After
this initial landing General of the Army Douglas Mac-
Arthur made visual signal : “The Navy and Marines have
never shone more brightly than this morning.”
After the Inchon landings, Gurke screened fast attack
carriers launching powerful strikes against enemy posi-
tions and supply lines. She also patrolled the narrow
Formosa Straits to prevent Chinese Communist invasion
of Formosa and to insure that Formosa was not used as a
ba.se for military operations against the Chinese main-
land. During the first year of war Ourke frequently
served as flagship of A'ice Admiral Struble and the 7th
Fleet’s Carrier Task Force 77.
Two interludes in the States for repairs and training
interrupted Gurke’s Korean conflict service. But She con-
tinued, when deployed with the Seventh Fleet, to screen
attack carriers and bombard enemy coastal supply routes
and installations, once destroying a Communist train
through accurate gunnery. She again drew fire from
Communist shore batteries 25 June 1953, but escaped with-
out serious damage from two direct hits and the shrapnel
of five air bursts.
AVhen the shooting stopped in Korea in August 1953,
Ourke continued patrols in the Far East to help keep the
peace. Six to eight month deployments to the AATestern
Pacific were alternated with stateside overhauls and train-
ing in a full peacetime routine. During 17-18 June 1960,
USS Gurke (DD-783) — personnel inspection
189
she was a unit of the escort for cruiser St. Paul carrying
President Eisenhower on a fast Manila-Taiwan cruise.
She also participated in nose-cone recovery work as Amer-
ica’s space effort rolled into high gear, facilitated by
seapower.
In June 1962, Gurke participated in a series of nuclear
tests off Christmas Island. She entered the Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard 11 July 1963 for modernization overhaul,
emerging 1 May 1964 with new equipment ranging from
antisubmarine rocket launchers to the latest in air search
radar and electronic detection devices. She arrived in
her new home port of San Diego 15 May for fleet opera-
tions along the western seaboard until 21 October when
she again sailed for the Far East. She arrived in Yoko-
suka and joined the 7th Fleet 16 November 1964 to begin
her duties as a unit of Fast Carrier Task Force 77.
The first day of 1965 found Gurke with Task Group 77.7
in the South China Sea. Long hours w'ere spent on sta-
tion, plane-guarding for attack carriers Ranger (OVA-61)
and Hancock (CVA-19). As the Vietnam conflict became
“hot” in late January she served as one of the escorts for
an amphibious task group in the vicinity of Da Nang,
South Vietnam. Long stretches at sea with fast carriers
were punctuated by liberty calls at Subic Bay and Hong
Kong. On 20 April 1965 the destroyer sailed in company
with Ranger (OVA-61) for return to San Diego, 7 May
1965. The remainder of the year was filled with a rapid
succession of coastwise training exercises ranging north
to Seattle, which continued until she sailed for the western
Pacific 12 May 1966. After visiting Hawaii, Japan, and
the Philippines, Gurke was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin
late in June for search and rescue duty. On 1 July three
North Vietnamese PT boats were detected 11 miles away
from Gurke and three sister destroyers and closing at high
speed. Fighter aircraft from Constellation intercepted
the raiders and sank all three within minutes. The de-
stroyers picked up 19 survivors for questioning.
While in the Gulf of Tonkin, Gurke refueled helicopters
by a new in-flight refueling process enabling them to
rescue American pilots downed in hostile territory.
After a brief respite in Hong Kong, Formosa, and the
Philippines in August, Gurke resumed duty in the Gulf of
Tonkin in September and set a record in completing 113
in-flight refuelings. On this assignment she bombarded
Viet Cong positions in the Mekong and Saigon River
deltas. After being relieved early in the fall, the de-
stroyer returned home, via Okinawa and Japan, arriving
San Diego 16 November. In 1967, she operated along the
West Coast and prepared for future action.
Gurke received seven battle stars for service in the
Korean conflict.
Gurkha
A former name retained.
( SP-600 : b. 13' ; sp. 12 k. ; a. 11 pdr. ; 1 3-pdr.)
Gurkha was built in 1915 by Britt Brothers of West
Lynn, Mass. ; acquired from her owner, Willoughby H.
Stuart of Boston on 21 April 1917 ; and commissioned 22
May. Gurkha served as a coastal and harbor patrol boat
at Portland, Maine, until 25 June 1919 when she was trans-
ferred to the Coast Guard.
Gurnard
A trigloid fish having three free pectoral rays, a food
fish of the genus Trigla. The striped gurnard inhabits the
South Atlantic.
( SS-254 : dp. 1,525 ; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'2" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20.25
k.; cpl. 80; a. 1 3", 10 21” tt. ; cl. Gato)
Gurnard was launched 1 June 1942 by the Electric Boat
Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Miss Suzanne Slingluff ;
and commissioned 18 September 1942, Lt. Comdr. C. H.
Andrews in command.
Following shakedown out of New London, Gurnard
sailed for Rosneath, Scotland, 2 November 1942 and
reached that port 13 days later. Her first war patrol, 28
November to 27 December 1942, brought her to the Bay
of Biscay where she lay off the Spanish coast awaiting
German blockade runners bound for Spanish ports. The
patrol was uneventful ; no enemy ships were sighted and
subsequently Gurnard returned to New London 9 February
1943 for repairs and alterations.
After reaching Pearl Harbor 26 May, the submarine got
underway 12 June for her second war patrol. She
patrolled off Toagel Mlungui Passage and on 29 June
saw action for the first time, damaging two Japanese
merchantmen and surviving 24 depth charges thrown by
an enemy destroyer. Varied damage was inflicted on
other ships in these waters before Gurnard made her first
kill, sinking cargo ship Taiko Maru at 12-53 N., 131-49
E. on 11 June 1943. Having expended all torpedoes, the
submarine returned via Midway to Pearl Harbor, arriv-
ing 26 July for refit.
Underway again 6 September, she sailed to the South
China Sea to begin her third war patrol, a five-ship
convoy was sighted near midnight 7 October and Gurnard
began her stalk, closing at 0139 on 8 October and sending
to the bottom cargo ship Taian Maru and passenger-cargo
ship Dainichi Maru west of Luzon. This successful patrol
terminated at Pearl Harbor 28 October.
One month later she sailed on her fourth patrol to prowl
off the southeast coast of Honshu and soon found good
hunting. A convoy was sighted 24 December and at 0710
Gurnard attacked. Two minutes later cargo ship Seizan
Maru No. 2 had broken in two and sunk; she was soon
joined by cargo ship Tofuku Maru. Japanese destroyers
attacked the submarine with over 80 depth charges with-
out success; and after damaging another merchantman
on 27 December Gurnard returned to Pearl Harbor 7
January 1944.
Following overhaul at San Francisco Gurnard departed
Pearl Harbor 16 April on her fifth war patrol bound for
the eastern Celebes Sea. On this patrol she chalked up
one of the highest single-patrol tonnage scores of the
Pacific war, attacking a convoy 6 May and sinking
6,886-ton cargo ship Tenshinzan Maru, 6,995-ton passenger-
cargo vessel Taijima Maru, and 5,824-ton passenger-cargo
ship Aden Maru. Nearly a hundred depth charges rained
down around her but she eluded the hunters and escaped
undamaged. This vital convoy carried 40,000 troops
intended to oppose MacArthur in New Guinea, and the
embarked units suffered losses of nearly 50 percent.
Gurnard's next kill occurred 24 May when several torpe-
does sent under 10,090-ton tanker Tatekawa Maru. No
further opportunities presented themselves ; and Gu?'nard
put in at Fremantle, Australia, 11 June 1944 with the com-
pletion of the patrol.
The submarine stood out on her sixth patrol 8 July
for the Banda, Molucca, Celebes, Sulu, and Mindanao
Seas. After topping off at Darwin she patrolled off the
Peleng Straits and damaged one merchantman before
returning to Fremantle 5 September.
Gurnard’s seventh patrol commenced 9 October after
refit and while cruising off Borneo she raised a five-ship
enemy convoy. A successful attack was pressed home 3
November at the end of an 18-hour hunt and two torpe-
does demolished cargo ship Taimei Maru. Gurnard re-
turned to her Australian port 17 November after this
victory.
The submarine’s eighth and ninth patrols (11 December
1944-1 February 1945 and 10 March-9 May 1945) included
reconnaissance off Camranh Bay and patrols with sub-
marines Hammerhead and Boarfish, but hunting was poor
and no ships were sunk. Gurnard finished her last patrol
at Pearl Harbor 9 May and put in at Mare Island, Calif., 9
days later for a major overhaul. Following a round-trip
voyage thence to Pearl Harbor and Midway, she returned
to San Francisco 11 September 1945 and decommissioned
there 27 November 1945.
Gurnard remained in reserve until 1 July 1949 when
she reported to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for
190
activation as an armory for naval reserve submarine
training. Towed to Pearl Harbor 27 November to 9 De-
cember 1949, the submarine served there until returning
under tow to Tacoma, Wash., 18 May 1953 to continue
reserve training duties in that port until June 1960.
She was then inactivated in preparation for disposal. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1961. She
was sold for scrapping 26 September 1961 to the National
Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Calif.
Gurnard received six battle stars and the Navy Unit
Commendation for service in World War II. War patrols
numbers two through seven were designated “successful”.
( SS (N)-662 : dp. 3,800 (surf.) 4,600 (subm.) ; 1. 292'3" ;
b. 31'8" ; cpl. 107; a. 4 21" tt. ; cl. Sturgeon)
The second Gurnard (SS(N)-662), a S/Mr0con.-Class
nuclear submarine, was laid down 22 December 1964 by
the San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard, Vallejo. Calif. ;
launched 20 May 1967 ; sponsored by Mrs. George P.
Miller; and completed in the fall of 1968. Once com-
missioned, she will become a key element in the under-
water deterrent force of the Navy and will contribute
vitally to the continuing task of “keeping the peace” over
the vast reaches of global waters. Designed to attack
and destroy all types of enemy ships, her ability to operate
for long periods at great depths and at high submerged
speed will make her a potent and effective challenge to
enemy submarines. Operating under nuclear power, she
will be able to conduct long-range reconnaissance patrols
and surveillance missions without risking detection by
surface ships. Moreover, she will be able to carry out
extensive ASW operations, either alone or with other fleet
submarines or with destroyer-type surface ships.
Gus W. Darnell, see Justin (IX-228)
Gustafson
Arthur Leonard Gustafson was born 13 June 1913 in
Watertown, S. Dak. He graduated from the Naval
Academy in 1932, serving in battleships Idaho and Colo-
rado before reporting to destroyer Peary 4 September
1939. He perished in action against the enemy when
Peary was sunk by Japanese bombers off Port Darwin,
Australia, 19 February 1942.
(DE-182 : dp. 1,240; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 8'9" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 8 20mm. ; 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) ; cl. Cannon)
Gustafson (DE-182) was launched 3 October 1943 by
the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Eva Smythe Stevens, widow of Lt.
Gustafson ; and commissioned 1 November 1943, Comdr.
Herman Rich in command.
Following shakedown training, Gustafson escorted
coastal convoys in waters ranging from New York to
Galveston. On 20 February 1944 she departed New York
in the screen of two escort carriers for duty with Admiral
Jonas Ingram’s 4th Fleet based at Recife, Brazil. This
fleet kept down the German U-boat and raider menace in
waters running south from Trinidad to the tip of South
America, and across to the coast of Africa. On 14 April
1943, the destroyer put to sea in company with escort
carrier Solomons to sweep the Atlantic Narrows. On the
23d, Gustafson made an unsuccessful hedgehog attack on
a target that was probably German submarine U-196.
Due south of St. Helena, 15 June 1943, aircraft launched
by Solomons sank the German submarine U-860.
Gustafson continued antisubmarine patrol and convoy
escort in the South Atlantic. Operating out of Recife
and Bahia, Brazil, she helped cover coastal waters from
the border of French Guiana down to Rio de Janeiro and
across the Atlantic narrows more than halfway to the
coast of Africa. On 22 November 1944, while escorting
Navy transport General M. C. Meigs to a mid-way ren-
dezvous in the Atlantic Narrows, she closed alongside
cruiser Omaha to pass orders and the two ships collided.
Both ships suffered damage but were able to complete the
mid-ocean rendezvous escort mission. After temporary re-
pairs at Bahia, Gustafson proceeded north to the New
York Navy Yard, arriving 21 December 1944. During a
swift overhaul she received additional armament and a
new Combat Information Center.
Gustafson departed New York 22 January 1945 for
antisubmarine warfare refresher training out of Key
West, Fla. From there she proceeded in the escort of a
slow convoy to Trinidad and ports of South America.
She returned north in March and was stationed at Casco
Bay as German Submarine U-857 moved into the Gulf of
Maine. The U-boat announced its presence 5 April 1945
by torpedoing the American tanker Atlantic States. Two
Coast Guard frigates and two destroyer escorts, including
Gustafson , were soon hunting for the enemy. U-857 lay
on the bottom, off Cape Cod, but was rooted out by Gus-
tafson who destroyed the U-boat by repeated hedgehog
attacks in the early hours of 7 April 1945.
Gustafson trained out of New London, Conn., with sub-
marines until 18 May 1945 when she put to sea as a unit
of the escort for a convoy bound to Oran, Algeria. She
returned to Charleston, S.C., 13 June 1945 and thence to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for refresher training.
Gustafson departed Guantanamo Bay 24 July 1945 and
transited the Panama Canal the 27th on her way to San
Diego, Calif. She sailed for Hawaii 9 August and was
on the high seas when hostilities ceased with Japan 15
August 1945. Her base Pearl Harbor, she served as a
weather patrol ship north of Hawaii for the remain-
der of the year, thence via San Diego for return to the
Atlantic seaboard. She transited the Panama Canal 27
January 1946 for inactivation at Green Cove Springs,
Fla. She decommissioned there 26 June 1946.
Gustafson remained in reserve until 23 October 1950
when she was transferred to the Netherlands under terms
of the Military Defense Program. She serve the Nether-
lands Navy as Van Ewijk (F-808) until scrapped early
in 1967.
Gustafson received one battle star for World War II
service.
Guthrie, see James Guthrie
Guyandot
A river in West Virginia.
( AOG-16 : dp. 1,818; 1. 255'; b. 44'; dr. 16'8")
Guyandot was built as Vccdol II in 1930 and acquired
from her owners, Tidewater Oil, in March 1943 ; converted
at Brewers Drydock, Staten Island, and renamed Guyan-
dot; and commissioned 17 April 1943, Lt. Robert R.
Crockett, USNR, in command.
Taking on a full load of fuel oil, she sailed for Bermuda
on 1 May ; from there she was taken in tow to Oran, where
she arrived 26 May. From Oran she sailed to Biserte,
Tunisia, arriving there 8 June ; although under frequent
air attack Guyandot worked unceasingly shuttling oil
through the wreck-laden channel. Sailing to Tunis on
27 June, Guyandot began fueling ships for the Sicilian
invasion and, after the assault in late July, carried high
octane fuel to the newly taken port of Palermo, again
under heavy air attack.
Returning to Tunis 30 August, she began shuttling oil
between that port and Bizerte and continued this duty
until the Italian invasion was well under way. Arriving
in Taranto, Italy, on 8 November, she performed yeoman
work in carrying high octane aviation fuel from tankers
to the shore. After a month in Palermo for drydock and
overhaul, Guyandot returned to Taranto to take on gaso-
line and then sailed into the Adriatic for the port of Bari,
arriving 8 February 1944. From Bari she shuttled oil
north to Manfredonia to supply the 15th Air Force at
191
Foggia ; this work continued until late March, when she
struck an underwater obstacle in Bari and, after two trips
with a wooden patch, had to put in for more lasting repairs
3,t Bizerte
Emerging from drydock 11 May, Guyandot spent; a
month carrying oil from Bizerte to Italy and then sailed
again to Bari, arriving there 15 June 1944. From Bari
she took high octane fuel to Manfredonia and Monopoli,
carrying approximately 40 million gallons of gasoline for
the forces moving up the Italian peninsula. An impor-
tant break in her shuttle runs came from 2 to 14 November,
when she carried a load of high octane to Piraeus (Port
of Athens), Greece; the British had landed in Greece only
in late October and Guyandot was the first American
ship to dock in Piraeus since before the outbreak of war.
Back on the Bari-Manfredonia-Monopoli run, Guyandot
continued shuttling oil until 9 December, when she sailed
to Palermo for repairs and drydocking ; on 7 January 1945,
she crossed the Mediterranean to Bizerte. Decommis-
sioned there 12 January, she was transferred to the French
Navy as part of lend-lease. France returned the ship to
the Navy on 21 March 1949 and on that same day formally
purchased Guyandot for service under the name Lac Noir.
Her name was struck from the Navy List 28 April 1949.
Guymon
A city in northwestern Oklahoma.
(PC-1177 : dp. 280 ; 1. 173'8" ; b. 23' ; dr. lO'lO" ; s. 22 k. ;
cpl. 65; a. 1 3”, 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. PC-461 )
PC-1177 was laid down 24 July 1943 by Leathern D.
Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; launched
18 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Lucy Wagener;
and commissioned at New Orleans, La., 20 December 1943,
Lt. Edwin H. Kiefer in command.
After shakedown out of Miami, Fla., PC-1177 departed
Key West for New York 8 February 1944. Arriving
14 February, she sailed 2 days later to screen a troop and
supply convoy from New York to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Arriving Guantanamo Bay 4 March, she returned to New
York as convoy escort from 8 to 16 March. Between
22 March and 10 May she completed two more escort runs
to Cuba and back.
Department New York 26 May, she escorted a convoy
to Cuba, then sailed 3 June for the Pacific. Steaming via
the West Coast and Pearl Harbor, she reached Purvis
Bay, Florida Island, 24 August. After completing
amphibious practice in the Solomon Islands, she departed
Guadalcanal 8 September for the assault on the Palaus.
She arrived off Anguar Island 17 September and served
as patrol and shore bombardment ship during the next
5 days. From 21 to 23 September she escorted a convoy
to Ulithi ; returned to Anguar 27 September ; then steamed
to the Admiralties, arriving Manus 5 October. She sailed
in convoy for the Palaus the 10th ; and, after arriving
Kossol 15 October, she patrolled coastal waters in the
southern Palaus, primarily off Anguar, for more than a
month. From 20 to 22 November she sailed to Ulithi,
where she continued patrol runs until 20 December. After
completing an escort run to the Palaus and back, she
departed 26 December for Pearl Harbor and arrived
11 January 1945.
PC-1177 departed Pearl 17 February, touched Eniwetok,
and reached Saipan 4 March to prepare for the mighty
invasion of Okinawa. She departed the Marianas 25
March as part of the convoy screen and closed Hagushi
Beach, Okinawa, 1 April. During and after the amphibi-
ous landings she served as part of the antiaircraft screen
for transports and support ships. She operated off Oki-
nawa until 17 April when she sailed as a convoy screen
to Ulithi. Arriving 22 April, she departed in convoy for
the Philippines 4 May and reached Leyte Gulf the 7th.
Three days later she departed to escort a troop and supply
convoy to Okinawa ; and, after arriving 15 May, she
resumed antiaircraft screening patrols.
Throughout the remainder of the Okinawa campaign,
PC-1177 remained on station, carrying out her assigned
patrol and escort duties. After the defeat of Japan, she
was reclassified PCC-1177 on 20 August and returned to
the West Coast from the Western Pacific late in 1945. She
decommissioned at Astoria, Oreg., 27 July 1946 and en-
tered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed in the
Columbia River Group, she was again reclassified PC-1177
on 27 October 1955 and was named Guymon 15 February
1956. She was sold by the Navy to Zidell Exploration,
lnc. , 25 April 1961.
PC-1177 received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Gwin
William Gwin was born 6 December 1832 in Columbus,
lnd. , and appointed a Midshipman 7 April 1847. One of
the most promising officers in the nation, he had risen to
the rank of Lieutenant Commander by the time of his
death. During the Civil War he commanded several
ships of the Mississippi Squadron. He was one of Flag
Officer Foote’s “can do” officers, displaying outstanding
initiative, energy and dash. After the fall of Fort Henry
he swept with his wooden gunboats up the Tennessee
River all the way to regions of Alabama, spreading de-
struction and terror. This action was a major factor
in the collapse of the Confederate lines far behind him
in Kentucky. Fire support from two of his gunboats,
Tyler and Lexington, helped save Union troops from dis-
aster in the Battle of Shiloh, bringing high praise from
General Grant. He was wounded in action 27 December
1862 while commanding gunboat Benton in the battle of
Haines Bluff on the Yazoo River. He died from these
injuries 3 January 1863 on board a hospital ship in the
Mississippi River.
I
( TB-16 : dp. 46; 1. 100'; b. 12'6" ; dr. 3'3" ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 16; a. 1 1-pdr., 2 18" tt)
The first Gwin (TB-16) was launched 15 November
1897 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I. ;
commissioned at Newport 4 April 1898, Lt. (j.g.) C. S.
Williams in command. She departed Newport 24 June,
cruising down the eastern seaboard as far as Florida,
thence on patrol off Cuba during 6 to 14 August 1898 as
America went to war with Spain. She returned north to
Annapolis 31 August and served as cadet training ship
for the Naval Academy until placed in reserve at Norfolk
10 July 1903.
Gwin remained in reserve until June 1908 when she
began assisting in experimental torpedo work out of New-
port, R.I. This duty terminated 18 April 1914 when
Gwin decommissioned for use as a ferryboat. On 11 April
1918 her name was changed to Cyane, and she was re-
classified YFB-4 on 17 July 1920. Her name was struck
from the Navy List 30 April 1925 and she was sold for
scrapping 24 September 1925.
II
( DD-71 : dp. 1,125; 1. 315'6" ; b. 31'4" ; dr. 8'1" ;
s. 30 k. ; cpl. 100 ; a. 44", 2 1-pdrs., 1 6” Y-gun, 12 21" tt. ;
cl. Caldwell)
The second Gwin (DD-71) was launched 22 December
1917 by the Seattle Const. & Drydock Co., Seattle, Wash. ;
sponsored by Mrs. James S. Woods ; and commissioned at
Puget Sound 18 March 1920, Lt. Comdr. H. H. Bousen in
command.
Gwin departed Puget Sound 26 April for calls at Cali-
fornia ports, thence through the Panama Canal for New-
port, R.I., arriving 2 June. Following operations along
the eastern seaboard as far south as Charleston, S.C., she
decommissioned in the Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 June
1922. She remained inactive at Philadelphia until her
name was struck from the Navy List 25 January 1937.
Her hulk was sold for scrapping 16 March 1939 to the
Union Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Md.
192
USS Gwin (DD-71), a 1920 Flush-deck Destroyer with a cutaway stern
III
( DD-433 : dp. 1,620; 1. 347'10" ; b. 36'1” ; dr. ll'lO" ; s.
37 k. ; cpl. 209; a. 5 5" ; 10 21” tt. ; 1 Y-gun ; 2 dct. ; cl.
Gleaves)
The third Gwin (DD^433) was launched 25 May 1940 by
the Boston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. Jesse T. Lippin-
cott, second cousin of Lt. Coindr. Gwin and commissioned
at Boston 15 January 1941, Lt. Comdr. J. M. Higgins in
command.
Gwin completed shakedown training 25 April 1041 and
underwent final alterations in the Boston Navy Yard
before conducting neutrality patrol throughout the Carib-
bean Sea. On 28 September 1941 she assumed identical
service in the North Atlantic from her base at Hvalfjordur,
Iceland. After the infamous raid on Pearl Harbor, she
hurried back to the Eastern Seaboard thence through the
Panama Canal to San Francisco, Calif.
On 3 April 1942 Gunn stood out of San Francisco Bay
as a unit of the escort for carrier Hornet who carried
16 Army B-25 bombers to be launched in a bombing raid
on Tokyo. Admiral William “Bull” Halsey in carrier
Enterprise rendezvoused with the task force off Midway,
and Gen. “Jimmy” Doolittle’s famed raiders launched
the morning of 18 April when some 600 miles east of
Tokyo. The task force made a rapid retirement to Pearl
Harbor, then sped south 30 April 1942, hoping to assist
carriers Yorktown and Lexington in the Battle of the
Coral Sea. That battle concluded before the task force
arrived, and Gwin returned to Pearl Harbor 21 May for
day and night preparations to meet the Japanese in the
crucial battle for Midway Atoll.
Gwin departed Pearl Harbor 23 May 1042 with Marine
reinforcements for Midway and returned to port 1 June.
Two days later she raced to join the Fast Carrier Task
Force searching for the approaching Japanese Fleet off
Midway. But the crucial battle was all but concluded
by the time she arrived on the scene 5 June 1942. Four
large Japanese aircraft carriers and a cruiser rested at
the bottom of the sea along with some 250 enemy planes
and a high percentage of Japan’s most highly trained and
experienced carrier pilots. The Island of Midway was
saved to become an important base for operations in the
western Pacific. Likewise saved, was Hawaii, the great
bastion from which attacks were carried into the South
Pacific and Japan itself. But there were American losses
too. Gwin sent a salvage party to assist in attempts to
save carrier Yorktown (CV-5), heavily damaged by two
bomb and two torpedo hits in the Battle of Midway. As
attempts continued 6 June 1942, a Japanese submarine
rocked Yorktoivn with torpedo hits and sank destroyer
Hamman who was secured alongside the carrier. The
salvage party had to abandon Yorktown and surviving
men were rescued from the sea. The carrier capsized and
sank the morning of 7 June 1942. Gwin carried 162
survivors of the two ships to Pearl Harbor, arriving 10
June 1942.
Gwin departed Pearl Harbor 15 July 1942 to operate
in the screen of fast carriers who pounded Japanese in-
stallations, troop concentrations and supply dumps as
Marines invaded Guadalcanal in the Solomons 7 August
1042. In the following months Gwin convoyed supply
and troop reinforcements to Guadalcanal. Joining a
cruiser-destroyer task force, she patrolled the “Slot” of
water between the chain of Solomon Islands to intercept
the “Tokyo Express” runs of enemy supply, troop and
warships supporting Japanese bases in the Solomons.
On 13 November 1942, Gwin and three other destroyers
formed with battleships Washington and South Dakota
to intercept an enemy bombardment-transport force ap-
proaching the Solomons. The following night the task
group found the enemy of Savo Island : battleship Kiri-
shima, 4 cruisers, 11 destroyers, and 4 transports. The
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was hot and furious. Gwin
found herself in a private gun duel with cruiser Nagara
and four destroyers. She took a shell hit in her engine
room. Another shell struck her fantail and enemy tor-
pedoes began to boil around the destroyers.
Though shaken by exploding depth charges Gwin con-
tinued to fire at the enemy as long as any remained within
range. In a short time the other three American de-
stroyers were out of action, two sinking and Benliam
surviving with her bow partially destroyed. But a master-
ful battleship duel fought by South Dakota and Washing-
ton wrecked Japanese battleship Kirishima. She had to
be abandoned and scuttled as was Japanese destroyer
Ayanami. The battle was over. The gallant American
ships had saved Guadalcanal from a savage bombardment
in this naval action that marked a turning point toward
victory for U.S. forces in the Solomons.
Gwin attempted to escort the noseless Benliam to Espi-
ritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands. But when all hope
was lost, survivors transferred to Gwin who hurried Ben-
ham's abandoned hulk to the bottom with gunfire. The
survivors were landed 20 November at Noumea, New Cal-
edonia, and Gwin was routed onward to Hawaii, thence to
the Mare Island Navy Yard, arriving 19 December 1942.
Having been overhauled, Givin returned to the South-
west Pacific 7 April 1943 to escort troop reinforcements
and supplies throughout the Solomons. On 30 June she
served with the massive amphibious assault force con-
verging on New Georgia under the leadership of Rear
Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. She supported the most
important landings 30 June on the north coast of Rendova
Island, 5 miles across Blanche Channel from Munda.
Immediately after the first wave of troops hit Rendova
193
Beach, Munda Island shore batteries opened fire on the
four destroyers patrolling Blanche Channel. Girin was
straddled by the first salvo. A moment later a shell
crashed her main deck aft, killing three men, wounding
seven and stopped her after engine. The half-dozen
enemy shore batteries were soon silenced as Gwin laid
down an effective heavy smokescreen to protect the un-
loading transports. When aerial raiders appeared, her
gunners shot down three. Rendova Island was soon in
American possession. It served as an important motor
torpedo boat base to harass Japanese barge lines and a
base for air support in the Solomons.
Girin escorted a reinforcement echelon from Guadal-
canal to Rendova, then raced out in to the “Slot” 7 July
to rescue 87 survivors of cruiser Helena, lost in the Battle
of Kula Gulf. She then joined a cruiser-destroyer task
force under Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth to head
off a formidable “Tokyo Express” headed through the
Solomon Islands to land troops at Vila. The battle was
joined past midnight of 12-13 July and Japanese cruiser
Jintsu quickly slid to the bottom, the victim of smothering
gunfire and torpedo hits. But four Japanese destroyers,
waiting for a calculated moment when Ainsworth’s forma-
tion would turn, launched 31 torpedoes at the American
formation. His flagship Honolulu, cruiser St. Louis and
Gwin, maneuvering to bring their main batteries to bear
on the enemy, turned right into the path of the deadly
“long lance” torpedoes. Both cruisers received damaging
hits but survived. Gwin was not so fortunate. She re-
ceived a torpedo hit amidships in her engine room and
exploded in a burning white heat — a terrible sight. De-
stroyer Ralph Talbot took off Gwin’s crew after their
heroic damage control efforts failed ; and she had to be
scuttled. Two officers and 59 men perished with the gal-
lant destroyer, casualties of the Battle of Kolombangara.
Girin received five battle stars for service in World
War II.
IV
( DM-33 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6" ; b. 40'10" ; dr. 18'10" ;
s. 34.2 k. ; cpl. 343; a. 6 5" 12 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct.,
4 dcp. Robert H. Smith )
Girin (DM-33), ex-DD-772, was launched by the Beth-
lehem Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif., 9 April 1944 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Jesse W. Tarbill, second counsin and sponsor of
the previous Gwin (DD-433) ; and commissioned 30 Sep-
tember 1944 at Los Angeles, Comdr. F. S. Steinke in com-
mand.
After shakedown along the California coast, Gwin
sailed for the Pacific theatre as flagship of Mine Squad-
ron 3, reaching Pearl Harbor 3 January 1945. A week
later the squadron left for the fighting front. At Saipan,
20 January, Gwin and her sister sweepers joined Battle-
ship Division 7. For 7 days, 21 to 26 January, she par-
ticipated in the preliminary bombardment of Iwo Jima,
next to the last step in America’s long island-hopping
campaign across the Pacific. Returning to Pearl Harbor,
Gwin underwent overhaul before sailing for Eniwetok 23
February.
From Eniwetok Gwin steamed to Nansei Shoto 17 March
to sweep the area around Okinawa, the scene of one of the
war’s bloodiest and most heroic invasions. Acting in a
variety of roles — antisubmarine screen, radar picket ship,
minesweeper, fire support — Girin was to remain off Oki-
nawa the following 5 months, almost to the very end of
the war. During this period she accounted for some 16
enemy aircraft as the Japanese launched their desperate
kamikaze attacks. Nine of these Japanese planes fell
victim to Gwin’s guns on only 2 days, 16 April and 4 May.
An air raid 16 April saw Gwin down two “Betties,”
Japanese dive bombers, coming in only to have another
come sweeping in and crash in the sea some 25 yards as
the agile DM evaded her. And then the alert gun crew
swung their battery to catch another Japanese plane and
shoot it down less than 50 yards from the ship.
At dusk on 4 May, Gwin was on radar picket station off
Okinawa. Combat Air Patrol reported 8 to 10 enemy
planes to port, and Gwin swung her batteries to face the
enemy. Suddenly a second contingent of planes swept
in out of the setting sun to starboard ! Gwin swung her
guns around just in time, and two of the attackers
splashed into the sea. Whirling to port, the gun crews
fired into the original attack group, and accounted for
three more kamikazes. The seas had not yet closed over
these three planes when a sixth, another kamikaze,
crashed Gwin. Two men were killed, 2 missing, and 11
injured as the suicide plane embedded itself into Gwin’s
aft 40mm. platform. Then, as damage control parties
rushed to quell the fires raging around the kamikaze, the
Japanese attack ended as suddenly as it had begun. In
less than six hectic, heroic minutes, Gwin, although under
attack from all quarters, had downed five Japanese planes
and been herself damaged by a sixth.
After a brief stay at Nansei Shoto for battle damage
repairs, Gwin returned to patrol and sweeping duties
around Okinawa. She rendezvoused 20 August with Task
Force 38 and, with such illustrious fighting ships as
Missouri, Lexington, Yorktown, and Shangri-La, headed
for Tokyo Bay. Putting into Sagami Bay 27 August
1945, Gwin began to sweep the area, front door to Tokyo
Bay, and destroyed some 41 mines in 2 days’ duty. At
last on 29 August 1945 she steamed into Tokyo Bay, and
anchored under the towering snoweap of Mount Fuji-
yama. Departing for Okinawa 1 September, Gwin, re-
mained on minesweeping duty there and in the East China
Sea for the rest of the year.
With her share of the Pacific “mopping-up” complete,
Gwin at last headed home, reaching San Pedro, Calif.,
23 February 1946. The battle-tested ship then sailed for
Charleston, S.C., arriving 14 March. Gwin decommis-
sioned there 3 September 1946 and was placed in reserve.
As the Korean War necessitated the strengthening of
America’s fleet, Gwin recommissioned at Charleston 8 July
1952, Comdr. R. E. Oliver in command. For the next
few years she divided her time between Caribbean and
local exercises, European cruises, and NATO maneuvers,
with time out for overhaul. In 1953 Gwin crossed the
Atlantic for a 4-month tour of duty with the 6th Fleet,
visiting 10 Mediterranean ports before returning to
Charleston 3 February 1954. Midshipman Able Cruises
June to August 1954 and 1955 took her to Lisbon, Portu-
gal, Le Havre, Valencia, Spain, and Terquay, England.
Gwin returned to the Mediterranean a final time in 1957
for NATO maneuvers with ships of the Portugese, French,
and British navies, visiting both Brest and Gibraltar.
In between Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises and
training, Gwin engaged in a variety of minesweeping and
hunter-killer antisubmarine exercises along the East
Coast and participated in several other NATO maneuvers
in American waters. Gwin sailed to the Philadelphia
Navy Yard 12 January 1958 where she decommissioned
3 April 1958 and remains in reserve through 1967.
Gwin received a Navy Unit Commendation and four
battle stars for service in World War II.
Gwin, William M., see William M. Gwin ( AK-125)
Gwinnett
A county in Georgia.
(AG-92 : dp. 2,411 ; 1. 338'8" ; b. 50'4" ; s. 11 k. ; cpl. 105 ;
a. 1 3", 6 20mm. ; T. C1-M-AV1)
Gwinnett (AVS-5) was originally designated AK-185
and was launched as AG-92 under Maritime Commission
contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior,
Wis., 14 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Oliva Dionne,
mother of the Dionne quintuplets. After being taken
down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, the ship was
outfitted at Port Houston Iron Works, Houston, Tex.,
and commissioned there 10 April 1945, Lt. H. K. Golwey
in command.
Soon after commissioning, Gwinnett was redesigned
AVS-5 on 25 May 1945. After shakedown in the Gulf of
194
Mexico she was ordered to the Pacific coast for disposal.
Gwinnett arrived San Francisco 25 January 1946. She
decommissioned and was simultaneously redelivered to
the Maritime Commission 11 February 1946.
Gyatt
Edward Earl Gyatt was born 4 September 1921 in Syra-
cuse, N.Y. Enlisting in the Marine Corps 28 January
1942, he was killed in action while serving with the 1st
Marine Raider Battalion during the Guadalcanal cam-
paign, America’s first offensive effort in the Pacific. Part
of the invasion force that went ashore on Tulagi D-day 7
August 1942, Private Gyatt reported the approach of a
Japanese counter-attack force on his advanced position
that night. With utter disregard for his personal safety,
he remained at his post and inflicted heavy damage on
the enemy until he was killed by a grenade. For his gal-
lantry and courage, Private Gyatt was posthumously
awarded the Silver Star.
(DD-712: dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'4" ; dr. 18'6'' ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 336 ; a. 6 5", 16 40mm„ 20 20mm. 5 21" tt. 2
dct., 6 dep. ; cl. Gearing)
Gyatt (DD-712) was launched 15 April 1945 by the
Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearney, N.J. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Hilda Morrell, mother of Private Gyatt;
and commissioned 2 July 1945 at the New York Navy Yard,
Comdr. A. D. Kaplan in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Gyatt reported to
Norfolk for a variety of duties along the East Coast. In
addition to local operations and training exercises, she
participated in training operations with aircraft carriers
in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Departing Nor-
folk 24 January 1947, Gyatt sailed south to represent the
United States at the inauguration of the new Uruguayan
President at Montevideo 27 February to 6 March. Before
returning to Norfolk 21 March she made goodwill visits
to Rio de Janeiro and Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Gyatt sailed 20 November 1947 to deploy with the 6th
Fleet in the Mediterranean and returned to Norfolk 2
March 1948. In six subsequent deployments to Northern
Europe and the Mediterranean, she bolstered the readiness
of American seapower that proved a mainstay in stem-
ming the threatened advance of Communist domination
over Free World nations. Other operations took her north
from Norfolk to Nova Scotia and Iceland and south into
the Caribbean Sea.
Gyatt entered the Boston Naval Shipyard 26 September
1955 and decommissioned 31 October for conversion to the
Navy’s and the world’s first guided missile destroyer. In
addition to twin Terrier guided missile launchers, she re-
ceived the Navy’s first Denny-Brown stabilization sys-
tem— two 45-square-foot retractable fins extending out
from midships well below the waterline to greatly reduce
pitch and roll on the sea. Her hull elasification was
changed to DDG-712 1 December 1956. Gyatt recommis-
sioned 2 days later, Comdr. Charles F. Helme, Jr., in
command.
The new guided missile ship, a potent weapon in Amer-
ica’s expanding arsenal, spent nearly 3 years of intensive
evaluation and development work along the Atlantic coast.
On 23 May 1957 her hull number was changed to DDG-1
in recognition of her pioneering position. She sailed to
jc:n the 6th Fleet 28 January 1960, the first guided mis-
sile destroyer to deploy with an oversea fleet. By the time
of her arrival back in Charleston, her new home port, 31
August 1960, Gyatt had participated in fleet readiness and
training operations throughout the Mediterranean.
On her return Gyatt joined in America’s space pro-
gram, taking nose-cone recovery station 5 to 10 November
1960 and 24 to 26 April 1961 to aid in “Project Mercury,”
thus operating in another new area of expanding sea-
power. With another world crisis [tending over the status
of Berlin, she again sailed 3 August 1961 to bolster the
flexing and powerful arm of the 6th Fleet in the Mediter-
ranean. She remained on alert posture with the “steel-
gray stabilizers” in the Mediterranean until 3 March 1962,
then resumed training along the eastern seaboard out of
Charleston, S.C.
Gyatt entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard 29 June
1962 for overhaul that included the removal of her missile
system and installation of newly developed equipment
that would prepare her for specialized service with the
Operational Test and Evaluation Force. Her classifica-
tion changed from a guided missile destroyer DDG-1 back
to conventional destroyer DD-712 1 October 1962. Her
preparations were complete by 1 January 1963 when Gyatt
arrived in Norfolk for continuing experimental work
under Operational Test and Evaluation Force in waters
reaching into the Caribbean Sea. Gyatt continued to op-
erate along the Atlantic toast and in the Caribbean into
1967. She performed patrol and ASW duty and trained
the officers and men of the Navy in guided missile de-
stroyer tactics. She was also especially active in testing
and evaluating new equipment and helping to bring the
men and equipment of the Navy efficient and up to date.
Gypsum Queen
A former name retained.
(SP-430 : t. 361 ; 1. 135' ; b. 27' ; dr. 14'5" ; s. 14 k. ; a. 1 3",
2 mg.)
Gypsum Queen, a sea-going tug, was built by Dialogue
& Co. in 1890, acquired from her owners, J. B. King Trans-
portation Co. of New York, in September 1917 ; and com-
missioned 4 December 1917 at New York City.
Turned over to the 3d Naval District, Gypsum Queen
was fitted out for overseas service at New York Navy Yard
and subsequently served in French ports as a towing
vessel and a minesweeper. While returning from render-
ing assistance to minesweepers foundering off the coast
of France, Gypsum Queen struck a rock near Armen Light
House off Brest 28 April 1919 and sank with a loss of 2
officers and 13 men.
Gypsy
The first Gypsy retained a merchant name. The second
Gypsy was named for a type of small winch.
I
( SP-55 : dp. 22 ; 1. 61' ; b. 10'3" ; dr. 3'6" ; s. 11 k.)
Gypsy, a motor boat, was built by George Lawley & Sons,
Neponset, Mass., in 1912, and was acquired by the Navy
11 May 1917 for use as a section patrol boat. Assigned to
the 1st Naval District, she burned while being fitted out
20 June 1917, and was struck from the Navy List 23 No-
vember 1917.
II
( ARSD-1 : dp. 816 ; 1. 224'9" ; b. 34'11 ' ; dr. 8' ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 65; 2 20mm.; cl. Gypsy)
Gypsy (ARSD-1), originally designated LSM-549, was
launched by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 7 De-
cember 1945, and commissioned 18 March 1946 at Houston,
Tex., Lt. Comdr. C. S. Horner in command.
Gypsy completed her shakedown training 20 March 1946,
and sailed 10 days later from Norfolk for San Pedro, Calif.,
where she arrived 26 May. The ship then departed 14 June
to take part in the impending Operation “Crossroads,” a
historic series of atomic tests. Arriving off the atoll
10 July 1946, Gypsy witnessed the Baker Test 25 July and
assisted in reco' ering beached and damaged craft and
doing underwater work on test ships, as the Navy devel-
oped a large amount of valuable scientific information on
the effects of the atomic bomb on ships and how to reduce
them.
Departing 16 September 1946, Gypsy worked on the
raising of SS Britain Victory at Honolulu until 8 Novem-
ber. She arrived San Pedro 10 December 1946 for exten-
sive repairs until June 1947, then did limited salvage work
195
before proceeding to Guam, arriving 18 August 1947.
There Gypsy salvaged and towed to Guam the former
bow of cruiser Pittsburgh, lost in the great typhoon of
June 1945. She returned to San Diego 17 January 1948,
decommissioned 21 January and joined San Diego Group,
Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Gypsy recommissioned 8 August 1951, and after shake-
down and repairs arrived Pearl Harbor 19 October 1951.
For the next 7 months the ship operated in Apra Harbor,
Guam, relocating mooring buoys and working on the break-
water. Arriving Pearl Harbor 31 May 1952, Gypsy had
new salvage equipment and electronic gear installed and
sailed 15 September for Subic Bay. Arriving 9 October
she began removing a sunken Japanese hulk. She sailed
9 January 1953 for Inchon, Korea, site of one of the de-
cisive amphibious operations in history. There Gypsy re-
moved a sunken barge from the harbor. Later she worked
off Pohang and helped clear explosives from Ulsan harbor.
Korean coastal work was completed 6 May 1953, and the
ship sailed for Pearl Harbor, via Yokosuka and Midway
Island, arriving 5 June. After operations there, Gypsy
sailed to Eniwetok and upon her arrival 18 September
began renewing and positioning fleet moorings for the
coming Atomic bomb tests, Operation “Castle.” She ar-
rived Bikini 7 February 1954 and witnessed the first test
shot, the second thermonuclear explosion in history, 1
March 1954. She assisted in recovering test equipment,
was detached 26 March 1954, returned to Pearl Harbor
18 April. After operations there, she sailed to Long
Beach, arriving 4 May 1955 for deactivation. Gypsy de-
commissioned 23 December 1955 at Astoria, Oreg., and was
placed in reserve. In 1967 she was berthed in San Diego.
Gypsy, see Y P-353
Gypsy, see YP-10
H
H—l
(SS-28: dp. 358 (n.) 467 t. ; 1. 150'4" ; b. 15'10 ; dr. 12'5” s.
14 k. ; cpl. 25 ; a. 4 18” tt. ; cl. H-l )
H-l, (SS-28), originally Seawolf and renamed 17 No-
vember 1911, was built by the Union Iron Works of San
Francisco ; launched 6 May 1913 ; sponsored by Miss
Lesley Jean Makins ; and commissioned at Mare Island
Navy Yard on 1 December 1913, Lt. Henry M. Jensen in
command.
The new submarine was attached to the 2d Torpedo
Flotilla, Pacific Fleet, and operated along the West Coast
out of the submarine base at San Pedro. On various
exercises and patrols she travelled the coast from Los
Angeles to lower British Columbia, often in company with
H-2 and sometimes 11-3.
Sailing from San Pedro on 17 October 1917, she reached
New London 22 days later via Acapulco, Balboa, Key
West, Charleston and Philadelphia. For the remainder
of the war, she was based there and patrolled Long Island
Sound, frequently with officer students from the sub-
marine school on board.
H-l and H-2 sailed for San Pedro on 6 January 1920,
transiting the Panama Canal 20 February via Norfolk,
Key West and Havana. On 12 March 1920, as H-l made
her way up the coast, the submarine went aground on
a tricky shoal off Santa Margarita Island, Calif. Four
men, including the commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. James
R. Webb, were killed as they tried to reach shore. Vestal,
a repair ship, pulled H-l off the rocks in the morning
of 24 March, only to have her sink 45 minutes later in
some 50 feet of water. Salvage was abandoned. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 12 April 1920, and
her hulk sold for salvage scrap in June 1920.
H-2
( SS-29 : dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150'4” ; b. 15'10” ; dr. 12'5” ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 25 ; a. 4 18” tt. ; cl. H-l )
H-2 (SS-29) originally Nautilus but renamed 17
November 1911, was launched by the Union Iron Works
of San Francisco 4 June 1913 ; sponsored by Mrs. William
Ranney Sands ; and commissioned 1 December 1913, Lt.
(j.g. ) Howard H. J. Benson in command.
Attached to the Pacific Fleet, H-2 operated along the
West Coast, usually in company with H-l, on various
exercises and patrols out of San Pedro until October
1917 when she sailed for the East Coast. Transferred
to the Atlantic Fleet as of 9 November 1917, she cruised
in the Caribbean for most of that winter, also conducting
special submarine detection tests with aircraft and pa-
trol vessels from Key West. After having new engines
installed at Philadelphia in the spring of 1918, she re-
sumed patrols in the Caribbean until the end of the war
when she returned to the sub base at New London. From
there she operated in Long Island Sound, often with
student officers from the submarine school on board.
Heading west again, H-2 sailed with H-l on 6 January
1920, touching at several Caribbean ports before transiting
the Panama Canal on 20 February. When H-l went
aground off Santa Margarita Island on 12 March, H-2
stood by and sent rescue and search parties for survivors,
helping to save all but four of her sister ship’s crew. She
then continued to San Pedro, arriving 20 March.
Drills and exercises with the Pacific Fleet and the 7th
Submarine Division out of San Pedro were interrupted
by an extensive Mare Island overhaul in the winter of
1921, after which H-2 returned to the same schedule. In
company with SubDiv 7, she sailed from San Pedro
on 25 July 1922, reaching Hampton Roads on 14 Septem-
ber via Acapulco, Corinto, and Coco Solo. H-2 decom-
missioned there on 23 October 1922. Her name was struck
from the Navy List 18 December 1930. She was sold for
scrapping in September 1931.
H-3
( SS-30 : dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150'4” ; b. 15'10” ; dr. 12'5” ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 25 ; a. 4 18” tt. ; cl. H-l )
H-3 (SS-30) originally Garfish and renamed 17 No-
vember 1911, was built by the Moran Co. of Seattle ;
launched 3 July 1913 ; sponsored by Miss Helen MacEwan ;
and commissioned at Puget Sound on 16 January 1914,
Lt. (j.g.) William R. Munroe in command.
After shakedown, H-3 was attached to the Pacific Fleet
and began operations along the coast from lower Cali-
fornia to Washington, exercising frequently with H-l and
H-2. While engaged in operations off the northern Cali-
fornia coast near Eureka with Milwaukee and Cheyenne,
H-3 ran aground in heavy fog on the morning of 16 De-
cember 1916. The crew were rescued by Coast Guard
breeches buoy, but after Milwaukee was also stranded
trying to pull the sub off the beach, the Navy called in a
commercial salvage firm. Their job was especially com-
plicated because H-3 lay high up on a sandy beach, sur-
rounded by quicksand ; at low tide she was 75 feet from
the water, but at high tide the ocean reached almost 250
beyond her. After a month of hard work, H-3 was finally
salvaged by being placed on giant log rollers and taken
overland to the sea.
196
USS H-3 (SS-30), previously USS Garfish, built at Seattle 1911 through 1914
Having decommissioned 4 February 1917 while salvage
work was still going on, she was relaunched 20 April 1917
at Humboldt Bay. She then returned to San Pedro, where
she served as flagship of SubDiv 7, participating in exer-
cises and operations along the coast until 1922. H-3,
with the entire division, sailed from San Pedro on 25
July 1922 and reached Hampton Roads 14 September.
H-3 decommissioned at Hampton Roads on 23 October
1922. She was struck from the Navy List 18 December
1930 and scrapped on 14 September 1931.
H—4 through H—9
Six of the if -cl ass submarines, H-lf through H-9, were
originally built by the Electric Boat Co. for the Imperial
Russian Government. Their shipment was held up pend-
ing the outcome of the Russian Revolution, and the boats
were stored in knockdown condition at Vancouver, B.C.
All six wrere purchased by the Navy on 20 May 1918 and
assembled at Puget Sound Navy Yard.
H—4
(SS-147; dp. 358 n. ; 1. 150'4" ; b. 15'10" ; dr. 12'5" ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 25; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. H-l)
H-lt (SS-147) was launched 9 October 1918 at Puget
Sound Navy Yard, and commissioned there 24 October
1918, Lt. Ralph O. Davis in command.
Stationed at San Pedro, Calif., first with SubDiv 6
and then SubDiv 7, H-lf participated in various battle and
training exercises along the West Coast with her sister
H-subs. These exercises were interrupted by occasional
patrol duty off Santa Catalina Island and periodic over-
hauls at Mare Island.
In company with the two sub divisions and tender
Beaver, H-lf sailed from San Pedro on 25 July 1922 and
reached Norfolk on 14 September via Magdalena Bay,
Corinto, and Coco Solo. She decommissioned there 25
October 1922. H-lf was struck from the Navy List 26
February 1931 and sold for scrap 14 September.
H-5
(SS-148 : dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150'4" ; b. 15'10" ; dr. 12'5" ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 25; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. H-l)
H-5 (SS-148) was launched by Puget Sound Navy
Yard 24 September 1918 ; and commissioned there 30 Sep-
tember 1918, Lt. Gordon Hutchins in command.
Operating out of San Pedro with SubDiv 6 and SubDiv
7, H-5 participated in various training and battle exer-
cises, with periodic overhauls at Mare Island. She de-
parted San Francisco 25 July 1922 in company with both
divisions and arrived at Norfolk 14 September. H-5
decommissioned at Norfolk on 20 October 1922. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 26 February 1931.
She was sold for scrapping 28 November 1933.
11-6
( SS-149 : dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150'4" ; b. 15'10" ; dr. 12'5” ; s.
14 k. ; cpl. 25 ; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. H-l)
H-6 (SS-149) was launched 26 August 1918 by Puget
Sound Navy Yard ; and commissioned there 9 September,
Lt. Robert P. Lucker in command.
As part of SubDiv 6 and later 7, H-6 was based at San
Pedro, Calif. From there she operated along the West
Coast, participating in various battle and training exer-
cises with her sister submarines. Occasional patrol duty
off Santa Catalina Island and overhauls at Mare Island
varied this effective training routine.
Departing San Pedro on 25 July 1922 with SubDivs 6
and 7, H-6 reached Norfolk on 14 September. She decom-
missioned there 23 October 1922. H-6 was struck from
the Navy List 26 February 1931. She was sold for scrap-
ping 28 November 1933.
H-7
( SS-150 : dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150'4" ; b. 15'10" ; dr. 12'5" ;.
s. 14 k. ; cpl. 25; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. H-l)
H-7 (SS-150) was launched at Puget Sound Navy Yard
17 October 1918 and commissioned there 24 October, Lt.
Edmund A. Crenshaw in command.
The submarine, attached to SubDiv 6 and later to
SubDiv 7, operated out of San Pedro on various battle
and training exercises with the other ships of her divi-
sion. She also patrolled out of San Pedro with interrup-
tions for overhaul at Mare Island.
H-7 reached Norfolk on 14 September 1922, having
sailed from San Pedro on 25 July, and decommissioned
there on 23 October 1922. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 26 February 1931. She was sold for scrapping
28 November 1933.
11-6
(SS-151 ; dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150 '4" ; b. 15'10" ; dr. 12'5" ;
s. 14 k. ; cpl. 25; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. H-l)
H-8 (SS-151) was launched at Puget Sound Navy Yard
on 14 November 1918, 3 days after the signing of (he
Armistice, and commissioned there 18 November 1918, Lt.
Comdr. Ralph W. Holt in command.
From there she sailed to San Pedro, where she was
attached first to SubDivs 6 and 7. Operating with her
sister ships, H-8 engaged in extensive battle and training
exercises out of San Pedro, varying this routine with
patrols off Santa Catalina Island.
In company with SubDivs 6 and 7, and tender Beaver,
197
H-8 departed San Pedro on 25 July 1922 and arrived in
Norfolk on 14 September. She decommissioned there 17
November 1922. Her name was struck from the Navy
List 26 February 1931. She was sold for scrapping 28
November 1933.
H—9
(SS-152 : dp. 358 (n.) ; 1. 150'4" ; b. 15'10" ; dr. 12'5" ;
s. 14 k. ; cpl. 25; a. 4 18” tt. ; cl. H-l)
H-9 , (SS-152) was launched at Puget Sound Navy Yard
on 23 November 1918, commissioned there 25 November,
Lt. Clarke Withers in command.
Joining SubDiv 6 at San Pedro, and later being trans-
ferred to SubDiv 7 there, H-9 participated in a variety of
battle and training exercises along the West Coast. She
also patrolled off Santa Catalina Island, and put in at
Mare Island for periodic overhauls.
H-9 sailed from San Pedro on 25 July 1922 and arrived
in Norfolk 14 September, with SubDivs 6 and 7. The
submarine decommissioned at Norfolk on 3 November
1922. Her name was struck from the Navy List 26 Febru-
ary 1931. She was sold for scrapping 28 November 1933.
H. A. Baxter
A former name retained.
( S P-2285 : dp. 87 ; 1. 82'2” ; b. 19'5” ; dr. 9' ; s. 12 k.)
H. A. Baxter, a tug, was built in 1889 by John A.
Dialogue & Son, Milford, Del. ; and acquired by the Navy
15 March 1918 from her owner, Robert Rogers of New
York City. The tug was chartered at Norfolk for use
as a coal tug, but found to be in need of extensive repairs
and returned to her owner 24 April 1918.
H. F. Hodges, General, see General II. F. Hodges
( AP-144 )
H. W , Butner, General, see General H. W. Butner
( AP-113)
Haan, General W. G., see General W. G. Haan (AP-158)
Haas
John William Haas was born 14 June 1907 in Sioux
City, Iowa. A member of the famed Torpedo Squadron 3,
the chief machinist and pilot was lost in action 4 June
1942 during the Battle of Midway. In the face of tremend-
ous anticraft fire and Japanese fighter opposition, Chief
Haas joined his squadron in pressing home the attack on
enemy forces until it became relatively certain that in
order to accomplish his mission he would sacrifice his
life. Undeterred by the grave possibilities of such a
hazardous offensive, he carried on with extreme disregard
for his personal safety until the gallant planes of Torpedo
Squadron 3 had diverted Japanese planes and contributed
importantly to the victory. For his self-sacrifice and
valiant fighting effort, Chief Machinist Haas was post-
humously awarded the Navy Cross.
( DE-424 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8” ; dr. 9'5” ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5”, 4 40mm., 20mm., 3 21” tt., 2 dct.,
8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.) ; cl. John C. Butler)
Haas (DE^124) was launched 20 March 1944 by the
Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Gladys Winifred Haas, widow of the late Chief Machinist
Haas ; and commissioned 2 August 1944, Lt. Comdr. A. M.
White, USNR, in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean and escort duty along
the East Coast, Haas arrived Manus, Admiralty Islands,
via the Panama Canal, the Galapagos Islands, and
Espiritu Santo 15 January 1945. America’s gigantic
Pacific war effort had carried her fleet back to the Philip-
pines, and Haas sailed to Leyte 27 January to assume
escort and patrol duties in the still-contested islands. In
addition, the destroyer escort provided shore bombard-
ment and fire support for initial assault landings at
Lubang Island 1 March and Romblon and Simara Islands
10-12 March. Haas escorted a convoy from Okinawa to
Leyte in July and another from Ulithi to Manila in early
August, just before news of the Japanese capitulation.
After war’s end she continued to serve as an escort and
dispatch ship in the Pacific, with frequent trips along
the China coast. On 5 January 1946 Haas streamed her
homeward bound pennant and sailed from Hong Kong for
San Diego via Guam, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor.
Reaching her destination 1 February, Haas decommis-
sioned there 31 May 1946 and joined the “mothball fleet.”
Haas recommissioned at San Diego 19 May 1951 and
after shakedown reported to 8th Naval District head-
quarters at New Orleans 18 September to begin duties as
a reserve training ship. Cruising primarily in the Gulf
of Mexico and the Caribbean, with occasional visits to
Central and South America, Haas trained some 900 reserv-
ists annually as part of the Navy’s never-ending effort
to maintain skilled and ready reserve. Entering the
Charleston Navy Yard 7 November 1957, Haas decommis-
sioned there 24 January 1958 and entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet where she remained until scrapped in De-
cember 1966.
Habersham
A county in Georgia.
( AK-186 : dp. 2,382 (It.) ; 1. 338'6” ; b. 50'; dr. 21'; s.
12 k. ; cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3” ; cl. Alamosa)
Habersham (AK-186), a motor cargo ship, was
launched 7 June 1944 by the Walter Butler Shipbuilding,
Inc., Superior, Wis., under a Maritime Commission con-
tract ; sponsored by Mrs. Carl Gray, Jr. ; acquired 26
April 1945 ; and commissioned 12 May 1945, Comdr. M. A.
MacPhee in command.
Following shakedown training off Galveston, the cargo
ship sailed 2 June for Gulfport, Miss., to take on cargo
and departed 4 days later to join the Pacific Fleet, then
pressing ever closer to Japan. Habersham arrived Pearl
Harbor via the Canal Zone 30 June, unloaded her cargo,
and returned to San Francisco with passengers and cargo
12 July. She then loaded cargo and sailed 21 July for
Eniwetok Island where she arrived 7 August.
Habersham was at Eniwetok when the surrender of
Japan was announced, and departed 9 September to carry
cargo for occupation forces in Japan. Arriving Tokyo
Bay 17 September, she unloaded cargo and departed for
Guam and San Francisco 27 November. She arrived 12
January 1946 and sailed for the East Coast 11 February,
arriving Norfolk 6 March. Habersham decommissioned
at Baltimore 9 April 1946 and was returned to the Mari-
time Commission. Sold into merchant service, she became
Rosa Thorden and in 1952 Pusan for Korean Shipping
Corporation.
Hackberry
A tree of the genus Celtis, distinguished by elm-like
leaves and small fruit.
( YN-20 : dp. 560; 1. 163'2” ; b. 30'6” ; dr. 11'8” ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 48; a. 1 3” ; cl. Aloe)
Hackberry (YN-20), originally Maple but renamed be-
fore launching 28 October 1941 by American Shipbuilding
Co., Cleveland, Ohio. She was commissioned 21 December
1942, Lt. C. B. Wegner in command.
Following shakedown and training exercises out of
Tompkinsville, R.I., the net tender was assigned to North
African waters, reporting 12 April 1943. She operated in
198
Palermo harbor towing and acting as cable recovery and
salvage vessel. During her stay in Palermo Hackberry
installed boom defenses at Catania, Sicily, and operated
briefly in Naples harbor.
As the pincers were applied to the Axis in Europe,
Hackberry took part in the important landings in south-
ern France. Arriving off the beaches 15 August, the ship
helped transport garrison troops from the newly-won
Alpha beach to Isle du Levant. Hackberry remained in
the area as Allied troops pushed forward from the beach-
head, coming under fire from German shore batteries 22
August. With the capture of Toulon, the ship returned
to her regular duties, clearing away the net and other
harbor obstructions. Redesignated (AN-25) 20 January
1014, Hackberry operated at Toulon and Marseille until
being turned over to the French government under lend-
lease 12 November 1944.
Hackberry was returned to U.S. custody from lend-lease
21 March 1949 and was sold the same day to France,
where she serves as Araignee.
Hackensack
A city in New Jersey.
( YTM-750 : dp. 390 (f.) ; 1. 107' ; b. 26.6" ; dr. 12' ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 10 ; cl. Army LT-2089)
Hackensack (YTM-750), a medium harbor tug was
taken over from the Army in 1963. She was built by the
Higgins Co., New Orleans, La., in 1953.
Hackensack was assigned to the 10th Naval District and
operated in the harbor of San Juan, P.R., until struck
from the Navy List 1 March 1967.
Hackett, Francis B., see Francis B. Hackett
Hackleback
A freshwater fish of the sturgeon family.
( SS-295 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'8" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 66; a. 10 21" tt., 1 5", 1 40mm. ; cl. Balao)
Hackleback (SS-295) was launched 30 May 1943 by the
Cramp Shipbuilding Oo., Philadelphia, Pa. ; sponsored by
Mrs. W. L. Wright; and commissioned 7 November 1944,
Lt. Comdr. Frederick E. Janney in command.
After training out of New London, Hackleback reported
to the Fleet Sonar School at Key West 24 December. Two
weeks training there were followed by further training at
Balboa, Canal Zone, and Hackleback sailed for Pearl
Harbor 25 January 1945. The new submarine partici-
pated in still more training exercises at Pearl Harbor be-
fore departing for her first war patrol 6 March.
Japanese merchant shipping had been decimated by the
Pacific submarine fleet, and Hackleback was to encounter
no suitable targets in any of her patrols. But on this
first patrol, she played a key role in the sinking of the last
of Japan’s super-battleships, the Yamato. Patrolling the
Bungo Suido area late in the night of 6 April, Hackleback
made radar contact on a fast group of ships at about
25.000 yards. iShe sent a steady stream of location reports
back to Pearl Harbor, at the same time attempting to close
the task group. Hackleback three times came to within
13.000 yards of the Yamato force, but destroyers forced
her out of range before she could get in position to fire
torpedoes. Yamato was not to escape, however. The
following morning, 7 April, planes from Admiral Mitsch-
er’s famous TF 58, guided by Hackleback' s contact loca-
tion reports, struck the Yamato group. In four successive
waves, the carrier planes accounted for the destruction of
Yamato, the light cruiser Yahagi, and two destroyers,
leaving only six destroyers of the Japanese task force to
escape.
During the rest of her first patrol, Hackleback made two
gun attacks on small ships, but discontinued the engage-
ments when it appeared they were trying to lure her in
close to shore. Returning to Midway 26 April, she pre-
pared for a second patrol and on 21 May sailed. This time
Hackleback' s primary mission was lifeguard duty off Saki
Shima Gunto as the carriers mercilessly pounded the
Japanese home islands. On 22 June she picked up a
downed carrier pilot, Lt. Comdr. C. P. Smith. Hackleback
also engaged in some shore bombardment. After an air
strike on Shokoto Sho 7 July, the submarine closed the
island and fired 73 rounds of 5 inch shells. No surface
contacts were made on this patrol. Hackleback returned
to Guam 12 July.
Sailing for her third war patrol 14 August, the sub-
marine received an unofficial flash “Tokyo accepts” that
same day, and on 16 August headed for Midway. The
long Pacific war had ended. Hackleback spent 2 weeks
at Midway and then sailed for home, reaching San Fran-
cisco 11 September. She decommissioned there 20 March
1946 and was placed in reserve at Mare Island. Hackle-
back's classification was changed to AGSS-295 on 6
November 1962. Her name was struck from the Navy list
1 March 1967 and as of September 1967 she is being stored
at Mare Island.
Haddo
A pink salmon fish prevalent on the Pacific coast of
the United States and Canada.
I
(SS-255: dp. 1526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 60; a. 1 3", 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
The first Haddo (SS-255) was launched by the Electric
Boat Co. of Groton, Conn., 21 June 1942 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Charles F. Russell ; and commissioned 9 October
1942, Lt. Comdr. Wallace L. Lent in command.
After conducting shakedown off New England, Haddo
departed New London 9 April 1943 to patrol the shipping
lanes to Rosneath, Scotland. She arrived 30 April and
joined Submarine Squadron 50, which was assigned to
patrol off Norway and Iceland and stand ready in case
of a breakthrough of the German fleet from Noi’way.
When it became clear after three patrols that targets
were scarce in this region, Haddo and her sister sub-
marines were sent back to the United States.
Haddo returned to New London 29 July 1943 and
steamed via the Panama Canal to Mare Island, Calif.
Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, she reached Pearl Harbor
25 November and put to sea 14 December on her fourth
war patrol, in Philippine waters. The submarine made
few contacts and terminated the patrol at Fremantle,
Australia, 4 February 1944.
Sailing from Fremantle 29 February, Haddo embarked
on her fifth war patrol in waters off Borneo, Java, and
Indochina. After a disappointing attack 8 March in
which two torpedoes exploded prematurely, she made an
attack on a tanker and escort 14 March which produced
unconfirmed results. Moving to the Indochina coast,
she sank a small craft with gunfire the night of 23 March
and damaged freighter Nichian Maru 29 March before
returning to Fremantle 22 April 1944.
Haddo departed Fremantle 18 May 1944 to conduct her
sixth war patrol in the East Indies. After undergoing
air attack off Morotai 30 May, she sighted heavy smoke
and proceeded to investigate. The smoke was a lure
that concealed a Japanese patrol boat. After evading
this one, Haddo encountered six more of the smoking
lures. Haddo sank two small craft 11 June and scouted
the Tawi Tawi anchorage on the 14th of June. Shortly
thereafter she was detected by patrol airplane and
pursued for almost 10 days. Her sixth war patrol was
terminated 16 July at Fremantle.
For her seventh war patrol Haddo joined a coordinated
attack group with five other submarines to cruise Philip-
pine waters. Japanese convoys ventured into the
Palawan area with strong air cover during the day, but
usually anchored with escort protection for the night.
256-125 0 - 68 - 15
199
Learning from Harder that a convoy had been attacked
by Ray 4 days before and trailed to Paluan Bay, the
submarines closed for the attack. As the convoy headed
out to sea before daylight 21 August, Ray sank one trans-
port while the escort vessels pursued Harder. At this
point Haddo entered the fray, launched six torpedoes at
three targets, and dived to avoid air attack. Over one
hundred depth charges churned the sea. But Haddo
had already sunk cargo ships Kvnryu Maru and Norfolk
Ham.
Next day Haddo followed Harder in for an attack on
a small convoy with escorts, and Haddo succeeded in
sending escort ship Sado to the bottom. Following a lone
destroyer and awaiting her opportunity. Haddo was sud-
denly turned upon by the Japanese ship. She launched
a four-torpedo spread “down the throat” of the destroyer
which veered off and headed for Manila. Cruising off
Cape Bolinao 23 August, the submarine was about to
torpedo a tanker close to shore when she detected a pur-
suing destroyer. With four torpedoes she ripped off the
ship’s bow. Haddo then maneuvered to finish off her
antagonist, but her last torpedo missed. Despite the
efforts of two Japanese trawlers and another destroyer,
Akakaze soon sank, giving Haddo another kill.
Diverting to New Guinea to refuel and rearm, Haddo
continued her seventh war patrol. She sank a sampan
8 September and 21 September found a convoy and
maneuvered into position ahead of it. While turning
to avoid a destroyer, Haddo lost depth control, and was
not able to regain it in time to effectively attack the
cargo ships. She subsequently headed for Subic Bay,
and lifeguard duty, but on the way detected a hospital
ship and survey ship in company. Disregarding the
former, she sent the survey ship, Katsuriki, to the
bottom.
After serving on lifeguard station and rescuing a Navy
pilot from the sea 22 September, Haddo returned to Fre-
mantle 3 October 1944. For this outstanding patrol the
submarine received the Navy Unit Commendation.
Haddo returned to the waters off Manila for her eighth
waT patrol. Departing Fremantle 20 October she sank
oiler Hishi Maru No. 2 on 9 November. Serving as life-
guard boat for aircraft, she sank a small ship 6 Decem-
ber 1944 before terminating her eighth war patrol at Pearl
Harbor 27 December. From there she was sent to Mare
Island shipyard for much-needed repairs, arriving 5 Jan-
uary 1945.
Haddo departed on her ninth war patrol 16 May 1945.
Cruising the East China and Yellow Seas, she attacked a
convoy emerging from the fog 1 July and quickly sank a
small coastal defense vessel and cargo ship Taiun Maru
No. 1. Clearing the area, she heard automatic gunfire,
and soon saw a frigate bearing down hard upon her.
Haddo’ s skipper decided not to dive and instead turned on
a parallel but opposite course, and the frigate shot by with
her guns blazing. Haddo suffered little damage, and was
able to avoid a companion escort and finally reach deep
water. That evening she sank two sailing junks and then
set course for a new station off Port Arthur. She sank
a trawler 3 July, survived a furious depth charge attack
by patrol vessels, and proceeded to Guam arriving 16 July
1945.
Haddo departed on her 10th and last war patrol 10
August 1945 but it was soon terminated by the surrender
of Japan. She then headed for Tokyo Bay, where she
witnessed the signing of the surrender on board Missouri
and departed for home. Touching at Hawaii, Haddo ar-
rived at Panama 28 September and New London 6 October
1945. Decommissioning 16 February 1946, Haddo was
kept in reserve until her name was stricken from the Navy
List 1 August 1958. She was sold for scrap 30 April 1959
to Luria Brothers & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation, Haddo
received six battle stars for her World War II service.
Her fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth war patrols were
designated successful.
II
(SSN-604: dp. 3,700 (surf.), 4,300 (subm.) ; 1. 278'6" ; b.
31'8" ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 10O ; a. 4 21" tt. ; cl. Thresher)
The second Haddo was launched by New York Ship-
building Corp., Camden, N.J., 18 August 1962; sponsored
by Mrs. Henry M. Jackson, wife of the Senator from
Washington ; commissioned 16 December 1964, Corndr.
John G. Williams in command.
After shakedown out of New London, Conn., in January
1965, Haddo arrived at her home port, Charleston, S.C., 8
February and joined Sub Ron 4. She operated off the
Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean until departing Char-
leston 7 July for the Mediterranean. She participated in
numerous exercises with ships of the 6th Fleet and NATO
countries before returning home 7 November. Haddo has
continued this pattern of service, alternating operations
out of home port in the Atlantic with 6th Fleet deploy-
ments, through 1967.
Haddock
A small edible Atlantic fish, related to the cod.
Haddock (SS-32) was renamed K-l ( q.v .) 17 Novem-
ber 1911 prior to her launching.
I
(SS-231 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'8" ; b. 27 '4" ; dr. 15'3" ; s.
20 k.; cpl. 60; a. 13", 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
The first Haddock (SS-231) was launched by Navy
Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., 20 October 1941 ; sponsored by
Mrs. William H. Allen ; and commissioned 14 March 1942,
Lt. Cmdr. Arthur H. Taylor in command.
After shakedown and training cruises off New England,
Haddock sailed for the Pacific 19 June 1942 and arrived
Pearl Harbor 16 July. She departed on her first war
patrol 28 July, the first submarine to do so with the
new SJ-type submarine surface radar. This equipment
added greatly to her power in seeking out and destroying
enemy ships in darkness or reduced visibility. Penetrat-
ing into the Bonin Island-East China Sea area, Haddock
attacked a freighter on the surface 12 August, damaged
her, and next day sank an unidentified transport of about
4,000 tons. In the Formosa Straits 26 August she missed
with four stern shots at Teinshum Maru but sent the
target to the bottom by swinging around hard for a shot
from the bow tubes. Haddock patrolled off Okinawa
before returning to Midway 19 September 1942.
Haddock’s second war patrol, commencing 11 October
from Midway, was carried out in the Yellow Sea. After
two attacks without hits, the submarine torpedoed Tekkai
Maru amidships 3 November, breaking her in two. She
was forced to break off another attack 6 November be-
cause of destroyers and search aircraft, but during the
nighc of 11 November blew off the stem of cargo ship
Venice Maru east of the island of Honshu. Haddock
damaged another ship 13 November, only to be prevented
from finishing her off by escort craft, and expended her
last torpedo on an empty tanker 16 November. After a
brief gunfire duel with her victim, the submarine headed
for Pearl Harbor, arriving 4 December.
On her third war patrol, Haddock operated south of
Japan, departing 28 December from Pearl Harbor. She
was attacked by two destroyers raining depth charges,
and when she finally surfaced to clear the area, Haddock
found herself surrounded by Japanese patrol craft. The
submarine sped out of the trap just in time to avoid
destruction.
A few days later, 17 January, she sank an unidentified
freighter of 4,000 tons, and 19 January Haddock detected
six cargo vessels steaming in double column. Gaining
attack position on the last ship, she scored two hits and
sent her to the bottom. Aerial attack and depth charges
kept her from bagging the other members of the convoy
200
and bad weather forced Haddock to return to Midway 17
February 1943.
Haddock departed Midway 11 March for her fourth
war patrol, and saw her first action 3 April off Palau,
when she encountered a transport protected by a corvette.
Launching two “fish” at the corvette, which apparently
ran under without exploding, Haddock then turned to the
transport and succeeded in sinking her with a spread of
torpedoes. Following torpedo tracks, the persistent
corvette dropped 24 depth charges, many directly over
Haddock, that caused some damage to her conning tower
and radar. After spending some time patrolling off Sai-
pan, she returned to Pearl Harbor 19 April 1943.
Departing Pearl Harbor again 30 June Haddock set
course for the Carolines on her fifth war patrol. Detect-
ing a group of four escorted transports north of Palau 21
July, she maneuvered into position and sank Saipan Maru,
The depth charge attacks of the accompanying ships were
ineffective. That same day she came upon two unescorted
tankers. Her first attack failed to sink the two ships,
but she followed them and made two more attacks before
finally breaking off the action for lack of torpedoes.
Haddock arrived at Midway 6 August and at Pearl Har-
bor 10 August 1943.
Haddock’s sixth war patrol was conducted in waters
off Truk, the vital Japanese base in the Carolines. De-
parting Pearl Harbor 2 September, she torpedoed Samsei
Maru on the 15th but failed to sink her and the victim
turned to ram the submarine. Haddock damaged sea-
plane tender Notoro 20 September and then spent a har-
rowing day eluding the attacks of Japanese escort vessels
alerted by the explosions. She returned to Midway 28
September with all torpedoes expended.
The veteran submarine departed on her seventh war
patrol 20 October 1943 and headed again for the waters
off Truk. Late 1 November Haddock damaged two trans-
ports, barely surviving the attacks of a hunter-killer group
a few hours later. She made one additional attack 2
November, heavily damaging Hoyo Maru, before returning
to Pearl Harbor 15 November 1943.
For her eighth war patrol Haddock joined a coordinated
attack group with Tullibee and Halibut. She departed
Pearl Harbor 14 December and rendezvoused 17 Decem-
ber. Encountering a group of warships 19 January,
Haddock attacked escort carrier Unyo and damaged her
severely before being driven off by screening vessels. The
submarine returned to Pearl Harbor 5 February 1944.
Haddock departed for her ninth war patrol 10 March.
Under the Navy’s relentless attack, spearheaded by the
submarine, Japan’s sea lifelines had shrunk to a trickle
and targets were scarce ; but she succeeded in sinking a
small escort vessel 24 April, before returning to Pearl
Harbor 10 May 1944. Her 10th war patrol was eventful as
the Pacific war drew close to its climax. With Com-
mander Roach in Haddock commanding, she formed an
attack group with Halibut and Tuna, departing Pearl
Harbor 8 October. Moving to support the invasion of the
Philippines, the submarines were present during the battle
off Cape Engano, part of the epochal Battle for Leyte Gulf,
25 October and unsuccessfully pursued some of the retir-
ing Japanese units. Bothered by a malfunctioning peri-
scope, Haddock scored no hits on the rest of her patrol
and returned to Pearl Harbor 10 December.
Fitted out with extra deck guns for her 11th war patrol,
Haddock sailed, in company with submarines Sennett and
Lagarto for the seas east of Japan. The boats made a
diversionary sweep designed to pull early warning craft
away from the intended track of the carrier group en
route for air strikes against Tokyo. Gaining their objec-
tive with complete success, the submarines attacked the
picket boats with gunfire, allowed them to send contact
reports, and then sunk several, diverting Japanese efforts
away from the undetected carrier group. Haddock re-
turned to Guam 14 March.
Haddock spent her 12th and 13th war patrols on life-
guard station near Tokyo, standing by to rescue downed
airmen after raids on Japanese cities. This duty oc-
cupied her from April until her return to Pearl Harbor
22 August 1945. The hard fought victory, to which she
had contributed so much, was won. So Haddock departed
for the United States 7 September and after transiting the
Panama Canal and visiting various ports on the East
Coast, arrived at New London, Conn., 29 March 1946.
nearly 4 years after she had sailed from the North At-
lantic to victory. She was placed in reserve in commis-
sion 20 April and decommissioned 12 February 1947. In
August 1948 Haddock was assigned duty as a reserve
training ship for 6th Naval District, and served in that ca-
pacity until being again placed out of service at New Lon-
don May 1952. She was again assigned to reserve train-
ing, this time at Portsmouth, N.H., June 1956, and finally
was struck from the Navy List and sold for scrap to
Jacob Checkoway 23 August 1960.
Haddock received 11 battle stars for her service in
World War II. All of her war patrols except the 12th
were designated successful and she received the Presi-
dential Unit Citation for her outstanding performance on
the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh war patrols.
II
(SSN-621) dp. 3,700 (surf.), 4,300 (subm.) 1. 278'6" ;
b. 31'8'' ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 100; a. 4 21" tt; cl.
Thresher )
Haddock (SSN-621), an attack nuclear submarine, wras
laid down 24 April 1961 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.,
Pascagoula, Miss.; launched 21 May 1966; sponsored by
Mrs. Thomas G. Morris, wife of Representative Morris of
New Mexico ; and commissioned 22 December 1967,
Comdr. Stanley J. Anderson in command.
Hadley, Hugh W., see Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774)
Haggard
Captain Haggard commanded the American armed ship
Louisa, which successfully engaged French and Spanish
privateers 20 August 1800 off Tarifa, during the Quasi-
War with France. Louisa fought off boarders and
escaped, although damaged severely in the rigging. Cap-
tain Haggard was wounded in the engagement.
( DD-555 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm„ 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher )
Haggard (DD-555) was launched by Seattle-Tacoma
Shipbuilding Co., Seattle, Wash., 9 February 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. E. B. McKinney ; and commissioned 31
August 1943, Comdr. D. A. Harris in command.
Haggard departed for shakedown training off Califor-
nia 29 September and after completing it departed Seattle
24 November for Pearl Harbor. The ship arrived 30
November 1943 and spent the next 2 months in tactical
exercises with other destroyers in Hawaiian waters. Her
first combat operation was to be the forthcoming invasion
of the Marshall Islands, next step on the island road to
Japan.
The ship sailed 22 January 1944 for the Marshalls.
She covered the unopposed landings on Majuro 31 January
and then sailed to Kwajalein Atoll. Taking up firing posi-
tion inside the lagoon 2 February, she provided gunfire
support for the advancing Marines until the island was
secured 3 days later. Then Haggard patrolled and
escorted transports in the Kwajalein area until sailing for
Engebi 17-19 February. There the destroyer again pro-
vided close fire support with her 5-inch guns, helping to
secure the atoll. With the Marshalls in American hands,
Haggard arrived 7 March at Espiritu Santo, New
Hebrides.
For the next months, Haggard operated with 3d Fleet
in the New Guinea-Solomons area. Her duties included
reconnaissance patrols, convoying, and screening escort
carriers. She also worked occasionally with minecraft and
screened a minelaying operation 9 May in the Solomons,
201
passing within 800 yards of an enemy-held beach on Buka
Passage. During the night of 16-17 May the destroyer
was patrolling with Franks and Johnston when she picked
up an underwater sound contact. With quickness and
accuracy the three ships delivered depth charge attacks
and were credited with the sinking of Japanese subma-
rine 1-176.
Haggard joined 5th Fleet at Eniwetok 21 May to pre-
pare for the Marianas operation, as America’s amphibious
might pressed across the Pacific. Departing Eniwetok 8
July, Haggard arrived Guam with battleships Pennsyl-
vania and Hew Mexico and other fleet units 17 July and
began a devastating bombardment of the beach fortifi-
cations. With the landing of Marines 21 July, the de-
stroyer turned to close fire support, lending her accurate
gunfire to the battle ashore.
Next on the timetable of the Pacific island campaign
was the Palau group, needed to provide an air base for
further advances. Haggard was withdrawn from, Guam
to Espiritu Santo 24 August 1944 and later joined the
Western Escort Carrier Group off the Solomons 4 Septem-
ber. During the invasion of Peleliu 15 September Hag-
gard screened carrier groups as they provided bombard-
ment and close fire support for Marines ashore. Air-
craft from her group also bombarded Ulithi before the
ships returned to Manus’ Seeadler Harbor 1 October.
Haggard's next operation was the long-awaited invasion
of the Philippines. She was assigned to an escort carrier
group off Samar in support of the invasion and the fleet
surface actions 23-25 October. A part of Rear Admiral
Stump’s “'Taffy 2” in the Battle off Samar, Haggard and
her group were surprised on the morning of 25 October
by heavy units to the northward under Admiral Kurita
heading toward the invasion beaches on Leyte Gulf. As
the carriers of “Taffy 3” retired at top speed and the gal-
lant destroyers, including Hoel, Heermann, and Johnston,
attacked the Japanese at close range, planes from both car-
rier groups attacked repeatedly and effectively in the hope
of diverting the overwhelming Japanese force and allowing
the American light units to escape. Haggard took position
astern of her carriers to protect them, and took many near
misses from the big guns of the Japanese fleet. Although
two escort carriers and three destroyers were sunk, quick
thinking and the great courage of the attacks saved the
smaller American group and inflicted damage on its at-
tackers. Admiral Kurita decided not to steam into Leyte
Gulf and returned to the northward.
Haggard remained with the escort carrier groups
through November during air operations in support of
the Philippines campaign. After a brief stay at Ulithi
25 November-10 December, the destroyer joined Task
Force 38 in support of the Luzon invasion. Then, 10-20
January 1945, Halsey’s 3d Fleet made a striking incursion
into the South China Sea. With Haggard and other de-
stroyers screening, the carrier groups struck Luzon, For-
mosa, Indochina, and the Chinese mainland destroying
shipping and airfields in a memorable demonstration of
mobile sea power.
The destroyer returned to Ulithi 26i January 1945, but
soon sailed with Task Group 58.4 for strikes against Japan
itself. Departing 9 February, the group, including car-
riers Ran do Ip h and Yorktown, hit Tokyo 16-17 February,
just before the important landings on Iowa Jima. Turn-
ing then to that stoutly defended island, Haggard’s car-
rier group lent air support to the assault until returning
to Ulithi 4 March 1945.
With the Pacific campaign then reaching its climax,
Haggard sortied again with Vice Admiral Mitscher’s 5th
Fleet carriers for attacks on Japan. During strikes on
Honshu 18-19 March, Japanese suicide planes struck back
at the task force. Haggard’s gunners shot down several
kamikazes, as carriers Franklin and Enterprise were
damaged. After fueling at sea, the fast carrier group,
moved toward Okinawa 22 March, with Haggard acting as
picket destroyer ahead of the formation. Shortly before
midnight she detected a surfaced submarine with radar,
and after it dived attacked with depth charges. Ten
minutes later the submarine surfaced on Haggard’s port
beam. Commander Soballe brought his ship into a hard
left turn toward his adversary. With full throttle and
guns blazing, Haggard rammed the submarine 1-371
amidships, sinking her in three minutes. After this
daring duel, Haggard’s crew made emergency repairs to
her damaged bow and took her back to Ulithi 25 March.
Her repairs completed. Haggard sailed from Ulithi 21
April with battleship Iowa to support the Okinawa op-
eration. Again occupied with screening carriers in the
area, Haggard and other fleet units were constantly
threatened by suicide planes as the Japanese tried des-
perately to stop the invasion. While proceeding to picket
station 29 April the ship was attacked by a kamikaze
making a shallow dive to starboard. Though nearly
blown apart by the fury of the destroyer’s guns, the air-
craft crashed close aboard and penetrated her hull near
the waterline. Soon afterward, her bomb exploded in
Haggard’s engine room. As water gushed through the
gaping hole in the destroyer’s side and she began to set-
tle, another suicide plane attacked, but was splashed by
anti-aircraft fire. Through fast and skillful damage con-
trol the flooding was stopped and Haggard was kept afloat.
Wounded were taken by cruiser San Diego and destroyer
Walker arrived to tow the stricken ship to Kerama Retto,
near Okinawa. The ship arrived 1 May 1945.
Hampered by lack of materials and almost constant
air alerts, Haggard’ s crew succeeded in repairing her so
that she could get underway. She departed Kerama
Retto 18 June 1945 and arrived Pearl Harbor via Saipan
and Guam 12 July. From there she steamed to San Diego
and the Canal Zone, arriving at Norfolk 5 August 1945.
Decommissioned 1 November 1945, Haggard was scrapped
because of war damage.
Haggard received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Hague
A city in South Holland, The Hague (’s Gravenhage)
was the center of European diplomacy during the latter
part of the 17th and first half of the 18th century.
The Continental frigate Deane (q.v.) was renamed
Hague in September 1782.
Haida, see Argus (PY-14)
Haida, see Mentor (PYc-37)
Haiglar
Principal chief of the Catauba tribe.
(YTB-327 : dp. 237; 1. 100'; b. 25'; dr. 9'7" ; s. 16 k.;
T. V2-ME-A1 )
Haiglar (YTB-327) was built by Brunswick Marine
Construction Corp., Brunswick, Ga., in 1942 as Port Went-
worth, under Maritime Commission contract. Delivered
to the Navy at Brunswick 14 November 1942, she was
converted to Navy use at Savannah Machine & Foundry
Co., Savannah, Ga., and placed in service 13 December
1942, classified as i'T-327.
Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Haiglcr . erved as a
harbor tug at Boston, Mass., and was redesignated YTB-
327, harbor tug, big, 15 May 1944. She was transferred
to the 15th Naval District for duty at Balboa, Canal Zone,
9 June 1945, but was brought back to Boston soon after
the end of the war in the Pacific. Haiglar was subse-
quently transferred to the Panama Canal and struck from
the Navy List simultaneously 11 February 1947.
Hailey
Captain Joshua Hailey was placed in command of the
privateer True Blood Yankee in early 1813. The priva-
202
teer, built in France by Rhode Island men, sailed from
Brest, France, 1 March 1813 to prey on commerce in the
Irish Channel. On one occasion Captain Hailey seized
an island near the enemy mainland and held it for 6 days
while making repairs. In a 37-day cruise he took 270
prisoners and captured valuable cargoes. Sailing from
France on his second cruise, Captain Hailey made a rapid
circuit of Ireland and Scotland, landing several times and
holding small coastal towns for ransom. During one
fight he burned seven vessels in an Irish port. In May
he ran into Dublin Harbor to sink a schooner that had
eluded him on the previous day. Captain Hailey sailed
again 21 September for his third cruise, setting his course
for the English Channel. He captured and manned so
many prizes that when she was finally captured the True
Blood Yankee had only 32 men left of her original crew
of 200. During her three cruises the ship had captured six
ships and 21 smaller vessels.
( DD-556 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'5" ; b. 39' 7" ; dr. 17'9" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5”, 10 40mm., 7 20mm„ 10 21" tt„
2 dct., 6 dcp. ; cl. Fletcher)
Hailey (DD-556) was launched 9 March 1943 by Seattle-
Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Wash. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Claude S. Gillette, wife of Rear Admiral Gillette ;
and commissioned 30 September 1943, Comdr. Parke H.
Brady in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego, Hailey depart ed
Seattle 13 December 1943 to join the Pacific Fleet at Pearl
Harbor. She sortied from Pearl Harbor 19 January 1944
screening a unit of Admiral R. K. Turner’s Southern
Attack Force for the assault and occupation of the
Marshall Islands. Arriving off the southern tip of Kwa-
jalein Atoll, Hailey joined the Southern Transport Screen
and later stood offshore and pounded the enemy with her
5-inch guns. She sailed from Kwajalein 15 February
with the Eniwetok Expeditionary Group and arrived off
Eniwetok next day to screen the heavy ships ; then joined
Admiral Oldendorf’s Northern Support Group in battering
strong enemy emplacements before retiring to Majuro
Atoll screening Manila Bay.
After patrolling the Mussau-Emirau area, Hailey spent
most of April and May on antisubmarine paitrol, intercept-
ing barge traffic and providing daily fire support for
Army operations in the New Guinea area. Destroyer
Division 94, consisting of Haggard, Franks, Hailey, and
Johnston was moving northwesterly up from the Solomons
16 May. About 2(4 hours before midnight they were
steaming in scouting line some 125 miles east by north of
Green Island. Haggard made a sonar contact on her star-
board bow at a range of 2,800 yards. It was 1600-ton
1-176. Five separate attacks were made and between
the last two a heavy underwater ripple explosion
was heard. The destroyers continued their search until
the following evening without regaining contact — but they
recovered souvenirs of Japanese origin from a diesel oil
slick that extended over 7 miles of ocean.
During the first part of June Hailey took up screening
and patrol duties east of Saipan in support of the Marianas
operations. She sortied from Eniwetok 1 July with Ad-
miral Weyler’s Battleship Division 3 for the pre-invasion
bombardment and softening up of Guam, then joined
Admiral Conolly’s Southern Attack Force for the capture
of Guam (21 July-10 August 1944) retiring to Eniwetok
9 August. The remainder of August and September
Hailey screened a group of escort carriers furnishing air
support for the seizure and occupation of Peleliu, Anguar,
and Ngesebu Islands in the Palaus.
Hailey next sortied from Seeadler Harbor, Manus Is-
land, 12 October with Admiral F. B. Stump’s “Taffy 2,”
the center formation of the three escort carrier groups off
the entrance to Leyte Gulf. While Admiral Oldendorf was
crushing Admiral Nishumura’s Southern Force in Surigao
Strait 24-25 October, Admiral Kurita’s Center Force ar-
rived off Samar undetected in the early hours of 25 October
with the aim of destroying the heavy concentration of
amphibious ships. In the face of overwhelming odds
against a much superior force Admiral Sprague’s three
“Taffies” gallantly drove off Kurita’s forces and defeated
his mission — thus stopping the most powerful surface
fleet Japan had sent to sea since the Battle of Midway.
The experienced destroyer next joined Admiral Halsey's
Fast Carrier Task Force, as a unit of Rear Admiral
Bogan’s Task Group launching strikes on Formosa, before
joining Captain Acuff’s fueling group for the 3d Fleet. In
February 1945 Hailey joined Admiral Marc A. Mitscher’s
Fast Carrier Task Force 58 and until the last of June
participated in bombardments and strikes, inflicting much
damage to the enemy on Okinawa and the Japanese home
islands where “the fleet had come to stay.”
Returning to the States in July, Hailey decommissioned
at San Diego 27 January 1946 and joined the Reserve
Fleet.
Hailey recommissioned at San Diego 27 April 1951, Lt.
Comdr. Joseph E. Reedy in command. After training in
the San Diego area she transited the Panama Canal and
joined units of the 6th Fleet at Newport for duty. Hailey
departed Newport 6 September 1952 and sailed via the
Canal Zone to spend the next 4 months in Korean waters
Joining Fast Carrier Task Force 77, she took part in block-
ading operations and provided close fire support for our
ground troops. Departing Sasebo 5 February 1953, Hailey
returned to the East Coast once more to join the 6th Fleet.
Between 8 September 1954 and 14 September 1959 Hailey
made four deployments with the 6th Fleet to the Mediter-
ranean. When not deployed in the Mediterranean, she
served as plane guard for carrier Monterey, training avi-
ation cadets at Pensacola. In addition, she was continu-
ously engaged in antisubmarine training and destroyer
tactics, becoming increasingly proficient as part of a fleet
vital in preserving American freedom. Hailey decommis-
sioned 3 November 1960 at Portsmouth, Va., and joined the
Reserve Fleet. Hailey was loaned to the government of
Brazil 20 July 1961, and serves as Pernambuco (D-30).
Hailey received six stars for World War II service and
two stars for Korean service.
Haines
Richard Alexander Haines was born in Haines Falls,
N.Y., 28 April 1903. He attended Tennessee Military
Institute 1921—1923, attended the Naval Academy for a
time, and served 3 years in the Coast Guard 1928-1931.
Commissioned Lieutenant in the Naval Reserve 23 July
1941, Haines served in Washington, after which he was
assigned to New Orleans. When New Orleans suffered
a devastating torpedo hit in the Battle of Tassafaronga,
30 November 1942, Lieutenant Haines remained at his
station to assist in controlling the damage until overcome
by asphyxiating gas generated by the explosion. In the
true tradition of the Navy he had given his life to save
his shipmates; he was posthumously awarded the Navy
Cross for his heroism.
( DE-792 : dp. 1,400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 5", 3 21" tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Haines (DE-792), a destroyer escort, was launched by
Consolidated Steel Shipbuilding Corp., Orange, Tex.,
26 August 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Mary V. Haines, wife
of the namesake; and commissioned 27 December 1943,
Lt. Comdr. Elmer C. Powell in command.
Haines conducted shakedown training off Bermuda,
and after final acceptance in February 1944 performed
various duties until April. These included escorting a
Dutch submarine to the United States, from the Nether-
lands, sailing with a troop convoy to Panama and back,
and serving as a training ship for new destroyer escort
crews at Norfolk, Virginia. Early in April Haines as-
sumed duty as target towing ship at Quonset Point, R.I.,
where she helped ready young pilots for duty with Ameri-
can squadrons overseas.
Overseas duty was not long in coming for Haines. She
was soon assigned to a Mediterranean convoy, leaving
from New York and arriving at Casablanca 7 June 1944.
203
Returning to New York, Haines again sailed for the Med,
this time with a carrier task group, 30 June 1944. The
group paused at Malta before proceeding to Alexandria,
Egypt, to guard against Axis attack on that port.
Detached from the task group, Haines next took an
active part in the vast armada that invaded southern
France. Departing Naples 13 August, she escorted troop
transports to the assault area, and later acted as a screen-
ing ship for the gunfire support group offshore. Haines
continued her escort duties into September as the Allied
advance gained momentum, acting as escort to an LST
group ferrying supplies from Corsica to France.
Haines completed her Mediterranean service 1 Novem-
ber 1944 and sailed for the United States, via Oran. She
arrived at New York 11 December and immediately en-
tered Brooklyn Navy Yard for conversion into a high speed
transport. Completed 1 March 1945, Haines was redesig-
nated APD-84. She then served for several months at
Norfolk and in Chesapeake Bay as a training ship for fast
transport and destroyer escort crews.
Receiving orders to return to combat duty, Haines sailed
from Norfolk for the Panama Canal 8 August 1945. She
received word of the war’s end while at Cristobal, Canal
Zone, proceeded to San Diego, Calif., and continued to
Pearl Harbor in early September. Haines was then des-
ignated to transport units of the Strategic Bombing Sur-
vey, and after extensive preparations departed Guam for
Japan 2 October 1945. For the next 2 months the ship
stopped at various Japanese ports while technicians and
analysts from the survey gathered data on the effective-
ness of the aerial bombardments. Haines was detached
from this duty at Guam and departed that island 6 Decem-
ber 1945 filled with returning Marines. She arrived San
Diego 24 December 1945.
Scheduled for deactivation, Haines sailed for the East
Coast via the Panama Canal, arriving Boston 12 January
1946. She subsequently sailed to Green Cove Springs,
Fla., where she decommissioned 29 April 1946 and went
into reserve. Haines was struck from the Navy List
1 June 1960 and sold for scrap to North American Smelt-
ing Co., Wilmington, Del., 19 May 1961.
Haines was awarded one battle star for service in World
War II.
Haiti Victory
A former name retained.
( T-AK-238 : dp. 4,512; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 29';
T. VC2-S-AP3)
Haiti Victory (T-AK 238) was laid down under Mari-
time Commission contract by Permanente Metals Corp.,
Richmond, Calif., 24 April 1944 ; launched 20 July : spon-
sored by Mrs. Lucius Booner; and delivered to WSA 18
September.
During World War II she operated as a merchantman
and was chartered to Waterman Steamship Co.
Acquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, Haiti Victory
was assigned to MSTS, for cargo operations in the At-
lantic. From 1950 to 1957, sailing from New York, she
made cargo runs to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean,
and the Caribbean.
On 15 June 1957, Haiti Victory sailed on her fiTst MSTS
cruise to the Pacific. Steaming via the West Coast, the
veteran cargo ship arrived Pusan, Korea, 1 August. Fol-
lowing several Far East cruises, she resumed operations
in the Atlantic in July 1958. Departing New York 11
July she steamed for the Eastern Mediterranean to sup-
port United States peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon.
Units of the 6th Fleet had landed Marines at request of
Lebanese President Chamoun who wished to prevent a
coup against his regime by communist oriented insurgents.
While operating in the Mideast, she twice steamed
through the Suez Canal, for cargo runs to Karachi. Paki-
stan. Returning to New York 3 January 1959, Haiti Vic-
tory made another Mediterranean cruise prior to assign-
ment in the Pacific. Arriving San Francisco 4 April she
operated off the West Coast until sailing for Hawaii 3
months later. Arriving Pearl Harbor 3 July, she under-
went conversion and training for a role in America’s
young space program.
Haiti Victory found a place in history, when she be-
came the first ship to recover a space vehicle from orbit.
On 11 August 1960, her helicopter retrieved a 300-pound
capsule that was launched into orbit the previous day
by a Thor-Agena rocket.
Haiti Victory was renamed Longview (q.v.) and re-
classified T-AGM-3 on 27 November 1960. She continued
operations in the Pacific Missile Range supporting the
United States space program. At present Lcmgvieiv per-
forms a variety of scientific duties for the Air Force
Western Test Range.
Hake
A North American game fish.
( SS-256 : dp. 1,526 ; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3'' ;
s. 20k.;cpl. 60; a. 1 5", 10 21" tt. ; cl . Gato)
Hake (SS-256) was launched by the Electric Boat Co.,
Groton, Conn., 17 July 1942: sponsored by Mrs. F. J.
Fletcher, wife of Rear Admiral Fletcher; and commis-
sioned 30 October 1942, Lt. Comdr. J. C. Broach in
command.
Hake departed for shakedown off New London soon
after commissioning and after bringing crew and equip-
ment up to fighting efficiency began her first war patrol
from New London 8 April 1943. Her mission on this
patrol was to search out and destroy German submarines
in the North Atlantic, but no contacts were gained and
she arrived Helenburgh, Scotland, to terminate the patrol
29 April. She departed for her second patrol, off the
Azores and again on antisubmarine patrol, 27 May 1943
and after encountering few submarines returned to New
London 17 July.
Newly assigned to the Pacific, Hake departed New Lon-
don 25 August 1943 for San Diego, via the Panama Canal.
After a training period off the California coast, she
sailed for the western Pacific 6 December. Hake armed
at Pearl Harbor and departed for her third war patrol
27 December 1943. She sighted a transport enroute to
Japan 11 January 1944 and after a day-long chase to gain
position sank her the next day. The submarine then con-
tinued to her cruising grounds off the Philippine Islands,
patrolling off Luzon and later moving south to Mindanao.
The night of 26 January she attacked a tanker, damaged
her, and in turn suffered considerable damage from depth
charge attacks before making her escape. Hake next
encountered three ships with two escorts 1 February.
With the three targets in a line of bearing after a perfect
approach, the submarine launched a spread of six tor-
pedoes, sinking two of the three, Tacoma Marti, and
Nanka Mara. The attack achieved complete surprise
and Hake was not attacked by the screening vessels. She
then departed for Fremantle, Australia, terminating the
patrol there 20 February 1944.
Hake’s fourth war patrol was spent in the South China
Sea near Singapore, following departure from Fremantle
18 March 1944. She encountered her first target 27 March,
and it was a submariner’s dream — an unescorted tanker.
Two torpedoes sent the ship, Yamamizu Maru, to the bot-
tom off southwest Borneo. After an attack the night of 1
April in which Hake damaged several ships she battled
escorts and searched for transports until 30 April, when
she arrived Fremantle. For her fifth war patrol, com-
mencing 23 May, Hake was assigned the area southwest
of Mindanao. Her duty was to attack shipping and to act
as a picket to alert American forces to the approach of
the Japanese fleet, which was expected to sortie from
Tawi Tawi to the Marianas. Sighting destroyer Eaze-
gumo 8 June, she closed for the attack and succeeded in
sinking her adversary, but fierce attacks prevented her
from sinking any of the accompanying destroyers. Hake
also succeeded in sinking two transports during this patrol.
Cargo ship Kinshu Maru was sunk 17 June after four
hits, and a heavily laden troop transport was sunk 3 days
204
later at the entrance to Davao Gulf. She returned to
Fremantle 11 July 1944.
Hake returned to her patrol area off the Philippines,
departing 5 August. During this, her sixth war patrol,
she attacked another destroyer, damaging it, but made few-
additional contacts because of extremely heavy air and
surface patrolling by Japanese forces. She arrived at
Fremantle Harbor 24 September 1944.
Departing 20 October for her seventh war patrol, Hake
encountered few contacts in her patrol area. Operating
with Hardhead and the ill-fated Growler , w-hieh w-as lost
on the patrol, Hake spent a harrowing 16 hours 7-8
November, counting nearly 150 depth charges and sustain-
ing considerable damage. She was subsequently sent on
a special mission off Panay Island, where she rendez-
voused with Filipino guerrillas to bring on board 29 U.S.
aviators shot down in recent air attacks. Her valuable
cargo safe, Hake returned to Australia, arriving
Fremantle 16 Dec-ember.
Hake departed Fremantle for her eighth war patrol 12
January 1945. After searching the South China Sea (now
almost denuded of targets) for almost a month, she headed
for San Francisco, arriving 13 March. After overhaul
she departed San Francisco some 2 months later and
began her ninth w-ar patrol in the Pacific 20 July 1945.
Hake acted as lifeguard ship for the air strikes against
Japan, and after the surrender had the distinction of being
1 of 12 submarines to witness the historic ceremonies on
board Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Following the signing,
Hake started on the long trek back to New London, via
the Panama Canal. She decommissioned at New London
13 July 1946, entered the reserve fleet, and was taken out
of reserve 15 October 1956 to serve as a Reserve Training
Ship for 4th Naval District at Philadelphia, Pa. Her
classification was changed to AGSS-256, auxiliary sub-
marine, 6 November 1962. She continued to serve out of
commission as a training ship for reservists at Phila-
delphia until she was struck from the Navy List 1 March
1967 to be sold.
Hake received seven battle stars for her service in
World War II. Her third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh
war patrols were designated successful.
Halawa
A cape on the island of Molokai in the Hawaiian
Islands.
( AOG-12 : dp. 3,650 It.; 1. 255'; b. 43'; dr. 16'; s. 9 k. ;
cpl. 63; a. 1 3")
Halawa (AOG-12) was built as Blue Sunoco in 1929
by Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa., and
operated as a tanker for the Sun Oil Co. until acquired
by the Navy through the Maritime Commission in 1942.
She was renamed Halawa and commissioned 10 April
1942, at Pearl Harbor, Lt. Comdr. W. J. Lane in command.
Halawa was based at Pearl Harbor and vicinity during
the entire w-ar. She operated at the Naval Base and at
Naval Air Station Kanoehe supplying fuel oil and diesel
fuel. The ship made occasional voyages to Palmyra, Can-
ton, and Johnston Islands 1942-1944, supplying those bases
with fuel. While returning to Pearl Harbor from Canton
Island 21 December 1944 Halawa suffered a serious gen-
erator failure and w-as towed the rest of the way by tug
ATR-12. After her arrival 26 December she stayed at
Pearl Harbor until being tow-ed to San Francisco after
the war. Halawa arrived San Francisco 25 September
1945 and decommissioned 25 October. She was returned
to the Maritime Commission, was placed in reserve for a
time, and was sold 5 July 1948 to Foss Launch and Tug Co.
Halcyon
A bird, identified with the kingfisher, fabled by the an-
cients to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice,
and to calm the waves during incubation ; hence, calm and
peaceful.
I
(SP-518: dp. 275; 1. 61' ; b. 12'4'' ; s. 11 k.)
The first Halcyon was built for the Bureau of Fisheries
in 1916 by Marine Construction Co., Boothbay Harbor,
Maine. She was transferred to the Navy and commis-
sioned 14 May 1917 at Boston.
Assigned to section patrol in the 1st Naval District,
Halcyon performed harbor patrol duties until decommis-
sioning 24 June 1919. She was subsequently struck from
the Navy List 31 July 1919 and returned to the Bureau
of Fisheries.
II
( SP-1658 : 1. 40' ; 1>. 9'6'' ; dr. 2'8'' ; s. 10 k.)
The second Halcyon was built by Defoe Boat Works,
Bay City, Mich., in 1912, and was taken over by the Navy
from her owner, G. G. Barn um, at Duluth, Minn., 16 June
1917. After serv ing briefly on section patrol in the Great
Lakes, 9th Naval District, Halcyon was returned to her
owner 5 November 1917.
Halcyon II
A former name retained.
( S P-582 : dp. 161; 1. 140'; b. 18'3" ; dr. 5'; s. 15 k. ; a.
2 3-pdr.)
Halcyon II, a yacht, was built by Charles Seabury Gas
Engine & Power Co. of Morris Heights, N.Y., in 1907, and
was purchased by the Navy in August 1917 from her
owner, D. W. Flint of Providence, R.I. She commissioned
15 December 1917 at Boston Navy Yard, Ens. C. P.
Jameson, USNRF, in command.
After fitting out, Halcyon II was employed as a section
and harbor patrol boat in Boston Harbor. She performed
this service until 4 June 1919 when she was rammed and
seriously damaged by steamer Bayou Teclie. Determined
by the Navy to be unserviceable, she was struck from the
Navy List 31 July 1919 and sold to her former owner
4 December 1919.
Hale
Eugene Hale was born at Turner, Maine, 6 June 1836.
He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and served for 9 years
as prosecuting attorney for Hancock County. He was
elected to the Maine legislature 1867-68, to the House of
Representatives 1869-79, and succeeded Hannibal Hamlin
in the Senate, serving from 1881 to 1911. Although he
declined the post of Secretary of the Navy in the Hayes
administration, Senator Hale performed constructive work
of the greatest importance in the area of naval appropria-
tions, especially during the early fights for the “new
Navy.” “I hope”, he said in 1884, “that I shall not live
many years before I shall see the American Navy what it
ought to be, the pet of the American people.” Much later
in his career, he opposed the building of large numbers of
capital ships, which he regarded as less effective in propor-
tion to cost and subject to rapid obsolescence. Senator
Hale retired from politics in 1911 and spent the remainder
of his life in Ellsworth, Maine, and in Washington, D.C.,
where he died 27 October 1918.
I
( DD-133 : dp. l,090(n.) ; 1. 314'5'' ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 8'8''; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 113 ; a. 4 4", 2 3-pdrs., 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wickes)
The first Hale (DD-133) was launched by the Bath Iron
Works, Bath, Maine, 29 May 1919; sponsored by Miss
Mary Hale, granddaughter of Senator Hale ; and commis-
sioned at Boston 12 June 1919, Comdr. Allan S. Farquhar
in command.
Hale joined Destroyer Squadron 3, U.S. Atlantic Fleet,
and after training exercises departed 11 July 1919 for
Europe. On this cruise, the ship paid goodwill visits to
205
European and Mediterranean ports, assisted in the execu-
tion of the Austrian Armistice in October, and joined the
American detachment in Turkish waters. Hale then car-
ried refugees, relief officials, and freight between the ports
of Greece, Bulgaria, and Russia, showing the flag in the
vital Mediterranean and Balkan area. She returned to
Philadelphia 31 March 1920 and resumed her schedule of
training and development exercises along the Eastern
Coast. Hale decommissioned at Philadelphia 22 June 1922
and remained in reserve until 1 May 1930, when she re-
commissioned.
Departing Philadelphia 15 May, Hale took part in re-
fresher training operations and then resumed readiness
exercises on the East Coast. She participated in Scouting
Fleet maneuvers in early 1931 in the Caribbean, and ar-
rived San Diego via the Panama Canal 4 April 1931. For
the next few years Hale participated in maneuvers with
the Battle Force along the California coast and spent
much time perfecting the techniques of modern carrier
tactics with carriers Saratoga and Lexington. The
destroyer decommissioned once more at San Diego 9 April
1937.
Hale recommissioned at San Diego 30 September 1939,
at a time of mounting crisis in both oceans, and departed
25 November for neutrality patrol in the Caribbean. Her
base was changed to Galveston 22 February 1940, and
later to Key West, but the ship continued to patrol the
Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. At Philadelphia 1
September 1940 she prepared for transfer to Great Britain
as a part of the famous destroyers for bases agreement.
She arrived Halifax 6 September 1940 and decommis-
sioned 3 days later. Entering the Royal Navy, she be-
came HMS Caldwell.
During her career in the British Navy, Caldwell was as-
signed to escort duty in the Atlantic and later in the
Caribbean, as Britain tried desperately to cope with the
German U-boat menace. She joined the Royal Canadian
Navy in mid-1942, and while returning to St. John’s, New-
foundland, 18 December 1942, was seriously damaged dur-
ing a heavy gale. She became disabled, and was found
drifting helplessly by Wanderer 21 December. Caldicell
was then towed to St. John’s and later to Boston. Ready
for sea again in May 1943, the ship resumed convoy duty
with the Royal Canadian Navy until 1 December, when
she returned to Tyne and was placed in reserve, Caldwell
was broken up for scrap in September 1944.
II
( DD-642 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'7" ; dr. 13' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp. ;
cl. Fletcher)
The second Hale (DD-642) was launched 4 April 1943
by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; sponsored by Mrs. G. H.
Chase, granddaughter of Senator Hale ; and commissioned
at Boston 15 June 1943, Comdr. Karl F. Poehlmann in
command.
Hale conducted shakedown training in the Caribbean
and training exercises on the East Coast before depart-
ing Halifax for the Pacific combat zone 21 September.
She arrived Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal 9 Octo-
ber 1943.
Hale departed 8 November 1943 for the invasion of the
Gilbert Islands, the first step in America’s amphibious
sweep across Micronesia. She screened carriers in strikes
on Tarawa 18-20 November, took part in the bombardment
of Betio Island 19 November, and supported the landings
by Marines next day. During the air attacks that fol-
lowed, Hale's, gunners accounted for several aircraft.
After covering the retirement of damaged carrier Inde-
pendence for 2 days she rejoined the carrier striking force
for attacks against the Marshall Islands, next target of
the Pacific amphibious forces.
USS Hale (DD-133) , one of 50 destroyers traded to Great Britain for bases in 1940
206
Hale returned to Pearl Harbor 8 December to train for
the next assault and sailed 21 December for the Ellice
Islands. She departed 21 January 1944 for the invasion
of the Marshalls, pounding Maloelap and Wotje atolls 29
January to 22 February, before and after the landings.
Underway from Kwajalein 11 March, she sailed to Guadal-
canal to perform anti-submarine patrol during the load-
ing operations, and departed 27 March escorting reinforce-
ments to Cape Torokina, Bougainville.
After acting as antisubmarine screen and screening ship
for escort carriers supporting the Hollandia landings in
New Guinea, Hale returned to Seeadler Harbor 4-7 May.
She then steamed to the Solomons for the final rehearsals
for the Marianas campaign. The ship then took part in
pre-invasion strikes on Guam, returned briefly to Eniwetok
14 July, to support the Guam landings 21 July.
Hale returned to Eniwetok 4 August 1944, and departed
6 days later for assault and support operations in
Hawaiian waters preparatory to the Leyte landings. She
got underway with troop transports bound for Manus 15
September, and departed 14 October with the Southern
Attack Force bound for the Philippines. On 18 October
her group was joined by Nashville, with General Douglas
MacArthur embarked. Hale entered Leyte Gulf early 20
October and helped troop units take Dulag airfield by
providing accurate fire support. She then joined Rear
Admiral C. A. F. Sprague’s escort carriers 25 October after
their valiant fight in the battle off Samar.
The destroyer next joined escort screening units for
troop reinforcements at Morotai and landed them at Taclo-
ban, Leyte, 14 November. After another such voyage from
Hollandia to Leyte in November, aiding the buildup in
the Philippines, Hale sailed 24 November via New Guinea,
the Marshalls, and Pearl Harbor arriving San Francisco
22 December 1944.
Hale returned to the Pacific war in early 1945, arriving
Pearl Harbor 25 February. Sailing to Ulithi, she de-
parted 14 March with Rear Admiral Forrest Sherman’s
Essex carrier task force to attack enemy air installations
prior to the landings on Okinawa. The group suffered
casualties, including Franklin and Wasp from air attack
19-21 March as Hale’s gunners shot down several of the
attackers. Departing the seas off Japan proper, the
carrier force screened by Hale and other destroyers turned
to Okinawa, flying close support and bombardment mis-
sions before, during, and after the initial assault 1 April.
During the harrowing period off Okinawa Hale rescued
two fighter pilots, drove off innumerable kamikaze attacks,
and survived a near miss during a bombing attack. The
veteran destroyer departed Okinawa 11 April and after
stops at Ulithi and Guam arrived Leyte Gulf in the screen
of South Dakota 1 June 1945. She then escorted Wash-
ington to Guam and met tug Slunsee, towing the bow sec-
tion of cruiser Pittsburg, torn off in the great typhoon off
Okinawa, and brought her to Apra Harbor. The ship
then sailed to join the 3d Fleet at Leyte Gulf 21 June.
Hale departed as a unit of Admiral Mitscher’s famed
Task Force 38, 1 July 1945, bound for crippling strikes
against Japan itself. Hale took part in shore bombard-
ment of factories at Hamamatsu 29 July.
As the war against Japan ended 15 August, Hale took
up duties as air-sea rescue ship offshore during the landing
of occupation forces. She entered Tokyo Bay 16 Septem-
ber 1945, and departed 1 October for the United States
carrying 100 veterans. She arrived Seattle 19 October
1945 and was placed in commission in reserve at San
Diego until decommissioning 15 January 1947.
With the outbreak of the Korean War and the increase
of tension throughout the world, Hale was taken out of
reserve, commissioning at Long Beach 24 March 1951.
After shakedown cruise she sailed via the Panama Canal
to her new home port, Newport, R.I., arriving 11 July
1951. After refresher training she departed 22 April
1952 to serve with the 6th Fleet in Mediterranean waters
in support of American diplomacy in this vital and
troubled region. After stopping at 16 ports in the course
of her operations, Hale returned to Newport 23 October
1952. For the next 1*4 years the destroyer performed a
variety of tasks — antisubmarine training and develop-
ment exercises off the Atlantic coast, plane guard duty
for carrier operations in the Gulf of Mexico, and a train-
ing cruise for Midshipmen of the Naval Academy.
After a modernization overhaul at Philadelphia Sep-
tember 1953 to January 1954 Hale departed 1 June 1954
for a world cruise. Transiting the Panama Canal and
entering the Pacific she proceeded to the Far East. She
formed a part of America’s ever-present naval strength
lending stability to the area. Transiting the Suez Canal
17 November 1954, she visited many ports in 6th Fleet
waters before returning to Newport 18 December 1954.
Hale continued her vital pattern of readiness exercises,
including serving as the Destroyer Force Gunnery School
Ship at Newport, until 6 November 1956. Getting under-
way for the Mediterranean once more, she rendezvoused
with 6th Fleet ships and stood by in the eastern Mediter-
ranean during the Suez crisis, helping to avert a larger
conflict and protecting American interests. She returned
to Newport 20 February 1957.
In June Hale participated in one of the greatest inter-
national naval reviews in history, joining some 60 U.S.
ships and vessels of 17 other nations in the 350th anni-
versary of the founding of Jamestown. A second Mid-
shipman cruise and NATO exercises in the North Atlantic
closed out 1957. She began her second world cruise 23
USS Hale (DD-642) at Pearl Harbor 11 October 1958
207
July 1958, sailing to Naples, through the Suez Canal to
India and Japan, and back to San Diego after operations
with the 7th Fleet in its constant peace-keeping vigil off
Formosa. She returned to Newport via the Panama
Canal 24 November 1958.
In the Mediterranean from August 1959-February 1960
Hale continued a peace-keeping and goodwill role. She
returned to Newport 26 February 1959. After a period of
important experimental work in anti-submarine warfare
with nuclear submarines. Hale decommissioned at Boston
30 July 1960. She was transferred to Colombia 23 Jan-
uary 1961 under the Military Assistance Program and
now serves as Antioquia (DD-Ol) .
Hale received six battle stars for World War II service.
Hale, Roy O., see Roy O. Hale (DE-336)
Haleakala
An extinct volcano located on the eastern end of the
island of Maui, Hawaii, meaning House of the Sun.
(AE-25: dp. 8,300 It.; 1. 512'; b. 72'; dr. 29' s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 331 ; a. 4 3" ; cl. Suribachi)
Haleakala (AE-25) was launched 17 February 1959 by
Bethlehem- Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore,
Md. ; sponsored by Mrs. Maurice E. Curts, wife of Vice
Admiral Curts ; and commissioned 3 November 1959, Cap-
tain Miles P. Refo, III, in command.
After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay Haleakala
transited the Panama Canal and visited Chile and Costa
Rica before arriving San Francisco 17 March 1960. The
fifth of a new class of ammunition ships designed from
the hull up for carrying and transferring at sea the latest
in munitions and guided missiles, Haleakala spent the
first part of April with Vega conducting replenishment
exercises to test new equipment.
Haleakala departed San Francisco 7 July 1960 on her
first Western Pacific deployment. Visiting Pearl Harbor,
Yokosuka, and Sasebo, she provided services to various
units of the 7th Fleet before returning to Port Chicago,
Calif., 19 December 1960.
Haleakala departed on her second deployment to the
Western Pacific 18 April 1961 and again serviced units
of the 7th Fleet, returning to Port Chicago 8 September.
In October, in company with Mount Katmai, she steamed
to Long Beach to participate in Exercise “Covered
Wagon”, an effort to test realistically a representative At-
tack Carrier Strike Force in all of its wartime tasks in the
face of opposition similar to that which might be expected
of a potential enemy.
Haleakala made two subsequent deployments to the
Western Pacific between 29 May 1962 and February 1964.
She arrived Todd Shipyard, Inc., Seattle, 28 February 1964
for overhaul and modernization to increase her efficiency
and safety. With conversion completed by May 1965,
through the fall of 1965 Haleakala participated in Opera-
tion “Baseline.” On 20 November she sailed for Yankee
Station via Pearl Harbor to support combat operations in
Vietnam, returning to Subic Bay 31 December.
Most of 1966 was spent on another WestPac deployment.
Haleakala departed Subic Bay 23 August for the West
Coast, arriving San Francisco 12 September. After train-
ing exercises off Mare Island through December, Halea-
kala returned for further replenishment operations off
Vietnam into 1967.
Half Moon
A bay on the coast of California south of San Francisco.
(A VP-26 : dp. 1,766; 1. 310'9" ; b. 41'2" ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 18
k. ; cpl. 215; a. 2 5" ; cl. Barnegat )
Half Moon (AVP-26), a small seaplane tender, was
originally designed as a motor torpedo boat tender and
designated AGP-6. She was launched by Lake Wash-
ington Shipyards, Houghton, Wash., 12 July 1942; spon-
sored by Mrs. T. A. Gray ; redesignated AVP-26 on 1 May
1943 ; and commissioned 15 June 1943, Comdr. W. O.
Gallery in command.
Half Moon spent her first months in shakedown train-
ing off California, and was then assigned to the Pacific
Fleet. Departing San Diego 25 August 1943, she em-
barked a Marine air group at Pearl Harbor and steamed
into Vila Harbor, New Hebrides, 14 September. The
tender then sailed to Brisbane, Australia, and thence to
Namoai Bay, on Sariba Island, New Guinea, arriving 6
October. At Namoai Bay Half Moon began her tending
duties. Her embarked squadron, flying PBY “Catalina”
aircraft, conducted night antishipping strikes in the New
Guinea area. With the able support of tenders like Half
Moon these missions — “Black Cat” strikes — achieved im-
portant results in the destruction of Japanese transports.
Half Moon departed for Brisbane 21 December 1943,
remained until 10 February 1944, and then steamed into
a succession of New Guinea ports on the way to her new
operating base, Finshafen. There the tender resumed her
support of seaplane operations in the New Guinea theater.
After tending seaplanes on rescue missions from Hum-
boldt Bay in May, Half Moon spent several months pinch-
USS Haleakala (AE-25) in July 1965
208
hitting for transports in the Pacific area, stopping at Bris-
bane, Manus, Milne Bay, and other ports. She took up
“Black Cat” operations again 25 August 1944 from Mid-
dleburg and later Morotai. Steaming out of Morotai 6
October, Half Moon joined a small convoy en route to
Leyte Gulf to assist in the developing operations for the
recapture of the Philippines. They arrived Leyte Gulf
21 October, and Half Moon immediately steamed down
the eastern coast of Leyte in search of a proper anchor-
age for her seaplane operations.
Anchoring in Hinamangan Bay, Half Moon came under
air attack 23 October, and soon realized that her anchor-
age was a rendezvous point for Japanese planes attacking
Leyte. Late 24 October Half Moon’s radar began to pick
up two large surface units converging and it was soon
clear that she was to be a witness to the last engagement
between batte lines of surface ships— the Battle of Suri-
gao Strait. The tender cautiously slipped out from be-
hind Cabugan Grande Island and was given permission
to proceed up the coast of Leyte between, but well to
the west of the two fleets. She watched the spectacle of
Admiral Oldendorf’s big guns pounding the Japanese
ships, and after the battle returned to Hinamangan Bay.
Another fierce air attack, however, soon convinced the
captain that San Pedro Bay, further north, offered a
more hospitable base for operation.
Half Moon weathered two severe storms, 29 October
and 8 November 1944, and operated with her seaplanes in
Leyte Gulf until 27 December. She was then designated
as part of the support convoy for the Mindoro Landing,
and departed for Mangarin Bay 27 December. The con-
voy, known as “Uncle plus 15”, encountered some of the
most prolonged and determined air attacks of the war
as the Japanese strove mightily to prevent reinforcements
at Mindoro. Air cover provided by land-based aircraft
stopped only some of the attackers. Suicide planes,
bombs, and strafing hit many ships. Liberty Ship John
Burke, loaded with ammunition, exploded leaving vir-
tually no trace after a kamikaze hit, tanker Porcupine and
tender Orestes were severely damaged, and other ships
also suffered hits.
Nevertheless the convoy drove through giving the
Japanese planes a hot time with the concentrated AA
fire. During these 3 days, gunners on Half Moon and
the other ships were at their stations round the clock,
Half Moon accounting for at least two and possibly four
of the attacking aircraft.
The convoy arrived at Mindoro 30 December, air attacks
continued. On 4 January during one of these a large
bomb skipped over Half Moon’s fantail, falling to explode.
The tender remained in Mangarin Bay tending seaplanes
until returning to Leyte Gulf 17 February.
Following the victorious Philippine invasion, Half Moon
sailed to Manus and Humboldt Bay. On 30 May, she got
underway for the Philippines again, arriving Tawi Tawi,
Sulu Archipelago, 11 June. She supported seaplane anti-
submarine searchers from Tawi Tawi Bay until early
August, and then carried out the same mission from Man-
garin Bay, Mindoro.
Following Japan’s surrender, Half Moon proceeded to
Subic Bay, Philippines, and from there got underway for
Okinawa 30 August. The afternoon of the next day signs
of a storm were evident and by 1 September Half Moon
was engulfed in a raging typhoon, with winds up to 120
knots and barometer readings of 27.32. Smart seaman-
ship allowed her to weather the storm, and she arrived
safely at Okinawa 4 September.
Half Moon departed Okinawa for Manila 1 October,
operated in that area for about a month, and departed 7
November for deactivation. She arrived Seattle 1 Decem-
ber 1945 steamed to San Diego 12 April 1946, and decom-
missioned there 4 September 1946. Placed in reserve,
she was taken out, refitted, and loaned to the Coast Guard
in September 1948. Half Moon continues in the 1960’s to
serve as a weather ship under the Coast Guard. Based at
Staten Island, N.Y., she collects weather data in the
Atlantic Ocean, and acts as an emergency air rescue ship.
Half Moon received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Halfbeak
A garlike fish with a beak formed by an extension of
the lower jaw, found in warmer seas.
( SS-352 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20.3
k. ; cpl. 66; a. 1 5”, 10 21" tt. ; cl. Balao)
Halfbeak (SS-352) was launched 19 February 1946 by
the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs.
William Craig; and commissioned 22 July 1946, Comdr.
Evan T. Shepard in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean and along the Latin
American coast to the Canal Zone, Ecuador, and Colombia,
Halfbeak spent the next 3 years in training operations
and fleet exercises out of New London, Conn., where she
was part of SubRon 8. Entering the Portsmouth, N.H.,
shipyard 12 September 1949, Halfbeak was converted to
a “Guppy” type. Fitted with a snorkel to enable her to
stay submerged for long periods of time and distinguished
by a greatly streamlined superstructure, Halfbeak left
Portsmouth 13 January 1950 to work with the Research
and Development Group at New London. While con
ducting tests on special underwater sound equipment, she
made a cruise to English waters, operating off Jan Mayer
Island, in the winter of 1951.
Halfbeak was engaged in further Caribbean exercises
until 10 November 1954, when she sailed for her first
Mediterranean cruise. Having visited Gibraltar, Naples,
Marseilles, Lisbon, and Valencia, Spain, the submarine
returned to New London 2 February 1955. A similar
cruise in 1956 was punctuated by the Suez Crisis, and
Half beak remained in the eastern Med operating with the
6th Fleet until January 1957 helping to maintain the peace
in that crucial region. Her duties took another turn as
28 July 1958 she departed for the Arctic, where with the
nuclear submarine Skate she operated under and around
the polar ice pack to gather information in connection
with the International Geophysical Year. During these
operations, Skate sailed under the Arctic ice pack to reach
the North Pole 11 August and continued to cruise freely
there repeating the visit 6 days later.
Local operations and exercises, primarily submarine
and fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean but also NATO
maneuvers, occupied Half beak until 1963, when she re-
sumed her role testing and evaluating sonar and other
underwater sound equipment out of New London.
Halford
William Halford was born in England 18 August 1841,
and enlisted in the Navy in 1869. While serving on board
Saginaw, which had run aground near Midway 29 October
1871, Halford was one of four who volunteered to sail
the ship’s boat 1,500 miles to Honolulu for help. After
great suffering the party reached Kauai Island 19 Decem-
ber after 31 days at sea. In attempting to land through
the heavy surf, all but Halford were drowned, but he
managed to reach shore and bring help to his shipmates
in Saginaw. Halford received a commendation for his
bravery and served until 1910, when he retired. Promoted
to Lieutenant on the retired list, he returned to the Navy
in 1917 and died 7 February 1919 at Oakland, Calif.
( DD— 480 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'5" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13'9" ; s. 37
k. ; cpl. 273; a. 4 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 5 21" tt.,
6 dep., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Halford (DD-480) was launched 29 October 1942 by the
Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash. ; sponsored
by Miss Eunice Halford, daughter of Lieutenant Halford ;
and commissioned 10 April 1943, Lt. Comdr. G. N. Johan-
sen in command.
In 1943 when the struggle in Pacific was raging the
Pacific Fleet prepared for its mighty sweep across
Micronesia. In an effort to strengthen the “seeing eyes”
209
of our fleet, Halford was one of six destroyers constructed
with a cruiser catapult and scout observation plane. She
departed San Diego 5 July en route Pearl Harbor arriving
5 days later. For the next 3% months Halford was to test
the feasibility of carrying scout planes on small vessels.
Because of tactical changes and our growing aircraft car-
rier strength Halford returned to Mare Island 27 October
1943 for alterations which replaced the catapult and scout
plane.
By 6 December, with increased fighting power and a new
profile, Halford again departed for the South Pacific. She
called at Pearl Harbor, Funafuti, Espiritu Santo, and
Tutuila, Samoa ; then took up convoy duties which in-
cluded a Christmastime assignment of protecting enor-
mous troopship Lurline with Marine reinforcements em-
barked for Guadalcanal. Arriving Guadalcanal she as-
sumed command of the antisubmarine screen and took
up station off Lunga Point. In addition to Guadalcanal
Halford supported the beachhead at Bougainville, screen-
ing supply trains and participating in coastal bombard-
ments.
Anti-shipping sweeps on New Ireland’s east coast, punc-
tuated by counter-battery fire off East Buka Passage
made tense and exciting days for Halford , Waller and
Wadsivortli during January 1944— a month which also
saw the destruction by this three ship task force, of stra-
tegic Japanese facilities on Choiseul Island.
Halford next became flagship for Admiral T. S. “Ping”
Wilkinson’s Green Islands Attack Force. Carrying Major
General Barrowclough’s 3d New Zealand Division Admiral
Wilkinson’s destroyer-transport group sortied from Vella
Lavella and the Treasuries, 12-13 February, arrived off
Barahun Island at 0620, D-day 15 February and lowered
their landing craft fully manned.
Halford took up station off Green Island and began
patrolling while unloading operations proceeded. At 0940
General Barrowclough, RNZA, and staff disembarked
to land on Green Island. Within 2 hours after the inital
landing all New Zealand forces were ashore ; 5800 men
were landed during D-day, 15 February. The fact that
such a force could put thousands of troops ashore virtually
without opposition 115 miles from Rabaul demonstrated
the might and mobility of our fleets in the Pacific.
Halford next joined a destroyer squadron to make ship-
ping sweeps off the west coast of New Ireland. On the
night of 24-25 February 1944, Halford and Bennett sank
two small coastal ships and severely damaged a patrol
vessel. For the next 3 days Halford carried out her
sweeps south of the strong Japanese naval base of Truk
then returned to Purvis Bay for supplies.
Spring of 1944 found Halford busily escorting supply
units to the northern Solomon Islands. Halford then
prepared for the longest cruise of her career — commenc-
ing early in June with the campaign for the Marianas.
The initial phase of Operation “Forager” which kept
Halford at sea for 75 days was the bombardment of
Tinian’s west coast defenses, followed by night harassing
fire and the screening of heavy shore bombardment units.
17 June Halford joined the battle line of Admiral Marc
A. Mitscher’s famed Task Force 58 for the greatest carrier
action of all time; the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
19 June found Halford in the first phase of the battle — the
“Marianas Turkey Shoot” as repeated enemy carrier
strikes were shot down by surface fire. In the 2-day
battle of the Philippine Sea the Japanese Fleet lost 395 of
,ts carrier planes, 31 of its float planes, and three carriers.
While Guam footholds were being secured Halford cov-
ered beach demolition units giving close bombardment
support to assault troops and rescuing a number of
friendly natives who had escaped through Japanese lines.
Halford then joined the Angaur Fire Support Group in
the bombardment of Angaur Island (4—21 September
1944).
Halford turned next to the campaign for the recapture
of the Philippines. Joining Admiral J. B. Oldendorf’s
Fire Group of the Southern Attack Force, Halford par-
ticipated in the pre-invasion bombardments in Leyte
Island. Then, on 24 October, when Admiral Kinkaid
estimated that Admiral Mishimura’s Southern Force
would try to enter Leyte Gulf via Suriago Strait, Halford
prepared for the Battle of Suriago Strait (24^25 October
1944). That night and in the early morning hours of
25 October Halford witnessed virtually the complete
destruction of the Japanese Southern Force except for
destroyer Sliigure. American casualties totaled 39 men
killed and 114 wounded, most of them in destroyer
Albert IF. Grant. Admiral Oldendorf said after the
battle, “My theory was that of the old-time gambler ;
‘Never give a sucker a chance.’ If my opponent is fool-
ish enough to come at me with an inferior force, I’m
certainly not going to give him an even break.”
After the epochal Battle of Leyte Gulf, which broke
the back of Japanese sea power, Halford departed Leyte
Gulf 1 November 1944 and took up operations with the
3d Fleet out of Ulithi until 2 December when she returned
to Leyte as part of the covering force for the landings.
On 6 December she was dispatched to escort damaged
SS Antone Sautrain into Leyte but the ship was lost in
air attack. Returning to Leyte Halford next escorted
supply echelons to Ormoc Bay and troopships to Mindoro.
In the afternoon of 2 January 1945 Halford sortied from
Hollandia to escort transports of Task Force 79 to Lin-
gayen Gulf for the occupation of Luzon Island ; deliver-
ing the transports safely despite heavy air attack she
commenced patrolling the entrance to the Gulf. Then
on the afternoon of 11 January Haifa i took part in the
shipping strike on San Fernando Harbor in which three
small cargo ships, a landing craft, and several barges
were sunk. Next morning she took part in the bom-
bardment which neutralized the town of Rosario.
On 14 February, while patrolling Saipan Harbor, in a
smoke screen, Halford rammed M.S. Terry E. Stephenson.
Although there were no injuries, it necessitated Halford's.
return to Mare Island, where she arrived 24 March 1945.
27 May 1945 Halford departed San Diego on her way
west again. She proceeded to the Marshall Islands via
Pearl Harbor where she escorted transports from
Eniwetok to Ulithi. 11 August Halford departed Eniwe-
tok en route Adak, Alaska as a unit of the Northern
Pacific Fleet. With a task force composed of light
carriers, cruisers and destroyers, Halford departed Adak
31 August and steamed into Ominato, Northern Honshu,
Japan 12 September. Under the direction of Admiral
Frank Jack Fletcher, this force was responsible for the
initial occupation of the Ominato Naval Base and sur-
rounding areas.
With Admiral Fletcher’s Task Group, Halford cleared
Ominato 20 September returning to Adak 5 days later,
thence on via Kodiak to Juneau for Navy Day.
Halford departed Juneau, Alaska, 1 November 1945 and
arrived Bremerton, Wash., 3 days later to begin inac-
tivation overhaul. She departed Bremerton 23 January
1946. She joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego
28 January and decommissioned there 15 May 1946. She
remains berthed at San Diego.
Halford received 13 battle stars for World War II
service.
Halibut
A large species of flatfish found
Atlantic.
I
on both sides of the
( SS-232 : dp. 1526; 1. 311'8" ; b. 27'4" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 60; a. 1 3”, 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
Halibvt (SS-232) was launched by Navy Yard, Ports-
mouth, N.H., 3 December 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. P. T.
Blackburn ; and commissioned 10 April 1942, Comdr. P. H.
Ross in command.
Halibut completed her outfitting and shakedown cruise
23 June 1942 and departed for the Pacific, arriving Pearl
Harbor 27 June. Assigned to the Aleutian Islands area
for her first war patrol, she departed 9 August from
Hawaii. After searching Chichagof Harbor and the
waters off Kiska Island, the submarine engaged in an
210
indecisive gunnery duel with a freighter 23 August. Find-
ing few targets, she terminated her patrol at Dutch
Harbor 23 September.
Her second patrol was also off the Aleutians. She de-
parted Dutch Harbor 2 October 1942 and surfaced for a
torpedo attack on what appeared to be a large freighter
11 October. The ship, a decoy “Q-boat” equipped with
concealed guns and torpedo tubes, attacked Halibut with
high explosive shells and a torpedo as the submarine took
radical evasive action to escape the trap. After eluding
her assailant she returned to Dutch Harbor 23 October
and Pearl Harbor 31 October 1942.
Halibut departed Pearl Harbor 22 November for her
third war patrol, off the northeast coast of Japan. She
began stalking a convoy the night of 9 December and
early the next morning closed for the attack. A hit amid-
ships sank Genzan Maru; swinging to starboard, Halibut
put two torpedoes squarely into Shingo Maru, sinking her
as well. Her success continued as Gyukozan Maru was
sent to the bottom 12 December. Halibut made two more
attacks on this patrol, each time being closely pursued by
escort vessels, before returning to Pearl Harbor 15 Jan-
uary 1943.
The submarine sailed from Pearl Harbor again 8 Feb-
ruary 1943 on her fourth war patrol. Heading for the
Japan-Kwajalein shipping lanes she tracked a freighter
the morning of 20 February and closed to sink her that
night. While northeast of Truk 3 March she detected a
large ship and attacked, but was driven off by the fire of
deck guns. Halibut returned to Pearl Harbor from this
patrol 30 March.
Halibut began her fifth war patrol 10 June and made
her first attack 23 June. No hits were scored and the
submarine was forced to wait out a severe depth charge
attack. She damaged an- escort carrier off Truk 10 July,
and finally returned to Midway 28 July 1943.
The coast of Japan was Halibut’s cruising ground on
her sixth war patrol. Departing Midway 20 August she
sank Taibun Maru 30 August with three bow shots.
Pressing home another attack 6 September, she was
sighted but completed the approach to sink the freighter.
Halibut completed this patrol 16 September, arriving at
Pearl Harbor.
Halibut sailed from Pearl Harbor on her seventh war
patrol 10 October. She made an unsuccessful attack on
a convoy 31 October, was held down temporarily by es-
corts, and finally caught up with the same ships 2 No-
vember to sink Ehime Maru. She returned to Pearl Har-
bor 17 November.
On her eighth war patrol, beginning at Pearl Harbor
14 December, Halibut formed a coordinated attack group
with Haddock and Tullibee. Cruising in the Marianas,
the submarine scored no hits, returning to Midway 2
February 1944.
Halibut departed on her ninth war patrol 21 March.
Cruising eastward of Okinawa 12 April she sank pas-
senger-cargo ship Taichu Maru, and fired six torpedoes
to separate a convoy 27 April. Closing in on a ship sep-
arated from the group, Halibut sank Genbu Maru, then
shifted her attack to coastal minelayer Kanome, sinking
her also. The submarine was then forced into evasive
action as some ninety depth charges were dropped close
aboard. Surfacing off the northeastern shore of Kume
Shima 29 April she bombarded two warehouses and other
buildings with her deck gun, and made an attack on a
group of sampans with gunfire 3 May. With men criti-
cally wounded in the gun battle she returned to Pearl Har-
bor 15 May 1944. She then sailed for overhaul to San
Francisco from which she returned to Hawaii 20 Sep-
tember 1944.
On her tenth war patrol Halibut again joined a coordi-
nated attack group, this time with Haddock and Tuna.
While proceeding to Luzon Strait, the submarines were
ordered to set up scouting lines to intercept crippled units
of the Japanese fleet retiring after the Battle off Cape
Engano. Halibut encountered the remnants of Admiral
Ozawa’s force 25 October and attacked inflicting some
damage. After pursuing other units until the following
day, Halibut returned to station. The sub’s next contact
came 14 November when she attacked a convoy in Luzon
Strait. She was immediately attacked in turn by planes
apparently using magnetic airborne detectors. A short
but effective depth charge attack directed by the aircraft
left Halibut severely damaged but still under control.
Her crew made temporary repairs and she steamed into
Saipan 19 November. The gallant submarine received the
Navy Unit Commendation for her performance on this
patrol.
Halibut arrived San Francisco via Pearl Harbor 12 De-
cember 1944. Later she sailed 16 February 1945 for Ports-
mouth, N.H., where it was found that her damage was
too extensive to justify repair. She decommissioned 18
July 1945 and was sold for scrap 10 January 1947 to
Quaker Shipyard and Machinery Company of Camden,
N.J.
Halibut received seven battle stars for World War II
service. War patrols 3 through 7, 9 and 10 were desig-
nated successful.
II
(SSG(N)-587: dp. 3,655 (surf.), 5,000 (subm) ; 1. 350';
b. 29' ; dr. 28' ; s. classified ; cpl. classified ; a. 1 Reg. mis.,
16 21" tt. ; cl. Halibut)
Halibut (SSG(N)-587) was launched by Mare Island
Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, 6 January 1959;
sponsored by Mrs. Chet Holifield, wife of Congressman
Holifield of California ; and commissioned 4 January 1960,
Lt. Comdr. Walter Dedrick in command.
Halibut had the distinction to be the first submarine in
the world designed and built from the keel up to launch
guided missiles. Intended to carry the Regulus I missile,
Halibut departed for her shakedown cruise 11 March. On
USS Halibut (SS-232) in February 1942 — Extreme damage from depth charges forced Halibut off the patrol line in
November 1944.
211
U* S. 3* HALIHJT (SS232) - Report of Tenth 7/or x-atrol
13 November 1944 (Continued)
and- tide rips inode this impossible, sweeping us toward
DIOGrO ISIPJ'TD . Unable to melee headway in desired
direction after 3 hours, and after broaching for 3
minutes, patrolled to northward along east coast of
islands*
1922 Surfaced. Proceeded west of 3ATAN ISLANDS to probable
convoy route.
14 November 1944.
0335 AIR CO IX >/-:12. fill ^Mhnedvered
to avoid. ^
0455 AIR CON jj&3-. Sighted
ezhaust r lames of twin-engin6 plane. Followed plane
back and forth by sight and radar at various ranges,
Plane radar interference on ATE, • 7/hen plane settled
on our starboard quarter end started in, at
0503 Dived with range 6,500 yards.
0537
0551
0647
1146
1222
1232
Surfaced.
Aia^Nj^4. £MF^ias»-nertL _ ..........
l^f^S^Wffl^'sHan6Uver6d , an 5' lost contact at 0617.
Dived to patrol along estimated traffic route.
SHIPCQN #10. Sound heard pinging bearing 154°T.
Nothing in sight, but speeded up, heading for
contact, and at >
Sighted tops of northbound convoy. Started closing
at high speed.
Can now make out one very large and two smaller
freighters and three PC boat escorts.
1244 Fourth freighter seen. Convoy consists of one large
modern freighter, 2 medium freighters, and one small
engines-aft ship, Escorts in sight are three class
PC-13 boats and one other small escort. These are all
on our side of the convoy end there may be other
escorts on the far side. Chose the large freighter
as target. It is zigging at about four minute
- 17 -
Extract from report of USS Halibut's 10th War Patrol
212
U* S. 3* HALIBUT (3S232) - Report of Tenth liar Patrol,
14 November 19 44 (Continued)
Continued approach at high speed. Liuch
1319- 40
to
1320- 22
1324-10
intervals,
pinging.
Fired- 4 bow tubes at th6 large freighter on 60 starboard
track, snail gyros, torpedo run -3,100 yards. This is
the closest we can get. A freighter in the far column
is overlapping our target, giving two continuous target
lengths. Unfortunately, the three ninutq torpedo run
will give the target tim6 to zig once more.
One explosion heard in forward torpedo room and conning
tower* Did not see explosion but the freighter in the
far column i3 now, making black smoke and dropping
astern. Time interval is correct for a hit in this
ship. Sv/inging for stern tub6 shots, Jsoorts have not
found us yet. Over 2,000 yards away with large angles
on bow.
1324-34 Sound reported another torpedo explosion.
1326 (about) Heard strenge, loud, fast, buzzing noise,
graph J.
See para-
1327-45 Heavy explosion to port. ‘Tent deep,
1328 Heavy explosion.
1331 Three heavy explosions, close. At 325 £eet-.
1348 0n6 close depth charge, damaging conning tower. Secure
conning tower. Two escorts heard, one pinging on
either quarter.
1350 S6V6ral close depth charges, very loud, she king the
boat violently, and* pushing us down to fv.et. These
came so nearly together it was not possible to count
them accurately, but believe two patterns of four
were dropped. Huch minor done ge was evident, every-
thing loose was displaced, end both gyros knocked
out. All damage is listed under Paragraph K, but
the following are the more interesting events:
The forward torpedo room was particularly hard hit.
The skids, with their torpedoes, jumped one foot up,
damaging the torpedoes, all deck plctes were dislodged,
and all personnel were thrown into the bilge, one nan
- 13 -
213
U. 3. 3.
HALIBUT (33232) - Report of Tenth 7/nr Patrol
14 November 1944 (Continued)
being sure he was going through the bottom of the boat.
All sea valves spun open,* and. the escape trunk leaked,
but they soon brought matters under control. The
pressure hull and tank tops were wrinkled end numerous
bolts sheared. Ideanwhile the line from „1 air -bank
in the forward battery well carried away. The rush
of high' pressure air, end the combined odors of hail'
tonic, shaving lotion, glvptol, and food, caused the
personnel in the compartment to believe it was flooding
and that chlorine gas was escaping, hence, they,
abandoned and secured the compartment . ;/ l bank bled
down, creating, over 5 0^ "pressure in t ins compartment.
This prevented opening the after door or the flappers,
Since the forward door opens into the torpedo room,
ordered that room to crack the door cnrefulljr, checking
for chlorine gas, and letting the pressure equalize if
no gas v/as present. By opening this door the pressure
in the two compartments was reduced to 2 S,r. Began to
bleed the pressure into the control room through th6
trim line hose connections. This was a long, very
noisy, process, but finally were able to jack the door .
open and help the men in the forward rooms. Both
sound heads could be trained in hand, but with,
difficulty, and inrthe great heat and pressure the, men
were working to exhaustion. Cn surfacing found that
a depth charge had exploded on or very close to the
4,T gun (forward) ,, for the breech cover was smashed
and punctured, and, th6 chamber pushed to port. For
some reason, the Japs shoved off ^ A little persistence
would have paid off handsomely. The beating the ship
took and survived brings our admiration and respect to
the men who designed her, the people who built the
HALIBUT, and those who recently overhauled her at
Bethlehem Steel Company,
1645 At periscope depth; all clear.
1910 Surfaced. Set course to westward.
2120 SJ radar interference. Contacted- PI1 TAX by radar
and asked her to close to visual range. Gave her
information to be relayed to Comsubpac and requested
that she standby until repairs are made to our radio.
Set course for SAIPAN following PIITTADO .
2308 Gyro compass back in commission..
- 19 -
I. J. GALANTIN
COMMANDING
214
the way to Australia 25 March she became the first nuclear
powered submarine to successfully launch a guided
missile. The submarine returned to Mare Island Ship-
yard 18 June 1960, and after short training cruises de-
parted 7 November for Pearl Harbor and active service
with Pacific Fleet. During her first deployment she suc-
cessfully launched her seventh consecutive Regulus I
missile during a major Southeast Asia Treaty Organiza-
tion weapons demonstration. Returning to Pearl Harbor
9 April 1961, Halibut began her second deployment 1 May.
During the months that followed she participated in
several guided missile launching exercises and underwent
intensive training.
Halibut deployed for the third time to the Western
Pacific in late 1961, establishing a pattern of training
and readiness operations followed through 1964. On 4
May 1964 Halibut departed Pearl Harbor for the last Reg-
ulus missile patrol to be made by a submarine in the
Pacific. Then, from September through December, Hali-
but joined eight other submarines in testing and evaluat-
ing the attack capabilities of the Permit Class submarines.
In February 1965 Halibut entered Pearl Harbor Naval
Shipyard for a major overhaul, and on 15 August she was
redesignated SS(N)-587. The nuclear attack submarine
sailed from Pearl Harbor 6 September for the West Coast,
arriving Keyport, Wash., the 20th. On 5 October she de-
parted Keypcrt for Pearl Harbor and, after an 8-day stop-
over at Mare Island, Calif., arrived 21 October. Halibut
then began ASW operations in the area, continuing
through 1966 and to date in 1967 adding powerfully to
the deterrent strength of the United States in the Pacific.
Hall
Elijah Hall, born 8 December 1742, in Raynham, Mass.,
was appointed Lieutenant in the Continental Navy 14
June 1777, to serve in the frigate Ranger under John Paul
Jones. Ranger sailed for France 1 November 1777, taking
two prizes en route, then put to sea from Brest 10 April
1778, to cruise in the Irish Sea. Hall took part in the
capture of several vessels, the landing at St. Mary’s Isle
23 April, and the capture of Drake next day. Hall com-
manded the prize crew Which took Drake into Brest. Hall
continued to serve as Lieutenant of Ranger until he was
captured at Charleston, S.C., 12 May 1780. Released after
the end of the Avar, Hall settled in Portsmouth, N.H., in
1818 and held various community positions until his death
there 22 June 1830.
(DD-583: dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8” ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20nnn., 10 21” tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher )
Hall was laid down by Boston Na\ry Yard 16 April 1942 ;
launched 18 July 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Wil-
liams Greenleaf, great-granddaughter of Lt. Elijah Hall ;
and commissioned 6 July 1943, Comdr. J. F. Delaney in
command.
Hall departed Boston 11 August 1943, for shakedown
training off the East Coast, then reported for duty at
Norfolk 28 September. As escort for French transport
Richelieu ., she sailed for Boston 2 October, returning 3
days later. She continued escort duties in the Norfolk
and Boston areas until departing 5 November for special
duty with Halligan and Macomb. The three destroyers
rendezvoused at sea with battleship Iowa, carrying Presi-
dent Roosevelt and other dignitaries to the historic Tehe-
ran Conference. After a safe crossing, the escorts were
relieved of their duties near Gibraltar 17 November.
They performed escort and antisubmarine search duties
off western Africa until 6 December, then rejoined Iowa
for the return voyage of the President and his party.
Ordered to the Pacific, Hall departed Charleston 21 De-
cember arrived Pearl Harbor 11 January 1944. She
cleared Hawaii 22 January with Rear Admiral Turner’s
Expeditionary Force bound for the capture and occupa-
tion of the Marshall Islands, a giant step across the
Pacific toward Japan. Sent with three cruisers and three
other destroyers on a special mission to wreck the airfields
on Tarao Island during the invasion, Hall joined in the
devastating bombardment of that island 30 January. Her
guns knocked out a gasoline dump with a tremendous ex-
plosion, hit seA'eral gun emplacements, and then screened
the larger Ships during the remainder of the firing. Tarao
effectively neutralized, the ships then sailed for Kwaja-
lein and the main assault.
Hall carried out varied duties during the month-long
invasion of the islands. She supported the landing of
troops on Burnet Island 4 February ; covered the land-
ings of Engebi Island and supplied gunfire support 18
February ; and furnished starshell illumination for land-
ings 22 to 23 Febyiary on Parry Island. After an escort
voyage with transports to Pearl Harbor and back between
29 February and 26 March, Hall was assigned patrol and
lifeguard duties in the Kwajalein area. While searching
for a downed Marine flyer 4 April near AVotje she re-
ceived two 6-incli shells close aboard from an enemy shore
battery. Suffering one sailor killed, she returned the fire,
continued her search, and finally rescuing the airman.
Hall continued her effeetWe role in the overwhelming am-
phibious victory until departing Majuro atoll 12 May for
Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 18 May.
Hall next joined the escort for a group of 12 fleet oilers
whose job it was to supply vital fuel to units of the 5th
Fleet during the Marianas operations. She made two
fueling voyages from Majuro to the Marianas, then
shifted her base to Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands,
26 August to screen refueling and replacement units
during the operations for the capture of the Carolines.
Hall continued this duty until 24 November.
Getting underway from Manus 29 November, Hall
steamed to Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, to join 7th Fleet
for the developing invasion of the Philippines. Comroy-
ing troop-laden amphibious ships, she arrived Leyte Gulf
7 December 1944, and 4 days later steamed out of San
Pedro Bay for Mindoro Island with the Mindoro Attack
Group. As the ships passed through Surigao Strait and
into the Sulu Sea, they underwent frequent severe air
attack, but the escort ships succeeded in downing four
aircraft 13 December. Hall and the other escorts sup-
ported the landings at Mangarin Bay 15 December ; and,
as Japanese planes bombed and strafed the first wave of
assault troops, Hall patrolled and fired from her station to
seaward of the landing craft. The gunfire and covering
aircraft splashed 15 dive-bombers during the initial
landings.
After two escort voyages to Leyte Gulf, Hall joined
Admiral Oldendorf’s support force for the landings at
Lingayen Gulf. Sailing 30 December, she steamed via
the Sulu Sea for Luzon. On 3 January 1945, the group
encountered desperate, but determined, enemy air strikes,
which were repelled by tight air cover and effective gun-
fire. The Japanese attacks intensified, howe\rer ; and
the ships remained at nearly continuous battle stations for
more than 4 days. Brave men in these gallant ships in-
flicted heavy damage on the attackers. Japanese kami-
kazes, in turn, fatally hit Ommancy Bay (CVE-79) 4 Jan-
uary, and the burning, abandoned escort carrier was sunk
by American torpedoes. The next 2 days brought even
heavier Japanese attacks. Despite the withering curtain
of fire laid down by Hall and other ships of the group,
the suicide raiders crashed more than 16 ships, including
California (BB— 44) and New Mexico (BB-40). Undaun-
ted, the valiant ships bore the brunt of the kamikazes
Avith resolute courage and determination. In doing so,
they repelled the menace of the suicide planes and saved
the transport and assault forces from certain destruction.
Following the successful amphibious assaults in Linga-
yen Gulf 9 January, Hall continued to operate in the Gulf
Avhere she served as an escort and screen ship. Later in
the month she returned to Leyte before departing for
Ulithi 29 January. At Ulithi Hall joined in the prepara-
tions for the upcoming Iwo Jima operation. On 15 Feb-
ruary she joined a fire support unit, which included flag-
256-125 O - 68 - 16
215
ship Texas, west of Saipan and set course for Iwo Jima.
The force arrived off Iwo the next day ; and, after joining
in a heavy shore bombardment, Hall covered underwater
demolition teams and furnished close fire support for mine-
sweepers until the troops stormed ashore 19 February.
After performing additional patrol and close fire support
missions during this fiercely fought and stratigically
important invasion, Hall returned to Ulithi 12 March to
prepare for the invasion of Okinawa, the last step on the
long, bloody road to the heart of the Japanese Empire.
Hall departed for Okinawa 21 March with Task Force
54. She began patrolling off that fiercely contested island
25 March. Her gunfire drove off two Japanese torpedo
boats 30 March, and shot down two aircraft 6 April. Con-
tinuing her operations she covered minesweepers with
gunfire, screened heavy units of the fleet, and provided
close support gunfire until steaming to Leyte 28 May.
She soon returned to the scene of the action, arriving back
at Okinawa 13 June. Her lookouts observed Twiggs
strike a mine off the beach 16 June. Hall immediately
came to the rescue, pulling 48 survivors from the water.
Detached from duty off Okinawa 23 June, Hall sailed
for the United States. She was in overhaul status at San
Pedro, Calif., when news of the Japanese surrender came.
She reported to San Diego for inactivation, and decom-
missioned 10 December 1946, and entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet at Long Beach. The destroyer was taken
out of reserve 2 December 1959, and, after a training per-
iod was loaned to Greece under the Military Assistance
Program 9 February 1960, where she now serves as
Lonchi (D-56).
Hall received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Hall, Earle B., see Earle B. Hall (DE-597)
Halligan
John Halligan, bora 4 May 1876 in South Boston, Mass.,
graduated from the Naval Academy at the head of his
class in 1898. He served during the Spanish-American
War in Brooklyn, flagship of Commodore Schley. During
World War I he was chief of staff to Commander, U.S.
Naval Forces, France, and for his outstanding per-
formance of duty he received the Distinguished Service
Medal. After the Armistice, he commanded Ohio, and in
1925 became chief of the Bureau of Engineering. Sub-
sequently, he commanded Saratoga, served as Assistant
Chief of Naval Operations in 1930, and in 1933 became
Commander Aircraft, Base Force. Appointed Rear
Admiral in 1930, Halligan died at Puget Sound, Wash., 11
December 1934, while serving as Commandant, 13th Naval
District.
(DD-584 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Halligan (DD-584) was laid down 9 November 1942 by
Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass. ; launched 19 March
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. John Halligan, widow of Admiral
Halligan ; and commissioned 19 August 1943, Comdr. C. E.
Cortner in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda^ Halligan in mid-Novem-
ber joined Iowa carrying President Roosevelt and his
party en route to the historic Teheran Conference. She
served as part of the escort screen to Casablanca, then for
the next few weeks conducted anti-submarine operations
off North Africa. She rejoined Iowa 11 December and
steamed to the United States, arriving Charleston, S.C.,
17 December.
Assigned to duty in the Pacific, Halligan departed
Charleston 21 December, reached San Diego, Calif., 4
January 1944, and arrived Pearl Harbor 11 January. As
part of Task Force 52, she sailed 22 January for the in-
vasion of the Marshall Islands. Between 31 January and
25 February she operated as & screen and patrol ship dur-
ing the Kwajalein operations, and she screened and pat-
rolled in the forward area until returning to Pearl Harbor
22 May.
Halligan next joined the screening group for escort
carriers Natoma Bay and Manila Bay, carrying Army
fighters for support of the Saipan operation. After
launching planes 22 June, the task group was attacked the
next day by Japanese dive bombers.
After a period at Pearl Harbor, Halligan departed 15
September for Eniwetok and Manus, Admiralties. Arriv-
ing Seeadler Harbor 3 October, she joined a task force
forming for the invasion of the Philippines. Departing
14 October, she entered Leyte Gulf 20 October and was
soon in the thick of the fighting as Japanese planes tried
unsuccessfully to dislodge the landing forces. While
guarding the transports, she survived almost continuous
air attacks; at one point two bombs passed between her
stacks and struck the water without exploding. On 25
October she splashed at least two attaacking aircraft, one
a two-engined bomber. Later that same day, she departed
Leyte to screen the battered escort carriers of “Taffy 3,”
withdrawing from their courageous battle against Japa-
nese forces off Samar. She joined the carriers 26 October
and steamed to Manus, Admiralties, arriving 1 November.
While at Manus, she supported rescue operations follow-
ing the explosion of Mount Hood 10 November. Two days
later she sailed for Leyte, and she finished the year
screening for escort carriers between Leyte and the
Admiralties.
Halligan' s next assignment was supporting the invasion
of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf. Operating as part of Admiral
Oldendorf’s powerful support forces, she departed the
Palaus 1 January 1945, transited Surigao Strait 3 Janu-
ary, and steamed through the Sulu Sea bound for the
western coast of Luzon. Penetrating deep into enemy-
held territory, the fleet was subjected to vicious kamikaze
attacks. Ommaney Bay was severely hit 4 January ; and
after her survivors were rescued, the burning carrier was
sunk by torpedoes fired by Bums (DD-588). The follow-
ing day Japanese planes resumed their attacks; despite
withering antiaircraft fire which splashed most of the
attackers, suicide planes damaged several ships during an
afternoon attack. Halligan splashed one kamikaze 5
January, then sent rescue and repair parties to assist dam-
aged Stafford.
Arriving off Lingayen Gulf 7 January, Halligan
screened escort carriers and patrolled in search of enemy
submarines during the important Lingayen landings 9
January. She remained off the Luzon coast until 17 Janu-
ary when she sailed for Leyte as part of the screen for six
escort carriers. Arriving Leyte Gulf 22 January, she
sailed for Ulithi the next day and arrived 25 January to
prepare for the invasion of Iwo Jima.
Assigned duty as fire support and shore bombardment
ship, Halligan departed Ulithi 10 February ; and, after
conducting simulated shore bombardment at Tinian, Mari-
anas, she departed Saipan 12 February for Iwo Jima. On
17 February she served as lifeguard ship north of Iwo
Jima during preinvasion air strikes. At dawn she sighted
and took under fire a Japanese twin-engined bomber,
which attacked the ship from the port bow. Hit repeat-
edly by accurate gunfire, the attacker dropped a large
bomb which landed about 100 yards off the port bow and
failed to explode. Burning as it passed over the ship, the
enemy plane splashed more than a mile away.
Halligan closed to within 2,700 yards of the shore of
Iwo Jima 19 February ; and, as the first wave of marines
headed for the beach, she joined other ships in providing
a heavy support barrage. Her guns destroyed a Japanese
shore battery, and she spent much of D-day pounding
assigned target areas in support of the main landings.
Later that day she joined other destroyers screening for
escort carriers, and during the remainder of her duty off
Iwo Jima she served as a screen and plane guard ship
for offshore carrier operations.
One of the last destroyers to return from the Iwo
Jima operation, Halligan arrived Ulithi in mid-March.
She was soon underway again, this time as part of the
216
mighty fleet steaming for the invasion of Okinawa —
gateway to the heart of the Japanese Empire. Assigned
to a fire support unit, she arrived off the southwestern
part of Okinawa 25 March and began patrolling between
Okinawa and Kerama Retto. In addition she covered
minesweepers during sweep operations through waters
which had been heavily mined with irregular patterns.
Halligan continued her offshore patrols 26 March. At
about 1835 a tremendous explosion rocked the ship, send-
ing smoke and debris 200 feet in the air. The destroyer
had hit a moored mine head on, exploding the forward
magazines and blowing off the forward section of the
ship, including the bridge, back to the forward stack.
PC-1128 and LSM-19Jt arrived soon after the explosion
to aid survivors. Ensign R. L. Gardner, the senior sur-
viving officer who was uninjured organized rescue parties
and directed the evacuation of the living to waiting
rescue vessels. Finally, he gave the order to abandon
ship as the smoking hulk drifted helplessly.
The gallant Halligan, veteran of so many important
operations in the Pacific, lost one-half her crew of 300
in the disaster; and only 2 of her 21 officers survived.
The abandoned destroyer drifted aground on Tokashiki,
a small island west of Okinawa, the following day. There
the hulk was further battered by pounding surf and
enemy shore batteries. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 28 April 1945, and in 1957 her hulk was donated
to the government of the Ryukyu Islands.
Halligan received six battle stars for World War II
service.
Hallmar III, see Y P-5 42
Halloran
William Ignatius Halloran, born 23 July 1915, at Cleve-
land, Ohio, enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an appren-
tice seaman 14 August 1940. Commissioned Ensign 12
June 1941, he was assigned to Naval Air Station, San
Pedro, Calif., and later to Arizona. Ens. Halloran was
among those lost in Arizona at Pearl Harbor 7 Decem-
ber 1941.
(DE-305 : dp. 1,140; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35’1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dep.
(h.h.) ; cl. Evarts )
Halloran (DE-305) was laid down by Mare Island
Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif., 21 June 1943; launched 14
January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. L. J. Halloran, mother;
and commissioned 27 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. G. Scripps
in command.
After shakedown, Halloran departed California as a
convoy escort 31 July arriving Pearl Harbor 9 August.
Sailing for Eniwetok 16 August, she arrived 24 August
and 2 days later she became part of the escort screen
for fast oiler replenishment group steaming to the West-
ern Pacific, Based at Manus, and later Ulithi, Halloran
continued this duty until 29 November, helping to bring
vital fuel to fleet units off Palau, Yap, and Luzon. While
moored at Ulithi 20 November, she witnessed the tor-
pedoing of oiler Mississincwa and in company with Rail
searched the harbor fruitlessly for a suspected midget
submarine.
From 5 to 7 December, Halloran screened two escort
carriers transporting replacement aircraft to Manus, and
14 December she sailed to escort tankers to Eniwetok.
She departed 19 December for Pearl Harbor, arriving
Christmas Eve. Halloran was underway again 22 Janu-
ary 1945, this time as a unit of the escort screen for the
amphibious task force designated to capture Iwo Jima.
After patrolling the area around the training site at
Saipan, she served as a barrier patrol ship during the
actual landings 19 February. She continued this duty
until 28 February when she departed with a convoy.
Steaming via Saipan and Tulagi, she reached Espiritu
Santo 15 March.
The far-steaming DE’s next assignment was with the
Okinawa assault forces. Departing Espiritu Santo 25
March, she arrived off Okinawa 9 April and began vital
antisubmarine barrier patrols. She repelled six attack-
ing Japanese aircraft 12 April, splashing one and damag-
ing two others, and was narrowly missed by a torj>edo
20 April. After performing various other duties, includ-
ing assistance to the strikeu Inker wood and escort duty to
Saipan and back, she resumed her barrier patrols 30 May.
A suicide plane attacked Halloran 21 June, but her gun-
ners splashed it in the nick of time a scant 75 yards from
the ship. However, an exploding bomb killed three
men and caused considerable damage to hull and
superstructure.
After repairs at Kerama Retto, Halloran patrolled off
Ie Shima from 5 to 13 July, then assumed tactical com-
mand of an escort screen for LST’s en route to the
Philippines. After arriving Leyte Gulf 17 July, she
patrolled at San Pedro Bay Leyte, and Lopez Bay, Luzon,
prior to departing the Philippines for the United States
10 September.
Halloran arrived San Diego 29 September and sailed
3 days later for Charleston, S.C., where she arrived
11 October. She decommissioned at Charleston 2 Novem-
ber 1945. Her name was struck from the Navy List
28 November 1945, and she was sold 7 March 1947.
Hollaran received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Hallowell
( PF-72 : dp. 1430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ;
s. 20 k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3"; cl. Tacoma ;
T. S2-S2-AQ1 )
Hallowell (PF-72) was laid down as PG-180 under
Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.,
Providence, R.I., 1 April 1943; reclassified PF-72 on 15
April 1943; renamed Machias 5 May 1943; renamed An-
guilla by the British 10 June 1943 ; launched 14 July 1943;
and sponsored by Mrs. John S. MacDonald. Anguilla was
transferred under lend-lease to the United Kingdom 15
October 1943 as part of the 21-ship “Colony” class. She
served as a patrol and escort craft until returned to the
United States 31 May 1946. The frigate was sold to Pro-
Industry Products of New York City 13 June 1947.
Hamlin, Cyrus, see Lyra ( AK-101 )
Halsey
William Frederick Halsey, Jr., bom Elizabeth, N.J.,
30 October 1882. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval
Academy by President William McKinley in 1900 and
graduated as a member of the class of 1904. After 2
years at sea, he was commissioned Ensign 2 February
1906. As a junior officer, the future Fleet Admiral served
in battleships and destroyers, assuming his first command,
Dupont in 1909. His valor and distinction during World
War I earned him the Navy Cross.
During World War II Admiral Halsey became one of
our most famous leaders as Commander of the legendary
3d Fleet. He exhibited a keen tactical mind that was
brilliant and creative. He was the living example of his
famous motto, “Hit hard, hit fast, hit often.” Before
the Pacific war was 2 month old, Admiral Halsey, fly-
ing his flag in Enterprise, gained the Presidential Unit
Citation for his flagship and the Distinguished Service
Medal for himself for his “audacious attack against the
Marshall and Gilbert Islands on 31 January 1942.”
The 3d Fleet was the greatest seapower force ever
assembled and enabled a tactical change from the “hit
and run” methods of the early stages of the Pacific war
to direct confrontation and assaults. Admiral Halsey,
with his flag in New Jersey and later Missouri forced the
Japanese fleet back into their inner defenses ; and then
destroyed the major air and sea installations in the Jap-
217
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anese home islands. He thus prevented any major en-
suing offensive and hastened the cessation of hostilities in
the Pacific theatre.
Fleet Admiral Halsey died 16 August 1959 at Fishers
Island Country Club off the Connecticut shore, and was
buried with full military honors at Arlington National
Cemetery 20 August 1959. His name will long be re-
vered by Americans who will proudly remember him as
one of the greats.
(DLG-23: dp. 7,515(f.) ; 1. 533’; b. 54'10" ; s. 30 k. ; cpl.
377 ; a. 2 3”, 2 Ter. mis., 1 ASROC, 6 tt. ; cl. Leahy)
Halsey (DLG-23), a guided missiie frigate, launched
15 January 1962 at San Francisco Naval Shipyard ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Margaret Denham and Miss Jane Halsey,
granddaughters of the late Fleet Admiral ; commissioned
20 July 1963, Captain H. H. Anderson, USN, in command.
The ceremonies included a eulogy by Fleet Admiral
Chester W. Nimitz, USN, on Fleet Admiral Halsey’s il-
lustrious career.
Halsey departed San Francisco on 25 November 1963
for Dabob Bay and Carr Island to conduct ASW system
alignment tests and acoustical noise surveys until 7 De-
cember. She arrived at her home port of San Diego on
11 December 1963.
Halsey was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 7, Destroyer
Division 71 on 13 December, and participated in a special
sea power demonstration for the Secretary of the Navy,
acting as screen commander from 15-18 December. She
conducted her weapons qualification trials from 15 Jan-
uary 1964 to 14 February, and fired her first missiles on
the Pacific Missile Range on 10 February 1964.
After a shakedown cruise from 16 March to 1 May,
she returned to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 15
May 1964 ; and concluded her post-shakedown on 17 July
1964.
During her first years of active service, Halsey experi-
mented with a unique system of internal organization
combining all the aspects of the weapons systems and CIC
under a combat officer; and separate hull and communi-
cations administration departments.
In 1966 Halsey was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 7,
Destroyer Division 71, in the Pacific Fleet. On 2 July she
left San Diego for Subic Bay, Philippines. By August
she was conducting air-sea rescue and ASW operations in
the South China Sea. During this period Halsey rescued
some 16 airmen in two cruises in the Gulf of Tonkin. On
5 December the frigate departed Yokasuka, Japan, for
the West Coast, arriving San Diego 21 December.
The first quarter of 1967 was spent in training cruises
off the West Coast. On ]0 April Halsey left San Diego
for an overhaul period at San Francisco Bay Naval Ship-
yard that continued into August. By September Halsey
was again involved in further exercises testing her vital
capabilities.
218
Halsey, Delbert W see Delbert IF. Halsey (DE-310)
Halsey Powell
Halsey Powell was born 3 August 1883 in McAfee, Ky.,
and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1904. During
the next years he served on such famous ships as Kear-
sarge, Illinois, and Tennessee and studied at the Naval
War College, rising to the rank of Captain in 192(5. Cap-
tain Powell was aide to the Secretary of the Navy in
1926 and Naval Attache at Peking, 1927-29. After com-
manding Pittsburgh he returned to Washington, where he
died 24 December 1936. Captain Powell was awarded
the Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding per-
formance as a destroyer division commander on convoy
duty during World War I.
( DD-686 : dp. 20.10; 1. 376'6" ; h. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37;
cpl. 319; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 21mm., 10 21” tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Halsey Powell (DD-086) was launched by Bethlehem
Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y., 30 June 1943; sponsored by
Mrs. Halsey Powell, widow of Captain Powell ; and com-
missioned 25 October 1943, Comdr. W. T. McGarry in
command.
Halsey Powell conducted her shakedown training off
the East Coast, and sailed 20 January 1944 from Norfolk
to join the Pacific Fleet. Arriving Pearl Harbor 12 Feb-
ruary, the destroyer steamed to Majuro to escort tankers
back to Hawaii, returning to the Marshalls in March for
escort and patrol duty. As the islands fell to American
amphibious troops, Halsey Powell and other ships pro-
tected the task force from air and submarine attack.
The destroyer carried out a series of effective attacks on
submarine 1-32 23 March, and after running out of depth
charges yielded to Hanlove and PC-1135 to complete the
kill.
Following the Marshalls operation, Halsey Powell de-
parted Pearl Harbor 30 May for rehearsals in connection
with the upcoming Marianas invasions. She sortied with
the assault force from Eniwetok 11 June, and as troops
stormed ashore on Saipan 4 days later she took up fire
support station off the beaches, and was an effective force
in victory. In addition to screening, radar picket duties,
and fire support for ground forces, Halsey Powell sank a
net tender, a cargo ship and numerous small craft in the
lagoon with her guns. The operation a success, she
entered Saipan harbor 21 June, after the carrier forces
had decimated the Japanese in the Battle of the Philip-
pine Sea. She then steamed to Tinian, bombarding shore
positions, clearing the way for troops and screening
through the invasion there 24 July. Following this she
spent 2 weeks on screening and radar picket duty off
Guam before returning to Eniwetok 22 August to join the
fast carrier task force.
Halsey Powell sortied with Vice Admiral Mitscher’s
famous Task Force 38, 29 August. Disrating for long
periods at sea b. underway refueling and replenishment,
this powerful carrier force represented the ultimate in
mobile striking power afloat. During September the car-
riers, screened by Halsey Powell and otaer destroyers,
struck the Palaus and the Philippines, returning to Ulithi
1 October. Five days later the ships sailed on one of the
most important operations of the long Pacific war. After
air strikes on Okinawa the great task force turned to its
real objective, the airfields on Formosa. The air battle
raged 12-15 October, with Halsey Powell assisting in the
splashing of many Japanese aircraft. At a cost of 3
damaged ships, the task force had driven off nearly a
thousand enemy aircraft, downing over 500.
As the invasion of Leyte began, the desperate Japanese
Navy moved with its remaining units into the Philip-
pines. This three-pronged attack, launched almost with-
out air power, precipitated the epochal Battle for Leyte
Gulf. Halsey Powell screened Admiral Bogen’s carriers
during the strikes which made up one phase of the battle,
the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October. Battleship
Musashi was sunk and Kurita’s shii>s were delayed and
confused. That night the bulk of TF-38 steamed north
to meet another Japanese fleet, and in the Battle off Cape
Engano next day another major victory was won. Halsey
Powell picked up downed pilots 29-30 October and re-
turned to Ulithi with the task force 9 November 1944.
During the remainder of 1944 TF-38 carried out heavy
strikes against the Philippines and Formosa. The fleet
sailed into the South China Sea 9-15 January to support
the Lingayen Gulf operation, and the supporting ships
fought off air attacks the carriers struck bases in China
and Indochina. With Ticonderoga damaged by a kami-
kaze 21 January, Halsey Powell was assigned to escort her
to Ulithi, where they arrived 24 January 1945.
The carrier task force departed again in February to
attack Japan itself. Halsey Powell screened the carriers
during this attack, in covering attacks for the Iwo Jima
invasion 19 February, and later during more strikes on
Japan. The destroyer shot down one attacking aircraft
16 February and assisted with many others. The veteran
carrier groups returned 1 March to Ulithi, but were under-
way again 14 March to soften up Okinawa for the coming
assault, and to strike more blows at Japan. On 20 March
Halsey Powell was alongside Hancock when Japanese air-
USS Halsey (DLG-23) — When asked about kamikazes who had not heard of Japan’s surrender, Halsey quipped, “Shoot
’Em Down in a Friendly Fashion.”
219
craft attacked. As the destroyer was getting clear the air-
craft overshot the carrier and crashed Halsey Powell.
Her steering gear jammed but alert action with the
engines averted a collision. Fires were put out and al-
though 9 were killed and over 30 wounded in the attack the
ship reached Ulithi 25 March.
Halsey Powell arrived San Pedro for battle repairs 8
May, but with the Pacific war reaching its climax sailed
again for Pearl Harbor 19 July 1945. She arrived Eniwe-
tok 17 August, 2 days after the surrender of Japan, and
was present in Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender cere-
monies 2 September. The ship then supported the occupa-
tion forces until departing 31 October for Puget Sound.
Halsey Powell decommissioned 10 December 1946 at San
Diego and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
With the increased demands on the Navy as a result of
the Korean conflict, Halsey Powell recommissioned 27
April 1951. After shakedown and training exercises the
ship sailed for the familiar waters of the Far East 23 July
from Long Beach, arriving Japan 16 August. Joining
Task Force 77, the destroyer acted as plane guard and
screening ship while the carrier planes kept up constant
pressure on the Communist lines and shore installations.
Halsey Poivell continued these operations off the eastern
coast of Korea until October, when she departed the nearly
stabilized war zone for training off Okinawa. Late in the
month she returned to take part in destructive bombard-
ments of Suwon Dam, Wonsan, Hungnam, and other areas.
Patrolling and screening duties continued until the ship
sailed for the United States 20 February 1952.
Halsey Pcnvcll got underway for her second tour in
Korea 4 October 1952, and in the next 7 months took part in
shore bombardment and screening duties as United Na-
tions naval strength continued to seal off North Korea
from the sea. The destroyer returned to the United
States 6 May 1953, and after training exercises out of San
Diego sailed once more for Japan 26 December 1953.
During the next few years Halsey Powell made yearly
cruises to the western Pacific, operating with Task Force
77 off Korea, patrolling the Formosa Strait, and engaging
in tactical exercises with other units of the Pacific Fleet.
In September-October 1958 the ship aided Nationalist
Chinese operations in the Quemoy-Matsu crisis, convoy-
ing transports and standing by to deter attack by the
Communist Chinese. Seapower was a decisive force in
checking the spread of communism.
Halsey Powell’s trim silhouette became familiar at
many far eastern ports. She continued to alternate these
important operations with the Seventh Fleet with training
and readiness exercises off the west coast. In recent years
this included practice cruises with NROTC midship-
men. Hasley Powell continued to be an important con-
tributor to peace in the Far East as well as America’s
readiness at sea. During May-July 1962 the destroyer
took part in important nuclear tests in the Pacific, and
returned in 1963-64 to her regular pattern of deployments.
On 1 January 1965, Halsey Powell was assigned to Re-
serve Destroyer Squadron 27 with Long Beach as her home
port. She operated as a Naval Reserve training ship
through 1967, cruising between Vancouver, Canada, and
Mazatlan, Mexico.
Halsey Powell received seven battle stars for World
War II service and two for Korean service.
Halstead
(PF-76; dp. 1430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20k.;
cpl. 190; a. 3 3"; cl. Tacoma-, T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Halstead (PF-76), originally designated PG-184, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by
the United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-76 15 April
1943, renamed Barbados, and launched 27 August 1943,
sponsored by Miss Anna M. Pacheco. Barbados was
then completed and transferred to the United Kingdom
under lend-lease 18 December 1943 as part of the 21-ship
“Colony” class. She served as a patrol and escort craft
until being returned to the United States 15 April 1946.
The frigate was sold to Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,
Chester, Pa., 30 October 1947, and subsequently scrapped.
Hamblen
A county in Tennessee.
( APA-114 : dp. 8,100 (It.) ; 1. 492'; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 479; a. 2 5". 8 40mm.; cl. Bayfield; T.
C3-S-A2)
Hamblen (APA-114) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pasca-
goula, Miss., 30 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Hugh B.
Vickery ; and commissioner after conversion 12 June 1945,
Captain G. M. Wauchope in command.
After shakedown training out of Galveston, Hamblen
loaded passengers and cargo at New Orleans and ar-
rived San Juan, P.R., 25 July 1945. There she embarked
a contingent of Puerto Rican army troops and steamed
westward 26 July for Hawaii, via the Panama Canal.
Shortly after her arrival 11 August, the war ended, and
Hamblen took up the task of bringing replacement troops
into the forward areas and transporting veterans back
to the United States. Embarking Marines at Hilo,
Hamblen sailed for Japan via Saipan, unloading her
troops near Tokyo 22 September 1945. Subsequently, she
made voyages to Lingayen Gulf and Manila bringing
occupation troops into Japan, and departed Wakayama
5 November for Saipan. There Hamblen took more re-
turnees on board and sailed eastward, arriving San Pedro,
Calif., 24 November 1945.
Hamblen made one more voyage for “Magic Carpet,”
the giant operation which accomplished the task of bring-
ing home American servicemen, arriving Okinawa 26
December and arriving Tacoma, Washington, 17 Janu-
ary 1946. The ship was designated for return to the
Maritime Commission, released 23 January 1946, and
sailed to the Canal Zone, where she arrived 22 February.
Hamblen continued to Norfolk, where she decommissioned
1 May 1946. Six days later she was returned to the
Maritime Commission, and sold in 1948 to Isthmian Lines,
whom she serves as merchant ship Steel Voyager.
Hambleton
Samuel Hambleton was born in 1777 in Talbot County,
Md. Entering the Navy as a Purser 6 December 1806, he
served as Acting Lieutenant in Lawrence during the battle
of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Commodore Oliver
Hazard Perry commended Hambleton for gallant con-
duct in encouraging his men and personally working a
gun until severely wounded. Until 1832 Purser Hamble-
ton served actively in the Navy, attached to Java and
Columbus during Mediterranean cruises and to John
Adams and Erie in the West Indies. With the exception
of a tour of duty at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from
1843 to 1845, Hambleton remained on leave or waiting
order from 1832 until his death 17 January 1851 in Talbot
County.
( DD-455 : dp. 2,200; 1. 347'11" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 15'8" ;
s. 37 k.; cpl. 272; a. 4 5", 4 1.1", 5 20 mm., 5 21"tt.,
2 dct., 6 dcp. ; cl. Oleaves)
Hambleton (DD-455) was laid down by the Federal
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearney, N.J., 16 December
1940, launched 26 September 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Nannie Hambleton Martin, great grandniece of Samuel
Hambleton ; and commissioned 22 December 1941, Cmdr.
Forrest Close in command.
Departing Norfolk 31 January 1942, in company with
her sister ship Emmons, Hambleton began a shakedown,
unique in wartime, that took her through the Panama
Canal to Callao, Peru ; Valparaiso, Chile ; Guayaquil,
Ecuador ; Cartagena, Colombia ; and Balboa, C.Z. She
220
was diverted for antisubmarine search north of Cuba in
early March and on 15 March 1942 rescued six men on
a life raft who had survived the torpedoing of SS Ceibra.
After antisubmarine patrol along the East Coast and
intensive training in Casco Bay, Maine, Hamblcton sailed
as escort to Augusta and Ranger 14 April. Reaching
Africa’s Gold Coast 10 May, Ranger launched her cargo
of P-40 fighter planes for the North African fighting and
headed back to the West Indies. In heavy rain and low
visibility 17 May Hambleton collided with Ellyson (DD-
454) and had to proceed to San Juan and then Charleston
for repairs.
Hambleton joined a fast troop transport out of New
York 1 July, sailed for Ireland and arrived 11 July. Im-
mediately she reported for duty with the joint British
and American Naval Forces in Europe. With Royal
Navy personnel on board as communications liaison, she
conducted antisubmarine patrols and served as plane
guard for HMS Duke of York through August. She then
returned to the United States for duty along the coast in
preparation for Operation “Torch,” the forthcoming in-
vasion of North Africa.
Hambleton joined the invasion fleet 28 October ; and, as
part of Admiral H. K. Hewitt’s Western Naval Task
Force, she screened the carrier Sangamon during opera-
tions against airfields in French Morocco on D-day, 8 No-
vember. As she lay anchored by Winooski off Fedala in
the even'ag of 11 November 1942, Hambleton was struck
amidships on the port side by a U-boat torpedo. With all
power gone, the destroyer took a 12 degree list to star-
board as her damage control parties worked swiftly to
jettison topside weights and shore up weakened bulk-
heads. The crippled ship was towed to Casablanca for
temporary repairs. Seabees there cut the ship in two,
removed a 40-foot section of her damaged hull, then joined
the two remaining halves together. Escorted by a tug,
Hambleton reached Boston 28 June for permanent repairs.
After a second shakedown in the Caribbean and train-
ing along the East Coast, Hambleton escorted a convoy
to Oran in April 1944, and began to prepare for her role
in the Normandy Invasion. Operating in the Western
Mediterranean with seven other destroyers and British
scout planes, she sank U-616 on 17 May after an intensive
4-day pursuit of the German marauder. From the Medi-
terranean Hambleton sailed to Plymouth, England, stag-
ing area for the epochal invasion. She escorted a large
convoy of LST’s to the landing areas on 7 June D-day
plus 1, and remained off Omaha Beach for critical shore
bombardment and screening duties. In the early morn-
ing hours of 9 June Hambleton' s radar picked up several
contacts, soon determined to be Nazi E-boats. Her guns
blazing, Hambleton set out after the enemy. In a 4-hour
running gun battle she sank one and severely damaged
another of the five German boats. After returning for pro-
visions at Porlant, England, Hambleton was back on the
line for the bombardment of Cherbourg 25 June.
Hambleton departed Belfast, Ireland, 4 July and
steamed to the Mediterranean, touching Oran, Algeria, 10
July and reaching Naples, Italy, 15 July. On 11 August
she participated in the bombardment of shore positions
on the southern coast of France prior to Operation “An-
vil,” the invasion of that vital area. Hambleton remained
in the Mediterranean for patrol and screening duty until
sailing for Boston 25 October. Arriving Boston 8 No-
vember, the battle-training destroyer was converted into
a high speed mine sweeper and redesignated DMS-20 on
15 November. Hambleton emerged from the yard 19 De-
cember and sailed for the Pacific 30 December. Steaming
via San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Eniwetok, she arrived
Ulithi 9 March 1945, to prepare for the invasion of Oki-
nawa, the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific. De-
parting 19 March, she arrived off Okinawa, the gateway
to the heart of the Japanese Empire, 23 March. Prior to
the invasion 1 April, she cleared channels and anchorages
for the 1,200 ships taking part in the invasion. During
the long campaign that followed she operated off Okinawa
to sweep, screen, patrol, and provide fire support. She
was under almost constant attack from the air. Al-
though, damaged 3 April by a kamikaze which splashed
close aboard her port quarter, Hambleton remained on
duty as part of the mighty fleet that had come to the
Ryukyus to stay, despite all the Japanese could unleash.
With Okinawa nearly secured, Hamblcton and her sis-
ter ships deployed to the East China Sea in mid-July to
begin massive sweeping of this area. In a month they
cleared more than 600 miles from the 7,200 square mile
area in one of the largest sweep operations yet launched.
Hambleton was in the East China Sea for a second such
mission when Japanese acceptance of peace terms was
announced 15 August. Joining Admiral Halsey’s 3d Fleet
off Tokyo, Hambleton steamed into Tokyo Bay 28 August,
to clear the way for the occupation forces. In the next
few months Hambleton swept a total of 184 mines from
Japanese minefields in various straits and channels. Dur-
ing this period she rode out four typhoons, one of which
battered her with 60-foot waves. Departing Japanese wa-
ters 20 November, Hambleton steamed via Eniwetok, Pearl
Harbor, and San Diego to Norfolk arriving late
December.
Based at Charleston, S.C., the veteran minesweeper
maintained an operational pattern that kept her prepared
to meet our nation’s needs in the emerging cold war strug-
gle. During the next decade Hambleton participated in
fleet and tactical exercises in the Caribbean and along the
East Coast. In 1949, 1952, and 1954 she deployed to the
Mediterranean and operated with the mighty 6th Fleet
from the shores of North Africa to the turbulent Middle
East while helping to preserve freedom and maintain
peace in that unsettled area of the world.
After returning to Charleston from her third Medlter-
rean cruise 6 July 1954, Hambleton decommissioned 15
January 1955, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
She was reclassified DD-455 the same day. At present she
is berthed at Orange, Tex.
Hambleton received seven battle stars for World War
II service.
Hamilton
The first Hamilton was named for Alexander Hamilton.
See Alexander Hamilton for biography. The second
Hamilton was named for Archibald Hamilton.
Archibald Hamilton was the son of Paul Hamilton,
Secretary of the Navy from 7 March 1809 to 31 December
1812. Archibald was appointed Midshipman 18 May 1809
and assigned to work with a new kind of hollow shot
needed by frigate President. He next sailed for Europe
in John Adams 31 January 1811 carrying dispatches for
American officers in the Mediterranean. On his return
to the United States, Archibald Hamilton was assigned
to United States on which he won high commendation
from his commanding officer, Commodore Stephen De-
catur, for gallantry in action during the capture of
British frigate Macedonian, 25 October 1812. Decatur
selected him to bear the captured British flags to Wash-
ington.
Appointed Acting Lieutenant 21 December 1812 and
Lieutenant 24 July 1813, Hamilton served with distinc-
tion throughout the War of 1812 only to be killed shortly
after the Treaty of Ghent had formally ended the war.
Because of the slow communications of the day word of
peace had not reached New York by 15 January i815 when
frigate President , carrying Hamilton, ran the blockade out
of that port. The next day British men-of-war Endy-
mion, Pomone and Tencdos overtook and captured Presi-
dent after a long and bloody running fight in which
Hamilton was killed.
I
( Sch. : 1. 112 ; cpl. 50 ; a. 1 32-pdr„ 1 24-pdr„ 8 6-pdr. )
The first Hamilton, formerly the merchant ship Diana,
was a schooner of 10 guns in Commodore Chauncey’s
squadron on Lake Ontario. She was under the com-
mand of Lt. H. McPherson. During the War of 1812 her
action included attacks on Kingston, York, and Fort
George. Hamilton along with the remainder of the squad-
221
ron gave excellent assault cover to enable American forces
to land at Fort George. On 8 August 1813, a heavy squall
capsized Hamilton and a sister ship Scourge.
II
( DD-141 : dp. 1,090; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 8'8" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 113 ; a. 4 4”, 3 .30 cal., 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wiclces)
Hamilton (DD-141) was launched 15 January 1919 by
the Mare Island Navy Shipyard ; sponsored by Miss Dolly
Hamilton Hawkins, great-grand-niece of Archibald Ham-
ilton ; and commissioned 7 November 1919, Lt. Comdr.
R. G. Coman in command.
Based at San Diego, Hamilton participated in battle
practice and maneuvers along the California coast with
Destroyer Squadron 17. In the summer of 1920 she
also took part in torpedo and smoke screen operations
in Hawaii. Battle practice and other readiness opera-
tions ranging across the Pacific to Hawaii continued until
Hamilton decommissioned at San Diego 20 July 1922.
Hamilton recommissioned 20 January 1930 and, after
shakedown, reached her new home port, Norfolk, 26
November. She served with the Scouting Force, operat-
ing along the East Coast throughout 1931, and then re-
turned to San Diego in January 1932. After a year of
plane guard duty and battle exercises along the California
coast, Hamilton again shifted to the East Coast, reaching
Norfolk 29 January 1933. Based at Newport, R.I., she
served with the Scouting Force in local operations and
exercises until 1939. When war broke in Europe in the
fall of that year, Hamilton joined other four-stackers on
the Grand Banks Patrol, which sent American ships as
far north as Iceland and Greenland to protect their own
and neutral shipping. Hamilton continued this duty until
converted to a fast minesweeper in June 1941. Reclassi-
fied DMS-18 on 17 October 1941, she resumed patrol duty
along the East Coast and into the North Atlantic.
When America was catapulated into the war 7 Decem-
ber 1941, Hamilton's pace accelerated greatly. Wartime
duties now took the old flush-decker on coastal convoys
from New York through U-boat infested waters as far
south as the Canal Zone.
The Caribbean and the waters off Cape Hatteras were
particularly rich ground for the Nazi marauders, and
Hamilton more than once attacked U-boats sighted on the
surface or detected by sound contacts. On 9 June 1942
Hamilton rescued 39 survivors of destroyer Oannet, tor-
pedoed just north of Bermuda.
The shifting tide of war drew Hamilton from the coastal
convoy route in the fall of 1942 as she became part of
“Operation Torch,’’ the Allied invasion of North Africa.
Hamilton sailed for North Africa 24 October with Rear
Admiral H. K. Hewitt’s Task Force 34, a part of America’s
giant overseas amphibious thrust. Two weeks later, she
cruised off the Moroccan coast providing antisubmarine
protection and fire support for the first waves of invasion
barges as the Allies stormed ashore at Casablanca, Oran,
and Algiers 8 November 1942.
Hamilton remained along the North African shore on
minesweeping and escort duty out of Casablanca until
December when she sailed for the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
arriving 26 December. The following year saw Hamilton
engaged primarily in coastal convoy duty, guiding and
protecting merchantmen as they threaded their perilous
way through German submarine packs from Iceland to
the Caribbean.
Then as 1943 waned, the ebb and flow of war once again
drew Hamilton from home waters, and sent her into the
fiercely raging Pacific war. Departing Norfolk 3 Decem-
ber 1943, Hamilton transited the Panama Canal 5 days
later and reached San Diego 16 December. The long giant
steps across the Pacific had begun to accelerate, and Ham-
ilton was soon to have her first taste of battle in the
crucial Marshall Islands campaign. From San Diego
she steamed to Pearl Harbor and, after a brief training
period, sailed for Kwajalein Island, a key target in the
Marshalls. As the Marines stormed ashore there 31
January 1944, Hamilton steamed in the area to screen
transports and provide the fire support that made it pos-
sible to land and stay.
After the successful conclusion of that invasion, Hamil-
ton retired to Noumea, New Caledonia, to prepare for the
invasion of the Admiralty Islands. At Noumea, Hamilton
joined forces with three other flush-deckers converted to
fast minesweepers — Hovey, Long, and Palmer — to form an
important preliminary sweep unit. It was the hazard
ous and vital mission of these ships to enter enemy harbors
three to five days before D-day to clear out mines and
provide safe anchorage for the invasion force. The toll
of these operations, conducted before enemy shore bat-
teries had been taken out, was high. Of her original unit
only Hamilton survived the war.
Under unceasing enemy fire, Hamilton and her group
entered Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, 2 March
1944 to begin sweeping operations. After the invasion
was launched, she remained in the area screening trans-
ports and patrolling on ASW duty until early April when
she returned to Noumea to prepare for the invasion of
Aitape. After sweeping operations there before the 22
April invasion, Hamilton served on general sweeping duty
in the Solomons and then readied for the Mariana
campaign.
Entering Saipan Harbor 13 June, Hamilton helped clear
the way for the invasion. The struggle for Saipan was
important not only in itself, but also in that it precipitated
the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the far-spreading battle
known to the Navy as the “Marianas Turkey Shoot” be-
cause of the number of Japanese planes shot down during
the intensive engagement fought on 19 and 20 June.
American carrier planes and ships under the command of
the famous Admirals R. A. Spruance and Marc A.
Mitscher decimated Japan’s air arm, downing 395 carrier
planes, and 31 float planes. In addition American sub-
marines Cavalla and Albacore sank two of Japan’s few
remaining carriers, Shokaku and Taiho, while carrier-
based planes chalked up a third, Hiyo. After this decisive
battle had crippled them, the Japanese high command
thoroughly understood that the war was lost, and that
now they could only delay the end.
The conquest of Saipan was followed by an equally
hard-fought struggle for Guam. The day organized
enemy resistance on Saipan ended, Hamilton sailed from
Eniwetok 9 July to take part in the preliminary bombard-
ment and sweeping activities at Guam. This time a long
period on the firing line preceded Hamilton's entrance into
the harbor. Then 3 days before D-day, 21 July, she
started to sweep the harbor. After screening transports
in the retirement area, Hamilton sailed to Pearl Harbor
for repairs.
Hamilton's next tour of hazardous mine sweeping duty
fell at Peleleiu Island. Arriving off the Palaus 12 Septem-
ber 1944, Hamilton joined her unit and proceeded through
several heavily mined channels. In Kossol Passage, the
converted destroyers exploded 116 mines. For destroying
three extensive mine fields, which the Japanese had hoped
would ward off or severely damage the invasion force,
Hamilton and the other minesweepers received the coveted
Navy Unit Commendation. Then, after duty in the trans-
port screen, she escorted convoys from the staging areas to
the Palaus to prepare for the assault on the Philippine
Islands.
She departed Manus 10 October and entered Leyte Gulf
on the 17th. Three days before Army divisions came
ashore, Hamilton swept the channels aTound Dinagat Is-
land and Looc Bay to clear the way to the invasion
beaches. To add to the usual turmoil of battle, the fleet
as a whole was under almost constant air attack. Then
the Japanese made the one final dramatic but futile ef-
fort to regain control over the Pacific seas and repel the
Amercians from the Philippines. In this bitterly fought
effort, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the already depleted
Imperial Navy was virtually annihilated. As the battle
raged 23 to 26 October, American submarines, planes and
surface ships sank three battleships, four carriers, six
heavy and four light cruisers, and nine destroyers. Ameri-
can losses were two escort carriers, a light carrier, and
222
three destroyers. This battle marked the end of Japanese
sea power as an important threat. The fleet had cleared
the way for the final assaults leading into Japan.
Arriving at Manus, Admiralty Islands, 31 October,
Hamilton underwent availability and repairs and, once
more ready for battle, sailed 23 December to prepare the
way for the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. As the mine-
sweepers steamed through the channel 6 January 1945,
wave after wave of kamikazes attacked as the Japanese
suicidally hurled themselves at the American fleet, bent
on destroying it no matter what the cost. Hamilton,
emerged from the desperate kamikaze attacks unscathed,
although she saw other ships struck time and again by
the “divine wind” and other air attacks. After the in-
vasion forces landed at Lingayen Gulf 9 January, Hamil-
ton remained as a transport screen and escort until 1
February when she sailed for Saipan.
From Saipan the gallant veteran ship again steamed
into battle, this time appearing off Iwo Jima, the rock-
bound Japanese island which was to cost America so
dearly. Hamilton recorded no casualties during sweeping
operations which began 16 February, but she had to aid
her sister-ship Gamble left powerless by a direct bomb hit
on the 18th. In addition to helping the wounded ship
fight myriad fires, Hamilton took on board and care for
the more seriously injured sailors. After marines stormed
ashore on Iwo Jima 19 February, Hamilton patrolled off
the fortress island until 27 February. The four-stacker
then returned to Iwo Jima as a convoy escort 7 March.
Three days later Hamilton sailed from the battle and
from the Pacific War. Steaming for Eniwetok, she
changed course to rescue 11 men from a downed B-29 11
March.
Hamilton reached Pearl Harbor via Eniwetok 25 March
and, after a brief period of training, headed home. As
she sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge 8 April, the
tireless destroyer ended over 100,000 hard miles of steam-
ing in the Pacific struggle. Scheduled for overhaul and
modernization, she went into drydock at Richmond,
Calif. ; but she was subsequently reclassified AG-111 (mis-
cellaneous auxiliary) 6 May 1945 and taken out of dry-
dock. The faithful four-stacker spent the few remaining
months of the war participating in experimental mine-
sweeping work along the California coast out of Santa
Barbara. Two weeks before the Japanese surrender,
Hamilton sailed to the destroyer base at San Diego, where
she decommissioned 16 October 1945. Her hulk was sold
to Hugo Neu of New York City for scrapping 21 No-
vember 1946.
Hamilton earned nine battle stars for World War II
service.
Hamilton , Alexander, see Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton, Julia, see Julia Hamilton
Hamilton, Paul, see Paul Hamilton (DD-307)
Hamilton, Paul, see Paul Hamilton (DD-590)
Hamilton County
Counties in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
(LST-802 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
268 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511 )
LST-802 was laid down by Jeffersonville Boat & Ma-
chine Co., Jeffersonville, Ind., 2 September 1944 ; launched
19 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Dolores Alberts ; and
commissioned 13 November, Lt. K. J. Adams in command.
Following shakedown off Florida, LST-802 loaded quon-
set hut sections at Gulfport, Miss., and departed New
Orleans 18 December. Steaming via the Canal Zone and
San Francisco, she arrived Pearl Harbor 4 February 1945.
After unloading, she sailed 2 weeks later for the Solomon
Islands, arriving Guadalcanal 7 March.
LST-802 departed Guadalcanal on the 18th ; transported
Marines to Guam ; then arrived Saipan 3 April to prepare
for the Okinawa invasion. She embarked over 150 Sea-
bees at Saipan and sailed on the 12th for the Ryukyu
Islands.
Arriving off Chimu Wan, Okinawa Shima 17 April she
unloaded men and equipment to strengthen the beach-
head and facilitate the flow of supplies to the troops. For
the remainder of World War II LST-802 shuttled troops
and equipment between Okinawa and the Philippines.
After the Japanese surrender she remained in the Far
East with the occupation forces operating out of Japan,
Okinawa, and the Philippines to various Pacific islands
until she decommissioned at Guam 21 July 1946.
After communist aggression against South Korea, the
United States met this challenge to freedom by sending
American forces to aid the embattled people. To assist
in the transportation of cargo and troops, LST-802 re-
commissioned at Yokosuka 30 August 1950, Lt. Vladimir
Fedorowicz in command. Sailing to Kobe, she embarked
units of the 1st Marine Division, for the daring invasion
of Inchon; then departing Japan 10 September, she ar-
rived off Blue Beach, Inchon 5 days later. The Marines
stormed ashore, and the well planned, and well coordi-
nated invasion caused General Douglas MacArthur’s fa-
mous remark “The Navy and Marines have never shone
more brightly than this morning.” LST-802 continued
loading equipment and supplies until 15 October when she
joined a task group for Wonson.
Following a month of cargo operations at Wonson, she
returned to Yokosuka for replenishment. In mid Decem-
ber she was enroute to Hungnam, where she assisted in
the evacuation of United States and South Korean Forces.
During January 1951 she shuttled troops and prisoners-of-
war along the Korean coast, then on 20 March she de-
parted Yokosuka for a stateside overhaul.
Returning to the war zone 8 months later, LST-802
resumed cargo and troop transport duty between Japan
and Korea. From November 1951 to June 1952, the vet-
eran landing ship performed cargo operations, evacuation
services, and harbor control duties in the vicinity of
Korea.
Following another brief period in the United States,
LST-802 resumed operations in the Far East, just as the
Korean conflict ended ; and remained there until February
1954. One year later she was again operating in the Far
East during a crisis over the Tachen Islands. When com-
munist artillery threatened Nationalist Chinese positions
on the islands, the veteran LST and other 7th Fleet units
evacuated forces and supplies to Formosa.
LST-802 was named Hamilton County 1 July 1955, then
operated off the California coast from August 1955 to
August 1956. After returning to the Western Pacific in
mid October 1956, Hamilton County was assigned to Mine
Squadron 3, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Equipped with helicopter,
she performed in mine warfare exercises and provided
replenishment for minesweepers off Okinawa, Korea, and
Japan for the next four years. Hamilton County decom-
missioned at Sasebo 30 June 1960, and was loaned to
Japan under the Military Assistance Program. She now
serves the Japanese Self-Defense Forces as Hayatomo
(M ST-461).
LST-802 received one battle star for World War II
service and seven stars for Korean service.
Hamlin
A sound on the coast of South Carolina north of
Charleston.
( CVE-15 : dp. 11,000; 1. 496'; b. 69'6'' ; d. 23'%''; s. 18
k. ; cpl. 890; a. 3 4" cl. Bogue)
Hamlin (CVE-15) was one of a large group of escort
carriers built on Maritime Commission C-3 hulls and
223
transferred to the British under lend-lease during World
War II. Launched by Western Pipe & Steel Co., San
Francisco, Calif., 5 March 1942, as AVG-15, aircraft escort
vessel, she was sponsored by Mrs. William H. Shea. Her
designation was changed to ACV-15, auxiliary aircraft
carrier, 20 August 1942, and she was acquired and simul-
taneously transferred to the United Kingdom 21 December
1942. Hamlin's designation was changed to CVE-15, es-
cort aircraft carrier, 15 July 1943.
Renamed HMS Stalker, the escort carrier played a vital
part in allied operations in the Atlantic. She participated
in the Salerno landings in September 1943, providing ef-
fective on the spot air support for assault forces. Stalker
also took part in the important landings in southern
France in August 1944. Returned to the United States
29 December 1945, she was struck from the Navy List
20 March 1946 and sold to Waterman Steamship Corp. of
Mobile, Ala., 18 December 1946. Waterman in turn sold
her to The Netherlands in August 1947 where she was
converted to a merchant ship and now sails to the Far
East as Riouw.
I
(AV-15 : dp. 8,000 ; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6" ; dr. 23'9" ; s. 19 k. ;
cpl. 1,077 ; a. 2 5” ; cl. Kenneth Whiting)
Hamlin (AV-15) was launched by Todd-Pacific Ship-
yards, Inc., Tacoma, Wash., 11 January 1944 ; sponsored
by Miss Constance Taffinder, daughter of Rear Admiral
S. A. Taffinder; and commissioned 26 June 1944, Captain
G. A. McLean in command.
Hamlin conducted shakedown drills off California until
16 August 1944 when she departed San Pedro for the
Pacific. Arrived Pearl Harbor 24 August, the ship loaded
aviation gasoline and supplies and got underway 29 Au-
gust for Eniwetok. She unloaded cargo and passengers
there and continued to recently won Saipan, arriving 11
September to take up her plane-tending duties. During
this period, seaplanes tended by Hamlin were making im-
portant contributions to the Pacific fighting by engaging
in reconnaissance, hunter-killer operations against sub-
marines, and air coverage of fleet cripples. She moved
to Ulithi 11 October and back to Saipan anchorage 29
December 1944, all the time continuing her vital support
of seaplane operations. Hamlin's aircraft protected the
cruisers Houston and Reno, damaged 14 October off Luzon,
and flew photographic missions and rescue flights as the
Navy pressed home the ever-mounting attack on Japanese-
held territory.
The operation next on her schedule was Iwo Jima, nec-
essary to safeguard lines of communication and provide
a base from which fighters could protect B-29’s in bomb-
ing missions over Japan. Hamlin proceeded 15 February
to Guam for fuel oil and two days later departed for Iwo
Jima. She arrived 2 days after this historic and bitterly
contested landing had begun, and with two other tenders
established a floating seaplane base from which search
and rescue missions were performed.
Debris and off-shore gunfire prevented the establishment
of the seadrome until 24 February, and Hamlin worked
under the handicap of large swells and congestion of the
sea areas around Iwo Jima. The ship also experienced
numerous air raids during this operation, but suffered no
damage. She got underway for Saipan 8 March 1945,
and after another voyage to Guam, she returned to pre-
pare for the Okinawa operation and the largest seaplane
tending job of the war.
Hamlin sailed 23 March from Saipan for Okinawa, the
first step prior to the home islands in the long campaign
across the Pacific. Her commander was designated Com-
mander, Seaplane Base Group. The tenders arrived Ker-
ama Retto, west of Okinawa, 28 March, the day after it
had been secured and 4 days before the main landings on
Okinawa. During the operation, Hamlin's planes pro-
vided long-range search, antisubmarine patrols, and air-
sea rescue services, even providing aviation gasoline and
luboil to battleships and cruisers. Her work was per-
formed amid nearly constant air attack by Japanese sui-
cide planes, and, though many ships in the anchorage were
damaged by repeated attacks, Hamlin fought off all at-
tacks without injury.
The tender group shifted its base of operations to
Chimu Wan, Okinawa, 11 July. After the surrender of
Japan, Hamlin and other tenders got underway to assist
in the occupation 16 August, anchoring in Yokosuka har-
bor 30 August. She began tending seaplanes on patrol
over Japanese home waters 2 September, and was an-
chored in the harbor when the historic surrender was
signed on board Missouri.
Hamlin returned to California following a short period
in Japan and decommissioned at San Diego 15 January
1947. She went to reserve with the San Diego Group
and remained there until September 1962 when she was
transferred to the Maritime Administration, under Navy
ownership, and placed in the National Defense Reserve
Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif. She was struck from the Navy
List 1 July 1963.
Hamlin received three battle stars for service in World
War II.
Hammann
Charles Hazeltine Hammann was born in Baltimore,
Md., 16 March 1892, and was appointed to the provisional
rank of Ensign, Naval Reserve, Flying Corps, 14 October
1918, while serving overseas. Ens. Hammann was
awarded the Medal of Honor, when, as a pilot of a sea-
plane 21 August 1918, off the coast of Italy, he dived down
and landed next to a downed fellowpilot, brought him
aboard, and although his plane was not designed for the
double load, brought him to safety amid constant danger
of attack by Austrian planes. Hazeltine was killed while
on active duty at Langley Field, Va., 14 June 1919.
I
(DD-412; dp. 1620; 1. 348’ 4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 11'5" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 192 ; a. 4 5”, 8 21" tt. ; c-1. Sims)
The first Hammann (DD-412) was launched by the Fed-
eral Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 4 February
1939; sponsored by Miss Lillian Hammann; and com-
missioned 11 August 1939, Couidr. A. E. True in command.
Hammann conducted shakedown off the East Coast and
for the next 2 years participated in training and readiness
operations off both coasts. At Iceland 7 December 1941
when war began, she quickly returned to Norfolk, Va., for
fuel and supplies, and departed 6 January 1942 for the
Pacific. She arrived San Francisco 22 January via the
Panama Canal and sailed 25 February with Vice Admiral
Fletcher’s Task Force 17 for action in the South Pacific.
The destroyer took part in training maneuvers in the
New Caledonia area during early March, and on the 27th
the Task Force departed for the Coral Sea. Hammann
acted as screening ship and plane guard for Lexington.
Returning to Tongatabu 20 April, the Task Force sortied
again into the Coral Sea 27 April for a surprise air raid
on Japanese invasion forces on Tulagi.
While screening the carriers during the air raids of 4
May, Hammann was directed to rescue two fighter pilots
downed on Guadalcanal, some 40 miles to the north.
Steaming at full speed, the destroyer arrived at dusk
and Sighted a marker on the beach, which proved to be
a parachute. The motor whaleboat was put over the side,
but dangerous surf prevented it from landing. Conse-
quently, the pilots were recovered with the use of lines
from the boat. This accomplished, an attempt was made
to destroy the wreckage of the aircraft, but the rough
water made this impossible ; Hammann returned to Lex-
ington's screen from this successful operation that night.
Four days later, 8 May, came the main action of the
Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval engagement fought
entirely on both sides between aircraft and ships. Dur-
ing the exchange of air attacks, Hammann screened the
carriers, firing furously at Japanese torpedo planes as
they attacked. Just as the torpedo planes retired, dive
bombers appeared, one exploding a bomb a scant 200 yards
off Hammann' s starboard bow. Lexington, which had
224
taken two devastating torpedo hits to port, was first
thought to be under control, but a large internal explosion
shortly before 1300, followed later by others, sealed her
fate. As the order was given to abandon ship, Hammann,
Morris, and Anderson stood by to receive survivors. The
destroyer picked up nearly 500 men from the water before
the gallant “Lady Lex” went down the night of 8 May,
torpedoed by destroyer Phelps.
The Battle of the Coral Sea, that checked the Japanese
advance to the southeast was over, but new demands
called far to the north. Under urgent orders from Ad-
miral Nimitz to meet a new threat, Hammann steamed
with the Task Force at high speed to Pearl Harbor, arriv-
ing 27 May. Working feverishly to repair and replenish
the force got underway 30 May to take part in one of the
decisive battles of history, Midway. Steaming to meet
the overwhelming Japanese fleet, the carriers with their
protecting destroyers and cruisers, sped to the northeast
just in time. No better example exists in the war of the
flexibility and mobility of naval power and the great re-
sults that can follow.
During the great air battle of 4 June, Hammann
screened Yorktown, helping to shoot down many of the
attacking aircraft. But the carrier took two torpedo hits
and, listing heavily, was abandoned that afternoon.
Hammann again picked up survivors in the water, includ-
ing Yorktoivn’s skipper, Captain Buckmaster, and trans-
ferred them to the larger ships. Next morning, however,
efforts were mounted to save the stricken carrier, a skele-
ton crew returned on board, and attempts were made to
tow her to safety. Hammann came alongside 6 June to
transfer a damage control party. The destroyer then lay
alongside, providing hoses and water for firefighting,
power, and other services while tied up next to Yorktown.
The salvage party was making excellent progress when
the protective screen was penetrated by a Japanese sub-
marine after noon on 6 June. Four torpedoes were loosed ;
two missed, one passed under Hammann and hit York-
town, and the fourth hit the destroyer amidships, break-
ing her back.
As the debris from the explosion rained down and the
ships lurched apart, it was apparent that the valiant
Hammann was doomed. As she settled with sickening
quickness, life rafts were lowered and rescue efforts began
by ships in company. The ship sank in just 4 minutest
and following the sinking a violent underwater explosion
caused many deaths in the water, bringing the toll in dead
to over 80. Survivors were taken on board Benham and
Batch.
Hammann thus was lost after taking a distinguished
part in two of the most important Pacific battles, turning
points in the war and history. The action at Midway
was a victory of intelligence bravely applied by Admiral
Nimitz and his Fleet, the first really smashing defeat in-
flicted on the Japanese. .
Hammann received two battle stars for service in World
War II.
II
( DE-131 : dp. 1200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 8 dcp., 2 dct., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl.
Edsall)
The second Hammann ( DE-131 ), formerly Langley, was
named 1 August 1942 after the first Hammann; launched
by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 13 December
1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lilliam Rohde ; and commissioned
17 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. R. D. deKay in command.
Hammann departed 5 June for Bermuda and shakedown
operations, returning to Philadelphia 6 July. From there
the ship sailed to Norfolk and on 13 July began the first
of her many transatlantic convoy voyages. Her first four
passages to Casablanca, Morocco, covered the period 13
July 1943 to 10 March 1944. During this period she
screened convoys in company with escort carriers. She
made several attacks on submarine contacts, but recorded
no kills.
Between 28 March 1944 and 29 November 1944 the busy
ship made no less than six more voyages successfully con-
voying to and from Europe, stopping at ports in Northern
Ireland. Starting 4 January the ship changed her convoy
destination to Liverpool and made four more voyages
protecting the vital flow of supplies for the end of the
European war. During one passage, 2 March 1945, Ham-
mann was called upon to aid one of the ships in the con-
voy, Lone Jack, after a torpedo attack. The destroyer
escort picked up 70 survivors and sent salvage parties
aboard the stricken ship to keep her afloat.
Her duties in the Atlantic completed, Hammann de-
parted New York 7 July 1945 for training operations in
the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, area, departing 24 July for
California. She arrived San Diego via the Panama Canal
4 August, and from there proceeded to Pearl Harbor. As
the Pacific war was then over, the destroyer escort took
on passengers at Pearl Harbor for California, and after
discharging them sailed through the Canal again to
Charleston, S.C., arriving 25 September. She decommis-
sioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 24 October 1945, and
was placed in reserve. She was later moved to the Texas
Group at Orange, where she remains out of commission
in reserve.
Hammerberg
Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg was born at Dag-
gett, Mich., 31 May, 1920. He enlisted in the Navy 16
June 1941 and subsequently served in battleship Idaho and
submarine chaser Advent. In 1941 he underwent instruc-
tion at the Deep 'Sea Diving School, Washington, D.C.,
and was assigned duty with the Salvage Unit under Serv-
ice Force, Pacific Fleet. He lost his life during rescue
operations at Pearl Harbor 17 February 1945. Disre-
garding all personal danger, he rescued one diver who had
been trapped in a cave-in of steel wreckage while tunnel-
ling under a sunken LST. After this rescue, Hammer-
berg went even farther under the buried hulk and, while
rescuing a second diver, was pinned down by another cave-
in and perished. Boatswain’s Mate Hammerberg was
posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
(DE-1015 : dp. 1,340 ; 1. 315' ; b. 37' ; dr. 18' ; s. 25 k. ; cpl.
206 ; a. 3 3", 1 dct., 6 dcp. ; cl. Dealey)
Hammerberg (DE-1015) was launched 20 August 1954
by the Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine ; sponsored
by Mrs. Elizabeth Moss, mother; and commissioned 2
March 1955, Lt. Comdr. Murray E. Draper in command.
Based at Newport, Hammerberg participated in convoy
exercises, trained students at the Fleet Sonar School, Key
West, and conducted antisubmarine warfare exercises
during her first 2 Vi years of service.
Hammerberg departed Newport 3 September 1957 to
participate in maneuvers with units of NATO. Antisub-
marine training in the Irish Sea was followed by visits to
Plymouth, England and Brest, France, before the de-
stroyer escort returned to Newport 21 October. Then,
after hunter-killer exercises with aircraft carrier Tarawa,
Hammerberg sailed from Newport 1 April 1958 to Bodo,
Norway, to take part in combined exercises with the Nor-
wegian Navy. She returned to Boston 14 May.
Departing Newport 27 January 1959, Hammerberg
sailed to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training, then
took part in antisubmarine warfare training with the
navies of Chile and Peru. She returned to Newport 21
April.
Between May 1959 and February 1960 Hammerberg was
busy with antisubmarine exercises interspersed with
cruises to Newfoundland and Puerto Rico. In March and
April she participated in amphibious operations at Onslow
Beach, N.C., and deployed 23 August 1960 for her second
South American cruise. Hammerberg returned to New-
port 13 December.
Hammerberg departed Newport 7 August 1961 on her
third South American cruise. In November, at the re-
quest of the Organization of American States, Hammer-
berg and other American ships patrolled offshore the
Dominican Republic to help ensure the orderly change-
225
over of that government and check Communist influence.
Hammerberg returned to Newport 1 December. During
1962 Hammerberg participated in convoy escort opera-
tions and operated with the Fleet Sonar School in Key
West. On 7 November Hanwierberg was en route south
to Mayport, Fla., where She was diverted to patrol the
Florida Coast during the Cuban Crisis. On 29 November
after President Kennedy had resolved the Cuban Crisis
she sailed for Newport, R.I., for a well-deserved rest and
tender availability. 1963 found Hammerberg in the Bos-
ton Naval Shipyard. From June to November she de-
voted time to “Unitas IV” — a delployment which was to
comprise the circumnavigation of South America in the
conduct of ASW operations with seven South American
navies. On 30 November Hammerberg proceeded to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for participation in “PHIBA-
SWEX 1-63”, a large-scale amphibious, ASW operation
with over 30 other units of the Atlantic Fleet. On 17 De-
cember she arrived Newport, R.I. During 1964 Hammer-
berg participated in Operations “Springboard,” “Canus
Silex,” and “Steel Pike,” all exercises to sharpen the ship
and crew not only in her important mission of locating and
destroying submarines, but also in patrol, escort, rescue,
evacuation, blockade and surveillance assignments.
On 8 February 1965 Hammerberg got underway for
Northern Europe to join NATO “Match Maker I” Squad-
ron in Exercise “Pilot High.” On 3 May the squadron
left Lisbon for Operation “Pole Star” off Halifax, Nova
Scotia. After return to Newport 20 July, Hammerberg
went into repair at Boston Naval Shipyard. She then
trained off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in August 1966
rendezvoused with Van Voorhis (DE-1028), Leahy (DLG-
16) and Requin (SS^181) off Trinidad to participate in
Operation “Unitas VII” through November. She con-
tinued her tactical maneuvers into 1967 constantly ready
as a deterrant protecting the free world from aggression.
Hammerhead
A voracious shark, found in warm seas, with a curious
haminerlike head.
I
( SS-364 : dp. 1526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 60 ; c. Gato)
The first Hammerhead was launched 24 October 1943 by
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. of Manitowoc, Wis. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. R. W. Berry ; and commissioned 1 March
1944, Comdr. J. C. Martin in command.
After a month’s training in Lake Michigan Hammer-
head was placed in a floating drydock and towed down
the Mississippi River to New Orleans, La., where she ar-
rived 8 April 1944. She subsequently proceeded to Balboa,
Canal Zone, for further training, and thence to Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii.
The submarine departed Pearl Harbor on her first war
patrol 6 June 1944 in company with Steelhead and Parche.
Cruising the seas south of Formosa, her first engagement
came 9 June when she sank a sampan with gunfire. She
then encountered a coastal oiler 29 June and closed for the
attack, but the topedoes failed to strike home and a sur-
praise aerial attack forced the sub down. Next day Ham-
merhead damaged several ships of a convoy. She returned
to Fremantle, Australia 17 August 1944.
Hammerhead's second war patrol was conducted in
the Java and South China Seas. She departed Fremantle
9 September and made her first attack the night of 1
October, when a convey consisting of four cargo ships,
one oiler, and three escorts was detected off Borneo.
Hammerhead fired 10 torpedoes, scored a total of 6 hits,
and sent 3 of the cargo ships to the bottom. The morning
of 20 October the submarine found still another six ship
convoy, and after evading one of the escorts delivered a
six-torpedo attack. Two more cargo ships fell victim to
Hammerhead’s marksmanship. The submarine returned
from this highly successful patrol 2 November 1944, and
was later awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her
outstanding performance.
The submarine commenced her third war patrol 25
November, returning to the South China Sea. On this
cruise she operated with Lapon and Paddle, and although
several attacks were made, no sinkings resulted. She
returned to Fremantle 17 January 1945.
Hammerhead departed on her fourth war patrol 19 Feb-
ruary, in company with Baya. Patrolling off Cape
Varella, she detected a convoy and two escorts 23 Febru-
ary and while closing the cargo ships obtained a perfect
shot on an escort. A spread of four torpedoes sank Jap-
anese frigate Yaku. Due to the illness of her commanding
officer, the submarine was forced to end her patrol, and
moored at Subic Bay 3 March 1945.
Beginning her fifth war patrol 10 March 1945, Hammer-
head proceeded to the coast of Indochina, where on 29
March she detected a large escorted convoy. Working
her way inside the screen, the submarine was able to get
a clear shot at an escort vessel, and a single hit broke
her in two. After sinking the escort, Hammerhead dam-
aged other members of the group before retiring. She re-
turned from this war patrol 6 April 1945, mooring at
Subic Bay, Philippines.
For her sixth war patrol Hammerhead operated in the
Gulf of Siam. She arrived 6 May and that night en-
countered a small tanker and two escorts. After missing
with two torpedoes at extreme range the submarine found
the mark in a second attack, sinking the tanker Kinrei
Maru. Hammerhead attacked other ships of the convoy
without success and after a depth charge attack decided
to break off. Sighting a cargo carrier 14 May with only
an aircraft escort. Hammerhead made a perfect approach
and sank the ship with two torpedoes. She returned from
this patrol 25 May.
Hammerhead departed Fremantle 21 June on her sev-
enth and last war patrol, also carried out in the Gulf of
Siam, in company with three other submarines. Her
major attack of this patrol occurred 10 July, when she
sank cargo ships Sakura Maru and Nanmei Maru No. 5.
The patrol was brought to a close 21 August 1945 at Pearl
Harbor.
Hammerhead arrived Mare Island, Calif., for decom-
missioning 20 August 1945 and decommissioned 9 Febru-
ary 1946. She was then placed in the Fleet Reserve at
Mare Island. Subsequently, Hammerhead was brought
out of reserve during the Korean conflict, recommissioned
6 February 1952, and engaged in training duty on the
West Coast between San Diego and San Francisco, Calif.,
until 21 August 1953. when she decommissioned for re-
turn to the Reserve Fleet. Earmarked for loan under the
Military Assistance Program, the veteran submarine re-
commissioned once more 16 July 1954 to prepare for
transfer. Decommissioned and transferred to Turkey 23
October 1954, she now serves the Turkish Navy as Cerbe
( S-341 ) .
Hammerhead received seven battle stars and a Navy
Unit Commendation for World War II service. All seven
of her war patrols were designated successful.
II
(SS(N)-663 : dp. 3.800 (surf.), 4,600 (subm.) ; 1. 292'3" ;
b. 31'8" ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 107 ; a. 4 21" tt., cl. Sturgeon)
The second Hammerhead (SS(N)-663), a Sturgeon-
class nuclear submarine, was laid down by Newport News
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.. Newport News, Va., 29 No-
vember 1965; launched 14 April 1967 and sponsored by
Mrs. O. Clark Fisher. The commissioning of the nuclear
submarine is scheduled for the spring of 1968. A key ele-
ment in the underwater deterrent force of the Navy she
contributes to the vital, continuing task of “keening the
peace” over the vast reaches of global waters. Designed
to attack and destroy all types of enemy ships, she is able
to operate for long periods at great depths and at high
submerged speed, making her a potent and effective chal-
lenge to enemy submarines. Operating under nuclear
power, she also can conduct long-range reconnaissance
226
patrols and surveillance missions without risking detec-
tion by surface ships. Moreover, she is able to carry out
extensive ASW operations, either alone or with other
fleet submarines and destroyer-type surface ships.
Hammond sport
A village in New York.
( AKV-2 : dp. 4,000(f.) ; 1. 478' ; b. 63'6" ; dr. 22'10'' ; s. 10
k. ; cp1. 255; a. 1 5", 4 3" ; cl. Kitty Haick)
Hammondsport (AKV-2) was built as Scatrain Havana
in 1032 by Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa.
After operating for Seatrain Lines, Inc. until 1941 she was
acquired by the Navy through the Maritime Commission
on a bareboat basis and commissioned at New York Navy
Yard as Hammondsport (APV-2) 11 December 1941,
Comdr. P. R. Glutting in command. She was reclassed
! AKV-2 on 15 September 1943.
Designed to carry cargo and aircraft, Hammondsport
got underway 18 December 1941 for Chesapeake Bay, Va.,
and a short shakedown cruise. She continued to the
Canal Zone, where she arrived 26 December and unloaded
five PT boats transported from New York. Hammonds-
port arrived San Francisco 7 January 1942, and began
loading cargo and aircraft to be carried to beleaguered
allied forces in the western Pacific. Departing 15 Janu-
ary she steamed into Brisbane harbor with her precious
cargo 5 February 1942. After unloading her cargo of 120
P-40 aircraft the ship sailed for San Francisco, arriving
17 March.
From March until August Hammondsport made four
voyages from California to Pearl Harbor with general
cargo and aircraft for further transfer to the forward
areas. Departing from San Diego 1 September 1942, the
ship then sailed into the western Pacific area, carrying
cargo and aircraft to Noumea, Espiritu Santo, and Efate,
New Hebrides Islands before returning to San Diego 3
i November 1942.
Hammondsport carried out this vital supply duty for
the remainder of the war. She carried not only replace-
ment aircraft for the far-ranging fleet groups of the 3d
and 5th fleets, but land-based aircraft as well. In addi-
tion, she brought to such staging bases as Espiritu Santo
and Noumea spare parts and other vital cargo and carried
damaged aircraft back to Pearl Harbor and California
bases. As the allied armies and navies advanced toward
Japan, her destinations moved northward and westward.
After the fall of the Marianas, Hammondsport' s most fre-
quent supply point was Guam, to which she carried hun-
dreds of aircraft during 1945.
With the surrender of Japan Hammondsport continued
to sail regularly between San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, and
the Pacific islands, bringing aircraft and supplies back
from Samar, Philippine Island, and the Marianas during
September-November 1945. The ship departed Eniwetok
atoll 21 December 1945 on her final passage, carrying 44
aircraft and 600 tons of cargo to Pearl Harbor and San
Francisco. After touching at the latter port Hammonds-
port through the Panama Canal to Philadelphia, where
she arrived 9 February 1946. There she decommissioned
7 March 1946 and was returned to the Maritime Commis-
sion. After a short period under charter to United Fruit
Co., the ship was resold to Seatrain Lines 10 May 1946
and resumed merchant service as Seatrain Havana.
Hamner
Henry Rawlings Hamner was born 13 March 1922 in
London, England. Appointed to the Naval Academy from
Virginia, he graduated and gained his commission in June
1942. Hamner served to fit out and commission several
new ships during the war, in addition to serving in the
12th Naval District and at Norfolk. He was appointed
lieutenant in July 1944. Lieutenant Hamner died 6 April
1945 in Howorth, when his ship was crashed by a kamikaze
during the suicidal Japanese “kikusui” massed attack of
that day off Okinawa where “the fleet had come to stay”.
( DD-718 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 16 40mm., 20 20mm., 5 tt. 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Gearing )
Hamner (DD-718) was launched 24 November 1945 by
the Federal Ship Building & Drydock Co., Port Newark,
N.J. ; sponsored by Mrs. Henry Rawlings Hamner, wife
of Lt. Hamner; and commissioned 12 July 1946, Comdr.
Joseph B. Swain in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Hamner reported
to the Pacific Fleet 24 December 1946 and immediately
departed for her first deployment with the 7th Fleet. The
new destroyer spent 9 months operating with Destroyer
Division 111 out of various Chinese and Japanese ports
before returning to the States for 6 months of training
operations. Hamner followed this pattern of cruises
until hostilities began in Korea 24 June 1950. Deployed
in the Far East at the time, Hamner sailed to the Korean
coast and began shore bombardment of Communist posi-
tions and supply lines. After participating in the evacua-
tion of Yongdok and the defense of Pohang Dong, Hamner
joined Task Force 77 for the brilliant amphibious opera-
tions against Inchon 15 September 1950.
After operating along the Korean coast to screen car-
riers whose planes were pounding Communist troops,
Hamner returned to the States in March 1951. She was
back on line in October 1951 and continued to prowl waters
surrounding the peninsula with various task forces and
bombardment groups, effectively damaging and checking
the enemy. In March 1952 she spent 5 weeks on shore
bombardment off the east coast of Korea near Kojo caus-
ing much damage to the enemy. Although frequently
under heavy fire from enemy batteries, she was not hit.
Returning to the States in May 1952, Hamner resumed
her duties along the Korean coast 2 January 1953, re-
maining there on the bombline, at the seige of Wonsan
Harbor, and on Formosa patrol until the armistice of 27
July 1953.
Hamner returned to the Western Pacific every year
thereafter visiting ports in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the
Philippines, and even Australia in 1956 and 1959.
In addition to reminding Asia of America’s determina-
tion and strength in the struggle against Communism, the
destroyer made many good-will visits to Asian ports and
engaged in exercises and Formosa patrol. She arrived
off Taiwan for six weeks duty with the Taiwan Patrol
Force 31 December 1958, just after another flareup of
the Quemoy-Matsu crisis. When not deployed in the
Pacific, Hamner trained out of San Diego. Entering the
San Francisco Ship Yard in January 1962, she underwent
a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) over-
haul designed to add 10 to 20 years to her operating
efficiency. Fitted with a new superstructure and the
Navy’s most modern electronic equipment, Hamner left
the shipyard 5 December 1962 and, after training, sailed
for her 13th WestPac cruise 18 May 1963. During this
cruise she was part of the ready amphibious group in
South Vietnam coastal waters in September.
Hamner returned to San Diego 24 November. She op-
erated along the West Coast throughout 1964 and sailed
again for the Orient 5 January 1965. Arriving Subic Bay
on the 27th, she escorted aircraft carrier Hancock (CVA-
19) to the Gulf of Tonkin. On 15 March she joined aircraft
carrier Coral Sea (CVA-43) in “Yankee Team” opera-
tions. On 10 May she headed north at flank speed to cover
SeaBee landings at Chu Lai. “Market Time” operations
began 5 days later and on the 20tli Hammer shelled Com-
munist positions in South Vietnam in the first scheduled
shore bombardment by the U.S. Navy since the Korean
conflict. Thereafter she screened Coral Sea, bombarded
the Trung Phan area 25 June, and covered the landing of
Marines from Iivo Jima (LPH-2) at Qui Nhon 1 July. As
mid-July approached, the destroyer headed home, reach-
ing San Francisco on the 26th.
227
Overhaul at Hunter’s Point and operations off the West
Coast occupied the next year. Hamner got underway for
her 14th WestPac deployment 2 July 1966. Late in the
month she bombarded South Vietnam. Following patrol
duty, she steamed up the Song Long Tao River to shell
the Rung Sat Special Zone.
Hamner joined TG 77.6 as plane guard for Oriskany
(CVA-34) on 1 October and continued this duty until re-
ceiving an emergency call from the carrier at 0730 on the
26th “I am on fire.” Speeding alongside, for hours Ham-
ner sprayed cooling water on her charred and buckled
bulkheads. After the fight to save the ship had been won,
Hamner escorted her to Subic Bay for repairs.
Back off Vietnam 6 November, the destroyer spent 2
weeks in Operation “Traflic Cop”, shelling Communist
junks bringing arms and supplies to the Viet Cong. With-
in a fortnight, Hamner had destroyed 67 craft. On 14
and 19 November enemy shore batteries fired on Hamner,
and John R. Craig (DD-885). Although several rounds
sprayed the destroyers with shrapnel, neither ship was
damaged. On each occasion the American ships moved
just outside range of the enemy guns and hammered the
Communist batteries to silence. Leaving the fighting zone
20 November, a month and a day later, Hamner reached
San Diego, where early in 1967 she began preparations to
meet her next challenge.
Hamner was awarded five battle stars as well as a
Presidential Unit Citation for her outstanding service in
Korea.
Hamond
( PF-73 : dp. 1430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8'' ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3” ; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Hamond (PF-73), originally designated PG-181, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co. Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-73 15 April 1943,
renamed Antigua, and launched 26 July 1943, Mrs. Louise
M. Reddick sponsoring. Antigua was then completed and
transferred to the United Kingdom under lend-lease 4
November 1943, as part of the 21-ship “Colony” class.
She served as a patrol and escort ship until being re-
turned to the United States 2 May 1946. The frigate
was sold for scrap to the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,
Chester, Pa.
Hampden
A former name retained.
(Brig : 14 guns)
Hampden, a merchant ship in the West Indian trade,
was purchased during the summer of 1776 by the Conti-
nental Congress and converted to Navy use at New Haven,
Conn. Her first commanding officer, Hoysted Hacker, sailed
her to Newport, R.I., in September 1776 to join Alfred,
Captain John Paul Jones. After a month’s delay, occa-
sioned by a shortage of men, the two ships departed 27 Oc-
tober under Jones’ command for a cruise to the north. The
purpose of this foray was to harass Newfoundland fisheries
and to attempt the liberation of American prisoners of
war on Cape Breton Island. Soon after getting under-
way, however, Hampden grounded on a ledge, was consid-
erably damaged, and could not continue. Captain Hacker
and his crew transferred to the sloop Providence and con-
tinued the cruise, while Hampden returned to Providence,
R.I. She was sold out of the service in late 1777 at
Providence.
Hampden County
A county in Massachusetts.
(LST-803 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266; cl. L ST-5 11 )
LST-803 was laid down by Jeffersonville Boat & Ma-
chine Co., Jeffersonville, Ind., 14 September 1944;
launched 23 October ; sponsored by Mrs. Katie Bryant ;
and commissioned 17 November, Lt. H. M. Parsons in
command.
After shakedown off Florida LST-803 departed New
Orleans in December, arriving San Diego 8 January 1945.
Sailing 4 days later, she touched Pearl Harbor, and Eni-
wetok before arriving Guam 12 February. During the
next month she prepared at Guam, Saipan and Tinian for
the invasion of Okinawa. With the 16th Marine Antiair-
craft Battalion on board, she sailed 26 March for the last
barrier on the road to Saipan.
The landing ship approached Kerama Retto 2 April,
then under heavy enemy air raids and suicide attacks
for the next week she unloaded her cargo before proceed-
ing to Saipan for reinforcements. For the rest of the war
LST-803 shuttled cargo between Okinawa and the Philip-
pines, then after the official Japanese surrender arrived
Tokyo Bay with cargo for the occupation forces.
Following 3 months duty in the Far East LST-803
sailed for the United States in mid-November, arriving
San Diego the following month. In July 1946 she re-
turned to the Western Pacific to operate as a utility ship,
and transported cargo, troops, and prisoners-of-war
throughout the Mariana and Caroline Islands. She con-
tinued these operations until 26 February 1949, when she
departed Kwajalein for the United States. Arriving
Long Beach 10 April, LST-803 decommissioned 15 June
and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Following the external communist aggression in South
Korea LST-803 recommissioned, Lt. Ben Owen in com-
mand, 15 November 1950 to meet the demand for ships
needed in the struggle. She departed Port Hueneme 3
March 1951, and arrived Yokosuka 26 April. On 17 May
she sailed to Korea to transport prisoners-of-war between
Pusan and Koje-Do. Throughout the rest of the year she
operated between Japan and Inchon, Korea, transporting
troops, cargo, and prisoners-of-war then sailed 31 January
1952, for San Diego. After a brief overhaul and training,
the veteran landing ship was back in Japan 15 November.
She resumed her cargo and transport runs from Japan to
Inchon and Pusan, continuing these operations until the
Armistice ended the armed conflict 27 July 1953. Her
major projects were amphibious landings at Inchon and
salvage work behind enemy lines at Chummum Do.
After the war she engaged in Operation “Big Switch,”
the return of North Korean and Chinese Communists to
Incheon for the exchange of South Korean repatriates.
Returning to San Diego 25 September she operated along
the West Coast for the rest of the year. In May 1954 she
sailed on her third Far East tour and, while there, was
assigned to “Passage to Freedom” which transported
French and Vietnamese Army units, and Christian refu-
gees from North Vietnam to Saigon.
While still in the Far East early 1955, another impend-
ing crisis flared between the Communist Chinese and the
Chinese Nationalists over the Tachen Islands. As part of
the amphibious force of the 7th Fleet, LST-803 com-
menced embarking personnel and supplies from the
Tachen beaches on 8 February. During the next week
she transported over 2,300 troops and civilians, along with
vehicles and heavy weapons to Formosa. After these two
operations contributing to Peace in Asia were completed
LST-803 sailed for the United States, arriving San Diego
28 April.
On 1 July LST-803 was named Hampden County. For
the next 2 years she engaged in amphibious exercises
along the West Coast, Hawaii, and in the Far East.
After her 1956-57 WestPac tour, she returned to the West
Coast 31 August; then decommissioned at Mare Island 2
January 1958. She was struck from the Navy List 17
April and was sunk as a fleet practice target off the coast
of California 26 September 1958.
LST-803 received one battle star for World War II
service and five stars for the Korean conflict.
228
Hampshire
Prior to being launched, Continental ship Ranger ( q.v .)
was called Hampshire.
Hampshire County
Counties in Massachusetts and West Virginia.
( LST-819 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511)
LST-819 was laid down by the Missouri Valley Bridge &
Iron Co., Evansville, Ind„ 12 September 1944 ; launched 21
October; sponsored by Mrs. William M. Gilmore; and
commissioned 14 November 1944, Lt. George W. Ryerson
in command.
Following shakedown off Florida, LST-819 loaded
cargo, then departed New Orleans 18 December for the
Pacific. After a brief stop at San Diego and Pearl Harbor,
the tank landing ship arrived Tulagi 23 February 1945.
During the next month she shuttled cargo throughout the
Pacific, then ammunition for the Okinawa invasion.
Arriving 2 April, one day after the initial landing,
LST-819 prepared to unload her cargo under heavy enemy
air attack. Remaining off the island for the next 3 weeks,
she assisted in the courageous effort as the Japanese made
a futile attempt to stop the American thrust toward Japan.
For the rest of the war she continued transport and cargo
operations in the vicinity of Okinawa.
After V-J Day, she operated with the occupation forces
in Okinawa and Japan, then sailed for the United States
in mid-November, arriving San Francisco 6 January 1946.
Later that month she sailed to Astoria, Oreg. ; decommis-
sioned there and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Because of the Korean conflict buildup LST-819 recom-
missioned at Astoria 8 September 1950, Lt. J. H. Burch in
command. Following training she departed San Diego
3 months later, arriving Yokosuka 17 January 1951. Two
weeks later she steamed to Pusan where she embarked
army personnel for transport to Inchon, arriving there 19
February. From February to June LST-819 carried
troops and vehicles from Japan to Korean ports ; then on
8 June departed for the United States. After 6 months
out of San Diego, “819" was en route for her second tour
in the Far East, arriving Yokosuka 15 February 1952.
She resumed cargo runs to the war zone as American
forces demonstrated their ability to fight for the cause of
freedom. She continued cargo operations and harbor
entrance patrol until late October when she steamed back
to the United States.
After the Korean conflict LST-819 made another cruise
to the Far East from August 1953 to June 1954 where she
resumed her cargo operations under more peaceful condi-
tions. She returned San Diego 17 July and operated along
the West Coast until she decommissioned 24 June 1955.
While in reserve at San Diego LST-819 was named
Hampshire County 1 July 1955.
Hampshire County (LST-819) recommissioned 9 July
1966 for use in the Vietnam War. By 9 September she
had completed shakedown training and on 24 September
left Del Mar, Calif., for Danang, Vietnam, arriving 8 No-
vember. After debarking Marines and cargo there, she
returned to Guam, anchoring 19 December. Hampshire
County then participated in operation “Market Time” and
continued into 1967 in her important combat support
mission.
LST-819 received one battle star for World War service
and four stars for the Korean conflict.
Hampton
The first Hampton retained its former name, while the
second was named after a county in South Carolina.
I
( S P-3049 : t. 48 ; 1. 63' ; b. 19'4'' ; dr. 6'3" ; s. 9 k.)
Hampton (SP-3049), a wooden tug, was built in 1905
by H. Turman, Turkey Point, Va., and chartered by the
Navy in 1918. She commissioned 21 April 1918 and served
on general harbor duty in Hampton Roads under the
jurisdiction of the 5th Naval District until being returned
to her owner 13 August 1919.
II
(PCS-1386 ; dp. 251 ; 1. 136' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl.
59; a. 1 40mm., 2 20mm., 2 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 2 det ;
ch)
PCS-1386 was laid down by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp.,
Whitestone, N.Y., 15 May 1943; launched 28 September
1944 ; and commissioned 4 November, Lt. Thomas R.
McMahan in command.
Equipped with the latest sonar gear, PCS-1386 was
assigned to the Fleet Sound School Squadron following
her shakedown period. From her arrival at Key West 25
November 1944, until the end of the war she trained offi-
cers and enlisted men in the intricate art of submarine
detection. The students later contributed to the war effort
by operating the range recorder and attack plotter on the
hunter-killer destroyers and destroyer escorts. Through
the Navy’s excellent ASW methods the enemy submarine
threat was neutralized and the victorious conclusion of
World War II was hastened.
After the war PCS-1386 continued training operations
based at Key West and in addition performed exercises
in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico from 1946
to 1956. PCS-1386 was named Hampton 15 February 1956
and decommissioned 27 April 1956. Hampton was trans-
ferred to the 5th Naval District and assigned to the Naval
Reserve Training Center, Baltimore. Hampton operated
as a training ship until she was struck from the Navy
List 1 July 1959 and disposed of by Navy sale.
III
( APA-115 : dp. 8,393 (lt.) ; 1. 492'; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6" ;
s. 18 k. ; cpl. 475; a. 25", 8 40mm.; cl. Bayfield)
The second Hampton (APA-115) was launched 25
August 1944 under Maritime Commission contract by
Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Harry Gilmore; and commissioned 17 February
1945, Comdr. W. H. Ferguson in command.
After completing her shakedown training out of Galves-
ton, Hampton arrived Newport 20 March for duty as a
training ship for pre-commissioning crews. She continued
this vital duty until departing 7 May for Norfolk to em-
bark troops destined for Hawaii. The transport sailed 19
May and arrived Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal 9
June. At Hawaii Hampton embarked over 1,000 members
of the 34th Construction Battalion and sailed for Guam,
where she arrived 6 July 1945. After disembarking her
Seabees, so vital to the success of the island campaign in
the Pacific, the transport sailed to the east, arriving San
Francisco 25 July.
Hampton sailed from San Francisco 13 August, just
prior to the surrender of Japan, and arrived Samar Island
via Ulithi and Eniwetok 7 September. Joining the vast
fleet carrying occupation forces to Japan, Hampton landed
troops at Aomori Bay, Honshu, 25 September, and then
returned to Okinawa for more occupation units. During
October she carried these troops to Jinsen, Korea ; Chefoo
and Tsingtao, China, helping to speed occupation of these
ports and stabilize the volatile China situation.
Hampton departed Tsingtao for Portland via Okinawa
and Leyte, arriving 28 October 1945. She then made two
voyages to Guam as part of the “Magic Carpet” fleet, per-
forming the giant task of bringing home the thousands
of Pacific veterans. After returning to the Pacific coast
from the second voyage 10 February 1946, the transport
sailed for the East Coast, arriving Norfolk 7 March. She
229
decommissioned 30 April 1046 and was returned to the
Maritime Commission 1 May. In 1947 Hampton was sold
to Pope and Talbot Lines and renamed P. & T. Explorer.
Hamul
Probably named after the star Hamal.
( AK-20 : dp. 8,560; 1. 492'; b. 69'; dr. 28'6'' ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 857 ; a. 1 5", 4 3" ; cl. Hamul; T. C3-eargo)
Hamul (AK-20), formerly Sea Panther and Doctor
Lykes, was launched in May 1940 by the Federal Ship-
building & Drvdoek Co., Kearney, N.J. After two trips
to the Orient for Lykes Brothers Steamship Co. of New
Orleans, Hamul was acquired by the Navy and commis-
sioned 14 June 1941 at Charleston, Comdr. F. M. Tillson in
command.
Originally a cargo ship, Hamul rendered logistical sup-
port for occupation of Iceland prior to America’s involve-
ment in the war. After working with General Electric
in experiments on night camouflage, Hamul departed
Boston in January 1942 to head a convey of five ships with
men and material to establish a base at Bora Bora, Society
Islands. This- mission completed, the cargo ship returned
to the States via Chile, w’hile she loaded 10,000 tons of
nitrate. Hamul discharged the valuable cargo at Mobile
and remained there for conversion to a destroyer tender.
Departing Mobile 7 January 1943, as AD-20, Hamul
tended destroyers and other ships in Casco Bay, Maine,
until April and then sailed south to serve as flagship of the
Destroyer-Escort Shakedown Task Group in Bermuda. In
the following 19 months she tended some 348 DE’s as well
as removing demolition charges from TJ-505. This Ger-
man submarine was the first capture of a regular enemy
war ship on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since 1815.
After overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Hamul
sailed for the Pacific 1 January 1945, reaching Saipan
12 February via the Panama Canal, Pearl Harbor, and
Eniwetok. She remained there preparing amphibious
craft for the massive Iwo Jima invasion until 27 March,
when she sailed to Ulithi. At Ulithi Hamul kept busy re-
pairing damaged craft returning from the Okinawa cam-
paign until 6 May, when she sailed for the scene of the
Pacific war’s last major struggle. Hamul reached Oki-
nawa 10 May 1945 and remained there until February
1946 to repair battle-damaged ships. With over 400 home-
ward bound veterans aboard, she departed Okinawa 10
February 1946. After discharging them at San Diego she
proceeded to Jacksonville, Fla., and subsequently Orange,
Tex., to prepare for decommissioning.
As Hamul entered the final stages of the decommis-
sioning process, she was called back into active service
as station ship at Plymouth, England. Reaching the
British port 17 April 1947, Hamul remained there 3 years
tending various American ships and making quarterly
cruises to Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. Again or-
dered to decommission, Hamul departed Plymouth 17 July
1950; but the outbreak of war in Korea again called for
every available ship. Going west via Norfolk, Ham.ul
reached Sasebo, Japan, 23 October and began servicing
the fleet operating off the Korean coast.
From that period on Hamul' s career fell into a pattern
of 6 months duty in the East, which took her to the
Philippines, Hong Kong, Formosa, and other Asian ports
and islands, alternating with a similar period of time
in her home port, Long Beach. During the active fighting
in Korea and the Cold War afterwards, she played a vital
role in maintaining America’s mobile presence in the
Pacific. Hamul (AD-20) decommissioned 9 June 1962 at
Long Beach. Returned to the Maritime Administration,
she was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet,
Suisun Bay, Calif., where she remains.
Hancock
John Hancock was born 12 January 1737 in Braintree,
Mass., graduated from Harvard College in 1754, and be-
came the wealthiest merchant in Boston. He was presi-
dent of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and served
as president of the Continental Congress from 24 May
1775 to 29 October 1777. As holder of this office, Hancock
was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
John Hancock served the Continental Congress until
he became Governor of Massachusetts in 1780. He pre-
sided over the State’s Constitutional Convention held in
that year. He also presided over the Massachusetts Con-
vention of 1788 which ratified the Federal Constitution.
With the exception of a term in the Confederate Congress,
1785-86, Hancock was Governor of Massachusetts until
his death 8 October 1793. His body was interred in the
Old Granary Burying Ground, Boston.
I
( Sch : t. 72 ; 1. 60' ; b. 20' ; cpl. 70 ; a. 6 4-pdr.)
The first Hancock, was the former schooner Speedwell,
hired from Mr. Thomas Grant of Marblehead, Mass., in
October 1775 as one of a small fleet fitting out to prey
upon British supply ships and support General Washing-
ton’s siege of Boston. This fleet, the first under Con-
tinental pay and control, came to be called “George Wash-
ington’s Navy.”
In October 1775, Hancock and Franklin were ordered to
intercept two brigs as they arrived in the St. Lawrence
from England. But the two schooners instead sought
easier quarry off Cape Canso where five prizes of dubious
legality were taken. They also raided Charlottetown
settlement without regard to orders to respect Canadian
property. The story of their illegal actions reached Gen-
eral Washington who dismissed both ship commanders
and returned their prizes to Canadian owners with
apologies.
On 1 January 1776, Captain John Manley, Continental
Army, was appointed Commodore of the Fleet and hoisted
his flag in Hancock. She captured two enemy transports
25 January 1776, fending off an eight-gun British schooner
in a brisk engagement while prize crews took the cap-
tured ships into Plymouth Harbor.
On 30 January 1776 Hancock was intercepted off Plym-
outh by the 14-gun British Brig Hope who had sailed
from Boston for the express purpose of capturing Han-
cock. The American schooner ran ashore and grounded
where it became impossible for Hope, with her deeper
draft, to draw close aboard. The little sloop refloated and
captured several more prizes in joint operations with
the squadron by April 1776 when Captain Samuel Tucker
took command of Hancock. He relieved Commodore John
Manley who was taken into the Continental Navy to
command Continental Frigate Hancock.
Hancock captured two brigs off Boston 7 May 1776.
She continued to cruise under Tucker until declared
unfit for service late in 1776. She returned to her owner
early the following year.
II
(Fr. : t. 763; 1. 136'7'' ; b. 35'6'' ; dph. 11'%"; cpl. 290;
a. 24 12-pdr., 10 6-pdr.)
The second Hancock was one of the first 13 frigates of
the Continental Navy authorized by resolution of the Con-
tinental Congress 13 December 1775. She was built at
Newburyport, Mass., and placed under command of
Captain John Manley 17 April 1776. After a long delay
in fitting out and manning, she departed Boston in com-
pany with Continental frigate Boston 21 May 1777. On
29 May they captured a small brig loaded with cordage
and duck. The next day they encountered a convoy of
transports escorted by British 64-gun ship Somerset which
set sail to close Hancock. Manley was saved by clever
and well-timed action of Boston who forced Somerset to
give up the chase by taking on the transports.
After escaping from Somerset, the two frigates sailed to
the northeast until 7 June when they engaged the Royal
Navy’s 28-gun frigate Fox who tried to outsail her Amer-
ican enemies. Hancock gave chase and soon overhauled
230
Continental Frigates Hancock and Boston capturing British Frigate Fox 7 June 1777
Fox who lost her mainmast and suffered other severe
damage in the ensuing duel. About an hour later, Boston
joined the battle and compelled Fox to strike her colors.
Hancock spent the next few days repairing the prize and
then resumed cruising along the coast of New England.
East of Cape Sable she took an enemy coal sloop which
she towed until the next morning when the approach of
a British squadron prompted Manley to set the coal sloop
ablaze and leave her adrift. The British brig Flora re-
captured the Fox after a hot action. Boston became sep-
arated from Hancock who tried to outsail her pursuers.
Early in the morning 8 July 1777 the British were within
striking distance. HMS Rainbow began to score with
her bowchaser and followed with a series of broadsides
which finally forced Hancock to strike her colors after a
chase of some 39 hours.
Hancock, renamed Iris, served the British Navy so effec-
tively that her new owners boasted of her as “the finest
and fastest frigate in the world.” The most famous of
the many prizes which made her officers wealthy men was
the American 24-gun ship Trumbull, captured 8 August
1781. Later that year a French squadron in the West
Indies captured Iris and used her as a cruiser. When the
British took Toulon in 1793 they found Iris dismantled
and used as a powder hulk. The British blew her up as
they evacuated Toulon.
Hancock, a frigate launched at Salisbury, Mass., 28
April 1778, was renamed Alliance ( q.v .) by the Conti-
nental Congress to honor the entry of France into the war.
Ill
(AP-3 : dp. 8,500; 1. 465'6” ; b. 45'4" ; dr. 24'3" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 278; a. 6 3”)
The third Hancock (AP-3) was built in 1879 by J. Elder
& Co., Glasgow, Scotland. Formerly Arizona, she was
purchased by the War Department during the Spanish-
American War and transferred to the Navy 8 November
1902. She was commissioned 20 November 1902, Lt.
Comdr. F. W. Coffin, USN, in command.
Hancock sailed from San Francisco for the East Coast
14 December 1902 via Valparaiso, Chile; Montevideo, Uru-
guay ; and Bahia, Brazil. She arrived New York Navy
Yard 21 February 1903 and decommissioned 9 March
for fitting out. Recommissioned 21 September, she served
as receiving ship at the New York Navy Yard until re-
lieved by Washington 6 August 1913.
Hancock departed New York 15 September and arrived
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard the following day to be
fitted out as a Marine transport. She sailed for the Gulf
of Mexico 4 January 1914 having embarked the 1st Regi-
ment, Advance Base Brigade of Marines. She landed the
Marines at Vera Cruz, Mexico, to assist in the occupation
of that city resulting from the arrest of the crew of a
whaleboat of Dolphin (PG-24) by soldiers of General
Huerta, aspirant to the Mexican presidency. During the
tense months that followed, Hancock transported refugees
uprooted by the Mexican Revolution between the coast of
Mexico and Galveston, Tex., as she delivered supplies
for the United States Expeditionary Force in Mexico.
Other trouble spots erupted in the Americas. Both Haiti
and the Dominican Republic, were going through a series
of violent revolutions endangering the lives and property
of foreigners and inviting foreign intervention. This sit-
uation demanded a buildup of American strength in the
area. As a result as the diplomatic crisis with Mexico
eased, Hancock embarked a battalion of Marines from
Vera Cruz and transported them to Guantanamo, Cuba.
She returned to Norfolk 25 July 1914 to embark the 5th
Marine Regiment and got underway 30 July to cruise
in waters off Haiti and Santo Domingo to be on hand to
protect American interests against any eventuality. She
returned to Norfolk 23 December for a general overhaul.
Hancock resumed duty cruising in the Caribbean. She
continued to transport Marines, stores, provisions, mail,
and other cargo to forces ashore in Mexico, Haiti, and
Santo Domingo. From 12 to 30 September 1916 she as-
256-125 0 - 68 - 17
231
sisted in the salvage of material from Memphis after the
cruiser was driven ashore by a tidal wave in the harbor of
Santa Domingo. Hancock carried the ill-fated ship’s
crew, stores, fittings, and ammunition to the Norfolk Navy
Yard.
Hancock was at Guantanamo Bay, 27 March 1917 when
ordered to proceed to St. Thomas in the Danish West
Indies, where the Danish Government was to transfer
the islands to the United States. She sailed the next day,
embarking a Marine Detachment at Santo Domingo be-
fore arrival at St. Thomas, 30 March 1917. On 31 March,
Hancock' s captain, Comdr. Edwin T. Pollock, USN, took
over the islands in the name of the United States of
America. At 1600 when the transfer became effective,
Commander Pollock assumed the position of Acting Gov-
ernor of the Virgin Islands. When the United States de-
clared war on Germany six days later, Hancock took pos-
session of German steamers Wasgenwald and Calahria
interned there.
Hancock arrived at San Juan, P.R., 18 May 1917 to
take possession of two more interned German steamships,
President and Odenwald. She embarked 29 German
prisoners of war 23 May, and stood out of San Juan
harbor that afternoon to tow Odenwald to the Philadel-
phia Navy Yard where she arrived 1 June.
Hancock was assigned to the U.S. Cruiser and Trans-
port Force to embark troops of the 1st American Expedi-
tionary Force 13 June. She got underway 17 June as
Flagship of Troop Convoy Number 4 and arrived without
mishap at St. Nazaire, France, 2 July. Returning to
Philadelphia 22 July, her principal service until Septem-
ber 1919 was transportation of Marine passengers and
military stores to ports in the West Indies and the Gulf
of Mexico. She returned to Philadelphia 3 September
and decommissioned 18 October 1919.
Hancock recommissioned 15 March 1920 and departed
Philadelphia 2 April for Rosyth, Scotland, to man and
fit out former German ships Ostfricsland and Frankfurt
which had been allocated to the United States. She re-
turned to New York with the vessels 9 August. After
repairs at Philadelphia, she resumed transport duties
between the East coast and the West Indies, 5 October
1920. She got underway from Philadelphia 5 March 1921
for Mare Island, Calif., and entered San Francisco Bay
20 April. The ship then sailed for the Hawaiian Islands
5 May arriving Honolulu 14 May, and served as receiving
ship at Pearl Harbor until 1925. She was towed from
Pearl Harbor 9 July 1925 arrived at the Mare Island
Navy Yard 25 July, placed out of commission 1 Septem-
ber 1925, struck from the Navy List and sold 21 May 1926.
Hancock (CV-14) was laid down 1 February 1943 by
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport
News, Va., and renamed Ticonderoga ( q.v .) 1 May 1943.
IV
(CV-19 : dp. 27,100 ; 1. 888' : b. 93' ; ew. 147'6'' ; dr. 28'7" ;
s. 33 k. ; cpl. 3,448; a. 12 5", 44 40mm., 59 20mm., ac.
80 plus; cl. Essex)
The fourth Hancock (CV-19) was laid down as Ticon-
deroga 26 January 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Co.,
Quincy, Mass.; renamed Hancock 1 May 1943; launched
24 January 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. DeWitt C. Ramsey,
wife of Rear Admiral Ramsey, Chief of the Bureau of
Aeronautics; and commissioned 15 April 1944, Captain
Fred C. Dickey in command.
After fitting out in the Boston Navy Yard and shake-
down training off Trinidad and Venezuela, Hancock re-
turned to Boston for alterations 9 July. She departed
Boston 31 July en route to Pearl Harbor via the Pana-
ma Canal and San Diego, and from there sailed 24 Sep-
tember to join Admiral W. F. Halsey’s 3d Fleet at Ulithi
5 October. She was assigned to Rear Admiral Bogan’s
Carrier Task Group 38.2.
Hancock got underway the following afternoon for a
rendezvous point 375 miles west of the Marianas where
units of Vice Admiral Mitseher’s Fast Carrier Task Force
38 were assembling in preparation for the daring cruise
to raid Japanese air and sea bases in the Ryukyus, For-
mosa, and the Philippines. Thus enemy air power was
paralyzed during General MacArthur’s invasion of Leyte.
When the armada arrived off the Ryukyu Islands 10 Oc-
tober 1944, Hancock' s planes rose off her deck to wreak
destruction upon Okinawan airfields and shipping. Her
planes destroyed 7 enemy aircraft on the ground and
assisted in the destruction of a submarine tender, 12
torpedo boats, 2 midget submarines, 4 cargo ships, and a
number of sampans. Next on the agenda were Formosan
air bases where 12 October Hancock's pilots downed six
enemy planes and destroyed nine more on the ground.
She also reported one cargo ship definitely sunk, three
probably destroyed, and several others damaged.
As they repelled an enemy air raid that evening, Han-
cock's gunners accounted for a Japanese plane and drove
countless others off during 7 hours of uninterrupted gen-
eral quarters. The following morning her planes resumed
their assault, knocking out ammunition dumps, hangars,
barracks, and industrial plants ashore and damaging an
enemy transport. As Japanese planes again attacked the
Americans during their second night off Formosa, Han-
cock’s antiaircraft fire brought down another raider
which splashed about 500 yards off her flight deck. On
the morning of the third day of operations against this
enemy stronghold Hancock lashed out again at airfields
and shipping before retiring to the southeast with her
task force. As the American ships withdrew a heavy
force of Japanese aircraft roared in for a parting crack.
One dropped a bomb off Hancock' s port bow a few seconds
before the carrier’s guns splashed her into the sea. An-
other bomb penetrated a gun platform but exploded harm-
lessly in the water. The surviving attackers then turned
tail, and the task force was thereafter unmolested as they
sailed toward the Philippines to support the landings at
Leyte.
On 18 October she launched planes against airfields and
shipping at Laoag, Aparri, and Camiguin Island in North-
ern Luzon. Her planes struck the islands of Cebu, Panay,
Negros, and Masbate, pounding enemy airfields and ship-
ping. The next day she retired toward Ulithi with Vice
Admiral John S. McCain’s Carrier Task Group 38.1.
She received orders 23 October to turn back to the area
off Samar to assist in the search for units of the Japa-
nese fleet reportedly closing Leyte to challenge the Ameri-
can fleet and to destroy amphibious forces which were
struggling to take the island from Japan. Hancock did
not reach Samar in time to assist the heroic escort carriers
and destroyers of “Taffy 3” during the main action of
the Battle off Samar but her planes did manage to lash
the fleeing Japanese Center Force as it passed through the
San Bernardino Straits. Hancock then rejoined Rear
Admiral Bogan’s Task Group with which she struck air-
fields and shipping in the vicinity of Manila 29 October
1944. During operations through 19 November, her planes
gave direct support to advancing Army troops and at-
tacked Japanese shipping over a 350-mile area. She be-
came flagship of Fast Carrier Task Force 38, 17 November
1944 when Vice Admiral McCain came on board.
Unfavorable weather prevented operations until 25 No-
vember when an enemy aircraft roared toward Hancock
in a suicide dive out of the sun. Antiaircraft fire ex-
ploded the plane some 300 feet above the ship but a sec-
tion of its fuselage landed amidships and a part of the
wing hit the flight deck and burst into flames. Prompt
and skillful teamwork quickly extinguished the blaze and
prevented serious damage.
Hancock returned to Ulithi 27 November and departed
from that island with her task group to maintain air pa-
trol over enemy airfields on Luzon to prevent enemy sui-
cide attacks on amphibious vessels of the landing force
in Mindoro. The first strikes were launched 14 December
against Clark and Angeles Airfields as well as enemy
ground targets on Salvador Island. The next day her
planes struck installations at Masinloc, San Fernando, and
232
Cabatuan, while fighter patrols kept the Japanese airmen
down. Her planes also attacked shipping in Manila Bay.
Hancock encountered a severe typhoon 17 December and
rode out the storm in waves which broke over her flight
deck, some 55 feet above her waterline. She put into
Ulithi 24 December and got underway 6 days later to
attack airfields and shipping around the South China
Sea. Her planes struck hard blowrs at Luzon airfields
7 and 8 January and turned their attention back to For-
mosa 9 January hitting fiercely at airfields and the Tokyo
Seaplane Station. An enemy convoy north of Camranh
Bay, Indochina, was the next victim with 2 ships sunk and
11 damaged. That afternoon Hancock launched strikes
against airfields at Saigon and shipping on the northeast-
ern bulge of French Indochina. Strikes by the fast and
mobile carrier force continued through 16 January, hitting
Hainan Island in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Pescadores
Islands, and shipping in the harbor of Hong Kong. Raids
against Formosa were resumed 20 January 1945. The
next afternoon one of her planes returning from a sortie
made a normal landing, taxied to a point abreast of the
island, and disintegrated in a blinding explosion which
killed 50 men and injured 75 others. Again outstanding
work quickly brought the fires under control in time to
land other planes which were still aloft. She returned
to formation and launched strikes against Okinawa the
next morning.
Hancock reached Ulithi 25 January where Vice Admiral
McCain left the ship and relinquished command of the
5th Fleet. She sortied with the ships of her task group
10 February and launched strikes against airfields in the
vicinity of Tokyo 16 February. During that day her air
group downed 71 enemy planes, and accounted for 12 more
the next. Her planes hit the enemy naval bases at Chichi
Jima and Haha Jima 19 February. These raids were con-
ducted to isolate Iwo Jima from air and sea support when
marines hit the beaches of that island to begin one of the
most bloody and fierce campaigns of the war. Hancock
took station off this island to provide tactical support
through 22 February, hitting enemy airfields and strafing
Japanese troops ashore.
Returning to waters off the enemy home islands, Han-
cock launched her planes against targets on northern
Honshu, making a diversionary raid on the Nansei-shoto
islands 1 March before returning to Ulithi 4 March.
Back in Japanese waters Hancock joined other carriers
in strikes against Kyushu airfields, southwestern Honshu,
and shipping in the Inland Sea of Japan, 18 March 1945.
Hancock was refueling destroyer Halsey Powell 20 March
when suicide planes attacked the task force. One plane
dove for the two ships but was disintegrated by gunfire
when about 700 feet overhead. Fragments of the plane
hit Hancock’s deck while its engine and bomb crashed
the fantail of the destroyer. Hancock’s gunners shot
down another plane as it neared the release point of its
bombing run on the carrier.
Hancock was reassigned to Carrier Task Group 58.3
with which she struck the Nansei-shoto islands 23 through
27 March and Minami Daito Jima and Kyushu at the end
of the month.
When the 10th Army landed on the western coast of
Okinawa 1 April Hancock was on hand to provide close
air support. A suicide plane cartwheeled across her flight
deck 7 April and crashed into a group of planes while its
bomb hit the port catapult to cause a tremendous ex-
plosion. Although 62 men were killed and 71 wounded,
heroic efforts doused the fires within half an hour enabling
her to be back in action before an hour had passed.
Hancock was detached from her task group 9 April and
steamed to Pearl Harbor for repairs. She sailed back into
action 13 June and left lethal calling cards at Wake Island
20 June en route to the Philippines. Hancock sailed from
San Pedro Bay with the other carriers 1 July and attacked
Tokyo airfields 10 July. She continued to operate in
Japanese waters until she received confirmation of Japan’s
capitulation 15 August 1945 when she recalled her planes
from their deadly missions before they reached their tar-
gets. However planes of her photo division were attacked
by seven enemy aircraft oyer Sagami Wan. Three were
shot down and a fourth escaped in a trail of smoke. Later
that afternoon planes of Hancock’ s air patrol shot down
a Japanese torpedo plane as it dived on a British task
force. Her planes flew missions over Japan in search of
prison camps, dropping supplies and medicine, 25 August.
Information collected during these flights led to landings
under command of Commodore R. W. Simpson which
brought doctors and supplies to all Allied prisoner of
war encampments.
When the formal surrender of the Japanese Imperial
Government was signed on board battleship Missouri,
Hancock's planes flew overhead. The carrier entered
Tokyo Bay 10 September 1945 and sailed 30 September,
embarking 1,500 passengers at Okinawa for transporta-
tion to San Pedro, California, where she arrived 21 Octo-
ber. Hancock was fitted out for “Magic Carpet” duty
at San Pedro and sailed for Seeadler Harbor, Manus,
Admiralty Islands, 2 November. On her return voyage
she carried 4,000 passengers who were debarked at San
Diego 4 December. A week later Hancock departed for
her second “Magic Carpet” voyage, embarking 3,773 pas-
sengers at Manila for return to Alameda, Calif., 20 Janu-
ary 1946. She embarked Air Group 7 at San Diego 18
February for air operations off the coast of California.
She sailed from San Diego 11 March to embark men of
two air groups and aircraft at Pearl Harbor for transpor-
tation to Saipan, arriving 1 April 1946. After receiving
two other air groups on board at Saipan, she loaded a
cargo of aircraft at Guam and steamed by way of Pearl
Harbor to Alameda, Calif., arriving 23 April 1946. She
then steamed to Seattle, Wash., 29 April to await inactiva-
tion. The proud ship decommissioned and entered the
reserve fleet at Bremerton, Wash.
Hancock commenced conversion and modernization to
an attack aircraft carrier in Puget Sound 15 December
1951 and was reclassified CVA-19, 1 October 1952. She
recommissioned 15 February 1954, Captain W. S. Butts
in command. She was the first carrier of the United
States Fleet with steam catapults capable of launching
high performance jets.
She was off San Diego 7 May 1954 for operations along
the coast of California that included the launching 17
June of the first aircraft to take off a United States carrier
by means of a steam catapult. After a year of operations
along the Pacific coast that included testing of Sparrow I
and Regulus missiles and Cutlass jet aircraft, she sailed
10 August 1955 for 7th Fleet operations ranging from the
shores of Japan to the Philippines and Okinawa. She
returned to San Diego 15 March 1956 and decommissioned
13 April for conversion that included the installation of
an angled flight deck.
Hancock recommissioned 15 November 1956 for training
out of San Diego until 6 April 1957 when she again sailed
for Hawaii and the Far East. She returned to San Diego
18 September 1957 and again departed for Japan 15 Feb-
ruary 1958. She was a unit of powerful carrier task
groups taking station off Taiwan when the Nationalist
Chinese islands of Quemoy and Matsu were threatened
with Communist invasion in August 1958. The carrier
returned to San Diego 2 October 1958 for overhaul in
the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, followed by rigorous
at sea training out of San Diego. On 1 August 1959, she
sailed to reinforce the 7th Fleet as troubles in Laos de-
manded the watchful presence of powerful American
forces in water off southeast Asia. She returned to San
Francisco 18 January 1960 and put to sea early in Febru-
ary to participate in a new demonstration of communica-
tions by reflecting ultra-high-frequency waves off the
moon. She again departed in August to steam with the
7th Fleet in waters off Laos until lessening of tension
in that area permitted operations ranging from Japan
to the Philippines.
Hancock returned to San Francisco in March 1961, then
entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an overhaul
that gave her new electronics gear and many other im-
provements. She again set sail for Far Eastern waters
233
2 February 1962, patrolling in the South China Sea as
crisis and strife mounted both in Laos and in South Viet-
nam. She again appeared off Quemoy and Matsu in
June 1962 to stem a threatened Communist invasion there,
then trained along the coast of Japan and in waters
reaching to Okinawa. She returned to San Francisco 7
October 1962, made a brief cruise to the coast of Hawaii
while qualifying pilots then again sailed 7 June 1963 for
the Far East.
Hancock joined in combined defense exercises along
the coast of South Korea, then deployed off the coast of
South Vietnam after the coup which resulted in the death
of President Diem. She entered the Hunter’s Point Naval
Shipyard 16 January 1964 for modernization that in-
cluded installation of a new ordnance system, hull repairs,
and aluminum decking for her flight deck. She cele-
brated her 20th birthday 2 June 1964 while visiting San
Diego. The carrier made a training cruise to Hawaii,
then departed Alameda 21 October 1964 for another tour
of duty with the 7th Fleet in the Far East.
Hancock reached Japan 19 November and soon was on
patrol at Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. She re-
mained active in Vietnamese waters fighting to thwart
Communist aggression until heading for home early in the
spring of 1965.
November found the carrier steaming back to the war
zone. She was on patrol off Vietnam 16 December; and,
but for brief respites at Hong Kong, the Philippines, or
Japan, Hancock remained on station launching her planes
for strikes at enemy positions ashore until returning to
Alameda, Calif., 1 August, 1966. Her outstanding record
during this combat tour won her the Navy Unit
Commendation.
Following operations off the West Coast, Hancock re-
turned to Vietnam early in 1967 and resumed her strikes
against Communist positions. After fighting during most
of the first half of 1967, she returned to Alameda 22 July
and promptly began preparations for returning to battle.
Hancock was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation
and received four battle stars for service in World War II.
Handy, V. P., see YAG-30
Hancock, Lewis, see Lewis Hancock (DD-675)
Hanford
A city in Kings County, Calif.
(PC-1142: dp. 295 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 65;
a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 3 20mm., 2 rkt., 4 dcp., 2 dct.)
PC-1142 was laid down by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co.,
Bay City, Mich., 31 March 1943 ; launched 20 August ; and
commissioned 3 June 1944, Lt. (j.g.) Francis A. Mulhern
in command.
After shakedown off Florida, PC-1142 was assigned to
the Naval Training Center, Miami, operating there for 2
months. She sailed 22 September to escort a convoy to
Cuba, then for the next 10 months continued escort and
patrol duty between Florida and Cuba. PC-1142 de-
parted Key West 22 June 1945 en route to the Pacific,
arriving San Diego 10 July.
Two weeks later she steamed for Hawaii ; then after
a brief stay at Pear Harbor arrived Eniwetok 24 August.
For the rest of the year PC-1142 performed patrol and
escort operations in the Western Pacific. On 7 January
1946 she arrived Ponape, Caroline Islands, for assign-
ment as a station ship. She continued these services
out of Ponape and Eniwetok until 24 May when she was
taken in tow by APL-44- PC-1142 arrived San Diego
30 July, remaining there for the next three months. In
late October she sailed to Astoria, Oreg., and decommis-
sioned at Vancouver, Wash.
USS Wasp (OV-18) , USS Yorktown (CV-10), US Hornet (CV-12), and USS Hancock (CV-19) in “Murderer’s Row,’
Ulithi Atoll 2 December 1944
234
While berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia
River Group, PC-llJfZ was named Hanford 15 February
1956. She was loaned to the Republic of China under the
Military Assistance Program in July 1957, and now serves
the Chinese Navy as Pei Chang (PC-122).
Hank
William Edwin Hank was born at Norfolk, Va., 25
September 1902 and graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1925. During the years before World War II, he
served at various shore stations and in New York, Hull,
and Saratoga. Commissioned Lieutenant Commander in
1940, Hank took command of destroyer Laffey 1 April
1942. He received the Navy Cross for his skillful han-
dling of the ship during the Battle of Cape Esperance
October 11-12 and a second Navy Cross for heroism dur-
ing the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 12-13 November.
As Laffey gallantly fought battleship Hiei against great
odds in a decisive fleet action that helped turn the course
of the war, she was sunk by large caliber gunfire and a
torpedo. Lt. Cmdr. Hank was reported missing and pre-
sumed dead 14 November. His ship received the Presi-
dential Unit Citation.
(DD-702: dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6” ; b. 40' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21” tt. ; cl.
Allen M. Sumner)
Hank (DD-702) was launched 21 May 1944 by the Fed-
eral Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. William Edwin Hank, widow of Lt. Cmdr.
Hank ; and commissioned 28 August 1944, G. M. Chambers
in command.
After completing her Caribbean shakedown 18 October,
Hank joined battleships Missouri, Texas, and Arkansas at
New York and then sailed for the Pacific reaching Pearl
Harbor 6 December via the Panama Canal and San Fran-
cisco. Hank reported to Ulithi 28 December and sortied
2 days later as part of the screen for Task Force 38, a
fast carrier force under Vice Admiral John S. McCain.
The primary mission of the carriers was to conduct air
strikes against strategic Japanese positions along the
China coast and on Formosa and Luzon to distract enemy
attention and to divert Japanese ships from the landings
at Lingayen Gulf which were to begin 9 January 1945.
The day after the invasion was launched, Task Force 38
moved into the South China Sea to conduct a series of
devastating raids on targets along the China Coast and
in Indochina. After launching one final raid against
Okinawa, the carriers and escorts, Hank included, re-
turned to Ulithi 26 January 1945.
Joining Task Force 58, a reorganized fast carrier strike
force under the command of Admiral Mitscher, Hank
sortied 10 February. Carrier planes launched massive
raids against airfields, aircraft factories, and shipping
in the Tokyo area 16 and 17 February in paralyzing di-
versionary strikes prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima, 19
February. These raids, launched less than 125 miles
from Tokyo Bay itself, were the first carrier air strikes
to hit Japan proper since the Halsey-Doolittle raid of
1942.
Among the ships which Hank helped screen in the 116
unit task force were such illustrious veterans as Indian-
apolis, Bunker Hill, Hornet, Wasp, Lexington, Essex,
Yorktown, Enterprise, Saratoga, Indiana, Missouri, South
Dakota, and Washington. Deploying to the Iwo Jima area
the afternoon of 18 February, Hank remained there to
provide support for the invasion which began the follow-
ing day ; and she operated off the bitterly contested island
until returning to Ulithi 4 March.
As the Pacific war moved into its climactic phases, Hank
steamed from Ulithi with Task Force 58 14 March for
further strikes against the Japanese home islands. Clos-
ing to within 75 miles of their targets, the carriers
launched massive strikes against airfields on Kyushu and
ships in the Inland Sea 18 and 19 March. Although
under heavy air opposition from time to time, the carrier
planes claimed a total of 528 Japanese aircraft destroyed.
After participating in the bombardment of enemy shore
positions — including radio facilities, a weather station,
and an airfield — on Minami Daito Shima 27-28 March,
Hank headed for Okinawa. Her task force furnished
support for landings made on that heavily fortified island
1 April, and Hank spent a busy week screening the car-
riers and stopping kamikazes with highly effective anti-
aircraft fire. The destroyer then reported to a lonely
radar picket station, where on the afternoon of 11 April
she narrowly averted disaster by her effective gunfire. As a
kamikaze came in low off the port bow, heading directly
for the bridge, Hank's accurate antiaircraft fire deflected
it slightly, but the “Zeke” came in close enough to kill
three sailors before crashing into the sea and exploding
close aboard.
After repairs at Ulithi, Hank again joined Task Force
58, 1 May to resume screening and radar picket duties off
Okinawa. June was spent at San Pedro Bay, Philippines,
undergoing replenishment and training, and on 1 July
the carriers redesignated Task Force 38 and operating
under Vice Admiral McCain in Admiral Halsey’s 3d
Fleet sortied to launch further strikes against the Home
Islands. Hank spent most of this period on hazardous
and lonely radar picket duty, steaming 50 miles from the
main body of ships to provide early warning of enemy air
attacks. On the night of 18 July she joined Destroyer
Squadron 62 and Cruiser Division 18 for an antishipping
sweep across the entrance to Tokyo Bay. As she patrolled
her radar picket station 9 August, Hank and Borie found
themselves in the midst of five kamikaze planes. One of
the aircraft came so close to Hank that it drenched both
ship and personnel forward with gasoline before the vet-
eran ships destroyed it and the other four attackers.
Borie had been hit in the after bridge structure and suf-
fered 48 dead and 66 wounded, while Hank had to report
1 man missing in action and 5 wounded.
Hostilities ceased 15 August 1945, and Hank steamed
proudly into Tokyo Bay 10 September to participate in
the occupation. She continued operations around Japan
and Pearl Harbor through 30 December, when she sailed
for Charleston, S.C., via Eniwetok, Pearl Harbor, San
Diego, and the Panama Canal.
The veteran ship operated primarily out of New Orleans
for reserve training cruises and good will visits to Car-
ibbean and Central American ports until sailing 6
September 1949 for the Mediterranean. During her 5
months with the 6th Fleet, Hank participated in amphibi-
ous operations and visited Gibraltar, Malta, France, Sicily,
Italy, and Algeria. Returning to Norfolk 26 January
1950, Hank engaged in training operations and a cruise to
the Caribbean until sailing for the Far East and the
Korean War 6 September. She arrived Yokosuka, Japan,
1 month later and joined the United Nations Blockade and
Escort Force off the Korean coast. Her movements cen-
tered mainly around Wonsan Harbor, then under seige,
with frequent interruptions for blockade patrol and
bombardment missions. Hank supported the evacuation
of Wonsan in early December and then moved up to Hung-
nam to help provide the curtain of fire which covered the
evacuation of Allied troops. In January and February
1951, Hank supported the 8th Army as it moved to re-
capture and consolidate Seoul and Inchon. Screening,
blockade patrol, and shore bombardment constituted the
destroyer’s duties along the Korean coast until she sailed
for the United States, reaching Norfolk 9 June via San
Diego, the Panama Canal, and Guantanamo.
After a yard overhaul at Norfolk, Hank resumed the
peacetime training operations, Caribbean exercises, and
annual deployments to the Mediterranean that kept the
fleet ready to serve America well at any moment on the
seas. In the fall of 1956 as warfare flared over the na-
tionalization of the Suez Canal, Hank was there. She
conducted patrols in the eastern Mediterranean to assert
and confirm America’s determination to keep the peace
as well as to protect her citizens and interests.
In 1960 the destroyer with the Navy began to reach into
space. She participated in training for Project Mercury,
235
America’s first man-in-space effort, off the Virginia capes,
and she was designated one of the recovery ships when
Astronaut Lt. Comdr. Scott Carpenter made his orbital
flight 24 May 1962. Hank operated with Independence
on blockade and surveillance duty during the October 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis, remaining in the tension-filled Carib-
bean for nearly a month. She was designated a Naval Re-
serve Training Ship in October 1963 and proceeded to her
new home port, Philadelphia. After undergoing repairs
at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester Pa., in 1964
Hank began reserve training cruises along the East Coast
from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Halifax, Nova Scotia, con-
tinuing into 1967.
Hank received four battle stars for World War II, and
four battle stars for Korean service.
Hanna
William T. Hanna was born 23 October 1920 in New
York, N.Y. Private Hanna enlisted in the U.S. Marine
Corps 14 January 1942 at New York. He was killed in
action 9 October 1942 while attached to the 1st Marine
Division Reinforced on Guadalcanal. His unit received
the Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding gallantry
and determination in successfully executing forced land-
ing assaults against a number of strongly defended Japa-
nese positions on various Japanese strongholds including
Guadalcanal. For his undaunted courage Private Hanna
was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple
Heart. “Fighting desperately in hand-to-hand combat
against overwhelming hostile forces, Private Hanna re-
fused to be dislodged from his position and after exacting
a tremendous toll of the enemy, heroicly died at his post.”
(DE-449: dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm. , 2 dct., 8 dcp. (h.h.) ;
cl. John C. Butler)
Hanna (DE-449) was launched 4 July 1944 by the Fed-
eral Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark, N.J. ; sponsored
by Mrs. William P. Hanna, mother; and commissioned
27 January 1945, Lt. Comdr. Means Johnston, Jr., in
command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda and Guantanamo Bay,
Hanna returned to New York 24 March 1945. Departing
New York 9 April she escorted Akutan (AE-13) to Cristo-
bal, Canal Zone, then sailed via San Diego arriving Pearl
Harbor 4 May. After more intensive training and various
escort missions in Hawaiian waters Hanna sailed 9 June
for Eniwetok where she took up duty with Marshall-Gil-
berts Surface Patrol and Escort Group. This duty con-
tinued until 28 September after the Japanese surrender.
Then she and the U.S. prize Tachibana Mara formed the
task unit to evacuate Japanese soldiers and sailors from
Wake Island. Embarking 700 passengers they reached
Tokyo 12 October. The U.S. Navy crew was withdrawn ;
the United States ensign hauled down ; and Tachibana
Maru turned over to the Japanese.
Departing Tokyo 24 October 1945 Hanna returned to
Eniwetok and then sailed to Guam, where she took up
duty as air-sea rescue and weather reporting ship. She
continued this important task until her return to the
States, where she decommissioned at San Diego 31 May
1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Hanna recommissioned at San Diego 27 December 1950,
Lt. Comdr. C. W. Ward in command to augment Navy
strength in the Korean conflict.
Once more an active unit of the Pacific Fleet, Hanna
served with Escort Squadron 9 until 16 April 1951 when
she sailed for the Western Pacific. Here she served as
patrol ship in the Formosa Straits. In June 1951 Hanna
joined Task Force 95 for blockading and escort duties off
the west coast of Korea. In August, while on shore bom-
bardment mission in Wonsan Harbor Hanna was instru-
mental in silencing enemy shore batteries after a duel
lasting more than 2 hours. During the ensuing months
Hanna served gallantly, operating with the Blockading
and Escort Forces of Task Force 95. She was part of
the antisubmarine and antiaircraft screen for our aircraft
carriers launching repeated strikes against the Commu-
nists. In early November 1951 Hanna was detached for
the United States, reaching San Diego 26 November for
overhaul.
'Three months later Hanna returned to the western
Pacific and resumed her shore bombardment missions in
addition to escorting damaged vessels and investigation
of fishing craft. She returned to San Diego 9 J une 1953.
After operations off the California coast Hanna departed
19 November for an island-hopping cruise of the Central
Pacific, returning to San Diego 6 June 1954.
Between 9 November 1954 and 28 July 1957 Hanna made
three more deployments to the western Pacific. On her
last deployment Hanna took up patrolling the Central
Carolines, Northern Marianas, the Bonins, and the Vol-
cano Islands. In addition she participated in a rescue
mission involving the Chinese Nationalist merchantman
SS Ping Tung that had run aground on Yokoate Shima,
an island of the Ryukyu chain.
Hanna’s home port was changed to Long Beach 26 No-
vember 1957 and she was designated a Naval Reserve
Training Ship. She commenced the first of her reserve
training cruises 6 February 1958 to Manzanillo, Mexico,
and from that date until 27 August 1959 made 18 such
cruises in addition to numerous weekend cruises. Hanna
decommissioned at Mare Island 11 December 1959 and
joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Hanna received five stars for Korean service.
Hannah
A former name retained.
(Sch; t. 78, a. 4 4-pdrs.)
Hannah, originally owned by John Glover of Marble-
head, Mass., was the first armed vessel to sail under
Continental pay and control, and was taken over 24 August
1775. She was the beginning of the small fleet fitted out
by George Washington in the fall of 1775 to aid him in the
siege of Boston by capturing provisions ships making for
the harbor from British ports. Her first Captain was
Nicholson Broughton, a captain in the Army, and her crew
was recruited from John Glover’s regiment.
After outfitting, Hannah sailed 5 September, and next
day captured the sloop Unity with naval stores and pro-
visions. The ship returned to Beverly, Mass., and after
much trouble maintaining an adequate crew, sailed again
near the end of September 1775. She cruised off Boston,
and was run ashore by British sloop Nautilus near Bev-
erly 10 October. After a spirited engagment between
the British ship and townspeople on the shore, Hannah
was saved from destruction and capture, but was soon de-
commissioned as General Washington found more suitable
ships for his cruisers.
Hannam
(PF-77: dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma ; T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Hannam (PF-77), originally designated PG-185, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for us by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-77, 15 April
1943, renamed Caicos, and launched 6 September 1943,
sponsored by Mrs. William A. Sandison. Caicos, was then
completed and transferred under lend-lease to the United
Kingdom 31 December 1943 as part of the 21-ship “Colony”
class. She served as a patrol and escort ship until being
returned to the United States 12 December 1945. The
frigate was sold to N. B. Wolcott of New York City in
June 1946 and resold to Argentina 6 July 1947. Renamed
Santisma Trinidad (P-34), she served with the Argentine
Navy as a frigate until 1963, when she was reclassified a
survey ship and renamed Augusto Lasere (Q-9).
236
EMBRYO OF THE AMERICAN NAVY.
The Schooner "Hannah" running the Gauntlet of Two British Ships-of-War,
off Cape Ann, September 5, 1775.
Hannibal
Hannibal was born in 249 B.C. to be brought up by his
father in undying hatred of Rome. During the Second
Punic War, he led an army from the Carthaginian colony
in Spain across the Alps into Italy, defeating every army
sent to oppose him. Hannibal maintained himself in the
Italian peninsula for 15 years without support from home ;
but w?hen Carthage was threatened with invasion in 203
B.C., he returned to Africa. He was defeated in the
Battle of Zama 202 B.C., and soon was driven into exile.
In 183 B.C. Hannibal took poison and died.
(AG-1 : dp. 4,000" ; 1. 274'1" ; b. 39'2" ; dr. 17'7" ; s. 9 k.
cpl. 244; a. 1 4", 2 3", 8 .50 cal. mg.)
Hannibal (AG-1), a converted steamer, was built as
Joseph Holland by J. Blumer & Co., Sunderland, England,
in 1898; purchased by the Navy 16 April 1898; renamed
Hannibal; and commissioned 7 June, Comdr. H. G. Colby
in command.
From June 1898 to May 1908 Hannibal served in the
Collier Service along the Atlantic coast. After an over-
haul in 1908, she continued in the Collier Service with her
base in New England for nearly 3 years. Hannibal de-
commissioned 15 August 1911.
She recommissioned 16 October 1911 and was assigned
to the U.S. Survey Squadron to make depth soundings and
surveys in preparation for the opening of the Panama
Canal. Hydrographic surveys continued in the Carib-
bean until 1917, including operations in Panama, Nicar-
agua, Honduras, and Cuba.
With the advent of World War I, Hannibal operated
with the Patrol Force of the Atlantic Fleet. After an
overhaul in early 1918, she became a tender to submarine
chasers at Plymouth, England. Hannibal served in Eng-
lish waters until December, when she sailed for the Azores
via Gibraltar as a sub-chaser escort. In early 1919 she
resumed sub-tender duties, and visited England, France,
and Portugal returning to the United States in August.
Hannibal remained in reserve at Philadelphia until 9
February 1921, when she sailed for Cuba to resume survey
operations which lasted until 1930. During the next
decade Hannibal surveyed waters near Trinidad, Vene-
zuela, Costa Rica, and the Canal Zone. During World
War II she operated out of Norfolk in the Chesapeake Bay
degaussing range. Hannibal dcommissioned 20 August
1944 and was sunk as a bombing target March 1945.
Hanover
A county in Virginia.
(APA-116: dp. 8,100 It.; 1. 492'; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6" ; s.
16 k. ; cpl. 479; a. 2 5", 8 40 mm. ; cl. Bayfield ; T. C3-
S-A2)
Hanover (APA-116) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pas-
cagoula, Miss., 18 August 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Stan-
ley M. Bebler ; loaned to the Navy and simultaneously com-
missioned 31 March 1945, Comdr. J. H. Henderson in
command.
After conducting a brief shakedown cruise off Galves-
ton, Tex., Hanover arrived Gulfport, Miss., 3 May 1945
and began loading Marines and SeaBees for transporta-
tion to the Pacific. She got underway 6 May and sailed
237
to Pearl Harbor, carrying out training operations en route.
After her arrival 24 May, the ship unloaded her troops
for further transfer and until 6 June took part in under-
way training operations in Hawaiian waters. She then
sailed for San Francisco in company with other trans-
ports, and just before reaching California was diverted to
Portland, Oreg., where she arrived 19 June.
Hanover got underway 1 July for Eniwetok Atoll, an
important Pacific staging area, expecting to take part in
the final assault on Japan. Arriving 14 July, she sailed
in convoy 3 days later, bound for Ulithi. The ship re-
mained at this base briefly, for she was soon bound for
Okinawa, where she arrived 12 August 1945. Hanover
unloaded replacement troops on this battle-scarred island,
and after the close of the war prepared to take part in
the occupation.
After embarking Army units Hanover sailed 5 Septem-
ber for Jinsen, Korea, to aid in the occupation, and un-
loaded her troops 3 days later. The transport returned
to Okinawa 14 September but was soon forced to stand
out to sea to ride out the great hurricane of September
1945. After the severe weather subsided, Hanover re-
turned to Okinawa and loaded troops for the occupation
of China. She arrived Taku 30 September to help stabilize
the troubled situation there and aid in the consolidation
of the area by Nationalist forces.
Hanover' s next 'assignment was with the “Magic-Car-
pet” fleet, bringing home American troops from the Pacific.
She arrived San Francisco on her last voyage 6 February
1946, and was ordered to steam via the Panama Canal to
Norfolk, Va., where she arrived 9 March. The ship decom-
missioned 11 May 1946 and was returned to the Maritime
Commission the next day. Sold to the Matson Navigation
Co. in 1947, she sailed as Hawaiian Wholesaler until 1961,
when she became Ventura for Matson’s Oceanic Steam-
ship Co.
Hansford
A county in Texas.
( APA-106 : dp. 8,100 It. ; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6" ; s. 16
k. ; cpl. 479 ; a. 2 5", 8 40mm. ; cl. Bayfield ; T. C3-S-A2)
Hansford (APA-106) was launched 25 April 1944 as
Gladivin by Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Francisco, un-
der Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. Ed-
ward C. Cahill ; transferred to the Navy ; renamed Hans-
ford 25 August 1944, and commissioned 12 October 1944,
Comdr. William A. Lynch in command.
After shakedown off San Pedro, Calif., Hansford got
underway for Pearl Harbor 25 November 1944 and un-
loaded passengers and cargo there 2 December. In the
Hawaiian Islands she undertook an intensive training
program emphasizing landing exercises during daylight
and maneuvering in formation at night. On 28 December
she embarked the 1st Battalion Landing Team, 27th Regi-
ment, 5th Division, U.S. Marines who joined her crew in
amphibious training as they made ready for combat.
On 27 January 1945, Hansford sailed for Saipan, the
staging area for the invasion of Iwo Jima, next step in
America’s seaborne thrust across the Pacific. After final
rehearsal at Saipan, she sortied 16 February 1945 with
Task Force 51. The initial assault waves which stormed
the beaches of Iwo Jima 19 February included units from
Hansford. She continued to land troops and equipment
through 25 February. Although she often closed to within
1,000 yards of land, Hansford managed to escape the
enemy shells which landed nearby. However, four of her
boats, two LCVP’s and two LCM’s were lost during the op-
eration, and her beach party, which was ashore from 19
February through 22 February, suffered 17 casualties in-
cluding one officer and three enlisted men killed and one
bluejacket missing. Three members of the boat group
were wounded.
Each day while she was anchored off Iwo Jima, Hans-
ford embarked and cared for casualties who were brought
on board from the beaches. On the afternoon of 25 Febru-
ary she sailed for Saipan. Upon arrival there, 28 Febru-
ary, she transferred 127 casualties to an Army hospital.
Hansford departed for Tulagi, Solomon Islands, 5 March
1945, where upon arrival 12 March, she replaced the boats
lost at Iwo Jima. The next day she sailed for the New
Hebrides, anchoring in Segond Channel, Espiritu Santo
Island, 15 March to embark the 2d Battalion Landing
Team, 105th Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, U.S. Army.
While at Espiritu Santo, Hansford readied herself for
further combat. She got underway for Ulithi atoll, the
staging area for the invasion of Okinawa, 25 March.
She sortied to the Ryukyus 4 April to take part in the
follow up phases of the vast Okinawa operation, largest
invasion of the Pacific War. After a passage made diffi-
cult by three submarine contacts and encounters with
numerous floating mines, her task group anchored in
Kerama Retto 9 April 1945. The next day she steamed to
the Hagushi beaches at Okinawa, where she landed her
troops, cargo, and embarked casualties. Hansford's crew
often sighted enemy planes which raided the area 20
times during the week she was off Okinawa, but she only
opened fire once when an enemy plane passed close aboard
at an extremely low altitude. The ship’s company suf-
fered their only casualty when the barrel of a 20mm. gun
exploded.
Hansford departed Okinawa with 51 casualties on board
16 April and transferred them to an Army hospital upon
her arrival Saipan 20 April. The next day she got under-
way for Ulithi where she anchored 23 April for a month
of training for future operations against the Japanese
home islands. She then proceeded to the Philippines
arriving San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf, 27 May, to continue
preparations for invasion.
The day after the Japanese capitulated, Hansford em-
barked Commander Amphibious Group 12, Rear Admiral
J. L. Hall, and his staff of 62 officers and 218 bluejackets.
On 19 August key Army units came on board at Leyte for
passage to occupation duty in Japan. She got underway
for Tokyo Bay 25 August, returned to Subic Bay that night
because of typhoon and 27 August again sailed for Japan.
Her formation entered Tokyo Bay early in the watch and
passed battleship Missouri as the surrender ceremonies
ending the war took place. The next day Hansford's
occupation troops and cargo debarked at Yokohama. Dur-
ing the ensuing weeks at Yokohama, Hansford was a cen-
ter of much activity since Admiral Hall, now serving as
Port Director, was embarked. Her duties included quar-
tering liberated Allied prisoners.
Assigned “Magic Carpet” duty 13 October, Hansford
sailed with 79 officers and 1,320 enlisted passengers whom
she debarked in San Pedro 26 October. After repairs in
dry dock, she returned to Nagoya, Japan, 4 December and
got underway for Seattle, Wash., with another load of
troops 7 December. The day after her arrival back in
Japan, she was released from “Magic Carpet” duty, and
sailed for the United States. Subsequently, Hansford
sailed via the Panama Canal to Norfolk, arriving 2 May
1946, she decommissioned there 14 June 1946. She was
redelivered to the Maritime Commission and sold 20 May
1947 to Isthmian Lines, where she became Steel
Apprentice.
Hanson
Robert Murray Hanson was born 4 February 1920 at
Lucknow, India, the son of Methodist missionaries sta-
tioned in India. Joining the Marine Corps shortly after
the outbreak of World War II, Hanson trained as a fighter
pilot and became part of the 25th Marine Fighting
Squadron. He was credited with splashing 26 Japanese
planes, 20 of them in 6 consecutive flying days. His
country recognized the quintuple ace’s skill and daring by
awarding him the Medal of Honor as well as the Air
Medal and the Navy Cross. The Medal of Honor Citation
reads in part : “Undeterred by fierce opposition, and
fearless in the face of overwhelming odds, 1st Lt. Hanson
fought the Japanese boldly and with daring aggressive-
ness”. Lt. Hanson was lost in action when his plane
238
crashed into the sea over Rabaul, New Britain, 3 Feb-
ruary 1944.
( DD-832 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6", b. 41'1" ; dr.; 18'6" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 367, 6 a. 6 5", 12 40 mm., 8 20 mm., 5 21" tt. ;
dep., 2 dct. cl. Gearing )
Hanson (DD-832) was launched 11 March 1945 by the
Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine ; sponsored by Mrs.
Harry A. Hanson, mother of Lt. Hanson ; and commis-
sioned 11 May 1945, Comdr. John C. Parham in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean and conversion to a
picket destroyer at Boston Navy Yard, Hanson sailed for
the Pacific 7 November 1945. She spent most of the fol-
lowing year operating in support of occupation forces in
Japan, with a September period of fleet maneuvers off the
China coast. Reporting to the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk
6 February 1947, Hanson trained along the East Coast
until sailing in late January 1948 for her first tour of dutj
with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She was desig-
nated DDR-832 (radar picket destroyer) 8 March 1949.
During her second deployment to the Mediterranean in the
summer of 1949 Hanson took part in two of the most im-
portant steps toward peace taken in that tension-wracked
region. As station ship to the United Nations General
Assembly at the Isle of Rhodes, she was the only Ameri-
can warship present as Greece received control of the
long-contested Dodecanese Islands. On her next impor-
tant duty Hanson carried United Nations mediator Dr.
Ralph Bunche, later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, to
Beirut, Lebanon, for peace negotiations on Israel.
World crisis shifted from Europe and the Mediterranean
to the East in 1950, and Hanson joined the Pacific Fleet at
Pearl Harbor 12 July to prepare for her role against Com-
munist aggression in Korea. Her first duty off the war-
torn country saw Hanson participating in the brilliant
amphibious operations at Inchon 15 September 1950 as well
as providing fire cover for the successful evacuation of
Hungnam and Wonsan just before Christmas that year.
Hanson’ s second combat cruise to Korea, September 1951
to May 1952, took her along the east coast as a member of
the fleet bombarding strategic shore targets in support of
ground troops where her accurate fire was most effective.
In December she also participated in the important For-
mosa Patrol and visited Hong Kong. After a respite at
San Diego, Hanson returned to the Korean bombline in
December 1952 for task force operations, screening the fast
carriers as they launched their jets against enemy supply
lines and positions. The battle-hardened destroyer also
participated in shore bombardment, search-and-rescue op-
erations, and Formosa patrol before returning to the
United States 20 July 1953, shortly before the end of open
conflict in Korea.
Subsequent years found Hanson making annual 6-month
deployments with the 7th Fleet to strengthen American
defenses in the Pacific and to prove American determina-
tion to keep the peace to possible aggressors. In addition
to patrol, major portions of Hanson’s pacific cruises were
devoted to tactical maneuvers and battle exercises with
United States and allied ships as well as intensive anti-
submarine hunter-killer training. Hong Kong, Formosa,
Japan, the Philippines, Korea, and even Australia pro-
vided familiar ports of call for the destroyer on these
cruises. Hanson was patrolling the Straits of Formosa
virtually within sight of the Communist mainland in the
fall of 1958 as shelling of the offshore islands of Quemoy
and Matsu precipitated the latest major international
crisis which this “small boy” again helped to quell. In the
spring of 1962 and again in 1963 Hanson took part in the
annual Australian celebration of the Battle of the Coral
Sea, World War IPs first carrier naval engagement in the
Pacific.
When not deployed to the western Pacific Hanson trains
out of her home port, San Diego, in a program designed
to keep ship and crew at their peak readiness. Much
of this training is centered on Hanson’s role as a radar
picket destroyer, designed to provide early warning of
approaching enemy air, surface, or submarine forces. In
the spring of 1964 she was redesignated DD-832 and
entered the shipyard at Mare Island to undergo a Fleet
Rehabilitation and Modernization Conversion designed to
prolong her effective life as a fighting ship for many years.
Conversion completed 6 December 1964, Hanson rejoined
the Pacific Fleet early in 1965 as a unit of DesRon 11.
She operated along the West Coast until heading for the
Far East early in the summer to join the fight against
Communist aggression in Southeast Asia. In July she
shelled enemy targets ashore and, but for brief respites,
she patrolled and fought in troubled Vietnamese waters
until late in the autumn.
Returning to San Diego in December, she operated along
the coast of California and Mexico until getting under
way for the Orient 17 July 1966. She steamed via Ha-
waii, Midway, Guam, and Subic Bay for Vietnam and
anchored in the Saigon River 13 September. But for
short visits to Hong Kong, Formosa, and the Philippines,
Hanson operated in the fighting zone until relieved 6 Janu-
ary 1967. During the deployment, her 5-inch guns fired
over 9,000 rounds at Communist targets, mostly in direct
support of ground forces. She also did plane guard duty,
patrolled close ashore to stop infiltration of supplies and
men from the north, and refueled helicopters.
Back at San Diego 11 February 1967, Hanson operated
along the West Coast preparing for her next WestPac
deployment.
Hanson received eight battle stars for Korean service.
Happy Days, see Alpmandite (PY-24)
Haraden
Jonathan Haraden was born in Gouchester, Mass., 11
November 1744, and joined the Massachusetts State Navy
in July 1776 as First Lieutenant of the sloop Tyrannicide.
Sailing with her for 2 years, he captured many prizes,
and rose to command her in 1777. In 1778, Haraden left
the state navy for a career as a privateersman, command-
ing General Pickering. He simultaneously engaged three
British privateers off New Jersey in October 1779, and
captured a 22-gun sloop in the Bay of Biscay. When
British privateer Achilles, of three times his force, at-
tempted to recapture his prize a few days later, Haraden
fought a fierce action at close quarters for 3 hours, forc-
ing the larger ship to sheer off. Captured briefly by
Admiral Rodney in the West Indies in 1781, Haraden
escaped and sailed privateer Julius Caesar in 1782. In
June of that year fought off two British vessels of equal
force at the same time. His health declined steadily
after the close of the War for Independence, and he died
at Salem, Mass., 23 November 1803.
I
(DD-183 : dp. 1,060; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 101 ; a. 4 4", 4 21" tt., 1 dcp ; cl. Wic/ces)
The first Haraden was launched by Newport News Ship-
building & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., 4 July 1918 ;
sponsored by Miss Mabel B. Stephens, great-niece of
Captain Jonathan Haraden; and commissioned at Norfolk
Navy Yard 7 June 1919, to Lt. Comdr. R. H. Booth in
command.
Haraden was assigned to U.S. Naval Forces in European
Waters ; after calling at Newport for supplies she de-
parted New York 30 June 1919 for duty in the Adriatic
Sea. She arrived Spalato, Dalmatia, 28 July 1919 and
conducted operations from that port assisting the naval
force in the execution of the terms of the Austrian arm-
istice, serving as station ship at Trieste and Fiume,
and participating in maneuvers. This duty occupied her
until 23 October 1919, when she departed for Norfolk, Va.,
arriving 18 November.
The destroyer departed Norfolk 7 April 1920 for Charles-
ton, S.C., and operated with reserve destroyer divisions
out of Charleston until 15 March 1921. After an exten-
239
sive overhaul at New York, ending 2 May, Haraden sailed
for Newport and training operations off New England.
She returned to Charleston 12 October 1921 and to Phila-
delphia 10 April 1922. Haraden decommissioned 17 July
1922.
With the mounting tensions in 1939, Haraden was called
back to active service and recommissioned at Philadelphia
4 December 1939. After shakedown training at Guanta-
namo Bay, Cuba, the destroyer performed neutrality
patrol in Cuban waters briefly and then returned to New-
port, R.I., 6 March 1940. She subsequently conducted
neutrality patrol in waters off Block Island and Nantucket
Shoals, and made three training cruises in Chesapeake
Bay.
Arriving Boston Navy Yard 7 September 1940, Haraden
was 1 of the 50 over-age destroyers to be sent to the United
Kingdom in exchange for bases. She sailed 18 September
for Halifax, Nova Scotia, and decommissioned there for
transfer to the British 24 September 1940. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 8 January 1941.
Assigned to Canada and renamed HMCS Columbia, she
saw much service in World War II. She first underwent
refit and then was assigned to convoy duties in the At-
lantic. Her first major action began 15 October 1941
when she joined convoy SC^8, already under submarine
attack. Columbia and the other escorts fought valiantly,
but nine merchantmen from the convoy were sunk before
reaching England. After the U.S.’s entry into the war
Columbia was reassigned to convoy ships from New York
to St. Johns, Newfoundland, the first leg of the trans-
atlantic journey. She escorted convoys and performed
anti-submarine patrol until 25 February 1944, when she
struck a cliff in foul weather off the coast of Newfound-
land. Columbia was not fully repaired after the accident
but made watertight and used as a fuel and ammunition
hulk in Nova Scotia until her return to the War Assets
Administration for disposal in August 1945 when she was
sold for scrapping.
II
(DD-585 : dp. 2,050 ; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
The second Haraden was launched by Boston Navy
Yard, Boston, Mass., 19 March 1943; sponsored by Miss
Caroline E. Derby, great-great-grandniece of Captain Jon-
athan Haraden ; and commissioned at Boston 16 Septem-
ber11943, Comdr. H. C. Allen, Jr., in command.
Haraden departed Boston 9 October 1943 for shakedown
training off Bermuda, and after its completion joined
carrier Intrepid at Boston 30 November for the voyage to
the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal and arrived
San Diego 21 December to join Rear Admiral Oldendorf’s
Northern Support Group for the epic invasion of the
Marshall Islands.
Escorting the main attack group of transports, Haraden
arrived in the Marshalls 30 January, and was detached
to form a screen for the battleships and cruisers during
the heavy bombardments of 31 January. As troops landed
under the devastating fire on Ennubir Island, Haraden
shifted to direct fire support, turning her guns on an am-
munition dump on Ennagannet Island that soon blew up
with a tremendous explosion. That night she conducted
anti-submarine patrol and 1 February continued fire sup-
port and patrol functions during the landings on Roi and
Namur. The destroyer departed the Kwajalein area
briefly for an escort volage to the Ellice Islands 6-15
February, but returned to provide anti-submarine patrol
for units off Kwajalein and Eniwetok until 29 February.
Haraden arrived Pearl Harbor 8 March 1944, and after
a brief period of upkeep steamed back to the Marshalls
with two fleet oilers carrying vital fuel. Arriving 1
April, she engaged in various duties in support of the
operations there, including fire support and anti-subma-
rine patrol, until departing for Pearl Harbor with escort
carrier Bataan 18 May. At Pearl Harbor Haraden was
reassigned to escort carriers Natoma Bay and Manila Bay
and repair ship Hector for the next major operation in
the epic sweep through the Pacific — the Marianas.
Arriving east of Saipan 22 June 1944, Haraden screened
her escort carriers during the launching of aircraft 22-24
June ; while refueling alongside Natoma Bay she narrowly
missed being sunk by four aerial bombs in a surprise
attack. Two bombs fell some 200 yards to port and two
astern. Haraden returned to Pearl Harbor, arriving 8
July, until 15 September participated in training exercises
and maneuvers in Hawaiian waters in preparation for the
invasion of the Philippines.
Haraden arrived Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty
Islands, 2 October 1944, and 12 days later departed as an
escort unit for the large group of transports carrying in-
vasion forces. They arrived off Leyte 20 October and
Haraden began a long and grueling job of covering the
transports during and after the main assault. Japanese
airplanes began almost continuous raids on the landing
group the afternoon of 20 October, with Haraden acting
as part of the antiaircraft screen, protecting the transports
with her gunfire.
The afternoon of 26 October Haraden formed with an
escort carrier group in Leyte Gulf and steamed for Manus,
arriving Seeadler Harbor 1 November 1944. Remaining
there until 12 November, the ships sailed to Palau, arriv-
ing the 18th, and from there provided air support to con-
voys bound to and from the Philippines until 28 Novem-
ber. The carrier force, with Haraden in the screen, de-
parted 10 December for the Sulu Sea, en route to the
invasion of Mindoro.
Haraden and the escort carriers entered the Sulu Sea
13 December, and were attacked that day by four Japa-
nese aircraft. Haraden assisted in downing three of the
raiders, but the fourth banked left and dived for the
destroyer. Trailing smoke from hits by Haraden’s gun-
ners, she crashed into the destroyer’s side, putting her
forward engine room out of commission and severely dam-
aging her topside. As Haraden lay dead in the water,
destroyer Twiggs came alongside to help and the destroyer
was soon underway on her own power. She arrived at San
Pedro Bay 14 December 1944 and transferred her casual-
ties— 14 killed and 24 wounded. Steaming on toward the
United States via Hawaii, she arrived at Puget Sound
Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., 14 January 1945 for battle
repairs.
Repairs and training completed, Haraden departed again
for the Pacific 19 April from San Francisco, arriving Pearl
Harbor 25 April. She performed escort duties for am-
phibious convoys in the Western Pacific until 6 July, when
she commenced a series of training exercises off Subic
Bay, Philippine Islands.
Haraden next participated in the operations off the
China coast following the surrender of Japan. She got
underway 28 August with units of the 7th Fleet and made
a show of force at Tsingtao and along the China coast
to help stabilize the tense situation there. She arrived
at Jinsen, Korea, 8 September and after another voyage
down the coast of China and back, departed Jinsen with
the North China occupation forces 29 September. She
stood by to support the amphibious landings of occupa-
tion forces off Taku Bay 30 September-6 October, and
visited Chefoo, Shanghai, Taku, and Tsingtao in sup-
port of the occupation. Underway from Tsingtao 13 De-
cember 1945, she steamd by way of Pearl Harbor to San
Francisco, arriving 3 January 1946. Later moved to San
Diego, she remained inactive until decommissioned there
2 July 1946. Haraden entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet,
San Diego Group, where she remains.
Haraden received five battle stars for her service in
World War II.
Harcourt
Former named retained.
I
( ScTug : t. 75; 1. 66' ; b. 16'3" ; dph. 7'9" ; s. 13 k.)
The first Harcourt, a screw tug, was purchased by the
Navy at New York from a private owner 14 June 1864.
240
Her first commanding officer was Acting Ensign J. A.
Chadwick. *
After a brief period as dispatch boat at Hampton Roads,
Harcourt was ordered 31 July 1864 to Beaufort, N.C., to
serve the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron as a pilot
tug. She remained at Beaufort carrying pilots to and
from ships in the harbor until returning to Norfolk for
repairs in November 1864. She later spent a brief period
as a patrol boat on the James River in March 1865, and
in April assisted in towing the hulk of former C.S.S.
Albemarle, the formidable ram sunk in Albemarle Sound
27 October 1864 by Lt. W. B. Cushing, to Norfolk Navy
Yard, where she arrived 27 April. Harcourt performed
various tug duties in Hampton Roads until placed in
ordinary 20 November 1865. She was sold at Norfolk 16
April 1867.
II
( IX-225 : dp. 3,381; 1. 441 ' 6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 27'1" ; s.
11 k.; cpl. 71; T. E02-S-C1)
The second Harcourt, a standard Liberty Ship, was
laid down under Maritime Commission contract as S.S.
John M. Clayton by California Shipbuilding Corp., Los
Angeles, Calif., 23 November 1942; launched 27 December
1942 ; sponsored by Miss Barbara Bechtel ; and completed
8 January 1943. Sailing for the American-Hawaiian
Steamship Co., she carried war cargoes in both the At-
lantic and Pacific Oceans until hit by a Japanese bomb
2 January 1945 during the Mindoro landings in the Phil-
ippines. Her crew beached the ship before she went
down ; she was subsequently raised and taken to Pearl
Harbor where the yard force working with customary
efficiency and speed repaired the gaping hole in her port
side. Acquired by the Navy on a bareboat basis, the
ship commissioned as Harcourt (IX-225) on 22 June 1945,
Lt. Comdr. H. T. Shelly in command.
Ready for service 10 July, Harcourt sailed for Eniwetok
with fleet supplies. She then sailed for Tokyo, arriving
17 September with a load of freight for the 3d Fleet, and
remained there to assist in the occupation until 31 March
1946, when she sailed for San Francisco. Harcourt ar-
rived San Francisco 22 April, decommissioned 17 May,
and was delivered to the War Shipping Administration
at Suisun Bay, Calif. She remained in the National
Reserve Defense Fleet in a damaged condition until sold
for scrap to Zidell Exploration Co., in 1962.
Hardcastle, Walter , see Walter Hardcastle
Harder
A fish of the mullet family found off South Africa.
( SS-257 : dp. 1,526 ; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15' ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 60; a. 13”, 10 21" tt. ; cl. Gato)
The first Harder (SS-257) was laid down by the Elec-
tric Boat Co., Groton, Conn., 1 December 1941 ; launched
19 August 1942 ; sponsored by Miss Helen M. Shaforth ;
and commissioned 2 December 1942, Comdr. S. D. Dealey
in command.
Following shakedown off the East Coast, Harder sailed
for Pearl Harbor; and, after a short stay there, she de-
parted on her first war patrol 7 June 1943. Cruising off
the coast of Japan, the submarine worked her way inside
a picket line and sighted her first target 22 June. She
made a radar approach on the surface and fired four
torpedoes at the two-ship convoy, sinking Sagara Maru.
She returned to Midway 7 July.
Harder began her second war patrol 24 August from
Pearl Harbor ; and, after touching at Midway, she headed
for the Japanese coast. While patrolling off Honshu 9
September, she attacked and sank Koyo Maru, and later
that night ran by an escort ship at a range of 1,200 yards
without being detected. Two days later the submarine
encountered a convoy. After running ahead to improve
her firing position, she sank cargo ship Yoko Maru with a
spread of three torpedoes. Continuing her patrol, Harder
sighted two more ships 13 September, but she was forced
down by enemy planes while ‘ firing torpedoes. Escorts
kept the submarine down with a severe depth carge attack
which lasted for over 2 days and almost exhausted her
batteries. After evading the Japanese ships, Harder de-
tected her next target 19 September ; a torpedo sent
Kachisan Maru to the bottom almost immediately.
Though running in bad weather, Harder continued to find
good targets. On 23 September she sank a 4,500-ton
freighter, Kowa Maru, and a 5,800-ton tanker, Daishin
Maru, off Nagoya Bay. Her torpedoes expended, Harder
turned eastward 28 September. After shooting up two
armed trawlers the 29th, she touched Midway 4 October
and arrived Pearl Harbor 4 days later.
For her third war patrol Harder teamed with Snook
and Pargo to form a deadly and coordinated attack group.
Departing 30 October for the Marianas, Harder encoun-
tered a target 12 November. Promptly dispatching this
one, she surfaced and sighted a trawler-escort damaged by
the explosion of one of her own depth charges. Submerg-
ing again until sunset, the submarine sank the damaged
ship with gunfire, then turned her bow toward Saipan in
search of new targets. Sighting three marus on the 19th,
she radioed her companions and closed for attack. After
passing close by an escorting destroyer, Harder fired six
torpedoes at two ships, sinking Vdo Maru. As depth
charges began to fall, she pressed the attack ; two more
torpedoes finished Hokko Maru. She surfaced to peri-
scope depth after nightfall to finish off the third maru.
Shortly before midnight, she fired several more shots at
6,000-ton Nikko Maru; but she stubbornly refused to sink.
A brave, but doomed, enemy crew kept the cargo ship
afloat until Harder had expended all torpedoes, many of
which ran erratically. Rough weather the next day
finally sank the damaged maru. Harder returned to Pearl
Harbor 30 November, then sailed to Mare Island, Calif.,
for overhaul.
Returning to action in the Pacific, Harder reached Pearl
Harbor 27 February 1944 and departed on her fourth war
patrol 16 March with Seahorse. She headed for the west-
ern Carolinas where she was assigned duty as lifeguard
ship for downed aviators. During American air strikes
against Woleai 1 April Harder received word of an in-
jured pilot awaiting rescue from the beach of a small
enemy-held island west of Woleai. Protected by air cover,
she nosed against a reef, maintained her position with
both screws, and sent a boat ashore through breaking surf.
Despite Japanese snipers, boiling shoals, and the pre-
carious position of the submarine, the daring rescue
succeeded, and the intrepid submarine returned to the
open sea.
On 13 April an enemy plane sighted Harder north of
the western Carolines and reported her position to Ika-
zuchi, a patrolling destroyer. As the enemy ship closed
to within 900 yards, Harder fired a spread of torpedoes
that sank the attacker within 5 minutes. Dealey’s fa-
mous report was terse — “Expended four torpedoes and
one Jap destroyer.” Four days later Harder spotted a
merchant ship escorted by destroyers. Firing four tor-
pedoes, she sank 7,000-ton Matsue Maru and damaged one
of the escorts. Then, adding to the enemy’s misery,
she returned to Woleai where she surfaced on the morn-
ing of 20 April to deliver a shore bombardment under
cover of a rain squall. She returned to Fremantle from
this highly varied and successful patrol 3 May.
Even greater successes lay ahead for this valiant sub-
marine. Having sunk one destroyer, Harder joined the
all-out hunt against Japanese destroyers, once consid-
ered the most dangerous of foes. Assigned the area
around the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawi-Tawi,
Harder departed Fremantle 26 May with Redfin and
headed for the Celebes Sea.
On 6 June Harder entered the heavily patrolled Sibutu
Passage between Tawi-Tawi and North Borneo and en-
countered a convoy of three tankers and two destroyers.
She gave chase on the surface but was illuminated by
the moon. As one of the destroyers turned to attack,
241
Harder submerged, turned her stern to the charging de-
stroyer, and fired three torpedoes at range of 1,100 yards.
Two struck Minatsuki and exploded ; the destroyer sank
within 5 minutes. After attacking the second escort
without success, Harder was held down by a depth charge
attack while the convoy escaped.
Early next morning an enemy plane spotted Harder.
The submarine soon sighted another destroyer searching
the area for her. As before, the enemy closed the range ;
once again, Harder took the initiative. She fired three tor-
pedoes at short range, and two of them struck amidships,
one detonating the ship’s magazine with a tremendous
explosion. Hayanami sank a minute later. Following the
inevitable depth charge attack, Harder transited the
Sibutu Passage after dark and steamed to the northeast
coast of Borneo. There on the night of 8 June she picked
up six British coast-watchers, and early next day she
headed once more for Sibutu Passage.
That evening Harder sighted two enemy destroyers
patrolling the narrowest part of the passage, just 6
miles from Tawi-Tawi. After submerging, she made
an undetected approach and at 1,000 yards fired four
torpedoes at the overlapping targets. The second and
third torpedoes blasted destroyer Tanikaze; she sank
almost immediately, her boilers erupting with a terrific
explosion. The fourth shot hit the second ship and
exploded with a blinding flash. Within minutes Harder
surfaced to survey the results, but both ships had dis-
appeared. Soon afterward, she underwent the inevitable
depth charge attack by enemy planes ; then she set course
for a point south of Tawi-Tawi to reconnoiter.
On the afternoon of 10 June Harder sighted a large
Japanese task force, including three battleships and four
cruisers with screening destroyers. An overhead plane
spotted the submarine at periscope depth and a screening
escort promptly steamed at 35 knots toward her position.
Once again, Harder became the aggressive adversary.
As the range closed to 1,500 yards, she fired three tor-
pedoes on a “down the throat” shot, then went deep to
escape the onrushing destroyer and certain depth charge
attack. Within a minute two torpedoes blasted the ship
with violent force just as Harder passed under her some
80 feet below. The deafening explosions shook the sub-
marine far worse than the depth charges and aerial bombs
which the infuriated enemy dropped during the next 2
hours. When she surfaced, Harder saw only a lighted
buoy marking the spot where the unidentified destroyer
either sank or was heavily damaged.
Harder reconnoitered Tawi-Tawi anchorage 11 June
and sighted additional enemy cruisers and destroyers. At
1600 she headed for the open sea and that night trans-
mitted her observations which were of vital importance
to Admiral Spruance’s fleet prior to the decisive Battle
of the Philippine Sea. Harder steamed to Darwin 21
June for additional torpedoes ; and, after patrolling the
Flores Sea south of the Celebes, she ended the patrol at
Darwin 3 July.
The important results of Harder' s fifth war patrol have
caused some to call it the most brilliant of the war. Not
only did Harder further deplete the critical supply of de-
stroyers by sinking three of them and heavily damaging
or destroying two others in 4 days, but her frequent at-
tacks and a rash of enemy contact reports on this fleeting
marauder so frightened Admiral Toyoda that he believed
Tawi-Tawi surrounded by submarines. As a result, Ad-
miral Ozawa’s Mobile Fleet departed Tawi-Tawi a day
ahead of schedule. The premature departure upset the
Japanese battle plans, and forced Ozawa to delay his
carrier force in the Philippine Sea, thus contributing to
the stunning defeat suffered by the Japanese in the en-
suing battle.
Harder, accompanied by Hake and Haddo, departed
Fremantle 5 August for her sixth and last war patrol.
Assigned to the South China Sea off Luzon, the wolf-pack
headed northward. On 21 August Harder and Haddo
joined Ray, Guitarro, and Raton in a coordinated attack
against a convoy off Paluan Bay, Mindoro. The Japanese
lost four passenger-cargo marus, possibly one by Harder.
Early the next day, Harder and Haddo attacked and de-
stroyed three coastal defense vessels off Bataan, Harder
sinking frigates Matsuwa and Hiburi; then, joined by
Hake that night, they headed for Caiman Point, Luzon.
At dawn 23 August Haddo attacked and fatally damaged
Asakaze off Cape Bolinao. Enemy trawlers towed the
stricken destroyer to Dasol Bay ; and Haddo, her tor-
pedoes expended, informed Harder and Hake the following
night of the attack and left the wolf-pack for replenish-
ment at Biak.
Harder and Hake remained off Dasol Bay, searching
for new targets. Before dawn 24 August they sighted a
Japanese minesweeper and a three-stack Siamese de-
stroyer. As Hake closed to attack, the destroyer turned
away toward Dasol Bay. Hake broke off her approach,
turned northward, and sighted Harder's periscope about
600 to 700 yards dead ahead. Swinging southward, Hake
then sighted the minesweeper about 2,000 yards off her
port quarter swinging toward them. To escape the charg-
ing minesweeper, Hake started deep and rigged for silent
running. At 0728 she heard 15 rapid depth charges ex-
plode in the distance astern. She continued evasive ac-
tion that morning, then returned to the general area of
the attack shortly after noon. She swept the area at
periscope depth but found only a ring of marker buoys
covering a radius of one-half mile.
The vigorous depth charge attack thus ended the career
of Harder, and she went down with all hands. The Japa-
nese report of the attack concluded that “much oil, wood
chips, and cork floated in the vicinity.” Dubbed “Hit
’Em again, Harder,” this intrepid submarine had cre-
ated havoc among Japanese shipping. Her record of ag-
gressive daring exploits became amost legendary. All six
of her patrols were designated successful. She received
the Presidential Unit Citation, and in accordance with
Navy custom it was presented to the second Harder upon
commissioning. The resolute and resourceful Comdr.
Dealey, “a submariner’s submariner,” was posthumously
awarded the Medal of Honor.
Harder received six battle stars for World War II
service.
II
( SS-568 : dp. 1,560; 1. 269'2" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 17' ; s. 16 k. :
cpl. 83; a. classified; cl. Tang)
The second Harder . (SS-568) was laid down by the
Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn., 30 June 1950 ; launched
3 December 1951 ; sponsored by Mrs. Kay Logan Cole ;
and commissioned 19 August 1952, Comdr. R. B. Laning in
command.
After shakedown out of Newport, R.I., Harder made a
1,000-mile submerged passage from New London, Conn.,
to Nassau, Bahamas, while snorkeling. She then engaged
in tests out of New London to evaluate fast attack type
submarines. As a Tang- class attack boat, Harder be-
longs to the first new type of submarine built after World
War II. Her design, which incorporates many of the les-
sons learned in wartime operations, includes a snorkel
breathing apparatus, a stronger pressure hull, and more
powerful engines.
Harder began fleet operations out of New London in
June 1953. During the next several years she carried out
a schedule of training and readiness operations with ships
of the Atlantic Fleet and Allied NATO nations. Operat-
ing from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean, she engaged
in sonar evaluation tests, supported ASW tactical exer-
cises, and participated in submerged simulated attack
operations. In March 1959 she participated in SUBICEX,
during which she cruised 280 miles beneath the ice packs
off Newfoundland, further than any conventionally pow-
ered submarine had previously gone.
After completing a 3 month advanced submarine exer-
cise in the Atlantic, Harder changed her home port to
Charleston, S.C., where she arrived 17 November and
joined Submarine Squadron 4. She continued operations
in the Atlantic and Caribbean for more than a year, then
departed Charleston 24 May 1961 for deployment off the
western coast of Europe and in the Mediterranean. After
242
Subject, __ KA^DZR_(S3252)_-_repor_t of_Fj. fth_Var__Patrol.
June 9th (cont.)
2102 Sighted another destroyer. - They were In line of bearing
and patrollr.g the narrows on north - south, zlg sag courses.
Sounded "battle stations”, submerged to radar depth and com-
menced the attack. The nearest destroyer, now at a range
of 8000 yards, was chosen as the flrct target and his angle
on the bow was about 20 degrees port. At 4000 yards, he
headed directly for us but his actions vere lnterpeted as a
routine zlg, Increased submergence to periscope depth. At
3000 yards, both destroyers zlgged 30 degrees to their right
(with the first presenting a 30 degree port track) and the
picture became 11 Ju3t what the doctor ordered11 for the
HARDER. At a range of 1000 yards on the nearest target,
both destroyers vere overlapping, with a 100 degree port
track showing. Gyros vere near zero and torpedoes set for
/ .(Vunnlng at 6 feet.
U-UIU
2124 Commenced firing the bow tubes. No , 1 appeared to pass
Just ahead of the first destroyer, No. 2 struck It near
the bow, No. 3 hit Just under the destroyer's bridge, and
No. 4 passed astern of the near target. The sub was now
swung hard right to avoid hitting the first destroyer and
fire was withheld on remaining tubes until a new setup could
be put Into the T.D.C. for an attack on the second destroyer.
About thirty seconds after turning, the second destroyer
came Into view Juet astern of what was left of the first
one, then burning furiously. Just then No. 4 torpedo which
had passed astern of the first target was heard and observed
to hit the second target. - (No more torpedoes were needed
for either. )
Meanwhile, a heavy explosion, believed to be caused by an
exploding boiler on the first deotroyor, went off and the
sub (then about 400 yards away) was heeled over by the con-
cussion. At almost the same time a blinding explosion took
place on the oecond destroyer (probably his ammunition going
off) and It took a quick nose dive. When last observed, by
the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer, the tail of
the second destroyer was straight in the air and the first
destroyer had disappeared. "Sound" now reported, "No more
screws". *
•
The above -listed pandemonium may not be In exact chrono-
logical order but la as accurate as the happenings over
that eventful few minutes can be 'remembered.
(13) ENCLOSURE (A)
“Sara” Dealey in USS Harder (SS-257) reports the sinking of two Japanese destroyers. From June 1943 to August 1944,
USS Harder sank one seaplane tender, eight cargo ships, one tanker, four destroyers, and two frigates.
243
reaching Bremerhaven, Germany, 9 June, she supported
ASW operations with ships of the Federal German Navy.
The following month she steamed via Holy Loch, Scotland,
and Rota, Spain, to the Mediterranean where she sup-
ported peace-keeping operations of the mighty 6th Fleet.
Harder returned to Charleston 28 August.
Training exercises and tests evaluating ASROC and
other ASW systems kept Harder busy until she entered
Charleston Naval Shipyard for overhaul in October 1962.
Ready for action in April 1963, she operated along the
Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean for the next 2Vi
years polishing her underwmter warfare tactics and op-
erating with destroyer type ships as they worked on ASW
exercises. .
Harder again entered Charleston Naval Shipyard 22
October for a thorough overhaul and modernization in
which she received an 18-foot extension to her hull, a re-
designed superstructure, new engines as well as im-
proved electrical and electronic equipment. Moderniza-
tion completed early in 1967, Harder rejoined the fleet
eager to face the challenge of more demanding service to
the Navy and the Nation.
Hardhead
A fish of the croaker family.
(SS-365: dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 21 k. ; cpl. 66;
a. 10 21" tt., 1 5", 1 40mm., 1 20mm., 2 .50 cal.; cl.
Balao)
Hardhead (SS-365) was launched by Manitowoc Ship-
building Co., Manitowoc, Wis., 12 December 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. E. F. McDonald ; and commissioned 18 April
1944, Comdr. F. McMaster in command.
Following shakedown training in Lake Michigan the
submarine entered a floating dry dock at Lockport, 111.,
and was towed to New Orleans, where she arrived 16 May
1944. Hardhead got underway from Algiers, La.. 22 May,
and arrived Balboa, Canal Zone, 5 days later. There she
took part in additional training exercises before her ar-
rival at Pearl Harbor 7 July 1944.
Hardhead departed on her first war patrol 27 July and
proceeded to her patrol area off the Philippines. Early
18 August she detected Japanese cruiser Natori east of
San Bernardino Strait, and closed for a surface attack.
The first well directed salvo stopped the cruiser dead in
the water ; a second sent her to the bottom. During the
remainder of her first patrol Hardhead rendered lifeguard
services during strikes by fleet aircraft on the Philippines
and operated with a reconnaissance line during the Palaus
operation. She arrived Fermantle, Australia, 26 Sep-
tember 1944.
Hardhead's second patrol began as she departed Fre-
mantle 24 October and set course for the Philippines.
While steaming on the surface through the Sulu Sea Oc-
tober she discovered a life raft adrift. In it was Com-
mander (now Rear Admiral) Bakutis, fighter squadron
commander of Enterprise, who had been in the water for
6 days after being shot down during America’s smashing
victory in the Battle for Leyte Gulf. Operating in a co-
ordinated group with Growler and Hake, the submarine
sighted a large cargo ship with escorts 8 November. After
being driven off in one attack, Hardhead aggressively
gained an ahead position and sank Manci Marti. It was
during this attack that Growler was lost. Hardhead per-
formed lifeguard duty off Subic Bay in November and on
the 25th came upon an escorted merchant ship. She sank
a coast defense vessel, damaged the merchantman, and
evaded a retaliatory depth charge attack. Soon after-
ward, the submarine returned to Fremantle, ending an-
other skillful and effective patrol 5 December.
Putting to sea again 24 December. Hardhead began her
third war patrol in the South China Sea. Operating
with Besugo and Blackfln, Hardhead damaged several
ships before sinking Nanshin Maru 2 February 1945. Fol-
lowing lifeguard duty for the B-29 strikes on Singapore
she returned to Fremantle 15 February.
Hardhead's fourth war patrol included a special mine
laying mission. She sailed 20 March 1945 and laid mines
off French Indochina during the night of 2 April. The
submarine then entered the Gulf of Siam, where after
several attacks she sank cargo ship Araosan Maru 6 April.
Following a visit to Subic Bay to reload 11-15 April she
patrolled the South China Sea, but found few contacts.
American submarines had by this time reduced Japanese
merchant activity to a trickle. The island nation was
doomed. Hardhead returned to Fremantle 16 May.
Sailing from Fremantle 18 June, Hardhead began her
fifth war patrol, to be conducted in the Java Sea. She
severely damaged a freighter with her deck guns 22 June,
and next day sank four coastal defense craft during an
attack on Ambat Roads with Bullhead. Illness of her
Commanding Officer forced Hardhead to end her fifth
patrol 17 July at Onslow, Australia.
The submarine departed Onslow on her sixth and last
patrol 18 July, and headed back into the Java Sea. She
forced a merchant ship to beach 27 July but found few
targets and returned to Subic Bay 10 August. Soon after-
ward the Pacific war, in which the submarine had played
an aggressive and important part, ended. Hardhead
sailed 31 August and arrived San Francisco via Pearl
Harbor 22 September 1945. She decommissioned 10 May
1946 and entered the reserve fleet at Mare Island.
Hardhead was placed in commission in reserve 6 Febru-
ary 1952 and upon her arrival at New London for conver-
sion was placed out of commission. Following her
“guppy” conversion, including streamlining, installation
of a snorkel breathing apparatus, and larger storage bat-
teries, the submarine recommissioned 24 March 1953. She
joined the Atlantic Fleet for training exercises and tac-
tical drills in the years that followed, operating mainly
in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United
States. She sailed for the Mediterranean 7 September
1956 to strengthen the 6th Fleet during the Suez crisis.
In July 1958 Hardhead joined Submarine Development
Group 2, turning her attention from fleet operations to re-
search and testing of equipment and tactical doctrine.
She operated off the East Coast and in the north Atlantic,
and by 1961 had won four consecutive “E” awards for her
performance. Hardhead continued through 1967 to per-
form this vital work in maintaining the technical superior-
ity and readiness of the fleet.
Hardhead received six battle stars for World War II
service. All six of her combat patrols were successful.
Harding
Seth Harding was born at Eastham, Mass., 17 April
1734. He went to sea early in his life and commanded
several merchant ships during the French and Indian
War. At the beginning of the American Revolution, he
offered his services to Connecticut and was commissioned
commander of the state brig Defence. Harding captured
many British ships while in command of this and two
other vessels. In September 1778 Harding accepted a
Continental commission and took command of Confeder-
acy. He cruised along the coast in company with Deane
during 1779, taking three prizes and performing convoy
duties. He was ordered to take John Jay, newly ap-
pointed minister to Spain, to Europe in September 1779,
but the ship was dismasted 10 days out. Harding,
through skillful seamanship, sailed his ship 'to Martinique
for repairs, his passengers continuing on another ship.
Confederacy raided British merchantment and guarded
convoys until 18 April 1781, when she was forced to sur-
render to two British ships, Roebuck and Orpheus. Hard-
ing was subsequently exchanged, commanded the letter
of marque Diana, but was captured again. After this
release the fighting captain volunteered to serve as First
Lieutenant to John Perry in Alliance, and was wounded
on board during the last engagement of the revolution, off
the coast of France. Harding spent his last years as a
merchant sailor and in retirement in Schoharie, N.Y.,
where he died 20 November 1814.
244
I
( DD-91 : dp. 1,060 ; 1. 315'5” ; b. 31'8” ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 100; a. 4 4", 3 .30 cal. mg., 12 21” tt. ; cl. Wickcs)
The first JIarding (DD-91), a torpedo-boat destroyer,
was launched 4 July 1918 by Union Iron Works, San Fran-
cisco ; sponsored by Mrs. George A. Armes ; and commis-
sioned 24 January 1919, Comdr. Henry D. Cooke in com-
mand.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Harding sailed 3 Febru-
ary 1919 for Newport, R.I., via Santa Cruz and the Pan-
ama Canal. Arriving 18 February, she shifted to Boston
2 days later and stood out of the harbor 21 February to
escort George 'Washington, carrying President Wilson
back to the United States from the Versailles Conference.
Harding participated in the ceremonies in Boston harbor
following the berthing of George Washington 23 February.
After repairs Harding departed Norfolk 8 March for
fleet exercises in Cuban waters, then steamed to New
York, arriving 14 April. She departed New York again
1 May as part of the destroyer group acting as guide for
the historic flight of Navy seaplanes across the Atlantic.
Harding and the other destroyers made smoke by day
and provided searchlight illumination by night during
the first long leg of the flight ; NC-1 and NC-3 made forced
landings near the Azores and Harding rendered assistance
to NC-1 before it sank. NC-4, the remaining seaplane,
arrived Ponta Delgada 20 May and as she took off for the
last leg of her journey, Harding got underway to provide
radio compass signals at sea. After the seaplanes landed
at Plymouth, England, to complete the flight 31 May 1919,
Harding visited Brest and the Azores before returning
to Newport 18 June.
For the next few months Harding trained out of New-
port and Norfolk, reporting to the Philadelphia Navy
Yard 13 December 1919 for conversion to seaplane tender.
She completed the conversion at Charleston Navy Yard
and sailed 20 May 1920 for duty at Pensacola Naval Air
Station. Before she could take up her new duties, how-
ever, Harding was ordered to Vera Cruz, Mexico, with
urgently needed medical supplies for the American Red
Cross. Reaching Vera Cruz 9 June 1920, she unloaded
her precious bubonic plague serum and other supplies,
touched at Tampico, and returned to Pensacola 13 June.
Harding's fast response had helped to save many lives.
Harding’s role at the burgeoning Pensacola Naval Base
was a key part of the training program for seaplane pilots.
She remained there until 4 August, after which she
operated in the Caribbean area tending seaplanes until 23
February 1921. She then arrived Key West, and after a
short period at Philadelphia proceeded to Hampton Roads
to take part in the bombing tests on U-117. Steaming
from Norfolk 21 June, Harding spent the next month
witnessing the important experiments that gave much
valuable information on the effects of bomb explosions
on warships. The tests came to a climax with the con-
troversial sinking of ex-German battleship Ostfrieslund
21 July 1921, and Harding was detached from duty 22
July.
Harding subsequently trained out of Newport and other
Atlantic ports until 27 December 1921, when she arrived
Charleston. Remaining there until 3 April 1922, she
sailed to Philadelphia where she decommissioned 1 July
1922. Harding was sold for scrap 29 September 193G to
Schiavone-Bonomo Corp., New York City.
II
( DD-625 : dp. 1,630; 1. 348'4” ; b. 36'1” ; dr. 17'5” ; s. 37
k. ; cpl. 276; a. 4 5”, 10 21” tt. ; cl. Gleaves)
The second Harding (DD-625) was launched 28 June
1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilidng Corp., Seattle ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Sherwood A. Taffinder ; and commissioned
25 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. G. G. Palmer in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego Harding sailed 1
July for Norfolk, via the Panama Canal. Arriving Hamp-
ton Roads 19 July, she trained in Chesapeake Bay and
off the East Coast. She joined a convoy at Norfolk 16
August 1943 and for the next 8 months was assigned anti-
submarine patrol for merchant convoys in the Atlantic.
During this period of guarding the sea Harding made
three round trips to Casablanca.
After escorting battleship Texas on training exercises,
Harding sailed 18 April with a convoy for Europe, and
began her first great combat operation — the Normandy
Invasion. She spent the month of May training with other
ships between Plymouth and Clyde. Then, early on the
6th of June 1944, Harding joined other naval units in
the historic assault. Harding was assigned fire support
station, and delivered close gunfire support to the troops
ashore for the first hours of the landing. Her accurate
gunfire destroyed pill boxes and machine gun emplace-
ments, blasting a way for the troops. Harding also sent a
boat ashore at Point Du Hoe to take supplies to the intrep-
id rangers and bring out prisoners and wounded. She
continued operations in the assault area until 16 July,
protecting against air attack and assisting several trans-
ports in distress.
Shifting her operations to the Mediterranean, Harding
sailed 1 August for Oran, Algeria, and from there pro-
USS Harding (DD-91) , a guardian for the famous NC Seaplane flight in 1919
245
ceeded 15 August to the southern France assault area,
as a screening ship. She sailed almost immediately to
Corsica, later returning to take up patrol station outside
the assault area in southern France. On the night of 17
August she detected a downed German plane, and after
recovering bodies, proceeded to investigate an unidentified
contact. As Harding' s signalman sought to illuminate
the stranger, a burst of machine gun fire extinguished the
light and revealed the presence of four enemy E-boats.
In company with three other destroyers, Harding began
a running, twisting battle with the four boats, illuminated
by starshell fire, and despite their superior maneuver-
ability all four were sunk ; three by Harding's accurate
batteries. She brought survivors ashore and resumed her
patrol until 24 August.
Harding joined a convoy of LCI’s en route to Oran,
Algeria, 24 August, returned to spend another week in
southern France until 6 September, and sailed for New
York 25 September 1944. Arriving New York 3 October
she proceeded to Boston for conversion to a destroyer-
minesweeper ; Harding was reclassified DMS-28, 15 No-
vember 1944. Emerging 1 December for her trials, Hard-
ing underwent training until 30 December and sailed for
for the Pacific. She arrived San Diego via the Canal
Zone 15 January 1945, and continued her training in mine-
sweeping techniques.
Sailing 10 February via Pearl Harbor, Harding arrived
Ulithi 9 March to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa,
the last and largest of the giant Pacific amphibious as-
saults. She departed for Okinawa 19 March and began
her minesweeping operations in the surrounding areas 24
March. During the initial landings 1 April 1945 Harding
served as an outer screening ship, and continued this dan-
gerous duty during the savage air attacks which followed.
After a near miss by a horizontal bomber during the first
heavy raids of 6 April, Harding was assigned to provide
fire support to forces ashore the night of 8 April. She
returned to screening duties next day and 16 April was
attacked with other ships by four suicide planes. One
was driven off, another shot down, but a third steered
directly for Harding's bridge. As gunfire ripped into her,
the aircraft splashed close aboard to starboard, tearing a
huge gash in Harding's side from keel to main deck when
her bomb exploded.
The stricken ship backed toward Kerama Retto, count-
ing 14 men killed, 8 missing, and 9 wounded. She re-
paired at Okinawa, and arrived Pearl Harbor 22 August
via Saipan.
From Hawaii Harding transited the Panama Canal via
San Diego and arrived Norfolk 17 September. She de-
commissioned 2 November 1945 and was sold for scrap 16
April 1947 to Luia Brothers Co., Inc., of Philadelphia.
Harding received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Hargood
Captain William Hargood, RN, commanded Belleisle
at Trafalgar.
( PF-74 ; dp. 1430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20.
k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3”; cl. Tacoma)
Hargood (PF-74), originally PG-182, was built under
maritime Commission contract by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.,
Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the United King-
dom, she was reclassified PF-74 15 April 1943 ; renamed
Ascension; and launched 7 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs.
A. A. Kirby. Ascension was then completed and trans-
ferred under lend-lease to the United Kingdom 24 Novem-
ber 1943 as a part of the 21-ship “Colony” class. She
served as a patrol and escort craft until being returned
to the United States 31 May 1946. She was sold 16
October 1947 to Hudson Valley Shipwrecking Corp., New-
burg, N.Y.
( DE-573 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9' 5"; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 2 det., 1 dep., (h.h.), 8 dcp. ; cl.
Buckley)
Hargood (DE-573) was launched by the Bethlehem-
Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass., 18 December 1943.
Designated for transfer to Great Britain under lend-lease,
she was delivered to the Royal Navy and commissioned 7
February 1944. Hargood served through the rest of the
war as an escort vessel in the North Atlantic and off the
Normandy beachhead, and was returned to the United
States 23 February 1946. Struck from the Navy List 12
April 1946, she was sold to Northern Metal Co., Tacony,
Pa., and removed 7 March 1947 for scrapping.
Harjurand
A former name retained.
(ARS-31 : t. 812; 1. 188'6'' ; b. 32'11" ; dph. 13'i/2")
Harjurand (ARS-31) was built as Olesa in 1919 by
Astilleros Cardona, S.A., Barcelona, Spain. She had a
long and varied merchant career, serving in the 1920’s as
Per Skogland under Estonian registry, 1931-32 as Cam-
bcrioay for the British Sunderland Steam Shipping Co.,
in 1933 as Tento, in 1934 as Margot, and finally under
Esthonian ownership again as Harjurand in 1937. Req-
uisitioned by the War Shipping Administration, she was
turned over to the Navy 1 June 1942. Although Navy-
owned, she was operated under contract by Merritt Chap-
man, and Scott, under the supervision of the Bureau of
Ships.
Harjurand was one of the pioneer vessels in the Navy’s
very successful World War II Salvage Service. One of
her first major operations was the salvage of cargo from
SS Edward Luckeiibach, torpedoed efif Florida 1 July 1942
Harjurand and other salvage ships worked from 28 March
to 8 December 1943 at the difficult job of bringing up
her valuable cargo of metal ores, and Harjurand succeeded
in carrying some 4,500 tons of the recovered ore to Tampa
to be utilized in the war effort.
For most of the next 18 months, Harjurand was en-
gaged mainly in removing protruding parts of sunken
hulks which threatened navigation off the East Coast
of the United States. She worked on Gulfamerica off
Jacksonville, Fla., April 1944, Ashkaiad at sea east of
Georgia in June, Maurice Tracy off South Carolina in
August, and destroyer Sturtevant off the Florida Keys
during April 1945.
At the close of the war, to which the old coal-burning
Harjurand had contributed much, the contract with Mer-
ritt Chapman, and Scott was terminated and the ship was
returned to the War Shipping Administration 22 May
1946. She was stricken from the Navy List 19 June 1946.
Subsequently, Harjurand was sold to Miraflores, S.A., of
Panama, and resumed merchant service until about 1955
as Dodecanese.
Harkness
William Harkness, born 17 December 1837 in Ec-
clefechan, Scotland, served as a volunteer surgeon in the
Union Navy during the first year of the Civil War. How-
ever, during most of his naval career, he served as an
astronomer to be eventually recognized as an expert in
that profession. He was associated with the U.S. Naval
Observatory from 1862 to 1899, the last 5 years of which
as director. Then in 1897 he was appointed director of the
American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. Retired
17 December 1899, Rear Admiral Harkness died in Jersey
City, N. J., 28 February 1903.
( YMS-242 : dp. 245 ; 1. 186' ; b. 23'4" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 34; a. 1 3'', 2 20mm., 2 dcp., 2 det. ; cl. YMS~\)
Harkness (YMS-242) was laid down as YMS-2J)2 by
Tacoma Boat Building Co., Tacoma, Wash., 1 June 1042 ;
launched 10 October 1942; commissioned 27 March 1943,
Lt. ( j.g. ) H. S. Meredith in command.
After shakedown along the California coast, YMS-2Jf2
departed San Diego 20 August 1943 for duty in the
Western Pacific . Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she con-
246
ducted mine sweeping patrols in the Marshall and Solo-
mon Islands throughout the next year. As American am-
phibious forces swept over the Mariannas, she swept for
mines and made reconnaissance patrols during the sum-
mer and fall of 1944. Following the conquest of the
Mariannas, she returned to Pearl Harbor 25 December
before sailing to the West Coast for conversion to a sur-
veying ship.
After conversion by South Coast Shipbuilding Co., New-
port Beach, Calif., she was named Harkness and reclassi-
fied AGS-12 on 24 March 1945. The following month
she returned to the Western Pacific where she conducted
survey operations in the Marshalls and at Okinawa. Fol-
lowing the Allied victory of World War II, she sailed to
Japanese waters for a month of survey work. She re-
turned to Guam from Nagoya, Japan, 4 January 1946;
then sailed 10 January for the United States via the Mar-
shalls and Pearl Harbor, reaching San Diego 26 February.
She sailed 29 March for the East Coast; touched at Aca-
pulco, Guantanamo Bay, and Norfolk ; and arrived New
York 8 May.
Following overhaul, Harkness departed 25 July for
Miami, Fla., and arrived 29 July to reclassify as AGSC-
12. For more than 3 years she operated out of Miami,
participating in extensive ocean surveys from the Gulf
of Mexico to the North Atlantic. During much of 1947
she patrolled the Mexican coast off Vera Curz. Harkness
surveyed coastal waters off Labrador and Newfoundland
from July to October 1948 and 1949 ; and survey work
continued for the first 5 months of 1950 in the Caribbean
between Trinidad and Venezuela. She returned to New
York later in the year and decommissioned 22 September
1950.
Harkness was converted to a minehunter by Brooklyn
Navy Yard ; reclassified AMCU-12 on 18 August 1951 ;
and recommissioned 5 September 1951, Lt. John M. Bo-
hanon in command. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet Mine
Force, she departed New York 2 July 1952 and ar-
rived Norfolk the next day. The next year she steamed
to Charleston, S.C., and Key West and Panama City,
Fla., while involved with training exercises and other op-
erations. Assigned along the Atlantic Coast to the 5th
Naval District in October 1953, Harkness again partici-
pated in training operations, primarily in the Virginia
Capes Operation Area, finally steaming to Newport during
June 1954 for channel clearance operations. Reclassified
MCH-12 on 1 February 1955, she continued her part in
numerous mine clearing exercises, in July 1957 even op-
erating in Cuban waters out of Guantanamo Bay and
Havana.
Harkness departed Little Creek 30 January 1958 and
arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla., via Jacksonville 3 Feb-
ruary. She decommissioned 2 April 1958 and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the
Naval Register 1 November 1959.
Harkness received one battle star for World War II
service.
Harlack, see Pompey (AF-5)
Harlan R. Dickson
Harlan Rockey Dickson, a member of Yorktoivn’s famed
Dive Bomber Squadron 5, twice received the Navy Cross
for his outstanding courage and combat flying, first at
Tulagi and again at the pivotal Battle of Midway. Lt.
Comdr. Dickson crashed and was killed off the California
coast 5 February 1944.
(DD-708 : dp. 2,200 ; 1. 376'6" ; b. 40' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 11 20mm„ 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
Harlan R. Dickson (DD-708) was launched 17 Decem-
ber 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Kearny, N. J. ; sponsored by Mrs. Mildred Mae Studler,
mother ; and commissioned at New York 17 February 1945,
Comdr. Paul G. Osier in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Harlan R. Dickson
departed New York for the Pacific 5 August 1945, but
with the Japanese capitulation was ordered back to Solo-
mons, Md., for experimental mine work. She finally
joined her squadron at Pearl Harbor 12 December and re-
mained in the Pacific for tactical training until March
1946. Returning to the east coast, Harlan R. Dickson
engaged in further training until sailing 2 February 1947
for the first of what were to become regular cruises in the
Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet in its tremendous mis-
sion of keeping the peace against Soviet intrigue. In
addition to visiting many Mediterranean ports, the de-
stroyer sailed into the Red Sea before returning to the
States 14 August.
This year established a pattern which Harlan R. Dick-
son was seldom to break : six months of duty in the Medi-
terranean alternating with training and fleet maneuvers
along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. During her
second tour with the 6th Fleet, Harlan R. Dickson served
under the United Nations blue-and-white flag December
1948-January 1949 as the world peace organization strove
to mediate the Palestine crisis — only one in many that
developed in the Mediterranean “Sea of History” from
1945 on. In 1953 she participated in at sea training. On
her sixth Mediterranean cruise, 2 July to 4 December
1956, Harlan R. Dickson played a key role in another
crisis situation, this time evacuating American citizens
from Haifa, Israel, as war threatened between Israel and
Egypt. Her career entered still another phase Septem-
ber 1959 when she began service as a recovery ship on
the Atlantic coast missile range to retrieve test capsules
fired from Cape Canaveral, now Cape Kennedy.
Harlan R. Dickson’s constant participation in both fleet
and NATO exercises to keep her fighting ability and readi-
ness at a peak paid rich dividents in October 1962 as she
joined a hunter-killer antisubmarine unit in the quaran-
tine of Cuba during the offensive missile crisis. After the ,
crisis subsided, Harlan R. Dickson continued her vital
duty in maintaining America’s strength and showing
friend and foe alike her determination to maintain both
peace and freedom. Harlan R. Dickson joined Operation
“Springboard” in the Caribbean, visiting San Juan and
Santo Domingo before returning to Newport 4 February
1963. On 7 March she commenced her 10th Mediter-
ranean deployment with the 6th Fleet. While in the
Persian Gulf, Harlan R. Dickson represented the United
States in Khargex VI, an exercise designed for the per-
fection of working relationships with our allies of the
Iranian and British Navies. After a brief stop in the
Mediterranean she returned to Newport in September.
On 2 January 1964 Harlan R. Dickson entered the Boston
Naval Shipyard for overhaul.
Harland
( PF-78 : dp. 1430 ; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; s. 20 k. ; dr. 13'8" ;
cpl. 190; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Harland (PF-78), originally designated PG-186, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-78 15 April 1943,
renamed Cayman, and launched 6 September 1943, spon-
sored by Mrs. James Gillies. Cayman was then completed
and transferred to the United Kingdom under lend-lease
20 January 1944 as part of the 21-ship “Colony” class.
She served as a patrol vessel and escort ship until being
returned to the United States 23 April 1946. The frigate
was sold for scrap 1 July 1947, to the United Dock Corp.,
New York.
Harlem Heights, see Suamico (AO-49)
Harlequin
A sea duck, found chiefly in North America, Iceland and
Siberia.
(AM-365: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3”, 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
256-125 0 - 68 - 18
247
Harlequin (AM-365) was launched 3 June 1944 by
Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Mary M. Doig, whose husband and son were re-
ported missing in action and who also had another son, a
brother, and nine nephews in the Navy. She commis-
sioned 28 September 1945, Lt. Henry R. Darling, USNR,
in command.
Reporting to San Pedro, Calif., for shakedown 19 Octo-
ber, Harlequin remained there until 29 November, when
she sailed south, reaching New Orleans 15 December.
Harlequin sailed to Orange, Tex., 2 April 1946 and de-
commissioned there 27 May. She was reclassified MSF-
365, 7 February 1955. Harlequin was struck from the
Navy List 1 May 1962, and later sold to Mexico.
Harman
(PF-79: dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3”; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Harman (PF-79), originally designated PG-187, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-79 15 April 1943,
renamed Dominica, and launched 14 September 1943,
sponsored by Mrs. Andrew D. Manchester. Dominica was
then completed and transferred to the United Kingdom
under lend-lease 25 January 1944 as part of the 21-ship
“Colony” class. She served as a patrol vessel and escort
until being returned to the United States 23 April 1946.
The frigate was subsequently sold to Sun Shipbuilding &
Drydock Co., Chester, Pa., 27 March 1947 and scrapped.
Harmon
Leonard Roy Harmon, born 21 January 1917 at Cuero,
Tex., enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Mess Attendant Third
Class at Houston 10 June 1939. After training at Norfolk
he reported to San Francisco for duty 28 October 1939.
Advanced to Mess Attendant First Class, Harmon was
killed in action aboard San Francisco during the Naval
Battle of Guadalcanal 12-13 November 1942. With dis-
regard for his own safety Hannon rendered invaluable as-
sistance to caring for the wounded and evacuating them to
a dressing station. Harmon was hit while deliberately
exposing himself to gunfire as he tried to protect a ship-
mate. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
(DE-72 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
186; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 3 21'' tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 2 dct. ; cl. Buckley)
Harmon (DE-72) was laid down by Bethlehem-Hingham
Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Mass. ; 12 April 1943 ; assigned
to the United Kingdom 10 June 1943 ; launched as Aylmer
10 July 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. E. M. Mackay ; and trans-
ferred under lend-lease to the Royal Navy 30 September
1943. As one of the 78 “Captain” class destroyer escorts,
she served as a British frigate during the remainder of
World War II, patrolling the Atlantic and supporting the
Allied invasion of Normandy. Following the war, she
was returned to the custody of the U.S. Navy at New
York 5 November 1945. She was sold to Mr. John J.
Witto, Staten Island, N.Y., 20 June 1947, and scrapped in
February 1948.
I
(DE-678 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 13'6" ; s. 23 k. ;
cpl. 213; a. 3 3", 3 40mm., 3 21” tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Harmon (DE-678) was launched 25 July 1943, by Beth-
lehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored by Mrs. Nau-
nita Harmon Carroll, mother of Mess Attendant Harmon ;
and commissioned 31 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Kendall E.
Read in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Harmon departed
Norfolk 7 November 1943, and transited the Panama
Canal to take up duty with the 3rd Fleet. Arriving
Noumea 25 December, she remained in that area serving
as escort ship until 18 September 1944, when she pro-
ceeded to Pearl Harbor for overhaul and training.
Harmon returned to Manus 24 November 1944, and
joined the 7th Fleet as a unit of Admiral R. L. Conolly’s
Luzon Reinforcement Group. Harmon sortied from
Manus 2 January 1945, with this large convoy and sailed
through dangerous waters arriving at the transport area
on the eastern side of Lingayen Gulf 11 January.
On 5 March Harmon arrived off Iwo Jima to act as
escort and antisubmarine screen. This duty lasted until
27 March 1945, when she proceeded to Pearl Harbor and
reported to the 1st Fleet for training. She remained
there until August when Harmon was ordered to Mare
Island to increase her fire power by replacing her 3-inch
guns with 5-inch mounts.
The war over, Harmon departed San Diego 7 January
1946, enroute the Canal Zone where she conducted train-
ing operations with submarine. Clearing Cristobal 28
March Harmon arrived in New London 3 April 1946. Here
she trained with submarines until December, then decom-
missioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 25 March 1947,
and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Harmon was
struck from the Navy List 1 August 1965, and sold to
North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del., 30 Jan-
uary 1967 to be scrapped.
Harmon received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Harnett
A county in North Carolina.
Harnett (APA-240), a Haskell- class victory transport,
was under construction by Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Port-
land, Oreg., under Maritime Commission contract, but was
cancelled 27 August 1945.
Harnett County
A county in central North Carolina.
( L ST-821 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-511)
LST-821 was laid down by Missouri Valley Bridge &
Iron Works, Evansville, Ind., 19 September 1944 ; launched
27 October ; sponsored by Mrs. Hugh Robertson Sr. ;
placed in partial commission 14 November for the cruise
down the Mississippi River ; and commissioned at New
Orleans 22 November, Lt. C. J. Rudine in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-821 departed New
Orleans 27 December for the West Coast arriving San
Diego 18 January 1945. Sailing on to San Francisco and
Pearl Harbor, where she loaded additional cargo, LST-
821 arrived Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, 7 March. For
the next 5 weeks she operated in the vicinity of Eniwetok,
Ulithi, and Guam before sailing to Okinawa.
The campaign against the enemy held fortress of Oki-
nawa was well under way when LST-821 arrived 18 April.
Five days later she unloaded her cargo of men, vehicles,
and supplies off Ie Shima. On the 24th she embarked 183
men of the 77th Infantry Division and transported them
to the west coast of Okinawa, then returned to Ulithi
5 May for a short overhaul.
For the rest of the war she shuttled troops and equip-
ment among the U.S. bases in the Pacific, as American
forces prepared for a possible assault on the Japanese
homeland. Japan’s acceptance of Allied peace terms pre-
cluded any invasion of Japan, and LST-821 continued op-
erations with the occupation forces in the Far East until
11 December when she sailed for the United States.
The landing ship arrived San Diego 7 January 1946 ;
sailed to Portland in early April and decommissioned at
Vancouver, Wash., 8 July 1946. She remained in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet for the next 20 years, and was
named Harnett County 1 July 1955.
248
Harnett County recommissioned 20 August 1966 to help
meet the large and growing demand for ships in the
Vietnam war. After shakedown training off San Fran-
cisco Bay, she departed for duty with the Amphibious
Force, Pacific Fleet, that continued into 1967.
LST-821 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Harney, Lake, see Lake Harney
Harold C. Thomas
Harold Chester Tomas was born in Gleo, Okla., 7 May
1907 and enlisted in the Navy 28 January 1927. He was
appointed Carpenter 8 February 1933 and served in var-
ious ships and at Cavite before being commissioned Chief
Carpenter 24 March 1939. Thomas reported to Boise 14
May 1940 and was appointed Lieutenant (junior grade) 1
September MM2. During the Battle of Cape Esperance,
11-12 October 1942, Boise with three other cruisers and
destroyers under Rear Admiral Norman Scott, exchanged
salvos with enemy cruisers, and was badly hit by gunfire.
Lt. (j.g.) Thomas lost his life while valiantly working
with damage control parties to keep his ship in the battle,
and was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously.
( DE-21 : dp. 1,140 t. ; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21
k. ; cpl. 156 ; a. 3 3”, 4 1" ; 9 20mm., 2 det., 8 dep., 1 dep.
(h.h.) ; cl. Evarts)
Harold. C. Thomas (DE-21) was launched 18 December
1942 by the Mare Island Navy Yard as Essington (BDE-
21) for the Brtish; later designed for Navy use; and
commissioned 31 May 1943, Comdr. H. Reich in command.
After three voyages escorting merchantmen from San
Francisco to Pearl Harbor, Harold C. Thomas served with
ComSubTraPac 2-20 November 1943. Sailing from Pearl
Harbor 20 November with a convoy of merchantmen and
cargo ships, she reached Abemama, Gilbert Islands, 28
November, a week after Vice Admiral R. A. Spruance be-
gan the occupation of those islands. Harold C. Thomas
spent the rest of the year in the Gilberts on patrol and
escort duty.
After undergoing availability early in 1944, Harold C.
Thomas sailed as flagship for Escort Division 10, 29 Feb-
ruary. Reaching Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, 11 March,
she did escort work until 30 March when she became part
of a hunter-killer carrier group on antisubmarine patrol
east of the Marshalls. Returning to Pearl Harbor 6
May, the destroyer spent the remainder of the year in the
vital but unsung work of Shepherding merchantmen, cargo
Ships, and transports through the back staging areas up
to their assembly points for invasion forces. This duty
took Harold C. Thomas to the Marshall, Admiralty, Palau,
and Marianas Islands. She also performed some sub-
marine training work at Pearl Harbor. On 21 November
Harold C. Thomas rescued seven men from a PBM which
had crashed at sea off Majuro Atoll.
Departing Pearl Harbor 21 January 1945, she reached
San Francisco 6 days later and proceeded to San Diego
for badly needed repairs. Harold C. Thomas returned to
Pearl Harbor 5 April and spent the rest of the war in sub-
marine training and escort duty. The long Pacific war
ended 1 September with the signing of the armistice on
board Missouri in Tokyo Bay, and Harold C. Thomas sailed
for the States 20 days later, putting into San Pedro 27
September where she decommissioned 26 October 1945.
She was sold to the Pacific Bridge Co., San Francisco, 25
November 1946 and scrapped 26 March 1947.
Harold C. Thomas received two battle stars for World
War II service.
Harold J. Ellison
Harold John Ellison was born 17 January 1917 in Buf-
falo, N.Y., and was appointed Ensign 20 October 1941 after
completing flight training. Soon afterwards he reported
to Torpedo Squadron 8 on board famous carrier Hornet.
In the pivotal battle of Midway, 4 and 5 June 1942, Ellison
and his comrades led a gallant torpedo attack on the Ja-
panese ships, pressing home .the attack without fighter
cover and knowing they had insufficient fuel to return to
Hornet. Though no hits were scored in this first attack,
the torpedo bombers diverted the Japanese ships, de-
coyed their combat air patrols away from Navy dive
bombers, and thus contributed importantly to the great
victory. Ensign Ellison was presumed dead 5 June 1942
and received the Navy Cross posthumously for his gal-
lantry.
Harold J. Ellison (DE-545), a John C. Butter-Class
destroyer escort, was building at Boston Navy Yard, Bos-
ton, but was cancelled 10 June 1944.
I
( DD-864 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 367 ; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 5 21" tt., 6 dep., 2 dct., 1
dct. (h.h.) ; cl. Gearing)
Harold J. Ellison (DD-864) was launched by Bethlehem
Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y., 14 March 1945; sponsored
by Mrs. Audrey Ellison, widow ; and commissioned 23
June 1945, Comdr. J. C. South in command.
Although scheduled to join the Pacific Fleet for the final
assault on Japan, Harold J. Ellison was completing her
shakedown cruise when the surrender came 15 August
1945. Homeported at Norfolk, she operated in the Atlan-
tic and Caribbean for the next 2 years, taking part in
Naval Reserve training cruises, and antisubmarine exer-
cises.
Beginning in 1947, When she sailed from Norfolk 10
November, Harold J. Ellison added periodic cruises to the
Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet to her operations, help-
ing to keep the peace and protect American interests in
this vital area. She participated in the search for lost
British submarine Affray in April 1951, and added cruises
to the Caribbean and northern Europe in 1953.
From 1954 to 1956 she continued tactical training along
the East Coast and participated in European cruises.
Following the explosive Suez crises, Harold J. Ellison,
took part in vital peacekeeping operation during 1957 as
the 6th Fleet helped stabilize the dangerous incident in
the Eastern Mediterranean.
The following summer another crisis threatened the
stability of the Mideast, as the government of Lebanon
was in danger from communist oriented insurgents. The
veteran peace keeping destroyer screened Saratoga and
Dcs Moines from July to September 1958 While the 6th
Fleet landed Marines at the request of Lebanese President
Chamoun. Once again the rapid and effective response
of this mighty armada clearly pointed up the value of
ready, trained, prepositioned amphibious forces in main-
taining world peace.
In September she operated with famed Task Group Alfa
for the perfection of new tactics and equipment in anti-
submarine warfare. Harold J. Ellison remained on this
duty until April 1959.
The ship returned to her pattern of cruises to the Medi-
terranean in 1959, departing 21 September. In 1960 her
homeport became Charleston, and in 1961, during her
tenth tour with the 6th Fleet, the ship cruised in the
troubled Persian Gulf during the crisis in Kuwait.
Harold J. Ellison added a new function in January 1962,
when she was assigned to Project Mercury as a part of
the recovery unit on the Altantie range. In 1962 she
entered New York Naval Shipyard for a Meet moderniza-
tion and rehabilitation overhaul, an extensive repair job
designed to extend her life and improve her readiness.
The veteran destroyer rejoined the fleet in early 1963
and through 1964 continued to operate on training and
readiness exercises off the Atlantic coast. Her high peace-
time accomplishments are exemplified by the winning of
five Battle Efficiency “E” awards during her years of
service.
On 29 September 1965, Harold J. Ellison departed Nor-
folk in DesRon 24 and headed via the Panama Canal for
249
the Pacific to augment the Pacific Fleet during the strug-
gle for freedom in Vietnam. During her months in the
combat zone, she served as a rescue destroyer, screened
carriers, patrolled, and fired over 1,000 rounds of fire in
ammunition on various Viet Cong targets to support
friendly troops.
Leaving Southeast Asia by steaming eastward through
the Suez Canal, she completed her round-the-world cruise
upon returning to Norfolk in April 1966. In July she
entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for an overhaul
which lasted for the rest of the year.
After sea trials and refresher training early in 1967
Harold J. Ellison rejoined the Atlantic Fleet ready for
future assignments.
Harpy
In Greek mythology, any of several hideous winged
monsters with the head and trunk of a woman and the
tail, legs, and talons of a bird ; they carried off the souls
of the dead.
The light draft monitor Klamath ( q.v .) was renamed
Harpy 15 June 1869 while laid up in an unfinished con-
dition at Mound City, 111.
Harrier
Any hawk of genus Circus feeding on small animals
and insects.
(AM-366: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
epl. 104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable )
Harrier (AM-366) was launched 7 June 1944 by the
Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; sponsored
by Mrs. William A. Kettlewell ; and commissioned 31 Oc-
tober 1945, Lt. R. N. Compton in command.
After shakedown and exercises along the Oregon coast,
Harrier put into San Diego 5 January 1946. She de-
commissioned there 28 March 1946 and was placed in re-
serve. Harrier’s name was stricken from the Navy List
1 December 1959 and her disposal approved 3 October
1960.
Harriet C. Eldridge, see Flamingo (AMc-22)
Harriet Hosmer, see Luna (AKS— 7)
Harriet Lane
Harriet Rebecca Lane was the niece and oflScial hostess
of President James Buchanan.
( SwStr : t. 600 (approx.) ; a. 2 32-pdrs.)
Harriet Lane, built for the Treasury Department by
William H. Webb, was launched in New York City
November 1857. She served as a revenue cutter until
temporarily transferred to the Navy late in 1858. Her new
assignment took her to Paraguay with a squadron ordered
to support the discussions of U.S. Special Commissioner
James B. Bowlin with Dictator Carlos Antonio Lopez
concerning reparations for damages incurred during an
unprovoked attack on Waterwitch by the Paraguayan
forces 1 February 1855. This display of sea power quick-
ly won the United States a prompt and respectful hear-
ing which 4 years of diplomacy had failed to obtain.
Paraguay apologized, paid an indemnity to compensate
the family of an American seaman killed during the fight,
and signed a new commercial treaty containing provisions
highly advantageous to the United States. In his report
Flag Officer W. B. Shubrick singled out Harriet Lane
for special commendation on the invaluable service she
rendered in extricating his other ships repeatedly run-
ning aground in the treacherous waters of the Parana
River.
Returning to the United States, Harriet Lane resumed
her former duties as a revenue cutter. In September
1860 she embarked Edward Albert, the Prince of Wales,
the first member of the British Royal Family to visit the
United States, for passage to Mount Vernon where he
planted a tree and placed a wreath on the tomb of George
Washington.
Harriet Lane again transferred to the Navy 30 March
1861 for service in the expedition sent to Charleston Har-
bor, S.C., to supply the Fort Sumter garrison. She de-
parted New York 8 April and arrived off Charleston 11
April. The next day she fired a shot across the bow of
Nashville when that merchantman appeared with no colors
flying. Nashville avoided further attack by promptly
hoisting the United States ensign, but 2 days later raised
the Palmetto flag to begin her career as one of the most
elusive Confederate privateers. When Major Anderson
surrendered Fort Sumpter 13 April, Harriet Lane with-
drew with her sister ships.
Her next important service came the following sum-
mer when a task force was sent against Fort Clark and
Fort Hatteras on the outer banks of North Carolina to
check blockade running in the area. The ships sortied
from Hampton Roads 26 August 1861 for this first im-
portant combined amphibious operation of the war. The
next morning Harriet Lane, Montieello, and Pwwnee
slipped close inshore to provide direct support to the
landings while heavier ships pounded the forts from
deeper water. The last resistance was snuffed out the
following afternoon, giving a badly needed boost to morale
in the North disheartened a month before by defeat in
the first battle of Bull Run. Of greater importance was
the fact that this combined operation opened the inland
waterways to Union ships and gave the North Atlantic
Blockading Squadron a base deep in Southern waters.
Harriet Lane ran aground while attempting to enter
Pamlico Sound through Hatteras Inlet 29 August and
suffered severe damage while fast on the shoal. She
was refloated at the cost of her armament, rigging, stores,
provisions, and everything else on board which could be
heaved over the side to lighten ship. Temporary repairs
completed 3 September, she proceeded to Hampton Roads,
arriving 8 September 1861.
Harriet Lane saile.d 10 February 1862 to join Comdr.
D. D. Porter’s Mortar Flotilla at Key West, where units
were assembling for an attack on Confederate forts in
the Mississippi River Delta below New Orleans. Comdr.
Porter embarked at Washington. During her passage
to Hampton Roads, Harriet Lane was taken under fire
by the Confederate battery at Shipping Point, Va., which
inflicted such damage to her port wheel that her departure
for Key West was delayed another 2 days. On 24 Feb-
ruary, she captured the Confederate schooner Joanna
Ward off Florida.
The Mortar Flotilla sailed from Key West 6 March to
begin the operation which would deprive the Confederacy
of the use of its largest inland waterway. Harriet Lane,
as Porter’s flagship, was among the ships which engaged
Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which protected New
Orleans. She helped provide the intense fire which
covered Flag Officer Farragut’s daring rush past the forts
on 24 April. “You supported us most noble,” wrote Far-
ragut in praise of Porter’s action. On 29 April Harriet
Lane steamed up river to accept the surrender of upstream
forts. The success of this attack opened the way for the
movement of waterborne Union forces, now free to steam
up river to join those coming south from Illinois to form
a pincer which would sever the Confederacy.
Farragut ordered the Mortar Flotilla to Ship Island
1 May, and Harriet Lane continued to Pensacola where
she transported Brigadier General L. G. Arnold’s troops
from Fort Pickins to the other side of the bay where they
occupied Forts Barrancas, and McRee, Barancas Barracks,
and the Navy Yard which had been abandoned by the Con-
federates. Back at Ship Island for repairs 30 May,
Harriet Lane prepared to ascend the Mississippi with
250
Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane, Porter’s Flagship of the Mortar Flotilla in 1862
Porter’s mortar boats to engage enemy batteries on the
cliffs of Vicksburg, Mississippi while Farragut ran past
this river stronghold to join Flag Officer Davis in an effort
to clear the entire Mississippi Valley of obstructions to
Union shipping. However, sufficient ground forces to take
Vicksburg were not made available, nullifying the value of
his operation, and after a frustrating encounter with new
Confederate ironclad ram Arkansas, Farragut ran back
down past Vicksburg while Harriet Lane and her sister
vessels in the Mortar Flotilla again covered the dash by
bombarding the Confederate batteries 15 July.
As his ships required extensive repairs and most of his
men were ill, Farragut ordered his ships to rendezvous
at Pensacola. Following blockade duty in Mobile Bay,
Harriet Lane sailed for Galveston, Tex., which she bom-
barded and captured, with the aid of Westfield, Owasco,
Clifton, and Henry Janes, 3 October 1862. She was in
Galveston Harbor when the Confederates retook that
base 1 January 1863; and, after a bitter contest in which
her captain, Comdr. J. M. Wainwright and executive of-
ficer, Lt. Comdr. Edward Lea, were killed, she fell into
Southern hands. After serving the Confederate Army’s
Marine Department of Texas, she was sold to T. W. House,
who converted her into a blockade runner named Lavinia.
She finally escaped Galveston 30 April 1864 and sailed
to Havana, where she was interned. In 1867, following
the war, she was recovered from Cuba ; was converted
to a bark rig; and renamed Elliott Richie. She was
abandoned off Pernambuco, Brazil, 13 May 1884.
Harrington, W. D., see Sculptor (AK-103)
Harris
John Harris was born in Pennsylvania 20 May 1790 and
was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Marine
Corps 23 April 1814. He fought with a mounted detach-
ment of Marines in the Florida Indian Wars 1836 to 37
and as part of the occupying force in Mexico near the
close of the war. Harris was promoted to the office of
Colonel Commandant of the Corps 7 January 1859 on the
eve of the Civil War. Colonel Harris died while serving
as Commandant 12 May 1864.
(AP-8 : dp. 13,529 (It.;) 1. 535'2" ; b. 72'4" ; dr. 31'3" ;
s. 17 k. ; cpl. 628 ; a. 4 3", 6 40mm., 4 20mm. )
Harris (AP-8) was built in 1921 by Bethlehem Ship-
building Corp., Sparrows Point, Md. She served as a
passenger ship, Pine Tree State, and was renamed Presi-
dent Grant in 1922. She operated to the Orient for
American Orient Line, later American Mail Line, and was
one of America’s fastest and best Pacific liners until the
introduction of newer ships in the thirties. President
Grant was idled by the 1936-37 Maritime strike, and lay
at Seattle until being taken over by the Navy from the
Maritime commission 17 July 1040. Converted to a troop-
ship at Todd’s Seattle yard, she was renamed Harris and
commissioned 19 August 1040, Lt. A. M. Van Eaton in
command.
Harris spent the first few months of her commissioned
service carrying troops to Pearl Harbor and acting as a
troop training ship at San Diego. She sailed 13 April
1042 for the South Pacific, carrying Marines to occupy
strategic points outside the Japanese perimeter of con-
quest. Her task group arrived Wallis Island 31 May
1042 and unloaded troops for the defense of the New Cale-
donia area. Harris then returned to the United States
and operated out of Monterey Bay, Calif., in amphibious
training. This vital work was completed 22 August 1942,
and she sailed from San Diego for Norfolk.
After suffering collision damage which necessitated her
drydocking until 14 October, Harris loaded troops at Nor-
251
folk to begin training for landings in North Africa. She
departed 23 October with the Southern Attack Force, and
acted as flagship for the transport force. This invasion,
skillfully executed, increased the pressure on Axis forces
in Africa, and prepared a springboard for invasion of
Southern Europe. Harris arrived offshore early on 8
November 1942 and after Bernadou and Cole boldly en-
tered the harbor with raider forces, debarked her Army
troops to consolidate the landing. One of the first trans-
ports to complete disembarkation, Harris returned to Nor-
folk 13 November.
She got underway 5 December with combat troops for
the Pacific, arriving San Diego 17 December. There she
trained and was redesignated APA-21 before sailing from
San Francisco for Alaska 24 April 1943 to take part in the
recapture of Attu.
Harris arrived Cold Harbor 30 April and 4 days later
shaped course for the barren Aleutian Island. She skill-
fully debarked her troops during the assault 11 May. She
remained in the Adak-Dutch Harbor area until 10 June
1943, when she returned to San Diego. After training
off California, Harris and other ships of the Northern
Pacific Force sailed 29 July for the occupation of another
Aleutian Island, Kiska. Landings were made without
opposition 15 August, as the Japanese had evacuated un-
der cover of fog. Harris completed her unloading by 21
August and returned to San Francisco 31 August.
As United States power mounted in the Western Pacific
Harris sailed 8 September for New Zealand via Noumea.
Arriving Wellington on 30 September, she loaded Marines
and trained out of Wellington and Efate, New Hebrides,
until 13 November 1943. Harris then sailed with the
Southern Attack Force for the invasion of Tarawa, Gil-
bert Islands, as the Navy began its resistless push across
Micronesia to Japan. Harris arrived the day after the
initial landings on 20 November. Despite fire from shore
batteries she discharged her troops and cargo during the
days that followed. She remained off the stubbornly de-
fended island caring for casualties and unloading until 2
December, when she sailed for Pearl Harbor.
Arriving Pearl Harbor 14 December 1943, Harris took
part in amphibious drills for the next step toward Japan,
the invasion of the Marshalls. She sailed 22 January
1944 and arrived off Kwajalein 31 January. After a week
of bloody fighting in this highly successful assault troops
and casualties were reembarked on board Harris 8 Febru-
ary and arrived Pearl Harbor 15 February.
Harris sailed to San Pedro for needed repairs, and re-
turned to Pearl Harbor 9 May 1944. She immediately
began loading troops and equipment for another impor-
tant Pacific operation, the invasion of the Marianas.
She arrived off Saipan 16 June, one day after the initial
landings, and remained in the transport area until 20
June. With the Marianas won, and Japanese air power
dealt a crippling blow in the Battle of the Philippine Sea,
Harris sailed for Eniwetok, arriving 24 June.
The veteran transport returned to the Hawaiian Is-
lands and the Solomons 21 July to 8 September, in order
to prepare for the next assault. She then sailed from
Guadalcanal for the invasion of the Palaus, wanted as
staging bases for later air attacks. Harris conducted a
diversionary landing 15 September on Babelthuap while
the main forces stormed Peleliu, and after standing ready
with her reserve troops for several days, sailed for TJlithi.
Arriving 23 September, Harris put her troops ashore to
occupy this atoll, ideal for a fleet anchorage, and de-
parted 2 days later for Manus.
The invasion of the Philippines followed. Harris em-
barked elements of the 1st Cavalry Division and sailed
for Leyte Gulf 12 October. After having to leave the
formation temporarily to free her paravane from a dan-
gerous live mine, Harris regained position and unloaded
her troops and cargo, 20 October. Following the decisive
Battle for Leyte Gulf, Harris took on board survivors of
the gallant fight off Samar between heavy Japanese forces
and light U.S. carriers and destroyers. She departed 28
October, arriving Guam 3 days later, and returned to
Leyte Gulf with reinforcements. Harris then sailed for
Guadalcanal and Bouganville for additional troops and
spent December 1944 in landing exercises in Huon Gulf.
Harris departed Manus 31 December to rendezvous
with the assault forces steaming toward Lingayen Gulf.
The convoys encountered some of the heaviest air attacks
of the war en route, and Harris’s gunner were busy, espe-
cially 8 to 9 January 1945, the days immediately pre-
ceding the assault. She debarked her troops under
heavy smoke screen, and departed for Leyte Gulf. Here
she embarked more landing forces that she soon landed at
La Paz without opposition as the invasion of Luzon
gathered momentum. She returned to Leyte Gulf 1
February.
Loading again, Harris prepared to take part in the final
step in the steady drive to victory, the invasion of
Okinawa. She sailed 27 March and arrived offshore for
the initial landings 1 April, a member of Rear Admiral
Hall’s Southern Attack Force. Fierce enemy suicide
attacks soon developed, and again Harris’s gunners
fought off numerous attacks as ships around her were
hit. She completed her unloading under these hazard-
ous conditions by 3 April and departed for Pearl Harbor
6 April.
Harris continued to San Francisco, arriving 30 April,
but soon returned to the fighting, bringing fresh troops
to Okinawa 28 May. After another round trip from
Pearl Harbor to Okinawa, the ship arrived Ulithi 10
August, having narrowly missed the great August
typhoon.
Assigned to assist in carrying occupation troops to
Japan, Harris sailed to the Philippines 17 August, and
arrived Tokyo Bay 8 September. After disembarking her
troops Harris made another voyage to Samar for occupa-
tion troops, finally departing Japan 12 October. The
ship made its final occupation voyage to Taku, Bar, China,
helping to stabilize the volatile situation there, and sailed
16 November for Guam and the West Coast.
Harris transited the Panama Canal, arrived Boston 2
February 1946 and decommissioned 16 April. She was
sold to American Ship Breakers, Inc., 20 July 1948 and
scrapped. Harris received ten battle stars for World
War II service.
Harris, Albert T., see Albert T. Harris (DE^447)
Harris, Lake, see Lake Harris
Harris County
Counties in Georgia and Texas.
( LST-822 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 14'1" ; s. 11.6 k. ;
cpl. 266 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511 )
LST-822 was laid down by Missouri Valley Bridge &
Iron Co., Evansville, Ind., 20 September 1944; launched
1 November 1944 ; and commissioned at New Orleans, La.,
23 November 1944, Lt. R. N. McIntyre in command.
After shakedown off the Florida coast, LST-822 de-
parted New Orleans for the Pacific 27 December. Steam-
ing via San Diego and San Francisco, she reached Pearl
Harbor 6 February 1945. After a month of training in
Hawaiian waters, she sailed 15 March with Army troops
and equipment embarked. She touched Eniwetok 27
March, then arrived Ulithi 7 April to prepare for partici-
pation in the conquest of Okinawa, begun a week earlier.
Departing 12 April, she approached the shore of Okinawa
18 April ; and, during bitter fighting ashore and frequent
Japanese air attacks, she operated between Okinawa and
islands to the west. On 22 April she discharged men and
equipment at Ie Shima while protected by smoke cover.
During her 3 weeks at Okinawa she survived 18 enemy air
raids and carried vitally needed supplies for ground
forces.
LST-822 departed Okinawa 11 May, reached Saipan the
18th, and sailed for the Philippines 6 June. Arriving
252
Leyte 11 June, she proceeded to Biak where she arrived
the 18th and embarked troops for transfer to Okinawa.
Steaming via Leyte, she reached Naha, Okinawa, 4 July.
There she embarked victorious troops of the 108th Ar-
mored Tank Battalion and sailed 6 July for Cebu, Philip-
pines. She arrived 17 July, embarked troop replacements
at Subic Bay, then returned to the Ryukyus, arriving Ie
Shima 7 August.
Following the Japanese surrender, she returned to the
Philippines to transport occupation troops and equipment
to Japan. As part of a 120-ship convoy, she departed
Lingayen Gulf 17 September and arrived off Wakayama,
Japan, the 25th. After unloading equipment and de-
barking Army engineers, she sailed 1 October for Manila.
Between 19 and 27 October, she carried additional occu-
pation troops from Lingayen Gulf to Wakayama ; and
during the next 4 months, she supported occupation land-
ings and Allied operations along the coast of Japan.
Departing Sasebo 3 March 1946, LST-822 sailed for the
United States where she arrived San Diego 30 March.
After operating along the West Coast from Southern Cali-
fornia to Washington, she entered drydock at Portland,
Oregon, 28 May. She decommissioned 27 July and en-
tered the Pacific Reserve Fleet 10 August.
LST-822 recommisioned at Bremerton, Wash., 23 No-
vember 1950, Lt. Kent D. Myers in command. In re-
sponse to the Communist aggression in South Korea, she
departed Long Beach, Calif., 10 February 1951 for the
Far East. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she arrived Yoko-
suka, Japan, 23 March. During the next 4 months she
operated between Japan and the western coast of Korea,
supporting amphibious operations and bolstering the
American effort to repel the Communist threat. She de-
parted Yokosuka 20 July, arrived San Diego 9 August,
and spent the next 9 months participating in amphibious
training along the West Coast.
LST-822 departed San Diego 9 April 1952 and again de-
ployed to the Far East, arriving Yokosuka via Pearl Har-
bor 18 May. Operating out of Yokosuka and Sasebo, she
steamed to ports along the coast of Korea from Inchon and
Koje Do to Pusan and Pohang. She transferred men and
supplies between Japan and South Korea and later in
the year and into 1953 shuttled North Korean prisoners of
war during prisoner exchanges. Departing Inchon 22
January 1953, she sailed via Sasebo to Yokosuka, then
departed for the West Coast 5 February. She arrived
San Diego 5 March and resumed amphibious training,
which continued during the remainder of the year.
LST-822 departed San Diego 25 January 1954 for the
Western Pacific. Arriving Yokosuka 25 February, she
resumed supply duty in support of the forces of freedom
in the Far East, and during the next 5 months steamed
to Korea, Okinawa, and along the coast of Japan. On
11 August she departed Yokosuka for Haiphong, North
Vietnam, where she arrived 26 August. There she joined
Operation “Passage to Freedom,” which provided citizens
of North Vietnam an opportunity to escape the Commu-
nist takeover and to find a life of freedom in South Viet-
nam. As part of the mighty sea power of the United
States stationed in the Far East, she took part in the
evacuation of almost 300,000 Vietnamese from North to
South. Between 29 August and 2 October she carried
refugees, cargo, and military equipment from Haiphong
to Nha Trang, South Vietnam, thus strengthening South
Vietnam as a bastion of democracy in the tense and
troubled Southeast Asia. After returning to Japan 28
October, LST-822 departed Yokosuka 17 November,
touched Pearl Harbor 5 December, and reached San Diego
20 December.
LST-822 operated along the West Coast until 27 June
1955 when she sailed for operations in the Arctic Ocean
off Alaska. Named Harris County 1 July, she steamed
via Seattle, Wash., and reached Point Hope, Alaska, 27
July. For almost 2 months she conducted supply and
survey operations in the ice filled Arctic Ocean north
of Alaska. Departing Point Hope 19 September, she
sailed to San Diego and arrived 8 October. She returned
to Seattle late in October and from 1 December to 20
January 1956 underwent extensive overhaul. Departing
Seattle 27 January, she carried cargo to San Francisco
31 January. Harris County was placed in service in re-
serve 21 February at Mare Island, Calif . and she en-
tered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. In March she trans-
ferred to MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, Harris County continued
operating along the coast of Alaska and into the south-
"n reaches A the Arctic Ocean. She operated out of
ports in California and Washington as a supply and re-
plenishment ship between 1956 and 1962. On 14 January
1962 she departed Seattle for the mid Pacific. Steaming
via Seward, Alaska, she arrived Pearl Harbor 12 Febru-
ary to begin duty as a survey support ship. Since then
Harris County has operated throughout the Pacific from
Hawaii to New Guinea while carrying supplies and sup-
porting ocean survey projects. Her duties have carried
her to eastern New Guinea, the Marshalls, the Marianas,
and the Line Islands of Polynesia. At present in 1967
Harris County continues operating in the South West Pa-
cific under MSTS.
Harris County received one battle star for World War
II and four battle stars for Korean service.
Harrisburg
The capital of Pennsylvania.
(Sc Str. : dp. 10,499; 1. 585'; b. 63'3" ; dr. 29'; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 541; a. 2 6", 2 4", 2 1-pdr.)
Harrisburg, a troop transport, was built as a steel three-
masted schooner in 1888 as City of Paris by J. & G. Thomp-
son, Clydebank, Scotland, for the Inman Line. With her
sister ship, City of New York (later to become Harvard)
she was one of the finest transatlantic liners of the day,
and one of the first ships with twin screws on that service.
City of Paris was transferred to American registry in
1893 as Paris, and held the record for the Southampton-
New York crossing in July 1893.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-Ameriean War in 1898,
Paris was acquired by the Navy as an auxiliary cruiser,
and commissioned Yale 2 May 1898, Captain W. C. Wise
commanding. Sent to Puerto Rico to watch for the en-
trance of the Spanish fleet into the Caribbean, Yale
patrolled those waters until putting in at Key West, Fla.,
3 July. During this period she captured Spanish mer-
chantman Rita and was fired upon by Spanish ships off
San Juan. Subsequently, she was used by the Army to
transport troops to and from Puerto Rico. Yale departed
Charleston, S.C., 8 July, sailed to Puerto Rico, and ar-
rived at New York 1 August. She decommissioned 2
September 1898 and was returned to the American Line,
from whom she had been leased.
Reverting to Paris, the sleek ship again sailed the
Atlantic, but had the misfortune to run aground on the
Manacles, England, 21 May 1899. She remained there
until 11 July, when she wes reloaded and sent to Belfast,
Ireland, for extensive refit. Paris emerged from Belfast
with two funnels instead of her original three and power-
ful new engines. Renamed Philadelphia, she continued
her transatlantic passenger service.
Philadelphia was acquired by the Navy in 1918 and re-
named Harrisburg. She commissioned 29 May 1918,
Comdr. Wallace Bertholf commanding. During the war
Harrisburg made four voyages to Europe, two to Liver-
pool and two to Brest, with troops and supplies, and made
six additional trips after the war carrying veterans of
the European fighting home to the United States. She
was then decommissioned at Hoboken, N.J., 25 September
1919, and returned to her owner, the American Line, for
passenger service. She was subsequently sold to the
New York-Naples Steamship Co. in 1922 and scrapped in
1923.
Harrison
Benjamin Harrison, from whom the first Harrison was
named, was born about 1726 in Charles County, Va., and
253
USS Harrisburg camouflaged in 1918
attended the college of William and Mary. As a member
of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Harrison protested
against the Stamp Act. An early advocate of independ-
ence, he served in the Continental Congress 1771—78 and
as Governor of Virginia 1781-84. Harrison died 24 April
1791. His son and great-grandson were both Presidents
of the United States.
Napoleon Harrison was born in Martinsburg, Va. (now
West Virginia), 19 February 1823 and was appointed Mid-
shipman 26 February 1838. Serving in California during
the Mexican War in Portsmouth, he was a volunteer in the
expedition to rescue Kearny’s command, and spent 5 days
en route from San Francisco to Monterrey in a small boat
carrying despatches. In 1862 Harrison commanded
Cayuga at the passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip,
leading the battle line past the forts and upriver to New
Orleans. He later commanded Mahaska in the James
River Flotilla, Minnesota in the North Atlantic Blockad-
ing Squadron, and various ships in the South Atlantic
Blockading Squadron. After the fall of Charleston in
1865 Harrison served at Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.
Following the Civil War, he taught at the Naval Academy
and in 1870 took command of his last ship, Congress.
Captain Harrison died 27 October 1870 at Key West, Fla.
The second Harrison was named after him.
I
( Sell : 4 4-pdrs. )
Harrison, a former fishing schooner built in 1761, and
named the Triton was chartered 22 October 1775 as part
of the small fleet outfitted by General George Washington
to capture much needed supplies and to aid him in the
siege of Boston. Under Captain William Coit the ship
set sail from Plymouth, where she had been obtained, on
October 26. Although Harrison was not sturdy or par-
ticularly seaworthy. Captain Coit succeeded in capturing
two British provision ships 5 November. Continuing her
cruise against British shipping, the ship departed again
13 November 1775 and after being chased by frigate Tartar
on the 23d, brought two more prizes into port 1 December.
Harrison remained at Plymouth, was frozen in for a time
in January, and after making two short unproductive
cruises decommissioned.
II
( DD-573 : dp. 2050 ; 1. 376'2" ; dr. 13' ; b. 39'8" ; s, 35 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt., 6 dcp. 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Harrison (DD-573) was launched by Consolidated Steel
Co., Orange, Tex., 4 May 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harry
B. Hird ; and commissioned 25 January 1943, Comdr. C.
M. Dalton in command.
Following shakedown training in the Gulf of Mexico
and Caribbean, Harrison escorted a merchant ship to the
Canal Zone, and sailed for New York. The ship arrived
New York 6 April and Charleston 2 days later. She then
joined a convoy out of New York for Casablanca, and
after touching at several points in the Mediterranean
returned 1 June to Charleston. Harrison was then as-
signed to anti-submarine exercises in Caribbean waters
with carrier Yorktown, after which she performed escort
duty in the area until 22 July 1943.
Harrison was assigned in mid-1943 to the Pacific fleet,
where the crescendo of amphibious war was beginning.
Departing with carrier Lexington from Norfolk 22 July,
the ship arrived Pearl Harbor 9 August and spent the
next days training for the important amphibious opera-
tions which were to come. Her job was to screen the
carriers as their aircraft softened up Japanese-held is-
lands, and the task group got underway 22 August for
strikes against Marcus, Wake, and Tarawa, interspersed
with short resupply stops at Pearl Harbor. AVith these
vital preliminary operations complete, Harrison departed
21 October for duty in the Solomons, long the scene of
bitter fighting both on land and sea.
She arrived Espritu Santo, New Hebrides, 4 November
and 3 days later steamed to Empress Augusta Bay,
254
Bougainville, to screen transports carrying reinforce-
ments. As she patrolled off the bay, where Marines had
landed 1 November, the Japanese launched a fierce night
attack with dive bombers and torpedo planes 8-0 Novem-
ber. Harrison’ s gunners accounted for at least one plane
during the battle. The destroyer departed 14 Novem-
ber for the Gilberts operation and again screened tran-
sports as they put initial assault troops ashore 20 No-
vember. Hatrison remained off bloody Tarawa until 29
November, when she took up patrol off Makin. The ship
then sailed to Funafuti 7 December and engaged in train-
ing exercises before anchoring at Pearl Harbor 1 January
1944. She remained in Hawaiian waters for most of
January taking part in fire support exercises for impend-
ing invasion of the Marshall Islands.
Harrison sailed with the Southern Attack Force 22
January, and arrived off Kwajalein 31 January. She
screened battleships New Mexico and Mississippi while
the larger ships pounded shore installations, and sank
a small tanker with her guns as the Japanese ship at-
tempted to escape from the lagoon. As the Marines
landed and advanced over the numerous islands in the
atoll, Harrison entered the lagoon 4 February and
rendered close fire support. She spent the next 4 weeks
patrolling offshore and anchored in the lagoon, departing
1 March for Efate, New Hebrides.
The destroyer arrived Efate 7 March and after a short
rest screened a task group during the strike on Kavieng,
New Ireland, 20 March. Returning to Efate 25 March,
she joined some 200 ships for the largest operation yet
attempted in the southwest Pacific, the occupation of
Hollandia. Harrison arrived New Guinea 1 April, en-
gaged in patrol and escort operations until 19 April,
and then sailed to Humboldt Bay for the assault. Car-
riers screened by the destroyer and her sisters bom-
barded enemy airfields and supported the successful land-
ing, after which Harrison arrived Port Purvis 11 May for
a month of local exercises and patrols.
Next on the timetable of conquest in Micronesia were
the Marianas, and Harrison sailed 4 June for the Mar-
shalls to prepare for that operation. Arriving Kwajalein
8 June, she engaged in patrolling and readiness opera-
tions until 17 June, when she sailed for Guam. Harrison
arrived 21 June and lent fire support to Marines ashore
in addition to patrolling the transport areas. This opera-
tion not only constituted a break in Japan’s inner ring
of defenses, but dealt a death blow to the Empire’s naval
air arm at the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Harrison
sailed back to Espiritu Santo via Eniwetok 16 August.
Harrison departed 22 August for New Guinea, where
she supported with gunfire Rear Admiral Barbey’s land-
ing on Morotai Island 15 September. After helping to
establish this important air base, the destroyer joined
a larger task force at Humboldt Bay and departed 13
November for one of the largest operations of the war, the
invasion of the Philippines. Harrison arrived off Leyte
20 October and delivered accurate shore fire for the as-
sault forces during the initial stages. She then assumed
escort duties in already crowded Leyte Gulf until return-
ing to Humboldt Bay 23 October.
After her many long months in the Pacific forward
areas, Harrison departed for the United States 1 Novem-
ber and arrived Mare Island, California, via Pearl Harbor,
24 November 1944. She remained there until departing
again for Pearl Harbor 20 January 1945. Arriving Ulithi
7 February, Harrison joined famed Task Force 58, Vice
Admiral Mitscher, and in company with Hornet, Wasp,
and other carriers sailed three days later to stage the
first strike on the mainland of Japan since the Halsey-
Doolittle raid of 1942. Observing the strictest secrecy
to insure success, the carriers and their escorts arrived
off Japan 16 February and launched a devastating series
of strikes against the Tokyo area. After these attacks,
the vast force moved south to support the Iwo Jima land-
ings, scheduled for the 19th, and remained east of the
island until returning for another raid on Tokyo 25 Feb-
ruary. Refueling at sea in a remarkable demonstration
of the mobility and striking power of carrier forces,
the ships then sailed to Okinawa for photo-reconnaissance
missions 1 March. This completed, Harrison and the rest
of the task force arrived Ulithi 5 March 1945.
The great task force sortied once more from Ulithi 14
March to support the Okinawa operation, last stop on
the island road to Japan. In heavy strikes 18-19 March
the carrier forces inflicted great damage on Okinawa in
preparation for the invasion, and Harrison shot down
another attacking enemy aircraft. Attacks against Jap-
anese airfields in the home islands were also launched,
cutting down significantly the air opposition over Okin-
awa during the initial assault. After the Marines
stormed ashore 1 April, the carrier groups and their
destroyers turned to direct support of the landing. As
a Japanese task force, built around the giant battleship
Yamato, sortied from the inland sea to attack the beaches
at Okinawa, Task Force 58 aircraft delivered a skillful
and effective attack, sinking Yamato and five other ships
while suffering only small losses.
During her operations off Okinawa Harrison began to
experience increasing kamikaze attacks. Harrison’s gun-
ners accounted for two of the suicide planes 6 April, and
protected the carriers during countless attacks in the
days following the invasion. She returned to Ulithi 30
April for a brief respite, but was underway again 9 May
for tactical support of the American forces on bitterly
contested Okinawa. The task force, now part of 3d Fleet,
continued this pattern, including periodic strikes against
Japan, until after the great June typhoon. Harrison
rode out the storm 5 June in which Pittsburgh lost her bow
and the ships put in at Leyte Gulf 11 June to repair
damage.
After replenishing the great task force moved once
more toward Japan 1 July. During the next 2 months,
devastating air strikes were carried out against Japan,
and retaliatory air attacks were fought off by Harrison
and the other protecting destroyers. Refueling at sea,
the carriers kept up a constant bombardment of the home
islands. In addition, Harrison with four cruisers and
five other destroyers made an anti-shipping sweep along
the northern coast of Honshu ; but, testifying to the thor-
oughness of American surface and submarine attrition,
gained not one contact. Then during the night of 30-31
July Harrison and the rest of her squadron swept Suruga
Wan, near Tokyo, and in the very shadow of Mount
Fujiyama bombarded railroad yards and an aluminum
plant.
Task Force 38 kept up its relentless attacks against
Japan until the surrender 15 August. Harrison arrived
Guam 26 August and Pearl Harbor 14 September. There
the veteran destroyer got underway with carrier Enter-
prise for the Canal Zone and the East Coast, arriving
Boston 17 October 1945. After Navy Day celebrations the
ship arrived Charleston 3 November and decomissioned
1 April 1946. Harrison was subsequently placed in re-
serve and transferred to Orange, Tex., where she remains.
Harrison received 11 battle stars for World War II
service.
Harry Bumm
A former name retained.
The steam tug Harry Bumm, also known as Tug No. 5,
was renamed Epsilon (q.v.) in November 1864.
Harry Culhreath, see Titania (AK-55)
Harry E. Hubbard
Harry Enson Hubbard was born 18 March 1903 in Bal-
timore, Md. He graduated from the Naval Academy in
June 1925, served 3 years in battleship Maryland, then
qualified in submarines at New London, Conn. Follow-
ing duty in submarine S-SIf, he completed Naval Academy
postgraduate work, then served in submarine tender
255
Holland, and, was executive officer of destroyer Twiggs.
He served at the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, then
commanded destroyer Roper 1939 to 1940, before assign-
ment as staff gunnery officer for destroyers in the Atlantic.
The latter duty terminated 1 March 1942 when Hubbard
took command of destroyer Meredith (DD^34).
In command of Meredith, Hubbard helped screen car-
rier Hornet off Japan for the famed Doolittle bombing
raids on Tokyo 18 April 1942. Thereafter he conned his
destroyer on arduous patrol and escort from Hawaii to
the Samoan, Fiji, and Solomon Islands. His destroyer
helped cover transports landing reinforcements on bitterly
contested Guadalcanal 18 September 1942.
During the darkest days of the Solomons Campaign
Hubbard joined in maintaining the lifeline of supplies to
fighting men holding their ground on Guadalcanal. On
15 October 1942 he fought his ship against Japanese car-
rier-based scouting planes, then fought off 18 enemy dive
bombers and 12 torpedo planes launched by Japanese
aircraft carrier Zuikaku. His gunners shot down five
of the attackers, all the destroyermen following the ex-
ample of Hubbard who carried on the fight though blinded
by burns about his face. When his men had cleared the
bridge, he abandoned the sinking Meredith scant moments
before she made her final plunge. He perished on a life
raft at sea the morning of 16 October 1942. The heroic
stand of Commander Hubbard and his destroyerman had
drawn the enemy aircraft away from ships who made it to
Guadalcanal with munitions and desperately needed
supplies.
(DD 748: dp. 2,200; 1. 376'5" ; b. 41'4" ; dr. 15'8” ; s. 34
k. ; cpl. 336: a. 6 5", 11 20mm., 10 21" tt. ; cl. Allen M.
Sumner)
Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748) was launched 24 March
1944 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y. ;
sponsored by Miss Jean Hubbard, daughter; and com-
missioned 22 July 1944, Comdr. Leonard W. Bailey in
command.
Flagship of Destroyer Squadron 64, Harry E. Hubbard
trained precommissioning crews destined for newly con-
structed warships until sailing for Hawaii 16 January
1945. She served as a training ship out of Pearl Harbor
until 17 April, then departed for combat. She arrived
off Okinawa 8 May 1945 to serve as a picket destroyer
guarding against the day and night waves of Japanese
aerial raids and suicide runs of kamikaze planes. Al-
though the American fleet suffered losses and damage, it
had come to stay. As with all previous Japanese weapons,
even the suicide kamikazes were defeated in their at-
tempt to save this, last “stepping stone” to Japan itself.
For nearly 2 months Harry E. Hubbard fought off the
savage raiders, shooting down four suicide planes that
tried to crash her at various times.
When picket destroyers Evans and Hugh W. Hadley
were badly damaged in their stand against some 50 sui-
cide planes 11 May 1945, Harry E. Hubbard, first to ar-
rive on the scene, went alongside Evans to render
fire-fighting, damage control and medical aid. She gave
similar assistance to destroyer Barry 24-25 May, shooting
down two suicide planes as she escorted Barry from
picket station into Kerama Retto. One enemy plane was
disintegrated by Harry E. Hubbard’s gunners a bare 50
yards from the ship.
Harry E. Hubbard remained off Okinawa until 24 July
1945, then escorted occupation troops to Jinsen, Korea,
and carried the Commander of Destroyer Squadron 64
to Chinkai, Korea, to oversee the demilitarization of the
former Japanese naval base there. She returned to Jin-
sen 7 November 1945, then based out of Tsingtao, China.
She performed escort, mail, and communication service
for the North China Occupation force until departing 16
March 1946, for the California seaboard. She arrived
at San Francisco 28 March 1946, underwent demobiliza-
tion overhaul at Oakland, then decommissioned at San
Diego 15 January 1947. She remained in the Pacific
Reserve Fleet until recommissioned 14 May 1949 but de-
commissioned 12 December without having gone to sea.
Following the invasion of South Korea, Harry E. Hub-
bard recommissioned 27 October 1950, Comdr. Burres D.
Wood in command. After initial shakedown along the
coast of California, she departed San Diego 2 January
1951 for two months of training in Hawaiian waters. She
then steamed to assist the U.N. Forces in Korea. Besides
helping guard the fast carrier task force making repeated
airstrikes against the enemy, she frequently joined in
gunstrike missions to bombard coastal rail and commu-
nication centers and performed as sea-going artillery
to support the advance of land troops. Her bombardment
missions were conducted against targets at Yongdae Gap,
Wonsan, Songjin, Chingjin, Kyoto, Chako, Bokuko,
Chuminjin, and other enemy strongholds of supply and
reinforcement. When destroyer Walke (DD-723) was
heavily damaged by underwater explosion off Wonson 11
June 1951, Harry E. Hubbard, with the same skill as off
Okinawa in 1945, moved in to render effective medical
and damage control assistance. She returned to the Cali-
fornia coast in October 1951 for overhaul and completed
a similar tour of duty with the 7th Fleet off Korea July
to December 1952. She returned to San Diego in Janu-
ary 1953 but again departed 11 July to guard fast carrier
task groups watching over the uneasy truce in Korea.
Intervened by patrol in the Taiwan Straits, this duty
continued until 13 January 1954. She returned to San
Diego for overhaul and refresher training along the
western seaboard.
Harry E. Hubbard departed San Diego 11 August 1954
on the first of nine additional Far East tours with the
7th Fleet which were completed by the close of 1966. Dur-
ing this service, she joined the roving 7th Fleet 6 to 13
February 1955 in moving in under Chinese Communist ar-
tillery defenses to cover the evacuation of Chinese Na-
tionalist from untenable positions on the Tachen Is-
lands. In October to November 1956 she diverted from
Australia to the “Dewline” in the Northern Pacific to
serve on picket patrol during the Suez Crises. She next
joined in combined warfare exercises with SEATO Treaty
nations to improve readiness in defending freedom in that
part of the world. From time to time, she patrolled
the Taiwan Straits to insure Taiwan was not threatened
from the Communist mainland of China. She was off
Guam in June 1960, twice guarding the flight of Presi-
dent Eisenhower’s aircraft during his Far East visit.
When Communist North Vietnamese torpedo boats
committed unprovoked attacks on American destroyers
patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin 2 to 5 August 1964, Harry E.
Hubbard was nearby in the South China Sea screening
carrier Ticonderoga (CVA-14). The carrier task group
struck back with lightning rapidity to destroy North Viet-
namese torpedo boats and their supporting facilities. In
awarding the Navy Unit Commendation to Ticonderoga
and her screen, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze stated
that they had “demonstrated the firm intent of the United
States to maintain freedom of the seas and to take all
necessary measures in defense of peace in Southeast
Asia.”
Harry E. Hubbard returned to San Diego 28 October
1964 for a year of warfare readiness operations along
the western seaboard. In October she departed for the
coast of South Vietnam. In company with Valley Forge
(LPH-8) in November and December 1965, she provided
gunfire support for two Marine amphibious landings. In
the following months she acted as escort to Kitty Hawk
(CVA-63) and Hancock (CVA-19) during their strike
operations in the South China Sea ; acted as Harbor
Defense ship at Danang and fired more than 1,000 rounds
of exploding 5-inch shells into Viet Cong strongholds along
the South Vietnamese coast. She returned to Long Beach,
Calif., 7 April 1966. The destroyer had drawn nation-
wide attention 10 March 1966 when the ABC Television
Network included scenes of one of her shore bombard-
ments along the South Vietnamese coast. The prowess
and accuracy of her gunners was illustrated by one
spotter’s comment: “ Hubbard is the fastest shooting ship
and one of the most accurate I’ve seen.” Harry E. Hub-
bard headed for the Western Pacific in the spring of 1967
256
USS Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748) in 1966
where more action against aggressors in Southeast Asia
awaited her.
Harry E. Hubbard shared in the Navy Unit Commenda-
tion awarded Task Group 77.5 for support operations in
the Gulf of Tonkin 2 to 5 August 1964. She also re-
ceived six battle stars for World War II and Korean
service.
Harry E. Yarnell
Harry Ervin Yarnell, born near Independence, Iowa, 18
October 1875, began his naval career which spanned 51
year and 3 wars, When he entered the U.S. Naval Academy
in 1893. After serving in Oregon during the Battle of
Santiago, 3 July 1898, Yarnell was commissioned ensign
1 July 1899 and reported to the Asiatic Station. He
served in the Philippines during the Aguinaldo Insurrec-
tion and on the China Station during the Boxer Rebellion.
From Asia Yarnell reported to Connecticut at her com-
missioning, and sailed around the world with the Great
White Fleet. Next, duty at the Newport Torpedo Station,
on CINCLANT”s staff, and at the Naval War College oc-
cupied him until World War I, when he served at Gibraltar
and London. Yarnell then rotated between sea and shore
duty until ordered to Saratoga September 1927, as pros-
pective commanding officer. He served as captain of the
carrier from her commissioning until 17 August 1928,
when he was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Engineer-
ing as Rear Admiral.
From January to April 1930 Admiral Yarnell was Naval
Adviser to the American delegation at the London Naval
Conference, and in October 1936 he became commander in
Chief, Asiatic Fleet, with the rank of Admiral.
His tour there was notable for the sagacious and firm
manner with which he handled a most explosive interna-
tional situation.
After 3 years service, Admiral Yarnell was transferred
to the Retired List ; but, 1 November 1941, as war loomed
in the East he was recalled to the office of the Secretary
of the Navy as Special Adviser to the Chinese Military
Mission.
Admiral Yarnell was relieved of active duty 15 Jan-
uary 1943 but returned in June as Head of a Special Sec-
tion in the Office of Chief of Naval Operations until De-
cember 1944, when he again was relieved of active duty.
Admiral Yarnell died 7 July 1959 at Newport, R.I., his
home since his retirement. Among the awards and medals
earned in his long and distinguished career were the Navy
Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Diploma and
Decoration of the Companion of the Order of the British
Empire, and the Cloud Standard, Second Class, of the
Government of China.
(DLG-17 : dp. 5670; 1. 535'; b. 53'6" ; dr. 17'2" ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 400 ; a. 4 Ter., ASROC, 2 3" ; cl. Leahy)
Harry E. Yarnell was launched 9 December 1961 by the
Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; sponsored by Mrs. Philip
257
Yarnell, wife of the late Admiral Yarnell; and commis-
sioned 2 February 1963 at the Boston Naval Shipyard,
Captain Charles E. Nelson in command.
Second of the “double-end,” Leahy- class guided-missile
frigates to join America’s sea-going arsenal, Harry E.
Yarnell is equipped with Terrier surface-to-air missile
launching tubes both fore and aft and ASROC anti-sub-
marine missiles as well as more conventional torpedo
tubes and guns. Before taking her place in America’s
powerful deterrent force, the new ship was fitted out at
Boston and received a grim reminder that even in peace-
time the sea can be a powerful enemy. As she was out on
trials, Harry E. Yarnell was diverted 10 April 1963 to
search for Thresher, the nuclear submarine later found
on the bottom some 8,000 feet down. Quartering the area
Where the sub was last reported, the guided missile frigate
found an oil slick and some debris but could not contact
the lost submarine.
On her way to her new home base at Norfolk 23 April,
Harry E. Yarnell passed and photographed several Rus-
sian “merchant” ships. The next few months were spent
conducting training for shakedown and missile qualifica-
tion. Designated to cai'ry out standardization trials for
her class as well as special acoustical tests, Harry E. Yar-
nell spent 28 October-26 November in the Caribbean oper-
ating out of Guantanamo and then returned to Norfolk.
Harry E. Yarnell continued operating in the Virginia
Capes area and the Caribbean until departing Norfolk
8 September 1964 for her first Atlantic crossing. NATO
ASW exercises en route took the guided missile frigate far
north, and she crossed the Arctic circle on the 21st. She
visited Amsterdam en route to the Mediterranean, where
she remained until returning to Norfolk in February 1965.
On her next Mediterranean deployment, which began
8 October, she transited the Dardanelles 3 January 1966
and entered the Black Sea to operate close to the Soviet
Union before returning to Norfolk in March. After NATO
exercises in the North Atlantic, Harry E. Yarnell received
the battle efficiency “E” for the preceeding year.
Operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean brought
the fine ship and her crew to a high degree of readiness
before she sailed for her 3d Med deployment early in 1967.
She cruised the Mediterranean ready to help snuff out
trouble, should it occur in that troubled area, until re-
turning to Norfolk in May. At mid-year she operated in
the North Atlantic, honing her fighting edge to prepare
for the challenges of the future.
Harry F. Bauer
Harry Frederick Bauer was born 17 July 1904 at Camp
Thomas Lytle, Ga., and graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy in 1927. During the early part of his career he
served at shore stations, including a tour as instructor at
the Naval Academy, and in Twiggs, Cuyama, and Tracy.
Bauer was commissioned Lieutenant Commander 1 July
1941 and took command of fast transport Gregory 1 Jan-
uary 1942. While acting as combat transports for Ma-
rines off Guadalcanal during the night of 4-5 September
1942, Gregory and Little were surprised by three Japa-
nese destroyers covering a small troop landing. Though
vastly outgunned, the two transports fought valiantly
before being sunk. Lt. Comdr. Bauer was badly wounded,
and while being pulled clear by two of his crew ordered
them to rescue another man crying out for assistance.
Lt. Comdr. Bauer was lost, receiving the Silver Star post-
humously for his gallantry.
( DM-26 : dp. 2200; 1. 376'6'' ; b. 40'10” ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34
k. ; cpl. 336; a. 3 5", 8 20mm., 2 .50 cal. ; cl. Robert H.
Smith )
Harry F. Bauer (DM-26) was launched as DD-738 by
Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, 9 July 1944 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Harry F. Bauer, wife of Lt. Comdr. Bauer ;
converted to minelayer DM-26 and commissioned 22 Sep-
tember 1944, Comdr. R. C. Williams, Jr., in command.
Following shakedown training out of Bermuda and
minelayer training off Norfolk, Harry F. Bauer sailed 28
November 1944 via the Panama Canal arriving San
Diego 12 December. After additional training both there
and at Pearl Harbor she departed Hawaii 27 January
1945 as a unit of Transport Group Baker for the invasion
of Iwo Jima, next stop in the island campaign toward
Japan. As Vice Admiral Turner’s invasion troops stormed
ashore 19 February, Harry F. Bauer acted as a picket ves-
sel and carried out antisubmarine patrol to protect the
transports. As the campaign developed, the ship also
conducted shore bombardment, destroying several gun em-
placements, tanks, and supply dumps. She proceeded
to Ulithi 8 March to prepare for the last and largest of
the Pacific island operations, Okinawa.
Harry F. Bauer arrived Kerama Retto 25 March and
helped screen minecraft during preliminary sweeps of
the invasion area. Under intensive air attack during
this period, she shot down several Japanese planes, three
on the night of 28-29 March alone. On the day of the
assault, 1 April 1945, she joined the picket ships offshore,
and for over two months of antisubmarine and anti-air-
craft duty was under almost continuous attack. A tor-
pedo crashed through her ballast tank 6 April, but failed
to explode, and she again shot down three aircraft on the
night of 29 April 1945. While in company with J. William
Ditter 6 June, she wras attacked by eight enemy aircraft.
Each ship accounted for three; one crashed close aboard
Harry F. Bauer, flooding two compartments. Although
damaged herself, the ship escorted the crippled J. William
Ditter to Kerama Retto. Survey of her damage during
repairs revealed an unexploded bomb in one of her flooded
compartments.
After repairs at Leyte, Harry F. Bauer arrived Oki-
nawa 15 August, the day of the Japanese surrender. With
the prospect of massive minesweeping in Japanese waters
incident to the occupation, she sailed 20 August for the
East China Sea, where she engaged in minesweeping
operations until arriving Sasebo 28 October. Sailing for
the United States 1 December she arrived San Diego 22
December.
Sailing to Norfolk 8 January 1946, Harry F. Bauer
began operations with the Atlantic Fleet. These con-
sisted of antisubmarine cruises in the Atlantic and Carib-
bean, tactical training and fleet maneuvers. During Octo-
ber-November 1948 she took part in 2d Fleet exercises
in the Atlantic, and in June-July 1949 participated in a
Naval Academy training cruise with giant battleship
Missouri.
In 1950 Harry F. Bauer made her first cruise to the
troubled Mediterranean, departing 9 September and re-
turning to Charleston 1 February 1951. During the years
that followed she continued with tactical operations, that
took her to the Caribbean and Northern Europe. She
ended active steaming in September 1955 and decommis-
sioned 12 March 1956 at Charleston, entering the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia, where she remains.
Harry F. Bauer received a Presidential Unit Citation
for the series of courageous actions off Okinawa during
that bitter campaign, where “the fleet had come to stay”
and four battle stars for World War II service.
Harry L. Corl
Harry Lee Corl was born in Lambertville, Mich., 26
March 1914, and enlisted in the Navy 20 November 1934.
He was discharged in 1938 but enlisted again the follow-
ing year, rising to ensign 15 June 1942. He was awarded
the Navy Cross for heroism in the epochal Battle of Mid-
way, when he was the pilot of a torpedo plane in the as-
sault against the Japanese fleet. His squadron probably
scored hits on two of the carriers later lost in the action.
Ensign Corl was reported missing on a mission in the
South Pacific 24 August 1942, and was presumed dead
25 August.
( ADP-108 : dp. 1390; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm. ; cl. Grosley)
258
Harry L. Corl (ADP-108) was launched as DEI-598 by
Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass., 1 March
1944; sponsored by Mrs. Marie Mohr, sister of Ensign
Corl; and commissioned 5 June 1945, Lt. W. D. Jenckes
in command. She had been redesignated ADP-108 and
converted to a high speed transport before commissioning.
Following her shakedown training in the Caribbean,
Harry L. Corl departed Norfolk for the West Coast 4
August 1945. She arrived San Diego 19 August, 4 days
after the end of the war, and was assigned the duty of
carrying supplies and men to northern Pacific ports. Ar-
riving Seattle 26 August, the transport took on passengers
and equipment for northern weather stations. She ar-
rived Dutch Harbor, Alaska, 1 September and Petropav-
lovsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, 5 days later. There
Harry L. Corl unloaded cargo and helped to establish an
important weather station, so vital to safe navigation of
the Pacific.
The transport made three more supply voyages from
Attu to Petropavlovsk, and sailed to Seattle 21 Novem-
ber. After a voyage to Alaskan ports with passengers the
ship returned to Seattle 11 January 1946. Scheduled for
inactivation, Harry L. Corl then sailed for San Francisco,
and departed that port 26 E'ebruary for the east coast.
She arrived New York 20 March and Green Cove Springs,
Florida, 12 April, decommissioning 21 June 1946. Harry
L. Corl was subsequently placed in the reserve fleet, where
she remained until her name was struck from the Navy
List on 15 January 1966. She was delivered to Korea
in May 1966 for use in the ROK Navy as Ah San.
Harry Lee
Harry Lee was born in Washington, D.C., 4 June 1872
and was appointed second lieutenant in the Marine Corps
for the war with Spain 2 August 1898. He served at the
Havana Naval Station during the war and in various
ships of the Navy and Marine Corps stations following
it. Joining the 6th Regiment in 1917, Lee commanded
it at Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne Forest
and marched with the Army to the Rhine. After the war
he commanded the Marine Brigade in Santo Domingo,
sent in 1921 to pacify the country and establish constitu-
tional government. E\>r 3 years he served as military
governor of the country. Later General Lee commanded
Marine Barracks, Parris Island, and while in command of
the Marine base at Quantico, Va., died 1 March 1933. For
World War I service Major General Lee was awarded
the Army and Navy Distinguished Service Medals, the
French Legion of Honor, and other decorations.
( AP-17 : dp. 9,989 ; 1. 475'4" ; b. 61'6" ; dr. 25'4" ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 453; a. 4 3", 4 40mm.)
Harry Lee (AP-17) was built as passenger ship Exo-
chorda by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J., in
1931 and operated in the Mediterranean area for Ameri-
can Export Lines. Acquired by the Navy 30 October 1940,
she was converted at Tietjen and Lang Dry Dock Co.,
Hoboken, N.J., and commissioned Harry Lee (AP-17) 27
December 1940, Captain R. P. Hinrichs in command.
Harry Lee was redesignated APA-10, 1 February 1943.
Harry Lee spent the first few months of her commis-
sioned service transporting Marine combat units to the
Caribbean for training exercises, helping to build the
amphibious teams which were to find such great success
in the later stages of World War II. After a stay at
Norfolk, the transport was assigned in July to the Iceland
route, carrying troops and supplies to that country from
Norfolk and New York. After making two such passages,
she returned to Boston 22 December 1941 to take part in
additional training exercises. With America then in the
war, Harry Lee spent the next 18 months in amphibious
maneuvers in the Caribbean area. During this time the
ship carried out many valuable experiments with landing
craft and boat control procedures, all of which bore fruit
in the dangerous months to come.
Returning to Boston 6 April 1943, Harry Lee was des-
ignated for use in the upcoming offensive in the Mediter-
ranean, and sailed 8 June for Algeria. She anchored at
Oran 22 June to prepare for the landing and found herself
off the southwest coast of Sicily 10 July with Vice Admiral
Hewitt’s Western Naval Task Force. During this giant
invasion Harry Lee debarked her troops through the
heavy surf at Scoglitti and withstood several Axis air
attacks before retiring 2 days later.
After the success of the Sicilian operation, the trans-
port returned German prisoners of war to the United
States, arriving Norfolk 3 August. It was then decided
that her amphibious prowess was needed in the Pacific,
and she sailed 24 August for Wellington, New Zealand,
via the Panama Canal and San Francisco, arriving 12
October 1943. At Wellington Harry Lee loaded Marines
in preparation for the big push of the invasion of the Gil-
bert Islands. She proceeded to Efate, New Hebrides, 1-7
November and for the next few weeks held amphibious
practice landings in preparation for the landings on Tara-
wa. The transport departed for Tarawa 13 November,
and arrived offshore 20 November. There she launched
her Marines onto the bloody beaches, under threat of sub-
marine attack and air attack and sailed the next day for
Pearl Harbor.
Harry Lee participated in rehearsal landings in Ha-
waiian waters after her arrival at Pearl Harbor 7 De-
cember 1943, and sailed 23 January 1944 for the invasion
of the Marshall Islands, next step on the island road to
Japan. She arrived off Kwajalein 31 January. She ef-
fectively carried out her role in this complicated opera-
tion by landing troops on two small islands in the atoll;
they met little opposition. Harry Lee remained off Kwaj-
alein until departing for Funafuti 5 February. From
there she sailed to Noumea 24 February and by 14 March
was anchored off Guadalcanal to load troops and continue
her amphibious preparations.
After carrying troops to Bougainville and New Guinea
in April, Harry Lee sailed to Aitape, New Guinea, under
Rear Admiral Barbey for the Hollandia operation. She
arrived 23 April after the initial assault, unloaded her
troops, and proceeded to bring reinforcements from other
points in New Guinea to the landing area. This accom-
plished, the transport arrived Espiritu Santo 11 May.
Harry Lee was next to take part in the invasion of the
Marianas. After landing operations conducted around
Guadalcanal the ship sailed to Kwajalein and got under-
way in convoy for Guam 12 June. During this gigantic
operation, in which troops were projected over 1,000 miles
of ocean from the nearest advance base, Harry Lee was
held in reserve for the Guam landings. She arrived off
Agat, Guam, 21 July 1945 and debarked her troops. The
transport then remained offshore loading and relanding
troops for tactical purposes until 25 July, when she
steamed with her fellow transports to Eniwetok. They
arrived 29 July, and 2 days later sailed for Pearl Harbor.
Arriving Pearl Harbor 7 August 1944, Harry Lee set
course for California and a much-needed overhaul. She
arrived San Pedro 18 August and remained in California
until departing 21 October with troops for Seeadler Har-
bor, Manus. Until 31 December the ship conducted prac-
tice landings in New Guinea and the Solomons for the
upcoming invasion of Luzon, and departed the last day of
1944 for Lingayen Gulf. Enroute, Japanese planes at-
tacked the task force savagely with suicide planes and
bombers, but Harry Lee by effective gunfire and luck
escaped damage. She entered Lingayen Gulf 9 January
1945 and began landing troops under constant air alert.
That night the transports retired off the beaches under
smoke screens, returning next day to resume the danger-
ous job of landing supplies. Harry Lee sailed 10 Jan-
uary for Leyte Gulf, anchoring 14 January.
With troops ashore at Lingayen, Harry Lee departed
19 January for Ulithi and arrived 2 days later. She soon
was back in action, however, sailing 17 February for Iwo
Jima and her last amphibious operation of the war. The
transport arrived via Guam 22 February, 3 days after the
initial landings, and after sending a reconnaissance unit
ashore 24 February disembarked her troops. The ship
259
remained off Iwo Jima until 6 March acting as a hospital
evacuation vessel. She then sailed with casualties to
Saipan 6-9 March.
Harry Lee spent the rest of her time in the Pacific
transporting troops and supplies, as the American thrust
at Japan neared its final phase. She touched at Tulagi,
Noumea, New Guinea, Manus, and the Philippines, bring-
ing reinforcements and vitally needed supplies. The ship
was at Leyte Gulf 20 July when ordered back to the
United States, and she arrived for a brief stay 8 August.
It was during this time that news of Japan’s surrender
reached the veteran transport.
The ship reached Manila 16 September at aid in the
occupation of Japan, and after loading troops at various
points in the Philippines arrived Tokyo Bay 13 October
1<M5. Assigned to operation “Magic-Carpet”, and the
huge job of bringing American veterans home from the
Pacific, Harry Lee arrived San Francisco 4 November,
and made another round trip to the Philippines and back,
arriving 20 January 1946. From San Francisco she
sailed 23 January for New York, via Norfolk. The ship
arrived 9 February 1946 and decommissioned at Brooklyn
Navy Yard 9 May 1946. After a period in Reserve Fleet,
she was sold to Turkey in April 1948. Renamed Tarsus,
she was burned in the Bosporus after a rare three ship
collision 14 December 1960.
Harry Lee received seven battle stars for World War
II service.
Harry Taylor, General, see General Harry Taylor
( AP-145 )
Harry Toulmin, see Seginus (AK-123)
Hart
The first Hart was named for Midshipman Ezekiel B.
Hart and Lt. Comdr. John E. Hart.
Ezekiel B. Hart entered the Navy as a Midshipman 30
April 1814. He was killed in the action of Commodore
Chauncey’s squadron on Lake Ontario 26 August 1814.
John E. Hart was appointed a midshipman 23 February
1841. He served on various ships of the fleet, and was
appointed Lieutenant Commander July 1862. Command-
ing Albatross, Hart served in the West Gulf Blockading
Squadron during the Civil War and engaged two Con-
federate steamers in the Red River near Fort De Russey
4 May 1863. He died of fever contracted on duty in the
Mississippi River 11 June 1863.
The second Hart was named for Lt. Patrick Hart.
Patrick Henry Hart was born 31 May 1915 in New York
City and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1937.
Hart served on board Colorado and West Virginia before
designated a naval aviator in 1940. Appointed Lieutenant
in 1942, he was killed while a member of Torpedo Squad-
ron 3 at the battle of Midway and posthumously received
the Navy Cross for heroism in attacking the Japanese
carriers during the battle 4 June 1942.
I
(DD-110; dp. 1,191; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 9'2" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 113; a. 4 4", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wickes)
The first Hart (DD-110) was launched 4 July 1918; by
Union Iron Works of San Francisco, Calif., sponsored
by Mrs. Daniel C. Nutting; and commissioned 26 May
1919, Comdr. Harold Jones in command.
Hart joined the destroyer force and operated off the
California coast until 17 July 1920, when she was reclassi-
fied minelayer, destroyer, DM-8, and proceeded to Mare
Island Navy Yard for installation of minelaying equip-
ment. Following her conversion, Hart was assigned to
Mine Detachment, Asiatic Fleet, and sailed for the Phil-
ippine Islands in November 1920. She subsequently op-
erated in waters off the Philippine Islands and China in
peacetime operations.
Ordered to San Diego, Calif., for deactivation, Hart
sailed from Manila 12 December 1930 and arrived San
Diego 24 January 1931. She decommissioned 1 June 1931,
and her name was struck from the Navy List 11 November.
Hart was sold for scrap 25 February 1932 in accordance
with the London Treaty for the limitation of naval
armaments.
II
(DD-594 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'5" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13’9" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5"; 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Fletcher)
The second Hart (DD-594), originally designated Mans-
field and renamed Hart 21 March 1944, was launched 25
September 1944 by Puget Sound Navy Yard ; sponsored by
Mrs. Emma Hart, mother ; and commissioned 4 November
1944, Comdr. W. D. Coleman in command.
Hart conducted her regular shakedown cruise off Cali-
fornia and during her training participated in experi-
mental high-speed refueling exercises with oiler Kaskas-
kia. From 12 December to 23 December, the destroyer
refueled at sea some 50 times under all conditions of sea
and weather gaining vital information on how to improve
this key wartime operation. Ending her regular shake-
down 31 January 1945, the ship departed 19 February for
Pearl Harbor. From 27 February to 3 March she escorted
carrier Intrepid in gunnery and aircraft operations, de-
parting for Ulithi 5 March.
Arriving at Ulithi 16 March, Hart joined the assembled
task forces for the Okinawa operation. From her ar-
rival 24 March until 12 April the ship was assigned as
part of the screen for escort carriers furnishing close
air support for the landings and preinvasion neutraliza-
tion of neighboring Japanese air strips. Detached 12
April, she assumed duty as an escort for transports for
2 days and then commenced protective patrol duties dur-
ing landings near Okinawa.
Hart was detached from 5th Fleet 19 April and pro-
ceeded to the Philippines to join 7th Fleet for the Borneo
landings. She arrived off Brunei Bay 9 June 1945 and
commenced a patrol of the South China Sea to guard
against possible interference from the remains of the
Japanese Fleet at Singapore. Hart also carried out shore
bombardment beginning 11 June in support of Australian
troops landing at Brunei Bay. On 14 June she shot down
her first Japanese aircraft during an attempted bomb-
ing. During the period 19-21 June she provided close
support for further landings on the coast of Borneo near
Brunei Bay, and then departed for Balikpapan and other
amphibious operations. There Hart patrolled, provided
starshell illumination, and directed minesweeping ves-
sels through the treacherous enemy minefields off the
beaches. Australian troops went ashore 1 July under
cover of fire from Hart and other ships ; during the oper-
ation Hart destroyed two mines and a 75mm gun em-
placement ashore.
Temporarily leaving the landing areas, Hart was as-
signed as part of the escort for General MacArthur in
Cleveland, steaming to Manila with the General and then
proceeding to Leyte 5 July. She next moved to Subic
Bay for training exercises and escort duty, and after the
surrender of Japan 15 August was assigned to the newly
formed North China Force.
Hart departed 5 September 1945 to support the land-
ing of Army occupation forces at Jinsen, Korea. The
force threaded its way through many mines en route,
and after arrival Hart sent boarding parties on board
Japanese merchantmen in the harbor for inspection and
disarming. This duty completed, Hart sailed for China,
escorting Cruiser Division 6 in an important show of
force off the coast. She continued through the next few
months to aid in the landings of American Marines, call-
ing at Port Arthur, Tsingtao, and Taku.
The veteran destroyer sailed for the United States 9
February 1945, decommissioned 31 May 1946, and was
placed in reserve at Long Beach, Calif. Later moved to
Mare Island, and then Stockton, Calif., she continues into
1967 as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
260
Hart received two battle stars for her service in World
War II.
Hartford
The capital of the state of Connecticut.
( ScSlp : t. 2,900 ; 1. 225' ; b. 44' ; dr. 17'2" ; s. 13.5 k. ; cpl.
302 ; a. 20 9” D.sb., 2 20-pdr. P.r., 2 12-pdrs. )
Hartford was launched 22 November 1858 by the Boston
Navy Yard ; sponsored by Miss Carrie Downes, Miss Liz-
zie Stringham, and Lt. G. H. Preble; and commissioned
27 May 1859, Captain Charles Lowndes in command.
After shakedown out of Boston, the new screw sloop
of war, carrying Flag Officer Cornelius K. Stribling, the
newly appointed commander of the East India Squadron,
sailed for Cape Hope and the Far East. Upon reaching
the Orient, Hartford relieved Mississippi as flagship. In
November she embarked the American Minister to China,
John Elliott Ward, at Hong Kong and carried him to
Canton, Manila, Swatow, Shanghai, and other Far East-
ern ports to settle American claims and to arrange for
favorable consideration of the Nation’s interests. Her
presence, as a symbol of American sea power, materially
contributed to the success of Ward’s diplomatic efforts.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Hartford was
ordered home to help preserve the Union. She departed
the Strait of Sunda with Dacotah 30 August 1861 and
arrived Philadelphia 2 December to be fitted out for war-
time service. She departed the Delaware Capes 28 Jan-
uary as flagship of Flag Officer David G. Farragut, the
commander of the newly created West Gulf Blockading
Squadron.
An even larger purpose than the important blockade of
the South’s Gulf Coast lay behind Farragut’s assign-
ment. Late in 1861, the Union high command decided
to capture New Orleans, the South’s richest and most
populous city, to begin a drive of sea-based power up the
Father of Waters to meet the Union Army which was
to drive down the Mississippi valley behind a spearhead
of armored gunboats. Other operations,” Secretary of
the Navy Welles warned Farragut, ‘‘must not be allowed
to interfere with the great object in view — the certain
capture of the city of New Orleans.”
Hartford arrived 20 February at Ship Island, Miss.,
midway between Mobile Bay and the mouths of the Mis-
sissippi. Several Union ships and a few Army units were
already in the vicinity when the squadron’s flagship drop-
ped anchor at the advanced staging area for the attack
on New Orelans. In ensuing weeks a mighty fleet as-
sembled for the campaign. In mid-March Comdr. David
D. Porter’s flotilla of mortar schooners arrived towed by
steam gunboats.
The next task was to get Farragut’s mighty, deep-
draft, saltwater ships across the bar, a constantly shift-
ing mud bank at the mouth of each pas® entering the
Mississippi. At the cost of endless toil and a month’s
delay, Farragut managed to get all of his ships but
Colon-ado across the bar and into the river where Forts
St. Philip and Jackson challenged further advance. A
line of hulks connected by strong barrier chains, six
ships of the Confederate Navy — including ironclad Manas-
sas and unfinished but potentially deadly ironclad
Louisiana, two ships of the Louisiana Navy, a group of
converted river steamers called the Confederate River
Defense Fleet, and a number of fire rafts also stood be-
tween Farragut and the great Southern metropolis.
On 16 April, the Union ships moved up the river to
a position below the forts, and Porter’s gunboats first ex-
changed fire with the Southern guns. Two days later
his mortar schooners opened a heavy and methodical bar-
rage which continued for 6 days. On the 21st, the
squadron’s Fleet Captain, Henry H. Bell, led a daring ex-
pedition up river and, despite a tremendous fire on him,”
cut the chain across the river. In the wee hours of 24
April, a dull red lantern on Hartford' s mizzen peak sig-
naled the fleet to get underway and steam through the
breach in the obstructions. A wild night action of far
reaching consequence followed. As the ships closed the
forts their broadsides answered a withering fire from the
Confederate guns. Porter’s mortar schooners and gun-
boats remained at their stations below the southern forti-
fications covering the movement with rapid fire.
Hartford dodged a run by ironclad ram Manasas; then,
while vainly attempting to avoid a fireraft, grounded in
the swift current near Fort St. Philip. When the burn-
ing barge was shoved alongside the flagship, only Far-
ragut’s gallant leadership and the disciplined training
of the crew saved Hartford from being destroyed by flames
which at one point engulfed a large portion of the ship.
Meanwhile the sloop’s undaunted gunners never slack-
ened the pace at which they poured broadsides into the
forts. As her firefighters snuffed out the flames, the flag-
ship backed free of the bank.
When Farragut’s ships had riui the gauntlet and passed
out of range of the fort’s guns, the Confederate River
Defense Fleet made a daring but futile effort to stop their
progress. In the ensuing melee, they managed to sink
converted merchantman Varuna, the only Union ship
lost during the historic night.
The next day, after silencing Confederate batteries
which had opened on them from earthen works, a few
miles below New Orleans, Hartford and her sister ships
anchored off the city early in the afternoon. A handful
of ships and men had won a great decisive victory that
secured the South could not win the war.
The conquest of New Orleans deprived the South of its
greatest center of wealth, commerce and industry as well
as her most important outlet to the sea. It was also
the first thrust of the mighty pincer movement which
ultimately cut the South in two dooming it to defeat
Early in May, Farragut ordered several of his ships up
stream to clear the river and followed himself in Hart-
ford on the 7th to join in the conquest of the valley. De-
fenseless, Baton Rouge and Natchez promptly surren-
dered to the Union ships and no significant opposition was
encountered until 18 May when the Confederate com-
mandant at Vicksburg replied to Comdr. S. P. Lee’s de-
mand for surrender : “. . . Mississippians don’t know and
refuse to learn, how to surrender to an enemy. If Com-
modore Farragut or Brigadier General Butler can teach
them, let them come and try.”
When Farragut arrived on the scene a few days later,
he learned that heavy Southern guns mounted on the
bluff at Vicksburg some 200 feet above the river could
shell his ships while his own guns could not be elevated
enough to hit them back. Since sufficient troops were not
available to take the fortress by storm, the Flag Officer
headed downstream 27 May leaving gunboats to blockade
it from below.
Orders awaited Farragut at New Orleans, where he ar-
rived on the 30th, directing him to open the river and join
the Western Flotilla and stating that Lincoln himself had
given the task highest priority. The Flag Officer recalled
Porter’s mortar schooners from Mobile and dutifully got
underway up the Mississippi in Hartford 8 June.
The Union Squadron wTas assembled just below Vicks-
burg by the 26th. Two days later the Union ships, their
own guns blazing at rapid fire and covered by an intense
barrage from the mortars, suffered little damage while
running past the batteries. Flag Officer Davis, command-
ing the Western Flotilla, joined Farragut above Vicks-
burg on the 30th ; but again, naval efforts to take Vicks-
burg were frustrated by a lack of troops. “Ships,” Por-
ter commented, “. . . cannot crawl up hills 300 feet high,
and it is that part of Vicksburg which must be taken by
the Army.” On 22 July, Farragut received orders to re-
turn down the river at his discretion and he got underway
on the 24th, reached New Orleans in 4 days, and after a
fortnight sailed to Pensacola, Fla., for repairs.
The flagship returned to New Orleans 9 November to
prepare for further operations in the unpredictable waters
of the Mississippi. The Union Army, ably supported by
the Mississippi Squadron, was pressing on Vicksburg from
above, and Farragut wanted to assist in the campaign by
blockading the mouth of the Red River from which sup-
261
Admiral Thomas G. Hart served in USS Hartford from 1899 to 1902.
262
plies were pouring eastward to the Confederate Army.
Meanwhile, the South had been fortifying its defenses
along the river and had erected powerful batteries at Port
Hudson, La.
On the night of 14 March, Farragut in Hartford and ac-
companied by six other ships, attempted to run by these
batteries. However, they encountered such heavy and
accurate fire that only the flagship and Albatross, lashed
alongside, succeeded in running the gauntlet. Thereafter,
Hartford and her consort patrolled between Port Hudson
and Vicksburg denying the Confederacy desperately needed
supplies from the West.
Porter’s Mississippi Squadron, cloaked by night, dashed
downstream past the Vicksburg batteries 16 April, while
General Grant marched his troops overland to a new
base also below the Southern stronghold. April closed
with the Navy ferrying Grant’s troops across the river
to Bruinsburg whence they encircled Vicksburg and forced
the beleaguered fortress to surrender on the Fourth of
July.
With the Mississippi River now opened, Farragut turned
his attention to Mobile, Ala., a Confederate industrial cen-
ter still building ships and turning out war supplies. The
Battle of Mobile took place 5 August 1864. Farragut, with
Hartford as his flags hip, 'Tea a fleet consisting of 4 iron-
clad monitors and 14 wooden vessels. The Confederate
naval force was composed of newly built ram Tennessee,
Admiral Buchanan’s flagship, and steamers Selma, Mor-
gan, and Qaines ; and backed by the powerful guns of Forts
Morgan and Gaines in the Bay. From the firing of the
first gun by Fort Morgan to the raising of the white flag of
surrender by Tennessee little more than 3 hours elapsed —
but 3 hours of terrific fighting on both sides. The Con-
federates had only 32 casualties, while the Union forces
suffered 335 casualties, including 113 men drowned in
Tccutnsch when the monitor struck a torpedo and sank.
Returning to New York December 13, Hartford decom-
missioned for repairs a week later. Back in shape in July
1865, she served as flagship of a newly-organized Asiatic
Station Squadron until August 1868 when she returned
to New York and decommissioned. Recommissioned 9
October 1872, she resumed Asiatic Station patrol until re-
turning home 19 October 1875. In 1882, as Captain Ste-
phen B. Luce’s flagship of the North Atlantic Station,
Hartford visited the Caroline Islands, Hawaii, and Val-
paraiso, Chile, before arriving San Francisco 17 March
1884. She then cruised in the Pacific until decommission-
ing 14 January 1887 at Mare Island, Calif., for apprentice
sea-training use.
From 1890 to 1899 Hartford was laid up at Mare Island,
the last 5 years of which she was being rebuilt. On 2
October 1899, she recommissioned, then transferred to the
Atlantic coast to be used for a training and cruise ship for
midshipmen until 24 October 1912 when she was trans-
ferred to Charleston, S.C., for use as a station ship.
Again placed out of commission 20 August 1926, Hart-
ford remained at Charleston until moved to Wash-
ington, D.C., 18 October 1938. On 19 October 1945, she
was towed to the Norfolk Navy Yard and classified as a
relic. Hartford sank at her berth 20 November 1956. She
was subsequently dismantled. Major relies from her are
at the National Navy Memorial Museum, Washington
(D.C.) Navy Yard, and elsewhere.
Helmsmen on board USS Hartford, flagship of Admiral Farragut
256-125 0 - 68 - 19
263
Hartley
The first Hartley l’etained her former name ; the second
was named for Admiral Henry Hartley.
Henry Hartley was born in Bladensburg, Md., 8 May
1884. Enlisting in the Navy 1 February 1901, he came
up through the ranks and was commissioned lieutenant
3 August 1920. A specialist in salvage work, Hartley was
instrumental in salvaging the sunken submarines S-51
and S~4, for which he received the Navy Cross and the
Distinguished Service Medal. After establishing the
Deep Sea Diving School at Washington, D.C., in 1928
and serving as its commander, Hartley continued his pio-
neer research in techniques of salvage work. As techni-
cal aid to Rear Admiral Cyrus Cole, he helped supervise
the dramatic rescue and salvage work on the sunken
submarine Squalus in 1939. During World War II, Hart-
ley served first in the Mediterranean, where his trans-
port Susan B. Anthony participated in the invasion of
Sicily, and then shifted to the Pacific. As commander
of Chester, flagship of Service Squadron 10, Hartley par-
ticipated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a major turning point
of the war, and then engaged in bombardment and sal-
vage work at Wake Island, Marcus Island, Iwo Jima,
Haha Jima, and Okinawa. After commanding SerRon 10
for a year with the rank of Commodore, Hartley returned
to Washington in March 1946 for special duty. After
46 years of service to his country, he retired with the
rank of Rear Admiral 1 May 1947. Admiral Hartley died
at Bethesda, Md., 6 March 1953.
I
(dp. 64 ; 1. 64'6" ; b. 11 ; dr. 6'6" ; s. 7 k. ; cpl. 5)
Hartley was built at San Francisco in 1875. Acquired
from the Coast Guard for use in World War I, she served
as a harbor patrol ship out of San Francisco. Hartley
was returned to the Coast Guard 15 February 1919.
II
( DE-1029 : dp. 1,280; 1. 314'6" ; b. 36'9" ; dr. 9'3" ; s.
25 k. ; cpl. 170; a. 4 3”, 1 ASW rkt., 1 dct., 6 dcp; cl.
Dealey)
Hartley was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding
Co., Camden, N.J., 31 October 1955 ; launched 24 Novem-
ber 1956 ; sponsored by Mrs. jlenry Hartley, widow of
Admiral Hartley ; and commissioned 26 June 1957 at
Philadelphia, Pa., Lt. Comdr. C. N. Crandall, Jr., in
command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean to test the latest
and most efficient antisubmarine equipment, Hartley
joined Escort Squadron 14 in Newport, R.I., for a series
of ASW and convoy tactics exercises 28 January 1958.
Departing Newport 12 May in company with CortRon 14,
CortRon 10, and Wasp (CVS-18), Hartley deployed to the
Mediterranean for operations with the mighty 6th Fleet.
During the Lebanese crisis in July she patrolled off the
coast of Lebanon as the 6th Fleet acted quickly and ef-
fectively to stabilize the tense political situation and to
prevent the spread of violence to other parts of the un-
settled Middle East. For the next 2 months she continued
peace-keeping patrols and ranged the Mediterranean from
Turkey to France. She returned to Newport 7 October.
After a series of ASW exercises out of her home port,
Hartley sailed with CortRon 14 for an extended South
American cruise 6 February 1959. American units joined
ships from the Brazilian, Argentine, Uruguayan, and
Venezuelan navies for intensive ASW training exercises.
Hartley returned to Newport 5 May 1959 and engaged
in further escort and ASW exercises until June 1960,
when she entered Monroe Shipyard, Chelsea, Mass., for
installation of a new high speed sonar dome. Hartley
then served as Fleet Sonar School training ship at Key
West, Fla., until November 1960.
Antisubmarine exercises out of Newport filled Hartley's
schedule for the following 4 years, punctuated by occa-
sional special operations. In October 1961, Hartley sailed
to Norfolk to work with NASA research teams in im-
proving shipboard recovery and space capsule egress pro-
cedures for American astronauts. After another tour
with the Sonar School at Key West, Hartley prepared
for BEAGLE II, a joint Canadian-Ameriean exercise
which was cancelled because of the Cuban missile crisis
in October 1962. In response to the Russian attempt to
establish offensive missile bases in Cuba the United States
established an effective naval blockade off Cuba. Vigilant
American ships helped repulse this threat to world peace ;
and, operating off the East Coast, Hartley provided es-
sential support during one of the most tense and danger-
ous international situations of the Cold War.
Since 1962, Hartley has continued operating in the At-
lantic and the Caribbean. In March 1963, she conducted
surveillance patrols off Cuba, and during the next 5
months she participated in extensive ASW exercises out
of Key West and Newport. Early in September she en-
tered the Boston Naval Shipyard where she underwent
overhaul and modification. Equipped with the latest ad-
vances in sonar equipment and DASH, Hartley resumed
duty 27 January 1964. During February and March she
trained out of Guantanamo Bay and served at the Sonar
School at Key West. Returning to Newport 8 April, she
spent the remainder of the year participating in antisub-
marine exercises which sent her from the Gulf of Maine
to the Straits of Florida.
After conducting surveillance patrols and sonar train-
ing out of Key West during the early part of 1965, she
was heavily damaged by Norwegian freighter Blue Master
16 June. As Hartley entered Chesapeake Bay in heavy
weather, the merchantman hit the destroyer escort broad-
side, and her bow almost cut Hartley in half. She suf-
fered no casualties but was extensively damaged in the
engineering spaces. Prompt and effective rescue and sal-
vage operations kept her from grounding ; 19 hours after
the collision, she reached Norfolk under tow.
After extensive repairs at Norfolk Navy Yard, Hartley
returned to Newport early in October. There she resumed
antisubmarine operations.
Hartley operated out of Newport along the New England
coast and in the Caribbean until she sailed for Northern
Europe late in May 1967. After cruising along the Scan-
dinavian coast, she arrived Copenhagen 23 June. She
next visited Holy Loch, Scotland, before getting under-
way 17 July for the Mediterranean, where she became
an element of stability in that tense and explosive region
so recently disturbed by the war between Israel and Arab
States.
Harvard
Harvard, a college founded at Cambridge, Mass., in
1636, was named for John Harvard, a general benefactor.
Opened in 1638, Harvard University now includes a large
group of graduate and professional schools as well as the
college and is one of the world’s leading educational in-
stitutions.
I
(ScStr : dp. 10,499; 1. 585'; b. 63'3" ; dr. 29'; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 407 ; a. 8 5" ; 8 6-pdrs.)
The first Harvard, a schooner-rigged steamship was
built in 1888 as City of Neie York by J. & G. Thompson,
Clydebank, Scotland, for the Inman Line. Sister ship of
City of Paris, City of Hew York was one of the largest and
best liners of her day, and one of the first steamships with
twin screws. She was transferred to American registry
under the American Line in 1893 as Netv York. These
Ships brought the United States to the front rank in the
Atlantic passenger trade, and New York established the
record for the Southampton to New York crossing in Sep-
tember 1893. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American
War, New York was chartered as an auxiliary cruiser
with a civilian crew, commissioning 26 April 1898 at New
York, Captain C. S. Cotton in command and renamed
Harvard.
264
Assigned as a scout, Harvard departed New York 30
April to cruise West Indian waters in search of the
Spanish fleet. After sending back several reports on the
location of Spanish units in the Caribbean, Harvard was
blockaded by a larger force at St. Pierre, Martinique,
11-17 May, after which she proceeded to Santiago de
Cuba and St. Nicholas Mole, Haiti, with dispatches from
Commodore Schley. Interrupting her scouting duties,
Harvard returned to Newport News, Virginia, 7-26 June,
during which time her crew wras officially taken into the
Naval Service.
Harvard returned to the Caribbean with troops and
supplies, arriving at Altares, Cuba, about 1 July. The
morning of 3 July she received the electrifying news
that the Spanish fleet had sortied. After Rear Admiral
Sampson’s smashing victory off Santiago, she rescued sur-
vivors. Despite the high surf and ammunition explo-
sions from the stricken Spanish ships, Harvard succeeded
in recovering over 600 officers and men.
No longer needed as a scout in the Caribbean, Harvard
was sent back to the United States 10 July 1898. She
was temporarily turned over to the War Department, and
returned to Santiago de Cuba to transport troops back
to the United States. Harvard arrived at New York 27
August and decommissioned 2 September 1898 at New
York Navy Yard.
Reverting to her old name, New York, the ship resumed
transatlantic service with the American Line until World
War I. During this period she underwent extensive con-
version in 1903, when one of her three funnels was re-
moved. Again needed in support of American forces
abroad, New York was chartered by the Navy 9 May
1918 for use as a troop transport. She commissioned
as Platt sburg 24 May 1918, Commander C. C. Bloch com-
manding.
Plattsburg made four voyages from New York to Liv-
erpool tran sporting the AEF to Europe, and after the
end of the war made a total of seven voyages, bringing
home over 24,000 veterans. She returned to New York
after her final crossing 29 August 1919, and was returned
to her owners 6 October 1919.
As New York the Ship once again plied the Atlantic
with passengers, but she was no longer a first-class liner,
and was withdrawn from service in 1920. Sold to the
Polish Navigation Co., she made two more voyages, but
the company was soon forced to close down and she was
scrapped in 1923.
Harvard, a passenger ship built by Delaware River
Shipbuilding Company in 1907, was acquired by the Navy
from Pacific Steamship Co. in 1918. She served as Charles
( q.v .). Renamed Harvard after her return to private
owners in 1920, she served with the Los Angeles Steam-
ship Co. until she was stranded and destroyed north of
Point Arguello, Calif., 30 May 1931.
II
( SP-209 : dp. 804; 1. 243'; b. 32'; dr. 12'6" ; s. 12 k. ; a.
4 3-pdr.)
The second Harvard, a steel yacht, was built as Eleanor
by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, in 1904 and leased as
Wacouta by the Navy from G. F. Baker, New York, N.Y.,
23 April 1917. Wacouta was renamed Harvard and com-
missioned 10 May 1917 at New York, Lt. A. G. Sterling in
command.
After being fitted out for overseas service, Harvard de-
parted New York 9 June 1917 with a convoy, and arrived
at Brest, France, 4 July. She then engaged in patrol
duties out of Brest, and on 16 July picked up 59 sur-
vivors from the ill-fated British steamship Trelissick.
Trelissick had been torpedoed and sunk 15 July, after hav-
ing rescued some 30 men from another torpedoed British
ship, Exford, the day before. Harvard returned the sur-
vivors from both ships safely to Brest.
Continuing her duties around Brest, Harvard performed
as a harbor patrol and coastal convoy ship. She assisted
the torpedoed merchantman Texas 29 November 1917 and
searched for survivors of the sinking of Hundaago, a
Norwegian steamship, 4 August 1918.
Harvard departed for England 21 November 1918 and
remained there until June 1919, when she returned to
New York via Bermuda. The yacht was decommissioned
and turned over to her owner 26 July 1919.
Harveson
Harold Aloysius Harveson, born 7 August 1913 at Lake
Charles, La., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy
3 June 1937. After serving in Louisville and on the staff
of the Pacific Fleet Scouting Force, Lt. (j.g.) Harveson
was assigned to Utah 19 August 1941. Operating out of
Pearl Harbor, the aged ex-battleship, converted to a target
ship, served the fleet as the major antiaircraft training
ship, as well as a key to developing carrier air-to-ship
attack tactics. During the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor
7 December 1941, the Japanese concentrated much of their
strike force on Utah in the assumption that she was car-
rier Saratoga. Torpedoed twice early in the attack, she
had overturned and sunk by 0812. Like so many of her
crew, Lt. Harveson gave his life in the opening moments
of World War II.
( DE-316 : dp. 1,200 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7'' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 2 40mm„ 8 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8
dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Edsall)
Harveson (DE-316) was laid down by Consolidated
Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 9 March 1943; launched 22
May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. T. L. Herlong, mother ; and
commissioned at Orange 12 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. P. L.
Stinson, USCG, in command.
Manned entirely by a Coast Guard crew, Harveson com-
pleted shakedown out of Bermuda only to be seriously
damaged in collison with a merchantman 15 December
1943, on a foggy night off the Virginia Capes. Repairs
were completed at Portsmouth, Va., by February 1944, and
the destroyer-escort joined Escort Division 22. Depart-
ing New York 1 March, Harveson escorted a convoy to
Londonderry, Ireland, via Halifax. In the next 14 months
she escorted nine more convoys carrying vitally needed
supplies for the European theatre safely across the dan-
gerous North Atlantic.
When V-E Day came, CortDiv 22 was ordered to the
Pacific ; and Harveson reached Pearl Harbor via the Pana-
ma Canal and San Diego 11 July to begin refresher train-
ing. Harveson was still engaged in tactical training at
Pearl Harbor when Japan capitulated, but soon she par-
ticipated in the occupation of the defeated enemy’s home-
land. Departing Harbor 3 September, she escorted a con-
voy LSTs to Japan, where she arrived Sasebo 24 Septem-
ber. During the next few weeks she operated along the
coast of Honshu, escorting Iff. McKinley (AGC-7) and
supporting occupation landings at Wakavama, Hiro, and
Nagoya. She departed Yokohama for the United States
4 November and arrived Jacksonville, Fla., in December
for duty with the Atlantic Fleet. She decommissioned at
Green Cove Springs, Fla., 9 May 1947, and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Harveson was towed to the Mare Island Navy Yard in
1950 for conversion to a radar picket ship. She recom-
missioned at Vallejo, Calif., 12 February 1951, Lt. Comdr.
W. S. Slocum III in command ; and, as the first of a new
class of radar picket ships, she was redesignated DER-
316. After intensive tests and vigorous tactical train-
ing, Harveson joined Escort Squadron 10 at Newport, R.I.,
30 May to begin duty as a radar picket ship. While on
patrol, the former destroyer escort, outfitted with the
most modern radar and early detection warning devices,
cruised off the coast of the United States to provide ade-
quate early warning of any enemy attack. From her
usual station in the North Atlantic, Harveson also sailed
to the Caribbean for frequent antisubmarine and tactical
exercises.
265
Departing Newport 15 July 1957, Harveson reported for
radar picket duty at Pearl Harbor 18 August. There she
joined the Barrier Forces, Pacific Fleet, to strengthen
America’s warning system in the vast and lonely reaches
of the Pacific. After almost 3 years of barrier patrols
out of Hawaii, Harveson steamed to San Francisco for in-
activation. She decommissioned 30 June 1960 and joined
the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton, Calif. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 1 December 1966. She
is scheduled to be used as a target.
Harvest
(Bark: t. 314; dr. 15)
Harvest was an old whaler purchased by the Navy at
New Bedford, Mass., 21 October 1861 for service in the
Stone Fleet, a group of ships sunk in the channels of inlets
to several Southern harbors to simplify the Union Navy’s
task of blockading the Confederacy. Harvest , with AV. AV.
Taylor as master, sailed from New Bedford 20 Novem-
ber 1861 and arrived off Savannah, Ga. 4 December.
However, the last mention of her in official records states
that she was not sunk with the other ships which were
scuttled to blockade Savannah but was retained for service
as a coal scow.
Harvest Moon
The full moon nearest the autumnal equinox.
( SwStr : t. 546; 1. 193'; b. 29'; dr. 8'; s. 15 k. ;
a. 4 24-pdr. how.)
Harvest Moon, a side-wheel steamer, was built in 1863
at Portland, Maine, and was purchased by Commodore
Montgomery from Charles Spear at Boston, Mass., 16
November 1863. She was fitted out for blockade duty at
Boston Navy Yard and commissioned 12 February 1864,
Acting Lieutenant J. D. AVarren in command.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Harvest Moon departed Boston 18 February and arrived
off Charleston 25 February 1864. Next day Rear Admiral
Dahlgren made the steamer his flagship. After putting
into AVashington Navy Yard for repairs. Harvest Moon
began her regular blockading duties 7 June 1864 off
Charleston. For the next 9 months the steamer served
off Tybee Island, the North Edisto River, and Charleston
harbor. During this period she also acted as a picket
and dispatch vessel as well as Admiral Dahlgren’s flag-
ship.
AA'hile proceeding in company with tug Clover shortly
after 0800 on 29 February 1865 Harvest Moon struck a
torpedo in AVinyah Bay, S.C. Admiral Dahlgren, await-
ing breakfast in his cabin, saw the bulkhead shatter and
explode toward him. The explosion blew a large hole
in the ship’s hull aft and she sank in 2% fathoms of
water. One man was killed. The Admiral, and the crew,
were taken on board Nipsic. Harvest Moon was stripped
of her valuable machinery and abandoned 21 April 1865.
In 1963, nearly 100 years later, a project was initiated to
raise Harvest Moon from the mud at the bottom of AVinyah
Bay and to restore the ship, but has made little headway.
Harvest Queen
A former name retained.
(SP-1215: dp. 275; 1. 152'; b. 36'; dr. 4'9")
Harvest Queen was originally built in 1857 at Coxsackie,
N.Y., and was purchased from her owner, J. N. Breggs, of
Coeyinans, N.Y., 29 August 1917.
Late in 1917 Harvest Queen, an unpowered barge, was
fitted out as a barracks ship at Newport, R.I., and was
subsequently towed to New London, Conn., March 1919
to act as a barracks ship at the Naval District Base. She
was still later towed to Norfolk, Va., and transferred to
266
USS Harvest Moon, Admiral Dahlgren’s Flagship
the 9th Naval District, where she served Base 2, Mine
Force, as a barracks ship. Harvest Queen was trans-
ferred to the Coast Guard 28 March 1920.
Harvey
( PF-80 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. k. ;
epl. 190; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Harvey (PF-80), originally designated PG-188, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-80 15 April 1943,
renamed Gold Coast, and launched 21 September 1943,
after being renamed Labuan ( q.v .). She was completed
and transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease
5 February 1944, as part of the 21-ship “Colony” class.
She served as a patrol and escort vessel in the English
Channel until being returned to the United States 13 May
1946. The frigate was subsequently sold to Heggie Iron
6 Metal Co., Dorchester, Mass., 9 July 1957 and scrapped.
Harwood
Bruce Lawrence Harwood was born 10 February 1910
at Claremont, Calif., and enlisted in the Navy 6 June
1935. After training as an aviation cadet at Pensacola,
he was commissioned Ensign 7 July 1939 and began flying
duty with a torpedo plane squadron. Harwood received
the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism 24 August
1942 during the Solomons campaign. Leading his squad-
ron in an unsupported aerial torpedo raid against a
Japanese task force, Lieutenant Harwood pressed home
the attack through a bursting hail of fire from hostile AA
batteries. Under his leadership, the squadron scored
one certain and two estimated hits on an enemy aircraft
carrier. Harwood was awarded the Gold Star in lieu
of a second Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism as
squadron commander 20 September-5 October 1942.
Leading an attack group of bombers through adverse
flying conditions, Lieutenant Harwood located a force of
enemy destroyers landing troops and supplies on Guadal-
canal. Despite violent maneuvering by the enemy, he and
his men scored at least one and probably more hits. On
4 October Harwood led another attack group of torpedo
planes against an enemy light cruiser and three DD’s. In
spite of bad visibility and heavy AA fire, he pressed home
the attack, scoring two positive and one possible hit on
the cruiser. The following night he and his bombers
again sought the enemy and, flying on instruments
through a violent tropical storm to Rekata Bay, bombed
shore installations there despite fierce opposition from
Japanese fighter planes which swarmed to the attack.
Appointed Commander 1 July 1944, Harwood was killed
24 October 1944 when Princeton received bomb hits which
triggered a series of fatal explosions. While serving as
air officer in Princeton, Commander Harwood had received
another Gold Star in lieu of a third Navy Cross.
(DD-861 : dp. 2,425 ; 1. 390'6" ; b. 4T1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 367 ; a. 6 5", 4 40mm., 5 21" tt. 1 h.h., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
Harwood (DD-861) was launched 22 May 1945 by the
Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Bruce Lawrence Harwood, widow of the late Commander
Harwood; and commissioned 28 September 1945, Comdr.
Reid P. Fiala in command.
After shakedown along the California coast, Harwood
joined the 7th Fleet in Chinese waters. In addition to
aiding in the occupation of Japan, the destroyer also par-
ticipated in fleet and antisubmarine exercises before re-
turning to San Diego 21 February 1947. Hanvood entered
the Mare Island shipyard after a second WesPac cruise
in January 1949 to be equipped with the latest antisub-
marine equipment. Redesignated DDE-861 4 March 1950,
the escort destroyer reported to her new home port,
Newport, R.I., 11 September 1919 to participate in re-
search on cold weather ASW operations as well as fleet
and training exercises. Departing Norfolk in late August,
Harwood made her first Mediterranean cruise with the
6th Fleet and returned to the States 10 November 1950.
Subsequent years fell into a pattern for Harwood as, to
maintain her battle readiness and stress America’s com-
mitment to the defense of democracy, she engaged in
varied training maneuvers and made yearly cruises to the
Mediterranean. Harwood sailed 4 January 1957 for a
3-month ASW demonstration which took her along the
South American coast to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile,
Panama and Cuba. Entering the New York Navy Yard
2 May 1961, Harwood underwent a Fleet Rehabilitation
and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul. Her bridge was
totally reconstructed, new types of torpedo tubes were
installed, and the 3-inch antiaircraft guns were removed
to accommodate a hangar and launching deck for DASH,
an antisubmarine helicopter. Departing the yard 2 Feb-
ruary 1962, Harwood sailed to her home port, Mayport,
Fla., and from there to the Caribbean. When the Cuban
crisis erupted in October 1962, Harwood was ready and
sailed with 4 hours notice to join the blockading fleet
“quarantining” the Communist island. Redesignated
DD-861 on 1 July 1963, she returned Mayport 2 November.
Harwood sailed for the Mediterranean 6 August and
provided ASW service during Exercise “Riptide IV” en
route. She transited the Straits of Gibraltar on the 22d
for intense periods of AAW, ASW, and BCM exercises in
the Med. Returning home 23 December, the destroyer
operated along the Atlantic coast until getting under way
31 March 1964 for a brief visit to Brazil. She arrived
Annapolis 1 June, embarked midshipmen, and sailed for
Europe. She visited Norway, Belgium, France, and Eng-
land before debarking the “Middies” at Norfolk.
In April 1965 she began overhaul and alterations at
Norfolk which turned out to be a major face lifting. On
22 August she returned to Mayport en route to Guata-
namo Bay, Cuba, for refresher training. She operated
along the coast of the Southern states until departing
Mayport 22 July 1966 for the Mediterranean deployment.
On this tour she transited the Suez Canal and visited
Aden and Kenya before rejoining the 6th Fleet in the
Med 2 November.
Harwood returned home 17 December. She operated
out of Newport, off the New England coast until sailing
for her 10th Mediterranean deployment 29 June 1967.
Reaching Rota, Spain, 10 July, Harwood soon joined the
6th Fleet, an element of stability in the ancient and vola-
tile sea which had so recently been churned by the Arab
war with Israel.
Hase, General W. F., see General W. F. Hase (AP-146)
Haskell
Counties in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
(APA-117 : dp. 6,873; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17; cpl.
503; a. 1 5" ; cl. Haskell)
Haskell (APA-117), a “victory ship” transport type,
was launched 13 June 1944 by California Shipbuilding
Corp., Wilmington, Calif., under Maritime Commission
contract; sponsored by Mrs. W. L. Friedell, wife of the
Commandant of the 11th Naval District; and commis-
sioned 11 September 1944, Comdr. A. L. Mare in com-
mand.
Following her shakedown cruise, Haskell arrived San
Francisco 19 October and began loading troops and sup-
plies destined for the Pacific. Undenvay 28 October, she
set course for Finschafen, New Guinea, and arrived 15
November 1944. Four days later the transport anchored
at Biak Island to unload her troops, who w ere to take
part in the developing New Guinea offensive.
Haskell sailed via Mios Woendi to Noemfoor Island,
23 November-2 December, where preparations wrere un-
derway for the important landings at Lingayen Gulf,
267
Philippines. At staging areas throughout the western
Pacific ships such as Haskell loaded troops and made
practice landings prior to the actual assault. After exer-
cises at Japen Island, Haskell departed in convoy for
the Philippines 4 January 1945. A part of Rear Admiral
Conolly’s reinforcement echelon, Haskell and the other
transports arrived off Lingayen Gulf 11 January, 2 days
after the initial landings. Haskell’s group escaped at-
tack while sailing the treacherous route through the
Philippines. After unloading her troops and cargo, Has-
kell departed the next day, but not before her gunners
had shot down their first enemy aircraft during an air
raid on the 11th.
The transport sailed to Leyte Gulf 15 January 1945,
loaded ' troops, and took part in a practice landing at
Tacloban, Leyte. The ship departed with Rear Admiral
Struble’s amphibious group 26 January for the Zambales
landing north of Subic Bay, Luzon. This unopposed
landing was carried out 3 days later and helped to cut
off the Bataan Peninsula and hasten the fall of Manila.
Haskell returned to Leyte Gulf 1 February 1945.
With control of the Philippines secured, Haskell was
next assigned to the giant Okinawa operation. She com-
pleted loading troops and supplies at Leyte 13 March
1945 and after amphibious exercises sailed 27 March for
Okinawa. This massive invasion, climax of the Pacific
island-hopping campaign, began 1 April. Haskell was a
member of Rear Admiral Hall’s Southern Attack Force,
and debarked units of the 7th Division with their equip-
ment during the first waves of the assault. During the
first days of the bitter struggle she also served as an
emergency hospital ship and cared for many casualties
at her off shore anchorage. After unloading her troops
and cargo, the transport sailed 6 April for Saipan, Mari-
anas, thus escaping the heavy Japanese air counterat-
tacks so valiantly endured by the ships remaining at
Okinawa. Stopping at Saipan only briefly, Haskell
steamed independently via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor
to San Francisco, where she arrived 1 May.
The ship underwent needed repairs and embarked Navy
and Coast Guard personnel for the Pacific and sailed the
23d for Noumea. Arriving 9 June 1945, the ship began
a series of transport voyages to various ports in the Pa-
cific, providing men and cargo at Guadalcanal, Eniwe-
tok, and Guam. She arrived Apra Harbor, Guam, 1 July
and embarked 83 Japanese prisoners of war for transfer
to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 15 July. From Pearl
Harbor Haskell sailed to San Francisco 22 July and
Seattle 12 August.
While Haskell loaded at Seattle the war ended, and she
assumed a new role, that of bringing occupation troops to
the Pacific and transporting returnees to the United States.
She sailed 20 August for Okinawa and after stops at Eni-
wetok and Ulithi arrived 11 September and unloaded her
troops. Soon afterward, 16 September, the ship was
forced to put to sea to ride out the giant typhoon which
swept the area and after 2 days of grueling heavy weather
returned to Okinawa.
Haskell’s role was as a transport for over 1,400 allied
prisoners of war released from enemy prison camps.
These wasted veterans were offloaded at Manila 25 Sep-
tember, and the ship sailed for the United States 1 Octo-
ber with 1,800 members of the Eastern Air Forces. After
a stop at Eniwetok Haskell arrived San Fransicso 19 Oc-
tober 1945.
As a unit of the “MagicjCarpet” fleet Haskell made two
more voyages to the Far East during the gigantic task of
returning American servicemen to their homes. These
passages, to Okinawa and Japan, terminated with Has-
kell’s arrival at Seattle, Wash., 2 February 1946. Desig-
nated for return to the Maritime Commission, the ship
sailed to Norfolk, Va., via the Panama Canal, and arrived
21 March 1946. Haskell decommissioned 22 May 1946 and
was returned 2 days later. Placed in the National De-
fense Reserve Fleet in 1956, Haskell was berthed at Wil-
mington, N.C., until 1965 when she transferred to James
River, Va., where she remains.
Haskell received two 'battle stai-s for World War II
service.
Hassalo
The name Hassalo was assigned to a 3,365-ton gun-deck
frigate in 1863. Listed in the Naval Register from 1864
to 1866, the screw steamer was never built. Her name
was struck from the Naval Register in 1867.
Hassan Bashaw
Dey of the Barbary state of Algiers in the late 18th
century.
(Brig: 1. 93'2" ; b. 27'; dph. 11'6" ; a. 22 (Lpdrs. )
Hassan Bashaw, a brig, was built for the Dey of Algiers
in response to his request in 1797 that two cruisers be out-
fitted and built in the United States at his expense. As
the Dey had been helpful in our negotiations with other
Barbary powers, President Adams acquiesced and Hassan
Bashaw and Skjoldebrand, a schooner, were laid down.
Hassan Bashaiv was built by Joshua Humphreys’ son,
Samuel Humphreys, and incorporated all features of de-
sign known to be favored by the Barbary rulers. Her
commander was Captain John Smith.
The ship arrived Algiers 8 February 1799 in company
with Skjoldebrand and other ships carrying tribute to the
Dey, who was then Mustapha, Hassen having died a year
earlier. The two ships ordered by the former Dey were
transferred to Algiers, in addition to two other vessels,
a quantity of naval stores, and a sum of money, to insure
the safety of American merchant ships from Algerine pi-
rates. Hassan Bashaw, a fast and much-admired ship,
was later captured by the Portuguese on a passage between
Cadiz and Algiers, but was released and used by the Dey
as a corsair.
Hassayampa
A river in Arizona.
(AO-145 : dp. 11,600 (It.) ; 1. 655' ; b. 86' ; dr. 35' ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 324; a. 12 3"; cl. Neosho)
Hassayampa (AO-145) was launched 12 September 1954
by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Jean H. Holloway, wife of Vice Admiral
Holloway; and commissioned 19 April 1955, Captain
William V. McKaig, in command.
After shakedown along the East Coast, Hassayampa
transited the Panama Canal and arrived Pearl Harbor 15
July for duty with Service Force, Pacific Fleet. Between
July 1955 and May 1958 Hassayampa made three deploy-
ments to the Western Pacific, providing logistics for our
mighty 7th Fleet. In June she joined the 1st Fleet at
San Francisco to participate in the celebration of the 50th
Anniversary of the cruise of the Great White Fleet around
the world. Hassayampa resumed her regular duties, re-
turning to Pearl Harbor 16 July.
In September Hassayampa, as part of America’s flexible
power afloat, deployed with the 7th Fleet to prevent in-
vasion of Chinese offshore islands and convoyed National-
ist transports during the Quemoy-Matsu Crisis. Between
1959 and 1961 she made three more deployments to the
Western Pacific, continuing her services to the 7th Fleet.
In May 1962 Hassayampa supported units of the 7th Fleet
moving Marines into Thailand to prevent flareup of
trouble in Laos.
On 23 January 1963 Hassayampa deployed to the Far
East to resume duty with the 7th Fleet. Returning to
Pearl Harbor 15 June, she underwent a modernization
overhaul from October to January 1964. She again sailed
for the Western Pacific 12 March. On 31 March she
joined a Navy carrier task force out of Subic Bay for
operations in the Indian Ocean. Until returning to Subic
Bay 16 May she served with the Concord Squadron from
268
Malaysia to the eastern coast of Africa. She remained
in the Far East until mid-September, and during that time
she refueled ships off Japan and in the South China Sea.
During the Tonkin Gulf crisis in August she provided at-
sea logistics support for the always-ready ships of the
mighty 7th Fleet. After completing her deployment, the
busy fleet oiler arrived Pearl Harbor 29 September.
Resuming Far East duty in April 1965, Hassayampa
operated in the South China Sea and supported the Amer-
ican effort to thwart Communist aggression in Southeast
Asia. She returned to her homeport at Pearl 16 Decem-
ber, thence served as a recovery logistic ship during the
“Gemini 8” space shot in mid-March and the “Gemini 9”
shot in early June 1966. Sailing again for the Far East
5 June, during the next 5 months she maintained a busy
schedule refueling escorts and hardhitting carriers of the
7th Fleet including Constellation (CVA-64), Oriskany
(CVA-34), Ranger (CVA-61), Franklin D. Roosevelt
(CVA^2), Intrepid (CVS-11) and Coral Sea (CVA^3).
During a 2-week period in November she refueled 67 ships:
prior to returning to Pearl Harbor 16 December, she had
refueled 367 ships in the Western Pacific.
As a fleet oiler, Hassayampa operated out of Pearl Har-
bor into mid-1967 to maintain her peak readiness! and
efficiency while preparing to further support the 7th Fleet
off troubled Southeast Asia.
Haste
Celerity of motion, speed.
( PG-92 : dp. 900 ; 1. 205' ; b. 33' ; dr. 14'7'' ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 90; a. 2 3" ; cl. Action )
Haste (PG-92), was one of a group of Canadian cor-
vettes turned over to the Navy and manned by the Coast
Guard. She was launched as Mandrake (CN-310) by
Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec, Canada, 22
August 1942, taken over by the Navy renamed, and com-
missioned 6 April 1943, Lt. W. A. Dobbs, USCG com-
manding.
Haste took up regular escort duties following shake-
down, making ten voyages to Newfoundland or the Carib-
bean before November 1944. Small patrol ships such as
Haste did much to lessen the effect of U-boat patrols on
allied commerce during this critical period of the war.
During the period November 1944-May 1945 the corvette
served on patrol duty for 10-day periods out of New York.
After making two more escort voyages to Newfoundland
and return, the ship departed New York 2 July for
Charleston, where she arrived 3 days later. Haste de-
commissioned 3 October 1945 and was returned to the
Maritime Commission.
Hastings
( SwStr : t. 293: 1. 173' ; b. 34'2" ; dph. 5'4" ; a. 2 30-pdr„
2 32-pdr., 4 24-jdr.)
Hastings, a small wooden gunboat, was built as Emma
Duncan in 1860 at Monongahela, Pa., and operated as a
river transport out of Cincinnati, Ohio. She was pur-
chased at Cairo, 111., in March 1863 from J. Bachelor.
Fitted out and ready for service in April ; her first com-
manding officer was Acting Master W. N. Griswold. Rear
Admiral Porter recommended that her name be changed
to Hastings 7 April 1863.
One of the group of lightly built steamers which bore
the brunt of the war on the Mississippi tributaries, Hast-
ings was initially assigned to the Tennessee River. While
steaming upriver to report for duty, she received her
baptism of fire when attacked by Confederate guerrillas
near Green Bottom Bar 24 April. Captain Griswold
rounded to and engaged the Confederates for a time, after
which they withdrew. The light gunboat was hulled
seven times and suffered three casualties in the action.
Hastings then assumed duty as a convoy ship for Army
transports on the Tennessee River. In May she was sent
briefly for duty at the mouth of the Yazoo River, but was
soon back on the Tennessee. She arrived at Eastport,
Miss., 26 October 1863 to assist General Sherman’s troops
in crossing the river during operations culminating in
the Battle of Chattanooga, and steamed to Paducah, Ky.,
when that city was threatened by Confederate cavalry
8 November. In need of repairs, Hastings returned to the
Naval Station at Cairo 16 December.
Hastings resumed active patrolling in April 1864, and
was detailed to convoy General T. Kilby Smith’s trans-
ports from Springfield Landing to Grand Ecore, La.
Union troops had suffered defeat at the battle of Pleasant
Hill, and the land portion of the Red River operation was
deemed a failure. Covering the withdrawal of Smith’s
troops, Hastings took part 12 April in an engagement with
Confederate cavalry and artillery near Blair’s Landing.
After a fierce engagement, in which Hastings fought at
the rear of the transport group, the convoy passed down-
river.
As the pace of Confederate attacks in Tennessee height-
ened, Hastings was sent to Fort Pillow, Tenn., to protect
it from capture, but was unable to get there in time to
help the surrounded city and give assistance to Tyler, the
only gunboat present. Arriving 14 April, however, Hast-
ings shelled the woods in the area of the city. During
this period, the veteran gunboat was acting as flagship
for the resourceful commander of the 7th District, Mis-
sissippi Squadron, Lt. Comdr. S. L. Phelps. Subsequently,
she operated in the White River, and in June 1864 co-
operated with Major General Frederick Steele in his
efforts to corner and defeat Confederate cavalry in the
Tennessee and White River areas. Hastings patrolled the
river, gained intelligence, and convoyed troops in co-
operation with the Army.
The gunboat continued her service on the tributaries of
the Mississippi until returning to Cairo, 111., early in
1865. She decommissioned 7 July 1865 and was sold at
Mound City, 111., 17 August 1865 to Henry H. Semmes.
Hastings was subsequently redocumented Dora in October
1865 and served as a river freighter until 1872.
Hastings, Burden R., see Burden R. Hastings (DE-19)
Hastwiana
A former Onondaga Indian settlement in what is now
Onondaga County, N.Y.
( YTB-512 : dp. 325 ; 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9'7")
Hastwiana (YTB-512), a diesel-powered tug, was
launched by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg., 24
March 1945 ; and placed in service 26 October 1945.
Hastwiana was assigned to the 13th Naval District,
and served in the harbors of that district through 1967.
Reclassified YTM— 775 in March 1966, at present she is as-
signed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash.
Hatak
A Choctaw chief.
( YTB-219 : dp. 410; 1. 110' ; b. 26'5" ; dr. 11'4'' ; s. 12 k.)
Hatak (YTB-219), a wooden tug, was originally desig-
nated YT-219 and built by Greenpoint Basin & Construc-
tion Co., Long Island ; launched 22 July 1944, Mrs. B. L.
Lea as sponsor; and placed in service as YTB-219, 18
December 1944.
After fitting out at New York Navy Yard, Hatak pro-
ceeded to report to the 5th Naval District for duty in
January 1945. She remained in the Norfolk area as a tug-
boat until struck from the Navy List 27 June 1957.
Hatfield
John Hatfield was appointed Midshipman 18 June 1812
upon the outbreak of war. He volunteered for duty
269
under Commodore Isaac Chauncey on Lake Ontario where
he served in Lady of the Lake. Midshipman Hatfield was
killed during the attack on York, Canada, 27 April 1813.
(DD-231 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31'8” ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 101; a. 4 5", 1 3”, 12 21” tt. ; cl. Clemson)
Hatfield (DD-231) was launched 17 March 1919 by New
York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; sponsored by
Mrs. J. Edmond Haugh ; and commissioned 16 April 1920,
Lt. N. Yytlacil inpommand.
After training cruises during the summer, Hatfield
sailed from Brooklyn 6 September 1920 for Key West,
Fla., and continued her exercises along the Atlantic coast
for the remainder of 1920. From 4 January 1921 to 24
April she operated in the Caribbean. Hatfield returned
to Hampton Roads in time for a review of the fleet by
President Harding 28 April. She cohtinued maneuvers
until 7 November, when she was assigned to the 14th
squadron of the Atlantic Fleet.
During early 1922, Hatfield operated from Charleston,
and on 2 October departed for the Mediterranean to join
the U.S. detachment in Turkish waters where she re-
mained on patrol duty until 31 July 1923, visiting many
ports including Smyrna, Jaffa, Bierut, Rhodes, and Varna.
Upon return to New York 11 August 1923 she was as-
signed to the U.S. Scouting Fleet. For the next 7 years
Hatfield maneuvered and drilled along the East Coast,
Cuba, Central America, and the Gulf of Mexico. On 15
January 1928 her squadron accompanied President Coo-
lidge to Cuba and Haiti for the Pan-American Conference.
In November 1930 she sailed for Philadelphia where she
decommissioned 13 January 1931.
On 1 April 1932 she was placed in rotating reserve com-
mission and departed 29 June for San Diego, her new
home port. She operated out of San Diego until 27
April 1936 when she departed for a cruise that took her
to Spain, France, Italy, and Algiers. She sailed for
America 9 November 1937 and arrived Charleston in mid-
December. Hatfield decommissioned 28 April 1938 after
4 months of operations along the East Coast.
She once again recommissioned 25 September 1939 and
was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol until August 1940.
Hatfield departed 2 August for the West Coast and was
assigned to the defense force of the 13th Naval District.
She operated in this area until 11 December 1941 when
she sailed for patrol duty in Alaskan waters. In the
uncertain early months of the Pacific war, Hatfield con-
voyed merchant ships to Alaskan ports, helping to carry
the supplies necessary to establish bases in the North.
She continued this vital duty in the bleak and dangerous
northern waters until 13 March 1944, when she returned
to Seattle.
Hatfield performed antisubmarine duties off Seattle
until August and entered Puget Sound Navy Yard in
September for conversion to a target-towing vessel. Re-
designated AG-84, 1 October 1944, she took up her new
duties 25 October at Seattle. For the remainder of her
commissioned service, Hatfield operated out of Port An-
geles Wash., and San Diego, towing targets for aircraft
bombing practice. In this way she helped to contribute
to the victories which carrier air power won in the Pa-
cific. She also spent a short time as an underway train-
ing ship off San Diego before arriving Bremerton, Wash.,
12 November 1946. Hatfield decommissioned 13 Decem-
ber 1946, ending 26 years of service, and was sold for
scrap to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island,
Calif.
Hatter as
An inlet on the coast of North Carolina.
I
(SwStr : d. 1,126 t. ; 1. 210' ; dr. 18' ; s. 8 k. ; cpl. 126. ; a. 4
32-pdrs., 1 20-pdr. )
The first Hatteras, formerly St. Mary, was purchased
by the Navy from Harland and Hollingsworth of Wilming-
ton, Del., on 25 September 1861. She was fitted out at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard and commissioned in October
1861, Comdr. George F. Emmons in command.
Hatteras sailed for Key West on 5 November 1861, ar-
riving there 13 November to join the South Atlantic Block-
ading Squadron which was destined to choke off the
South’s economic lifeline. After blockade duty off Apa-
lachicola, Fla., she was reassigned to Cedar Keys, Fla.,
reaching there 7 January 1862. Nine days later Hatteras
made a highly successful raid on the Cedar Keys harbor,
burning seven small would-be blockade runners loaded
with turpentine and cotton, the Florida Railroad wharf
(an important Southern rawlroad terminus), several flat-
cars, and vatioas~ buildings. To cap this day’s work,
Hatteras also captured 14 of the 22-man garrison stationed
there, and their commanding officer. Such unceasing at-
tack from the sea on any point of her long coastline and
inland waterways cost the South sorely in losses, eco-
nomic disruption, and dispersion of strength of defense.
After this exploit, Hatteras was transferred to the Gulf
Blockading Squadron and arrived off Berwick, La., 26
January. The next day she engaged CSS Mobile but failed
to do any serious damage when the light-draft ship with-
drew to the safety of shallow water. Nevertheless the
Gulf proved to he a profitable hunting ground for Hatteras,
as, in less than a year, she captured seven blockade run-
ners with assorted cargoes of cotton, sugar, and other
goods the 'South was desperately striving to export. These
captures netted Hatteras, among other things, some 534
bales of valuable cotton. Commander Emmons stationed
four of his own men on board one prize, 20-ton sloop
Poody, and, reehristening her Hatteras Jr., turned the
erstwhile blockade runner into a unit of the Gulf Block-
ading Squadron. Other Confederate ships taken as prizes
by Hatteras included : steamer Indian No. 2, schooner Mag-
nolia, steamer Governor A. Mouton, schooner Sarah, sloop
Elizabeth, and brig Josephine. The majority of these
ships were captured off Vermillion Bay, La., as they ran
toward either Havana or the Sabine River area of Texas.
However, Hatteras’ illustrious blockading career was
cut short in early 1863 not long after she was ordered to
joint the squadron under Real Admiral David Farragut,
who was attempting to retake the key Texas port of Gal-
veston. Under a new skipper, Comdr. Homer C. Blake,
who had relieved Captain Emmons in November 1862, Hat-
teras joined Farragut’s squadron off Galveston on 6 Jan-
uary 1863.
As the blockading fleet lay to off the coast near Galves-
ton on the afternoon of 11 January 1863, a set of sails
was sighted just over the horizon and Hatteras was or-
dered to give chase. She took off in pursuit of the strange
ship at about 3 p.m. and for the next 4 hours followed her
closer and closer into shore. Finally, as dusk was falling,
Hatteras came within hailing distance of the square-rigged
ship. Commander Blake demanded to know her identity.
“HBMS Spitfire," came the reply. Still suspicious, Blake
ordered one of Hatteras’ boats to inspect this “Britisher.”
Scarcely had the boat pulled away from Hatteras than a
new reply to Blake’s question rang through the night.
“We’re the CSS Alabama." With this, the famed Confed-
erate raider commanded by Raphael Semmes broke the
Stars and Bars and began raking Hatteras with her guns.
Through the gloom, for about 20 minutes, the two ships
exchanged heavy fire at distances ranging from 25 to 200
yards. The flashes of the guns and their rumbling were
heard in the Union squadron some 16 miles away, and the
cruiser Brooklyn was dispatched to investigate and render
aid if necessary.
But Hatteras had already been badly holed in two
places by the rebel raider and was on fire and beginning
to sink. Captain Blake ordered the magazines flooded to
prevent explosion and reluctantly fired a single bow gun,
indicating surrender and a need for assistance. Alabama
promptly sent over her boats to help remove Hatteras ’
crew, and the last boatload of men had barely pulled
away when the Union blockader sank, some 45 minutes
from the beginning of the action. Of Hatteras’ crew of
126, 2 had been killed and 5 wounded ; 6 had escaped back
270
to the squadron in the boat originally sent out to board and
investigate “HBMS Spitfire;" and the remainder, includ-
ing Captain Blake, were taken to Port Royal, Jamaica,
and from there paroled back to the United States. Ala-
bama suffered 2 wounded.
When Brooklyn reached the site of the battle early the
following morning, she found the hulk of Hatteras up-
right in some 9 V2 fathoms of water about 20 miles south
of Galveston Light. Only Hatteras’ masts reached out of
water, and from the topmast the U.S. Navy pendant was
still whipping in the breeze. Even in defeat the gallant
blockader had not struck her colors.
II
(Str: dp. 10,505; 1. 377'; b. 52'; dr. 23'10''; s. 10 k.)
The second Hatteras was built in 1917 for the Cunard
Line by the Bethlehem Shipping Corp. of Sparrow’s Point,
Md. Acquired by the Navy for the war effort, she com-
missioned 23 October 1917, Lt. Comdr. W. K. Martin in
command.
After loading cargo, mainly iron, in Maryland, Hatteras
joined a convoy at Norfolk and sailed for France on 26
January 1918. On 4 February the convoy ran into a
severe North Atlantic storm, and Hatteras' steering gear
broke down completely. The disabled ship headed back
to Boston using a jury-rigged steering system arriving
11 days later. On 6 March she sailed again for France
via Halifax, but 11 days later ran into another severe
storm, and, once again, broken steering gear forced her
to turn back to Boston.
On 9 April Hatteras sailed for France for the third
time, this time through relatively calm seas, and arrived
in Nantes on the 30th. Cargo successfully discharged,
she returned to Baltimore on 23 May. Thereafter she
made four more Atlantic crossings, one to Nantes and
three to Bordeaux, finally returning to New York 19
March 1919. Hatteras decommissioned there on 8 April
1919 and the same day was returned to the USSB, which
retained her until she was abandoned in 1938.
Hatteras (AVP^2), a Barnegat- class seaplane tender
under construction by Lake Washington Shipyard,
Houghton, Wash., was cancelled 22 April 1943.
Hauoli
Hawaiian word meaning “delight.”
( S P-249 : dp. 299 ; 1. 211' ; b. 22' ; dr. 8' ; s. 19 k. ; 1 6-pdr. )
Hauoli, a steam yacht, was built in 1903 by Robbins
Drydock Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., and purchased by the Navy
as California in August 1917 from her owner, Clara B.
Stocker, of New York. After fitting out, she commis-
sioned at New York Navy Yard 24 December 1917, Lt.
(j.g.) W. Applebye-Robinson, USNRF, commanding. Her
name was changed back to the original Hauoli 18 Feb-
ruary 1918.
Hauoli spent the first year of her service as a patrol
vessel in New York Harbor. She patrolled outside the
harbor also, and occasionally carried passengers to and
from convoys. The yacht was transferred to special duty
28 January 1919 and assigned to the experimental use
of Thomas A. Edison for ASW studies. Edison installed
listening devices in Hauoli and carried out tests in and
around New York harbor. Before demobilization cut
short the experiments with Hauoli, she was withdrawn
from that service and decommissioned 8 October 1919, and
later sold to Denton Shore Lumber Co., Tampa, Fla., 7
September 1920.
Haven
A place of refuge.
( AH-12 : dp. 11,141; 1. 520'; b. 71'6" ; dr. 24'; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 564; cl. Haven; T. C4-S-B2)
Haven (AH-12), formerly Marine Hawk, was launched
under Maritime Commission contract by Sun Shipbuild-
ing & Drydock Corp., Chester, Pa., 24 June 1944; spon-
sored by Mrs. E. Lang ; acquired and placed in service
15-19 June 1944 for transportation to her conversion
yard, Todd-Erie Shipyard, Brooklyn. Upon completion
of her conversion to Navy use, she commissioned 5 May
1945, Captain T. T. Patterson in command.
Following shakedown training, the hospital ship sailed
14 June via the Panama Canal for the Pacific Theater,
where the war was reaching its climax. Reaching Pearl
Harbor 6 July the ship brought patients on board for
return to San Francisco. After returning to Hawaii 11
August, just prior to the Japanese surrender, Haven
sailed to Okinawa and Nagasaki. She arrived off the
destroyed Japanese city 11 September and brought on
board a group of allied ex-prisoners of war, some of them
suffering from the effects of the atomic blast. During
the remainder of 1945 the ship was engaged in trans-
porting patients from Guam, Saipan, and Pearl Harbor
to San Francisco, arriving after her second long voyage
31 January 1946.
At San Francisco Haven took on radiological equip-
ment and scientific researchers in preparation for the
forthcoming atomic tests in the Pacific, Operation Cross-
roads. She sailed 29 May for Pearl Harbor and arrived
Bikini Atoll 12 June 1946, operating temporarily as APH-
112. The ship remained in the test area supervising the
medical aspects of the experiments throughout the opera-
tion, and arrived Kwajalein 26 August to assist in the
inspection of the test ships.
Haven departed 10 October for Pearl Harbor and the
United States, and upon her arrival and decontamina-
tion was assigned once again to transport troops from the
Pacific outposts to California as AH-12. This important
duty occupied her until February 1947, when she re-
ported to San Diego and decommissioned 1 July. Haven
entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego group.
With the outbreak of the Korean War, hospital ships
were desperately needed. Following the sinking of sister
ship Benevolence off fog-bound San Francisco in August
1950, Haven was taken out of reserve and commissioned
15 September 1950. She sailed 25 September via Pearl
Harbor for Inchon, Korea, site of one of the most auda-
cious and skillful amphibious operations in history. The
hospital ship remained off Inchon caring for casualties
until 6 January 1951, when the attacking Chinese Com-
munists forced her to move further south. She steamed
via Pusan to Sasebo, Japan.
Haven returned to Pusan 5 February to care for bat-
tle casualties, and after another voyage to Inchon re-
mained at Pusan until she sailed for the United States
arriving San Francisco 30 October 1951. Eager to get
back into action, however, she began her second tour of
Korean duty 7 January 1952. She operated off Inchon
and Pusan during the months that followed, receiving
many of her patients by helicopter directly from the front
lines. Haven sailed again for the United States 16 Sep-
tember 1952, and, after the installation of a new flight
deck to facilitate helicopter evacuation of patients, once
more steamed out of San Diego 24 January 1953. She
returned to her regular station in Inchon harbor where
during the next 7 months she treated almost 3,000 patients.
The veteran hospital ship sailed for the United States
20 August 1953, and, after her arrival at San Francisco
3 September, operated off the coast of California. She
began her fourth tour of duty in Korea 4 January 1954,
arriving Inchon 7 February to provide regular medical
care for troops. Haven also made occasional visits to
Japan ; and on 1 September with Korea in a state of
uneasy truce, she was ordered to French Indochina, ar-
riving Saigon 9 September. There she brought French
troops on board as Yiet Nam was partitioned and the
French army withdrawn. Haven sailed to Oran and
Marseille in October to disembark the soldiers, and com-
pleting her round-the-world voyage arrived Long Beach
via the Panama Canal 1 November 1954.
271
Haven took part in fleet maneuvers and provided hos-
pital services for sailors through 1955 and 1956 and de-
commissioned at Long Beach 30 June 1957. She was
placed in an “In Reserve, In Service” status, and remained
moored at Long Beach providing medical services to the
Pacific Fleet until 1 March 1967 when she was struck
from the Navy List. Haven was returned to the Mari-
time Administration 5 June 1967 and is at present berthed
in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay,
Calif.
Haven received nine battle stars for Korean War
service.
Haverfield
James Wallace Haverfield was born 11 April 1917 in
Urichsville, Ohio. After receiving his B.A. from Ohio
State University in 1939, Haverfield enlisted in the Naval
Reserve as an apprentice seaman 11 September 1940. He
accepted an appointment as a midshipman 16 March 1941
and after completing his training at Northwestern Uni-
versity, was commissioned Ensign 12 June 1941. Ensign
Harverfield reported to the battleship Arizona at Pearl
Harbor 28 June, and remained there. During the Japa-
nese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, Ensign
James Haverfield was one of 46 officers and 1,057 men
of Arizona lost when the valiant ship was sunk by the
enemy.
( DE-393 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 8 20mm. , 3 21'' tt., 2 dct.,
8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Edsall)
Haverfield (DE-393) was launched 30 August 1943 by
Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston; sponsored by Mrs.
Tracy Haverfield, mother of Ensign Haverfield ; and com-
missioned 29 November, Lt. Comdr. Jerry A. Matthews
in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Haverfield joined
escort carrier Bogue's hunter-killer group in patrolling
Atlantic convoy lanes in search of marauding German
U-boats. Departing Norfolk 26 February 1944, the hunter-
killer group, aided by a Canadian corvette and British
aircraft, sank U-575 on the 23rd of March. With some
seven survivors of the Nazi submarine aboard, Haverfield
continued her patrol to Casablanca, where she reported to
Commander Moroccan Sea Frontier and turned over the
German prisoners 18 March. After returning to Nor-
folk, Haverfield sailed on her second offensive combat
cruise with the Bogue group 5 May. Operating with an-
other HUK group under Block Island, the Bogue force
sank RO-501, exU-1221,, at 18°08' N„ 33°13' W. 13 May
as the former German ship was heading for her new
home in Japan.
Reaching Casablanca 29 May, Haverfield was ordered
out that same night to render emergency assistance to
survivors of carrier Block Island, sunk by a German
torpedo off the Canary Islands. Haverfield rescued one
of six Block Island fighter pilots who had been aloft when
the carrier sank, but a long search failed to locate the
remaining five men. After this, Haverfield continued to
operate until the European War ended in May 1945 on
trans-Atlantic HUK missions as well as on patrol along
the icy Great Barrier. When all German U-boats still
at sea had been accounted for, the destroyer-escort under-
went a Boston overhaul ; and, after intensive training in
Cuban waters, sailed for the Pacific 19 July to be ready
for the invasion of Japan. Reaching Pearl Harbor via
the Panama Canal and San Diego 1 August, Haverfield
was there when the war ended in mid-August and at the
end of the month assumed convoy escort duty from
Saipan to Okinawa. She patrolled the China coast and
then streamed her homeward-bound pennant, reaching
Boston 15 February 1946. Haverfield sailed to Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 25 March 1946, decommissioned and went
into reserve 30 June 1947.
Reclassified DER-393 in September 1954, Haverfield
was converted to a radar picket ship at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard and recommissioned there 4 January 1955.
Fitted with the latest electronic detection equipment and
with 50 tons of ballast in her keel to compensate for the
topside weight of the new radar antennae, Haverfield
trained off the East Coast and then reported to her new
home port, Seattle, via the Panama Canal and San Deigo
23 July. Haverfield served as flagship of the newly cre-
USS Haven (AH-12) off Korea in 1952
272
ated CortRon 5 in addition to regular radar picket patrol
off the Pacific coast. After 5 years of this duty, she re-
ported to Pearl Harbor 10 April 1959 for similar employ-
ment along the Pacific Barrier. Departing Pearl Harbor
16 May 1960, Haverfield sailed to a new homeport, Guam,
to make surveillance of the Trust Territory Islands and
to ensure the safety and welfare of the islanders.
After participating in Operation Cosmos, which pro-
vided navigational aids for and was prepared to render
emergency assistance to President Dwight Eisenhower’s
plane as the Chief Executive crossed the Pacific on a good
will tour, Haverfield operated with the famed bathyscaphe
Trieste as it descended the Marianas Trench to a near-
record dive, of 19,300 feet 30 June 1960.
Following her support of this scientific endeavor,
Haverfield conducted antisubmarine and search and
rescue patrols among the Bonins, the Marianas, and the
Caroline Islands. For almost 5 years she served primarily
in the Trust Territory of the Pacific, though twice she
deployed to the Far East. Steaming to Japan in October
1960, she became the first radar picket escort ship to oper-
ate with the 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific. In mid-Octo-
ber 1961 she returned to the Far East ; and, upon relieving
John R. Craig (DD-885) on patrol in the Formosa Strait,
she became the first of her type to join in this important
peace-keeping operation. She continued intermittent
patrols off Taiwan until 10 January 1962 when she
steamed via Japan to resume patrol duty out of Guam.
In November Typhoon Karen left widespread destruction
on Guam ; and Haverfield, the first ship to return to the
storm-wracked Apra harbor, provided valuable supplies
and services.
Haverfield returned to Pearl Harbor March 1965 and,
after joining Escort Squaron 5, sailed 19 June for duty
off South Vietnam. There she participated in “Market
Time” patrols to guard against infiltration of North Viet-
namese troops and supplies by sea. She served “Market
Time” for 7 months, then returned Pearl Harbor 2 Feb-
ruary 1966. Departing for the Far East 23 May, she
resumed “Market Time” operations 9 June. Eleven days
later she participated in the most significant action of the
operation up to that time.
A 100-foot, steel-hulled North Vietnamese trawler, at-
tempting to infiltrate "Market Time” patrols with a large
cargo of arms and ammunition for the Viet Cong, was
detected by U.S. Coast Guard cutter Point League near
the mouth of the Co Chien River in the Mekong Delta.
A chase and fire fight followed, during which the cutter
forced the enemy trawler aground. The enemy abandoned
the burning ship ; after wiping out enemy shore resistance,
“Market Time” units, including Haverfield, sent volun-
teers on board to fight fires and salvage the captured
cargo. While American and South Vietnamese teams
extinguished the fires, other volunteers offloaded almost
80 tons of. ammunition and arms, including mortars, re-
coilless rifles, machineguns, and antitank weapons. This
represented the largest seizure of the “Market Time”
operation and thwarted a determined attempt by the
North Vietnamese to supply Viet Cong.
Haverfield continued “Market Time” patrols during the
next 5 months. In addition she provided gunfire support
6 September against a enemy on Phu Quoc Island, South
Vietnam. She returned to Pearl Harbor 6 December,
remained there until late April 1967, and then resumed
patrol duty off South Vietnam.
For her participation in World War II, Haverfield was
awarded one battle star as well as the Presidential Unit
Citation for her antisubmarine work in the Atlantic.
Havre
A city in northern Montana.
(PCE-877 : dp. 640 ; 1. 185' ; b. 33' ; dr. 9' ; s. 15 k. ; cpl. 99 ;
a. 1 3", 3 40mm., 5 20mm., 4 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.b.), 2 dct.;
cl. PCE-8J,2 )
PCE-877 was laid down by Albina Engine & Machine
Works, Portland, Oreg., 6 May 1943 ; launched 11 August ;
sponsored by Miss Marjory Wooton ; and commissioned
14 February 1944, Lt. Coleman H. Smith in command.
After shakedown off San Diego PCE-877 sailed for
Hawaii arriving Pearl Harbor 19 September for conver-
sion to an amphibious force control ship. Following her
conversion and training for her new assignment, PCE-877
departed Peal Harbor 22 January 1945, reaching Eniwe-
tok 3 February. Proceeding to Saipan, she joined the Iwo
Jima invasion force and was enroute to the Japanese held
volcano fortress on the 15th. Four days later the con-
verted sub chaser arrived in the transport area where she
directed and controlled landing craft on their approach
to the beaches. Following the initial assault she patrolled
off the island, performing rescue and salvage operations.
With Iwo Jima secured, PCE-877 steamed to Leyte to
prepare for the next major campaign, invasion of Oki-
nawa. In late March the largest amphibious force of the
Pacific war steamed to the Ryukyu Islands. American
troops hit the beaches 1 April and PCE-877 once again
assumed attack station to screen and direct landing ships
on their approach to shore. Under frequent enemy air
attack, she remained off Okinawa for 2 weeks giving
support to the troops. Following a short overhaul at
Ulitlii, PCE-877 resumed operations off Okinawa in mid
May. On 28 May she came under Japanese air attack
while assisting LCS-119, which had been demolished by
a suicide plane. During this encounter she aided in
splashing an enemy plane and recovered sixty-one sur-
vivors from the stricken ship. For the rest of the war
she performed patrol off Okinawa and amphibious train-
ing in the Philippines. Reclassified PCE(C)-877 on 20
August, she sailed 6 days later to escort a transport
convoy enroute to Tokyo.
PCE(C)-877 returned to the United States early in
1946, arriving Charleston, S.C., in February. From 1916
to April 1954 she was attached to Amphibious Control
Squadron 2 and engaged in exercises in the North At-
lantic, Chesapeake Bay, and the Caribbean.
During April 1954 she sailed to the Great Lakes where
she became a Naval Reserve Training Ship in the 9th
Naval District. Here she was again reclassified PCE-877,
27 October 1955, and was named Havre 15 February 1956.
For the next 10 years Havre operated throughout the
Great Lakes, engaging in 2-week cruises which provided
valuable training for Naval Reservists, including ASW
exercises.
At present Havre continues operations in 1967 out of
her home port Great Lakes, 111.
PCE-877 received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hatcaii
An American island territory in the Pacific, later the
50th State.
(CB-3 : dp. 27,500 ; 1. 808'6" ; b. 90'10" ; dr. 27'1" s. 33 k. ;
a. 9 12" planned; cl. Alaska)
Hawaii (CB-3) was launched 3 November 1945 by
New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Joseph R. Farrington, wife of the delegate from
the Territory of Hawaii. One of a projected class of six
battle cruiser type ships, of which only two were com-
pleted, Haivaii and her sisters were designed to cope with
the large German “pocket battleships” and Japanese
armored cruisers. Due to the reduction in defense ex-
penditures after World War II, her construction was
suspended. In September 1947 she stood 84 percent com-
plete. For a time it was planned that Haivaii should be
converted to the Navy’s first guided missile ship, but she
remained in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Her classifica-
tion was changed to large command ship, CBC-1, 26
February 1952 when conversion was again contemplated ;
but she reverted to her original classification 9 October
1954 and was sold for scrap to Boston Metals Co., Bal-
timore, Md., in 1959 after being struck from the Navy
List 9 June 1958.
273
Hawaiian
II
(NOTS: dp. 12,000; 1. 406'9'' ; b. 51'1" ; dr. 26'1" ; s.
11 k. ; cpl. 97)
Hawaiian was built by the Delaware River Ship-
building Co., Chester, Pa., and launched in November
1900, Mrs. W. C. Sproul, wife of the United States Senator
from Pennsylvania and daughter of the founded- of the
shipyard, sponsor. The cargo vessel was acquired by the
Navy from her owner, the American-Hawaiian Steamship
Line, and commissioned on 10 August 1918 at Hoboken,
N.J., Lt. Comdr. L. A. Carlisle in command.
Taking aboard cargo at New York, Hawaiian sailed for
Bassens, France, on 17 August, arriving there 3 September.
After discharging her cargo there, she returned to New
York on 28 September. Hawaiian sailed for Europe again
on 11 October. On 26 October, only one day out of Gibral-
tar, she rammed the British steamer Larchgrove amid-
ships, sinking her almost immediately. Hawaiian, badly
holed in the bows and shipping water, limped into Gibral-
tar the following day with 16 survivors of the British
steamer on board. After temporary repairs had been
effected, Hawaiian continued on to Marseilles, arriving
there 12 November to discharge cargo. She then returned
to the United States via Gibraltar, arriving at New York
on 15 December.
Hawaiian stayed in drydock at New York until 21 March
1919, when she decommissioned and was returned to her
former owners.
Hawaiian Merchant, see Euryale (AS-22)
Hawaiian Packer, see Delta (AK-29)
Hawaiian Planter, see Briareus (AR-12)
Hawaiian Standard, see YO-53
Hawk
A bird of prey related to the falcon family, noted for its
swiftness and grace in flight.
I
( IX-14 : dp. 545 ; 1. 145' ; b. 22' ; dr. 11' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl. 47 ;
a. 13-pdr., 2 1-pdr.)
The first Hawk (IX-14) was a converted yacht built
as Hermione by Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley, Scotland, in
1891 ; purchased by the Navy 2 April 1898 and renamed
Hawk; and commissioned 3 days later, Lt. J. Hood in
command.
Hawk sailed from Key West in late April 1898 to join
the North Atlantic Squadron in blockading Cuba during
the Spanish-American War. On 23 May she accompanied
Admiral Sampson’s flagship New York out from Key West.
Two weeks later she attacked and destroyed enemy ship
Alyhonso XII, which carried cargo for Cuba. In late sum-
mer she departed for Norfolk where she decommissioned
14 September 1898.
Recommissioned in 1900, she was loaned to the Ohio
Naval Militia where she served for 9 years. On 3 August
1909 Hawk was transferred to the Naval Militia of New
York, and served for 10 years in the Buffalo area. She
decommissioned 21 May 1919 and joined the Reserve Fleet.
She was designated IX-14 on 1 July 1921.
Hawk once again recommissioned 16 April 1922 and was
assigned to the 9th Naval District. She operated in the
Great Lakes area for the duration of her service. She
decommissioned 14 February 1940 and was sold 25 Feb-
ruary to the Indiana Salvage Co., Michigan City, Ind.
(AM-133; dp. 590; 1. 147' ; b. 26' ; dr. 13' ; s. 12 k. ; a. 2
6-pdrs. )
The second Hawk (AM-133), a converted trawler, was
built in 1937 as Gale by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co.,
Quincy, Mass. ; acquired by the Navy 1 January 1942 from
her owner, General Sea Foods Corp., Boston ; converted to
a minesweeper at Bethlehem Steel’s Atlantic Yard, and
commissioned 23 May 1942, Lt. J. W. Lowes in command.
Hawk was assigned to the 1st Naval District and was
based at the Boston Section Base. She performed general
minesweeping duties near Boston and in mid-1943 was
assigned to the Northern Ship Lane Patrol. Hawk de-
commissioned 1 May 1944 and was sold.
Ill
( YMS-362 : dp. 245 1. ; 1. 136' ; b. 22'9" ; dr. 6'3" ; s. 14.5 k.,
a. 13")
The third Hawk (YMS-362) was launched as YMS-362
by Robert Jacob, Inc., City Island, Bronx, N.Y., 22 May
1943; sponsored by Miss Marilyn Miller; commissioned
4 October, Lt. J. W. Starbuck, Jr., in command.
YMS-362 spent its first year of commissioned life in
training on the eastern coast of the United States. She
departed Norfolk, Va., and the Atlantic Fleet 19 October
1944, and arrived at Pearl Harbor 25 November for war
duty. She swept mines in support of the invasion of
Iwo Jima 17 February 1945, destroying two enemy machine
gun emplacements ashore as the invasion began. Her
minesweeping patrols continued around the Japanese home
islands until 28 December, when YMS-362 began passage
for her return to Charleston, S.C., arriving in late May
1946.
After overhaul and refitting, she took up duties with the
Atlantic Fleet as a unit attached to the U.S. Naval Mine-
craft Base at Charleston. During a second refitting, on
17 February 1947 YMS-362 was renamed and redesignated
Hawk (AMS-17). Reclassified a second time as MSC
(0)-17 on 7 February 1955, Hawk continued her service
as a minesweeping training ship until she was struck from
the Naval Register 17 October 1957.
Hawk received four battle stars for her service in World
War II.
Hawk (AM-400), under construction by Defoe Ship-
building Co., Bay City, Mich., was cancelled 12 August
1945.
Hawk, see YT-213
Hawkbill
A large sea turtle.
(SS-366 : dp. 1,526: 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'33" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 66 ; a. 10 tt., 1 5", 1 40mm., 1 20mm. ; cl. Balao)
Hawkbill (SS-366) was launched by Manitowoc Ship-
building Co., Manitowoc, Wis. 9 January 1944 ; sponsored
by Mrs. F. W. Scanland, Jr., and commissioned 17 May
1944, Lt. Comdr. F. W. Scanland, Jr., in command.
Following a period of training on the Great Lakes, the
submarine departed 1 June 1944 from Manitowoc to begin
the long journey down the Illinois River and finally by
barge down the Mississippi. She arrived New Orleans 10
June and, after combat loading, sailed 16 June for train-
ing out of the submarine base, Balboa, Canal Zone. With
this vital training completed, she arrived Pearl Harbor
28 July for final preparations before her first war patrol.
Departing 23 August, the submarine steamed via Saipan
to her patrol area in the Philippine Islands in company
with Baya and Becuna. In October Hawkbill shifted
patrol to the South China Sea and, while approaching two
carriers 7 October, was forced down by violent depth
charging by Japanese destroyers. Two days later she
attacked a 12-ship convoy with Becuna, damaging several
274
of the ships. Hawkbill transited heavily patrolled Lom-
bok Strait 14 October, and terminated her first patrol at
Fremantle, Australia on the 17th.
In company with Becuna and Flasher, the submarine
departed for her second patrol 15 November bound for the
area north of the Malay Barrier. She encountered a
convoy 15 December and sank destroyer Momo with six
well-placed torpedoes during a night attack. Finding few
contacts — a testament to the effectiveness of the American
submarines — Hawkbill headed once more for Lombok
Strait. This time she was sighted by a patrol craft, but
cleverly maneuvered into a rain squall. The submarine
was then fired upon by shore batteries before passing out
of range. Hawkbill returned to Fremantle 5 January
1945.
On her third war patrol beginning 5 February, the sub-
marine returned to Lombok Strait to turn the tables on her
former pursuers. Her torpedoes sank two submarine
chasers 14 February, and she added some small craft be-
fore turning for the South China Sea. Hawkbill detected
a convoy 20 February ; after engaging one escort with gun-
fire, she sank 5,400-ton cargo ship Daizen Marti with a
spread of torpedoes. The rest of her patrol brought no
targets ; she arrived Fremantle 6 April 1945.
Departing op her fourth patrol 5 May, Hawkbill served
on lifeguard station for a B-24 strike on the Kangean
Islands north of fabled Bali. She arrived 16 May on her
patrol station off the coast of Malaya, and soon afterward
encountered minelayer Hatsutaka heading south along the
coast. She attacked and obtained two hits, causing severe
damage. The ship was observed next morning being towed
to the beach. At a range of almost 5,000 yards, Hawkbill
fired three more torpedoes into the shallow waters and
broke the ship in half, sinking a familiar enemy of sub-
marines operating on the Malayan coast. After further
patrol off Malaya and in the Gulf of Siam, she arrived
Subic Bay 18 June 1945.
Hawkbill departed for her fifth and last war patrol
12 July. Returning to the coast of Malaya, she attacked
a convoy 18 July. Her first torpedoes missed, and an
hour later a depth charge attack of unusual accuracy and
intensity began. Hawkbill was blown partially out of the
water by a perfectly placed pattern and damaged con-
siderably ; but by hugging the bottom with all machinery
secured, she eluded the attacking destroyers. After a stay
at Subic Bay for repairs, she steamed to Borneo to ren-
dezvous with Australian Army officers for a special mis-
sion. Hawkbill destroyed two radio stations with her
deck guns, landed commandos at Terampha Town, and
destroyed shore installations. After reconnaissance of
Anambas Island, also in the South China Sea, the versatile
submarine returned to Borneo 13 August.
Following the surrender of Japan, Hawkbill sailed to
Pearl Harbor, departing 22 September 1945 for San Fran-
cisco. She decommissioned at Mare Island 30 September
1946 and joined the Reserve Fleet. Brought out of reserve
in 1952, Hawkbill was loaned to the Netherlands under the
Military Assistance Program 21 April 1953 and now serves
as Zeeleeuw (S-803).
Hawkbill received six battle stars for World War II
service. All five of her war patrols were designated suc-
cessful, and she received a Navy Unit Commendation for
her outstanding performance on patrols 1, 3, and 4.
II
(SS (N)-666 : dp. 4,630 (f.) ; 1. 292'; b. 32')
The second Hawkbill (SS(N)-666), a Sturgeon-class
nuclear submarine, was laid down by Mare Island Divi-
sion, San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.,
12 September 1966, and is to be launched in the summer of
1968. A key element in the underwater deterrent force of
the Navy she contributes to the vital continuing task of
“keeping the peace” over the vast reaches of global waters
Designed to attack and destroy all types of enemy ships,
she is able to operate for long periods at great depths and
at high submerged speed, making her a potent and effec-
tive challenge to enemy submarines. Operating under
nuclear power, she is also capable of conducting long-range
reconnaissance patrols and surveillance missions without
risking detection by surface ships. Moreover, she can
carry out extensive ASW operations, either alone or with
other fleet submarines and destroyer-type surface ships.
Hawke
A former name retained.
Hawke, or Hawk, was a small coastal sloop obtained
by Major Silas Talbot of the Continental Army in October
1778 for use in his daring capture of British 8 gun
schooner Pigot in Narragansett Bay. The British ship
effectively blockaded the town of Providence, and Talbot
equipped his small ship with 2 guns and 60 soldiers to
board her. On the night of 28 October, Talbot slipped
silently past British batteries and stood for Pigot. He
managed to entangle his jib boom in his adversary’s rig-
ging, and opened fire. Although the British captain put
up a courageous resistance, Talbot’s soldiers quickly
overran the ship and sailed her into Stonington, Conn.
Not a man was lost on either side.
Silas Talbot gained great fame for this exploit, and
later became a Captain in the Continental Navv and in the
U.S. Navy after the Revolution.
Hawkins
William Deane Hawkins was born 19 April 1914 in Fort
Scott, Kansas, and enlisted in the Marine Corps 5 Janu-
ary 1942. He accepted a battlefield commission in the
Solomons 18 November 1942, and was killed 21 November
1943 in the assault on Tarawa. First Lieutenant Hawkins
received the Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the
bloody assault on Betio in which he gave his life. The
citation reads in part : “Fearlessly leading his men on to
join the forces fighting desperately to gain a beachhead,
he repeatedly risked his life throughout the day and night
to direct and lead attacks on pill boxes and installations
with grenades and demolitions. . . . Refusing to with-
draw after being seriously wounded in the chest during
this skirmish, First Lieutenant Hawkins steadfastly car-
ried the fight to the enemy, destroying three more pillboxes
before he was caught in a burst of Japanese shell fire and
mortally wounded. His relentless fighting spirit in the
face of formidable opposition and his exceptionally daring
tactics were an inspiration to his comrades during the
most crucial phase of the battle and reflect the highest
credit upon the United States Naval Service.”
(DD-873: dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6” ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 367; a. 6 5”, 6 3”, 5 21” tt., 6 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h),
2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
Hawkins (DD-873), originally Beatty but renamed 22
June 1944, was launched by Consolidated Steel Co.,
Orange, Tex., 7 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Clara
Hawkins, mother of First Lieutenant Hawkins ; and com-
missioned 10 February 1945, Comdr. C. Iverson in
command.
Following shakedown training in the Caribbean,
Hawkins arrived Norfolk 23 March 1945 to undergo con-
version to a radar picket ship. Emerging 26 May, she
conducted training exercises before sailing 18 June from
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for San Diego and Pearl Harbor.
After her arrival 8 July Hawkins prepared to enter the
last phase of the Pacific War, but 3 days after her 12 Au-
gust departure from Pearl Harbor for Eniwetok the
Japanese surrendered. The destroyer continued from
Eniwetok to Iwo Jima and Tokyo Bay, arriving 27 August,
and assisted in early occupation operations. She then
escorted ships to and from the Marianas, remaining in
Japanese waters until 3 January 1946. Hawkins then
steamed to the Philippines and Saipan, finally arriving
Pearl Harbor 3 April.
Arriving San Diego 11 April, the destroyer took part
in training operations off the west coast until sailing
275
USS Hawlcins (DD-873)— “Mail Call”
276
again for the far east 6 January 1947. During the months
that followed she steamed between Chinese and Korean
ports, assisting and supporting American Marine units in
their attempts to stabilize the explosive Chinese situation
and protect American lives. Han kins also took part in
rescue operations off Hong Kong 19 July 1947, when giant
steamer Hong Kheng sank with over 2,000 passengers on
board. She returned to the United States 8 October 1947.
After a year of operations out of San Diego the ship
sailed again for the troubled Far East, arriving Tsingtao,
China, 29 October. Following operations off the China
coast Hawkins got underway from Tsingtao 6 December.
On this long voyage, completing a circuit of the globe, the
destroyer visited Ceylon, Turkey, Gibraltar, New York,
and Panama before arriving San Diego 16 March 1949.
Haivkins was reassigned to Atlantic Fleet soon after-
ward, arriving her new home port, Newport, 29 May 1949.
For the next year she took part in reserve training cruises
and readiness exercises in the Caribbean. The ship had
been reclassified DDR-873 18 March 1949. Haivkins de-
parted 2 May 1950 for a cruise with 6th Fleet in the
strategic Mediterranean.
While there she and the world were shocked by the
Communist invasion of South Korea. After NATO
maneuvers she returned to Newport 10 October and pre-
pared to become part of the nation’s far flung bulwark in
the Korean conflict. Sailing 3 January via the Panama
• Canal she arrived Pusan 5 February. During her 4
months of Korean duty Haivkins screened the mobile
carrier forces during strikes on enemy positions and sui>-
ply lines, provided antisubmarine protection, and con-
trolled jet aircraft in combat air patrols. She also acted
as plane guard during operations in the Formosa Straits
designed to discourage Communist aggression against the
friendly island. Departing the Far East in June, the
destroyer returned to Newport 8 August via the Mediter-
ranean.
For the next few years the veteran ship alternated
picket duty and training operations in the western Atlan-
tic with periodic cruises to the Mediterranean with the
6th Fleet. She was in the Eastern Mediterranean during
the summer of 1956 when the Suez crisis threatened the
security and peace of the area. Hawkins arrived May-
port, Fla., her new home port, 18 August 1960. and soon
resumed her pattern of cruises to the Mediterranean. In
1961 she operated with a special Task Group in connec-
tion with American space experiments and missile tests
off Cape Canaveral, now Cape Kennedy. When the intro-
duction of offensive missiles into Cuba in 1962 threatened
the security of the United States, Hawkins joined with
other ships in quarantining that Caribbean country, cruis-
ing the Caribbean from late October until December in a
modern demonstration of the i>ower of forces afloat. In
1963 the ship returned to the Mediterranean in the Spring
and in August took part in Polaris missile tests in the
Caribbean with submarine Alexander Hamilton. During
the next 5 months Hawkins operated with carriers off
Florida and in the Caribbean. Following additional
Polaris missile tests with Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619)
in February 1964, she steamed to Boston 21 March and was
placed in commission, in reserve, prior to undergoing
FRAM I overhaul.
Reclassified DD-873 on 1 April, Hawkins completed
FRAM late in 1964. Assigned to Destroyer Squadron
24, she operated out of Newport until departing 29 Sep-
tember for duty in the Far East. Steaming via the
Panama Canal and the West Coast, she joined the 7th
Fleet 23 November as part of America’s powerful naval
commitment to thwart Communist aggression in Southeast
Asia. For the next 3 months she guarded hard-hitting
carriers in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin
and provided gunfire support for ground troops along the
coast of South Vietnam. She departed Subic Bay late in
February 1966, steamed via the Suez Canal, and arrived
Newport 8 April.
Hawkins maintained the peak readiness of her crew
and equipment over the next few months with exercises
off the East Coast and in the Caribbean. Departing New-
USS Hawkins (DD-873) refueling from USS Enterprise (CVA(N)-65)
277
port 28 November, she joined the 6th Fleet at Gibraltar
8 December and became flagship for ComDesRon 24. For
more than 3 months she cruised the Mediterranean from
Spain to Greece before returning to Newport 20 March
1967. Into mid-1967 she operated along the Atlantic
Coast from New England to Florida, prepared as always
to cruise in defense of the United States and the free
world.
Haivkins received two battle stars for Korean service.
Hayes, President, see President Hayes (AP-39)
Haynstcorth
William McCall Haynsworth, Jr., was bom in Darling-
ton, S.C., 16 January 1901, and appointed Midshipman
from the Sixth Congressional District of South Carolina
19 June 1919. After graduation from the Naval Academy
he reported for duty on board destroyer Malian, 16 June
1924, and was detached in April 1928 for postgraduate
instruction in mechanical engineering at the Naval Acad-
emy, followed by postgraduate work at various colleges
and industrial plants. He was assigned to cruiser
Houston, 10 November 1930 and detached in February
1934 to serve at the Naval Research Laboratory, Bellevue,
District of Columbia until June 1936 when he was ordered
to Houston as Assistant Fire Control Officer.
In April 1939 he reported to Charleston Navy Yard in
connection with fitting out of Ingraham (DD-111). He
assumed command of Ingraham 19 July 3941 and with the
outbreak of World War II commenced escort duty for
convoys sailing from New York and Halifax to the British
Isles. Ingraham, while investigating the collision of
destroyer Buck with a merchant vessel, was rammed by
fleet oiler Chemung in dense fog off Nova Scotia, 22 August
1942. The force of the collision exploded Ingraham,
killing Commander Haynsworth and all but ten men and
one officer.
(DD-700: dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6" ; b. 40' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336 ; a. 6 5", 16 40mm., 20 20mm., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 5 21"
tt. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner )
Haynsworth (DD-700) was launched 15 April 1944 by
the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydoek Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Haynsworth, widow of Comdr. Hayns-
worth ; and commissioned 22 June 1944, Comdr. Robert
Brodie, Jr., in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean Haynsworth departed
New York 20 September escorting Queen Mary with Prime
Minister Winston Churchill on board. Rendezvousing
with British escorts, she returned to New York and sailed
26 September via the Canal Zone and San Pedro, arriving
Pearl Harbor 20 October. Haynsworth sailed 16 Decem-
ber for Ulithi and joined Vice Admiral J. S. McCain’s
Fast Carrier Task Force 38 for the final assaults on the
Japanese. During the next 3 months she operated with
the 3d and 5th Fleets as part of the screen for the Fast
Carrier Task Force ; the primary mission being to conduct
air strikes against strategic Japanese positions along the
China coast, and Formosa, and to harrass enemy shipping
during the landings at Luzon 9 January 1945.
The day after the invasion was launched, Task Force
38 moved into the South China Sea and conducted raids
on the China coast and Indochina, doing much damage to
the enemy. Launching one final raid against Okinawa,
Haynsworth retired to Ulithi 26 January. She sortied
10 February with Admiral Marc Mitscher’s Fast Carrier
Force 58 for strikes against airfields, factories, and ship-
ping in the Tokyo area. Heavy fighter sweeps were
launched 16 February to cover the airfields around Tokyo
Bay. Despite heavy weather with low ceiling, most of the
target areas were effectively neutralized. During the
afternoon three Japanese picket boats that had evaded
detection in thick fog were spotted by Haynsworth and
promptly sunk, taking 12 prisoners. In addition to dam-
aging aircraft frame and engine plants, a number of ships
and small craft were attacked and sunk in Tokyo Bay,
the biggest prize being the 10,600-ton Yamashiro Maru.
As the Pacific war approached its climax, Haynsworth
again sailed from Ulithi for further strikes against Japan.
Massive air attacks were launched against airfields on
Kyushu and ships in the Inland Sea 18 and 19 March,
inflicting heavy damage on the dwindling Japanese air
and sea power. After participating in the bombardment
of enemy shore positions on Minami Daito Shima 28
March, she sailed for Okinawa. Landings were made on
the Japanese fortress 1 April, with Task Force 58 provid-
ing support, and Haynsworth frequently aiding in the
destruction of enemy aircraft during the many attacks,
where “the fleet had come to stay.” Only after she was
crashed by a kamikaze 6 April did she have to retire to
Mare Island via Ulithi for repairs.
After repairs Haynsworth had duty at Treasure Island,
Calif., as a training ship from 17 July to 5 September.
After several months of operations at Pearl Harbor, she
sailed for the east coast 14 January 1946, reaching Boston
26 April for a year in the Reserve Fleet. Returning to
active service in March 1947, Haynsworth based her op-
erations from Algiers, La., conducting reserve training
cruises in the Gulf and in the Caribbean until the summer
of 1949.
Haynsworth sailed 6 September 1949 for her first duty
with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, returning to
Norfolk 7 February 1950. She arrived Charleston 10 days
later, decommissioned there 19 May and joined the Reserve
Fleet.
With the expansion of operations due to the Korean
War, Haynsworth recommissioned at Charleston 22 Sep-
tember 1950, Comdr. Herbert F. Rommel in command.
Following training and operations along the East Coast
and in the Caribbean she sailed 3 September 1951 for
duty in the Mediterranean.
After more operations on the East Coast and in the
Caribbean, and a Midshipman cruise to the North Atlantic,
Haynsworth sailed from Norfolk 2 November 1953 for a
round-the-world cruise. While in the Pacific she was
assigned duty for 4 months in the Far East with the 7th
Fleet, a vital peace-keeping force in that part of the world.
Haynsworth returned to Norfolk 4 June 1954 to resume
her support of the 6th Fleet. In 1956 with the Suez crisis
still unsettled, Navy units stood by in the eastern Mediter-
ranean and evacuated U.S. nationals from Egypt. Hayns-
worth aided the Navy’s preparedness in the event of any
conflict. Between 1956 and 1960 she made five deploy-
ments to the Mediterranean, supporting the Navy’s peace-
keeping role and keeping a watchful eye on the troubled
spots of the free world. In 1959 Haynsworth took part
in the historic “Operation Inland Seas,” commemorating
the opening of the mighty St. Lawrence Seaway, steaming
up the St. Lawrence to Montreal.
Late in 1961 while in the Mediterranean, Haynsworth
delivered emergency food rations to flood-ravaged Africa ;
and on 3 October 1962, she stood by off Cape Canaveral
as a rescue ship and witnessed the take off of astronaut
Comdr. Walter Schirra on his historic six-orbital flight.
Later that month, under much more serious circumstances,
she hastened to the Caribbean and participated in the
naval quarantine of Cuba, effectively checking the Com-
munist threat to the security of the Western Hemisphere.
In February 1963 Haynsworth deployed to the Medi-
terranean, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden for opera-
tions with the 6th Fleet. After returning to Norfolk, she
embarked midshipmen for an Atlantic cruise from 1 Au-
gust to 10 September; then underwent overhaul at New
Orleans, La., and Orange, Tex., before arriving Galveston
28 February 1964 to begin duty as a Naval Reserve train-
ing ship.
Assigned to Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34, Hayns-
worth since that time has operated out of Galveston while
providing valuable on board training facilities for hun-
dreds of Naval Reservists. Manned by a nucleus crew,
she has steamed to ports along the Gulf and Atlantic
coasts, and numerous training cruises have carried her
278
into the Caribbean. Into mid-1967 she has continued to
bolster the strength of the Navy and the Nation through
intense, skilled, and effective training which maintains the
caliber and readiness of the Naval Reserve.
Haynsworth received three battle stars for World War
II service.
Hayter
Hubert Montgomery Hayter was born in Abingdon, Va.,
17 October 1901, and graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1924. In the following years he served on battleship
Arizona, destroyer Yarborough, and other ships, taking
command of Ramsay (DM-16) in 1939. Lt. Comdr.
Hayter was transferred to New Orleans 5 February 1941,
and was killed during an action with Japanese forces
off Savo Island 30 November 1942. Hayter was serving
as damage control officer when New Orleans received a
torpedo hit, and as Central Station, his battle post, filled
with asphyxiating gas, he ordered all men without masks
to leave the compartment, giving his own to a partially
stricken seaman. After clearing the compartment of all
personnel, Lt. Cmdr. Hayter was finally overcome by the
fumes. For this extraordinary act of heroism, he was
posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
( DE-212 : dp. 1400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10” ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 3 21” tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.).
cl. Buckley )
Hayter (DE-212) was launched by Charleston Navy
Yard, Charleston, S.C., 11 November 1943 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Maurine K. Hayter, widow of the namesake ; and
commissioned at Charleston 16 March 1944, Lt. Comdr.
H. H. Theriault in command.
Hayter departed Charleston 1 April 1944 for shakedown
training off Bermuda, and subsequently was asigned to
an escort division for Atlantic duty. Between 1 June and
30 November 1944 she made three voyages to Europe, two
from Norfolk to Bizerte and one from Casco, Maine, to
Bizerte. During the voyages Hayter provided anti-sub-
marine protection and transferred the division doctor to
many merchant ships in the convoy needing medical
assistance.
Hayter sailed 2 January 1945 on a special duty in the
Atlantic, with other units of Escort Division 62. Their
assignment — to find and sink German submarine U-2^8,
which had been sending vital weather reports to Axis
units from the Azores area. The ships conducted several
search sweeps before Hayter made contact with the sub
16 January, and after a series of lethal depth charge
attacks lasting two hours the submarine was sunk.
Hayter patrolled the Azores for a time, then joined a
convoy screen for the voyage back to Norfolk, arriving
5 February 1945.
Departing Casco Bay 17 March, Hayter and her con-
sorts proceeded into the north Atlantic for anti-submarine
sweeps in the Iceland area. The ships made a depth
charge attack 10 April, but did not score a definite kill.
The group returned to Argentia, Newfoundland, 14 April,
and departed 4 days later for anti-submarine barrier
patrol, cruising between escort carriers Boguc, to the
south, and Core, to the north. Contact was made 23
April and all ships searched without avail until the next
day, when Frederick C. Davis reported contact on her
starboard bow.
As Hayter maeuvered to attack, Davis was struck by
a torpedo on her port side amidships, breaking her in two.
As the stricken ship settled and sank Hayter began rescue
operations, and despite rough seas, sharks, and the threat
of further attacks, managed to save 65 survivors and
recover 12 of the dead from the sea. Three of the sur-
vivors were revived by artificial respiration given by mem-
bers of Hayter' s crew. In the meantime, the other escorts
had closed in on the submarine, U-646, and forced it to
the surface. Guns quickly sank the U-boat and her cap-
tain was later made prisoner.
Hayter arrived Argentia 6 May and sailed two days
later for Philadelphia Navy Yard via Boston. She ar-
rived 22 May and began her conversion to high speed
transport, her designation becoming APD-80 on 1 June
1945.
Emerging as a high speed transport, Hayter departed
Philadelphia 13 August 1945 for her refresher training
off Guantanamo Bay. She subsequently operated out of
Norfolk and Newport in training operations until 30 Octo-
ber, when she departed Norfolk for Jacksonville, Fla.
At Jacksonville, Hayter was placed in the Reserve Fleet
at Green Cove Springs, decommissioned 19 March 1946.
and was later moved to the Texas group, where she re-
mained until struck 1 December 1966.
Hayward, Eliza, see Eliza Hayward (No. 1414)
Hayward, see Santa Rosa (YFB-33)
Hazard
To run, or take the risk of ; to venture upon ; dangerous,
risky.
(AM-240; dp. 530; 1. 184'6” ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3”, 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct., 3 dcp. (h.h.) ;
cl. Admirable)
Hazard (AM-240) was launched 21 May 1944 by the
Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Co., Winslow,
Wash.; sponsored by Miss Joanne R. Heddens; and com-
missioned 31 October 1944, Lt. Curtis B. Tibbals, USNR,
in command.
After shakedown out of San Pedro Bay, Hazard de-
parted San Francisco 5 January 1945 screening a convoy
to Pearl Harbor. Arriving Pearl 13 January she began
a series of escort voyages between Pearl Harbor and Eni-
wetok. Hazard next screened a convoy to Ulithi Atoll
and Kossol Roads, ultimately reaching San Pedro Bay,
Leyte Island for supplies.
Hazard sortied from Leyte 19 March 1945 as part of
Admiral Killand’s Western Islands Attack Group for the
invasion and occupation of Okinawa (14 March— 30 June
1945). Arriving off Kerama Retto Hazard reported to
the Transport Screen and took up screening station as
antisubmarine patrol, then spent the next two days recov-
ering radar reflector bouys. Hazard began her very
important task of clearing the mine fields around Kerama
Retto 31 March, a task which lasted until 30 June. For
as a minesweeper’s slogan says “no sweep, no invasion.”
No amphibious assault can begin without extensive pre-
liminary sweeps, nor can it continue without constant re-
sweeping.
Okinawa now secured, Hazard sortied outside the south-
ern entrace to Kerama Retto to sweep the area north-
east from Okinawa in the East China Sea. Making
sweeps until 14 July Hazard retired to Buckner Bay where
she spent the remainder of the month as standby ship.
She sortied with a sweeping unit 13 August for an area
in the East China Sea.
With hostilities over, Hazard broke off operations and
returned to Buckner Bay to join a group of minesweep-
ers for the Yellow Sea and Jinsen, Korea, clearing the
way for occupation ships. She next worked to clear
Sasebo. Then, on 26 October 1945, Hazard returned to
the East China Sea to finish the job she had started in
August. Clearing that area 9 November she returned to
Sasebo. Departing Sasebo 20 November 1945 Hazard
sailed via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor arriving San Diego
19 December.
Hazard departed San Diego 31 January 1946 and tran-
sited the Panama Canal to arrive Galveston 17 February.
She decommissioned there 27 July 1946 and joined the
Reserve Fleet. Hazard was reclassified MSF-240, 7 Feb-
ruary 1955 and remains in the Texas Group, Atlantic
Reserve Fleet at Orange, Tex.
Hazard received three battle stars for World War II
service.
256-125 O -68 - 20
279
Hazel
Hazelwood
The first Hazel retained her former name, while the
second was named for the small tree or shrub which
bears the hazelnut, or filbert.
I
( SP-1207 : t. 10; 1. 44'; b. 9'6" ; dr. 3'3" ; s. 8 k. ; a. 1
1-pdr. )
Hazel (SP-1207), a small motor boat, was acquired
from her owner, J. W. Mathews, Chincoteague, Va., and
commissioned 1 June 1917, Chief Boatswain’s Mate D. J.
Jester commanding.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Hazel operated as a
patrol craft and performed general harbor duties around
Chincoteague Island and in Hampton Roads. She occa-
sionally made cruises up Chesapeake Bay as far as An-
napolis. Hazel was returned to her owner 16 January
1919.
II
( YN-24 : dp. 560 ; 1. 163'2" ; b. 30'6" ; dr. 11'8" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 48 ; a. 1 3" ; cl. Aloe)
Hazel (YN-24), originally Poplar but renamed soon
after keel-laying, was launched 15 February 1941 by Amer-
ican Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio, and was placed in
service 27 October 1941. She commissioned 17 December
1942 at Newport, Lt. (j.g.) A. W. Brown commanding.
After being placed in service, Hazel steamed to Ports-
mouth, N.H., and Boston, where her outfitting was com-
pleted. She performed net laying duties at Portland,
Maine, and had returned to Boston by the fateful morning
of America’s entry into the war, 7 December 1941. Fol-
lowing the attack on Pearl Harbor, the net tender was
assigned to Newport, where she performed patrol duties
in addition to installing and maintaining the anti-sub-
marine net. Hazel commissioned in December 1942, and
remained in the Narragansett Bay area, based at the
Naval Net Depot, Melville, R.I. She occasionally per-
formed patrol and fire fighting duties in addition to net
tending and installation.
Hazel was redesignated AN-29, 20 January 1944 and
after spending October-November 1944 at Portland, Maine,
returned to Newport to train officers and men in net de-
fenses and do experimental work for the net depot. She
arrived Boston 21 February 1945 to work on the Boston
harbor nets, and in the spring was assigned to the Canal
Zone. Hazel departed Boston 20 April and arrived Cris-
tobal 2 May 1945.
Tending nets in the Canal Zone defense system until
the end of the war, Hazel then took on the large task of
removing the intricate defenses from the Canal and its
approaches. This was completed 14 October 1945 and the
ship returned to its base at Coco Solo. She remained in
the 15th Naval District performing miscellaneous duties
at Coco Solo, Balboa, and other installations until 2
December 1957, when she departed for Florida. Hazel
arrived Mayport 9 December and decommissioned 11 Feb-
ruary 1958. She was placed in reserve at Green Cove
Springs, where she remained until struck from the Navy
List 1 September 1962.
Hazleton
A former name retained.
( SP-1770 : dp. 10 ; 1. 40' ; b. 9'8" ; dr. 20" ; s. 20 k. ; a. none)
Hazelton was built by the Great Lakes Boat Building
Corp. of Milwaukee, Wis., in 1917, and was chartered by
the Navy 19 September 1917 from her owner, G. B. Markle.
of Hazelton, Pa. She commissioned 25 August 1918 at
Newport, R.I., Coxswain S. H. Neary commanding.
Enrolled at Milwaukee, Hazelton was taken to Newport
for fitting out and commissioning, and subsequently served
the Second Naval District in the Newport area as a dis-
patch boat. She was returned to her owner 10 December
1918.
John Hazelwood, born in England in 1726, was appointed
to superintend the building of fire rafts for the protection
of Philadelphia against the British during the Revolu-
tionary War. A commissioned officer in the Pennsylvania
Navy, Commodore Hazelwood commanded all units of the
Pennsylvania and Continental navies participating in the
defense of the Delaware River approaches to Philadelphia
in 1777. His gunboats and galleys engaged British men-
of-war 23 October near river obstructions ; and, after the
British frigate Merlin and ship of the line Augusta
grounded, their crews were forced to bum them. Later
Commodore Hazelwood took command of Continental ves-
sels in Delaware Bay. In recognition of his services in
the War for Independence, the Continental Congress voted
him a handsome sword, now in the collection of the Naval
Historical Foundation. Commodore Hazelwood died at
Philadelphia 1 March 1800.
I
( DD-107 : dp. 1,060 t. ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31.9" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 113; a. 4 4", 2 1-pdrs., 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wiclces)
The first Hazelwood (DD-107) was laid down 24 De-
cember 1917 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif.,
launched 22 June 1918 ; sponsored by Miss Marian L.
Neitzel ; and commissioned 20 February 1919, Comdr. A. A.
Corwin in command.
Following shakedown and a voyage to Norfolk for sup-
plies, Hazelwood departed New York for the Mediter-
ranean 15 April 1919. Reaching Gibraltar 9 May, she par-
ticipated in training and served as escort to Arizona (BB-
39). After cruising the Mediterranean, she departed
Malta 28 July and arrived New York 13 August. Next
day she got underway for her new home waters, the
Pacific. Sailing via Cuba and Panama, she arrived San
Francisco 5 September. After operations along the West
Coast, she decommissioned at San Diego 7 July 1922.
Hazelwood recommissioned 1 April 1925, and partici-
pated in training and readiness exercises with units of the
Pacific Fleet for the next 5 years. She decommissioned
again 15 November 1930, at San Diego, was sold to Learner
and Rosenthal 30 August 1935, and was scrapped 14 April
1936.
II
(DD-531 : d. 2,050 ; 1. 376'3" ; b. 39'7" ; dr. 13' ; sp. 37 k. ;
cpl. 273 ; a. 5 5", 2 21" tt. ; cl. Fletcher)
The second Hazelwood (DD-531) was laid down 11
April 1942 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., San Fran-
cisco, Calif., launched 20 November 1942 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Harold J. Fosdick ; and commissioned 18 June 1943,
Comdr. Hunter Wood, Jr., in command.
After shakedown, Hazelwood departed the West Coast
5 September. Reaching Pearl Harbor 9 September, she
sailed 2 days later with a fast carrier strike force under
Rear Admiral C. A. Pownall in Lexington to launch car-
rier-based air strikes against Tarawa, Gilbert Islands.
Hazelwood next joined a second fast carrier force — 6 car-
riers, 7 cruisers, and 24 destroyers under Rear Admiral
A. E. Montgomery — for strikes against Wake Island 5 and
6 October.
Returning to Pearl Harbor 11 October, the destroyer
took part in intensive training to prepare for the giant am-
phibious drive to Japan. She joined Task Force 53 under
Vice Admiral R. A. Spruance at Havannah Harbor, New
Hebrides, 5 November. Departing 13 November, she took
part in invasion of the Gilbert Islands 20 November. In
one of the bitterest struggles during the fleet’s push across
the Pacific, she served on antisubmarine patrol and as
standby fighter-director ship. Hazelwood returned to
Pearl Harbor 7 December 1943 to prepare for the next
operation.
As the war in the Pacific gained momentum, Hazelwood
sortied from Pearl Harbor 22 January 1944 as part of
Task Force 52 under Admiral Spruance for the invasion of
280
Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls in the Marshall Islands.
After troops stormed ashore 31 January, she anchored in
Kwajalein Harbor as primary fighter-director ship and
also patrolled against enemy submarines. This objective
secured, she departed Kwajalein 15 February for several
months of patrol and escort duty through the Solomons
and Marshalls. She also bombarded Japanese shore posi-
tions at Ungalabu Harbor and a tank farm on New Ireland.
Hazelwood next participated in the invasion of the
Palaus. As the 1st Marine Division landed on Peleliu,
Palau Islands, 15 September, she pounded enemy shore
positions with gunfire to lessen Japansese opposition. She
remained off Peleliu on patrol until 3 October, when she
sailed to Seeadler Harbor, Manus Islands. There the
never-resting veteran joined Vice Admiral T. C. Kinkaid’s
naval forces for the invasion and liberation of the the Phil-
ippine Islands. As troops landed under naval cover on
Leyte 20 October, Hazelwood came under heavy Japanese
air attacks.
The next week brought constant enemy air raids and a
succession of far-reaching fleet moves as the Imperial
Navy made one final but futile effort to drive America out
of the Philippines and regain some measure of control over
the seas. In this struggle, known to history as the Battle
of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese Navy was all but annihilated.
Three enemy battleships, four carriers, six heavy cruisers,
four light cruisers, nine destroyers, and a host of planes
fell victim to America’s naval prowess and determination.
Hazelieood herself accounted for at least two kamikazes
among many destroyed.
Hazelwood engaged in patrols off Leyte Gulf and gun-
nery and training exercises out of Ulithi during December.
She then joined Vice Admiral J. S. McCain’s fast carrier
strike force and sailed 30 December. Carrying the war
home to the enemy, the carriers launched heavy air raids
against Japanese positions in the Ryukyu Islands, For-
mosa, Okinawa, and along the China coast from 3 to 7
January 1945. These devastating strikes also diverted
Japanese attention from the Philippines, where landings
were made at Lingayen Gulf 9 January. After further
strikes on Japanese positions in Indochina, the hard-
hitting force returned to Ulithi 26 January.
Joining another fast and mobile carrier task force,
Hazelwood sortied 11 February to protect carriers as they
launched heavy air strikes against the Japanese home
islands 16 and 17 February. Swiftly shifting positions as
only sea-based power can, the fleet then sped south to
provide support for the landings on Iwo Jima, begun
19 February. Although under constant attack from
kamikazes as well as fighters and dive-bombers, Hazel-
wood came through the invasion untouched and on the
night of 25 February sank two small enemy freighters
with her guns.
Returning to Ulithi 1 March, the battle-tried destroyer
sailed again for action 14 March with a fast carrier force
to provide air cover and shore bombardment for the in-
vasion of Okinawa, last step before invasion of the
Japanese home islands. After the invasion 1 April, Hazel-
wood operated off Okinawa on radar picket and escort
patrols through intense Japanese air attacks. On 29 April
the carrier group she was shepherding was attacked by
kamikazes who dove out of low cloud cover.
Hazelwood, all guns blazing, maneuvered to avoid two
of the Zeros. A third screamed out of the clouds from
astern. Although hit by Hazelwood' s fire, the enemy
plane careened past the superstructure. It hit #2 stack
on the port side, smashed into the bridge, and exploded.
Flaming gasoline spilled over the decks and bulkheads as
the mast toppled and the forward guns were put out of
action. Ten officers and 67 men were killed, including the
Commanding Officer, Comdr. V. P. Douw, and 35 were
missing. Hazelwood's engineering officer, Lt. (j.g.) C. M.
Locke, took command and directed her crew in fighting the
flames and aiding wounded. Proceeding by tow and part
way under her own power, the gallant ship reached Ulithi
5 May for temporary repairs, thence to Mare Island via
Pearl Harbor 14 June for permanent repairs. Hazelwood
decommissioned 18 January 1946 and entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet at San Diego.
Hazelwood recommissioned at San Diego 12 September
1951, Comdr. R. M. Niles in command, and joined the
enlarged fleet necessary to fight Communist aggression in
Korea and to bolster the free world’s strength everywhere.
After shakedown she departed San Diego 4 January 1952,
and reached Newport, R.I., 21 January to join Destroyer
Forces, Atlantic Fleet. Operations and exercises along
the East Coast and in the Caribbean, as well as hunter-
killer training with carrier groups, occupied Hazelwood
until she departed Newport for the Far East 7 December
1953.
She reached Tokyo 12 January 1954, via Pearl Harbor
and spent the next few months operating with a fast
carrier task force and patrolling along the Korean coast
to enforce an uneasy armistice. The far-ranging destroyer
returned to the States the long way, departing Hong Kong
28 May 1954 and sailing through the Suez Canal to reach
Newport 17 July.
During the next few years Hazelioood maintained a
pattern of training and readiness operations along the
East Coast and in the Caribbean interspersed with deploy-
ments to the Mediterranean. During the Suez crisis in
the fall of 1956 she served with the mighty 6th Fleet,
patrolling the eastern Mediterranean and helping to sta-
bilize a tense international situation.
In 1958 Hazelwood began extensive testing of heli-
copters for antisubmarine warfare both in Narragansett
Bay and out of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Mary-
land. Assigned to the Destroyer Development Division,
she participated in tests on equipment used with radar
and electronic counter-measure systems. Her primary
research and development work involved the testing of
the Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter (DASH), an ex-
ample of the Navy’s continuing effort to apply the techno-
logical advances of modern science for the security of
our nation and the free’ world. Hazelwood provided on
board testing facilities and helped make posssible the
perfection of DASH, an advanced and vital ASW Weapons
system. In August 1963 alone the drone helicopter made
1,000 landings on the versatile destroyer’s flight deck.
In addition to experimental developments, Hazelwood
continued to engage in the many duties assigned to a
destroyer. As America confronted Russia over the intro-
duction of offensive missiles into Cuba in October 1962,
she steamed again to the troubled Caribbean for anti-
submarine and surveillance patrols. Hazelwood arrived
Guantanamo Naval Base 5 November, just after the
quarantine of Cuba had gone into effect and remained on
guard during the crisis, serving as a Gun Fire Support
Ship for Task Force 84. When the nuclear submarine
Thresher failed to surface 10 April 1963, Hazelwood im-
mediately deployed to the scene of the tragedy with scien-
tists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Laboratories
to begin a systematic search for the missing ship.
Hazelwood resumed testing of DASH during June and
later in the year conducted on board trials of the Ship-
board Landing Assist Device (SLAD). She continued
both developmental and tactical operations along the East
Coast during the next year. She decommissioned 19
March 1965, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. At
present she is berthed at Norfolk. Va.
Hazelwood received 10 battle stars for World War II
service.
Healy
Howard Raymond Healy was born in Chelsea, Mass.,
28 March 1899, and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1922. After serving on various ships of the fleet and as
an instructor at the Naval Academy, Healy commanded
Dorsey (DD-117) 1937-1939. After a tour at Naval Tor-
pedo Station, Newport, R.I., Comdr. Healy reported 13
March 1941 as Damage Control Officer on board Lexington
(CV-2). During the Battle of the Coral Sea, Lexington
took two torpedoes and two bomb hits 8 May 1942, and
despite heroic damage control could not be saved. Corn-
281
mander Healy died on board and was posthumously
awarded the Bronze Star for his courage, leadership, and
professional excellence during the battle to save his ship.
Commander Healy perished at his battle station.
( DD-672 : dp. 2050 ; 1. 37'6'' ; h. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37 k. ;
cpl. 319 ; a. 5 5", 10 21", tt. 6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Healy (DD-672) was launched by Federal Shipbuilding
& Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J., 4 July 1943 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Howard R. Healy, widow of the namesake ; and com-
missioned at New York Navy Yard 3 September 1943,
Comdr. J. C. Atkeson in command.
After completing her shakedown cruise off Bermuda,
Healy returned to New York 31 October. The ship de-
parted for a week of coastal patrol 10 November, and after
meeting a convoy at sea steamed into Norfolk 18 Novem-
ber 1943. Two days later she cleared port en route to
the Pacific, and after transiting the Panama Canal ar-
rived San Francisco 4 December. From there she pro-
ceeded to Pearl Harbor, and after arrival 11 December
spent several weeks training in Hawaiian waters with
carrier Yorktown and other ships which would become
the famous Task Force 58 under Vice Admiral Mitscher.
The Navy had begun its gigantic island campaign in
the Pacific with the capture of the Gilberts, and Healy
departed 16 January 1944 for the second major operation,
the capture of the Marshall Islands. Until being detached
from the group 1 February, Healy screened carriers
Enterprise and Yorktown during devastating raids on
installations on the target islands, including Kwajalein.
Healy was assigned 1 February to escort damaged battle-
ships 'Washington and Indiana to Majuro, and rendez-
voused with the carriers there 4 February.
Healy' s next major operation was the neutralization of
Truk, a major Japanese naval base in the Pacific. De-
parting Majuro 12 February, the carrier group attacked
Truk 17-18 February with striking thoroughness, sinking
or rendering useless most of the shipping and aircraft and
eliminating Truk as a major threat to the allied plans.
After the raid Healy and the carriers steamed to the
Marianas, fought off several air attacks 22 February, and
delivered important strikes against Saipan, Tinian, and
Guam, America’s next objectives in the Pacific.
Prior to the Marianas invasion, however, Healy screened
Enterprise on a series of raids in the western Pacific
designed to aid the coming operations. After a stop at
Espiritu Santo the ships struck the Palau Islands 30
March, and after beating off Japanese air raids launched
an attack on Yap and Ulithi the next day. Enterprise
planes attacked Woleai 1 April 1944, and returned to
Majuro five days later. Healy put to sea again 14 April
to screen Enterprise during strikes on New Guinea, sup-
porting operations and landings at Tanahmerah Bay.
Another heavy raid on the Japanese base at Truk 29-30
April completed this highly successful operation, and she
returned to Majuro 4 May.
After a period of intensive training and preparation,
she departed Majuro 6 June for the invasion of the Mari-
anas, a spectacular amphibious operation to be carried
out nearly 1,000 miles from the nearest advance base,
Eniwetok. Again acting as screening ship for the car-
riers, Healy supported softening-up raids 11-15 June and
protected them during the period of direct support as
Kelly Turner’s marines went ashore 15 June. Two days
later Healy and the other ships steamed out to join
Admiral Mitscher’s carrier task force as the Japanese
made preparations to close the Marianas for a decisive
naval battle. The great fleets approached each other
19 June for the biggest carrier engagement of the war,
and as four large air raids hit the American dispositions
fighter cover from the ships of Healy’ s task group and
surface fire from the ships decimated the Japanese forma-
tions. With able assistance from American submarines,
Mitscher succeeded in sinking two Japanese carriers in
addition to inflicting fatal losses on the enemy naval air
arm during “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” 19 June.
Healy helped rescue pilots from downed aircraft 21 June,
and arrived Eniwetok 9 July. The Marianas invasion
had been secured and the enemy threat turned back.
Getting underway again 17 June, Healy' s carrier task
force launched repeated strikes on Guam, steamed into
the Carolines, and commenced strikes against the Palaus
25 July. Continuing to cruise with Task Force 58, Healy
screened the carriers during strikes on the Bonin and
Volcano Islands 4-5 August before returning to Eniwetok
11 August 1944. Sailing again 28 August, the group hit
the Bonins, Palaus, and various targets in the Philippines
until 17 September. Healy was detached that date and
joined a carrier task group for direct support of the
Pelelieu invasion, the next step on the island road to
Japan.
The destroyer returned with her carrier group to Manus
21 September, and steamed to Ulithi to form an important
task group for operations in the western Pacific. The
giant force, numbering 17 carriers and supporting surface
ships, rendezvoused at sea, and launched strikes against
Okinawa 10 October. Then the carriers moved toward
their real objective 12 October — Formosa. In a devastat-
ing 3 days of air attacks, carrier planes did much to
destroy Formosa as a supporting base for the Japanese
in the island battles to come. Japanese forces retaliated
with heavy and repeated land-based air attacks. Healy
brought down one bomber and assisted in downing many
more during these attacks, in which cruisers Canberra and
Houston were damaged.
After protecting the retirement of the damaged ships,
Healy resumed her screening duties for air attacks against
Philippine installations 19 October. As troops stormed
ashore at Leyte for the historic return to the Philippines,
Healy and her carrier group began direct support of the
operation, blasting airfields on southern Luzon.
By 24 October it was clear that the invasion of Leyte
had called forth one last giant effort on the part of the
Japanese to annihilate the American fleet. Its three
major fleet units moved toward the Philippines for the
historic Battle for Leyte Gulf, intending to divert Halsey’s
carriers to the northward and strike the assault forces in
the gulf a two-pronged death blow. Healy joined Rear
Admiral F. C. Sherman’s Task Group 38.3, near Luzon 24
October which was attacked early in the day by land-
based aircraft. Planes of the task group struck out at
the ships of Admiral Kurita in the Sibuyan Sea, sinking
the giant battleship Musashi and damaging other heavy
units, of the Japanese forces.
While two other phases of the great engagement, the
Battle of Surigao Strait and the Battle off Samar, were
being fought, Admiral Halsey deployed carrier forces
northward to meet the powerful force under Admiral
Ozawa. Making contact 25 October, the carriers,
screened by Healy and other surface units, launched a
series of strikes at the Japanese carrier group. Despite
effective enemy anti-aircraft fire, the planes succeeded in
sinking four carriers, and a damaged destroyer was later
sunk by gunfire. The great sea battle was thus ended,
with the invasion of Leyte secured and the Japanese fleet
no longer an effective fighting unit.
Healy returned to Ulithi for replenishment 30 October
and sailed two days later with her task group for addi-
tional strikes on the Philippines. Strikes 5 November
crippled airfields on Luzon, hit shipping Manila Bay, and
fought off air attacks by Japanese planes against the
fleet. These operations continued until 2 December, with
Healy splashing several of the attacking aircraft in the
protection of her carriers. After a brief stay at Ulithi,
the destroyer and her task group returned to Luzon for
strikes against airfields 14—16 December. After riding
out the terrible typhoon which sank destroyers Hull.
Monaghan, and Spence , Healy searched for survivors
from the lost ships before returning to Ulithi with her
carrier group 24 December.
After getting underway 30 December, Healy and her
task group moved back to the Philippines. They attacked
Formosa and Luzon until 8 January 1945, and then pushed
into the South China Sea for a bold demonstration of the
mobility of carrier-based air power. Attacking Formosa,
282
Camranh Bay, Saigon, Hong Kong, and Hainan, the ships
sailed out of the South China Sea 21 January, having
sunk over 130,000 tons of shipping and destroyed numer-
ous aircraft.
The carrier forces, after another stop at Ulithi, now-
turned their attention to Iw-o Jima. With Healy and
other destroyers in the protective screen, carrier planes
supplied close support for the invasion 10 February, and
continued for 3 days before departing for strikes against
Japanese home air bases. Leaving the carrier group,
Healy next w-as assigned to the battleships designated to
bombard Iwo Jima, and remained off the island patrolling
and screening 4-27 March. She then sailed with cargo
ship Thuban by way of Saipan and Eniwetok to Pearl
Harbor, arriving 4 April 1045. From there the veteran
destroyer steamed to San Francisco Bay, where she ar-
rived 23 April.
After repairs and additional training, Healy again got
underway for the combat zone 20 June 1945, departing
the Hawaiian area 2 August with battleship New- Jersey
and other ships for the western Pacific. The destroyer
arrived Guam 11 August, and en route from there to Iwo
Jima heard the new-s that the wrar was over. Healy
steamed off Japan with Missouri and other units prepara-
tory to the formal surrender, then acted as harbor control
vessel at Tokyo Bay until after the ceremonies, departing
5 September with passengers for the United States. She
put them ashore at San Diego 21 December 1945 and
sailed from California via the Panama Canal to New York,
where she arrived 17 January 1946. Subsequently, she
sailed to Charleston and decommissioned 11 July 1946.
Healy remained in reserve until recommissioning at
Charleston 3 August 1951. After shakedown training at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the ship took part in training
exercises including anti-submarine, air defense, and
screening drills until 29 June 1953. During this time she
visited various Caribbean ports and convoyed shipping to
and from the Panama Canal.
Healy put to sea 29 June 1953 on a world cruise, stop-
ping at San Diego and Pearl Harbor on the way to the
Far East. The destroyer participated in operations wTith
the 7th Fleet patrolling off Communist China, and con-
ducted coastal patrol off Korea 3 August to 3 December
1953. Rejoining her division, she then resumed her
world cruise, visiting Hong Kong, Ceylon. Egypt, Italy,
and other countries before returning to Norfolk 6 Febru-
ary 1954. The ship spent the remainder of 1954 on a mid-
shipman training cruise to northern Europe and on local
exercises off Virginia.
The destroyer joined the 6th Fleet in 1955, sailing 5
November for the Mediterranean. She remained with the
fleet protecting allied interests in that area until 26
February 1956, when she returned to Norfolk. After
another cruise training midshipmen, which took her to
northern Europe again, the ship returned to Annapolis
31 July 1956. Healy then participated in local operations,
spent a month as training ship for Naval Mine Warfare
School, Yorktow-n, Va., and arrived Norfolk 19 March
1957. Moving to Philadelphia, the ship decommissioned
11 March 1958, w^here she remains in reserve through
1967.
Healy received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Heartsease, see Courage ( PG-20 )
Heath Hen
A black grouse.
< AMc-6 : dp. 270 ; 1. 94’4” ; b. 22' ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 9 k. ; c-pl. 16)
Heath Hen (AMc-6) a wooden dragger, was built in
1936 by A. D. Storey, Fairhaven, Mass., as Noreen; ac-
quired by the Navy 18 October 1940 and renamed Heath
Hen (AMe-6) : converted to a coastal minesweeper and
commissioned 20 January 1941.
The small ship served in the 5th Naval District until 16
March 1944 wrhen she arrived Provincetown, Mass., for
duty writh the Naval Mine Test Facility. Redesignated
small boat C-13538, her name was dropped and she served
as C-13538 in mine warfare experiments until damaged
by an oil explosion 16 March 1945. She was subsequently
turned over to the Maritime Commission and sold 10
May 1948.
Heather
Former name retained.
(LHT : dp. 731 ; 1. 165' ; b. 28'6" ; dr. 8' ; s. 11.5 k. ; cpl. 26)
Heather was one of the lighthouse tenders taken over by
the Navy 11 April 1917. In addition to performing her
regular lighthouse duties she was listed for Pacific patrol
along the Washington coast. The tender also participated
in work on submarine nets and drill in mine laying.
Heather was returned to the Lighthouse Service in com-
pliance with an order dated 1 July 1919.
Heavy Moon, see Y P—573
Hebe
A former name retained.
( S P-966 : dp. 20 ; 1. 52' ; b. 15'7" ; dr. 3' ; s. 9 k. ; a. 1 mg. )
Hebe, a small motor boat, w-as built by George Bishop,
Patchogue, Long Island, N.Y., in 1912 ; leased by the Navy
19 May 1917 from her owner, Edwin Thorne, of New York
City ; and commissioned 1 August 1917 at Brooklyn Navy
Yard, Ens. W. L. Suydam, Jr., USNRF, in command.
Assigned to section patrol duties with the 3d Naval Dis-
trict, Hebe, based at Sayville, N.Y., cruised in the Great
South Bay and Fire Island region of southern Long Island
until returned to her original owner 14 December 1918.
Hecate
In Greek mythology, a goddess of the earth, moon, and
underground realm of the dead, later considered the god-
dess of sorcery and witchcraft.
The light draft monitor Etlah ( q.v .) was renamed
Hecate 15 June 1869 while laid up in an unfinished con-
dition at Mound City, 111.
Heel a
I
( Bomb brig : 194 1. )
Hecla was purchased at New York in 1846. She com-
missioned there on 9 March 1847, Lt. Archibald B. Fairfax
commanding.
The day after commissioning, Hecla sailed for the Gulf
of Mexico to support American actions during the Mexi-
can War. She arrived off the island of Sacrificio, near
Vera Cruz, on the morning of 29 March, just in time to
see the Mexican city fall to American forces that evening.
From Vera Cruz Hecla was dispatched w-ith other ships
of the American squadron to patrol the Gulf of Mexico
along the Mexican coast, stopping and searching all ships
encountered. On 18 April, during this first patrol, she
contributed 25 men and 4 officers to a successful amphib-
ious expedition against the Mexican city of Tuxpan. Her
first patrol in the Gulf ended on 24 April as she came to
anchor off the Bar of Santander. Hecla made three more
similar patrols in the summer of 1847, frequently stop-
ping at various Mexican ports and sending men ashore
for water and provisions.
On 15 August Hecla shifted upriver to anchor in the har-
bor of Alvardo, w here she served as a harbor patrol vessel
283
until the end of the Mexican War. She was especially
vigilant for small canoes attempting to smuggle illegal
supplies and ammunition up the river, seizing several.
With the end of the war, Hccla sailed for the United
States on 20 July 1848, arriving in Norfolk on 15 August
and continuing to New York on 4 September. She decom-
missioned there 9 September and was sold shortly there-
after.
II
Former Slwkamaxon ( q.v .). Name changed to Hecla
15 June 1869. Name changed to Nebraska 10 August 1869.
Hecla, see YF-5J, 7
Hecla, see Xanthus (AR-19)
Hector
In the Iliad, one of Priam’s 50 sons. Husband of
Andromache, Hector was bravest of the Trojans. He slew
Patrocles and was in turn slain by Achilles.
I
Hector, formerly Pedro, was built in 1883. Taken as a
prize during the Spanish- American War, she commissioned
at Key West 22 June 1898, Lt. W. L. Burdick in command.
From 10 to 20 July Hector made a patrol out of Key
West up the Gulf of Mexico to Tampa and back to Key
West. She sailed for Boston 24 July and arrived there
a week later. Hector decommissioned at Boston 17 Sep-
tember 1898 and was sold 10 October 1899.
II
(AC-7: dp. 11,230; 1. 403'; b. 53'; dr. 24'8''; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 82)
Hector (AC-7) was launched 3 July 1909 by the Mary-
land Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md. ; and commissioned
22 October 1909. She was on special service with the
Atlantic Fleet from commissioning through 1913, when
she was stationed at Norfolk. From there Hector served
as a fuel ship, ferrying freight and fuel up the East Coast
and down to the Caribbean, especially Guantanamo and
Santo Domingo. Hector was wrecked off the Atlantic
coast 14 July 1916 and sank 3 days later.
Ill
(AR-7 : dp. 9,140; 1. 529'5" ; b. 73'4" ; dr. 23'4''; s. 19
k. ; cpl. 1,108; a. 4 5'', 8 40mm.; cl. Vulcan )
Hector (AR-7), a modified Liberty ship, was launched
11 November 1942 by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding &
Drydoek Co. ; sponsored by Mrs. Schuyler F. Heim ; and
commissioned 7 February 1944, Comdr. J. W. Long in
command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, the new repair
ship sailed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor 9 April
1944. She remained at Pearl Harbor effecting repairs on
various ships, primarily landing craft, until she departed
for Eniwetok 5 June. Arriving there 13 June, Hector
spent the summer at Eniwetok and then sailed for Ulithi
30 September. Her biggest repair job of the war came to
her 27 October at Ulithi as the cruiser Houston, torpedoed
twice by Japanese submarines, was towed alongside. Al-
though hampered by a severe typhoon season which twice
sent her out to sea for safety, Hector managed to repair
Houston by the end of the year besides aiding many other
smaller craft.
Hector departed Ulithi 16 February 1945 and 5 days
later steamed into Tarragona, Leyte Gulf, to repair ships
as the battle for the Philippines raged. This task com-
pleted, she returned to Ulithi 30 March and continued
on to Saipan 22 May. After the long war ended 1 Sep-
tember, Hector remained in the Pacific to prepare various
ships for return to the States.
Departing Saipan 21 January 1946. Hector reached Long
Beach 3 February. After serving as a repair ship there,
she sailed for her first WestPac cruise 7 May 1947, thereby
settling into a peacetime schedule interrupted 3 years
later by the outbreak of war in Korea. Hector sailed, into
Yokosuka 18 September 1950. From there she continued
to Inchon, Korea, arriving at the scene of a brilliant am-
phibious operation, 25 September. For the remainder of
the Korean War Hector alternated repair service along the
Korean coast and in Japan with normal duty out of Long
Beach.
Thereafter, as before the Korean conflict, Hector alter-
nated 4 to 6 months of service and exercises along the
California coast with 6- and 8-month WestPac cruises.
During these cruises the repair ship, operating in support
and service of the nation’s far-flung Pacific and Asian
defenses, visited such ports as Yokosuka, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Guam, and Eniwetok. Serving intermittently
as flagship for both Service Squadrons 1 and 3, Hector
also was a major participant in the Navy’s “People-to-
People” program in Asia. Her deployments to the West-
ern Pacific continued into the 1960’s.
Hector operated in the Far East from Japan to the
Philippines between June 1963 and January 1964. After
providing repair services for ships at Long Beach during
the remainder of 1964 and the first 6 months of 1965, she
underwent a modernization overhaul at Long Beach be-
tween July 1965 and February 1966 to increase her repair
capabilities. Thence, she resumed fleet services out of
Long Beach until departing for the Far East 5 August.
She arrived Subic Bay later that month, and during the
next 6 months repaired and serviced ships in the Philip-
pines, Taiwan, and Japan. She returned to the West
Coast in March 1967 ; and into mid-1967 Hector continued
to maintain a high state of readiness and provide repair
services at Long Beach.
Hecuba
A minor planet between Jupiter and Mars.
( AKS-12 : dp. 5,244; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s. 12
k. ; cpl. 193; a. 15", 4 3"; cl. Acubens)
Hecuba (AKS-12), originally liberty ship George TV.
Cable, was launched by Delta Shipbuilding Co., New
Orleans, La., 6 November 1944 under Maritime Commis-
sion contract ; sponsored by Mrs. J. Alfred Chard ; ac-
quired and converted to Navy use at Todd-Johnson Dry-
docks Corp. ; and commissioned 21 April 1945, Comdr. N.
H- Castle in command.
Following her conversion to a stores ship and shake-
down training, Hecuba departed New Orleans 31 May 1945
for duty in the Pacific, arriving Pearl Harbor 22 June.
From Hawaii she sailed to the western Pacific, commenc-
ing her first issue to the fleet after her arrival at Eniwetok
16 July. Hecuba arrived back in Pearl Harbor 18 August
to reload general supplies for ships of the fleet. She
sailed to Ulithi, arriving 10 September, and continued
issuing the vital stores at that atoll as well as at Leyte
and Okinawa until 28 November 1945. Hecuba departed
for San Francisco for additional supplies, only to return to
Pearl Harbor 8 February 1946. Sbe decommissioned at
Pearl Harbor 26 March 1946 and was intended for use in
the Pacific atomic tests of that summer, only to be towed
to San Francisco in 1947 and placed in the National De-
fense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif., where she re-
mained until sold for scrapping to Schintzer Steel Products
Co., Portland, Oreg., 19 October 1964.
Heed
Attention or regard.
(AM-100: dp. 890; 1. 221 '2 " ; b. 32'; dr. 10'; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 105; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct., 5 dcp. ;
cl. Auk)
284
Heed (AM-100) was launched 19 June 1942 by the Gen-
eral Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif. ; and
commissioned 27 February 1943, Lt. J. J. Lind in command.
After shakedown out of San Diego Heed sailed 24 April
for the Aleutians where she took up patrolling station then
acted as escort for convoys sailing to and from Alaskan
ports. After minesweeping operations out of Dutch Har-
bor, Alaska, she sailed for Pearl Harbor 1 December and
took up duty there until 22 January 1944 when she joined
Rear Admiral R. L. Conolly’s Northern Attack Force for
the Marshall Islands Operations (29 January-23 February
1944). Heed screened the transports until they entered
Kwajalein Lagoon 31 January for the initial landings then
began her sweep of the anchorage areas. Screening, mine-
sweeping operations and hydrographic work kept Heed
busy until 31 March when she sailed for Pearl Harbor.
After escort duties at Pearl Harbor, Heed joined Vice
Admiral Turner’s Northern Attack Force as a unit of the
Minesweeping and Hydrographic Survey Group for cap-
ture of Marianas’ Saipan and Tinian (June-August 1944).
After screening Louisville during fire support missions off
the southern coast of Saipan, Heed patrolled between
Saipan and Tinian and subsequently for the next 7 months
screened convoys between the Marshalls, the Carolines,
and Marianas.
Heed sortied from Ulithi 19 March 1945 as a unit of
Admiral Blandy’s Amphibious Support Force for the cap-
ture of Okinawa (14 March-30 June 1945). After sweep-
ing operations off Okinawa, she acted as patrol and escort
ship until 28 April when she sailed for the United States
via Pearl Harbor, arriving Seattle 24 May.
With the newest of sweep gear, Heed sailed again for
the Western Pacific, arriving Eniwetok 9 October via the
Johnston Islands. She carried out minesweeping opera-
tions at Okinawa, Sasebo, Formosa, and the East China
Sea before returning to San Diego 9 February 1946. Heed
remained at San Diego and decommissioned there 15 Jan-
uary 1947, joining the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Heed recommissioned 5 March 1952, Lt. E. N. Robinson,
in command.
Departing San Diego 12 May, she transited the Panama
Canal and arrived Charleston 6 June. Between June 1952
and November 1953 Heed operated out of Charleston and
Norfolk, making one deployment to the Mediterranean (6
January-21 May 1953) and a cruise to Quebec, Canada
(3-29 August 1953). Departing Charleston 16 November
she sailed to Orange, Tex., and decommissioned there 27
January 1954 and once again joined the Reserve Fleet.
Reclassified MSF-100 on 7 February 1955, Heed remained
at Orange, Tex., until struck from the Navy List 1 March
1967.
Heed received five battle stars for World War II service.
Heekon
A Delaware Indian word meaning “ebb tide.”
(YT-141 : dp. 325; 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9'7")
Heekon (YT-141), a diesel-powered tug, was launched
by Charleston Navy Yard 29 November 1939 ; sponsored
by Miss Margaret L. Pence ; and placed in service 22
March 1940.
Heekon operated at Washington, D.C., during World
War II. She was reclassified YTB-141, 15 May 1944 and
YTM-141 in February 1962. Following the war she con-
tinued to serve as a harbor tug in the Potomac River
Naval Command until being sold in early 1963 to Hughes
Bros. & Co., New York.
Heermann
Lewis Heermann, born in Kassel, Germany, 3 August
1779 was commissioned Surgeon’s Mate in the United
States Navy 8 February 1802. On 16 February 1804, dur-
ing the War with the Barbary States, Stephen Decatur
left Heermann in command of the bomb ketch Intrepid
while he and a fearless band of American seamen boarded
the captured frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, swept
her Barbary captors crew overboard, and set the frigate
ablaze.
When hostilities with the Barbary States closed in
1805, Heermann returned to the Unitied States but soon
took leave of absence to study in Europe until 1808 when
he returned to active duty in Norfolk, Va. Largely due
to his pleas for better medical care for the men of the
Navy, Congress passed a bill authorizing the construc-
tion of hospitals at several naval stations, but the first
official U.S. Naval Hospitals were not actually built until
after Dr. Heermann’s death.
He was transferred to . New Orleans in August 1811;
and, with the exception of a year in the North for his
health and an assignment 11 June 1830 in the Mediter-
ranean where he served for an unknown time as Fleet
Surgeon of the U.S. Squadron, he remained there until
he died in May 1833.
( DD-532 : dp. 2,100; 1. 376'3" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13' ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5'', 10 21'' tt., 6 dcp. ; 2 dct. ; cl.
Fletcher )
Heermann (DD-532) was launched 5 December 1942
by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co. of San Francisco ;
sponsored by Mrs. Edward B. Briggs, wife of Lt. E. B.
Briggs, USCGR, great grandson of the namesake; and
commissioned 6 July 1943, Omdr. Dwight M. Agnew, USN,
in command.
After shakedown training out of San Diego, Heermann
joined the 5th Fleet 21 October 1943 for the assault on the
Gilbert Islands, the second major offensive thrust in the
Navy’s conquest of Japan’s far-flung Pacific empire. She
arrived off Tarawa in Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill’s
Southern Attack Force 20 November. Her guns sank a
small enemy craft inside the lagoon and the next 2 days
powerfully assisted troops ashore with close-in fire sup-
port. With the island secured, she returned to Pearl Har-
bor for voyage repairs and training which ended 23 Jan-
uary when she sailed in the screen of an attack transport
reserve force. The ships steamed east of Kwajalein while
Rear Admiral Turner’s Joint Expeditionary Force landed
on that atoll 31 January. In the ensuing 2 weeks Heer-
mann patrolled off Kwajalein and operated in the screen of
escort carriers which were launching strikes in support
of troops ashore. Then she steamed to Eniwetok Atoll
where she joined in the preinvasion bombardment of
Japan and Parry Islands, gave close fire support to the
troops once they were ashore, and then patrolled off the
atoll during mop-up operations.
Heermann set course first for Majuro Lagoon and then
Purvis Bay, Florida Island, Solomons and reported to
Commander 3d Fleet and Task Force 39, 18 March 1944.
For the next month she divided her time between protect-
ing troop and resupply convoys which were occupying
Emirau Island and hunting enemy supply barges along
the coast of New Hanover.
Back in Port Purvis 3 June, Heermann participataed in
the bombardment of a tank farm on Fangelawa Bay, New
Ireland, 11 June, and then searched for submarines along
sealanes leading from the Solomons towards the Admiral-
ties, the Carolines, and the Marshall Islands until 26 June.
The summer of 1944 found Heermann busy escorting Navy
and Merchant shipping to rendezvous where they joined
convoys bound for various ports. This duty took her to
Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands and Noumea, New
Caledonia Island.
Heermann cleared Port Purvis 6 September 1944 with
Rear Admiral William D. Sample’s escort carrier force
that provided air support during the invasion of the Palau
Islands. After replenishing at Seeadler Harbor, Ad-
miralty Islands, she sortied 12 October 1944 with a fire
support group for the liberation of the Philippine Islands.
Heermann screened transports and landing ships safely
to the beaches of Leyte and then joined Rear Admiral
Thomas L. Sprague’s Escort Carrier Group (Task Group
77.4) which was made up of three escort carrier task
units, known as the “Three Taffies” because of their voice
285
calls : “Taffy 1”, “Taffy 2”, and “Taffy 3”. Destroyers
Hoel and Johnston joined her in screening Rear Admiral
Clifton A. F. Sprague’s unit, “Taffy 3” which also included
his flagship Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) and three other
escort carriers.
Dawn of 25 October 1944 found “Taffy 3” east of Samar
steaming north as the Northern Air Support Group.
“Taffy 2” was in the central position patrolling off the
entrance to Leyte Gulf, and “Taffy 1” covered the South-
ern approaches to the Gulf some 130 miles to the southeast
of Heermann’s “Taffy 3”. At 0645 “Taffy 3’s” lookouts
observed antiaircraft fire to the northward and within 3
minutes- were under heavy fire from Japanese Admiral
Kurita’s powerful Center Force of four battleships, 6
heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 11 destroyers. The
battle off Samar was thus joined.
The only chance for survival of the little group of
light American ships lay in slowing the advances of the
enemy warships while withdrawing toward Leyte Gulf
and hoped-for assistance. The carriers promptly launched
their planes to attack the Japanese vessels, and the escorts
promptly set to work generating smoke to hide the Ameri-
can ships.
Heermann, in a position of comparative safety on the
disengaged side of the carriers at the start of the fight,
steamed into the action at flank speed through the forma-
tion of “baby flattops” who, after launching their last
planes, formed a rough circle as they turned toward
Leyte Gulf. Since smoke and intermittent rain squalls
had reduced visibility to less than 100 yards, it took alert
and skillful seamanship to avoid colliding with friendly
ships during the dash to battle. She backed emergency
full to avoid destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts and re-
peated the maneuver to miss destroyer Hoel as Heermann
formed column on the screen flagship in preparation for
a torpedo attack.
As she began the run, dye from enemy shells daubed
the water nearby with circles of brilliant red, yellow, and
green. Heermann replied to this challenge by pumping
her 5-inch shells at one heavy cruiser, Chikuma , as she
directed seven torpedoes at another, Haguro. When the
second of these “fish” had left the tube, Heermann changed
course to engage a column of four battleships whose shells
began churning the water nearby. She trained her guns
on Kongo, the column’s leader, at whom she launched three
torpedoes. Then she quickly closed Haruna, the target
of her last three torpedoes, which were launched from
only 4,400 yards. Believing that one of the “fish” had
hit the battleship, she nimbly dodged the salvoes which
splashed in her wake as she retired. Japanese records
claim that the battleship successfully evaded all of Heer-
mann’s torpedoes, but they were slowed down in their
pursuit of the American carriers. The giant, Yamato,
with her monstrous 18.1-inch guns, was even forced out
of the action altogether when, caught between two spreads,
she reversed course for almost 10 minutes to escape being
hit.
Heermann sped to the starboard quarter of the carrier
formation to lay more concealing smoke and then charged
back into the fight a few minutes later, placing herself
boldly between the escort carriers and the column of four
enemy heavy cruisers. Here she engaged Japanese cruiser
Chikuma in a duel which seriously damaged both ships.
A series of 8-inch hits flooded the forward part of the
plucky destroyer, pulling her bow down so far that her
anchors were dragging in the water. One of her guns
was knocked out hut the others continued to pour a deadly
stream of 5-inch shells at the cruiser, which also came
under heavy air attack during the engagement. The com-
bined effect of Heermann’ s guns and the bombs, torpedoes,
and strafing from carrier-based planes was too much for
Chikuma who tried to withdraw but sank during her
flight.
As Chikuma turned away, heavy cruiser Tone turned
her guns on Heermann who replied shell for shell until
she reached a position suitable to resume laying smoke
for the carriers. At this point plants from Admiral
Stump’s “Taffy 2” swooped in to sting Tone so severely
that she too broke off action and fled. The courageous
attacks of the destroyers and aircraft thus saved the out-
gunned task groups.
Heermann retired to Kossol Passage for temporary re-
pairs before getting underway for Mare Island and over-
haul which was completed 15 January 1945. She then
returned to the Western Pacific to join fast carrier task
forces in raids against the Japanese mainland which
helped to demoralize the Japanese people and to prepare
them for surrender. During the fighting to take Iwo
Jima, Heermann supported operations ashore by radar
and antisubmarine picket duty. On 20 March 1945 she
sank a small surface vessel and rescued seven of her crew
after she went down. Seven days later she took part in
the night bombardment of Minamo Daito Jima. During
the Okinawa campaign she took several enemy planes
under fire as she guarded carriers which provided air sup-
port for troops ashore. On 18 April with the assistance
destroyers Mertz, McCord, Collett, and Vhlmann and
planes from aircraft carrier Bataan, Heermann sank Jap-
anese submarine 1-56, a carrier of the dreaded “kaitens”,
human-guided suicide torpedoes. She continued to sup-
port carrier operations off Okinawa until retiring to Leyte
Gulf for replenishment and voyage repairs late in June.
On 1 July she helped to screen the fast carrier force
which devoted the ensuing 5 weeks to almost continuous
air strikes and bombardment.
On 15 August 1945 Heermann was on radar picket sta-
tion some 200 miles southeast of Tokyo when, several
hours after the announcement of the end of hostilities, a
suicide plane emerged from a cloud bank and began to
dive in Heermann’ s direction only to be splashed by the
destroyer’s alert gunners in one of the final naval actions
of World War II. In the following weeks Heermann
operated in the screen of the fast carrier task force pro-
viding air cover and air^sea rescue service while General
MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz were preparing to occupy
Japan. She entered Tokyo Bay 16 September 1945 and
remained in the area to support the occupation forces until
7 October when she sailed for the United States. She
decommissioned at San Diego 12 June 1946.
Heermann remained in reserve at San Diego until re-
commissioning 12 September 1951. After training in local
waters and upkeep in San Francisco, she departed San
Diego 4 January 1952 for her new base, Newport, R.I.,
where she arrived 23 January. She spent the year 1952
training in waters stretching from the New England
coast to the Virginia Capes, followed by intensive antisub-
marine warfare and fleet problems during winter cruising
in the Caribbean. She returned to Newport to resume op-
eration along the Northeastern seaboard. After a voyage
to Plymouth, England, in June and July 1953, she par-
ticipated in antisubmarine manuvers between Newport
and the Virginia capes.
Heermann departed on a world cruise 3 December 1953.
First she sailed for Yokosuka, Japan, by way of the Pan-
ama Canal, San Diego, and the Hawaiian Islands. After
a 2-day replenishment in Yokosuka, she set course for
Okinawa where she acted as part of the escort for 3d
Marine Division amphibious warfare landings and con-
ducted barrier patrol in support of the exercise. After
more maneuvers took her to Korea, Iwo Jima, and the
South Coast of Japan, she returned to Yokosuka which she
cleared 22 May 1954 to resume her world cruise, calling at
Hong Kong and Singapore on her way to the Suez Canal.
In the Mediterranean she visited Port Said, Naples, Villa
Franche, and Barcelona before returning to Newport 17
July 1954.
For the next year and a half Heermann participated in
training exercises along the Atlantic coast. On 1 Febru-
ary she sailed to join the 6th Fleet in exercises along the
coast of Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. In April she was in-
vited by Prince Ranier to be in port for his wedding to
Miss Grace Kelly 19-24 April 1956. She furnished a 40-
man honor guard for the occasion. From Monaco she
joined the 6th Fleet off Greece, and then departed for
Fall River, Mass., where she arrived 28 May 1956. Heer-
286
tnann operated out of Newport until 6 November when
she sailed for the Mediterranean where she proved to be a
first-rate antisubmarine ship in joint exercises with the
Italian Navy. After revisiting Monaco at the invitation
of Prince Ranier and Princess Grace, she returned to Fall
River 20 February 1957. She served as gunnery school-
ship out of Newport until 30 June when she joined Badger
in the screen of antisubmarine warfare carrier Leyte for
2 weeks of air operations for the training of Academy
midshipmen. She decommissioned at Boston 20 December
1957 and was assigned to the Boston Group of the U.S.
Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 14 August 1961 she was trans-
ferred on a loan basis to the government of Argentina
under terms of the Military Assistance Program. She
serves in the Argentine Navy under the name Brown
( D-20 ) .
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Hcermann
received the Philippine Republic Unit Citation Badge and
nine battle stars for World War II service.
Heintzelman, General Stuart , see General Stuart
Heintzelman (AP-159)
Heldenfelds Barge 10, see YC-1036
Helen
(Sch : 4 guns)
Helen was purchased at Philadelphia in September 1813
and subsequently used as a despatch vessel on the bays
and rivers along the East Coast. She was lost in Dela-
ware Bay in 1815.
Helen, Lake, see Lake Helen
Helen B., see YP-92
Helen Baughman
A former name retained.
( SP-1292 : dp. 50 ; 1. 66'8" ; b. 18'6" ; dr. 4'9")
Helen Baughman, a schooner, was built by Bowns of
Nanticoke, Md., in 1894 ; and taken over by the Navy in
August 1917 from her owner, the Maryland State Con-
servation Commission.
Helen Baughman was assigned to the 5th Naval District,
and was used for patrol of Chesapeake Bay. Based at
Deale, Md., she cruised Herring Bay, Tangier Sound and
surrounding areas until being returned to her owner 27
November 1918.
Helen C., see YP-470
Helen Euphane
A former name retained.
( SP-403 : dp. 178 ; 1. 120' ; b. 20'4" ; dr. 7'3" ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1
1-pdr.)
Helen Euphane, a Menhaden fishing boat, was built by
E. J. Tull, Pocomoke City, Md., in 1902 ; purchased from
her owners, Eubonk Tankard Co., Kilmarnock, Va., 23
May 1917 ; and delivered 5 June 1917. Her first com-
manding officer was Lt. (j.g.) Rowland G. Foster, USNRF.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District as a minesweeper
and patrol boat, Helen Euphane, based at Norfolk, oper-
ated in Hampton Roads and lower Chesapeake Bay until
she was sold back to her original owners 15 April 1919.
Helena
Three outstanding vessels have been named for Helena,
capital city of Montana.
I
(Gbt. 1. 250'9" ; b. 40'11" ; dr. 9' ; a. 4 4" r., 4 6-pdrs„
4 11-pdrs., 1 3" r.)
The first Helena was launched by the Newport News
Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va., 30 January 1896;
sponsored by Miss Agnes Belle Steele, daughter of the
mayor of Helena ; commissioned at New York Navy Yard
8 July 1897, Comdr. W. T. Swinburne in command.
Helena' s first assignment was with the North Atlantic
Fleet, cruising primarily in home waters. During the
Spanisb-American War, she stood by in Cuban waters,
where she saw action several times. On 2 and 3 July
1898 she exchanged fire with enemy batteries at Fort
Tunas. On 18 July she was part of the squadron which
closed the port of Manzanillo by sinking or destroying
eight small vessels there during a vigorous attack.
The great problem facing the United States at the close
of the Spanish-American War was the Philippine Insur-
rection. To aid in suppressing this rebellion, Helena
sailed from Boston 3 November 1898, bound for duty on
the Asiatic Station, via the Suez Canal, arriving Philip-
pines 10 February 1899. On 21 May 1899 she was present
at the evacuation of Jolo by the Spanish and the landing
of American troops to replace them. During June she
stood by with other vessels in Manila Bay to support the
Army during its offensive south of Manila into Cavite
Province. One of her landing parties brought troops
ashore in an assault which carried strong defenses along
the Zapote River 13 June. On 7 November 1899, Helena
bombarded San Fabian in Lingayen Gulf, and covered the
landing of 2,500 troops there. Just 45 years later, Ameri-
can troops would once more storm those beaches while
American naval guns boomed in support.
Helena remained in the Far East for the rest of her
naval service, engaged in protecting American lives and
interests. She served in Chinese waters from October
1900 until December 1902, then returned to the Philippines
until March 1903 when she sailed back to the China coast.
In December 1904, she moored once more at Cavite in the
Philippines, where she was placed out of commission 19
April 1905.
Helena recommissioned 16 July 1906, and cruised on the
Asiatic Station until June 1907. From that time on, with
intervals for overhaul, Helena served both with the South
China patrol and Yangtze River Patrol. She was placed
in reduced commission 29 June 1929, but continued to serve
on the South China Patrol until 27 May 1932 when she was
decommissioned and struck from the Navy list. She was
sold 7 July 1934.
II
(CL-50 : dp. 10,000 ; 1. 608'4" ; b. 61'8" ; dr. 19'10" ;
s. 33 k. ; cpl. 888 ; a. 15 6" ; 8 5”, 8 .50 cal.)
The second Helena (CL-50), was launched 27 August
1939 by the New York Navy Yard ; sponsored by Miss
Elinor Carlyle Gudger, granddaughter of Senator Thomas
J. Welch of Montana ; and commissioned 18 September
1939, Captain Max B. Demott in command.
Helena, assigned to the Pacific Fleet, was at Pearl
Harbor on 7 December 1941, when the Japanese attacked.
She was moored at 1010 Dock Navy Yard on the east side
of the harbor ; outboard was minesweeper Oglala. By
chance Helena was in the berth normally assigned to
Pennsylvania ; and this became a prime target for the
Japanese planes.
Within 3 minutes of the time the first bomb of the attack
fell on Ford Island, a lone torpedo plane launched a tor-
pedo that passed under Oglala, and hit Helena on the star-
board side almost amidships, just as the crew raced to
battle stations. One engine room and one boiler room
were flooded. Wiring to the main and 5-inch batteries
was severed, but prompt action brought the forward diesel
generator up within 2 minutes, making power available to
287
USS Helena in a mud dock on the Liao River, China, during the winter of 1903 and 1904
all mounts. Immediately, they sent up a heavy fire that
keep her free of further damage. Outstanding damage
control work, and the fact that watertight integrity was
promptly insured by the closing of the doors and hatches
throughout the ship, kept Helena afloat. Many times
later she gave the Japanese occasion to regret their failure
to sink her that first day of the war.
After preliminary overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Helena
steamed to Mare Island Navy Yard for permanent repairs.
In 1942, she sailed to enter action, escorting a detachment
of SeaBees and an aircraft carrier rushing planes to the
South Pacific. She made two quick dashes from Espiritu
Santo to Guadalcanal, where the long and bloody battle
for the island was then beginning, and having completed
these missions, joined the Task Force formed around
Wasp (CV-7).
This Task Force steamed in distant support of six trans-
ports carrying Marine reinforcements to Guadalcanal.
On 15 September 1942, in mid-afternoon Wasp was sud-
denly hit by three Japanese torpedoes. Almost at once,
she became an inferno. Helena, her guns blazing, stood
by to rescue nearly 400 of Wasp's officers and men, whom
she took to Espiritu Santo.
Helena's next action was near Rennell Island, again
in support of a movement of transports into Guadalcanal.
Air attacks from Henderson Field had slowed down the
Tokyo Express for several days, so 11 October 1942 the
Japanese poured everything they could deliver against
the airstrip, hoping to neutralize air operations long
enough to bring heavy troop reinforcements during the
night. The Japanese fleet closed and by 1810 was less
than 100 miles from Savo Island.
Helena, equipped with superior radar, was first to con-
tact the enemy and first to open fire at 2346. When firing
had ceased in this Battle of Cape Esperance in Iron
Bottom Sound, Helena had sunk cruiser Furutaka and
destroyer Fubuki.
Helena was next under attack on the night of 20 October
1942 while patrolling between Espiritu Santo and San
Cristobal. Several torpedoes exploded near her but she
was not hit.
Helena saw the climatic Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
from its beginning when she was assigned the job of
escorting a supply echelon from Espiritu Santo to Guadal-
canal. The ship made rendezvous with the convoy of
transports off San Cristobal 11 November 1942, and
brought it safely into Guadalcanal. During the after-
noon of 12 November, word came from a coast watcher,
“enemy aircraft approaching.” Immediately suspending
unloading operation, all ships stood out to form an anti-
aircraft disposition. When the attack came, superb
maneuvering of the force, and its own antiaircraft fire,
288
broke up the first attack but the second damaged two
ships. Helena came through without a scratch, and the
task group brought down eight enemy planes in the
8-minute action.
As unloading resumed, an increasing stream of reports
flowed in from patrolling aircraft. Ominously, the Japa-
nese forces sighted contained no transports, and their
intention was thus read as one of being pure offense.
Helena , still steaming with Rear Admiral Daniel Calla-
ghan’s Support Group, aided in shepherding the transports
away from Guadalcanal, then reversed course to fateful
“Ironbottom Sound.” The night of Friday, 13 November,
Helena's radar first located the enemy. In the action
that followed, the tropical night was lit again and again
by the flashes of her big guns. She received only minor
damage to her superstructure during the action. Day-
light found a tragic scene in the grisly slot. The weaker
American fleet had achieved the goal at heavy cost. Great
valor had turned back the enemy and prevented the heavy
attack that would have been disastrous to the Marine
troops ashore.
Helena found a measure of revenge when she was
assigned to the several bombardments of Japanese posi-
tions on New Georgia during January 1943. Her guns
rocked the enemy at Munda and Vila Stanmore, leveling
vital supply concentrations and gun emplacements. Con-
tinuing on patrol and escort in support of the bitter
Guadalcanal operation through February, one of her float
planes shared in the sinking of Japanese submarine
RO-102 11 February 1943. After overhaul in Sydney,
Australia, she was back at Espiritu Santo in March to
participate in bombardments of New Georgia, soon to be
invaded. The first goal on New Georgia proper was Rice
Anchorage. In the force escorting the transports carry-
ing the initial landing parties, Helena moved into Kula
Gulf just before midnight 4 July, and shortly after mid-
night on the 5th, her big guns opened up in her last shore
bombardment.
The landing of troops was completed successfully by
dawn, but in the afternoon of 5 July 1943, word came that
the Tokyo Express was ready to roar down once more
and the escort group turned north to meet it. By mid-
night 5 July, Helena’s group was off the northwest corner
of New Georgia, three cruisers and four destroyers com-
posing the group. Racing down to face them were three
groups of Japanese destroyers, a total of ten enemy ships.
Four of them peeled off to accomplish their mission of
landing troops. By 0157 Helena began blasting away with
a fire so rapid and intense that the Japanese later an-
nounced in all solemnity that she must have been armed
with 6-inch machine guns. Ironically, Helena made a per-
fect target when lit by the flashes of her own guns. Seven
minutes after she opened fire, she was hit by a torpedo :
within the next 3 minutes, she was struck by two more.
Almost at once she began to jackknife. Below, she was
flooding rapidly even before she broke up. In a well-
drilled manner, Helena’s men went over the side.
Helena’s history closes with the almost incredible story
of what happened to her men in the hours and days that
followed. When her bow rose into the air after the sink-
ing, many of them clustered around it, only to be fired
on there. About a half hour after she sank, two Amer-
ican destroyers came to the rescue.
At daylight, the enemy was in range once more, and
again the destroyers, Nicholas (DD-449) and Radford
(DD-446), broke off their rescue operations to pursue.
Anticipating an air attack, the destroyers withdrew for
Tulagi, carrying with them all but about 275 of the sur-
vivors. To those who remained they left four boats,
manned by volunteers from the destroyers’ crews. Cap-
tain C. P. Cecil, Helena’s commanding officer, organized
a small flotilla of three motor whaleboats, each towing
a liferaft, carrying 88 men to a small island about 7
miles from Rice Anchorage after a laborious all-day
passage. This group was rescued the next morning by
Gwin (DD-433) and Woodworth (DD-460).
For the second group of nearly 200, the bow of Helena
was their liferaft, but it was slowly sinking. Disaster
was staved off by a Navy Liberator that dropped life-
jackets and four rubber lifeboats. The wounded were
placed aboard the lifeboats, while the able-bodied sur-
rounded the boats and did their best to propel themselves
toward nearby Kolombaranga. But wind and current
carried them ever further into enemy waters. Through
the torturous day that followed, many of the wounded
died. American search planes missed the tragic little
fleet, and Kolombaranga gradually faded away to lee-
ward. Another night passed, and in the morning the
island of Vella Lavella loomed ahead. It seemed the last
chance for Helena’s men and so they headed for it. By
dawn, survivors in all three remaining boats observed land
a mile distant and all who were left were safely landed.
Two coastwatchers and loyal natives cared for the sur-
vivors as best they could, and radioed news of them to
Guadalcanal. The 165 sailors then took to the jungle to
evade Japanese patrols.
Surface vessels were chosen for the final rescue, Nicholas
and Radford , augmented by Jenkins (DD-447) and O'lian-
non (DD-450) set off 15 July 1943 to sail further up the
Slot than ever before, screening the movement of two de-
stroyer-transports and four other destroyers. During the
night of 16 July, the rescue force brought out the 165
Helena men, along with 16 Chinese who had been in
hiding on the island. Of Helena’s nearly 900 men, 168 had
perished.
Helena was the first ship to receive the Navy Unit Com-
mendation. Her actions in the Battles of Cape Esperance,
Guadalcanal, and Kula Gulf were named in the citation.
Helena also earned the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign
medal with seven stars.
The name Helena was assigned to CL-113, but con-
struction on that hull was cancelled 5 October 1944.
( CA-75 ; dp. 13,600; 1. 674'11" ; b. 70'10" ; dr. 20’6" ; s. 33
k. ; cpl. 1,142; a. 9 8” ; 12 5", 48 40mm., 22 20mm. ; cl.
Baltimore)
The third Helena received her name while building after
the cancellation of CL-113 ; was launched at Bethlehem
Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., 28 April 1945, sponsored by Mrs.
John T. Haytin, wife of the mayor of Helena ; and com-
missioned 4 September 1945, Captain A. H. McCollum in
command.
Helena completed her outfitting in the Boston area and
sailed 24 October 1945, arriving New York City the next
day to take part in the tremendous celebration of the
Navy’s role in World War II victory that marked Navy
Day, 27 October 1945. After two shaaedown/training
periods at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Helena returned to
Boston in February 1945 to prepare for her first deploy-
ment, a round-the-world cruise. Helena sailed from Bos-
ton 12 February 1946 for England where Admiral H.
Kent Hewitt boarded and broke his flag as Commander
Naval Forces, Europe, and Commander 12th Fleet. Dur-
ing the next 3 months, Helena conducted training exercises
in Northern European waters and paid good-will visits
to major ports in England and Scotland.
Relieved as flagship 1 May 1946, Helena sailed for the
Far East via the Suez Canal, calling at major Mediter-
ranean ports, Colombo, Ceylon, Singapore, and arriving
Tsingtao 18 June 1946. During her tour in the Far East,
Helena took part in a wide variety of training exercises
and fleet maneuvers until she finally departed Shanghai
22 March 1947 for home after more than a year in foreign
waters.
After training operations in California waters Helena
departed once more for the Far East 3 April 1948, arriving
Shanghai 24 days later. Throughout the summer and
fall of 1948, she operated primarily in Chinese waters,
returning to Long Beach December 1948.
Helena spent much of the spring of 1949 in training a
new crew and in May cruised to train Naval Reservists,
returning to Long Beach for a conversion necessary to
289
equip her to carry a helicopter. During July and August
1949, Helena took part in a 6-week at sea training cruise
for men of the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to
the Galapagos Islands and Panama. She then took part
in Operation “Miki,” a joint Army-Navy amphibious
training exercise in the Hawaiian Islands conducted in
November.
Helena then proceeded via Yokosuka and Hong Kong to
the Philippines where she conducted training exercises.
She returned to Japan in January 1950, and soon after
experienced the highlights of her service as flagship of
the 7th Fleet when the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then touring
the Far East, embarked 2 February 1951. During the
remainder of her Far Eastern tour she carried out a
schedule of large scale fleet exercises off Okinawa, and
visits to Japanese ports. She departed for the United
States 21 May 1950.
Helena’s, schedule called for a summer spent in Long
Beach, followed by overhaul at San Francisco. Sud-
denly came word of the communist aggression in Korea.
Hurriedly she prepared for sea ; and, on 6 July 1950, sped
westward. Stopping at Pearl Harbor only to take on
ammunition, she plowed across the Pacific and into action
on the east coast of Korea. On 7 August, she first un-
leashed her guns on an enemy target — the railroad mar-
shalling yards, trains, and power plant near Tanchon.
Serving as flagship of the Bombardment Task Group,
Helena pounded enemy positions, aiding immeasurably in
keeping the invaders off balance and preventing them
from mounting a formidable drive, as United Nations
forces prepared to take the offensive. Operations such
as hers provided the diversion necessary to cover the
powerful amphibious assault into Inchon, 15 September
1950, Later, Helena provided gunfire support for Korean
troops pushing the invaders north along the east coast,
and it was Helena’s concentrated firepower that aided in
creating a diversion at Samchok, and in the recapture
of Pohang.
Valuable as she was in Korean waters, Helena could no
longer put off overhaul and in November 1950 she arrived
at Long Beach to prepare for the now twice-postponed
yard period.
After her overhaul, she reported for duty at Sasebo 18
April 1951, and was assigned to Task Force 77, the fast
carrier group making daily air strikes against the enemy.
While operating as heavy support for the carriers, Helena
was often detached to pound shore targets. During June
1951, she was occupied almost continually in interdiction
fire at targets along the east coast of Korea, then re-
turned to the Task Force, At twilight on a day late in
July, Helena was straddled, then hit by shore gunfire.
Damage was light, and swiftly twisting around the harbor
in the maneuver which came to be called “the war dance”,
Helena delivered rapid continuous fire that destroyed
seven enemy gun positions and an ammunition dump.
After a short respite at Yokosuka, she returned again to
the Task Force, but was soon detached for special duty
supporting a massive air strike on supply depots and rail-
road marshalling yards at Rashin, acting as radar picket.
Helena’s accurate gunnery was next sought by the 8th
Army, for whom she fired at 13 targets along the bombline
in aid of advancing infantry. Her support to ground
forces continued with missions fired for United States
Marines and Korean Army units. On 20 September 1951
she returned to Yokosuka. Here, at a ceremony on her
decks. President S.vngman Rhee of Korea presented to
Task Force 95 the first Korean Presidential Unit Citation
awarded to a naval unit. Helena received the award for
her operations in the fall of 1950.
After rejoining the Task Force, Helena was ordered to
duty as fire support vessel in the Hungnam-Hamhung
area. With her helicopter providing its usual efficient
spotting, she fired with great success on rail and high-
way bridges, marshalling yards and gun positions for the
next 2 weeks.
Helena returned to Long Beach 8 December 1951 and
her entire battery of nine 8-inch guns was replaced. In
February, she commenced training for return to the Far
East. One of the highlights of this training period came
14 to 23 February 1952 when she took part in “Lex Baker
One”, the largest scale training exercise held since the
outbreak of the Korean war. Over 70 ships and 15,000
sailors and Marines took active part in this operation.
Helena arrived once again at Yokosuka 8 June 1952
and the next day was underway to rendezvous with Task
Force 77 off the coast of Korea. For 5% months her mis-
sion again was to burn buildings, destroy gun positions,
and smash transportation facilities ; all were left in her
wake after shore bombardments. She also performed air
rescue of pilots, two of which were deep in enemy terri-
tory.
On 24 November 1952, Helena was relieved of her
normal duties at Yokosuka and 5 days later sailed on a
special mission. She called first at Iwo Jima where on
1 December Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Commander in
Chief Pacific Fleet, boarded the ship by helicopter to
visit briefly. Two days later she proceeded to Guam,
where President-Elect Dwight D. Eisenhower, with sev-
eral of his prospective cabinet members, and Admiral
Radford embarked for passage to Pearl Harbor. Top-
level policy conferences were held on board. Helena’s
distinguished passengers disembarked at Pearl Harbor 11
December 1952 and she returned to Long Beach 16
December.
Helena departed for the Far East 4 August 1953 to join
Task Force 77 on security patrol in the Sea of Japan and
after another voyage to the United States for upkeep and
training, rejoined the 7th Fleet at Yokosuka as flag-
ship on 11 October 1954. Helena spent much of her time
in waters off Taiwan. The highlights of Helena's service
during this tour of duty came in February 1955 during
the evacuation of the Tachen Islands. These off-shore
islands posed a possible point of contention between the
Nationalist and Communist Chinese ; and it was deter-
mined to neutralize them by means of evacuation. On 6
February came the “execute” from President Eisenhower,
and the fleet, led by Helena , got underway. By 1500 on
9 February 1955, with Helena on watchful patrol, all
civilians had been removed to safety from the islands — a
total of 18,000 people. Early on 12 February the remain-
ing 20,000 Nationalist troops were removed and, as Helena
steamed on rear guard patrol, the Task Force sailed south.
After 6 months’ training in home waters, Helena again
sailed for Yokosuka, arriving 25 January 1956. During
the 6 months of this tour of duty, she once more operated
primarily in the Taiwan area and briefly in Philippine
waters on exercises. She returned to Long Beach 8 July.
Exercises, which included firing of the Regulus I mis-
sile from Helena’s launching gear, continued for 9 months ;
then she headed for another Far East tour 10 April 1957.
During the ensuing tour of duty, she played her flagship
role fully, combining sea power and diplomacy.
Helena returned to Long Beach 19 October. Following
major overhaul completed 31 March 1958 and intensive
training, including missile launching, she again sailed
west.
Helena’s 1958 cruise in the Far East began 3 August.
Her first port of call was Keelung, Taiwan, arriving 21
August. Next day students and faculty of the Taiwan
National Defense College were received on board for a
tour of the ship. Her schedule next called for a visit to
Manila, but the crisis brought on by the Chinese Commu-
nist shelling of the off-shore islands governed by the
Nationalists interrupted normal operations.
During the next weeks, Helena patrolled the troubled
area. On 7 September she steamed to within 10 miles of
the Chinese mainland, covering Chinese Nationalist supply
ships replenishing Quemoy Island. While on this duty,
she was illustrating once more the fact that the mere
presence of the overwhelming naval strength of the United
States is one of the most formidable protections the free
world has in determining such aggression.
On 9 October 1958, while off the Philippines, word
flashed to Helena to proceed to the aid of a stricken Nor-
wegian merchant vessel, Hoi Wong, aground on Bombay
Reef in the Paracel Islands. Helena reached the scene
290
at 1000, 10 October 1958. Her helicopters rescued men,
women and children, whom she transported to Hong Kong.
Her men had skillfully and courageously carried out a diffi-
cult humanitarian mission, another contribution to
strengthening American relationships with Asian nations.
Helena resumed patrol and readiness operations until her
return to Long Beach 17 February 1959.
On 5 January 1960 Helena departed for the Western
Pacific in company with Yorktown and her escort of
Destroyer Squadron 23. Visits to Korea and to Taiwan
prefaced her participation in Operation “Blue Star,” one
of the largest peacetime amphibious exercises in our
history.
After a period in Japan, Helena sailed with Ranger and
Saint Paul to Guam. On 24 April 1960, Helena , in com-
pany with destroyers Taylor and Jenkins, set sail for
Australia. She then returned to Long Beach and from
June until November underwent extensive overhaul. In
mid-January 1961 she became the permanent flagship of
Commander, 1st Fleet.
On 17 May 1961, led by the Helena, 12 1st Fleet ships
put on a firepower demonstration for more than 700 mem-
bers of the American Ordnance Association. In June,
Helena, with eight guests of the Secretary of the Navy on
board, cruised to Portland, Oreg., for the Rose Festival.
During the next months, Helena joined in Exercise
“Tail Wind,” rendezvousing with cruiser Los Angeles, the
guided missile frigate Coontz and their destroyer escort
to form the largest “Fleet Sail” in 4 years. Helena
visited major ports of the Far East, rode out Typhoon
Olga off Hong Kong, then returned to San Diego 6 Oc-
tober, soon to participate in Exercise “Covered Wagon.”
During the remainder of the year, Helena participated
in a major fleet demonstration observed by the Chief of
Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson. Her
last operations of the year was Exercise “Black Bear.”
During 1961 and 1962, Helena operated in West Coast
and western Pacific waters, taking part in several am-
phibious operations with ships of the 1st Fleet and ele-
ments of the 1st Marine Division and 3d Marine Air
Wing. Helena embarked foreign and staff officers from
the Naval War College March 1962, and two groups of
Navy League members on orientation cruises in June and
August.
As the year ended, Helena was scheduled for inactiva-
tion at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. On 18 March 1963,
Commander 1st Fleet shifted his flag to Saint Paul.
Helena was placed out of commission in Reserve 29 June
1963. Helena was transferred in June 1963 to San Diego,
Calif., where she remains.
For her service in the Korean conflict, she was pre-
sented the Presidential Unit Citation of the Republic of
Korea and the Korean Service Medal with four stars.
Observers depart USS Helena (CA-75) to spot gun fire in Korea 15 October 1950
Helena I
Helios
( SP-24 : dp. 9 ; 1. 43' ; b. 10' ; dr. 3' ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1 mg.)
Helena I, a wooden motor yacht, was built in 1906 by
Van Sant Brothers, of Port Republic, N.J., and acquired
by the Navy from Dr. W. G. Hall, Trenton, N.J., in May
1917. Assigned to the 7th Naval District, she was taken
to Key West, Fla., and commissioned there 7 September
1917, Otis Curry, QM 2/c in command.
Helena I operated as a harbor and coastal patrol boat
in the vicinity of Key West until being decommissioned
and sold 27 August 1919. Before she could be delivered
to her new owner, however, the boat was wrecked 11 Sep-
tember 1919 in a hurricane, and was stricken from the
Navy List 4 October 1919.
Helenita
A former name retained.
I
( SP-210 : dp. 304; 1. 187'; b. 21'; dr. 8'6" ; s. 16 k. ; a.
2 3")
The first Helenita was a yacht built by Gas Engine &
Power Co., Morris Heights, N.Y., acquired by the Navy
from Frank J. Gould August 1917, and commissioned 17
October 1917 at Morris Heights, N.Y.
Originally intended for foreign service, Helenita sailed
from Newport, R.I., to Bermuda 4 November, and until 1
January 1918 engaged in patrol, search, and dispatch
service out of Bermuda. Found to be too lightly built
for sea service, she was sent back to the United States,
arriving 10 January 1918 at Charleston. Helenita then
entered Philadelphia Navy Yard 17 January for extensive
repairs.
Subsequently, Helenita was assigned briefly in May to
New London, Conn., and New York, moving to Base 2,
Delaware Bay, as a patrol vessel in June. She continued
on this duty until sent to Norfolk for repairs 6 August to
26 November 1918. Returning to New York in May, 1919,
Helenita decommissioned and was simultaneously returned
to her owner 17 June 1919.
II
( YP-2230 : 1. 45'; b. 11 '8")
The second Helenita was a small wooden motor boat
acquired by the Navy in 1919, probably from the Marine
Aviation Corps. She was used as a district patrol craft
in the 5th Naval District, Norfolk, Va., from February
to August 1919, after which she was transferred to the
City of Norfolk Department of Public Safety. Trans-
ferred 30 August, Helenita served the city until 1 Decem-
ber 1922, when she was returned to the Navy at Norfolk.
She was finally sold to H. W. Bleckley, Milwaukee, Wis.,
22 June 1923.
Helianthus
A former name retained.
( S P-585 : dp. 37: 1. 64'; b. 13'6''; dr. 3'3'' ; s. 10 k. ; a.
1 1-pdr.)
Helianthus, a motor boat, was built by Herreshoff Man-
ufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I., in 1912, and acquired by the
Navy from N. A. Herreshoff ; delivered 11 June 1917 and
commissioned 6 July 1917, Boatswain T. H: Rich in
command.
Helianthus was assigned to the 2d Naval District as a
section patrol craft, and operated on Harbor Patrol and
Harbor Entrance Patrol in Narragansett Bay and New-
port, R.I. She was transferred 28 March 1919 to the
Coast and Geodetic Survey.
The Greek sun-god, represented as driving a four-horse
chariot through the heavens.
(ARB-12: dp. 1,781; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 286; a. 8 40mm. ; cl. Aristaeus)
Helios (ARB-12), formerly LST-112 7, was launched 14
February 1945 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca,
111. ; sponsored by Mrs. Emery Adams ; and commissioned
as L8T- 1127, 26 February 1945, Lt. Adam W. Melohusky
in command.
Helios sailed down the Mississippi and around to Balti-
more where she decommissioned 16 March 1945. She was
then converted to an ARB by the Maryland Drydock Co.,
of Baltimore. Helios recommissioned 23 July 1945, Lieu-
tenant Melohusky in command, and proceeded to Chesa-
peake Bay for her shakedown. Ordered to the Pacific,
the battle-damaged repair ship sailed from Norfolk 27 Au-
gust. By the time she reached Pearl Harbor 29 Septem-
ber, the long war had come to its end and Helios's, services
were no longer needed. Sailing 11 October, she reached
Charleston a month later and from there sailed to the
Inactive Fleet Berthing Area at Green Cove Springs, Fla.
Helios decommissioned there 3 December 1946 and re-
mained in reserve until leased to the government of Brazil
19 January 1962 as Belmonte.
Heliotrope
An herb of the genus heliotropium.
( SwStr : t. 239; 1. 134' ; b. 24'6" ; dph. 6'8'' ; s. 6 k. ; a. 1
12-pdr. )
Heliotrope, a wooden steamer, was originally named
Maggie Baker, and was purchased by the Navy from her
owner, Stacey Pitcher, at New York 16 December 1863.
Renamed Heliotrope, she commissioned at New York Navy
Yard 24 April 1864.
Heliotrope was assigned initially to the North Atlantic
Blockading Squadron, and sailed soon after her commis-
sioning to Hampton Roads, Va., where she served as a
tug and ordnance boat. She continued this duty with oc-
casional patrols up the James River, until her transfer to
the Potomac Flotilla 23 January 1865.
Heliotrope reported for her new duties early in Febru-
ary, and participated 6-8 March in a joint expedition up
the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg. In coopera-
tion with Army units, Heliotrope and the other gunboats
succeeded in destroying railroad facilities, a large quantity
of track, and a depot of army supplies. Returning to
routine patrolling in the Potomac, she embarked with
other gunboats on another expedition 16 March, sending
her small boats with about 50 men up Mattox Creek.
Three schooners and various types of supplies were cap-
tured or destroyed on this 2-day foray.
The small gunboat continued her vital work of Choking
off Confederate supplies in the Potomac River area until
mid-April, when she steamed for New York, arriving 20
April. Heliotrope decommissioned 12 January 1865 and
was sold 17 June to the Department of the Treasury for
use with the Lighthouse Service.
Heliotrope, see Surprise (PG-63)
Hell Gate, see YM-15
Helm
James Meredith Helm, born 16 December 1855 at Gray-
ville, 111., graduated from the Naval Academy in 1875.
He served in various ships and abroad until the Spanish-
Ameriean War, when he commanded gunboat Hornet. In
the blockade of Cuba, he captured a Spanish steamer
292
and three contraband schooners, and was advanced five
numbers in grade for outstanding performance at the Bat-
tle of Manzanillo 30 June 1898. Helm subsequently com-
manded Idaho and Wabash. During World War I, Rear
Admiral Helm was Commandant of the 4th Naval Dis-
trict and received the Navy Cross for his achievements.
He retired 16 December 1919 and died 28 October 1927.
( DD-388 : dp. 1,850; 1. 341'4” ; b. 35'5" ; dr. 10'4" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 158; a. 4 5", 4 .50 cal., 16 21” tt. ; cl.
Gridley)
Helm (DD-388) was launched by Norfolk Navy Yard 27
May 1937 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. M. Helm, widow ; and
commissioned 16 October 1937, Lt. Comdr. P. H. Talbot in
command.
After shakedown Helm operated in the Caribbean until
March 1938. Following summer exercises, she was at-
tached to the newly formed Atlantic Squadron 1 October
1938. Early in 1939 she deployed with Carrier Division
2 in the Caribbean for the annual fleet problem, developing
tactics and doctrine so vital in the war which was to come.
Transferred to the West Coast in May 1939, Helm engaged
in fleet exercises and screening maneuvers out of San
Diego and the Hawaiian Islands. This duty continued
through the troubled months of 1941, and on the morn-
ing of 7 December Helm was underway in West Loch
Channel, Pearl Harbor when the Japanese planes struck.
The destroyer manned her guns and brought down at
least one of the attackers while she was strafed and
slightly damaged by two bombs close aboard. After the
attack, she joined the task group of carrier Saratoga,
just arrived from San Diego and served as screening ship
and plane guard.
The destroyer sailed 20 January on a special mission to
rescue Department of the Interior workers from How-
land and Baker Islands. Using her whaleboat Helm
brought off six men from the two islands 31 January.
She was attacked by a Japanese patrol bomber later that
day. Her gunners drove off the attacker and the ship
returned to Pearl Harbor 6 February.
Following a round trip voyage to San Diego, Helm de-
parted Pearl Harbor 15 March escorting an advance base
party to the New Hebrides. She arrived Efate 19 March
and for the next few weeks escorted ships in that area
while U.S. bases were consolidated. She rescued 13
survivors from SS John Adams on 9 May and 4 from oiler
Neosho, sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea on 17 May.
These men were taken to Brisbane, Australia, where
Helm joined British Rear Admiral Crutchley’s Task Force
44 on 19 May.
For the next 2 months Helm performed escort duty
along the Australian Coast. The fleet was then assem-
bling for the first offensive amphibious operation in the
Pacific, the capture of Guadalcanal. Helm departed Auk-
land, New Zealand, 22 July for the Fiji Islands. Follow-
ing practice landings Adm Turner’s fleet suddenly struck
Guadalcanal and Tulagi, arriving off the beaches 7 August
and catching the Japanese completely by surprise. The
destroyer screened the transports as troops disembarked,
shooting down several attacking aircraft during the first
2 days.
With cruisers Vincennes, Quincy, and Astoria, Helm
patrolled the waters around Savo Island the night of 7
August and, as night fell 8 August, the four ships and
destroyer Wilson took up patrol between Savo and Florida
Islands. Another group of two cruisers and two destroy-
ers patrolled to the south, and picket destroyers Blue and
Ralph Talbot were stationed to the northwest of Savo
Island. A fateful combination of circumstances had al-
lowed Admiral Mikawa’s cruisers and destroyers to ap-
proach Savo Island undetected. Failures in search and
identification had prevented early analysis of the danger-
ous situation, and the inadequate two-ship screen off
Savo Island had not warned of the Japanese ships. The
alarm was sounded by destroyer Patterson at about 0143,
just seconds before two torpedoes ripped into HMAS Can-
berra in the southern group. Soon both formations of
cruisers were battling the fierce Japanese attack. Helm,
on the port bow of Vincennes, turned back to help the
stricken cruisers. She stood by Astoria, brought survi-
vors to transports off Guadalcanal, and withdrew with
the remainder of the force to Noumea 13 August. The
Battle of Savo Island was a disaster, but even in defeat
the ships had prevented the Japanese from attacking the
vulnerable transports at Guadalcanal. Much desperate
fighting followed but the Americans had come to stay.
For the next few weeks Helm remained in the dangerous
waters near Guadalcanal, escorting transports and patrol-
ling. She sailed to Brisbane 7 September and departed
next day to provide escort protection for transports be-
tween Australia and New Guinea, where another bitter
struggle was in progress. The veteran destroyer re-
mained on this duty for some months, escorting LST’s
to Woodlark Island for an unopposed landing in June
1943 and protecting the important base at Milne Bay.
As MacArthur’s army prepared to move into New Britain
under naval cover, Helm bombarded Gasmata 29 Novem-
ber 1943 and sortied from Milne Bay again 14 December
under Admiral Crutehley for the capture of Cape Glouces-
ter. Helm helped in the pre-invasion bombardment, fired
close support missions after the initial landings, and per-
formed screening duties as transports unloaded. The
operation by Admiral Barbey’s YII Amphibious Corps
was a smooth and successful one, and, as soon as the
position was secured, Helm and the rest of Admiral
Crutchley’s fleet moved to Saidor, where Admiral Barbey
performed one of his famous amphibious “hops.” The
destroyer screened the cruiser force as it prevented attack
by surface and air forces from seaward.
Helm continued her escort duty in the Guadalcanal and
Milne Bay areas until departing 19 February 1944 for
Pearl Harbor. The ship proceeded thence to Mare Island
Navy Yard escorting battleship Maryland, and arrived 4
March.
Helm departed San Francisco 5 May. After arrival
Pearl Harbor 5 days later she engaged in refresher train-
ing in Hawaiian waters. She arrived Majuro 4 June and
Kwajalein 7 June to join the naval force assembling for
the next step in America’s amphibious sweep across the
Pacific, the invasion of the Marianas. She joined Vice
Admiral Mitscher’s famed Task Force 58 and sailed with
it from Kwajalein 7 June. The fast carrier group guarded
the western approaches to the islands 11 to 13 June and
provided air support for the landings, which were carried
out by Admiral Kelly Turner’s amphibian 1,000 miles
from the nearest advance base at Eniwetok. The carrier
task forces returned from a strike on the Bonin Islands
18 June and deployed to repel the Japanese fleet as it
closed the Marianas for a decisive naval battle. The
great fleets approached each other 19 June for the biggest
carrier engagement of the war. As four large air raids
hit the American fleet formation, fighter cover from Helm’s
task group and surface fire from the ships annihilated
the Japanese planes. With able assistance from American
submarines, Mitscher succeeded in sinking two Japanese
carriers while inflicting such staggering losses on the
enemy naval air arm that the battle was dubbed the
“Marianas Turkey Shoot.” Admiral Spruance had suc-
ceeded in protecting the invasion force in a battle the
importance of which was well understood by the Japanese.
Admiral Toyoda had said 15 June: “The fate of the
Empire rests on this one battle,” repeating the words of
Admiral Toga at Tsushima.
Following the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea,
Helm and the fast carriers turned their attention to
neutralizing the enemy bases on the Bonin and Volcano
Islands and supporting the invasion of Guam. The mo-
bile carrier groups, screened by destroyers and cruisers,
also began attacks on the Palau Islands 25 July. With
occasional respite at Eniwetok or Ulithi, the carriers
attacked Iwo Jima and other islands in the western
Pacific until well into September. Helm sank a small
Japanese freighter off Iwo Jima 2 September and later
that day surprised and sank a small cargo ship.
293
Helm and her carrier group arrived Seeadler Harbor
21 September 1944. They sortied again 24 September ;
and, after ground support strikes in the Palaus, rendez-
voused with the entire task force seventeen carriers with
their supporting and screening vessels — for an important
sweep to the west. Strikes were launched against
Okinawa 10 October; after which the carriers turned to
their real objective, the airfields and military installa-
tions on Formosa. In a devastating 3-day attack carrier
planes did much to destroy that island as a supporting
base for the Japanese in the battle of the Philippines and
other invasions to come. Enemy planes retaliated with
heavy and repeated land-based attacks. Helm brought
down one bomber with her 5-inch guns 13 October and
assisted in shooting down several more.
Following the Formosa Air Battle, a convincing dem-
onstration of the power and mobility of sea power, Task
Force 38 returned to the east coast of Luzon to strike
enemy air bases in the Philippines to neutralize Japanese
air power during the invasion of Leyte. By 24 October it
was clear that the assault on Leyte had called forth one
final effort on the part .of the Japanese to destroy the
American fleet. Its three major fleet units moved toward
the Philippines. The Northern Group was to lure the
American carriers northward away from Leyte, before the
others converged on the assault area in Leyte Gulf for a
two-pronged death blow. In for the historic Battle of
Leyte Gulf, Helm with Rear Admiral Davison’s Task
Group 38.4 turned her attention toward Admiral Kurita’s
Center Force. Planes from the carriers struck the Japa-
nese ships near mid-day in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea,
sinking giant battleship Musashi and damaging other
heavy ships.
While two of the other phases of this great battle, the
Battle off Samar and the Battle of Surigao Strait, were
being fought, Halsey took the carrier groups north to
engage the powerful fleet of Admiral Ozawa. Screened
by Helm and other surface units, the carriers made air
contact 25 October and, in a series of devastating strikes,
sank four Japanese carriers, and a destroyer. The great
sea battle was thus ended, with the invasion of Leyte
secured and the Japanese fleet no longer an effective
fighting unit.
Helm and the carriers resumed direct support of ground
operations on Leyte 26 October. In addition to air attacks
by land-based Japanese aircraft, the group also experi-
enced submarine attack 28 October. Helm and companion
destroyer Gridley made a contact around noon and, as
the carriers cleared the area, the two ships dropped depth
charges and sank I-Jf6. Two carriers, Franklin and Bel-
leau Wood, were damaged 30 October by suicide planes.
That night the group retired toward Ulithi, where it
arrived 2 November after over 2 months of almost con-
tinuous service.
Departing Ulithi again 5 November, Helm and her car-
rier group returned to the Philippines for strikes against
Japanese shipping and shore targets, returning the 20th.
Helm was then detached from Task Group 38.4 and
steamed from Ulithi for Manus the 26th. Arriving 2
days later, the ship began preparations for the next im-
portant amphibious operation in the Philippine campaign,
the landings at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Helm departed
27 December with a large task group bound for Lingayen
Gulf ; and, as the ships entered the Sulu Sea, heavy air
attacks began. The Japanese, hitting with their only
remaining weapon, struck with suicide planes 4 January
and sank escort carrier Ommaney Bay. Gunfire from
Helm and the other screening ships took a heavy toll of
the attackers. From 6 to 17 January the destroyer oper-
ated with carriers west of Lingayen Gulf providing air
support for these important landings. The ships de-
parted 17 January and arrived Ulithi 6 days later.
As the great naval task force assembled for the invasion
of Iwo Jima, next stop on the island road to Japan, Helm
sailed 12 February in the screen of a group of escort car-
riers, arriving off the volcanic island fortress 16 February.
She screened the carriers during the important prelim-
inary strikes and protected them while they lent close
support to the invasion, which began on the 19th. The
carrier groups were hit repeatedly by desperate air at-
tacks, with Helm and the other destroyers accounting for
many suicide and torpedo planes. When escort carrier
Bismarck Sea was sunk, in a massive suicide attack 21
February, Helm rescued survivors and brought them to
the transport anchorage next day.
The veteran destroyer continued screening operations
off Iwo Jima until 7 March when she steamed toward
Leyte for repairs. She was soon underway again, how-
ever, for the last and largest of the Pacific amphibious
operations, the invasion of Okinawa. Sailing 27 March,
she joined escort carrier groups off the island for pre-
invasion strikes ; and, after the historic assault 1 April,
for ground support operations. During her stay off
Okinawa the destroyer shot down many suicide planes
which menaced the carriers during fanatical, last-ditch
efforts by the Japanese to repel the invasion. Helm
steamed to Leyte 19 June with Okinawa secured.
Following the Okinawa operation Helm served as an
escort and patrol ship out of Ulithi and Leyte, and helped
to search for survivors of ill-fated Indianapolis 3 to 6
August 1945. The ship was steaming toward Ulithi from
Okinawa when the war ended 15 August. She returned
to Okinawa and finally to Iwo Jima to join the Bonins
patrol, for air-sea rescue work until 8 September. The
destroyer then sailed to Sasebo, Japan, where she served
as shipping guide and patrol vessel until returning to
Okinawa 26 September. After another stay in Japan, the
ship departed for Pearl Harbor and San Diego 29 October.
She returned to the United States 19 November, then
sailed back to Pearl Harbor where she decommissioned
26 June 1946. Helm was used that summer as a target
ship during the historic Operation “Crossroads” atomic
tests in the Pacific, and her hulk was sold to Moore Dry
Dock Co., Oakland, Calif., in October 1947 for scrapping.
Helm received 11 battle stars for World War II service.
Helma, see YHB-14
Helori
A former name retained.
(SP-181 : dp. 90; 1. 92'4" ; b. 15'8" ; dr. 5'6" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
17 ; a. 2 3q}dr. )
Helori, a motor boat, was built by Johnson Brothers &
Blanchard, Seattle, Wash., in 1911, and purchased from
her owner, Omar J. Humphrey, of Seattle, 23 April 1917.
She commissioned 21 May 1917 at Puget Sound Navy
Yard, Washington.
Assigned to the 13th Naval District, Helori operated
out of Puget Sound Shipyard training crews for sub
chasers and performing guard duty. She made frequent
trips to and from Bremerton and Seattle. In 1920, her
designation was changed to YP-181, district patrol craft,
and she continued to serve the 13th Naval District in that
capacity until She was sold 17 September 1925.
Helori, see YP-181
Helvetia
A former name retained.
(SP-3096: dp. 499; 1. 157'4" ; b. 36'2" ; dr. 12')
Helvetia, a schooner, was built by I. L. Snow & Co.,
Rockland, Maine, and purchased by the Navy from her
owner, R. K. Snow. She was taken over and simultane-
ously commissioned 19 July 1918 at Norfolk, Va.
Initially assigned to the 5th Naval District, Helvetia
acted as a stores and mother ship for submarines at Nor-
folk until November 1918, when she was transferred to
294
New London for duty with Submarine Force, Atlantic
Fleet. She was repurchased by her former owners in
February 1919.
Hemlock, see YC-1137
Hemlock II, see YC-1138
Hemminger
Cyril Franklin Hemminger enlisted in the Navy 26 May
1920. Working his way up through the ranks, he was
appointed Boatswain 3 April 1942 and reported to cruiser
Astoria for duty in the Pacific 8 days later. Hemminger
was commissioned Ensign 15 June 1942 and in the early
stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, was killed during
the Battle of Savo Island.
(DE-746 : dp. 1,240 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8'' ; dr. 8'9" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 tt. ; 2 dct., 8 dcp.,
1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Gannon)
Hemminger (DE-746) was launched 12 September 1943
by Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Francisco ; sponsored by
Mrs. Sue Frances Hemminger, widow ; and commissioned
30 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. R. Bodler, USNR, in command.
Shakedown completed, Hemminger reached Pearl Har-
bor in August 1944 to train submarines for war patrols.
She also patrolled between Pearl and Eniwetok and worked
in hunter-killer antisubmarine operations. On 28 Feb-
ruary 1945 while on a HUK mission with Corregidor and
CortDiv 53, the destroyer escort was diverted to partici-
pate in the fruitless search for Lieutenant General M. F.
Harmon, Commander Army Air Forces Pacific, whose
plane had disappeared. After patrol duty in the Marshall
Islands, Hemminger sailed 30 April to escort a resupply
convoy to Okinawa, where battle still raged. From 16
May to 20 June, she acted as screen for a carrier group
engaged in neutralization of Sakishima Gunto and sup-
ported ground forces on Okinawa as well as the air attack
on Kyushu.
Hemminger joined CortDiv 53 and Kassan Bay for
further hunter-killer patrol around Guam and Eniwetok
until sailing for the Philippines 27 September. Detached
from the Pacific Fleet, Hemminger reached Norfolk 2
December via Saipan, Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and the
Panama Canal. Training out of Green Cove Springs, Fla.,
occupied Hemminger until she decommissioned there 17
June 1946 and went into reserve.
After a period of duty with the reserve training pro-
gram, Hemminger recommissioned at Norfolk 1 December
1950. In the following years her career assumed a pat-
tern of local operations along the coast punctuated by
reserve training cruises to Canada and the Caribbean.
One reserve cruise in June 1952 took Hemminger to Lisbon,
while others saw her at Rouen, France ; Barranquilla, Co-
lombia ; Cadiz, and New Orleans.
Hemminger also participated in several fleet exercises
and worked with the Turkish submarine Gur in August
1954. Departing Little Creek, Va., 23 November 1957
she reported to New York Naval Shipyard for inactivation.
Hemminger decommissioned there 21 February 1958 and
joined the Atlantic Reserve Meet. She was loaned to
Thailand 22 July 1959 under the Military Assistance Pro-
gram, and serves the Royal Thai Navy as Pin Klao.
Hempstead
AVP-43 was named for a bay off the coast of New York,
APA-241 for a county in Arkansas.
Hempstead (AVP-^13) was under construction by Lake
Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Wash., but was can-
celled 22 April 1943.
Hempstead (APA-241) was to be built by Oregon Ship-
building Corp., Portland, Oreg., under Maritime Commis-
sion contract. The contract was cancelled 27 August
1947.
Henderson
The first Henderson (AP-1) was named for Archibald
Henderson, who was born in Fairfax County, Va., 21 Jan-
uary 1783, and was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the
Marine Corps 4 June 1806. He served in Constitution dur-
ing her famous victories in the War of 1812. He was ap-
pointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps 17
October 1820. Colonel Henderson served in the field dur-
ing the Indian Wars and held the post of Commandant
for 38 years, longer than any other man. Under his leader-
ship the Corps developed into a formidable arm of the na-
tion’s naval forces. General Henderson died suddenly
6 January 1859.
The second Henderson (DD-785) was named for Lofton
R. Henderson, who was born in Cleveland 24 May 1903
and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1926. Prior
to World War II he served in China, and various Carib-
bean stations, and on carriers Langley, Ranger and Sara-
toga. Major Henderson was posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross for his heroism at the historic Battle of Mid-
way, one of the decisive battles of history in which the
leadership of the fleet commander and the valor of a
handful of pilots changed the course of the war. While
his plane was leading 16 Marine Corps planes in a glide
bombing attack on carrier Hiryu, the left wing burst into
flames as he began his final approach. Henderson con-
tinued the attack and perished as his plane dived toward
the enemy carrier. Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, was
named in his honor.
(AP-1 : dp. 7,750; 1. 483'10" ; b. 61'1” ; dr. 16'2" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 233; trp. 1,695; a. 8 5”, 2 3”, 21-pdr.)
The first Henderson (AP-1) was launched by Phila-
delphia Navy Yard 17 June 1916; sponsored by Miss
Genevieve W. Taylor, great-granddaughter of General
Henderson ; and commissioned at Philadelphia 24 May
1917, Lt. C. W. Steel in command.
Henderson arrived New York 12 June 1917 and sailed
2 days later with Rear Admiral Gleaves’ cruiser and trans-
port force, which carried units of the A.E.F. to France.
In her holds she had space for 1,500 men and 24 mules.
Reaching St. Nazaire 27 June she disembarked troops and
returned to Philadelphia 17 July 1917. Subsequently,
Henderson made eight more voyages to France with troops
and supplies for the allies in the bitter European fighting.
She established two large base hospitals in France dur-
ing 1917. In constant danger from submarines, the trans-
port was steaming near Army transport Antilles 17 Oc-
tober 1917 when the latter was torpedoed and sunk. Hen-
derson escaped attack by wrapping herself in an envelope
of smoke. But torpedoes were not her only danger ; and
on her seventh voyage to France a serious fire broke
out in a cargo hold. Destroyers Mayrant and Paul Jones
transferred her troop passengers to nearby transports
without loss of life, and determined firefighting crews
soon brought the flames under control.
Following the armistice, Henderson made eight more
transatlantic voyages bringing home members of the
A.E.F. She carried more than 10,000 veterans before
returning to Philadelphia 27 December 1919. She then
took up duty as troop rotation ship for Marine units in the
Caribbean, carrying Marines, their dependents, and sup-
plies to bases in Cuba, Haiti, and other islands. She
also participated in Marine training maneuvers in Flor-
ida before returning to Philadelphia 6 July 1920. After an
extended period of repairs, the transport resumed her
duties in the Caribbean. This was interrupted 21 June
to 21 July as Henderson carried military and civilian
leaders to observe the historic bombing tests off the Vir-
ginia Capes.
Henderson continued to transport the Navy’s fight-
ing men including Marines to the far-flung bases of the
world, especially to the troubled Far East, and to par-
ticipate in vital amphibious training.
256-125 O -68 - 21
295
During the next few years, she also performed cere-
monial duties, embarking a congressional party to ob-
serve fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean in the Spring
of 1923, and carrying President Harding on an inspec-
tion tour of Alaska. The President called at Wrangell,
Juneau, and Sitka, reviewed the fleet off Seattle from
the deck of Henderson, and departed 27 July 1923, only
5 days before his death.
During Fleet Problem # 3 in early 1924, Henderson
participated in a mock amphibious invasion of the Panama
Canal Zone. This major training operation by the fleet
led not only to perfected assault techniques but improved
landing craft as well. She carried out many of these
important exercises during the inter-war years, helping
to develop the techniques which were to insure victory in
World War II. The ship also aided in the protection of
American interests in the volatile Caribbean states and
in the Far East.
Henderson arrived Shanghai 2 May 1927 with Marines
for the garrison there, and remained in China for 6
months protecting American nationals in the war-torn
country. Here members of her crew became the origina-
tors of the Golden Dragons. Membership in this deep
sea organization is dependent upon crossing the inter-
national date line. She was constantly engaged in carry-
ing replacements for the fleet including troops to and from
the various trouble spots in China. Until 1941 she
operated on a regular pattern of voyages from San Fran-
cisco to the Philippines and other Pacific islands, carry-
ing the fighting men of the sea, their dependents, and
equipment.
With the outbreak of the war in 1941, Henderson took
up duty as a transport between California and Hawaii,
making over 20 such voyages with fighting men, civilian
passengers, and cargo for the Pacific War. On her last
voyage she departed Port Hueneme 18 July 1943 and
arrived Noumea with 71 much-needed nurses. The trans-
port then sailed to the Solomon Islands with SeaBees
before returning to San Francisco 24 September 1943.
Henderson decommissioned 13 October 1943 for conver-
sion to a hospital ship at General Engineering & Dry Dock
Co., Oakland, Calif. She commissioned as Bountiful
(AH-9) 23 March 1944, Comdr. G. L. Burns in command.
Bountiful departed San Francisco 1 April 1944 for
Honolulu, returned later that month, and sailed once more
1 May for the western Pacific. After brief service at
Honolulu and Eniwetok the ship arrived 18 June off the
Saipan invasion beaches. She made three passages to the
hospitals on Kwajalein with casualties of the Marianas
invasions, as American forces continued their victorious
sweep across the Pacific to Japan. About this time
Bountiful established one of the few blood banks in a
Naval ship. The life-saving blood bank proved to be
self-supporting.
The floating hospital remained at Manus until 17 Sep-
tember when she sailed for the Palaus to bring casualties
of the Peleliu landing to hospitals in the Solomons.
After November Bountiful operated between Leyte and the
rear bases carrying veterans of the Philippines campaign.
She departed Manus 24 February 1945 for Ulithi and
Saipan to receive casualties of the bitter Iwo Jima assault,
and in the next months sailed to rendezvous with the
fleet to take on wounded from Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and
the fleet units themselves. Returning to Leyte Gulf 15
June, she remained until 21 July, and then got underway
for California. Bountiful arrived after war’s end, sail-
ing into San Francisco Bay 21 August 1945.
Bountiful was assigned as hospital ship at Yokosuka,
Japan, departing 1 November 1945. She arrived 24 No-
vember to support the occupation forces, and remained
until 27 March 1946 when she sailed for San Francisco.
After delivering her patients, the ship sailed 26 May for
the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, and after observing the
history-making series of nuclear experiments of Operation
“Crossroads” returned to Seattle 15 August 1946. She
decommissioned 13 September 1946, and was sold for
scrap by the Maritime Commission 28 January 1948 to
Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle.
Bountiful received four battle stars for World War II
service.
II
(DD-785 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6” ; b. 40'11" ; dr. 18'6" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 16 40mm., 15 20mm., 5 21” tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
The second Henderson (DD-785) was launched 28 May
1945 by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash. ;
sponsored by Mrs. A. R. Early ; and commissioned at
Seattle 4 August 1945, Comdr. H. A. Knoertzer in
command.
Henderson conducted shakedown cruise out of San
Diego, then departed Seattle 31 October for Hawaii.
Upon her arrival 7 November she operated as a screen
ship for escort carriers in Hawaiian waters and con-
ducted experimental sonar tests with submarines before
returning to San Diego 23 April 1946. After divisional
exercises off California she departed 2 December 1946 for
Operation “High Jump,” an antarctic exploration and
test program. This important operation included tests of
clothing and equipment as well as mapping and weather
work. Henderson reached Sydney, Australia, 13 March
1947 and San Diego 6 April 1947.
After two long cruises to the Pacific in support of U.S.
occupation forces in Japan, Henderson departed San Diego
5 August 1950 to join the United Nations forces in Korea.
Arriving Yokosuka 19 August she served as a screening
ship for fast carrier forces whose planes flew ground sup-
port and other missions in Korea. As U.S. forces pre-
pared to leap northward with the historic Inchon inva-
sion, Henderson was with the assault forces. She steamed
up Flying Fish Channel on 13 September, destroying
mines and bombarding the Inchon waterfront prepara-
tory to the invasion. The destroyers also traded blows
with Communist shore batteries. The gunfire support
group again entered the channel into Inchon Bay 14 to 15
September, softening up shore defenses. General of the
Army Douglas MacArthur soon made signal as the
Marines landed that day : “The Navy and Marines have
never shone more brightly than this morning.” Hender-
son remained on fire support duty at Inchon until 1
October.
The destroyer returned to screening duty after Inchon,
first along the coast of Korea and then in the Formosa
Strait. This duty continued until she departed Keelung
20 March, arriving San Diego 7 April 1951. After coast-
wise exercises and a cruise to Hawaii for training, Hen-
derson sailed 4 January 1952 for her second tour of duty
in Korea. She arrived off Hungnam 16 February to take
part in the blockade of that port and the coastal areas to
the north. Her duties included gunfire support and
bombardment of industrial sites until 7 March, when she
screened carrier Bataan off the coast of Japan. For the
remainder of her tour Henderson operated with the fast
carrier task forces around Korea and in the Formosa
Strait. She departed Yokosuka 25 July and arrived
San Diego 10 August 1952.
Henderson conducted training exercises off San Diego
until 22 March 1953, when she departed for her third
Korean tour. She took part in the siege of Wonsan har-
bor, supporting Korean troops with accurate and con-
tinuous gunfire, and conducted antisubmarine operations
off Okinawa. The destroyer engaged in the vital coastal
patrol, maintaining Allied control of the seas around
Korea, until after the Korean armistice in July 1953. She
arrived San Diego 19 October 1953, after a total of 22
months of Korean duty.
Following Korea, Henderson established a pattern of
cruises to the Far East with the fast and mobile 7th Fleet,
a main guarantor of peace in the region. Since 1954, she
has made more than a dozen such cruises. Highlights of
this phase of her service include protection of the Quemoy
Islands from Communist aggression in September 1954,
relief of Ceylonese flood victims in January 1958, and
important fleet and individual exercises during her periods
at sea.
296
USS Henderson (AP-1) at Coco Solo, C.Z., 6 January 1933
Commencing 11 August 1964, Henderson began annual
cruises in Vietnamese waters, supporting 7th Fleet am-
phibious and shore bombardment operations, and guarding
the fast-striking hard hitting carriers. She returned to
Long Beach 16 December, underwent modernization over-
haul and intensive shore bombardment training, and re-
turned to the intensified struggle against Communist
aggression in South Vietnam 10 July 1965. During the
next 5 months she ranged the South China Sea and Gulf
of Tonkin while screening Oriskany and pounding Viet
Cong positions. In December she steamed to the Gulf
of Siam, where she blasted V.C. coastal targets on the Ca
Mau Peninsula. As escort for Bon Homme Richard, the
veteran destroyer departed Hong Kong 26 December and
arrived Long Beach 13 January 1966.
Henderson spent the next year serving as an ASW
school ship out of San Diego and taking part in squadron
exercises out of Long Beach. Late in July she joined
in a massive but unsuccessful air-sea search for the
Hawaii-bound aircraft carrying Brigadier General Joseph
W. Stilwell, Jr., USA. After completing preparations for
another WestPac deployment, she returned to the troubled
waters of Southeast Asia in January 1967. Over the next
4 months she supported attack carrier operations and
conducted even more intensive shore bombardment as-
signments, thus contributing to the determined American
effort to restore the peace and insure the freedom in
Southeast Asia. Henderson returned to Long Beach in
mid-June to prepare for further duty in defense of the
Nation and the free world.
Henderson received eight battle stars for Korean War
service, and shared in the Navy Unit Commendation given
her task unit for its part in the Inchon landings.
Hendrick Hudson
A Dutch spelling of Henry Hudson, English explorer and
navigator.
(ScStr : t. 460; 1. 171'; b. 29'11" ; dph. 9'6" ; s. 11 k. ;
a. 4 8”, 2 20-pdr.)
Hendrick Hudson, a schooner-rigged screw steamer,
was built as Florida in 1859 at Greenpoint, N.Y., and
captured by Pursuit while attempting to run the blockade
at St. Andrew’s Bay, Florida, 6 April 1862. Taken to
Philadelphia for adjudication, she was condemned and
purchased by the Navy Department from the Prize Court
20 September 1862. Renamed Hendrick Hudson, she com-
missioned 30 December 1862 at Philadelphia, Acting
Master John E. Giddings commanding.
Assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron,
Hendrick Hudson sailed to Hampton Roads, arriving
3 January 1863, and from there proceeded to her blockad-
ing station off East Pass, St. George’s Sound, Florida.
On station 1 February, Hendrick Hudson began her long
297
months of arduous blockade duty, working to shut off
commerce through the multitude of small inlets and passes
of the Florida coast. She remained off St. George’s Sound
until late August 1863, capturing schooner Margaret
1 February and schooner Teresa 16 April. She then re-
tired to Boston for repairs and refitting, returning to a
new station off the mouth of the Suwanee River
28 December.
Resuming her blockading duties, Hendrick Hudson en-
countered a small schooner off Key West 21 March 1864
and stood toward her. The blockade runner, Wild Pigeon,
suddenly turned across Hendrick Hudson’s bow, however,
and was inadvertently rammed and sunk. None of her
assorted cargo could be recovered. The steamer con-
tinued her blockading duties through 1864, spending much
of her time in busy Tampa Bay and St. Marks, Florida.
A group of her men went ashore on an expedition 12 No-
vember and engaged some Confederate soldiers briefly, in
one of the many forays ashore by personnel of the East
Gulf Squadron.
Hendrick Hudson participated 27 February to 7 March
1865 in an expedition with Army units in the vicinity of
St. Marks, Florida. The steamer helped blockade the
river and some of her crew went ashore with the Army in
an attempt to capture Confederate positions. Following
the end of the war, Hendrick Hudson was not retained in
the squadron, and was ordered north 15 July 1865. She
decommissioned 8 August 1865 at Philadelphia and was
sold 12 September. The ship was subsequently redocu-
mented Hendrick Hudson and operated in commercial
service until she was lost in 1867.
Hendry
A county in Florida.
( APA-118 : dp. 6,873 ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 17 k. ; cpl.
536 ; a. 1 5", 12 40mm. ; cl. Haskell; T. VC2-S-AP5)
Hendry (APA-118) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract 24 June 1944 by California Shipbuilding
Co., Wilmington, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. James K. Her-
bert ; acquired by the Navy and commissioned 29 Septem-
ber 1944, Captain R. C. Welles in command.
Following a rigorous shakedown cruise Hendry sailed
23 October for Pearl Harbor, arriving 29 October. The
transport then took part in extended amphibious training
operations, designed to bring assault forces and ship’s
crews to a peak of readiness for the climactic operations
ahead in the Pacific. She departed 11 December with
troops to Midway, returning 9 days later, and got under-
way again 27 January, this time for the giant invasion of
Iwo Jima. Hendry arrived Saipan to join the invasion
fleet 11 February, and departed 16 February for Iwo Jima.
Her troops were among the initial invasion forces early
on the morning of 19 February, and for the 6 days that
followed Hendry unloaded troops and supplies on the
beaches, retiring at night under escort protection. Her
gunners were busy during this dangerous period ; Japanese
planes succeeded in sinking escort carrier Bismarck Sea
and damaging Saratoga but suffered heavy losses.
Hendry sailed for Saipan 25 February, arriving 3 days
later.
Hendry remained in the Saipan area until late March,
taking part in training for the largest amphibious opera-
tion of the Pacific, the capture of Okinawa in Japan’s
back yard. She sailed 27 March as part of a mighty
armada, called by British observers “the most audacious
and complex enterprise yet undertaken by the American
amphibious forces.” Arriving Easter Sunday, the morn-
ing of the first landings, Hendry put ashore her troops and
for the next 10 days survived fierce kamikaze attacks,
which took a heavy toll on American transports and escort
vessels in the Okinawa area but were themselves destroyed
and did not even check the steady progress of the invasion.
Her gunners and those of the supporting ships kept Hendry
free from damage until she departed the bitterly con-
tested island 10 April.
After her arrival at Saipan 14 April, the transport
sailed to Tulagi, Espiritu Santo, Eniwetok, and Guam,
with troop contingents, departing Guam 21 July 1945 for
the United States. She arrived San Pedro 6 August and
after the surrender sailed 26 August for the western
Pacific. Hendry embarked occupation troops at Manila
and Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, in late September, and
arrived Nagoya, Japan, 7 October. After unloading she
sailed again for the United States arriving San Francisco
via the Philippines 21 November. On this voyage she was
a unit of “Magic Carpet,” participating in the gigantic task
of bringing home veterans of the Pacific war. After a
voyage to Pearl Harbor and return, the ship departed San
Diego for the East Coast 14 January 1946, arrived 30 Jan-
uary at Norfolk and decommissioned 21 February. Hendry
was placed in the Maritime Commission’s National De-
fense Reserve Fleet on the James River, where she
remains.
Hendry received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Henjes, Barbara, see YT-342
Henjes, Robert, see YT-JfGJf
Henley
The first and second Henleys were named for Robert
Henley, born 5 January 1783 in Williamsburg, Va., son of
Leonard and Elizabeth Dandridge Henley and nephew
of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington. Appointed a
midshipman 8 April 1799, Henley participated in the en-
gagement between Constellation and La Vengeance during
the Quasi-War with France 2 February 1800. After serv-
ice with Preble’s squadron in the Mediterranean and a
cruise to the East Indies, Henley received his first com-
mand, Gunboat No. 5, at Baltimore 9 April 1808. Henley
was in command of 2 divisions of 15 gunboats which drove
3 British frigates from Hampton Roads 20 June 1813.
Reporting to brig Eagle, he received the thanks of Con-
gress and a gold medal for valiant conduct in the Battle
of Lake Champlain 11 September 1814. With the end of
the War of 1812, Henley filled a variety of billets before
commanding Hornet against pirates in the West Indies.
He captured pirate schooner Moscow off Santo Domingo
29 October 1821. After serving as commandant of the
Naval Rendezvous at Norfolk 1822 to 1824, he reported
for similar duty at Charleston. Captain Robert Henley
died at Sullivan’s Island, Charleston, after a short illness
7 October 1828.
The third Henley was named for John D. Henley,
brother of Captain Robert Henley, who was born in
Williamsburg 25 February 1781. Commissioned midship-
man 14 August 1799, Henley served in Chesapeake cruis-
ing in the West Indies until 1801. Departing Baltimore
in the schooner Vixen 3 August 1803, he joined the Medi-
terranean Squadron for the War with Tripoli. An offi-
cer in Gunboat No. 6 under Lieutenant John Trippe,
Henley participated in the attack on Tripoli 3 August
1804. Gunboat No. 6 ran alongside one of the enemy’s
large boats and nine men and two officers, Trippe and
Henley, stormed the Tripolitan before the gunboat fell
away from the enemy. Although outnumbered three to
one, the Americans fought so fiercely that within a few
minutes the enemy struck their colors. Fourteen of the
enemy had been killed and 22 were taken prisoner. Both
Trippe and Henley were highly commended for their
bravery in this action. Following completion of his tour
in the Mediterranean in 1805, Henley made a merchant
voyage to distant ports and then in September 1807,
assfimed command of Gunboat No. 20. Henley then served
a tour in Washington and with the outbreak of war
against the British was ordered to Charleston in June
1813 to command schooner Carolina. His ship was de-
stroyed 27 December 1814 off New Orleans during a fierce
struggle in which the few small warships played a decisive
role in delaying the powerful British attack and bringing
298
victory. For his part in the victory at New Orleans 8
January 1815 Henley was highly commended by General
Andrew Jackson. Promoted to Captain 5 March 1817.
Henley commanded John Adams in the West Indies and
Congress in the Indian Ocean before taking command of
Macedonian in the struggle against West Indian pirates
in 1822. Captain Henley served as commandant of the
Charleston and Baltimore stations an dthe Portsmouth
Navy Yard, New Hampshire, 1826 to 1832. On 16 August
1832 he was given command of the West India Squadron
with Vandalia as his flagship. Captain Henley died on
board Vandalia in Havana, Cuba, 23 May 1835.
I
( DD-39 : dp. 787 n. ; 1. 293'11" ; b. 27' ; dr. 8'4” ; s. 30 k. ;
cpl. 83 ; a. 5 3", 6 18" tt. ; cl. Monaghan )
The first Henley (DD-39) was launched 3 April 1912
by the Fore River Ship Building Co., Quincy, Mass. ; spon-
sored by Miss Constance Henley Kane, great-grandniece ;
and commissioned at Boston 6 December 1912, Lt. Comdr.
W. L. Littlefield in command.
After training and shakedown, Henley joined the U.S.
Atlantic Torpedo Fleet at Newport, R.I., for a peacetime
career of tactical exercises and training maneuvers along
the coast from the Caribbean to the North Atlantic. On
22 April 1914 she joined the fleet off Tampico, Mexico, to
protect American citizens and property in the face of
revolution in that country. During this period Henley
also saw duty transporting refugees and supplies. What
with war in Europe that fall, she began Neutrality
Patrol along the coast and checked belligerent vessels in
American ports.
When America entered the war in April 1917, Henley
continued patrol along the coast and also escorted fuel
ships to the destroyers guarding America’s first troop
convoy 13 June. For the remainder of the war Henley
performed convoy duty along the coast and carried out
antisubmarine patrol off New York harbor. Henley put
in at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 22 December 1918 and
decommissioned there 12 December 1919. Transferred to
the Coast Guard 16 May 1924, she returned to the Navy
8 May 1931 and sold for scrap to Michael Flynn Inc. of
Brooklyn 22 August 1934.
II
( DD-391 : dp. 1850; 1. 341'4"; b. 35'5" ; dr. 10'4" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 158 ; a. 4 5", 4 .50 cal., 16 21" tt. ; cl. Gridley)
The second Henley (DD-391) was launched 12 January
1937 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif. ;
sponsored by Miss Beryl Henley Joslin, a collateral de-
scendant of Captain Robert Henley ; and commissioned 14
August 1937, Lt. Comdr. H. Y. McCown in command.
After shakedown in the Pacific and Hawaiian waters,
Henley joined the Pacific Battle Force, Destroyer Division
11, at San Diego 12 September 1938. She departed San
Diego 14 April 1941 to join the Fleet at Pearl Harbor.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December
1941, Henley was moored in East Loch with battle stations
manned, a green sailor having sounded General Quarters
instead of Quarters for Muster. This fortunate mistake
gave Henley the opportunity to fire the first destroyer
shots as the initial wave of enemy planes swooped in.
A bomb exploded 150 yards off her port bow as she slipped
her chain from the buoy, and, as she cleared, she received
a signal that a submarine was in the harbor. Henley
maneuvered through the smoke, fire, and confusion and
sped out of the channel. Her gunners splashed one dive
bomber with her .50 cal. guns and shared credit for
another. Conned by a junior lieutenant — both her com-
manding officer and executive officer were ashore when
the attack began — Henley dropped depth charges on a
sonar contact, possibly a midget submarine, outside the
harbor, and continued to blaze away at the enemy with
her guns. In the following weeks Henley operated with
the task forces to reinforce Wake Island and conducted
patrol for the protection of Midway and convoy lanes.
She served as part of the ASW screen when Saratoga
USS Henley (DD-39) at the Fore River Shipyard in September 1912
299
steamed at high speed from the West Coast bringing re-
placement planes and her own powerful air group.
Henley carried out convoy and antisubmarine duty,
primarily in Australian waters, until departing Wellington
22 July 1942 to escort transports to Guadalcanal. As
American forces stormed ashore in the Solomons 7 August,
Henley patrolled on an ASW station, coming under fire
from enemy planes but suffering no casualties and assist-
ing in splashing two in the process. As the fierce struggle
for Guadalcanal raged, the destroyer remained in the area
to screen ships bringing up supplies and reinforcements
until 29 August. Henley then set course south, and
remained in Australian and New Guinea waters until
September 1943 on plane guard, convoy duty, and anti-
submarine patrol.
When Australian troops established a beachhead at
Finschafen, New Guinea, 21 September 1943, Henley
formed a part of their protective screen. Attacked by
10 Japanese torpedo bombers, she splashed 3 and assisted
in downing 3 others in a fierce half hour engagement.
However, the valiant ship’s wartime career, begun in the
chaos at Pearl Harbor, was drawing to a close. On
3 October 1943 Henley was steaming with Reid and Smith
on an offensive sweep off Finschafen when her skipper
sighted two torpedoes heading for her. Split-second ma-
neuvering permitted Henley to evade those two torpedoes ;
but a third was immediately sighted, closing too fast and
too near to be avoided. Henley was struck on the port
side, with the torpedo exploding in the number 1 fire-
room, destroying her boilers, breaking her keel, and dis-
placing her bow about 30 degrees from the longitudinal
axis of the ship.
At 1829, with all her crew having abandoned ship,
Henley went down, stern first. Her companion DD’s
searched for the sub, then returned to rescue Henley's
survivors, who had lashed their life-rafts together and
were using flashlights as signals. Eighteen officers and
225 men were rescued, with 1 officer and 14 men missing.
Henley earned four battle stars for her participation
in World War II.
Ill
(DD-762 : dp. 2200 ; 1. 376'5" ; b. 41' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336 ; a. 6 5”, 16 40mm„ 10 20mm., 5 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2
dct. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
The third Henley (DD-762) was launched 8 April 1945
by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco ; sponsored by Mrs.
George S. Wheaton, a descendant of Captain John D.
Henley ; and commissioned 8 October 1946, Comdr. Dwight
L. Moody in command.
After shakedown in the Pacific, Henley headed east,
reporting to the Sonar School at Key West 19 February
1947 for a 5-month tour of duty. She then reported to
Norfolk, from which she sailed 28 July for her first
Mediterranean cruise, which terminated 1 December at
Boston. On her second tour in the Mediterranean, Henley
patrolled with other U.N. ships in the summer of 1948 as
the Israeli-Arab dispute threatened to erupt into war.
After a year of tactical training exercises and fleet ma-
neuvers, Henley decommissioned at Charleston 15 March
1950. Less than 6 months later, with the outbreak of war
in Korea, Henley went back in commission, rejoining the
active fleet 23 September. Shakedown over, she sailed
July 1951 for another tour with the 6th Fleet in the
Mediterranean. Henley was detached from this duty and
made a cruise to northern European ports, including a
journey up the Seine to Rouen, before returning to Nor-
folk in February 1952.
In company with Destroyer Division 221, Henley de-
parted Norfolk 25 September 1953 for a world cruise which
was to take her 44,000 miles in 218 days. During this
period, Henley sailed through the Mediterranean and the
Suez Canal, participated in the filming of “The Bridges
of Toko-Ri” off the Korean and Japanese coasts, operated
with the 7th Fleet in Asian waters, and returned to the
States via the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. Fol-
lowing years fell into a pattern for Henley as she alter-
nated Mediterranean cruises with ASW and other tactical
exercises off the East Coast and in the Caribbean. In
1959 she joined Task Force 47 for the Inland Seas Cruise
to the Great Lakes through the newly completed St.
Lawrence Seaway. Nearly 75,000 mid-westerners visited
this representative of the “salt-water navy” in her 2-month
cruise.
When a crisis erupted in the fall of 1962 over offensive
missiles stationed in Cuba, Henley joined the fleet “quar-
antining” the island and reasserting America’s commit-
ment to democracy as well as self-defense. Following
this impressive demonstration of sea power, she then
returned to a peacetime pattern of readiness operations.
On 1 October 1964, Henley became a Group I, Naval Re-
serve training ship assigned to the Anti-Submarine War-
fare Component of the Naval Reserve. Following over-
haul at Newport News, Va., and refresher training at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she began the first of numerous
Naval Reserve training cruises out of Norfolk, Va., 1 May
1965. Manned by a nucleus crew, she cruised along the
Atlantic Coast and into the Caribbean during the next 2
years and provided valuable service as an at-sea training
platform for hundreds of Naval Reservists. Into mid-1967
she continued this vital duty both for officers and men of
the Naval Reserve and the Nation. With her anticraft
and shore bombardment capabilities, Henley maintains
a state of readiness that would allow the ship to begin
immediate operations with the Atlantic Fleet in any
emergency.
Henley, John D., see John D. Henley (DD-553)
Henlopen
A former name retained.
(SP-385 ; dp. 254 ; 1. 150' ; b. 24' ; dr. 9' ; s. 12 k. ; a. 1 3" )
Henlopen, a wooden fishing vessel, was built in 1912 by
W. G. Abbott of Milford, Del. She was acquired from
her owner, James W. Elwell & Co., New York City, 12
December 1917 at New York, and commissioned 26 Janu-
ary 1918.
Henlopen was only retained by the Navy for a short
time, being transferred 27 March 1918 at New York to
France for use as a tug and minesweeper.
Hennepin
A county in Minnesota.
( AK-187 : dp. 2,382 (It.) ; 1. 338'6" ; b. 50' ; dr. 21'1" ; s.
11.5 k. ; cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3", 6 20mm. ; cl. Alamosa; T. Cl-M-
AV1)
Hennepin (AK-187) was laid down under Maritime
Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc.,
Superior, Wis., 29 December 1943; launched 27 June
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. F. P. Heffelfinger ; acquired by
the Navy 7 June 1945 ; and commissioned b July 1945 at
Galveston, Tex., Lt. Comdr. Gavin L. Field in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Hennepin de-
parted Galveston 22 July to load cargo at Gulfport, Miss..
and New Orleans, La. She departed New Orleans 6 Au-
gust, steamed via the Panama Canal and the Marshalls,
and arrived Cebu, Philippines, 23 September. Assigned to
Service Squadron 8, she operated in the Philippines until
19 November when she departed Tacloban, Leyte, for
Australia. During the next month she loaded cargo at
Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane before sailing 17 De-
cember with provisions for occupation troops in Korea.
Steaming via Okinawa, she reached Jinsen 7 January
1946 ; then sailed for Japan the 25th. She arrived Yokosu-
ka 30 January, decommissioned 16 February, and trans-
ferred to the Army.
Hennepin was operated by the Army for the Supreme
Commander of Allied Forces in Japan until 1 July 1950
300
when she was reacquired by the Navy. After refitting
at Mitsubishi Shipyard, Kobe, Japan, she was assigned
to MSTS 28 February 1951 and designated T-AK 187.
Manned by a civilian crew, she participated in the Korean
supply run during the American effort to repel Communist
aggression in South Korea. Operating primarily out
of Moji and Sasebo, she transported vital military cargo
to American-held Korean ports during the remainder of
the conflict.
Following an uneasy truce in Korea, Hennepin con-
tinued supply runs between Japan and South Korea. In
response to the scheduled transfer of North Vietnam to
Communist control, she departed Yokohama 30 August
1954 to provide support for Operation “Passage to Free-
dom.” She arrived Haiphong, North Vietnam, 7 Septem-
ber, and for more than 3 months she transported cargo
southward to St. Jacques and Saigon. After completing
three runs to Saigon, she departed St. Jacques for Japan
22 December and arrived Sasebo 3 January 1955.
Between 1955 and 1958 Hennepin remained in the Far
East, supporting America’s determination to keep the
peace and contain Communism in Asia. She continued to
operate primarily between Japanese and South Korean
ports, but cargo runs in 1957 and 1958 again sent her to
Southeast Asia. Between 13 May and 3 July 1957 she
operated out of Saigon and Bangkok, and in addition
steamed to Karachi, Pakistan, and Bahrein Island
in the Persian Gulf. During September 1957 and April
1958 she steamed out of Yokohama, carrying cargo to
Saigon. After returning to Yokohama from Pusan, Korea,
21 June 1958, she was inactivated by the Navy 16 July.
She transferred to the Maritime Administration 27 March
1959.
Hennepin received one battle star for Korean war
service.
Henrico
A county in Virginia.
(APA-45 : dp. 8.100 (It.); 1. 492'; b. 69'6”: dr. 26'6" ;
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 479 ; a. 2 5", 8 40mm. ; cl. Bayfield; T. C3-
S-A2)
Henrico (APA^5), originally Sea Barter, was launched
31 March 1943 under Maritime Commission contract by
Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, Miss. ; sponsored by
Mrs. W. D. Pelan ; acquired 23 June 1943; and commis-
sioned next day for transfer to her conversion yard, Beth-
lehem Steel Co., Hoboken, N.J. Decommissioned 8 July
1943, Henrico was converted into AP-90 and recommis-
sioned 26 November 1943, Comdr. J. H. Willis in command.
Following shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay, the
attack transport remained to train Army combat teams
before departing Norfolk for New York 2 February 1944.
Arriving next day, Henrico embarked troops and sailed
for Scotland 11 February. Arriving the Firth of Clyde
22 February, the ship began strenuous amphibious train-
ing in preparation for the invasion of Normandy.
Henrico embarked her invasion troops 26 May at Port-
land, England, and sailed 5 June as a part of Rear Admiral
Hail’s Omaha Beach Assault Force. On the following day,
the world’s greatest amphibious invasion took place.
Henrico landed her troops in the first assault wave in the
face of heavy seas and strong enemy fortifications. As
the tempo of fighting increased, the ship received casual-
ties from the beaches, returning to Portland later on D-
day. As the all-important assault area was secured and
the advance began, Henrico stood by for shuttle duty,
finally sailing for the Firth of Clyde 19 June.
With the liberation of France underway, the transport
sailed 4 July 1944 to the Mediterranean for the invasion
of the southern coast of France. Arriving 16 July at
Naples, Henrico took part in amphibious rehearsals be-
fore departing 13 August from Oastellamare for the in-
vasion area. She landed her troops at Baie de Pom-
pelonne against light opposition and departed the next
day for Oran, Algeria. For the next 2 months she brought
troops and cargo into the beach area and on her last
shuttle brought English and Polish repatriates to Naples.
Henrico sailed from Naples 17 October 1944, arriving
Boston 8 November to prepare for duty in the western
Pacific. She departed Norfolk with troops and replace-
ment boats 13 December, steaming via the Panama Canal
and San Diego to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 23
January 1945. Five days later she sailed for the Phil-
ippines, arriving Leyte 21 February after stops at various
Pacific bases. In the Philippines the ship engaged in
amphibious exercises leading to the invasion of Okinawm,
last operation on the long island road to Japan itself.
The veteran ship was assigned to the Kerama Retto
attack group under Rear Admiral Kiland, and began the
landing 26 March. The important islands, needed as a
base for the invasion of nearby Okinawa, were secured
30 March. Henrico retired at night during the opera-
tion, and Japanese air attacks were nearly constant.
While retiring 2 April, the ship was attacked by a fast
suicide bomber diving out of a cloud formation. Al-
though Henrico quickly brought guns to bear, the plane
crashed into the starboard side of the bridge, her bombs ex-
ploding below'. The ship lost power but her well-trained
fire parties soon brought the flames under control. Forty-
nine officers and men were killed in this attack, includ-
ing Henrico’s captain, her embarked division command-
er, and the two troop commanders. Her executive officer
took command, however, and brought the ship to Kerama
Retto. She sailed under her own power for San Francisco
14 April and arrived 13 May, having contributed much to
the decisive compaign in the Pacific.
Henrico sailed from San Francisco Bay 1 September
with replacement troops for the Philippines. She con-
tinued to serve the “Magic Carpet” fleet assigned to return
the thousands of American soldiers from the Pacific, until
May 1946. She sailed 25 May from Pearl Harbor to take
part in the atomic tests at Bikini — Operation “Cross-
roads.” For the next 3 months Henrico supported these
vital scientific experiments, returning to San Francisco
29 August 1946. After operations on the West Coast, she
sailed 6 February 1947 for a cruise in the western Pacific,
returning in July. From 6 July 1948 to 25 February 1949
the ship operated in the Tsingtao, China, area in support
of American troops.
Early in 1950 Henrico took part in amphibious exercises
in the Caribbean, returning to San Diego 8 April 1950.
Soon afterward peace was shattered by the invasion of
South Korea, and Henrico was immediately called back to
the western Pacific. As Korean and American ground
troops struggled to stem the Communist advance, Henrico
and other ships embarked the 1st Marine Brigade and
sailed 12 July for Korea. She developed mechanical
trouble which forced a return 2 days later, but skillful
repair work had her at sea again 18 July and by 2 August
she was with the original formation as they steamed into
Pusan with the vitally needed troops.
In the early stages of the Korean Conflict, Henrico
played an important part. She landed troops at the deci-
sive Inchon beachhead 15 September 1950, one of the most
brilliantly executed amphibious operations in history ;
and, as United Nations troops swept northward, she sailed
to various ports deploying and supplying the soldiers. In
November Chinese troops made their appearance on a
massive scale, and by December U.N. ground units in the
Wonsan-Hungnam area were cut off. During December
Henrico and other ships evacuated thousands of soldiers
from the two ports to stabilize the lines farther south.
Command of the sea had again, as so many times in his-
tory, meant the critical difference.
The veteran attack transport arrived Seattle 22 March
1951, and after repairs and amphibious exercises sailed
again for Korea 16 October 1951. During this second tour
she carried troops to strategic points on the coast, and
took part in amphibious operations for training purposes.
She arrived San Diego 26 July 1952, and in September
returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs and training.
Henrico sailed again for Korean waters 7 March 1953.
resuming the important job of redeploying troops along the
301
coasts and to Japan. During July and August she oper-
ated between Pusan and Japan, and joined in the transfer
of prisoners following the armistice agreement. For her
outstanding performance during the first months of the
conflict, Henrico was awarded the Navy Unit Commenda-
tion.
Arriving San Francisco 24 August 1953, the attack trans-
port engaged in coastal training operations for the next
year. She sailed for another tour in the Far Bast 24
October 1954, and participated in an amphibious training
exercise in December. As war over the Tachen Islands
threatened in February, Henrico and other naval units
moved in 8 February 1955 to evacuate Nationalist Chinese
troops. After arriving Keelung, Formosa, 13 February ;
she carried troops between the Philippines and Hong Kong
before returning to San Diego 22 April 1955.
Hereafter the ship deployed annually to the western
Pacific with the 7th Fleet to engage in amphibious war-
fare training exercises in Korea, in Okinawa, and in the
Philippines, contributing to the combat readiness of both
United States Marines and the troops of SEATO members.
Henrico was diverted to the Caribbean Sea 27 October
1962 after deployment of communist missiles in Cuba
brought a swift and strict American quarantine of the
island. Henrico arrived on the scene 5 November. Her
embarked Marines provided part of a ready force to sup-
plement the naval blockade if this proved necessary.
When the missiles were removed, the crisis subsided, and
Henrico departed the Caribbean 6 December for San Diego,
Calif., arriving 15 December.
The ship resumed amphibious training duties on the
West Coast until 16 December 1964, when she deployed
again with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacific. Loading
a Marine Battalion Landing Team at Okinawa, the ship
departed 11 January 1965 for Hong Kong, arriving 14
January. On 20 January she commenced special opera-
tions in the South China Sea as the 7th Fleet joined in the
intensive buildup of strength in southeast Asia.
In an impressive display of mobile power, Henrico dis-
embarked her Marines at Da Nang, South Vietnam, in
early March, returned to Okinawa for a second landing
team which reached Da Nang 15 April. By 21 April, the
ship embarked a third landing team bound for Chu Lai,
South Vietnam. Offloading these troops 7 May, Henrico
made a fourth passage to Okinawa to return with the
headquarters unit of the 3d Marine Division, which ar-
rived in Chu Lai 21 May.
Following her performance off South Vietnam, the ship
sailed from Yokosuka, Japan, 28 May for San Diego,
arriving 16 June. During the next 13 months Henrico
operated out of San Diego along the coast of Southern
California, conducting squadron exercises and supporting
amphibious training operations. After embarking Ma-
rines at San Diego, she sailed for the Far East 27 July,
and debarked her passengers at Da Nang a month later.
During the next 7 months she carried troop reinforce-
ments and replacements from Okinawa and the Philippines
to American oases in South Vietnam. In addition she
ranged the coastal waters of Vietnam from the demilita-
rized zone to the Mekong Delta, supporting important am-
phibious assaults against Viet Cong coastal strongholds.
She departed Vietnam late in March 1967 and returned to
San Diego the following month. Maintaining her readi-
ness in support of amphibious assult operations, Henrico
into mid-1967 remained ready to resume her important
duty as part of America’s powerful naval force in the
Far East.
Henrico earned three battle stars for World War II
service and nine for Korean War service. She won a
Navy Unit Commendation in Korea.
Henry, George G., see George G. Henry
Henry IV, see YM-27
Henry A. Wiley
Henry Aristo Wiley was born in Pike County, Ala., 31
January 1867 and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1888. He served in Maple during the Spanish-American
War and attained his first command, Villalobos, in 1994.
During the First World War Wiley commanded battleship
Wyoming attached to the 6th Battle Squadron of the
British Grand Fleet and received the Distinguished Serv-
ice Medal for his outstanding performance. After various
shore and fleet commands, he was appointed Admiral in
1927 and served as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet, until
his retirement in 1929 after over 40 years of service.
Admiral Wiley served in the years that followed as Chair-
man of the Maritime Commission and in other important
government posts until being recalled to active duty in
1941. In the next year he headed the Navy Board of
Production Awards. Admiral Wiley retired once more
2 January 1943 and died 20 May 1943 at Palm Beach, Fla.
(DM-29 : dp. 2,200 ; 1. 376'5” ; b. 41' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
epl. 336; a. 3 5”, 8 20mm. ; cl. Robert A. Smith)
Henry A. Wiley (DM-29) was launched 21 April 1944
as DD-749 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth W. Robb, daughter of Admiral
Henry A. Wiley ; reclassified DM-29 20 July 1944 and com-
missioned 31 August 1944, Comdr. R. E. Gadrow in
command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, the new minelayer
rendezvoused with the battleships Texas, Arkansas, and
Missouri and sailed 8 November for the Pacific to earn
her nickname “Hammering Hank.” Henry A. Wiley
reached Pearl Harbor 9 December to prepare for the im-
pending Iwo Jima campaign. As escort to the battleship
New York, she rendezvoused with other ships of the Gun
Fire and Covering Force off the rocky Japanese island
16 February 1945, 3 days before the initial landings. She
remained there until 9 March, to provide fire support and
screen ships often operating a mere 400 yards from Mount
Suribachi. The minelayer poured some 3,600 rounds into
the Japanese fortress.
A second and even more arduous campaign followed
for Henry A. Wiley — Okinawa, the largest amphibious
operation of the Pacific war. Reaching her position 23
March, D-day minus eight, she began to screen mine-
sweepers as they cleared channels for transports and sup-
port ships. Japanese resistance was fierce and air at-
tacks were almost unceasing. On 28 March Henry A.
Wiley splashed two kamikazes, and the next morning in
15 hectic minutes saw a bomb explode 50 yards astern,
downed two more kamikazes, and rescued a downed fighter
pilot. While screening transports on 1 April, D-day at
Okinawa, Henry A. Wiley destroyed his fifth kamikaze.
The battle-tried ship then shifted to radar picket duty
and spent a total of 34 days on this important task alert-
ing other ships of enemy air attacks. In this period
Henry A. Wiley took 64 enemy aircraft under fire, destroy-
ing several. The morning of 4 May proved especially
eventful. She began by splashing a Betty at 0307. When
her sister ship Luce was reported sinking, Henry A. Wiley
proceeded to her aid, but came under heavy air attack.
In less than a quarter hour of heavy fighting, the valiant
ship splashed three kamikazes and two Baka bombers, one
of which was closing from the starboard quarter when
it was hit by Henry A. Wiley's accurate fire. It hit the
water, bounced over the fantail, and exploded just off the
port quarter. Having expended nearly 5,000 rounds of
5 inch and AA ammunition, the minelayer then proceeded
to rescue survivors from Luce. For her intrepid actions
off Okinawa, which resulted in the destruction of 15
Japanese planes, Henry A. Wiley received the coveted
Presidential Unit Citation, and her skipper the Navy
Cross and Legion of Merit.
From Okinawa Henry A. Wiley sailed for the East
China Sea, entering 12 June to screen minesweepers at-
tempting to clear that vast body of water. She remained
on this duty, with brief respites at Buckner Bay, until
302
peace came. Even this was ushered in to the sound of
“Hammering Hank’s” guns, as on the night of 14 August,
24 hours before final orders to cease offensive operations
against the Japanese were received, she went to General
Quarters 6 times at the approach of enemy aircraft,
finally opening fire on the 6th run as an attack run was
commenced. Henry A. Wiley remained in the Pacific
to screen and guide minesweepers through the end of 1945.
She streamed her homeward bound pennant 17 January
1946 and on 7 February reached San Francisco via Eni-
wetok and Pearl Harbor. Henry A. Wiley decommis-
sioned at San Francisco 29 January 1947 and went into
reserve at San Diego, where she remains into 1967.
In addition to the Presidential Unit Commendation,
Henry A. Wiley received four battle stars for her par-
ticipation in World War II.
Henry Andrew
A merchant name retained.
(ScSTr : t. 177; 1. 150'; b. 26'; dph. 7'6" ; a. 2 32-pdr., 1
20-pdr. )
Henry Andrew was originally built in 1847 at New York
as a sailing brig, and converted to steam in 1859. She
was purchased from her owner, Mr. Van Santvoord, at
New York 10 September 1861. Her first commanding
officer was Acting Master S. W. Mather.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Henry Andrew arrived on her blockading station in No-
vember 1861. She reconnoitered the Vernon River 11
December and 20 December was sent to blockade the en-
trance to Wassaw Sound. Being of light draft, Henry
Andrew was especially valuable in stopping blockade
running and gaining intelligence in the shallow rivers and
sounds of the coast. She participated 17 January-18
February 1862 in an expedition up Wright’s and Mud
Rivers for the purpose of finding a channel into the
Savannah River, encountering no Confederate opposition
except a small battery near Red Bluff.
Henry Andrew was reassigned to Fernandina, Fla., 18
March, and took up duties off Fernandina and Mosquito
Inlet. Boats from the steamer and Penguin entered
Mosquito Inlet on a reconnaissance 21 March and next day
were fired upon by batteries and musketry, killing the
captains of both Henry Andrew and Penguin. Subse-
quently, the ship was active in the blockade off Mosquito
Inlet, Stono River, and other points on the coast until
sent to Winyah Bay, S.C., where she arrived 21 June 1862.
An expedition up the Santee River was organized in
late June and Henry Andrew was designated to accom-
pany it. The ships entered the river 24 June, recon-
noitered the area, and were fired on by shore batteries on
the shore. Returning 3 July, Henry Andrew resumed
blockading duties off Stono River until ordered to New
York in August for extensive repairs.
While steaming north, Henry Andrew encountered
heavy weather off Cape Hatteras. She was battered
about badly and went ashore south of Cape Henry,
Virginia, 24 August 1862. No lives were lost but the ship
was a total wreck and was not salvaged.
Henry B. Wilson
Henry Braid Wilson was born 23 February 1861 at
Camden, N.J., and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1881. During the early days of his career he served in
Tennessee and Saratoga and on coast survey expeditions
to the Bering Sea. During the Spanish-American war
Wilson was attached to gunboat Bancroft and was com-
mended for bravery. In the years that followed he
served in many ships, and was Pennsylvania’s first com-
manding officer in 1916. He commanded the Atlantic
Fleet’s patrol forces during the First World War, and was
responsible for the safe convoying of troops and supplies
to Europe. For his outstanding service Wilson was
awarded both the Navy and War Department Distin-
guished Service Medals. Following the war, he was
Commander-in-Chief U.S. Atlantic Fleet and later the
Battle Fleet commander. In 1921 Admiral Wilson took
over as Superintendent of the Naval Academy, and in his
4 years at Annapolis did much to raise its academic
standing and improve the quality of education. Admiral
Wilson retired in 1925 after nearly 50 years of service as
seaman, leader, and educator. He died 30 January 1954
at New York City.
(DDG-7 : dp. 3,370 ; 1. 437' ; b. 47' ; dr. 22' ; s. over 30 kc. ;
cpl. 340; a. Tartar mis., ASROC, 2 5"; cl. Charles F.
Adams)
Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) was launched 22 April 1959
by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Patrick J. Hurley, daughter of Admiral Wilson ; and
commissioned 17 December 1960, Comdr. L. D. Caney in
command.
One of a new class of destroyers built from the keel up
to fire guided missiles, Henry B. Wilson was the first ship
of her size to be side-launched and when launched was
the largest warship ever constructed on the Great Lakes.
Because of these unique circumstances, she was christened
not with the traditional champagne but with a bottle filled
with water from the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River,
and the Atlantic Ocean. Following shakedown in the
Caribbean she arrived in early May 1961 at her new home
port, San Diego. During the months that followed Henry
B. Wilson conducted tests and drills of her missile systems,
fleet exercises, and type training.
The guided missile destroyer sailed 6 January 1962 for
duty in the Western Pacific, the first ship in that region
to be armed with Tartar missiles. Stopping at Pearl
Harbor and Yokosuka, she carried out antisubmarine
exercises until returning to the United States 19 July
1962.
Training off the California coast, punctuated with sev-
eral missile firings, occupied Henry B. Wilson until 17
October 1963, when she sailed with carrier Kitty Hawk
for duty with 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific. During
the next 5 months she operated as part of America’s mobil
peacekeeping fleet between Japan and the Philippines.
After returning to San Diego 16 April 1964, she resumed
ASW and fire support operations.
Henry B. Wilson sailed on her third deployment to
the Far East 4 June 1965. Arriving Subic Bay, Luzon,
21 June, she became flagship for Destroyer Squadron 21,
then began rescue and air defense picket duty in the Gulf
of Tonkin 31 July, along with shore bombardment sup-
port. As escort for Midway (CV-41), she departed Subic
Bay 7 November and arrived San Diego the 24th.
After a year’s operation off the West Coast, Henry B.
Wilson departed San Diego for the Far East 5 November
1966. She resume picket duty off Vietnam 23 December.
During the first 3 months of 1967 she cruised the South
China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin, performing search and
rescue missions and pounding enemy coastal positions in
support of ground operations. She returned to San Diego
early in May. Into mid-1967 she continued to maintain
the peak readiness of her crewr and equipment for what-
ever task the defense of the Nation and the free world
might demand.
Henry Brinker
A former name retained.
(ScStr : 1. 108 ; 1. 82' ; b. 26'7" ; dph. 6'2" ; s. 7 k. ;
a. 1 30-pdr.)
Henry Brinker was built in 1861 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and
was purchased at New York by the Navy 29 October 1861
from her owner, Henry Brinker. She arrived Hampton
Roads 15 December 1861 and commissioned that day,
Acting Master John E. Giddings commanding. After sail-
ing to Baltimore 24 December, Henry Brinker arrived
303
Hatteras Inlet 10 January 1862 to begin her duties as a
unit of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Her
first major action was the joint attack on Roanoke Island,
the gateway to Albemarle Sound. Henry Brinker engaged
Confederate shore batteries 7 February and helped to
clear the obstructions next morning which paved the way
for the capture of the Southern positions. Thus Norfolk
was cut off from its lines of supply and the Union gained
an important advantage.
The Confederate squadron under Flag Officer Lynch
which had been at Roanoke Island withdrew up the
Pasquotank River, with Union ships in hot pursuit.
Henry Brinker and the other ships of Commander Rowan’s
flotilla engaged the squadron and batteries at Elizabeth
City, capturing or sinking all the Southern vessels and
occupying the town.
Continuing their series of spectacular successes in North
Carolina, Commander Rowan and General Burnside next
captured New Bern. The flotilla, composed of thirteen
warships including Henry Brinker and a group of troop
transports, got underway 12 March from Hatteras Inlet
and arrived New Bern the next day. The Confederate
forts were engaged by gunboats, the obstructions sur-
mounted, and troops landed under cover of Navy guns.
New Bern and a great quantity of important supplies
were soon in Union hands.
Henry Brinker was assigned to Albemarle Sound fol-
lowing the victory at New Bern, patrolling to suppress
trade and contain the Confederate guerrilla activity. On
this duty she participated in a reconnaissance up the
Chowan River 3-23 August 1862.
For the next months Henry Brinker patrolled from her
base at Hatteras Inlet, stopping frequently at Plymouth,
and New Bern, N.C. During this period she performed
occasional guard duty at Hatteras Inlet as well. The ship
participated 22 June 1863 in another expedition, this time
up the Bay River, and in company with Shawsheen cap-
tured Confederate schooner Henry Clay and another
small schooner carrying turpentine. Henry Brinker con-
tinued her operations in the Sound until ordered back to
Hampton Roads in November 1863 for repairs. Stopping
at Hampton Roads, she continued to Baltimore, where she
repaired until 9 April 1864, when she was assigned as a
tender to Minnesota at Newport News, Va. Remaining
inactive at Newport News until June, Henry Brinker was
sent up the Pamunkey River to White House, Va., 23 June
to support the Army in local operations. After briefly
rendering fire support, the ship returned to Yorktown.
Henry Brinker returned to Hampton Roads to repair
1 July 1864, and remained there until decommissioned
29 June 1865. She was sold 20 July 1865.
Henry Clay
Henry Clay was bora in Hanover County, Va., in 1777,
studied law under the great George Wythe, and became
a practicing lawyer in 1797. He moved from Virginia to
Kentucky, quickly gained a reputation as a lawyer and
orator, and served as a state and national legislator. Clay
served in the House of Representatives with various in-
terruptions from 1811 to 1825, was a leader of the “War
Hawks,” and acted as spokesman for western expansionist
interests. Much of the time serving as speaker, he wielded
great power through the formulation of his American sys-
tem, and was responsible for the Missouri Compromise of
1820. Clay ran for the presidency in 1824 ; and after help-
ing to swing the election to John Quincy Adams in the
House of Representatives, served as Adams’ Secretary
of State from 1825 to 1829. He was elected to the Senate in
1831 and beaten by Jackson in the presidential election
of 1832. During his years in the Senate Henry Clay
fought for the National Bank and internal improvements
and was a chief bulwark of the Whig party. His efforts
to prevent sectional conflict, culminating in the Com-
promise of 1850 earned him the name “The Great Com-
promiser.” In 1844 Polk defeated him in his third try
for the presidency. He continued his efforts to save the
Union until his death in 1852, closing 50 years of service
which won him a permanent place in history as one of
America’s greatest statesmen.
(SSB(N)-625: dp. 7,250; 1. 425'; b. 33'; dr. 32'; s. over
20 k. ; cpl. 122 ; a. Pol. mis. ; cl. Lafayette)
Henry Clay (SSBN-625) was launched 30 November
1962 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., New-
port News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. Green B. Gibson, great-
granddaughter of Henry Clay ; and commissioned 20 Feb-
ruary 1964, Comdr. J. C. Lewis (gold crew) and Comdr.
T. A. Bryce (blue crew) in command.
A modern atomic-powered submarine designed to fire
the second generation Polaris ballistic missile, Henry Clay
conducted shakedown off the coast of Florida beginning
28 February 1964. She completed her first submerged
firing 6 April 1964 and returned to Newport News 29
May 1904. The submarine then sailed to her new home
port, Charleston, S.C., and departed for her first deploy-
ment 17 August 1964. Joining America’s strong and mobile
deterrent force beneath the seas, she began her operations
in the protection of the free world. By January 1967 she
had completed 11 patrols as a ready and powerful deter-
rent to aggression. At present assigned to Submarine
Squadron 14, Henry Clay in mid-1967 continues to cruise
the depths of her assigned patrol areas where she serves
both as an instrument of peace and, at a moment’s notice
if need be, as a lethal weapon of war.
Henry County
Counties in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.
I
(IX-34 ; dp. 3,640 ; 1. 253'6" ; b. 43'8" ; dr. 15'6" ; cpl. 37)
The first Henry County (IX-34) was built by the Amer-
ican Ship Building Co., Cleveland, Ohio. She commis-
sioned at Portsmouth, Va., on 27 May 1930, Comdr. B. V.
MeCandlish in command.
She sailed for the West Coast on 12 July, transiting the
Panama Canal on 23 July and arriving in San Diego via
Corinto, Nicaragua, on 13 August. Henry County de-
commissioned at Mare Island, Calif., on 22 August 1930
and was loaned to the State of California that same day.
She was renamed California State on 23 January 1931
and was finally transferred to the Maritime Commission
on 30 June 1940.
II
( LST-824 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11’ ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266 ; a. 8 40mm„ 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511 )
The second Henry County (LST-824) was laid down as
LST-824 by Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville,
Ind., 28 September 1944 ; launched 8 November ; sponsored
by Mrs. Harry W. Groot; and commissioned 30 Novem-
ber, Lt. Jesse D. Jones in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-824 departed New
Orleans 4 January 1945 for San Diego, arriving there on
the 24th. She embarked 107 bluejackets, then sailed for
Pearl Harbor 26 January. During February she per-
formed training exercises out of Hawaii, then loaded
troops and equipment to depart Pearl Harbor 12 March.
For the next month she steamed through the Pacific,
stopping at Eniwetok, Guam, and Saipan before proceed-
ing to Okinawa. American forces were already engaged
in the fierce struggle to wrestle Okinawa from enemy
control when LST-824 departed Saipan 12 April. Five
days later she arrived off China Wan and commenced dis-
charging troops and equipment on the embattled island.
The landing ship returned to Saipan 27 April for reinforce-
ment troops and cargo, and again steamed for Okinawa.
For the remainder of World War II, she shuttled supplies
between Okinawa and the Philippines in preparation for a
possible invasion of Japan.
304
After the Japanese surrender, LST-82J/ operated with
occupation forces in the Far East until sailing for the
United States in November. Arriving Portland, Oreg., 5
December, she decommissioned there 15 May 1946, and
joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed with the
Columbia River Group, LST-82Jt was named Henry County
1 July 1955.
Henry County recommissioned 5 September 1959, Lt.
R. L. Dodd in command. After refresher training, LST-
82/f departed the West Coast 19 March 1960 for the Far
East, arriving Yokosuka 2 weeks later. During the next
4 months she transported supplies, performed training
exercises with U.S. Marines, and engaged in joint opera-
tions with Korean forces before returning Long Beach
19 August.
Following 20 months of operations along the West Coast,
Henry County sailed for the mid-Pacific in April 1962, then
performed transport and amphibious duties out of Hawaii.
In September she was assigned to Task Force 8 for the
nuclear tests in Operation “Dominie.” Since the tests
were considered vital to the nation’s security, the Navy
demonstrated her ability once again to keep pace with
the advances of technology developed to maintain peace
through strength.
From December 1962 through December 1964, Henry
County performed amphibious training operations off the
California coast.
LST-82Jf received one battle star for World War II
service.
Henry Gibbins
An Army name retained. Major General Henry Gib-
bins was Quartermaster General of the Army.
( T-AP 183 : dp. 10,556 ; 1. 489' ; b. 70' ; dr. 26' ; s. 16.5 k. ;
T. 03-1 N P&C)
Henry Gibbins (T-AP 183) was laid down as Biloxi
under Maritime Commission contract by Ingalls Shipbuild-
ing Corp., Pascagoula, Miss., 23 August 1941 ; launched 11
November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. H. I. Ingalls, Jr.;
delivered to the Army Transportation Service 27 February
1943. She was renamed Henry Gibbins and served the
Army as a troop transport during World War II.
She was acquired by the Navy from the Army 1 March
1950, and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation
Service. During the Korean War she transported men
and equipment from New York to Caribbean and Canal
Zone ports, prior to their assignment in the Pacific. In
1953, Henry Gibbins operated on the New York to
Bremerhaven, Germany, and Southampton, England, runs,
making a total of 12 cruises to these European ports.
From 1954 until late 1959 the veteran transport steamed
from New York to the Caribbean over 75 times, sailed to
the Mediterranean on 3 occasions, and crossed the Atlantic
to Northern Europe 8 times. During this time Henry
Gibbins shuttled thousands of troops and tons of supplies
between the United States and her foreign bases.
Henry Gibbins was transferred from MSTS to the Mar-
itime Administration 2 December 1959, at Fort Schuyler,
N.Y., for service with the New York Maritime College.
Henry Janes
A merchant name retained.
( Sch : t. 260 ; 1. 109'9'' ; b. 29'8" ; dph. 9' ; a. 1 13'' mortar,
2 32-pdr. )
Henry Janes, a motor schooner, was purchased by the
Navy from her owners, Van Brunt and Slaght, at New
York 27 September 1861. She commissioned at New
York Navy Yard 30 January 1862, Acting Master L. W.
Pennington commanding.
Chosen by the department to be a part of Comdr. D. D.
Porter’s Motar Flotilla, Henry Janes was fitted with
a mortar and proceeded to rendezvous with the other ves-
sels under Porter’s command at Key West. With the
flotilla formed by the end of February, it sailed to join
the West Gulf Blockading Squadron for the Mississippi
River operations specifically aimed at the capture of New
Orleans.
Henry Janes and the other ships passed over the bar
and into the Mississippi River 18 March in preparation
for the attack on Forts Jackson and St Phillip. Below
New Orleans the mortars opened fire on the forts 18 April
and kept up a steady and devastating bombardment until
Flag Officer Farragut passed with his fleet 24 April, de-
feated the Confederate Squadron, and steamed trium-
phantly to New Orleans. The loss of this great shipping
center, largest and wealthiest city in the South, was a
disaster from which the South had no hope of recovery.
After thus aiding in the key victory at New Orleans,
the mortar schooners returned to Ship Island, Miss.,
6 May. There they remained until they were called upon
to aid in the bombardment of another Confederate strong-
hold— Vicksburg. Arriving below the city 20 June, Henry
Janes and the other ships supported Farragut with their
fire as he passed the batteries 28 June to join with
Commodore C. H. Davis farther up the river. The ships
remained off Vicksburg in July and Henry Janes bom-
barded the city’s defenses on the 15th, before proceeding
downriver, engaging shore batteries as she went.
Assigned to the blockading forces off the coast of Texas,
the schooner’s next action, at Sabine Pass, was against
Confederate batteries near Sabine City. The Union ves-
sels entered the pass 21 September and forced the de-
fenders to evacuate their fortifications 4 days later.
Although Sabine City was captured, the Union could
dominate only the waters in the area as no occupying
troops were available. Henry Janes returned to blockad-
ing duties, with occasional boat expeditions into the in-
numerable passes and inlets of the Texas coast. On one
such expedition, 20 November 1862, an entire boat crew
from the schooner was captured by Confederates at Mata-
gorda Bay.
For the next 18 months, Henry Janes performed block-
ade and gunfire duties at various stations of the West
Gulf Blockading Squadron. She was below Port Hudson
in June 1863 and from February to May 1864 operated
off Fort Powell, near Mobile, and Pensacola, Fla. She
was sent to New York 5 May 1864 for repairs to her hull
and replacement of her mortar. The ship was subse-
quently turned over to the ordnance department 8 August,
and assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
as an ordnance vessel.
Henry Janes sailed from New York 30 August to report
in the sounds of North Carolina on ordnance duty. She
remained there until sent north in June 1865, decommis-
sioned 12 July 1865, and was sold to George Burnham, Jr.,
20 July 1865 at Portsmouth, N.H.
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson, born in New York City 21 Sep-
tember 1867. graduated from Yale in 1888. After graduate
work and law school at Harvard, he entered the law
firm headed by Elihu Root in 1891 and two years later
became a partner.
In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Here he made a distinguished record prosecuting anti-
trust cases. After defeat as Republican candidate for
governor of New York in 1910, Stimson was appointed
Secretary of War in 1911. He continued the reorganiza-
tion of the Army begun by Root, bringing it to high effi-
ciency prior to its vast expansion in World War I.
Following the outbreak of war, he was a leader in the
American effort to aid the stricken people of Belgium.
After the United States became a belligerent, he served
in France as an artillery officer reaching rank of Colonel
in August 1918.
His success in several important diplomatic assignments
and as Governor-General of the Philippine Islands led to
Stimson’s appointment as Secretary of State in 1929. His
305
management of the Nation’s foreign affairs was high-
lighted by his strong opposition to Japanese occupation
of Manchuria, the first aggressive step which led to World
War II.
Returning to private life at the end of President
Hoover’s administration Stimson was an outspoken ad-
vocate of strong opposition to Japanese aggression. In
1941 President Roosevelt returned him to his old post at
the head of the War Department and he skillfully directed
the tremendous expansion of the Army to the force of
over 10,000,000 men which crushed Axis ground forces in
Europe and the Pacific.
Stimson retired from public office 21 September 1945 and
died at Huntington, N.Y., 20 October 1950.
(SSB(N) -655 : dp. 7250 ; 1. 425' ; b. 33' ; dr. 32' ; s. over 20
k. ; cpl. 122; a. 16 A-3 Polaris missiles, 4 21" tt. ; cl.
Lafayette)
Henry L. Stimson (SSB(N)-655) was laid down 4 April
1964 by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics
Corp., Groton, Conn. ; launched 13 November 1965 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Thomas J. Dodd, wife of Senator Dodd of
Conn. ; and commissioned 20 August 1966, Captain
Richard E. Jortberg (blue crew) and Comdr. Robert H.
Weeks (gold crew) in command.
Following shakedown, Henry L. Stimson prepared for
her role as one of the Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines
silently and invisibly roving the seas as a mighty de-
terrent against agression, preserving peace and protecting
freedom.
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 16, Henry L. Stimson
departed Charleston, S.C., 23 February 1967 on her first
deterrent patrol. After successfully completing patrols in
her assigned areas with each of her two crews, she con-
tinues in mid-1967 to serve the Nation as part of the
first line of defense against any hostile power.
Henry P. Williams
Henry P. Williams (SP-509) was a converted yacht
which served as a minesweeping training craft and patrol
boat 1917-18. Built as yacht Illawarra by Bath Iron
Works, Bath, Maine, in 1896, she was originally taken
into the Navy in 1898 as Oneida (q.v.).
Henry R. Kenyon
Henry Russell Kenyon, Jr., was born 4 February 1916
in Bronxville, N.Y., and enlisted in the Navy 5 November
1940. He was discharged in 1941 to accept an appoint-
ment as Aviation Cadet and was commissioned Ensign
4 August 1941. After undergoing advanced flight training
Kenyon joined Torpedo Squadron 8 for duty in the Pacific.
He flew as a member of that squadron from famous car-
rier Hornet in the Battle of Midway 4 June 1942. The
squadron took off to attack the enemy fleet without fighter
cover in the face of murderous opposition. Knowing that
they had insufficient fuel to return to the carrier. Kenyon
and his comrades attacked gallantly until all were shot
down. Ens. Kenyon was presumed dead 5 June 1942 and
was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroic
actions.
( DE-683 : dp. 1,400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
186 ; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ,
3 21" tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Henry R. Kenyon (DE-683) was launched by Bethle-
hem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., 30 October 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Verna Markham Kenyon, widow ; and com-
missioned 30 November 1943, Comdr. C. M. Lyons, Jr., in
command.
After her shakedown off Bermuda, Henry R. Kenyon
returned to Boston. She was underway 26 January 1944
on a tour of convoy escort duty in the Caribbean, a
fertile field for German submarines. Returning to Boston
again 6 June, the ship underwent training in Casco Bay,
Maine, and had her torpedo tubes replaced by additional
antiaircraft guns. Assigned to an Atlantic escort group,
she made five transatlantic voyages between 4 July 1944
and 30 August 1945, providing antisubmarine and anti-
aircraft protection in the Atlantic and eastern Mediter-
ranean.
With the Battle of the Atlantic won, the destroyer
escort proceeded 15 May from Norfolk through the
Panama Canal and into the western Pacific theater. Ar-
riving off Leyte 7 July, she spent the remainder of the
war escorting ships in the Philippines and to New Guinea
and Okinawa. After the surrender of Japan in August,
Henry R. Kenyon continued to operate in the Philippines
and off the coast of Japan until departing Manila for the
United States 26 November.
Arriving San Diego 17 December, she remained in that
port except for periodic training cruises until decommis-
sioning 3 February 1947. She joined the Pacific Reserve
Fleet and berthed at Mare Island, Calif., later to be moved
to Stockton, Calif. — a part of the “Reserve Sea Power’’
essential to the security of our Nation.
Henry R. Mallory
A former name retained.
(ID-1280; dp. 10,910 n. ; 1. 440'2" ; b. 54'6" ; dr. 24' ; s. 15
k.;a. 4 5")
Henry R. Mallory , a troop transport, was built by New-
port News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News,
Va., in 1916, and operated by Mallory Lines before being
acquired by the Navy 13 April 1918. She commissioned
17 April 1918.
The transport was used to carry members of the Ameri-
can Expeditionary Force to Europe through the sub-
marine-infested waters, carrying up to 2.200 troops per
passage. After the war, she was transferred to the War
Department, 23 October 1919, and later acquired by
Agwilines, Inc. After many years of passenger service,
she was used as a troopship by the War Shipping
Administration in World War II. Henry R. Mallory
was torpedoed and sunk 500 miles south of Iceland 9
February 1943.
Henry Seymour
A former name retained.
(SchBar:t. 160; 1.91' (b.p.) ; b. 30'7" ; dr. 10')
Henry Seymour (SP-3225), a wooden schooner barge,
was built in 1890 by A. C. Brown, Staten Island, N.Y. ;
purchased by the Navy from her owner, Merritt & Chap-
man Co., New York City, in 1918; taken over 22 Septem-
ber 1918 ; and commissioned 18 October 1918. Assigned
to the 3d Naval District, she operated out of New York
harbor as a salvage barge. She decommissioned 15 May
1919 and was sold by the Navy the same day.
Henry T. Allen
An Army name retained.
( AP-30 : dp. 21,900 limiting; 1. 535' ; b. 72' ; dr. 31'3" ; s.
16 k.; a. 1 5", 4 3")
Henry T. Allen (AP-30) was launched as an Army
transport under the Shipping Board in 1920 by New York
Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. Com-
pleted in 1921 as Wenatchee, she was operated by Pacific
Steamship Co. until November 1922, and renamed Presi-
dent Jefferson. She then operated for and was purchased
by Admiral Oriental Line. The ship was laid up in Seat-
tle in 1938, and was purchased by the Army in October
1940. Renamed Henry T. Allen by the Army, the ship
was then acquired by the Navy 6 December 1941 and
placed in partial commission for conversion to Navy use
at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, Calif. Henry T. Allen
commissioned in full 22 April 1942, Captain P. A. Stevens
commanding.
306
After completion of outfitting, Henry T. Alleti made one
troop carrying voyage to Honolulu and return. Arriv-
ing San Diego 18 June 1942, she took part in amphibious
landing exercises until August, helping to mold the potent
American assault forces which would be a decisive factor
in the Pacific war. The ship sailed 22 August via the
Canal Zone for Norfolk, where she arrived 11 September
for more landing training on the Maryland coast.
Henry T. Allen was to take part in cross-ocean invasion,
Operation Torch. The ship departed 23 October for North
Africa as part of the Northern Attack Force, serving as
flagship for transports in that phase of the operation. The
force arrived off Mehedia, near strategic Port Lyautey,
7 November and Henry T. Allen began that morning to
unload her Army troops from the transport area. She
remained off the beaches occasionally subjected to fire
from shore batteries until 15 November. She then helped
consolidate the successful landing by mooring at Casa-
blanca to unload cargo. The transport sailed 17 Novem-
ber and arrived Norfolk the 30th.
Following the important North Africa landings, during
which much was learned about amphibious operations,
Henry T. Allen was assigned to the Pacific, a theater in
which amphibious assaults were to play a central role.
Carrying Marines, she sailed 17 December and arrived
Tutuila, Samoa group, via the Canal Zone, 13 January
1943. The ship also transported troops to Noumea and
Espiritu Santo and while at the latter port 1 February
1943 was redesignated an attack transport, APA-15.
Until March 1944 Henry T. Allen operated between
New Guinea and Australian ports, carrying both Amer-
ican and Australian troops in support of the Allied of-
fensive in New Guinea and the Solomons. She made
many passages through the dangerous waters of the Coral
Sea, and on one occasion, 13 July 1943 detected a torpedo
track approaching her port bow. Alert action brought
the transport around and out of danger, the torpedo pass-
ing a scant 50 yards ahead.
Henry T. Allen sailed from Buna 26 March for training
exercises on Goodenough Island with the U.S. 24th Divi-
sion, completing 16 April. The ship then got underway
17 April for the important Hollandia operation, the joint
attack on Central New Guinea. Henry T. Allen joined
Admiral Barbey’s group for the landings at Tanahmerah
Bay 22 April and after their success was assured steamed
to Cape Sudest, New Guinea, 24 April. The ship spent the
next few weeks transporting troops into Hollandia to con-
solidate gains and prepare for the next step in the west-
ward advance toward the Philippines. Henry T. Allen
anchored at Aitape 15 May to load troops for the Wakde-
Sarmi landings, and got underway the next day for a
run of 120 miles undetected by the Japanese. Under a
brisk naval bombardment the transport unloaded on the
17th and returned to Hollandia.
The veteran transport spent the rest of her career as
a flagship for various amphibious commands. Until Sep-
tember 1944 she performed training exercises on Bougain-
ville and New Guinea, and after a voyage to Queensland,
Australia, arrived Hollandia 3 October 1944. There she
received additional equipment and supplies to allow her
to better perform her headquarters function. Henry T.
Allen remained at Hollandia until January 1945 as the
administrative base of the famous 7th Amphibious Force.
She shifted her base to Leyte Gulf as American forces
swept north and west, arriving 28 January 1945.
After the final surrender of Japan Henry T. Allen
steamed to Manila 3 September and departed for the
United States 15 November. She arrived 10 December
1945, decommissioned 5 February 1946, and was redeliv-
ered to the War Department. After a period in reserve
at Suisun Bay, she was sold to Boston Metals Co.. Balti-
more, Md., and scrapped in March 1948.
Henry W. Tucker
Henry Warren Tucker was born 5 October 1919 in
Birmingham, Ala. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve 24
June 1941 and after being trained as a pharmacist’s mate
reported to the oiler Neosho 15 January 1942. On 7 May
1942, in the opening phase of the Battle of the Coral Sea,
Neosho and her escorting destroyer were attacked by three
waves of Japanese planes. The escort sank and Neosho
was so severely damaged that the skipper ordered all
hands to prepare to abandon ship. Many of the oiler’s
crew, believing that “abandon ship” orders had been
given, went over the side at once. As the men struggled
through the water trying to reach the few undamaged
life rafts, Henry W. Tucker swam among them, treating
the burned and wounded. Disregarding his own safety,
he helped many of his shipmates to safety on the life rafts
while refusing a place himself, at the cost of his life. For
his gallant and devoted service to his wounded comrades.
Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Henry W. Tucker was
posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
Henry W. Tucker (DE-377) was building at Consoli-
dated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., but was cancelled 6 June
1944.
I
(DD-875 : dp. 2,425 ; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 34.5
k. ; cpl. 367; a. 6 5", 8 40mm., 5 21" tt.; cl. Gearing)
Henry W. Tucker (DD-875) was launched 29 May 1944
by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Henry Walton Tucker, mother of the late Pharma-
cist’s Mate Third Class Henry W. Tucker ; and commis-
sioned 12 March 1945, Comdr. Bernard H. Meyer in
command.
After shakedown, Henry W. Tucker was converted to a
radar picket destroyer and participated in radar and anti-
aircraft exercises off the Maine coast until sailing for
Pearl Harbor 4 November. From the Hawaiian islands
she continued to Yokosuka, arriving 22 December, to aid
in the occupation of Japan and repatriation of Japanese
nationals. Her first tour of duty in the Far East ended
25 March 1946 as she set course for her new homeport, San
Diego. In the next 3 years Henry W. Tucker made two
more such cruises, alternating them with tactical exer-
cises and operations along the east coast. In March and
April 1948 the destroyer patrolled off Eniwetok in connec-
tion with United States atomic tests in the Pacific islands.
She was reclassified DDR-875 18 March 1949.
Undergoing overhaul at the time Communist troops
launched their attack on South Korea in June 1950, Henry
W. Tucker speeded up preparations and joined the fleet
operating off Korea in November. After 5 months of
hunter-killer and patrol operations, she joined the screen
for Task Force 77, a fast carrier force whose jets struck
hard and often at enemy supply lines and troop concen-
trations. The destroyer also participated in shore
bombardment and landed several raiding and intelligence
parties on the western coast of the war-torn peninsula.
On 28 June 1951 as she steamed into Wonsan Harbor
Henry W. Tucker was hit by six enemy shells. Two men
were injured and extensive damage was done to her radar
gear, but the destroyer’s return fire effectively silenced
enemy shore batteries. Returning to San Diego 8 August,
Henry W. Tucker engaged in intensive training exercises
before returning to Korea to join TF-77 off the east coast
25 March 1952. Screening and plane guard duty with the
fast carrier force alternated with ASW patrol and shore
bombardment duties until she sailed for home 13
September.
Henry W. Tucker entered the Mare Island Naval Ship-
yard for installation of the newest radar equipment in
September, emerging 14 April 1953. Her new duties,
centered primarily on the detection of enemy attack
through extensive radar coverage, were to take her on
eight more WesPac cruises in the next 10 years. In
addition to the lonely patrols along the radar picket line,
Henry W. Tucker also patrolled the important Formosa
Straits and the Korean coast. When not deployed with
the 7th Fleet, the radar picket destroyer participated in
tactical training exercises and fleet maneuvers out of her
307
San Diego homeport. Streaming her homeward bound
pennant at Yokosuka 2 November 1962, Henry W. Tucker
sailed for Boston via Pearl Harbor, San Diego, Acapulco,
and the Panama Canal. She reached the Naval Shipyard
there 13 December to begin fleet rehabilitation and mod-
ernization overhaul, designed to lengthen her life as an
active member of the fleet by 10 to 15 years. While
undergoing modernization, she was reclassified DD-875
on 15 March 1963. The FRAM overhaul was completed
4 December 1963 and Henry W. Tucker began a program
of intensive training, until 26 May, when she departed
for the western Pacific and a station on the Taiwan
Patrol. Almost immediately she was diverted to the
South China Sea where the 7th Fleet brought swift power
to bear in answer to continued Communist aggression.
Tucker alternated between antisubmarine patrol off
Vietnam and off Taiwan until April 1965, when she joined
Operation “Market Time,” a close surveillance of Viet-
namese coastal traffic to prevent the shipment of supplies
to the Viet Cong on the South Vietnamese coast. On 16
May the veteran destroyer pounded Viet Cong coastal
concentrations southeast of Saigon and thus became the
first U.S. ship to provide naval gunfire support against
enemy targets in South Vietnam. During the next 14
months she continued her varied but important assign-
ments against Communist aggression.
She provided gunfire support for ground operations
dozens of times ; and during a 40-day period in August
and September fired over 5,000 rounds from her 5 'nch
guns, destroying or damaging numerous enemy positions.
In addition to “Market Time” patrols, she screened hard-
hitting attack carriers in the South China Sea and the
Gulf of Tonkin and served as a search and rescue control
ship to recover downed pilots at sea. This vital duty
sent her close to enemy-controlled shores ; however, joined
by daring SAR helicopters which refueled and replenished
from the destroyer while in flight, she provided maximum
protection for planes returning from strikes over North
Vietnam. She refueled more than 80 helicopters while on
SAR assignments. Known as “Tuck’s Tavern” to the
brave “chopper” pilots, she became the first destroyer 6
November to refuel an in-flight helicopter at night. Co-
ordinated training with these versatile aircraft paid off
26 June 1966 when two pilots from Constellation (CVA-
64) and Ranger (CVA-61) were plucked from the sea
less than 3 miles from the North Vietnamese coast and
carried to Henry W. Tucker.
After more than 2 years of almost continuous duty off
Vietnam, Henry W. Tucker returned to Long Beach early
in August. Following a 4-month overhaul and intensive
training out of San Diego and Long Beach, she deployed
to the Far East in June 1967. She resumed carrier screen-
ing duty late in July ; and, following the disastrous fire
on board Forrestal 29 July, she took part in survivor rescue
and escort operations. As the conflict in South Vietnam
continued in 1967, Henry TV. Tucker, a battle-tested vet-
eran of two struggles against Communist aggression in the
Far East, remained “on the line” ready to meet the chal-
lenge of new assignments efficiently, effectively, and with
dispatch.
Henry TV. Tucker was awarded seven battle stars for
her participation in the Korean conflict.
Henshaw
( DD-278 : d. 1,308.; 1. 314 '4 " ; b. 30'11" ; dr. 9'4" : s.
34.75 k. ; cpl. 122; a. 4 4”, 1 3”; cl. Belknap)
Built by the Bethlehem Ship Building Co. of Squantam,
Mass., Henshaw was launched 28 June 1919. Miss Ethel
H. Dempsey sponsor. She commissioned at Boston on 10
December 1919, Lt. Comdr. Martin J. Peterson in com-
mand.
The new destroyer sailed to Newport, R.I., for torpedoes
and ammunition and from there left for the Caribbean,
arriving at Guantanamo 9 February 1920. From 24 Feb-
ruary until 4 March Henshaiv was part of the Navy fleet
standing off Port Cortes, Honduras, to protect American
lives and interests should revolution erupt in Guatemala,
which it didn’t. She then sailed for the West Coast,
joining the destroyer squadron, Pacific Fleet, at San
Diego on 1 April. Her first duty was to escort HRH the
Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, in HMS Renown into
and out of San Diego on 7-8 April.
After exercises with the fleet off the California coast,
Henshaw sailed to Seattle, where on 10 July she joined
the cruise of Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy,
Admiral Hugh Rodman, Commander of the Pacific Fleet,
and John B. Payne, Secretary of the Interior. While
inspecting Alaskan coal and oil fields, and looking for
possible fleet anchorages, the cruise touched at nine north-
ern ports, including Ketchikan, Sitka, Dundas Bay, and
Juneau, before Henshaw returned to San Diego on 17
August. During the cruise she had been visited by all
the dignitaries involved, and had transported Thomas
Briggs, Governor of the territory of Alaska, and his
party, from Sitka to Juneau. Training and battle exer-
cises along the California coast and an occasional run to
Puget Sound with passengers occupied Henshaw until 15
June 1922, when she decommissioned at San Diego.
Recommissioning there on 27 September 1923, Lt. E. G.
Herzinger commanding, Henshaw again served with the
destroyer squadron, Pacific Fleet. Her itinerary for 1924
typifies her activities for the next 6 years : departing San
Diego on 2 January, she transited the Panama Canal and
engaged in tactical maneuvers with the combined fleets in
the Caribbean, returning to San Diego on 24 April. After
overhaul at Bremerton, she returned to California for
further exercises and training. In 1925 this routine was
slightly varied, as the fleet exercises took place off Pearl
Harbor and Lahaina Roads, Hawaii.
Henshaiv decommissioned at San Diego on 11 March
1930. Her name was stricken 22 July 1930 and she was
scrapped and sold 14 November 1930.
Hepburn
Arthur Japy Hepburn, born 15 October 1877 in Carlisle,
Pa., graduated from the Naval Academy 5 June 1897.
During the Spanish-American War he served as Passed
Midshipman in battleship Iowa, and he participated in
the defeat of Admiral Cervera’s Spanish Squadron off
Santiago, Cuba, 3 July 1898. Commissioned Ensign 1 July
1899, during the next two decades he assisted in making
oceanic surveys in the Pacific and performed a variety
of duties ashore and afloat, including service in Georgia,
Olympia, and South Carolina. During World War I he
commanded the seized German liner Kaiser Wilhelm II
and the Submarine Chaser Base, New London, Conn., until
ordered to Europe in July 1918 to command the subchaser
base at Queenstown, Ireland. After the armistice, he
served in Chester, inspecting German naval ships and
aircraft in accordance with naval terms of the Armistice.
From 1919 to 1922 he was Assistant Chief of the Bureau
of Steam Engineering, and from 1922 to 1924 he served
as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkish
Waters. During the years prior to World War II, he
served a wide variety of important posts both ashore and
afloat. He took command of West Virginia (BB-48) in
May 1925 ; became Director of Naval Intelligence in July
1926. From 1927 to 1930 he served as Chief of Staff with
Battle Fleet and U.S. Fleet and on 23 May 1931 took
command of Submarine Forces, U.S. Fleet. Between June
1932 and July 1933, he served as a naval member to the
three-power Limitations of Arms Conference as Naval
Adviser to the Geneva Delegation in Switzerland and
to the American Representative at the London Naval
Conference.
After serving as Commander 4th Naval District, and
commanding destroyers of the U.S. Fleet, he became
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet 24 June 1936, serving in
the rank of Admiral. Two years later he headed a board
which reviewed America’s national defense structure
during the deteriorating international situation. The
“Hepburn Board Report” was the basis for the massive
308
Shore Establishment expansion that took place prior to
World War II. In 1942, Admiral Hepburn was appointed
Chairman of the General Board of the Navy, serving in
that capacity throughout the war. He also served as a
delegate to the Dumbarton Oaks meetings, which estab-
lished guidelines for founding the United Nations. Ad-
miral Hepburn retired from active duty 10 December 1945,
and died 31 May 1964.
( DE-1055 : dp. 2,624 ; 1. 414'6" ; b. 44' ; dr. 18' ; s. 27.4 k. ;
cpl. 247 ; a. 1 5”, 4 21" tt., ASROC, DASH ; cl. Knox)
Hepburn (DE-1055) was laid down 1 June 1966, by
Todd Shipyard Corp., San Pedro, Calif. ; and launched 25
March 1967 ; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur J. Hepburn and
Mrs. Joseph R. Barse. Once completed and commissioned,
she will possess the capabilities to screen attack and sup-
port ships and to operate effectively against submarines.
Operating either alone or with a hunter-killer group and
equipped with the latest ASW equipment, the escort will be
able to seek out and destroy enemy submarines. Moreover
as is so important in these days of potential conflict, her
ability to perform blockade, surveillance, search, and
evacuation missions at a moment’s notice will add readily
to the Navy’s deterrent force and assist in the continuing
task of “keeping the peace.” Her commissioning is sched-
uled for 1969.
Herald
A bearer of news.
I
( Ship : dp. 279 ; 1. 92'8" ; b. 26'3%" ; cpl. 140 ; a. 18 guns)
The first Herald was built at Newburyport, Mass., and
purchased at Boston from Edward Davis 15 June 1798.
Wearing a splendid figurehead of a man, she sailed from
Boston 22 August 1798. She cruised in the West Indies
from 1799 to 1800, protecting American commerce; and,
after the treaty of peace with France had been ratified 18
February 1801, returned to the West Indies 23 March 1801
to recall the U.S. naval force.
Herald was sold at Boston in 1801.
(Ship: t. 274)
Herald, a ship-rigged sailing ship, was one of a group of
16 old whaling vessels purchased at New Bedford 27
September 1861. This “Stone Fleet” was towed to
Charleston and sunk inside the main bar to obstruct the
channel in December 1861.
II
(AM-101 : dp. 890 ; 1. 221'2" ; b. 32' ; dr. 10' ; s. 18 k. ; cpl.
105 ; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct., 5 dcp. ; cl. Auk)
The second Herald (AM-101), a steel-hulled diesel-
powered minesweeper, was launched by General Engineer-
ing & Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif., 4 July 1942 ; and com-
missioned 23 March 1943, Comdr. D. B. Poupeney in
command.
Following her shakedown training off the California
coast, Herald got underway 16 May 1943 for Dutch Har-
bor, Alaska, where she took part in patrols and was pres-
ent for the unopposed landing on Kiska Island 15 August.
The ship resumed her patrol and escort duties ; but, after
suffering severe damage in a storm 6 November 1943 re-
turned to Seattle 10 December for repairs.
The minesweeper returned to duty 12 February 1944,
sailing to Pearl Harbor on the 22d. After two convoy
voyages to the Marshalls, she got underway 30 May to join
the fleet at Eniwetok for one of the most important am-
phibious operations of the war, the invasion of the
Marianas. Herald arrived off Saipan on D-day, 15 June,
and performed minesweeping and escort duties. While
the U.S. fleet won a great victory at the Battle of the
Philippine Sea 19 to 21 June, the minesweeper protected
the transport and fueling areas off Saipan. She sailed
to Tarawa 17 July to escort a group of LST’s back to
Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 26 July.
In the months that followed, Herald performed vital
convoy work in the Marshalls and Marianas, including
patrol and some minesweeping work. In early 1945 she
served as an escort ship for submarines returning to
Ulithi from war patrols. Herald sailed from Pearl Har-
bor for the United States 11 May 1945, arriving San
Francisco 7 days later.
At San Francisco at war’s end, the minesweeper sailed
1 September 1945 to take part in the giant sweeping op-
erations necessary for rapid and safe occupation of the
former Japanese islands. Arriving Sasebo, Japan, 26
October, Herald operated in the South China Sea until
departing 15 January 1046 for the United States. Arriv-
ing San Diego 17 February after stops at Eniwetok and
Pearl Harbor, she decommissioned 31 May 1946 and was
placed in reserve.
Herald recommissioned 5 March 1952 at San Diego and
spent the remainder of the year in shakedown training and
minesweeping drills on the east coast of the United States.
Operating out of Charleston, the ship made two cruises
to the Mediterranean in the spring of 1953 and the sum-
mer of 1954, strengthening the 6th Fleet in that troubled
region. Herald continued to take part in fleet maneuvers
and training off the east coast and in the Caribbean until
arriving Jacksonville, Fla., 10 February 1955. She de-
commissioned at Green Cove Springs 15 April 1955 and
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Reclassified MSF-
101, 7 February 1955, she is now berthed at Orange, Tex.
Herald received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Herald of the Morning
A Maritime Commission name retained.
( AP-173 : dp. 6,556 light ; 1. 459'2" ; b. 63' ; dr. 25'9" max. ;
s. 16 k. ; a. 1 5", 4 3")
Herald of the Morning (AP-173) was launched under
Maritime Commission contract by Moore Dry Dock Co.,
Oakland, Calif., 14 August 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. R.
Moore. After service with U.S. Lines, she was converted
to Navy use at United Engineering Co., Alameda, Calif. ;
and acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis 22 April
1944. She commissioned 22 April 1944, Comdr. H. A.
Dunn in command.
After a brief shakedown cruise, the ship loaded troops
and supplies and sailed 2 May for the Hawaiian Islands.
Arriving 6 days later, Herald of the Morning engaged in
amphibious training exercises for the upcoming invasion
of the Marianas, an important step in the historic island-
hopping campaign toward Japan. The ships departed
for the Marshalls 1 June. Herald of the Morning was as-
signed to a reserve group, and arrived Saipan 16 June,
the day after Vice Admiral R. K. Turner’s Marines had
stormed ashore. The transport unloaded her supplies, de-
barked troops, and retired to Eniwetok 26 June. There
she remained 1-13 July before sailing to Pearl Harbor
to load more troops for the Pacific fighting.
Herald of the Morning arrived Pearl Harbor 31 July,
brought troops and supplies on board, and sailed 12 Au-
gust 1944 for training operations in the Guadalcanal area.
Assigned to the Peleliu operation, the ship departed 8
September and arrived off the Palaus 7 days later. On
17 September she engaged in a diversionary landing on
Babelthuap Island, in the group, pulling back her units
just before they hit the beaches. In the meantime, a
full landing had been made on Angaur Island, where
Herald of the Morning discharged her troops and cargo
the next day.
As events in the western Pacific picked up momentum,
the transport sailed 21 September for Ulithi, debarked
the remainder of her men and cargo, and arrived Seeadler
harbor, Manus, 28 September. There she began prepara-
tions for the return to the Philippines — the invasion of
Leyte. Assigned to the Northern Attack Force, the trans-
309
port got underway from Manus 12 October and dis-
charged her troops and cargo during the initial assault
phases 20 October. Herald of the Morning then returned
to Guam via the Palaus to embark more troops. As the
Japanese moved to challenge the invasion of the Philip-
pines in a giant sortie which resulted in the decisive
Battle of Leyte Gulf, Herald of the Morning took
on board reinforcements, and shifted to Manus
for additional troops 16 November. Two days later she
sailed for the Philippines, discharging troops north of
Dulag 23 November. During this period the ship was
forced’ to fight off enemy air attacks, but suffered no
important damage.
Herald of the Morning departed 24 November for New
Guinea, arriving 30 November, and spent the next month
in training near Sansapor for the next strike in the Philip-
pines, the Lingayen Gulf operation. She sailed 30 De-
cember and despite heavy air attacks on the convoys ar-
rived in the gulf 9 January for the initial invasion. There
the ship endured heavy air attacks before successfully
disembarking her units and retiring to anchorage. With
the important invasion underway, Herald of the Morning
sailed 12 January 1945 for Leyte Gulf. iShe loaded troops
there 14 January and at Biak 22 January, unloading these
much-needed reinforcements on Mindoro 9 February.
Returning to Leyte 12 February, Herald of the Morning
sailed 3 days later for Ulithi and Iwo Jima, where she
embarked veterans of the early fighting on that bitterly
contested island 9-27 March. Departing 27 March, the
ship brought her troops to Pearl Harbor and San Fran-
cisco, steaming through the Golden Gate 23 April.
With replacement troops on board and repairs made,
the transport sailed 29 June for Manila, via Eniwetok and
Ulithi. She arrived Manila 29 July, unloaded her troops,
and began the long voyage back to the United States. As
Herald of the Morning sailed for San Francisco with re-
turnees, the surrender of Japan was announced. The
ship arrived 11 September, and was assigned to Operation
“Magic Carpet,” the gigantic task of bringing home the
thousands of American servicemen. She made four more
voyages to the islands of the Pacific on this mission, and
was released for deactivation 21 June 1946. Returning
to Olympia, Washington, in July, she decommissioned
9 August and was returned to the Maritime Commission.
Subsequently sold to Waterman Lines, the ship sailed as
Citrus Packer until 1958 when she was sold to Gulf-South
American Lines as Gulf Trader.
Herald of the Morning received five battle stars for
A Vo rid War II service.
Herbert
Hilary Abner Herbert, born in Laurensville, S.C., in
1834, was educated at the University of Alabama and the
University of Virginia. He was admitted to the South
Carolina bar in 1856 and practiced law in Greenville until
the Civil War.
The future Secretary of the Navy entered the Confed-
erate Army as a second lieutenant and served his cause
with gallantry for 4 years. After the war, Herbert re-
turned to his law practice and was elected to Congress
in 1877. During his tenure as Congressman, Herbert was
chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs and was
largely responsible for the increased appropriations which
led to the revival of the American Navy.
In 1893 President Grover Cleveland appointed Herbert
as Secretary of the Navy. Secretary Herbert was able
to muster support for an enlarged navy, despite the De-
pression of 1893, and brought the fleet to some level of
preparedness for the Spanish-American War. From 1897
to his death 6 March 1919 Herbert practiced law in Wash-
ington, D.C.
( DD-160 : dp. 1,090 ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'4" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 124 ; a. 4 4", 3 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wickes)
r Herbert (DD-160) was launched 8 May 1919 by the New
York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Benjamin Micon, daughter of the late Hilary A.
Herbert ; and commissioned 21 November 1919, Lt. Comdr.
E. A. Logan in command.
After shakedown in South Atlantic waters, Herbert
trained in the Caribbean until 1 May 1920, returning there
20 July with the Atlantic Fleet destroyer squadron.
Herbert participated in torpedo practices, antiaircraft
drills, and short range battle practice along the east coast.
She decommissioned at Philadelphia 27 June 1922.
Herbert recommissioned 1 May 1930 and joined the
Scouting Fleet at Newport, R.I. For the next 4 years she
operated in both East and West Coast waters, playing
important roles in annual fleet problems and battle prac-
tice. From 16 January 1935 until August 1939, Herbert
served as a training ship for naval reserves and midship-
men. As war swept across Europe, she sailed to Portugal
via the Azores 2 October 1939 and remained there until
July 1940.
Returning to the States, the destroyer underwent over-
haul and 10 October reported to New London for sound
school training. Herbert’s training kept pace with the
steadily intensifying war in Europe as she spent most
of 1941 in battle practice, torpedo drills, and antisubma-
rine work.
With America’s entry into the war, Herbert operated
as a convoy escort along the American coast from Key
West north to Halifax and Iceland. Guiding virtually
defenseless merchant ships through coastal and Carib-
bean waters infested with U-boats, Herbert carried out
frequent depth-charge attacks on marauding submarines.
From April through June 1943 she visited Gibraltar and
North Africa, as the build-up for the invasion of Sicily
intensified. A hunter-killer patrol followed. After a sec-
ond HUK patrol, Herbert escorted a convoy from Bermuda
to Casablanca, returning to Charleston 22 November 1943
for conversion to a high-speed transport.
Herbert now APD-22 sailed for the Pacific, reaching
San Diego for amphibious training and continuing on to
Cape Sudest, New Guinea, via Pearl Harbor 23 March
1944. She disembarked troops for the initial invasion at
Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, 22 April and then spent a
month on convoy escort duty before landing troops for the
invasion of Biak Island 27 May. Landings at Warsai in
the Cape Sansapor Area 30 July followed further patrol
and escort duty, and 15 September found Herbert off
Morotai. Troops landed under naval cover to secure the
airfield, which was within easy striking distance of the
Philippines, next major step in the island-hopping war
across the Pacific. On 17 October, 2 days before the
initial landings at Leyte Gulf, Herbert landed Rangers
on Homonhon Island which controlled the entrance to
the Gulf. The destroyer remained in the Philippines,
under almost constant Japanese air attack, throughout
the rest of 1944 ; and, in January 1945, landed support
troops at Lingayen Gulf.
From the Philippines Herbert moved north for escort
duty to Iwo Jima, returning to Leyte 18 March 1945 to
prepare for the invasion of Okinawa, the largest amphib-
ious operation of the Pacific war. Arriving Okinawa 31
March, the day before the initial landings, Herbert took
up patrol and escort duties. Suicidal kamikaze attacks
wounded ships all around her, but Herbert remained un-
touched. After two runs escorting convoys from back
staging areas up to Okinawa, the destroyer headed home,
reaching San Diego 19 June. Herbert decommissioned
at San Diego 25 September 1945 and was sold for scrap
to the Boston Metal Co. of Baltimore 23 May 1946.
She received six battle stars for World War II service.
Herbert C. Jones
Herbert Charpiot Jones was born 21 January 1918 at
Los Angeles and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 14 May
1935. He was commissioned Ensign 14 November 1940 and
reported to California at Pearl Harbor 2 weeks later. On
7 December 1941, the 23-year-old Ensign was about to
relieve the officer-of-the-deck on battleship California when
Japanese planes swooped in to attack. In the first wave,
310
a torpedo and a bomb hit the ship. Ens. Jones dived into
a smoke-filled hatchway and crawled along oil-slick decks
to rescue a stricken sailor before being temporarily over-
come by fumes. Reviving, Ensign Jones saw an antiair-
craft battery without a leader and, staggering to his feet,
took command. As a second wave of Japanese planes came
in, the young officer fired his guns until all their ammuni-
tion was expended. Since the torpedo had put California’s
ammunition hoist out of action, Ens. Jones quickly or-
ganized a party of volunteers to go below and pass the
ammunition up by hand. The vitally needed shells had
just begun to reach the battery when a bomb hit the ship
and mortally wounded him. As the men tried to carry
him to safety, the gallant Ensign told them “Don’t bother
about me. I’m done for. Save yourself before the
magazines go off !’’
In posthumously awarding Ens. Herbert C. Jones the
Medal of Honor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt cited him
for “conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage,
and complete disregard of his own life above and beyond
the call of duty.”
(DE-137 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306'; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 2 40mm. , 8 20 mm., 3 tt. ; 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Edsall)
Herbert C. Jones (DE-137) was launched 19 January
1943 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Joanne Ruth Jones, widow ; and commis-
sioned 21 July 1943, Lt. Comdr. Alfred W. Gardes, Jr., in
command.
After a Caribbean shakedown, Herbert C. Jones reported
to the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., to
participate in experiments on the method of control used
by the Nazis in their glider bombs. The new destroyer
escort departed Norfolk 7 October for the Mediterranean,
arriving Algiers via Gibraltar 16 October to begin a year
of escort duty along the North African coast. In a German
attack 6 November, Herbert C. Jones destroyed one enemy
plane. As she escorted a convoy bound from Algiers to
Bizerte, Herbert C. Jones distinguished herself in an in-
tensive 2-hour German attack the afternoon of 26 No-
vember. In addition to splashing one fighter, the ship
studied the performance characteristics of enemv radio-
directed glider bombs. As a result of these under-fire
investigations, Herbert C. Jones and her sister ship Fred-
erick C. Davis were fitted with powerful radio-jamming
sets in early December to counteract and misdirect the
glider bombs. This new electronic warfare capability
was to find almost immediate use as Herbert C. Jones
patrolled off the Italian coast 22 January 1944 while Allied
troops stormed ashore to establish the Anzio beachhead.
With her special gear, Herbert C. Jones jammed and de-
coyed into the sea the great majority of the many glider
bombs directed at the naval task force. She also inter-
cepted radio messages which enabled her to give warning
of impending German air attacks. Herbert C. Jones re-
ceived the- Navy Unit Commendation for her work off
Anzio.
The destroyer-escort saw her next major action as she
arrived off the French coast 16 August, D-day plus one, to
support Operation “Anvil,” the invasion of southern
France. After 2 months of antisubmarine patrol, Herbert
C. Jones reached New York 17 October for overhaul and
coastal convoy duty.
In December 1944 she joined a hunter-killer task force
for antisubmarine patrol in the Atlantic out of Norfolk.
Remaining on this duty until V-E Day, Herbert C. Jones
sailed for the Pacific 24 June 1945 after training exercises
in Cuba. She was at Pearl Harbor when news of the
Japanese capitulation was received 15 August, and from
there sailed to the Marshall Islands for precautionary
air-sea patrol duty. Herbert C. Jones sailed to Green Cove
Springs, Fla., via San Diego, the Panama Canal, and New
York City 15 March 1946. She decommissioned and was
placed in reserve 2 May 1947. In 1967 she was berthed
at Philadelphia.
For her participation in World War II, Herbert C.
Jones was awarded three battle stars.
Herbert J. Thomas
Herbert J. Thomas was born 8 February 1918 in Colum-
bus, Ohio. From July to October 1941, he had enlisted
service with the Army Air Corps. Sergeant Thomas
enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve 3 March 1942 at
Charleston, W. Va., and after basic training was assigned
to the 2d Marine Brigade. He was killed while serving
with the 3d Marine Division during the battle at the Koro-
mokina River, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 7 Novem-
ber 1943. Discovering a gun emplacement difficult to
approach, he carefully placed his men around him in
strategic positions from which they were to charge
after he had thrown a grenade into the emplacement.
When the grenade struck vines and fell back into the
midst of his group, Sergeant Thomas deliberately flung
himself upon it to smother the explosion, valiantly sacri-
ficing his life for his comrades. For his heroic conduct
he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
( DD-833 : dp. 2,425 ; 1. 390'6" ; b. 40'10" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 435; a. 6 5", 14 40mm., 16 20mm., 6 dcp.; cl.
Gearing)
Herbert J. Thomas (DD-833) was launched 25 March
1945 by Bath Iron Works Corp. ; sponsored by Miss
Audrey Irene Thomas, sister of Sergeant Thomas; and
commissioned 29 May 1945, Comdr. Robert T. S. Keith
in command.
After shakedown along the East Coast and in the
Caribbean Herbert J. Thomas transited the Panama Canal
and joined the Western Pacific Forces supporting the
occupation of Japan and Korea at war’s end.
After operations with the 7th Fleet out of Japan during
most of 1946 and patrol duty in Korean waters, she
sailed late November via Guam and Pearl Harbor, arriv-
ing San Diego 21 December. Herbert J. Thomas sailed
6 January 1947 via the Canal Zone arriving Newport,
R.I., 6 February. Between February 1947 and 22 May
1950 she conducted operations along the East Coast and
in the Caribbean and made three deployments with the
6th Fleet to the Mediterranean. During the latter part
of 1948 she was assigned duty as a Naval Academy prac-
tice ship, giving 6-day antisubmarine indoctrinations.
Herbert J. Thomas had just returned from the Medi-
terranean and was in Cartagena, Colombia, when hos-
tilities broke out in Korea in June 1950. She immedi-
ately proceeded to Pearl Harbor and joined the Pacific
Fleet. In July she joined Task Force 77 (7th Fleet Strik-
ing Force) operating off the coast of Korea in the Yellow
Sea, effectively checking the enemy. A month later
Herbert J. Thomas was assigned to the blockading force
on Korea’s east coast, and rendered highly effective gun-
fire support missions for our forces at Pohang, inflicting
much damage on the enemy. While operating with the
blockading forces, she furnished interdiction fire all along
the eastern coast and fired a diversionary mission for
British commandos who were landed from submarine
Perch to destroy a vital railroad tunnel.
At 1329 on the afternoon of 4 September, Herbert J.
Thomas was on picket duty about 60 miles north of Ad-
miral Ewen’s main force when she made radar contact on
unidentified aircraft and reported this to Valley Forge
planes passing overhead. A division of Corsairs which was
orbiting northeast of the force was vectored out. The raid
was now estimated on course 160°, speed 180 knots. As
the fighters turned to meet it, it separated into two parts,
one retiring in the direction whence it came. Sighting
the fighters, the bogey nosed down, increased speed and
began evasive action, but turned toward Korea rather than
westward toward China. The division leader flew over
him in an attempt to identify and reported a twin-en-
gined bomber with red star markings. The intruder
opened fire and was subsequently shot down. Herbert J.
Thomas proceeded to the spot where the plane splashed
and recovered the body of a Russian aviator. Artificial
respiration continued for an hour but brought no sign
of life.
256-125 0 - 68 - 22
311
For the next 3 months she was assigned patrol duty and
operations with Task Force 77. Departing 24 January
1951, Herbert J. Thomas arrived San Diego 12 February
and spent the remainder of the year operating in that
area. Returning to Korea 25 January 1952 she joined
Task Force 77 for 1 month and spent 2 weeks on the
bombline performing vital gunfire support and screening
duties. Late February Herbert J. Thomas took up patrol
duty in the Formosa Straits and in April was assigned
duty in the Songjin area. In this she coordinated the
operations of several ships in the Songjin-Chongjin area.
After a brief period with the 7th Fleet Striking Force she
joined the Blockading and Escort Force off the east coast
of Korea. On 11 May she dueled with shore batteries in
Wonsan Harbor where she received one hit with no casu-
alties and slight damage. Quick to retaliate, Herbert J.
Thomas dealt severely with the enemy, inflicting much
damage. The remainder of the month was spent on
patrol, bombarding and furnishing fire support for mine-
sweeping operations in the Sensan, Songjin and Chongjin
areas.
Retiring to Yokosuka Herbert J. Thomas sailed 8 June
for San Diego, arriving the 26th. Assigned the new home-
port of Long Beach, she operated in that area until de-
parting 2 February 1953 for duty with the Far Eastern
Naval Forces. Arriving Yokosuka 27 February, Herbert J.
Thomas joined the 7th Fleet Striking Force and screened
the carriers launching strikes on North Korea. From 4
April to 19 May she was assigned electronics countermeas-
ures duties in addition to call fire missions on gun em-
placements and radar stations, effectively checking the
enemy.
Herbert J. Thomas joined Task Force 72, 12 June and
operated out of Kaoshiung, Formosa, enforcing the block-
ade between Formosa and the Communist China mainland.
Sailing from Yokosuka 14 August she reached Long Beach
30 Auaust for overhaul and armament conversion.
Herbert J. Thomas departed 5 May 1954 for her fourth
tour in the Far East. After operating in the Philippines
and out of Yokosuka, she proceeded 23 July to Kaoshiung,
Formosa, to take up patrol duty. Returning to Long
Beach 5 December, she spent the next 5% months operat-
ing with carrier Kearsargc in that area.
From 14 June 1955 to 1 March 1958 Herbert J. Thomas
made three more deployments to the Far East. During
these tours she operated with the fast carrier task forces
and had duty on the Taiwan Patrol, helping to stabilize
the Chinese situation and protect vital American interests.
On 25 October 1958, Herbert J. Thomas deployed again
with other units of the 7th Fleet to the Far East, serving
with pride as a good-will ambassador for the United
States. She trained with Japanese destroyers in antisub-
marine exercises and operated again with fast carrier
groups.
“Thomas” deployed regularly to the Far East until
9 July 1963, when she entered Mare Island Naval Ship-
yard, Vallejo, Calif., and remained in commission in re-
serve for a 12%-month modernization overhaul which
gave her protection against biological, chemical, and
atomic warfare agents. Returning to full commission 31
July, Herbert J. Thomas completed her FRAM I conver-
sion 30 August and operated along the West Coast until
sailing for the Far East 14 September 1966. Arriving Yan-
kee Station off South Vietnam 16 October, she joined CTG
77.7 in screening Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) during
strikes against Communist targets ashore. She retired to-
ward the Philippines 16 November, arriving Subic Bay 3
days later en route to Kaoshiung, Taiwan, for patrol duty
in the Strait of Formosa 24 November through 16 Decem-
ber. Back off Vietnam 19 December, Herbert J. Thomas
aided ground forces with naval gunfire support. In the
ensuing fortnight, her guns killed at least 9 Viet Cong;
destroyed 90 buildings, 12 bunkers ; and damaged 90 build-
ings, 6 bunkers, as well as several bridges and sophisti-
cated trench systems. Her mission accomplished, she
headed for Hong Kong 3 January 1967 to prepare for fu-
ture action.
Herbert J. Thomas received six battle stars for Korean
War service.
Herbert L. Pratt
Herbert L. Pratt was acquired from the Atlantic Refin-
ing Co. and commissioned at Philadelphia 10 June 1918.
Lt. Comdr. A. H. Peterson in command.
Taking on a full cargo of fuel oil, she sailed for France
on 30 July, arriving in Brest on 2 September via New
York and Halifax. At Brest she discharged her cargo to
American destroyers and other ships, returning to New
York 28 September. A second transatlantic voyage, from
New York to Plymouth, England, occupied Herbert L.
Pratt from 17 October to 11 December 1918.
The tanker decommissioned at New York 18 January
1919 and was returned to her former owner.
Hercules
Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, was celebrated
in Greek mythology for his great strength. He was es-
pecially famous for the 12 “Herculean” tasks or “labors”
imposed on him as a result of the hatred of Hera, Zeus’
jealous wife.
I
Originally named Quinsigamond ( q.v. ) . Name changed
to Hercules 15 June 1869; changed again to Oregon
10 August 1869.
II
( YT-13 : d. 198 t. ; 1. 101' ; b. 20'6" ; dr. 9' ; sp. 12 k.)
Hercules, an iron tug, was built at Camden, N.J., by
J. H. Dialogue & Son in 1888. She was purchased from
the Standard Oil Co. 26 April 1889 for use in the Spanish-
American War.
After being employed in various capacities along the
South Carolina and Florida coasts from 1898 to 1900,
Hercules was ordered to the Norfolk Navy Yard for serv-
ice as a yard tug. She continued this duty until 1913
when, after extensive overhaul at Portsmouth, N.H., she
was employed as a cargo carrier. Departing Philadel-
phia 9 September 1914, Hercules reached Pearl Harbor
4 December via Norfolk, the Panama Canal, and Acapulco.
From there she carried cargo to various Pacific bases in-
cluding Guam and the Philippines.
Hercules returned to the East Coast in the summer of
1915, putting in at Norfolk, her new base, 4 September.
She carried cargo from Norfolk to various Caribbean
ports until 1923, when she became a harbor tug serving at
Norfolk and Philadelphia.
Hercules decommissioned at Philadelphia 17 December
1931. Stricken from the Navy List 4 December 1936,
Hercules was sold to Atlantic Construction Corp., Norfolk,
Va., 25 January 1937.
III
( YE-30 : d. 233 t. ; 1. 111'8" ; b. 32'; dr. 9'6" ; sp. 7 K. :
cpl. 22)
Hercules (YE-30) was built by Kelly, Spear, & Co. of
Bath, Maine, in 1906. Purchased from the Boston Sand
& Gravel Co. in 1918, she served as an ammunition lighter
at the Hingham Ammunition Depot until stricken from
the Navy Register 2 August 1922. Hercules was sold
24 March 1923 to Charles Reineke of New York City.
IV
Cargo ship Hercules was commissioned as Canton (q.v.)
18 June 1918.
V
(AK— 41: dp. 5,150 It.; 1. 473'1" ; b. 66'; dr. 27'2'' : sp.
16 k. ; cpl. 129 ; a. 1 5", 4 3'', T. C3E)
Hercules ( AK— 41) , ex-S.S. Exporter, was launched
18 July 1939 by the Fore River Ship Building Co., Quincy,
312
Mass., for American Export Lines Inc. Acquired by the
Navy 15 July 1941, she continued to be operated by civilian
crews until 30 November 1942, when she commissioned
at San Francisco, Comdr. W. H. Turnquist, USNR, in
command.
Departing San Francisco 18 December, Hercules reached
Noumea, New Caledonia, 6 January 1943 to discharge her
cargo. She returned to San Francisco 20 February and
repeated the voyage from 11 March to 5 July. Hercules
sailed for Pearl Harbor 6 August and reached Hawaii
6 days later. As flagship for Admiral Willis A. Lee, CTF
11, she sailed for action 25 August and on 1 September
was off Baker Island as the Army began occupation.
Remaining off Baker Island until 16 September discharg-
ing cargo, Hercules returned to Pearl Harbor and from
there sailed for San Francisco.
Taking on passengers and cargo, she sailed again for
the Pacific war areas 13 October, reaching Funafuti,
Ellice Islands, 14 November after discharging cargo at
Pearl Harbor. After miscellaneous cargo trips in the
southern Pacific, Hercules returned to Pearl 28 January
1944 for repairs. Two round-trips with cargo and pas-
sengers to San Francisco brought her into the summer
and on 30 May she sailed with the initial invasion force
for Saipan. Hercules reached Saipan 15 June, D-Day,
and remained there discharging cargo until 24 June.
Although Japanese planes filled the air and attacked her
several times, Hercules emerged unscathed as American
forces continued to sweep across the island to Japan.
Departing Saipan 24 June, she returned to Pearl Harbor
and from there sailed to Guadalcanal.
Hercules sailed from Guadalcanal 8 September to par-
ticipate in the invasion of Peleliu, Palau Islands, 15
September. After this hard fought operation she contin-
ued on to Hollandia, New Guinea, discharged her cargo,
and 13 October sailed for the Philippines. Hercules re-
mained in the Philippines, with several trips back for
supplies, for both the initial invasion of San Pedro Bay
20 October and the landings on Lingayen Gulf 9 January
1945, as American forces returned victorious to the
Philippines.
Reaching Ulithi 24 January 1945, Hercules embarked
troops with cargo and 17 February sailed for Iwo Jima.
The invasion of that rugged island began 2 days later, and
Hercules steamed in the retirement area until 27 February
when she disembarked reserve troops on the beach and
received wounded. After discharging her cargo, she re-
mained in the Iwo Jima area until 20 March when, loaded
with Marines and their equipment, she sailed for Pearl
Harbor. Reaching Pearl 4 April, Hercules carried cargo
to Guam and Eniwetok before reaching San Francisco
22 June for a much-needed overhaul.
The war in the Pacific ended while Hercules was still
undergoing repair , but she sailed west again 24 October
1945. Loading ammunition in the Philippines and the
Admiralty Islands, she transited the Panama Canal 16
March 1946 and docked at Norfolk 26 March. After a
brief trip up the coast to New York and New Jersey,
Hercules sailed to Norfolk 18 May and hauled down her
commissioning pennant 28 June 1946. Hercules was
transferred to the Maritime Commission 18 July. Return-
ing to merchant service, she was renamed Exermont, and
later Bostonian.
Hercules received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Hercules, see YD-11
Hercules I\o. 36, see YD-83
Herkimer
A county in New York.
(AK-188 : dp. 2,382 (It.) ; 1. 338'6" ; b. 50' ; dr. 21'1" ; s.
11.5 k. ; cpl. 85; a. 1 3", 6 20mm.; cl. Alamosa; T.
C1-M-AV1)
Herkimer (AK-188) was laid down under Maritime
Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc.,
Superior, Wis., 10 April 1944; launched 2 July 1944;
sponsored by Miss Ann Farley ; acquired by the Navy 25
June 1945 ; and commissioned at New Orleans, La., 14 July
1945, Lt. Carlton W. Crocker, Jr., in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Herkimer
loaded cargo at Gulfport, Miss., then departed 22 August
for the Western Pacific. She reached Subic Bay, Luzon,
7 October ; unloaded refrigerated cargo ; and sailed the
13th carrying Army equipment for occupation forces sta-
tioned in Japan. She arrived Sasebo 20 October and
operated there until 30 December when she departed for
Yokosuka. Following her arrival 2 January 1946, she was
stripped of Navy gear. She then steamed to Yokohama
16 January, decommissioned 1 February, and transferred
to the Army.
Herkimer was operated by a Japanese merchant crew
for the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Japan
until 1 July 1950 when she was reacquired by the Navy.
After refitting, she was assigned to MSTS 28 February
1951 and designated T-AK 188. Manned by a civilian
crew, she participated in the Korean supply run from
Japan supporting the repulse of Communist aggression in
South Korea. Operating out of Moji, Kure, and Yoko-
hama, she transported vital military cargo to American-
held South Korean ports during the remainder of the
conflict.
Following the establishment 27 July 1953 of an uneasy
truce, Herkimer continued supply runs between Japan
and South Korea. In response to the scheduled transfer
of North Vietnam to Communist control, she departed
Yokohama 6 November 1954 to provide support for Opera-
tion “Passage to Freedom.” She reached Haiphong, North
Vietnam, 15 November ; and during the next 2 months she
transported cargo southward to St. Jacques and Saigon.
After completing three runs to South Vietnamese ports,
she departed Saigon 23 January 1955 and arrived Kobe,
Japan, 1 February.
Resuming cargo runs out of Japanese ports, Herkimer
has remained in the Western Pacific since 1955. Cargo
operations have sent her primarily to Inchon, Pusan,
and other South Korean ports; and she has made nu-
merous cargo runs along the Japanese coast from Wak-
kanai and Hakodate, Hokkaido, to Kagoshima and Na-
gasaki, Kyushu. In addition she has steamed from
Korea to Southeast Asia while supporting America’s deter-
mination to maintain peace and contain Communism in the
Far East. She has steamed from ports in Japan and
the Philippines, transporting military supplies to Formosa
between 1961 and 1965. And in response to American ef-
forts to protect the integrity and independence of South
Vietnam from external Communist aggression, she re-
sumed intermittent cargo runs to South Vietnam in Feb-
ruary 1962. Into 1967 she remains in the Western Pa-
cific, serving the forces of freedom in the Far East as a
veteran carrier of vital military cargo.
Herman Frasch
A former name retained.
(No. 1617: dp. 9,000; 1. 345'; b. 48'4'' ; dr. 25'3" ; s. 11
k. ; cpl. 89)
Herman Frasch (No. 1617) a service collier, was built
by Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass., in 1910.
She was owned by Union Sulpher Co., prior to her duty in
the Army Transport Service. Herman Frasch was taken
over and manned by the Navy on a bare boat basis 19
September 1918, and assigned to the home port of New
York. On 4 October 1918 after completing only 2 weeks
of service in the Navy, Herman Frasch , carrying cargo
and a crew of 89 men, collided with the tanker George G.
Henry shortly after midnight. The collision took place
about 150 miles southeast of the Nova Scotia coast. The
impact was so fierce that Herman Frasch went under in 7
minutes. George G. Henry stood by all night rescuing
313
survivors from life rafts scattered among the debris.
When daylight came she abandoned her search after 65
men had been rescued.
Herman S. Caswell
A former name retained.
(SP-2311: t. 63'; 1. 82'9" ; b. 1V7" ; dr. 7'6" ; s. 10 k.)
Herman S. Caswell , a passenger yacht, was built in
1878 at Noank, Conn. ; acquired by the Navy from New
York Sightseeing Yachts under a charter agreement on 8
October 1918 ; and placed in service, Ens. C. N. Allison,
USNRF, in command. Assigned to the 3d Naval District,
she performed patrol and harbor operations until 7 March
1919 when she was placed out of service and was re-
turned to her owner.
Hermana, see YP-JflO
Hermes
The messenger of the gods in Greek mythology.
(Str: dp. 340 t. ; 1. 89.4'; b. 25.4'; dr. 7'6" ; cpl. 26)
Hermes, built by W. F. Stone of Oakland, Calif., in
1914, was a German vessel in port at Honolulu when the
United States entered World War I in April 1916. Taken
over by the Navy on Executive order, she commissioned
at Honolulu on 1 April 1918, Lt. John T. Diggs in
command.
Originally intended as a submarine patrol vessel,
Hermes performed this duty out of Honolulu during the
summer of 1918. On 31 August she sailed on a cruise
among the islands northwest of Hawaii, including Laysan
and Wake, to search for survivors of shipwrecks, signs
of enemy activity, and to conduct a survey on wildlife
and particularly birds for the Biological Survey Commis-
sion, Washington. After returning to Pearl Harbor on 2
October, she continued as a patrol craft.
Hermes was ordered decommissioned on 16 January
1919 and placed at the disposal of the Hawaiian territorial
government for use as a tender to leper colonies. When
the territorial government decided they could not afford
her upkeep, Hermes was turned over to the Pacific Air
Detachment, whom she served as a store ship and general
auxiliary craft. She was sold on 21 October 1926.
Hermione, see Haivk (IX -14)
Hermit, see YP-1^2
Hermitage
Hermitage is the name of President Andrew Jackson’s
famed estate just outside of Nashville, Tenn. Acquired
by Jackson in 1788, the land was improved with a series
of one floor log cabins by 1805. In 1819 Jackson built on
the site a two story brick home with one story wings, one
of which extended in the rear to form an ell. Hermitage
was razed by fire in 1822 but rebuilt and today stands, a
national shrine, exactly as it was when Jackson lived
there. The seventh President of the United States died at
the Hermitage 8 June 1845.
I
( AP-54 : dp. 24,465; 1. 655'; b. 66'1" ; dr. 27' ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 909; a. 15", 6 3")
Hermitage (AP-54), ex-SS Conte Biancamano, was
launched in 1925 by the William Beardman & Co. Ltd.,
Glasgow ; sailed as a luxury liner for Lloyd Triestino So.
Anon, di Nav. of Italy ; was interned at Balboa, Canal
Zone, when Italy declared war on the United States ; con-
verted to a transport by Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadel-
phia ; and commissioned 14 August 1942, Captain Donald
F. Patterson in command.
Embarking 5,600 army troops and sailors, on 2 Novem-
ber Hermitage departed New York with her skipper act-
ing as convoy commodore. Six days later the North
African invasion began, and Hermitage on 18-25 Novem-
ber debarked her passengers at Casablanca to participate
in the momentous campaign. Returning to Norfolk 11
December, Hermitage next headed for the Pacific with
nearly 6,000 passengers embarked. After embarking and
debarking passengers at Balboa, Noumea, Brisbane, Syd-
ney, Pago Pago, and Honolulu, the former luxury liner
put in at San Francisco 2 March 1943.
Hermitage's next swing westward, begun 27 March
took her to Wellington, New Zealand ; Melbourne ; and
Bombay. At Bombay she embarked some 707 Polish
refugees, including nearly a hundred children, for a voy-
age back to California which ended 25 June. In the next
year Hermitage made three similar cruises through the
South Pacific, with battle-bound marines, soldiers and
sailors, civilians, and Chinese and Indian refugees among
her diversified passengers. Hermitage reached New York
28 May from the South Pacific via Noumea, Goodenough
Island, and the Panama Canal.
Departing New York 16 June 1944 with over 6,000
passengers, most of them bound for the invasion of Europe
just begun at Normandy, Hermitage sailed to Liverpool
and Belfast to debark the troops before returning to New
York 12 July. From then until the end of the war she
made 10 more such voyages, principally to Le Havre, to
bring replacements to the European theater and transport
wounded Allied soldiers and prisoners of war back to the
States. V-E Day, 8 May 1945, found Hermitage part of
the celebration in Le Havre harbor as Allied ships greeted
the end of 6 years of war with a cacophony of bells,
whistles and sirens screaming through air illuminated by
hundreds of signal flares and rockets.
War’s end did not mean the end of Hermitage's duty as
she continued to cross the Atlantic, this time bringing
veterans home, through December. Departing New York
12 December, the well-traveled transport sailed to Nagoya,
Japan, to embark some 6,000 homeward bound veterans
and return to Seattle 4 February 1946. Assigned to the
San Franciseo-Marianas run for Operation “Magic Car-
pet,’’ the return of thousands of Pacific troops, she made
three further voyages before decommissioning at San
Francisco 20 August 1946. While serving the Navy, the
former luxury liner had sailed approximately 230,000
miles and transported 129,695 passengers, including
American, British, Australian, French, and Netherlands
fighting men as well as Chinese, American, Polish, and
British civilians and German and Italian prisoners.
Hermitage was returned to the Italian Government in
May 1947.
II
(LSD-34: lt. dp. 6,880; 1. 510'10" ; b. 84'4" ; dr. 19'; cpl.
301 ; s. 23 k. ; a. 12 3" ; cl. Tliomaston)
Hermitage (LSD-34) was launched 12 June 1956 by the
Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Alfred M. Pride, wife of Vice Admiral Alfred M.
Pride; and commissioned 14 December 1956, Captain
Leonard A. Parker in command.
While on shakedown in the Caribbean, Hermitage was
informally inspected by Admiral Arleigh Burke, then
Chief of Naval Operations. After training operations out
of Norfolk, she sailed for the Mediterranean in late
August to join the 6th Fleet. Hermitage participated in
exercises with NATO units and visited Sicily, Crete,
Turkey, Italy, Greece, and Spain before returning to the
States 16 November 1957. Operations primarily with fast
amphibious helicopter assault equipment and tactics occu-
pied her until November 1959. With a cargo of Presi-
dential helicopters embarked, Hermitage sailed to Karachi
314
2 December via the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Suez Canal,
and Red and Arabian Seas to furnish quick and safe
transportation for President Dwight D. Eisenhower on
his Asian and European tour. Mission successfully
completed, she returned home via Barcelona 17 January
1960.
Foreign waters called Hermitage by the end of the year
as she sailed 28 November as flagship for Admiral A. L.
Reed, COMSOLANT, for a good will cruise to South
America and Africa. In the midst of this important
cruise, Hermitage was diverted 19 January 1961 to carry
grain to the Congo to help the United Nations combat
starvation in that revolution-torn country. Relieved as
flagship 3 May by Spiegel Grove, Hermitage returned to
Virginia 16 May and soon resumed her pattern of opera-
tions and exercises off the Virginia Capes and in the
Caribbean.
When the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba
threatened war in October 1962, Hermitage sailed to Guan-
tanamo to transport Marines to that threatened base and
underline America’s determination to maintain her posi-
tion there. A second cruise to the Mediterranean from
May to October 1963 took Hermitage to Naples, Athens,
Genoa, Cannes, Sardinia, Malta, and Rota as well as other
ports in the 6th Fleet’s continuing role of peace-keeping
and protection of American interests in that crucial area.
After an assignment in February 1964 to the Caribbean
Ready Squadron 12 based in Panama, early in May Her-
mitage undertook a logistics lift to Bermuda and Sydney
and Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in the fall took part until
late November in the Navy-Marine Corps peacetime ex-
ercise “Steel Pike I,” visiting ports of Malago and Gibral-
tar. In June 1965 she participated in a 3-month deploy-
ment to the Caribbean area during the later stages of the
Dominican Republic crisis, making practice amphibious
landings at Vieques Island. After completion of overhaul
in February 1966 followed by refresher training and am-
phibious training. Hermitage transported a marine bat-
talion to the Caribbean in May. Through 1967 she con-
tinued in her assignment to the Atlantic Fleet.
Herndon
William Lewis Herndon, one of the Navy’s outstanding
explorers and seamen, was born 15 October 1813 in Fred-
ericksburg, Va. Appointed Midshipman 1 November 1828,
he cruised in Pacific, South American, Mediterranean, and
Gulf waters from then until 1842. From 1842 to 1846
Herndon served in the Depot of Charts and Instruments
(to become the U.S. Naval Observatory) with his cousin
and brother-in-law, Matthew Fontaine Maury, preparing
oceanographic charts and performing other scientific work
invaluable to the safe and accurate navigation of the seas.
During the Mexican War, Herndon commanded brig Iris
with distinction.
In 1851 Herndon headed an expedition exploring the
Valley of the Amazon, a vast area as uncharted as the
wildest part of central Africa. Departing Lima, Peru,
21 May 1851, Herndon and his small party of six men
USS Hermitage (LSD-34) on 19 November 1956
315
pressed into the wild and treacherously beautiful jungles.
After a remarkable journey of 4,366 dangerous miles,
which took him through wilderness from sea level to
heights of 16,199 feet, Herndon reached the city of Para
11 April 1852. On 26 January 1853 Herndon submitted
an encyclopedic and profusely illustrated 414-page report
to Secretary of the Navy, John P. Kennedy.
After 2 years of active service in Potomac and San
Jacinto , Herndon, now a commander, was given leave in
1855 to command the Pacific Mail steamer George Law, re-
named Central America, 20 June 1857, on the New York to
Aspinwall run. Making his way up the coast from Aspin-
wall with $2,000,000 in gold and 474 passengers, as well as
101 crew members, Herndon encountered a heavy gale off
Cape Hatteras 7 September 1857. The gale steadily in-
creased in savagery until the 12th, and Central America
was shipping water through several leaks. As the ship
pitched and rolled through the pounding seas, water in
her hold put out her boiler fires. Commander Herndon
reluctantly admitted that, despite the valiant efforts of
crew and passengers alike, his ship was doomed and sum-
moned aid by firing the ship’s minute guns. At 2 p.m..
West Indian brig Marine arrived to aid the stricken
steamer. Disregarding his own life, Commander Herndon
supervised the loading of women and children into lifeboats
and watched them pull to safety in Marine. Herndon’s
bravery and his concern for his passengers and crew
helped save 152 of the 575 people on board. Commander
Herndon was last seen in full uniform, standing by the
wheelhouse with his hand on the rail, as the ship gave
a lurch and went down. A monument at Annapolis com-
memorates this intrepid explorer and gallant seaman.
I
( DD-198 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 9'4” ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 122 ; a. 4 4”, 3 3”, 12 21” tt. ; cl. Clemson)
The first Herndon (DD-198) was launched 31 May 1919
by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., New-
port News, Va. ; sponsored by Miss Lucy Taylor Herndon,
niece of Commander Herndon ; and commissioned 14 Sep-
tember 1920 at Norfolk, Lt. Comdr. L. H. Thebaud in
command.
After shakedown in New England waters, Herndon was
placed in reserve in Charleston 3 November 1920. She
served in reserve for training exercises and maneuvers
along the East Coast until she decommissioned at Phil-
adelphia 6 June 1922. Herndon, after serving in the
Coast Guard from 1930 to 1934, recommissioned in the
Navy 4 December 1939. Following trials and shakedown,
she reached Guantanamo Bay 23 January 1940 to join the
Caribbean Neutrality Patrol. In July and August she
operated out of the Canal Zone in connection with tactical
and antisubmarine maneuvers so valuable in the long
naval struggle to come.
Herndon decommissioned and was turned over to Great
Britain under the lend-lease program at Halifax, Nova
Scotia 9 September 1940. As HMS Churchill, she served
as leader of the first “Town”-elass flotilla in transatlantic
convoys and patrol duty off the western approaches to the
British Isles. High points in her career in the Royal
Navy include participation in the search for Bismarck
after the German superbattleship had sunk Hood, and a
visit by her namesake, the redoubtable Prime Minister,
on his way home from the momentous Atlantic Conference
with President Roosevelt in August 1941. Churchill also
served as an escort for the pre- and post-invasion buildup
for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa.
Transferred to the Russian Navy 16 July 1944, the destroy-
er was renamed Dclatelnyi (Active) and was sunk by a
U-boat 16 January 1945 40 miles east of Cape Tereberski
while escorting a convoy over the treacherous route from
Kola Inlet to the White Sea.
II
( DD-638 : d. 1,630 ; 1. 347'9” ; b. 36' ; dr. 17'5” ; s. 37 k. ;
a. 4 5”, 4 20mm., 5 21” tt. ; cpl. 261 ; cl. Gleaves)
The second Herndon (DD-638) was launched 2 Feb-
ruary 1942 by the Norfolk Navy Yard ; sponsored by Miss
Lucy Herndon Crockett, great-grandniece of Commander
Herndon ; and commissioned 20 December 1942, Comdr.
Granville A. Moore in command.
After shakedown off the Maine coast, Herndon escorted
a convoy from New York to Casablanca, returning to New
York 14 May 1943 escorting a tanker. Sailing from Nor-
folk 8 June, she reached Algiers 24 June and prepared for
a key role in the Sicilian campaign. As Allied amphib-
ious forces under the overall command of General Dwight
D. Eisenhower launched the initial strike at “the soft
underbelly of Europe” 10 July 1943, Herndon performed
antisubmarine patrol duty as well as fire support for Pat-
ton’s 7th Army and Montgomery’s British 8th Army.
Departing the Mediterranean 3 August, Herndon spent
the next 9 months escorting troopships across the Atlantic
from New York to various British ports as the massive
buildup for the invasion of France hit full strike. On
D-day 6 June 1944, Herndon -was off Omaha Beach, down
front in “Bald-headed Row” ahead of the first assault
waves. Despite heavy counterfire from enemy batteries,
she effectively bombarded enemy targets ashore.
Herndon remained off the Normandy beaches providing
fire support, screening troopships, and antisubmarine
patrol until 19 June, when she served as a screen for
Allied landings at Baie de la Seine. Further screening
duties followed until 11 July, when she reported to Bel-
fast for training as an escort in the Mediterranean. Oper-
ation Anvil was the Allies’ next major blow in the strug-
gle to liberate “Festung Europa.” Herndon wTas part of
the joint task force screening carriers 15 August when the
invasion of southern France was begun.
The battle-trained destroyer remained in the Mediter-
ranean until sailing for New York 3 September. After 2
weeks of experimental operations in Chesapeake Bay for
the Naval Research Laboratory Herndon headed back
toward the Mediterranean as a convoy escort 14 October.
Returning to the States 12 November, she conducted bat-
tle exercises in Casco Bay and escorted convoys along
the Atlantic coast through February 1945. In that month.
Herndon escorted President Roosevelt on the first leg of
his historic voyage to Yalta.
The veteran destroyer and her crew turned south 21
April 1945 and headed for the still-hot war in the Pacific,
reaching Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal and San
Diego 15 May. After training exercises and duty as a
carrier plane guard, Herndon sailed to Eniwetok 12 July
and remained in the rear area escorting convoys between
Eniwetok, Guam, and Saipan through the end of the long
Pacific war.
Japanese capitulation came at last with the formal sign-
ing of the surrender in Tokyo Bay 2 September, and Hern-
don proceeded to the China coast to enforce provisions of
the peace. Reaching Dairen, Manchuria 10 September,
she continued to Tsingtao, China 16 September. On that
day Vice Admiral Kanako, IJN, and his staff came aboard
Herndon to sign and implement the unconditional sur-
render of all Japanese-controlled combatant and merchant
vessels in the Tsingtao area.
Herndon spent the fall and winter escorting Japanese
prize vessels along the coast, patrolling the Korean and
China coasts, and assisting the repatriation of Japanese
soldiers and the movement of Chinese Nationalist troops.
On 5 December 1945 she was detached from this duty to
participate in Operation “Magic Carpet”, the transfer of
veterans from the Pacific to the States, and reached San
Diego via Shanghai, Eniwetok, Okinawa, and Pearl Har-
bor 27 December. After disembarking some of the veter-
ans, Herndon continued on to New York with the rest,
arriving 15 January 1946. Herndon arrived Charleston
28 January 1946 and decommissioned there 8 May and
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was moved to
Philadelphia January 1947 and at present is berthed at
Orange, Tex.
Herndon received three battle stars for World War II
service.
316
Herndon, Raymon W., see Raymon TP. Herndon (DE-688)
Hero
The schooner Hero and the steamer Hero are former
names retained. The monitor Hero is named for a priest-
ess of Aphrodite at Sestos who, according to Greek legend,
threw herself into the Hellespont after her lover, Leander,
had drowned while swimming from Abydos to meet her.
I
The wooden schooner Hero was purchased at Baltimore
13 August 1861 to obstruct inlets to Pamlico Sound, N.C.,
near Cape Hatteras. She was apparently sunk in Ocra-
coke Inlet 14 November 1861 with two other schooners
of the stone fleet.
II
The screw steamer Hero was purchased at Philadelphia
11 July 1864; commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy
Yard 14 July, Acting Ensign James Brown in command ;
and renamed Moccasin (q.v.) 25 July.
III
The light draft monitor Casco (q.v.) was renamed Hero
15 June 1869 while laid up at the Washington Navy Yard.
Heroic
Worthy of a hero ; brave or valiant.
( AMc-84 : dp. 195 ; 1. 97'1" ; b. 22' ; dr. 9'1" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
17 ; a. 2 .50 cal. ; cl. Accentor)
Heroic (AMc-84), a woodenJhulled coastal mine-
sweeper, was launched 5 May 1941 by Warren Boat Yard,
Inc., Warren, R.I. ; sponsored by Miss Sybil E. Alder; and
commissioned 25 March 1942, Lt. (j.g.) A. M. White in
command.
Heroic reported to Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Va„
for intensive training 11 April 1942 and then proceeded
to Bermuda for further training. She was assigned to
patrol and minesweeping duty in the 5th Naval District
and was based at Norfolk 20 July 1942 and served there
throughout the remainder of the war. Heroic decommis-
sioned at Portsmouth, Va., 18 December 1945 and was
turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal 26
September 1946.
Heron
A long-necked, long-legged wading bird indigenous to
Louisiana and the vast coastal marshes.
I
(AM-10: dp. 840; 1. 187'10" ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 9'9" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 78 ; a. 2 3" ; cl. Lapwing)
Heron (AM-10) was launched 18 May 1918 by the
Standard Shipbuilding Co. ; sponsored by Miss Astrid
Rundquist, daughter of the mine sweep’s prospective com-
manding officer ; and commissioned 30 October 1918, Lt.
K. Rundquist in command.
Departing Boston 17 November 1918, Heron performed
experimental mine sweeping work until 8 March 1919,
when she returned to Boston to be fitted out for foreign
duty. She departed Provincetown and sailed for Kirk-
wall, Orkney Islands to participate in mine sweeping in
the North Sea. She remained in the area for 7 months
helping to remove the countless mines laid there during
World War I.
Returning to Hampton Roads 1 November, she pro-
ceeded to New York and then to the West Coast. Heron
reached San Diego 27 January 1920 to report for duty
with the Pacific Minesweeper Division. She sailed for
Pearl Harbor to join the Asiatic Fleet. In early October
Heron sailed for the Philippines with Avocet and Finch.
The mine sweeper served in the 4th Division mine de-
tachment until she decommissioned at Cavite 6 April 1922.
Heron recommissioned 18 December 1924 and reported
to the Aircraft Squadron, Asiatic Fleet for duty as a
seaplane tender. She operated principally in Chinese
and Philippine waters, performing such diverse tasks as
patrol, survey, target-towing, and plane-tending in addi-
tion to tactical maneuvers. Heron was reclassified AVP-2
on 22 Januaary 1936 and continued to play an important
role in protecting American citizens and interests in the
Far East.
When the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor thrust
America into war 7 December 1941, Heron (Lt. Comdr.
William L. Kabler) was stationed in Port Ciego, Philip-
pines. After supporting General MacArthur’s gallant
defense of the Philippines, Heron retired to the Moluccas
and set up a base at Ambon. Upon hearing that Peary
(DD-226) had been bombed and was in need of help, she
got underway 29 December with oil and spare parts
intending to rendezvous with the stricken destroyer at
Ternate.
Next morning, upon learning that Peary had left, she
headed back to Ambon. The following morning, 31 De-
cember, an enemy aircraft came in on a bombing run.
Heron opened fire with every gun on the ship, and appar-
ently enough machine gun fire hit the plane to discourage
a bomb drop on the first run. The bomber came in twice
more to aim bombs at the twisting and turning seaplane
tender, but the agile ship always managed to dodge in
time.
Heron then made a run for a rain squall to the south-
west. Some 2 hours later the weather cleared, and a
Japanese flying boat was sighted on the water on Heron' s
starboard beam. The aircraft took off and circled Heron
for almost 4 hours. About 1430 two sections of three
four-engine Japanese patrol planes were sighted.
Half an hour later, one of the sections broke off and
came in on a horizontal bombing attack. Although this
section made three bombing attacks, in each case the
ship was maneuvered to avoid the bombs. The second
section came in next on a bombing attack, and, on their
first run, Heron drew first blood by hitting one of the
planes with a 3-inch shell. The plane started smoking,
dropped out of formation, and retired to the north. Heron
was again able to out-maneuver the bombs unleashed by
the two remaining planes on a final pass.
About this time five twin-engine land-based bombers and
three additional four-engine patrol bombers were sighted.
The five bombers made a pass over the ship but did not
release any bombs until they had circled again. On the
rerun they dropped a stick of bombs. One hit directly
on the top of the mainmast, and three others hit just off
the port bow. Pieces of shrapnel cut all the mainmast
stays to the boat booms, injuring most of the gun crew
there. The near misses off the port bow set the paint
locker in the forward storeroom on fire, damaged the
port 3-inch gun, killed one of the lookouts, and injured
all the gun crew on the port 3-inch gun and the gun
crews on the port machine guns.
Next, three four-engine patrol planes made torpedo
attacks : one plane on the starboard bow ; one on the port
bow ; and the other on the port quarter. Heron maneu-
vered skillfully, and all three torpedoes missed.
They then strafed the ship, doing considerable damage.
However, the crew of one 3-inch gun shot down one of
the planes as it came in to attack. Heron had approxi-
mately 26 casualties, or about 50 percent of the crew, as
a result of the attack.
During that night the fires were extinguished ; the
forward hold was pumped out to bring the ship back to an
even keel ; and the 3-inch gun was repaired. When the
ship arrived back at Ambon, she resumed tending sea-
planes and continued this duty until she retired to Aus-
tralia at the end of February. For her valiant action
during this period, Heron received the Navy Unit
Commendation.
The seaplane tender remained in and around Australia
through early 1944 as an advance base tender. Heron
,317
also conducted salvage operations and served as an avia-
tion gasoline and fuel oil transport. Departing Australia
22 March 1944, she next participated in the landings in
the Admiralty Islands during April and then continued
her plane tending duties. Steaming to the Solomons 1
September, Heron served as tender for Patrol Squadron
101, which was engaged in search and rescue work as
the Pacific campaign moved into high gear. When the
Navy brought MacArthur back to the Philippines in the
momentous Leyte campaign, Heron was there, reaching
San Pedro Bay 21 November. In the thick of almost
continuous enemy air attacks, Heron spent over a month
in the Philippines tending seaplanes before returning to
New Guinea for repairs.
Heron again returned to the Philippines in April 1945
to participate in the wrap-up of the war in that quarter,
and remained there through the end of World War II.
She decommissioned at Subic Bay, Philippines 12 Febru-
ary 1946 and was transferred to the State Department
(Foreign Liquidation Commission) in July 1947 for dis-
posal.
Heron earned four battle stars for World War II service.
II
( YMS-869 : dp. 215; 1. 136'; b. 24'6" ; s. 13 k. ; a. 1 3",
2 20mm.; cpl. 50)
The second Heron (YMS-369) was launched as Y MS-
369 24 July 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., White-
stone, N.Y. ; sponsored by Miss Frances J. McCarthy, an
employee of the firm ; commissioned 9 October 1943, Lt.
H. A. Wilson, Jr„ in command.
YMS-369' s World War II service consisted of mine-
sweeping operations around the home islands after the
Japanese surrender. On 2 March 1946, she sailed for
home after 4 months in Japanese waters and decommis-
sioned. She was named Heron and reclassified AMS-18
7 February 1947.
After recommissioning 15 July 1949, Heron engaged in
training exercises on the West Coast until 4 October
1950 when she sailed for Korea to support United Nations
opposition to aggression. She patrolled off the peninsula,
and was of invaluable assistance for her clearing of
channels for blockading ships in the siege of Wonsan
Harbor, Korea, in March 1951. She maintained surveil-
lance of North Korean sea traffic after the cease-fire until
January 1954, when she retired to Sasebo, Japan, for
training duties. Reclassified MSC(0)-18 on 17 February
1955, Heron decommissioned again 21 March, and was
turned over to the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force
the same day to serve as Numajima. Heron was returned
to Navy custody 31 March 1967, struck from the Navy List
the same day, and used as a fire target by the Japanese
Maritime Staff Office.
Heron earned one battle star for World War II service,
and eight stars for her participation in the Korean
conflict.
Herreshoff #306
Named for the builder.
( S P-1841 : dp. 60; 1. 112'5'' ; b. 15'2" ; dr. 4' ; s. 24
k. ; a. 1 6-pdr.)
Herreshoff #306 (SP-194), a steel-hulled patrol boat,
was built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. in 1917 at
Bristol, R.I. She was contracted for originally by Alfred
I. DuPont of Wilmington, Del. at the urging of Assistant
Secretary of the Navy F. D. Roosevelt, with the inten-
tion of later allowing her to be bought by the Navy.
Herreshoff #306 was purchased by the Navy, taken over
14 February 1918 and commissioned 27 February 1918
at Newport, R.I.
The ship was first taken to New London, Conn., in
company with two other Herreshoff-built vessels, to be
fitted with listening gear. She subsequently sailed 5
May for the Canal Zone in company with SP-2232 and
SP-2235, stopping at Charleston, Key West, and Guan-
tanamo Bay, Cuba, en route. Herreshoff #306 arrived
Cristobal 1 June 1918 and assumed duty as harbor patrol
vessel. She continued to perform this duty until the
end of World War I, after which she served the 15th
Naval District as a patrol craft. The boat was then
loaned to the War Department 2 October 1920 for use by
the Army Air Service in the Canal Zone. Returned to
the Navy in March 1921, she was taken to Philadelphia
and placed on sale, finally being sold to W. A. D. Smith,
of New York City, 1 December 1922.
USS Heron
318
Herreshoff # 308
Named for the builder.
( S P-2232 ; dp. 60; 1. 112'5" ; b. 15'2” ; dr. 4'; s. 24 k. ;
a. 1 6-pdr.)
Herreshoff #308, a steel-hulled patrol boat, was built
by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. of Bristol, R.I., in
1917. She was contracted for by R. E. Tod, of New
York City, who had asked Assistant Secretary of the
Navy Roosevelt how he might contribute to the war
effort and was told he might have a boat built for later
sale to the Navy. Herreshoff #308 was accordingly
bought by the Navy, taken over 21 February 1918, and
commissioned 23 February at Newport, R.I.
After spending a short time at New London, Conn.,
fitting out with listening gear, Herreshoff #308 sailed
5 May in company with two other small craft (8P-181fl
and S P-2235) for the Canal Zone, stopping at Charleston,
Key West, and Guantanamo. She arrived at Cristobal
1 June 1918 and was assigned as a patrol vessel. For the
next 2 years she was engaged in patrolling at Balboa and
Colon, Canal Zone. Herreshoff #308 was loaned to the
War Department for use by the governor of the Canal
Zone 14 October 1920, used by the Canal Zone as a patrol
craft, and returned to the Navy September 1923. She was
striken from the Navy List 12 September 1923 and sold to
J. A. Kenny, Brooklyn, N.Y., 27 May 1924.
Herreshoff #309
Named for the builder.
( SP-1218 : dp. 25; 1. 80'; b. 12'6" ; dr. 3'6" ; s. 17 k. ;
a. 1 3-pdr., 1 1-pdr.)
Herreshoff #309, a motor patrol boat, was designed and
built for government use by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.,
Bristol, R.I., in 1917, and leased by the Navy from her
owner, Winthrop W. Aldrich of Newport, R.I. Taken over
26 October 1917, she commissioned 15 November, Chief
Boatswain’s Mate J. Fitzpatrick commanding.
The motor boat was assigned to 2d Naval District, based
at Newport, and was assigned section patrol duties off
Block Island, and in Narragansett Bay. She was returned
to her owner 31 December 1918.
Herreshoff #313
Named for the builder.
Herreshoff #313, a wooden yacht, was ordered delivered
and assigned to the 1st Naval District, Boston, Mass., 6
October 1917. She was not taken over, and apparently
saw no service.
Herreshoff #321
Named for the builder.
( SP-2235 : dp. 60; 1. 112'5” ; b. 15'2” ; dr. 4'; s. 24 k. ;
a. 1 6-pdr.)
Herreshoff #321, a steel-hulled sub-chaser, was built by
Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I. Owner Payne
Whitney of New York had inquired of Assistant Secretary
of the Navy F. D. Roosevelt what he might do to help the
war effort and it was suggested that he might contract
for a sub-chaser to be later purchased by the Navy. Her-
reshoff #321 was taken over and commissioned 24 March
1918 at Newport, R.I.
After steaming to New London, Conn., for the installa-
tion of listening gear, Herreshoff #321 departed 5 May in
company with two other similar boats for duty in the
Canal Zone. Stopping at Charleston, Key West, and
Guantanamo Bay en route, they arrived Cristobal, Canal
Zone, 1 June 1918. Herreshoff #321 was assigned duty
as a patrol vessel in Panama Bay and was used for aerial
patrol off Panama. After being first offered for sale, the
motor boat was designated for duty at Torpedo Station.
Keyport, Wash. 7 December 1920. While being towed
to Washington 7 October 1921, however, the towing hawser
parted and before Nitro, the towing vessel, could make her
fast again the boat sank. The sinking occurred off the
coast of southern California ; Herreshoff #321 was
stricken from the Navy List 8 October 1921.
Herreshoff #322
Named for the builder.
( SP-2373 : dp. 40; 1. 83:4”; b. 12'8” ; dr. 3'; s. 26 k. ;
a. 1 3-pdr., 1 1-pdr.)
Herreshoff #322, a steel motor boat, was built b> Her-
reshoff Manufacturing Co. of Bristol, R.I., in 1917. Built
to government specifications, she was originally contracted
for by H. V. Morgan of Philadelphia, Pa., on the under-
standing that she would be later purchased by the Navy.
She was taken over 22 March 1918 at Newport, R.I., and
commissioned 2 April 1918, Ens. F. A. Judson, USNRF, in
command.
After a period of outfitting and training, Herreshoff
#322 was assigned to 3d Naval District as a patrol craft.
She operated during World War I and after in Ambrose
Channel, East River, and Long Island Sound as a patrol
boat until being withdrawn from active service and laid
up at Marine Basin 28 August 1919. Subsequently, Her-
reshoff #322 was loaned to the Dock Department of New
York City 9 March 1920, but was found too large to be
economically operated and so was returned to the Navy
for a smaller boat 19 November 1920. Herreshoff #322
was sold 18 July 1921 to W. Lindberg of Birmingham, Ala.
Herreshoff #323
Named for the builder.
( S P-2840 : dp. 60; 1. 112'5” ; b. 15'2” ; dr. 4' ; s. 24 k. ; a.
1 6-pdr.)
Herreshoff #323 was built as a motor boat to govern-
ment specifications by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.,
Bristol, R.I., in 1918. She was contracted for by J. P.
Morgan of New York City under an agreement with
Assistant Secretary of the Navy F. D. Roosevelt to pur-
chase or lease her upon completion. She was acquired by
the Navy from Morgan 6 June 1918 and commissioned 15
June 1918 at Newport, Ens. W. A. Flagg, USNRF, in
command.
Herreshoff #323 was first taken to New London, Conn.,
for outfitting 19 June and then assigned to 1st Naval
District, Boston, Mass., for duty as section patrol boat.
Based at Boston, she operated as a patrol craft off Nan-
tucket and in Boston harbor, until transferred to 2d Naval
District temporarily in December 1918. Herreshoff #323
was later transferred back to Boston and 3 December
1920 was assigned as a general purpose craft at Naval
Torpedo Station, Alexandria, Va. She remained on this
duty until 10 July 1923, when she was transferred to
Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., as a patrol craft
and dispatch boat. She was sold 3 May 1927.
Herring
A very valuable food fish which reaches a length of
about 1 foot and is extraordinarily abundant in the tem-
perate and colder parts of the North Atlantic.
(SS-233 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'8” ; b. 27'4” ; dr. 15'3” ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 60 ; a. 10 21” tt., 13”; cl. Drum )
Herring (SS-233) was launched 15 January 1942 by
the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Ray Spear, wife of Rear Admiral Ray
319
Spear, Chief of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts ;
and commissioned 4 May 1942, Lt. Comdr. Raymond W.
Johnson in command.
After shakedown, the new submarine was one of five
sent to the Mediterranean to take station off the North
African coast prior to Operation Torch, the invasion of
North Africa. Reaching her position off Casablanca 5
November, Herring remained there spotting but not at-
tacking several targets. On the morning of 8 November
as the invasion was launched, the patient sub had her
chance, sinking the 5,700 ton cargo ship Ville du Havre.
Herring returned to Roseneath, Scotland, 25 November
and departed for her second war patrol 16 December,
on which targets were scarce. On her third patrol Herring
attacked and sank a marauding Nazi submarine, U-163
21 March 1943. The fourth war patrol, an antisubmarine
sweep in Icelandic waters, and fifth patrol, which took
her back to the States 26 July 1943, netted Herring no
more kills.
Herring departed New London for the rich hunting
grounds of the Pacific 9 August 1943. After intensive
training at Pearl Harbor, she sailed 15 November 1943
on her sixth war patrol to join the ranks of the American
submarines systematically decimating Japanese shipping
and destroying the Japanese economy. She scored two
kills, the 3,948-ton Hakozaki Maru on 14 December and
the 6,072-ton Nagoya Maru to celebrate New Year’s Day
1944. Herring's next patrol was a frustrating one as 24
March 1944 she stalked a large aircraft carrier but was
detected and driven deep before she could attack.
Herring's eighth war patrol was to be both her most
successful and her last. Topping off at Midway 21 May
1944, Herring headed for the Kurile Islands patrol area.
Ten days later she rendezvoused with Barb , and was
never heard from or seen again. However, Japanese
records prove that she sank two ships, Ishigalci and
Hokuyo Maru, the night of 30-31 May. Herring's exact
manner of loss can be determined from these records also.
Two more merchant ships, Hiburi Maru and Iwaki Maru,
were sunk while at anchor in Matsuwa Island, Kuriles,
the morning of 1 June 1944. In a counter-attack, enemy
shore batteries scored two direct hits on the submarine’s
conning tower and “bubbles covered an area about 5
meters wide, and heavy oil covered an area of approxi-
mately 15 miles.” On her last patrol. Herring had sunk
four Japanese ships for a total of 13,202 tons. In all she
had sunk six marus totalling 19,959 tons, an Axis cargo
ship, and a German U-boat.
Herring received five battle stars for her service in
World War II.
Hersey, Francis C., see Francis C. Hersey
Hersey, General M. L., see General M. L. Hersey ( AP-148)
Herzog
William Ralph Herzog was born in Troy, N.Y., 29 De-
cember 1909 and was commissioned Lieutenant, junior
grade, USNR, 8 April 1942. Lieutenant Herzog was as-
signed as Officer-in-Charge of the Armed Guard detach-
ment on board SS Pan New York. When his ship was
torpedoed in the North Atlantic 29 October 1942, Herzog
found his gun crew trapped amidships. He attempted to
batter the door with his shoulder unsuccessfully, and after
aiding the radio operator to escape through a porthole
courageously returned to force the door by breaking the
lock with his pistol. Herzog was again unable to free
his men, and fell unconscious in the attempt. He was
posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal
for his heroism.
(DE-178 : dp. 1,240 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 8'9" ; s. 21 ; cpl.
186; a. 3 3", 3 tt., 2 dct. ; 8 dep; 1 dep (h.h.) ; cl.
Cannon)
Herzog (DE-178) was launched by Federal Shipbuild-
ing & Drydock Co., Newark, N. J., 5 September 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Alice A. Herzog, mother of the namesake ;
and commissioned 6 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. J. C. Toft,
Jr., in command.
After conducting shakedown operations out of Bermuda,
Herzog steamed from New York 29 November 1943 on her
first escort mission, accompanying Ariel to the West Indies
and back to New York. Arriving 18 December, she got
underway as part of the escort for a merchant convoy.
Protecting the ships through the dangerous Caribbean
passages, Herzog arrived at the Canal Zone 27 December.
Subsequently she served as escort ship on shorter voyages
between Recife, Brazil, and Trinidad.
From 14 April 1944 until 14 July Herzog served with
Task Group 41.6 on patrol in the South Atlantic. Work-
ing with escort carrier Solomons she searched the seas
in the never ending battle against German submarines.
On 15 June she was detached to pick up survivors from a
German sub sunk by aircraft, and after returning to the
group steamed to Recife, arriving 23 June. After another
brief cruise with the Task Group, she returned to Recife
16 July. She sailed to the Brazilian Naval Base at Natal
28 July and was placed out of commission and loaned to
the Brazilian Navy under lend-lease 1 August 1944. The
ship served Brazil as Beberibc (D-23), and 30 June 1953
was transferred outright to that country under the Mutual
Defense Assistance Program.
Herzog (DE-277) was built by Boston Navy Yard, Bos-
ton, Mass, in 1943. She was renamed HMS Gore while
building and transferred to Great Britain under lend-
lease 14 October 1943. Serving throughout the war as
Gore, she was returned to the United States 2 May 1946
and sold 10 June 1947.
Hesperia
An astronomical body.
( AKS-13 : 1. 441'7" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 27'7" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
195 ; a. 1 5", 1 3" ; cl. Acubens)
Hesperia (AKS-13), originally Sam Dale, was launched
under Maritime Commission contract by Delta Shipbuild-
ing Co., New Orleans, La., 18 November 1944 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Marie Owen ; converted to Navy use by Norfolk
Naval Shipyard and commissioned 1 April 1945, Lt. Comdr.
William G. Dutton in command.
Following a period of training and shakedown, Hesperia
loaded her cargo of general stores for the fleet and sailed
16 May 1945. Transiting the Panama Canal, she arrived
Pearl Harbor 13 June 1945. The stores ship then pro-
ceeded to the western Pacific for the important job of sup-
plying operating units with some of the thousands of
items — from clothing to spare parts — necessary to a mod-
ern fighting ship. She arrived Ulithi 6 July and after
issuing stores to the ships present sailed with a convoy
for Okinawa, site of the Pacific’s largest amphibious
assault just 3 months earlier. Hesperia anchored in
Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 21 July and began issuing sup-
plies of all kinds to the fleet and shore installations. She
continued to function as a mobile supply base, interrupted
only by occasional enemy air attacks, until after hostili-
ties ended in mid-August. Having issued her entire stock
the ship departed Okinawa 26 August for Manus. She
arrived 7 September, loaded another full stock of replace-
ment items, and sailed 22 September.
Hesperia encountered the great typhoon which had dev-
astated Okinawa during her voyage to Korea, but after
altering course temporarily continued to Jinsen, arriving
17 October. During the next month she serviced nearly
100 ships and small craft engaged in the Korean and
Chinese occupations, operating from Jinsen, and later
Taku, China. After this vital support duty, allowing the
ships to remain on station for longer periods of time, she
320
returned to Guam for a fresh issue 29 November 1945.
Loading completed, she sailed 20 December to Yokosuka,
Japan, and after her arrival 6 days later issued stores to
over 500 ships and small craft and the shore activities
connected with the occupation of Japan.
Her job in Japan temporarily completed, Hesperia got
underway 2 March 1946 for the United States, and arrived
San Francisco 30 March. During the next months she
made two more voyages to supply the fleet, one to Pearl
Harbor, the other to Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein. Re-
turning to San Francisco 23 December 1946, she decom-
missioned 27 February 1947, was delivered to the Mari-
time Commission, and joined the National Defense
Reserve Fleet. She is berthed at present at Suisun Bay,
California.
Hetman
A cossack headman.
( SP-1150 : dp. 20 ; 1. 60' ; b. 10' ; dr. 22" ; s. 28 k. ;
a. 1 3-pdr.)
Hetman, a small motor boat, was built in 1917 by
Greenort Basin & Construction Co., Greenpoint, Long
Island, for the Russian Government, but purchased by the
Navy from the builder in August 1917. Originally desig-
nated simply #277, her name was changed to Hetman and
she commissioned 24 October 1917, Chief Boatswain Mate
C. A. Dale, USNRF, commanding.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Hetman was used as
a patrol boat in New York harbor until her departure for
Miami 20 November 1917. Travelling the inland route, she
arrived Beaufort, N.C., 30 November and Naval Station,
Miami, Fla., 15 December. There Hetman took up duties
which consisted of towing disabled seaplanes in Biscayne
Bay and occasionally assisting in salvage work.
Taken to Key West Naval Station after the close of
the war, Hetman was offered for sale in May 1919, and
finally sold to C. .1. Haskell of New York City 1 March
1921.
Hetzel
A Coast Survey name retained.
(SwStr: t. 200; a. 1 9", 1 80-pdr.)
Hetzel, a sidewheel steamer, was built in 1861 at Balti-
more for the U.S. Coast Survey and was transferred to
the Navy Department 21 August 1861. Her first com-
manding officer was Lt. H. K. Davenport.
Hetzel was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron, and arrived Newport News, Va., 18 November
1861. Her first taste of action came 2 December, when
Confederate steamer Patrick Henry stood out into Hamp-
ton Roads and engaged several Union gunboats, including
Hetzel. The Federal ships succeeded in damaging Pat-
rick Henry in a 2-hour engagement.
The ship was next sent to the coast of North Carolina
to participate in a series of successful moves by joint
forces in that area. Arriving 4 January 1862 off Hatteras
Inlet, Hetzel got underway with the fleet 5 February for
the joint amphibious assault on Roanoke Island. She
took part in the initial bombardment of the Confederate
works 7 February, and, after the landing of troops under
cover of naval guns, helped to consolidate the Union vic-
tory next day. Commander Rowan’s forces quickly capi-
talized on their important victory by pursuing the retreat-
ing Confederate squadron up the Pasquotank River. At
Elizabeth City Hetzel and the other ships engaged Con-
federate batteries and destroyed or captured five Southern
gunboats 10 February as Union forces strengthened their
hold on the sounds of North Carolina.
USS Hetzel, a Side-wheel Steamer that saw service during the Civil War
321
As the joint operations in North Carolina continued,
Hetzel took part in the attack on New Bern, 13 and
14 March 1862. Getting underway and steaming up the
Neuse River at night, the gunboats under Commander
Rowan supported the landings by Army and Marines
at the town, passed obstructions in the river, and
carried troops for the occupation. This combined op-
eration behind the big guns of the Navy captured the
key depot at New Bern with a veritable arsenal of sup-
plies. Hetzel was assigned to the sounds of North Caro-
lina following this victory, and spent much of the rest
of the war on blockading duty in that area. She partici-
pated in an expedition to Hamilton and Williamston 2-9
November 1862 to look for ironclads rumored to be build-
ing by Confederates in the area, but found none. In
March 1863 the ship assisted in the defense of Fort Ander-
son, opposite New Bern, when it was threatened by Con-
federate troops. They attacked 13-14 March and the
accurate fire of Hetzel, Hunchback and other gunboats
was credited with saving the fortification from capture.
Hetzel was active in the sounds of North Carolina, at
New Berne and Washington, until November 1864. She
acted during this time as command ship for the area, as
her commander was senior officer of the sounds. During
the course of the war she shared in the capture of five
steamers, six schooners, and one sloop, as Union blockad-
ers effectively shut off the Confederacy from outside trade.
Hetzel returned to Hampton Roads in November 1864 for
much-needed repairs, sailing for North Carolina and her
former blockading station again 29 May 1865. She finally
returned north in October 1865 and was returned to the
Coast Survey during that month.
Hevcell
An island off the coast of Maine.
(AG-145 : dp. 515 ; 1. 177' ; h. 33’ ; dr. 10' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl. 52;
a. 2 50 cal. mg. ; cl. Camano )
Hevoell (AG-145) was launched in 1944 by United States
Concrete Pipe Corp., Los Angeles, Calif. ; served the
United States Army as FS-391 ; acquired by the Navy 2
February 1948, and commissioned 5 June 1948, Lt. (j.g.)
J. W. Hinkleman in command.
Hewell' s shakedown took her through the Pacific to
Guam. Midway, and Saipan. As part of the Service Force,
Pacific, Hewell operated in support of America’s far-flung
Asian defenses. Reclassified AKL-14 in June 1949 she
continued her duties of transporting cargo through the
vast Pacific areas covered, by the U.S. Navy. When
Communist troops began their onslaught on the Korean
peninsula in June 1950, Hewell shifted her base of opera-
tions to Japan. Shuttle trips to the Korean coast kept
American and Allied units, both naval and land, supplied
with stores and ammunition. Overhaul at Pearl Harbor
and tactical training designed to keep Hewell in a state of
readiness varied her duties out of Japan.
With the end of hostilities in Korea in August 1953,
Hewell continued to make frequent supply voyages from
Japan to occupying troops until June 1954, when she
made a final swing through the Pacific island bases.
Hewell departed Hawaii for home in mid-October 1954,
remaining at Astoria, Oreg., until she decommissioned
there 15 March 1955 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Hewell remained there until 1 November 1959 when her
name was stricken from the Navy List and sold to Steve
Pickard 2 June 1960.
Hewell received seven battle stars for Korean service.
Hetces, Joseph, see Joseph Hewes ( AP-50)
Heyliger
George Heyliger was born 8 May 1919 in Boston and
enlisted in the Marine Corps there 3 February 1942.
Private First Class Heyliger was serving with the 1st
Marine Division at Guadalcanal 9 October 1942 when his
platoon’s position was attacked hy approximately 150 Jap-
anese. The fighting swiftly changed from automatic
weapons to bayonets and then hand-to-hand combat.
Heyliger refused to be dislodged from his position by the
enemy and, after exacting a tremendous toll on them,
heroically died at his post. For his extraordinary hero-
ism and gallantry, PFC Heyliger was posthumously
awarded the Navy Cross.
( DE-510 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; to. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5'' ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5'', 4 40mm., 16 20mm.; cl. John C.
Butler)
Heyliger (DE-510) was launched 6 August 1944 by the
Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; spon-
sored by Mrs. Augusta Foss, mother of Private First Class
Heyliger ; and commissioned at New York 24 March 1945,
Lt. Comdr. Arthur F. Chase, USNR, in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Heyliger sailed from
Norfolk for the Pacific 25 May, reaching Pearl Harbor
via the Panama Canal and San Diego 19 June. The new
destroyer-escort spent 6 weeks at Pearl for various train-
ing exercises and then departed for Guam 14 August, the
day before Japan agreed to unconditional surrender. Hey-
liger reached Guam 30 August and then continued on to
Rota Island in the Marianas, where Colonel H. H. Stent,
USMC, accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison
2 September. From 19 September to 21 October Heyliger
searched through the Carolines to find Allied survivors
and Japanese soldiers, as well as examining conditions in
the islands. After a stint of patrol and air-sea rescue
operations, Heyliger returned to the States 22 January
1946 and decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla.,
20 June.
Heyliger recommissioned at Green Cove Springs 28
March 1951 and reported to her new home port, Brooklyn.
From there she participated in tactical exercises and fleet
maneuvers along the American coast and in Caribbean
waters. Antisubmarine work, her main mission, took
Heyliger to European waters 13 June-10 July 1953 and
again 17 June-15 July 1955. 'She decommissioned and
was placed in reserve at Bayonne, N.J., 2 January 1958
and later transferred to Philadelphia. Heyliger was
struck from the Navy List 1 May 1966 and sunk as a tar-
get by the Atlantic Fleet.
Heytvood
Charles Heywood was born in Maine 3 October 1839.
He was appointed a second lieutenant in the United
States Marine Corps 5 April 1858. At the outbreak of the
Civil War, Heywood was attached to Cumberland and
commissioned major by brevet for his gallant services
during the fight between Cumberland and Confederate
iron-clad Virginia. At the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 Au-
gust 1864, he commanded the Marine guard of Hartford.
and for gallant service was commissioned lieutenant
colonel by brevet. Heywood also took part in the capture
of Forts Morgan, Gaines, and Powell, ram Tennessee.
steamers Caines and Selma, and the destruction of the
steamer Morgan. In addition he served in Sabine and
Ticonderoga during the Civil War. Heywood was ap-
pointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps 30
January 1891 ; Brigadier General Commandant 3 March
1899; and Major General Commandant 1 July 1902. He
was the first commandant to attain the rank of Major
General. Ending 45 years of active service in the Corps.
Major General Heywood retired 3 October 1903. He died
26 February 1915 at the age of 76.
The name Heywood was assigned to Transport #2
on 7 February 1919; but construction of the proposed
transport, authorized by Congress 29 August 1916, v as
postponed. Classified AP— 2 on 17 July 1920, Hey wood
remained on the Navy List until 5 March 1941 when she
was renamed Doyen ( q.v .) prior to the start of
construction.
322
I
( AP-12 : dp. 14,450; 1. 507' ; b. 56' ; dr. 25’6" ; s. 16.8 k. ;
cpl. 540 ; a. 4 3'', 8 40inm.)
Hey wood (AP-12) was built in 1919 as Steadfast by the
Bethlehem Steel Corp., Alameda, Calif. As SS City of
Baltimore she made New York-San Francisco passenger
runs for the Panama Pacific Lines throughout the 1930’s.
She was acquired by the Navy 26 October 1940, renamed
Hey wood (AP-12), and fitted out as a troop transport at
Portland, Oreg., where she commissioned 7 November
1940, Captain Herbert B. Knowles in command.
Heywood cruised as far west as Hawaii before transit-
ing the Panama Canal for Charleston, S.C., arriving 14
June 1941. She carried garrison forces for the defense
of Iceland and performed neutrality patrol in waters of
the West Indies until the infamous raid on Pearl Har-
bor. She departed Norfolk 10 April 1942 with reinforce-
ments for the Soman Islands, then replenished at San
Pedro before sailing for Wellington, New Zealand. She
embarked Marines for amphibious warfare training, then
sailed to land them in the amphibious assault in the
Tulagi-Guadalcanal area 7 August 1942. She shot down
an enemy plane 8 August and frequently repelled air
attacks as she shuttled desperately needed supplies and
troops into Guadalcanal from the New Hebrides, New
Caledonia and ports of Australia. Outbound from the
besieged Solomons, she evacuated wounded Americans and
Japanese captives.
Heywood returned to San Pedro, Calif., 16 January 1948
for repairs. She sailed north 24 April, carrying fighting
men who landed 11 May in an amphibious assault on Attu,
Aleutian Islands. She returned nearly 500 wounded vet-
erans of the campaign for Attu to San Francisco 6 June,
then put to sea with occupation troops landed to occupy
Kiska 15 August 1943.
Heywood returned to Wellington, New Zealand, 1 Oc-
tober 1943 to train and embark fighting men landed in
amphibious assault on bloody Tarawa in the Gilbert
Islands 20 November. She returned to Pearl Harbor 3
December for amphibious warfare training culminating in
the amphibious assault for the capture of the Marshall
Islands which commenced 31 January 1944. She put
garrison troops ashore at Kwajalein and Majuro, then
landed assault units as Americans swiftly swept on to
Eniwetok. With the Marshalls secured, the transport
overhauled in San Pedro, Calif., then returned to the
Marshalls 11 May to prepare for the invasion of the
Marianas Islands. She landed assault troops at Saipan
16 June and on nearby Tinian 24 July as America took a
giant sea step toward Japan herself.
Heywood participated in the long overseas sweep to
Leyte in the Philippines, landing assault troops in the
initial invasion of 20 October 1944. She had a brief rest
at Manas in the Admiralties where she embarked assault
troops landed on the shores of Lingayen Gulf 9 January
1945. She" landed reinforcements to assist in securing
Mindoro 9 February 1945, then returned to the States for
overhaul before embarking reinforcements for the cap-
ture of Okinawa, the last stepping stone to Japan.
The close of hostilities with Japan 15 August 1945
found Heywood in the Philippine Islands. She carried
occupation troops into Tokyo Bay 8 September 1945 and
continued trooplift operations between Japan and the
Philippines until 25 October 1945 when she set course for
the western seaboard. After setting veterans ashore at
San Diego and at Philadelphia, she arrived in Boston 3
February 1946. She decommissioned there 12 April
1946 and transferred 2 July 1946 to the custody of the
Maritime Administration. She was subsequently renamed
City of Baltimore.
Heywood received seven battle stars for service in
World War II.
Heywood L. Edwards
Heywood Lane Edwards was born in San Saba, Tex.,
9 November 1905 and graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1926. After serving in battleship Florida, cruiser Reno
and other ships, he underwent submarine instruction in
1931, served in several submarines, and was assigned to
cruiser Detroit in 1935. Lt. Comdr. Edwards assumed
command of destroyer Reuben James 6 April 1940. His
ship became the first in the U.S. Navy to be sunk in the
Battle of the Atlantic when it was torpedoed by a German
submarine while on convoy duty west of Iceland 30-31
October 1941. Lt. Comdr. Edwards and 99 of his crew per-
ished with the ship.
( DD-663 : dp. 2,700 ; 1. 376'6'' ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 319; a. 5 5''; 10 21'' tt. ; cl. Fletcher)
Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663) was launched by Bos-
ton Navy Yard 6 October 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Louise
S. Edwards, mother of the namesake; and commissioned
26 January 1944, Comdr. J. W. Boulware in command.
Heywood L. Edwards conducted her shakedown begin-
ning 25 February off Bermuda and after gunnery exercises
off the Maine coast departed to join the Pacific Fleet.
Sailing from Boston 16 April, she transited the Panama
Canal, stopped at San Diego, and arrived Pearl Harbor
8 May. There Heywood L. Edwards, took part in training
maneuvers with Task Force 52 under Vice Admiral R. K.
Turner, helping to weld the coordinated amphibious force
which was to sweep across the Pacific. The ships got
underway from Pearl Harbor 29 May for the Marianas
with Heywood L. Edwards acting as screening unit for
the transport group, and during the initial landings on
Saipan 15 June the destroyer took up patrol station to
seaward of the invasion beaches. From 21-30 June she
closed the beaches to deliver vital fire support for the
advancing Marines, and continued that highly effective
duty until 2 July. Heywood L. Edwards then joined
cruiser Montpelier for the bombardment of Tinian, another
island objective of the Marianas campaign.
The destroyer returned to her gunfire support role off
Saipan 6 July, and the next night, 7 July, she was called
upon to rescue a group of soldiers cut off from the Ameri-
can lines and stranded on the beach. Heywood L. Edwards
put over her whaleboat and made four shuttle trips over
the treacherous reefs to rescue the 44 men, transferring
them to a nearby LCI. Between 19 and 21 July she fired
more bombardment missions off Tinian in support of the
impending landing there, returned to Saipan fire support
duties for a few more days, and got underway from the
Marianas 30 July for Eniwetok.
With the Marianas secured, the next objective in the
push across the Pacific was the capture of advance bases
for the invasion of the Philippines. Heyivood L. Edwards
took part in the Peleliu operation, departing 18 August
for training exercises with amphibious forces on Florida
Island and sailing for the western Carolines 6 September.
Arriving 11 September, the destroyer maintained an anti-
submarine patrol around the heavier bombardment units
until 13 September, when she was detached to provide
close support for underwater demolition teams working
on beach obstructions. On 15 September, the day of the
assault on this strategic island, Heyivood L. Edwards pro-
vided fire support to forces ashore, illumination fire at
night, and succeeded in knocking out an ammunition dump
next day as the struggle continued. She encountered a
group of barges loaded with reinforcements shortly after
midnight 23 September, and after illuminating them with
star shell opened with her main battery. By dawn she
had sunk 14 of the barges, aided by landing craft, and
had helped prevent the landing of some 650 Japanese
troops.
The landing a success, Heyivood L. Edwards proceeded
to Manus, Admiralty Islands, where she arrived 1 October.
There she joined with Rear Admiral Oldendorf's fire sup-
port and bombardment group for the historic return to the
Philippines, departing for Leyte 12 October 1944. She
conducted pre-invasion bombardment 18-20 October and
provided gunfire support for the landings 20 October.
This work continued for 4 days under frequent enemy air
attack. Then Heyivood L. Edwards joined once more
with Rear Admiral Oldendorf’s force for the impending
323
Battle of Surigao Strait, as the Japanese made a desperate
attempt to destroy the landing force.
As Oldendorf’s masterfully deployed forces waited at
the end of Surigao Strait, Heywood L. Edwards headed
section 3 of Destroyer Squadron 56, screening the left
flank of the cruiser line. Torpedo boats and destroyers
made the initial attacks, farther down the strait, and just
after 0300 25 October Heywood L. Edwards and her unit
were ordered to attack. In company with Leutze and
Bennion the destroyer steamed down the port side of the
enemy column and ran through a hail of gunfire to launch
torpedoes. Two hits were obtained on Japanese battleship
Yamashiro, with Albert W. Grant on the American side
damaged but afloat. After this intrepid attack, the Jap-
anese steamed into Oldendorf’s trap. As the destroyers
retired, his heavy units pounded the enemy line, allowing
only cruiser Mogami (later sunk by aircraft) and one
destroyer to escape. As morning broke over Surigao
Strait, Heywood L. Edwards took station on the port bow
of the cruisers in search of enemy cripples, patrolled the
eastern entrance to the strait for a day, then returned
to take up station in Leyte Gulf.
With the American victory complete at sea, Heywood L.
Edwards remained in the invasion area until 25 November,
patrolling and protecting the shipping building up in the
gulf. She arrived Manus for a much-needed rest and
repair period 29 November. Soon underway again, how-
ever, she sailed 15 December, and after training exercises
in the Palau Islands departed 1 January with Oldendorf’s
group for the second important phase of the Philippine
invasion, Lingayen Gulf. Fighting off suicide planes as
they steamed, the ships arrived Lingayen Gulf 6 January,
and Heywood L. Edwards downed two of these aircraft
during a strong attack that day. She then took up her
fire support duties for UDT teams, and with the landings
9 January covered troops on the beachhead and fired at
strongpoints ashore. She continued these assignments
in addition to protecting arriving and departing convoys
until 22 January, when she departed for Ulithi.
Next on the relentless timetable of Pacific victory was
Iwo Jima, seen as a key base for B-29 operations against
the mainland of Japan. Heywood L. Edwards partici-
pated in landing rehearsals 12-14 February 1945 and
screened heavy units during the pre-invasion bombard-
ment. As the Marines stormed ashore 19 February she
began firing support missions, aiding the hard fighting
ashore until 27 February, when she sailed for Saipan.
The destroyer then sailed on to Ulithi and formed with the
supporting forces for the coming invasion of Okinawa.
The task force for this landing departed Ulithi 21 March,
and after her arrival 4 days later Heywood L. Edwards
covered the UDT teams’ reconnaissance of Kerama Retto.
As those islands were captured 27 March in preparation
for the larger landings, the destroyer found herself in the
midst of heavy suicide attacks and shot down many of
the kamikazes. She covered the UDT landings on Okinawa
30 March, bombarded an airfield ashore that afternoon,
and 1 April joined in the bombardment of the assault
areas. During the next weeks of bitter fighting ashore,
naval forces effectively sealed off the island from any pos-
sible reinforcement and effectively supported the troops
with gunfire. Heywood L. Edxvards and the other vessels
had to fight off continuing suicide attacks and other
menaces. When destroyer Longshaw ran aground on a
reef 18 May, Heyxcood L. Edwards knocked out shore
batteries which had opened on the stricken ship. She then
continued performing lire support and radar picket duties
off Okinawa until 28 July, when she sailed for Leyte Gulf.
She had helped to carry out one of the most prolonged and
successful fire support operations in the history of am-
phibious warfare.
The destroyer departed Leyte 2 August, and after a time
at Saipan and Eniwetok she got underway again 29 Au-
gust. Sailing toward Japan, Heyxcood L. Edwards covered
the initial occupation of the Ominato area 6 September
1945 and departed that port 22 October for the United
States, via Pearl Harbor. She arrived Seattle 10 Novem-
ber, decommissioned 1 July 1946, and entered the Long
Beach Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. Brought out of re-
serve in 1959, she was loaned to Japan under the Military
Assistance Program, where she serves as Ariake (DD-
183).
Heywood L. Edwards received seven battle stars for her
service in World War II and a Navy Unit Commendation
for her outstanding part in the great amphibious opera-
tions of 1944-45.
Hiamonee
A former Seminole village on the Okloknee River in
North Florida.
( YTB-513 : dp. 325 ; 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9'7”)
Hiaxnonee (YTB-513), a diesel-powered tug, was
launched 19 September 1945 by Commercial Iron Works,
Portland, Oreg. ; and placed in service November 1945.
Hiamonee served as a harbor tug in the 12th Naval
District until March 1946, when she entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, Wash., where she remains.
Hiawatha
( SP-183 ; dp. 89 ; 1. 98' ; b. 17' ; dr. 5’ ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1 3-pdr.,
1 1-pdr.)
Hiawatha , a steam yacht, was built as Bonaire by Law-
ley & Sons, Boston, Mass., in 1914. She was acquired
from her owner, A. W. Stanley, of Miami, Fla., and com-
missioned 10 May 1917 at Norfolk Navy Yard.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Hiawatha operated
in Hampton Roads and vicinity as a patrol craft and dis-
patch boat during the First World War. After the war
she remained inactive in Norfolk until loaned to the Mary-
land State Conservation Commission 11 December 1919
to 16 March 1920. She was subsequently sold to the De-
partment of Agriculture, Forest Service, 1 October 1920,
and was taken to Alaska for use in the administration of
Alaskan National Forests.
II
( SP-2892 : dp. 69; 1. 65'5" ; b. 17' ; dr. 8' ; s. 8 k.)
The second Hiawatha, a wooden steam tug, was built by
Brown, Tottenville, of Staten Island, N.Y., in 1903 ; ac-
quired by the Navy in 1918; and commissioned 1 August
1918 at New York.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Hiawatha operated
with and was manned by sailors from guard ship Amphi-
trite. The tug performed guard duty in the harbor and
boarded ships to inspect cargo until she was detached
from service 5 December 1918. Hiawatha was returned
to her owner 5 May 1919.
III
( YT-265 : dp. 237 ; 1. 100' ; b. 25' dr. 9'7" ; s. 13 k.)
Hiawatha (YT-265), a harbor tug, was built as Port
Angeles under Maritime Commission Contract by Birch-
field Boiler Inc., Tacoma, Wash. ; launched 3 April 1942 ;
and sponsored by Mrs. Violet Davies. Acquired by the
Navy 30 April 1942, the tug’s name was changed to Hia-
watha ; and she was placed in service.
Hiawatha performed harbor tug duties for the 13th
Naval District at Seattle, Wash., during the remainder of
World War II and after. She was redesignated YTB, large
harbor tug, 15 May 1944. In 1948 she was assigned to
the 12th Naval District and operated as a tug for the
San Francisco Naval Shipyard. Hiawatha was redesig-
nated YTM-265, medium harbor tug, in February 1962 ;
and she continues to serve at San Francisco Naval
Shipyard.
324
Hibbing Victory, see Denebola (AF-56)
Hibiscus
I
Any of the herbs, shrubs, or trees of genus Hibiscus;
many of which have large showy flowers.
(ScStr: t. 490; s. 9 k. ; a. 2 30-pdr., 4 24-pdr.)
Hibiscus was purchased at New York from S. M. Pook
on 16 November 1864 ; and commissioned there on 29 De-
cember 1864, Lt. William L. Martine in command.
She sailed from New York on 29 January 1865 and
reached Tampa, Fla., via Port Royal, S.C., and Key West
on 17 February. Hibiscus patrolled out of Tampa until
the end of July, putting in at Cedar Keys and St. Andrews
Bay as well as Key West during this period. On 11
April 1865 off Crystal River Sea Bird, which served as
tender to Hibiscus, captured small Confederate sloops
Florida and Annie with cargos of loose and baled cotton.
With the end of the war, Hibiscus sailed north and on 11
August stood into New York. She decommissioned there
19 August 1865 and was sold 5 October 1866.
II
(T. 876; 1. 190'; b. 30'; dr. 13'; sp. 11 k.)
Hibiscus was built in Camden, N.J., in 1908. Acquired
from the Lighthouse Service, Department of Commerce,
she commissioned 11 April 1917 and served as a patrol
vessel at Boston. Hibiscus, after decommissioning, was
returned to the Lighthouse Service 1 July 1919.
Hibiscus, see Spry (PG-64)
Hickman
(NOTS: dp. 10,562 t. ; 1. 377'; b. 52'; dr. 23'10" ; sp.
10.5 k. ; cpl. 90 )
Hickman was built by Standard Steamboat Co. of New
York in 1918; acquired from the US SB on 16 November
1918; and commissioned at Shooters Island, N.Y., on 16
November 1918, Lt. Comdr. Carl Gustave Muller in com-
mand.
After loading cargo at New York, Hickman sailed for
France on 7 December 1918, arriving at La Pallic Roads
on 22 December after a rough passage in which one of the
crew was lost overboard. She unloaded cargo there and,
taking on a few passengers for the States, sailed on 27
January 1919 and arrived at New York on 17 February
in an even rougher passage with winds in the North
Atlantic reaching hurricane force. She decommissioned
there 5 March 1919 and was returned to the USSB.
Hickman County
There are two Hickman Counties in the United States.
Hickman County of middle Tennessee has an area of 655
square miles; its county seat is Centerville. Hickman
County of western Kentucky has an area of 244 square
miles ; its county seat is Clinton.
( LST-825 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm„ cl. LST-511)
Hickman County (LST-825) was launched as LST-825
11 November 1944 by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron
Co., Evansville, Ind. ; sponsored by Mrs. John Spindler ;
commissioned at New Orleans 8 December 1944, Lt. Henry
V. Hartsell in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, LST-825 loaded
oil and cargo at New Orleans and sailed for the West
Coast. She arrived at San Diego 30 January 1045, dis-
charged her cargo and continued on to Seattle, arriving
4 February. Loading oil, ammunition and embarking
troops, LST-825 sailed for the Pacific 26 February 1945.
The momentous Pacific campaign was in full swing at
Okinawa when LST-825 reached that rocky Japanese
fortress via Pearl Harbor, Guam, Eniwetok, and Ulithi
on 21 April to discharge troop reinforcements and cargo.
LST-825 retired to Saipan, where she loaded cargo and
supplies for the famed Seabees and returned to Okinawa
26 June. A late July convoy took the LST to I wo Jima
with cargo and supplies ; and she returned to Okinawa
4 September. Hostilities having ended on 15 August,
LST-825 embarked troops and equipment of the 5th Army
Air Force destined to participate in the occupation of
Japan. Entering Tokyo Bay 25 September, she disem-
barked the occupation forces and their equipment and set
course for Okinawa.
During November 1945, LST-825 completed a second
Okinawa-Japan trip. On the 16th the landing ship em-
barked 514 enlisted men at Guam and sailed for the United
States via Pearl Harbor as part of the “Magic-Carpet”
fleet bringing home veterans, arriving San Francisco 22
December. After a few months of tactical operations
along the West Coast, LST-825 decommissioned at Swan
Island, Portland, Oreg., and joined the Pacific Reserve
Fleet 22 May 1946.
With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, LST-825 re-
commissioned 3 November 1950, Lt. Thomas R. Ashton
in command. After training out of San Diego, LST-825
entered Pearl Harbor 8 April 1951 where she transported
passengers and cargo among the Hawaiian Islands until
returning stateside 1 July. On 17 September she re-
turned to Hawaii and operated there until her return 16
December to San Diego. Departing San Diego 26 April
1952, the LST arrived at Yokosuka 11 June via Pearl
Harbor and Midway. She made several cruises to the
Korean coast to participate in tactical amphibious exer-
cises and maneuvers of U.S. and Republic of South Korean
troops. LST-825 also carried Communist prisoners-of-
war from Korea to Japan. She returned to San Diego
5 March 1953, for scheduled amphibious landing exercises
and fleet tactics along the western seaboard.
Her second Western Pacific cruise began on her depar-
ture from California 20 January 1954. Spring and early
summer were spent in operations along the Japanese and
Korean coast as well as cargo duty between Eniwetok and
Bikini. On 11 August 1954, LST-825 departed Yokosuka
for French Indochina, where She assisted the humani-
tarian “Passage to Freedom.” When the French began to
pull out of Indochina following their defeat by Communist
rebels, over 800,000 North Vietnamese chose to foresake
their homes and cast their lot with the southern half of
their country rather than to live under communism.
Nearly 100 ships of the U.S. Navy under Rear Admiral
Lorenzo S. Sabin helped transport the refugees in a mass
exodus to freedom. In all, the U.S. Navy evacuated 310,-
848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,757 tons of cargo and
over 8,000 vehicles. Hard-pressed and cramped sailors
were rewarded when many of the 184 children born on the
“Passage to Freedom” were named after U.S. ships and
officers. Part of this humanitarian task force from 26
August to 5 October 1954, LST-825 made five trips from
the Northern capital, Haiphong, to Southern ports with
Vietnamese refugees and French troops and equipment.
For an outstanding job done during this worthy cause,
the ship was awarded the Vietnam Presidential Unit
Citation.
LST-825 returned to San Diego 27 November 1954, and
operated out of there until decommissioned 20 September
1955, having been renamed Hickman County 1 July.
Hickman County recommissioned in service at San Diego
22 March 1963, Lt. Edward F. Powers in command. As-
signed to LST Reserve Squadron 2, she reported to the
U.S. Naval Amphibious Base at Little Creek, Va., 19 June
1963, to conduct amphibious warfare training. For the
next 2 years she underwent various phases of training in
amphibious warfare.
In May 1965, the Dominican Republic crisis erupted and
Hickman County sailed from Norfolk 8 May laden with
325
supplies for the logistical support of the U.S. Armed
Forces keeping the peace in that country. Hickman
County remained in the Caribbean area as a standby ship
supplying the United States contingency at the Dominican
Republic until 15 July when it called at Puerto de Haina,
Dominican Republic, to embark Army troops and sailed
for Sunny Point, N.C., debarking them 22 July 1965.
From 26 August until 9 December, the busy ship trans-
ferred military personnel and cargo between the United
States and the Dominican Republic and acted as host to
foreign ships at San Juan, P.R. On 10 December she ar-
rived at Little Creek, Va., departing for Brooklyn, N.Y.,
4 days later for overhaul. On 23 February 1966, the ship
transited the Panama Canal, arriving at Pearl Harbor
19 March and departed Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, 4 April 1966
for the Western Pacific, where she presently serves.
Hickman County earned two battle stars for service in
Korea and the Vietnam and Korean Presidential Unit
Citations.
Hickox
Ralph Hickox was born 29 August 1903 in Washington
D.C. Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps 23
September 1921, he was appointed to Annapolis 18 July
1923 and commissioned ensign 2 June 1927. In the peace-
time Navy Hickox served in a variety of ships and sta-
tions and was finally appointed commanding officer of the
destroyer Truxtun 3 October 1941. He had been commis-
sioned lieutenant commander 1 July of that year. When
his ship went aground in heavy seas off St. Lawrence,
Newfoundland, 18 February 1942, Lt. Comdr. Hickox
remained on the bridge directing rescue operations in a
cool and fearless manner which inspired the officers and
men under him and was instrumental in effecting the
rescue of many of the members of his crew. However,
Hickox was swept from the bridge by the pounding seas
and lost.
( DD-673 : dp. 2,050 t. ; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s.
37 k. ; cpl. 319 ; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21” tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Hickox (DD-673) was launched 4 July 1943 by Federal
Ship Building & Drydock Co., Kearny, N. J. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Ralph Hickox, wife of the late Commander Hickox ;
and commissioned 10 September 1943, Comdr. William M.
Sweetser in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Hickox departed
Norfolk 21 November and reported to Pearl Harbor 12
December. Joining Admiral Mitscher’s fast carrier Task
Force 58 as part of the destroyer screen, Hickox sailed 16
January 1944 to participate in the first “neutralization”
raids against Marshall Islands airfields. In the next few
months she helped shepherd the powerful carriers
through raids on Truk, the Marshalls, and New Guinea.
On 1 April Hickox teamed up with Hunt to destroy two
small Japanese cargo vessels off Woleai Island. She
chalked up another enemy ship, a small picket boat, 13
June in the Marianas. After guarding the carriers as
their planes launched initial strikes on both Wake and
Saipan in early June, Hickox accompanied other units of
the task force in patrolling western Marianas waters in
anticipation of engagement with a large enemy surface
force. These anticipations were met 19 June as the Bat-
tle of the Philippine Sea was joined. In this 2-day air
struggle, the Japanese fleet lost 395 ( 92%) of its carrier
planes, 31 (72%) of its float planes, and an estimated
50 land-based planes. During the famed “Marianas Tur-
key Shoot.” as the Navy fondly termed it, Hickox was in
on the kill of at least five aircraft and also rescued three
splashed fliers. Japanese naval air never recovered from
this defeat.
For the rest of the summer she remained with TF 58
as the carriers launched preliminary air strikes against
enemy positions on Iwo Jima and Guam. On 11 Septem-
ber Hickox joined Admiral “Bull” Halsey’s 3d Fleet in
Philippine waters to protect carriers whose planes 2 days
later launched initial strikes against the former American
islands. After raids on Okinawa and Formosa 12-13
October, Hickox turned back to Philippine waters to
participate in the Battle for Leyte Gulf, Japan’s last des-
perate effort to resist the overwhelming American ad-
vance across the Pacific. In 4 separate battles 24—26
October the once-proud Japanese fleet was decimated by
the loss of 3 battleships, 10 cruisers, 4 carriers, 9 destroy-
ers, and a submarine. Through 7 November Hickox re-
mained with the 3d Fleet, under almost constant Japanese
air attack, to screen air strikes against Manila before
retiring to Ulithi.
Rejoining the carriers 14 November, Hickox escorted
them to further strikes in the Philippines and 11 Decem-
ber support of the Mindanao landings. In the savage
typhoon which struck the Philippines 17 December,
Hickox lost steering control in howling winds estimated
at 115 knots, but regained power and control in time
to shepherd a group of tankers to safety at Ulithi 23 De-
cember. Rejoining Task Force 58 1 February 1945, Hickox
screened the carriers 16 February as they launched the
first raids against Tokyo since the famed Halsey-Doolittle
raid of April 1942. Further strikes against the Japanese
home islands and in support of the already-launched Iwo
Jima invasion kept Hickox at sea well into the spring.
On 19 March the carrier Franklin was severely damaged by
a kamikaze and Hickox lowered her whaleboat and
steamed in the listing ship’s wake to rescue her crew.
After rescuing some 70 men from the water, the daring
destroyer sailed directly under the flaming carrier’s
fantail to rescue 18 men from the ship and 3 more from
the water. In addition, Hickox’ s effective antiaircraft
fire drove off two more kamikaze attacks on the damaged
Franklin. After escorting the carrier to Ulithi 24 March,
Hickox sailed 5 April to join support forces off Okinawa,
where battle had been raging 4 days as American forces
sought to take the Japanese bastion, last obstacle before
invasion of the home islands.
Off Okinawa Hickox engaged in screening and radar
picket duties. While coming under fierce air attack, the
battle-hardened DD gave as good as she received, down-
ing and assisting in the kill of several Jap planes. De-
tached from duty there 29 May, Hickox proceeded to Guam
and from there sailed for home via San Pedro and Pearl
Harbor. Steaming under the Golden Gate Bridge 6 July,
the veteran warrior underwent repairs, her first since de-
parting the States 18 months earlier, and was still there
when the long Pacific war ended 2 September with the
signing of the armistice in Tokyo Bay. Hickox decom-
missioned and went into reserve at San Diego 10 Decem-
ber 1946.
Hickox recommissioned 19 May 1951, following the
outbreak of war in Korea that accelerated the need for
seapower. She arrived Newport, R.I., her new home
port, 13 October to join the Atlantic Fleet. After tacti-
cal exercises along the coast and in the Caribbean, she
and the other destroyers of DesRon 20 sailed 6 Septem-
ber on what was to become an around-the-world cruise.
Hickox spent two long winter months on duty off Korea
screening the fast carriers of Task Force 77, furnishing
gunfire support, and patrolling along the Communist-
imperiled peninsula. She and her sister ships returned
to Newport in April 1953 via Singapore, Calcutta, Ceylon,
Naples, and Gibraltar to terminate their 7%-month
cruise. Further exercises occupied her until 8 Septem-
ber 1954, when Hickox sailed for a 5-month cruise to
Northern and Mediterranean Europe. NATO and fleet
maneuvers as well as good-will visits consumed most of
Hickox’s tour. Returning to the States 7 February 1955,
Hickox made one more Mediterranean cruise in the sum-
mer of 1957 during which she stood by in the eastern
Mediterranean to prevent further unrest and bloodshed
in the wake of an attempted coup against King Hussein
of Jordan. Returning to the States 30 August, Hickox
sailed to Philadelphia 2 weeks later and decommissioned
there to join the Atlantic Reserve Fleet 20 December 1957.
Hickox received nine battle stars for World War II
service and two for Korean service.
326
Hidalgo
A county in New Mexico.
( AK-189 : dp. 7,125 full load; 1. 338'6" ; b. 50'; dr. 21';
s. 12 k. ; cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3” ; cl. Alamosa)
Hidalgo (AK-189), a diesel-powered C1-M-AV1 cargo
hull, was launched 28 July 1944 under Maritime Commis-
sion contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilding, Inc., Supe-
rior, Wis., sponsored by Mrs. Claude Pepper, wife of the
Senator from Florida ; placed in service while being towed
to Galveston, Tex., and commissioned 4 August 1945, Lt.
John W. Thompson in command.
After conducting a brief shakedown cruise off the coast
of Texas, Hidalgo sailed to the Canal Zone for routing
to the Pacific 5 September 1945, but the war’s end brought
orders to proceed to Norfolk. The ship arrived in Hamp-
ton Roads 11 March 1946 and decommissioned 26 April
1946. Subsequently, she was sold to Turkey and serves
as cargo ship Rize in merchant service.
Hidatsa
An Indian group of the Sioux Tribe of North Dakota,
now living on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
( AT-102 : dp. 1.240 ; 1. 205' ; b. 38'6" ; dr. 15'4" ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3'', 2 40mm. ; cl. Cherokee )
Hidatsa (AT-102) was launched 29 December 1943 by
the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Charleston,
S.C. ; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy S. White ; and commis-
sioned 25 April 1944, Lt. Carroll F. Johnson in command.
She was reclassified ATF-102 15 May 1944.
After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Hidatsa departed
Norfolk 3 June 1944 with two floating destroyer workshops
in tow and reached Manus Island, Admiralties, via the
Panama Canal, Borabora, and Espiritu Santo 4 September.
On 20 September Hidatsa towed two pontoon barges to
Morotai to be used in docks assembled on that newly
taken island. Next, she towed seven more barges to
Mios Woendi. Then, as the long Pacific campaign moved
steadily northward, the fleet tug departed Mios Woendi
13 October with a gasoline barge, a crane barge, and a
PT drydock in tow, for use in the invasion of the Philip-
pine Islands. As Hidatsa reached Leyte Gulf, scene of
the initial landings, 25 October she could observe gun
flashes from the Battle of Surigao Straits, part of Japan’s
desperate attempt to deny America the Philippines. But
for brief voyages to Manus and Hollandia, Hidatsa re-
mained at Leyte on fire fighting, towing and salvage as-
signments until 3 January 1945. That day she sailed to
participate in the initial landings at Lingayen Gulf where
she remained 9-18 January during the vicious Japanese
kamikaze attacks.
Hidatsa next participated in landings at Zambales and
Grande Island, where she was active in salvage and tow-
ing work. On the morning of 17 February, while re-
turning from the initial assault landings at Corregidor,
the tug struck a mine in Mariveles Harbor killing 8 of
her crew and injuring another 12. Towed to Subic Bay
18 February. Hidatsa remained there for repairs and
trials until she sailed 2 August 1945 for Manus Island,
where she received the welcome news of Japan’s sur-
render. Although the war was over, there was much work
to be done, and the fleet tug remained in the Philippines
for salvage operations until 7 April 1946.
Reaching San Pedro. Calif., via Eniwetok and Pearl
Harbor, 13 June, Hidatsa engaged in training operations.
She returned to the Pacific in 1947 for salvage and towing
operations, primarily at Eniwetok and Kwajalein.
Hidatsa departed Mare Island for Alaska 28 August 1947
and spent most of the next 2 months operating in the
northern waters. Operations along the California coast,
with a February 1948 cruise to Pearl Harbor, occupied
Hidatsa until she decommissioned and went into reserve
at Long Beach, Calif., 5 May 1948.
In 1962 Hidatsa was transferred to the Maritime Com-
mission, National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay,
California, where she remains.
Hidatsa earned two battle stars for her service in World
War II.
Hi-Esmara, see Niagara (AGP-1)
Higbee
Lenah S. Higbee, first woman to receive the Navy Cross
while still living, was born 18 May 1874 in Chatham, New
Brunswick, Canada. After completing nurses’ training at
New York Postgraduate Hospital in 1899 and further
training at Fordham Hospital, she engaged in private
practice until entering the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps 1 Oc-
tober 1908. Widow of the late Lieutenant Colonel John
Henley Higbee, USMC, Mrs. Higbee became Chief Nurse 14
April 1909 and second commandant of the Nurse Corps 20
January 1911. For her World War I service she received
the Navy Cross 11 November 1920. Mrs. Higbee retired
from the Nurse Corps 30 November 1922 and died 10 Jan-
uary 1941 at Winter Park, Fla. She is buried beside her
husband at Arlington National Cemetery.
( DD-806 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 367; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21'' tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
Higbee (DD-806) was launched 13 November 1944 by
the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. A.
M. Wheaton, sister of the late Mrs. Lenah S. Higbee : and
commissioned 27 January 1945, Comdr. Lindsay William-
son in command.
Higbee immediately sailed to Boston, where she was con-
verted to a radar picket destroyer. After shakedown in
the Caribbean, she sailed for the Pacific 24 May, joining
the famed Carrier Task Force 38 less than 400 miles from
Tokyo Bay 19 July. “Leaping Lenah,” as she had been
dubbed by her crew, screened the carriers as their planes
launched heavy air attacks against the Japanese main-
land until the end of hostilities 15 August. She helped
clear Japanese mine fields and supported the occupation
forces for the following 7 months, finally returning to San
Diego 11 April 1946. The post-war years saw Higbee
make two peacetime Western Pacific cruises as well as
participate in fleet exercises and tactical training maneu-
vers during both these cruises and off the West Coast.
On her second WestPac cruise, Higbee escorted the heavy
cruiser Toledo as they paid official visits to the recently
constituted governments of India and Pakistan in the
summer of 1948.
When Communist troops plunged into South Korea in
June 1950, Higbee , redesignated DDR-806 18 March 1949.
was immediately deployed to the Korean coast with the
7th Fleet. Most of her Korean War duty came in screen-
ing the Fast Carrier Task Force 77 as their jets launched
raids against Communist positions and supply lines. On
15 September she formed part of the shore bombardment
and screening group for the brilliant amphibious opera-
tion at Inchon. Higbee returned to San Diego 8 February
1951. In two subsequent stints in Korea, she continued
to screen the carrier task force and carry out shore
bombardment of enemy positions. In order to protect
against the possibility of Communist invasion of Nation-
alist China, Higbee also participated in patrol of Formosa
Straits. Returning to the States 30 June 1953, she entered
the Long Beach yard for a 6-month modernization which
saw major structural alterations made, including an en-
larged Combat Information Center, new height-finding
radar, and an improved antiaircraft battery.
The radar picket destroyer’s peacetime duty then fell
into a pattern of 6-month WestPac cruises alternating
with upkeep and training out of San Diego. Operating
with the 7th Fleet on her WestPac cruises, Higbee visited
Australian and South Pacific ports frequently as well as
engaging in fleet maneuvers with units of SEATO navies.
Her home port was changed to Yokosuka, Japan, 21 May
256-125 0 - 68 - 23
327
1960. From there Higbee continued to cruise in the Pacific
and along the China coast to strengthen American force
in Asia and show her determination to protect democracy
against the inroads of Communism. After 2 years duty
in Japan, Higbee returned to her new home port, San
Francisco, 4 September 1962. On 1 April 1963 the destroy-
er entered the shipyard there for a fleet rehabilitation and
modernization overhaul designed to improve her fighting
capabilities and lengthen her life span as an active mem-
ber of the fleet. Higbee was redesignated DD-806 on
1 June 1963.
Ready for action 3 January 1964, Higbee trained on the
West Coast until departing for Japan 30 June and reached
her new homeport, Yokosuka, 18 July. During the Tonkin
Gulf Incident in August, the destroyer screened carriers
of Task Force 77 in the South China Sea. In February
1965 Higbee supported the 9th Marine Brigade at Danang,
Vietnam. In May she participated in Gemini recovery in
the Western Pacific. On 1 September Higbee helped to
rescue the crew from Arsinoe after the French tanker had
grounded off Scarborough Shoals in the South China Sea.
The remainder of September was spent in naval gunfire
support off South Vietnam.
While operating northeast of Luzon in late January
1966, Higbee sighted Russian hydrographic ship Gidrifon.
Returning to South Vietnam in April, Higbee bombarded
enemy positions near Cape St. Jacques and the mouth of
the Saigon River. On 17 June she departed Yokosuka for
the West Coast, arrived Long Beach, her new home
port, 2 July and operated out of there into 1967.
Higbee earned one battle star for her service in World
War II and seven battle stars for her service in the
Korean War.
High Ball
A former name retained.
(SP-947: 1. 45'; b. 6'6" ; dr. 2'6" ; s. 35 k. ; a. 1 mg.)
High Ball , a wooden motor boat, was built in 1910, ac-
quired from her owner, W. J. Green of Utica, N.Y.. 21
May 1917, and commissioned 1 June 1917 at New York
Navy Yard.
High Ball was assigned to the 3d Naval District and
spent her commissioned service as a tender to Amphitrite
in New York Harbor. She was returned to her owner
21 May 1919.
II
(YP, 1. 31' wl.)
The second High Ball was a small motor boat acquired
by the Navy from her owner, W. W. Smithers, of Cape
May, N.J.. November 1918. Assigned to the 4tli Naval
District, she was returned to her owner 2 December 1918.
High Point
A city in central North Carolina.
(PCH-1 : dp. 110; 1. 115' ; b. 32' ; dr. about 17' with foils
down ; s. over 30 k. ; cl. High Point)
High Point (PCH-1), an hydrofoil patrol craft, was
launched 17 August 1962 by J. M. Martinae Shipbuilding
Corp., Tacoma, Wash., in conjunction with Boeing Co.,
Seattle ; sponsored by Mrs. William H. Allen ; and placed
in service 15 August 1963, Lt. H. G. Billerbeck in charge.
High Point is the first of a series of hydrofoil craft
designed to evaluate the performance of this kind of
propulsion in the modern Navy. She has three submerged
foils containing propulsion nacelles and propellers, and
is also capable of riding on her hull like a more conven-
tional ship. On her foils. High Point is capable of very
high-speed operation, and can add mobility and flexibility
to America’s antisubmarine forces. The craft carried out
tests in Puget Sound during 1963 through 1967.
Highland Light
A former name retained.
( IX—48 : 1. 68'7'' ; b. 15'4" ; t. 32)
Highland Light ( IX— 48 ) , an auxiliary cruiser, was built
by George Lawley & Son, Neponset, Mass., in 1931, and
was given to the Navy by the estate of Dudley A. Wolf
of Boston for use at the Naval Academy. The craft was
acquired 26 October 1940 and remained in service at the
Naval Academy at Annapolis through 1965 until struck
from the Navy List 1 April 1965.
Highlands
A county in Florida.
(APA-119: dp. 6,873; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 536 ; a. 1 5'', 12 40mm. ; cl. Haskell; T. VC2-S-AP5)
Highlands (APA-119), a “Liberty ship” transport, was
launched 8 July 1944 under Maritime Commission con-
tract by California Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, Calif. ;
sponsored by Mrs. G. W. D. Dashiell ; acquired by the
Navy and commissioned 5 October 1944, Captain G. D.
Lyon commanding.
The new transport conducted shakedown training out
of San Pedro until 30 October. Following a rigorous
period of drills, which would serve her well in the months
to come, Highlands sailed to San Francisco to embark her
troops, and got underway 23 November for Hawaii.
Arriving Pearl Harbor 29 November, the ship again
turned to amphibious training, in preparation for the
epochal Iwo Jima landings, one of the most important
steps in the Navy’s island campaign that drove relent-
lessly toward Japan. Highlands sailed with her task
group 27 January 1945 via Eniwetok for Saipan, where
she arrived 11 February. Five days later she sailed for
Iwo Jima and commenced unloading on the beaches the
morning of 19 February. For the next 6 days the trans-
port unloaded troops and supplies during the day and
retired under escort cover each night. Japanese air at-
tacks were heavy during this period, claiming escort car-
rier Bismarck Sea in a kamikaze attack 21 February and
damaging several other ships, including Saratoga. In
addition to her regular duties, Highlands received over
150 survivors of Bismarck Sea 22 February, as well as
casualties from the hard-pressed Marine units ashore.
Highlands departed Iwo Jima 25 February and after
debarking casualties at Saipan proceeded to Espiritu
Santo, arriving 15 March 1945. There she took on fresh
troops for the next major assault of the Pacific War,
the invasion of Okinawa, called by Winston Churchill
“. . . among the most intense and famous of military
history.” Highlands did not take part in the initial land-
ings, arriving in the Ryukyus 3 April. The transport
remained at Kerama Retto until 11 April, when she took
part in the early morning assault on Tsugen Jima, a
small but key island controlling the approaches to the
large bay on Okinawa’s east side. As Marines gained
control of the island, Highlands took casualties on board,
and moved directly off Hagushi beaches 12 April to dis-
embark reserve troops. During the 3 days that followed
antiaircraft fire and smoke screens helped protect the
transport from almost continuous air attack, and after
completing her mission Highlands sailed for Saipan 16
April.
Arriving Saipan 20 April Highlands unloaded casualties
and proceeded the next day to Ulithi. She departed 22
May for Guam and then Leyte, arriving in Leyte Gulf
31 May. The transport now busily prepared for the ex-
pected amphibious landings on the Japanese mainland,
operations which were terminated by the surrender 15
August 1945. Highlands had been operating off Panay
Island when the surrender came ; she sailed 21 August
to load occupation troops on Luzon. Highlands and other
transports of her group entered Tokyo Bay the day of
328
USS High Point (PCH-1) — Notice space between bottom of her hull and surface of the water.
the formal ceremony, 2 September, and landed the 1st
Cavalry Division on Japanese soil.
Highlands returned to the Philippine Islands and
Okinawa for more occupation troops in September and
after the clearing of mines from Japan’s inland sea landed
troops at Kure 6 October. The veteran ship sailed 11 Oc-
tober for Okinawa and San Diego carrying returnees, ar-
riving in the United States 2 November. She made an ad-
ditional voyage to Japanese ports 17 November-26 Decem-
ber, returning to San Francisco, and departed 11 January
1946 for the Panama Canal and Norfolk. Highlands
arrived Hampton Roads 26 January, decommissioned 14
February and was placed in the Maritime Commission’s
National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, where she
remains.
Highlands received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Highway
A British name retained.
(LSD-10: dp. 4,490; 1. 457'9" ; b. 72'7" ; dr. 18' ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 290; a. 1 3”, 12 40mm., 16 20mm.; cl. Ashland)
LSD-10 was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding
& Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., 23 November 1942 ;
launched as Claymore 19 July 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
R. M. Challoner, Jr.; transferred to the United Kingdom
under lend lease 19 October 1943 ; and commissioned as
HMS Highway the same day. She served in the Royal
Navy during the remainder of World War II and was
returned to the custody of the U.S. Navy at Norfolk, Va.,
23 April 1946. She was sold to Atlas Metals Corp. 17
December 1948.
Hilarity
Boisterous mirth.
(AM-241: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3'', 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Hilarity (AM-241) was launched 30 July 1944 by Wins-
low Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Winslow,
Wash. ; sponsored by Mrs. L. H. Hirschy ; and commis-
sioned 27 November 1944, Lt. J. B. McEvoy in command.
Following her shakedown training off California,
Hilarity took part in exhaustive minesweeping and anti-
submarine exercises to ready herself for participation in
the Pacific war. She sailed 10 February 1945 from San
Pedro and, after her arrival at Pearl Harbor 7 days later,
operated in Hawaiian waters on training exercises. Be-
ginning 12 April the minesweeper took up convoy escort
329
duties, sailing to Eniwetok, Saipan, and finally to Oki-
nawa, arriving Kerama Retto 30 May 1945.
Joining the massive naval forces taking part in the cap-
ture of Okinawa, Hilarity served as a picket ship off the
bitterly contested island, protecting the transports and
landing beaches. She remained at Okinawa until the
Japanese surrender, and sailed 30 August to sweep mines
around Korea and the Japanese home islands preparatory
to the occupation. Hilarity operated in the harbors of
Jinsen, Korea, and Nagasaki, as well as in the East China
Sea during the remainder of 1945. The ship sailed 28
December from Sasebo for the United States, and arrived
San Pedro 6 February 1946 via Saipan, Eniwetok, and
Pearl Harbor.
Hilarity departed 26 February for New Orleans via the
Panama Canal, and decommissioned 26 August 1946 at
Consolidated Shipyard, Orange, Tex., and joined the At-
lantic Reserve Fleet, remaining there until being sold to
Mexico 30 August 1962. Her classification was changed
to MSF-241 on 7 February 1955, while in reserve. Hilarity
now serves Mexico as DM-02 (P-2).
Hilarity received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hilary P. Jones
Hilary Pollard Jones, born 14 November 1863 in Han-
over County, Va., graduated from the Naval Academy in
1884. As a young Ensign he was commended for his
bravery and skill in helping to save Nipsic from sinking
during the great Samoan hurricane of 1889. During the
Spanish-Ameriean War Jones served in Dorothea on
patrol duty off Cuba. In the next years he sailed in
various ships of the fleet, rising to command Rhode Is-
land in 1912. In 1913 he commanded the Washington
Navy Yard ; and, during World War I he commanded
patrol units and later a division of the Transport Force.
He received the Distinguished Service Medal for his out-
standing service. Following the war Admiral Jones had
important commands at sea, culminating in 1922 in the
post of Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet. In 1923 he left
this duty to join the General Board. Admiral Jones re-
tired in 1927 but served as naval advisor at the Geneva
Disarmament Conference and the London Naval Confer-
ence of 1930. A prominent member of the Society of the
Cincinnati, Admiral Jones died 1 January 1938.
(DD-427 : dp. 1,620 ; 1. 348' ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 11'9" ; s. 33 k. ;
cpl. 191 ; a. 5 5", 12 .50 cal. mg., 5 21" tt. ; cl. Benson)
Hilary P. Jones (DD-427) was launched by the Charles-
ton Navy Yard 14 December 1939; sponsored by Mrs.
Hilary P. Jones, widow of Admiral Jones ; and commis-
sioned 6 September 1940 at Charleston, Lt. Coindr. S. R.
Clark in command.
Following shakedown in the Charleston area and exer-
cises off Newport, Hilary P. Jones departed 11 December
for duty with the Neutrality Patrol in the Caribbean.
She performed escort duties in those waters until 11
March 1941, when she returned to Hampton Roads.
Training exercises off New England followed until 28
April, when the destroyer departed New York as a convoy
escort. She steamed to Newfoundland, and for the next
dangerous months before Pearl Harbor escorted cargo
ships and transports in the North Atlantic. During one
of these voyages to Iceland, 31 October 1941, Reuben
James, the first naval vessel to be lost in the war, was
torpedoed and sunk. Hilary P. Jones rescued 11 sur-
vivors of the attack before arriving Reykjavik 3 November.
The destroyer continued the hazardous North Atlantic
convoy duty after America’s entry into the war, battling
both German submarines and the elements to bring sorely
needed troops and supplies to the Allies. Hilary P. Jones
transferred to Mediterranean duty in January 1944 as
production of escort vessels and frigates allowed the larger
destroyers to be used for other assignments. The de-
stroyer departed with her squadron 16 January 1944 to
screen cruiser Philadelphia off Anzio. She alternated at
the bitterly contested Anzio beachhead with convoy duty
between there and Naples until 20 March, often exchang-
ing fire with German shore batteries off Anzio. After a
brief respite the ship returned to her gunfire support duties
at Anzio during April and early May, occasionally engag-
ing in escort and antisubmarine patrol operations. With
three escort vessels the destroyer detected and attacked
U-616 off Algeria May 1944, sending it to the bottom after
a lengthy battle 17 May.
During June and July Hilary P. Jones acted as escort
ship for vital Mediterranean convoys and took part in
training for the invasion of southern France. She de-
parted Naples 13 August in convoy with French and Brit-
ish ships for the invasion, arriving 3 days later. The
destroyer not only provided gunfire support missions dur-
ing the assault, but also acted as electronic jamming ves-
sel in the successful attempt to prevent radio-controlled
bombs from harassing the area. In the weeks that fol-
lowed she continued to range up and down the coast in
support of the First Airborne Task Force destroying
bridges, gun emplacements, railroad facilities and coastal
vessels. She was attacked by a German “E-boat” 21
August, but destroyed the craft with gunfire. Neither
these deadly boats nor submarine, nor human torpedoes
stopped Hilary P. Jones from performing her vital mis-
sions, and for her outstanding record during this period
the ship received the Navy Unit Commendation.
Detached from her coastal support duties 1 October
1944, the destroyer continued convoy duties in the Medi-
terranean until returning to New York 12 January 1945.
Following overhaul and training off Casco Bay, Maine,
she sailed with her last transatlantic convoy 26 February-
9 April 1945. Hilary P. Jones was then designated for
Pacific Fleet, and departed New York 24 April for the
Canal Zone and Pearl Harbor.
Operating at Pearl Harbor from 18 May 1945, until
2 June, she then sailed for the advance base at Ulithi.
Upon her arrival 13 June Hilary P. Jones joined the sur-
face patrol forces in the Carolines, making occasional
escort voyages to Okinawa, as Navy amphibious units
moved ever closer to victory. At Ulithi when Japan sur-
rendered, she steamed 18 August to Okinawa, Subic Bay,
and then Tokyo. As an escort unit for 8th Army occupa-
tion troops, she entered Tokyo Bay 2 September as the
surrender document was being executed on board Mis-
souri. Subsequently, she made two more voyages with
occupation groups to Japan before ending her long war
service and departed for the United States 5 November.
Hilary P. Jones sailed to Charleston via Pearl Harbor
and the Panama Canal and decommissioned there 6 Feb-
ruary 1947. She was placed in the Charleston Group,
Atlantic Reserve Fleet until being loaned to the Republic
of China under the Military Assistance Program 26 Feb-
ruary 1954. She serves the Nationalist Chinese Navy as
Han Yang (DD-15).
Hilary P. Jones received four battle stars for World
War II service, in addition to her Navy Unit Commen-
dation.
Hilbert
Aviation Ordnanceman Ernest Lenard Hilbert was born
14 June 1920 at Quinn, S.Dak., and enlisted in the Navy
10 April 1940 at Los Angeles, Calif. In November 1940
he was assigned duty with Bombing Squadron 6 and took
part in attacks on the Marshall Islands, Wake Island, and
Marcus Island. Hilbert was killed during an aerial at-
tack against enemy forces during the Battle of Midway,
4-6 June 1942. By maintaining skillful and continuous
fire from his free machine guns, Hilbert enabled his pilot
to escape the devastating enemy fighter attacks. While
pursuing the same bold and fearless tactics in the second
attack, he was shot down. Hilbert was posthumously
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
( DE-742 : dp. 1,240 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 11'8" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 216; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 2" tt., 2 dct., 9
dcp. ; cl. Cannon)
330
Hilbert (DE-742) was launched 18 July 1943 by West-
ern Pipe & Steel Co. ; sponsored by Mrs. Fern Hilbert
Wier, sister of Aviation Ordnanceman Hilbert ; and com-
missioned 4 February 1944, Commander J. W. Golinkin,
USNR, in command.
After shakedown out of California Hilbert departed
San Francisco 13 May 1944 escorting a transport. Arriv-
ing Pearl Harbor 20 May, she proceeded to Kwajalein
and joined the 5th Fleet. From June through August
Hilbert screened the fueling group of Admiral R. K.
Turner’s Northern Attack Force for the capture of Saipan
and Tinian. The Marianas were stoutly and bitterly con-
tested, requiring great flexibility and fortitude before our
fleet conquered the rugged and well-defended islands.
Hilbert also played a key role in protecting our oilers
which fueled Admiral Marc Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Task
Force engaged in the Battle of the Philippine Sea — one
of the most decisive battles of the war.
In October Hilbert joined Admiral Halsey’s 3d Fleet
and screened the logistics group for the Battle of Leyte
Gulf. She also participated in supporting actions in the
operations against the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa
and the Japanese home islands.
Hilbert, with other units of the 3d Fleet, anchored for
the first time in Japanese waters at Sagami Wan 9 Sep-
tember 1945. Departing Tokyo 29 September Hilbert
sailed to Philadelphia via Los Angeles and the Canal Zone,
and thence to Green Cove Springs, Fla., arriving 17 De-
cember. She decommissioned 19 June 1946 and joined the
Reserve Fleet. In February 1952 Hilbert joined the
Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia where she now remains.
Hilbert received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Hildegarde
A former name retained.
( SP-1221 : dp. 184; 1. 136'6'' ; b. 26'3" ; dr. 18'3” ; a.
none)
Hildegarde, a schooner-rigged yacht, was built by Har-
lan and Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Del., in 1897. She
was leased from her owner, Edward R. Coleman, of Leb-
anon, Pa., 21 September 1917 at New London, Conn.
She was not commissioned, but her first commanding of-
ficer was A. L. Thompson, Chief Boatswain’s Mate.
Hildegarde was used as a floating barracks at New
London, Conn., from January until June 1918, when she
was transferred to duty as station ship at the harbor
entrance, New London. She continued these and other
duties at the 2d Naval District Base at New London until
returned to her owner 6 February 1919.
Hill
Edward. Hill was born 4 October 1894 in Philadelphia
and enlisted in the Navy in 1912. Chief Boatswain Hill
was awarded the Medal of Honor for distinguished con-
duct during the attack on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Har-
bor by the Japanese 7 December 1941.
(DE-141 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7” ; dr. 8'7” ; sp. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 2 40mm„ 8 20mm., 3 21” tt. ; 2 dct., 8
dep., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Edsall)
Hill (DE-141) was launched 28 February 1943 by the
Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs.
Edward Hill, widow of Chief Boatswain Hill ; and com-
missioned there 16 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. G. R. Keating
in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Hill tested new
torpedo explosives and engaged in training along the
New England coast. Departing Hampton Roads 5 Decem-
ber, Hill escorted a convoy to Casablanca via Ponta del
Gada, Azores, and returned to the States 18 January
1944. During the next year the destroyer escort made
four more transatlantic voyages to the North African coast
as Allied forces pushed up the Italian peninsula and
began their assault on southern France. On her fourth
voyage, Hill performed antisubmarine patrol at Bahia,
Brazil, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Following operations in the Caribbean February-
Mareh 1945, Hill proceeded to Argentia, Newfoundland, 3
April to serve as convoy screen and plane guard for
escort carrier Mission Bay. After repairs at New York
she participated in training exercises until sailing for the
Caribbean 2 July. Two weeks later Hill sailed for the
Pacific via the Canal Zone. En route to Hawaii, Hill
received word of Japanese capitulation and, after putting
in at Pearl Harbor sailed for home again. Hill reached
Green Cove Springs, Fla., via San Pedro, the Panama
Canal, and Charleston 27 October 1945. She decommis-
sioned and was placed in reserve there 7 June 1946 where
she remains.
Hillsborough County
A county in Florida.
( LST-827 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266; a. 8 40mm„ 12 20mm.; cl. LST-511)
LST-827 was laid down by Missouri Valley Bridge &
Iron Co., Evansville, Ind., 13 October 1944 ; launched 22
November; sponsored by Mrs. Clark H. Woodward; and
commissioned 12 December, Lt. R. L. Olander in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-827 loaded smoke-
pots on her tank deck, then departed Mobile, Ala., 17
January 1945. Following brief stops at the Canal Zone
and Pearl Harbor, she arrived Eniwetok early in March.
Sailing for Guam on the 13th, she unloaded her cargo,
and for the next 2 months transported men and equipment
between the Marianas and the Philippines.
After embarking Squadron 212, Marine Air Group 14,
LST-827 departed San Pedro Bay, Philippines, 24 May
en route to Okinawa. When she arrived 5 days later,
American forces were already engaged in a 2-month cam-
paign to push the enemy from its Pacific stronghold.
After unloading men and equipment, she steamed to the
Philippines for additional reinforcements. For the re-
mainder of World War II, LST-827 operated in the
vicinity of Okinawa and the Philippines, transporting
men and supplies for the final drive to the enemy’s
homeland.
Following the Japanese surrender, the landing ship
serviced the occupation forces in the Far East until she
sailed for the United States 15 November, arriving San
Diego 16 December. Joining LST Squadron 1 there in
May 1946, she operated along the West Coast performing
fleet maneuvers and tactical training exercises for the
next 3 years. LST-827 decommissioned 7 June 1949 at
San Diego and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Her respite was brief, however, as President Truman
met the communist challenge of aggression in Asia by
sending U.S. forces to aid the beleaguered South Koreans.
Recommissioned 3 November 1950, Lt. S. G. Ruskey in
command, LST-827 departed San Diego 27 January 1951
for the Far East. After a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, she
arrived Yokosuka 3 March.
Assigned to the Korean supply run, she carried supplies
from Japan to Pusan, Ulsan, and Inchon for the next 4
months. LST-827 returned to the United States 9 August
to operate there until early 1952. Departing.San Diego 17
February, she steamed for her second tour in the West-
ern Pacific, touching Pearl Harbor, Marshall Islands, and
the Philippines before arriving Yokosuka 26 April. From
May to October she shuttled supplies and troops between
Japan and Korea to strengthen the Allied forces against
the threat of Communism.
Departing Japan 10 October LST-827 was to perform
another historic service to her country by operating with
the units assigned to the first hydrogen bomb tests. She
returned San Diego 30 November and received major al-
terations at Mare Island in preparation for her next as-
signment. From 1953 through 1956 LST-827 sailed on
two WestPae cruises, engaged in amphibious exercises
off the West Coast and steamed to the Arctic on three oc-
331
casions to supply stations on the Dewline radar network.
LST-S27 was named Hillsborough County 1 July 1955.
During 1957 she participated in exercises off the Cali-
fornia coast, and on 1 November was placed in commis-
sion in reserve.
Hillsborough County decommissioned 28 January 1958.
She was then used as a target and sunk in the Gulf of
California 15 August 1958.
LST-82 7 received one battle star for World War II
service and three stars for the Korean conflict.
Hillsdale County
A county in Michigan.
(LST-835: dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-511)
LST-835 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 6 September 1944 ; launched 25 October 1944 ;
sponsored by Mrs. I. Raphael ; and commissioned 20 No-
vember, Lt. William H. McHenry in command.
Following 'shakedown off Florida, LST-835 loaded am-
munition at New Orleans and departed there 28 Decem-
ber. After brief stops on the West Coast and Pearl Har-
bor, she steamed for the western Pacific, arriving Guam
18 March 1945. For the next 6 weeks she transported
troops, trucks, and other equipment from the Marianas to
Iwo Jima.
Sailing from Saipan 25 April, LST-835 carried vital am-
munition to Okinawa, where American forces were en-
gaged in a fierce battle for control of this strategic is-
land. For the remainder of World War II, the landing
ship shuttled cargo and troops throughout the American
staging areas in the Pacific. After V-J Day she operated
with the occupation forces in the Philippines and Japan
for the next 2 months.
Departing Nagoya, Japan, 8 November, LST-835 stopped
for cargo at Saipan before proceeding to the United States.
She arrived San Francisco 8 January 1946, and later that
month sailed to Astoria, Oreg., and decommissioned there.
While berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific
Reserve Fleet, LST-835 was named Hillsdale County 1
July 1955. Hillsdale County was struck from the Navy
List in October 1959 and sold in April 1961 to Japan to
serve as Sliimokita (LST-4002).
LST-835 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hilo
A city on the island of Hawaii.
( AGP-2 ; dp. 2,350; 1. 278'11" ; b. 38'3" ; dr. 17' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 116; a. 1 3'')
Hilo (AGP-2), originally yacht Caroline, was built in
1931 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, and was pur-
chased by the Navy as Moana from William B. Leeds 28
November 1941. Converted to Navy use at Craig Ship-
building Co., Long Beach, Calif., she commissioned as
Hilo (PG-58) 11 June 1942, Lt. Comdr. F. A. Munroe in
command.
One of the first ships to be used as a motor torpedo
boat tender, Hilo departed Long Beach to load supplies at
San Diego 19 June and sailed for Pearl Harbor 28 June.
The ship arrived Pearl Harbor, 5 July 1942, and was im-
mediately sent to Palmyra Island to tend a torpedo boat
squadron there. Hilo remained in the vicinity fueling
and providing supplies to the boats then under training
until returning to Pearl Harbor again 4 October 1942.
She was soon underway, however, steaming by way of
Palmyra to Canton Island, in the Phoenix Group, where
she arrived 29 October. There she took on passengers
and proceeded to Funafuti, arriving 2 November.
The ship remained at Funafuti until 25 November,
tending torpedo boats and engaging in rescue operations
as American forces prepared for the coming assault on
the Gilberts and Marshalls. Hilo and other units from
Funafuti rescued the gallant Rickenbacker party after
their 21-day ordeal in rubber boats 12 November. She
next sailed for Noumea, New Caledonia, arriving 2 Decem-
ber, and from there escorted four PT boats to Cairns,
Queensland, where she moored 11 December. Hilo was
then sent to set up the first torpedo boat base in New
Guinea, at Milne Bay, arriving 17 December. Commenc-
ing operations soon after their arrival, Hilo’s boats con-
tributed to the hard-fought Buna-Gona campaign in New
Guinea as allied forces began their return to the Philip-
pines. The boats fired at Japanese ashore, destroyed
barges loaded with men and supplies, and even fought
submarines in support of the troops ashore. During this
period, 13 January 1943, her designation was changed to
AGP-2.
During February 1943 Hilo explored the coast for a suit-
able advance PT boat base, and by the 28th had estab-
lished one at Kana Kope. The torpedo boats stationed
there with Hilo soon had a chance to fight, as Japanese
efforts to reinforce their Lae and Salamaua garrisons led
to the Battle of the Bismarck Sea 2—4 March 1943. The
tender remained at Kana Kope until late April, when she
began to move up the New Guinea coast to various anchor-
ages. As Hilo’s torpedo boats continued to take part in
the successful New Guinea campaign, Hilo herself under-
went many air raids and endured extremes of climate and
disease before being relieved 20 October 1943. The tender
sailed to Sidney, Australia, arriving 13 November, and
sailed again 9 February 1944 for Milne Bay.
Hilo again took up her tending duties in the New
Guinea area and was transferred to Talasea, New
Britain, 26 March 1944. She remained there until 4 June
tending two squadrons of torpedo boats, after which she
shifted her operations to Mios Woendi and became a com-
mand ship for torpedo boat operations in the 7th Fleet
her tender equipment removed. There the ship remained
until 6 November 1944.
With the invasion of the Philippines and the epochal
events it precipitated then underway, Hilo sailed to Leyte
Gulf, arriving 12 November. During the next months
the ships in the Gulf were under almost constant air at-
tack. Hilo was nearly hit 26 November as suicide planes
attacked San Juanico Straits, but the suicide plane
crashed some 250 yards ahead of the tender. Hilo’s gun-
ners scored several kills during this period. Commander,
Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons, 7th Fleet, shifted to
Cyrene 16 January, and for the next 9 months Hilo was
occupied with passenger voyages to various islands, in-
cluding Mios Woendi and the Palaus. She departed
Samar Island 26 October 1945 for the United States via
Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, She arrived 1 December
1945, decommissioned 3 March 1946 and was sold by the
War Shipping Administration to Pillsbur.v & Martingnoni,
San Francisco, Calif.
Hilo received four battle stars for service in World
War II.
Hilton
Former name retained.
(Str : d. 6,600; 1. 313'6" ; b. 46' ; dr. 20'8" ; s.
9 k. ; cpl. 65)
Hilton (No. 1574) was built by the Newport News
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in 1911 and chartered from
A. H. Bull Steamship Co., New York, by the Army in
September 1917. A year later she was acquired by the
Navy, and commissioned at Cardiff, Wales, on 6 Novem-
ber 1918, Lt. Comdr. Walter L. Farnsworth in command.
Out of Cardiff, Hilton delivered two cargos in France —
to Bordeaux early in December and St. Nazaire in Janu-
ary. She returned to Cardiff and went on to Southamp-
ton to load, sailing for home 6 March.
Hilton arrived Hampton Roads 27 March and decom-
missioned there 16 April 1919, being redelivered to her
owners.
332
Hilton Head
An island along the lower coast of South Carolina where
the Spanish explorer Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon landed in
1525.
Hilton Head (LSD-24) was renamed Point Defiance
(q.v.) 30 December 1044, prior to the start of construc-
tion.
Hingham
A city in Massachusetts.
( PF-30 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11” ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3", 2 dct., 1 dep. (h.h.), 8 dcp. ; cl.
Tacoma )
Hingham (PF-30), originally designated PG-138, was
launched under Maritime Commission contract by Walter
Butler Shipbuilders, Inc. 27 August 1943 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Katherine F. Harrington ; and commissioned 3 Novem-
ber 1944 after outfitting at Plaquemine, La. Her first
commanding officer was Lt. Comdr. W. K. Earle, USCG.
Following shakedown training out of Bermuda,
Hingham finished conversion to a weather ship at Boston
and after escorting a merchant ship from Argentia to
Boston reported 3 January 1945 to the North Atlantic
Weather Patrol. The ship then took up the arduous
duties of weather patrol in the North Atlantic during
winter, performing the task of reporting so vital to con-
voying and warship movements alike. She remained on
station after the close of the war, returning to Boston 4
May 1946. Hingham then sailed to Charleston, where
she decommissioned 5 June 1946. The frigate was sold
15 August 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Chester, Pa., and scrapped.
Hinsdale
Named for Hinsdale County, Colorado.
( APA-120 : d. 6,873 light; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; sp.
17.7 k. ; cpl. 509 ; a. 1 5" ; cl. Haskell)
Hinsdale (APA-120), ex-J/CT Hull-30, was launched by
the California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., 22
July 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. M. E. Harper ; and com-
missioned 15 October 1944, Comdr. Edward Flood Beyer,
USNR, in command.
After shakedown in the San Diego-San Pedro area, the
new attack transport sailed for the Pacific, reaching
Pearl Harbor 12 December with 175 passengers. The
war in the Pacific was steadily advancing across the
ocean toward the Japanese home islands, and on 27
December 1944 Hinsdale embarked some 1,200 marines
for the Ivvo Jima invasion, a prelude to the invasion of
Japan herself. Acting as flagship for Transport Division
44, she spent nearly a month of intensive practice-land-
ings in preparation for the assault. Hinsdale sailed from
Hawaii 27 January 1945, pausing at Saipan to join a huge
transport flotilla, and arrived off Iwo Jima’s rockbound
heights at dawn on D-day, February 19.
Hinsdale’s leatherneck passengers swarmed ashore
with the first wave of the invasion forces, and she re-
mained in the Iwo Jima area over a week embarking
and disembarking troops and valuable cargo. Some of
her most important work was as an auxiliary hospital
ship, caring for the seriously wounded. Disembarking
troops, offloading cargo, and tending the injured all took
place under continuous mortar and artillery fire from
well-entrenched Japanese shore batteries, but Hinsdale
had only one close call. On the morning of 25 February, a
projectile burst close aboard the transport, killing a
Marine captain standing on deck and wounding several
others. On 27 February, Hinsdale sailed from Iwo Jima,
stopping at Saipan for fuel, and reached Guam 3 March
to disembark 166 casualties.
The Pacific war neared its climax. Hinsdale had only a
brief rest at Guam before returning to Saipan 9 March
to embark troops for the upcoming invasion of Okinawa,
the largest amphibious operation of the Pacific war.
With nearly 1,500 combat-bound marines and sailors on
board, she again spent long hours in practice for the land-
ings. On 27 March 1945 Hinsdale left Saipan to take
her place in the Joint Expeditionary Force-1,213 ships
loaded with over a half million troops, headed for Oki-
nawa.
Sunday 1 April 1945, D-day for Okinawa, was very
nearly Hinsdale’s last day in the Pacific. As she steamed
toward the transport area through the pre-dawn black-
ness, marines already on deck and ready to disembark,
Hinsdale’s lookouts sipotted an enemy plane skimming low
over the water. With only a few seconds warning, Hins-
dale could not evade the kamikaze ; at 0600 the suicide
plane crashed into her port side just above the water line
and ripped into the engine room. Three explosions rocked
the troop-laden transport as the kamikaze’s bombs ex-
ploded deep inside her and tore the engine room apart —
only one member of the watch survived death by scalding
steam from the exploding boilers.
Power failed immediately — lights and internal commu-
nication, so vital to damage control parties, were gone.
Hinsdale came to a dead stop in the water, with three
gaping holes in her port side. Marines on deck who had
been ready to disembark were hastily shifted to the star-
board rails to counteract a serious list to port. Below
decks Hinsdale's crew were groping through the smoke-
filled darkness to fight fires started by the kamikaze and
to jury-rig patches. Fifteen men were dead ; 40 missing
or wounded. Despite the injury Hinsdale carried out her
job to put the marines ashore.
Limited power was finally restored through an auxiliary
diesel ; the dangerous list to port of 13 degrees corrected ;
the ship taken in tow by ATR-80 at an agonizing 5 knots,
for Kerama Retto, some 20 miles away. Emergency re-
pair work began immediately amidst continued kamikaze
attacks ; Hinsdale exacted some revenge by assisting in the
kill of at least two of the suicide craft. Her cargo, mainly
equipment and stores needed by the Marines was shifted
to Pitt (APA-223), and then Hinsdale was pressed into
service as a receiving ship for survivors of other kami-
kaze victims.
On 14 April she departed Kerama Rotta, towed by Leo
( AKA-6) in a convoy of LST”s. Sailing slowly the con-
voy reached Ulithi 23 April ; there Hinsdale, after a month
of intensive work by repair ship Vulcan, was ready for
sea, and on 20 May sailed for the States.
Hinsdale put into the Brooklyn Navy Yard 2 July 1945
for a complete overhaul. While she was there under-
going repairs, the Japanese surrendered, but Hinsdale
was destined to make one last Pacific voyage. Departing
21 November, to participate in operation “Magic Carpet,”
the return of Pacific veterans, she sailed via Pearl Harbor
to Sasebo and Nagasaki, embarked over a thousand troops
and reached San Francisco 24 January 1946. Thence she
sailed to Norfolk Navy Yard arriving 20 February, was
decommissioned 8 April 1946, returned to the Maritime
Commission for disposal 12 April, and her name stricken
from the Navy Register 1 May 1946. Hinsdale was sub-
sequently placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
and is berthed in the James River near Norfolk.
Hinsdale received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hinton, John B., see John B. Hinton (No. If85)
Hippocampus
A former name retained.
( SP-654 ; dp. 23; 1. 55'; b. 11 '4" ; dr. 2'6" ; s. 11 k. ; a.
1 1-pdr.)
Hippocampus, a gasoline-powered yacht, was built by
New York Yacht, Launch, & Engine Co. in 1912 and was
333
leased by the Navy from her owner, James F. Porter, of
Chicago, 111., 21 June 1917. She commissioned 25 June
at Rockland, Maine, Chief Boatswain Mate F. L. Greene
in command.
Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Hippocampus served
as a harbor patrol craft at the harbor entrance, Rockland,
Maine, and in Penobscot Bay during World War I. She
decommissioned 30 November 1918 and was returned to
her owner 5 April 1919.
Hisada
A clan or subdivision of the Ponca Indian tribe.
( YTB-518 : dp. 325 ; 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9'7" )
Hisada (YTB-518), a diesel-powered tug, was launched
by Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, Fla., 6 April 1945 ;
sponsored by Lt. (j.g.) Sarah Davis; and placed in serv-
ice 2 August 1945.
Hisada served as a tug with the Pacific Fleet until being
placed in reserve in the 14th Naval District 28 July 1947.
In November 1917 she was brought out of reserve and as-
signed to Service Squadron 3 in the Far East, where she
helped keep America’s naval forces in that critical area
at peak efficiency. In 1950 she was assigned to Yokosuka
Naval Base, Japan, where she continues to perform
harbor duties into 1967. Hisada was reclassified YTM-518
on 1 February 1962.
Hisko
(Str: d. 14,995; 1. 401'; b. 54'3" ; dph. 32'9" ; dr. 26';
s. 10 k. ; cpl 53)
Hisko , a tanker (#1953), was built by the Chester
Ship Building Co., Chester, Pa., and launched 15 October
1917. Acquired by the Navy from the U.S. Shipping
Board, she commissioned 6 December 1917 at Philadelphia,
Lt. Comdr. Louis E. Congdon in command.
After two short runs from New York to Hampton Roads,
Hisko sailed for England on 26 January 1918, arriving
in Plymouth, through severe winter storms on 12 Feb-
ruary. She returned to New York on 8 March. In the
following year and a half, the tanker made 11 similar
voyages carrying fuel oil to American ships in such scat-
tered points as Devonport, Brest, the Canal Zone, Ponta
Delgada, Glasgow, and Newfoundland. Hisko took
on oil at Newr York for most of this period, although she
did make three, trips to the Gulf of Mexico to load fuel
at Port Arthur, Tex., and Baton Rouge, La. Several
ships in her convoys, including a French cruiser, were tor-
pedoed by German U-boats, but Hisko escaped unscathed
with her valuable cargo.
Hisko returned to New York from her final overseas
trip on 28 September 1919. She decommissioned there
1 October 1919 and was returned to the U.S. Shipping
Board.
Hissem
Joseph Metcalf Hissem was born 31 December 1917
in Mt. Carroll, 111., and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 9
January 1941. Following flight training he was appointed
Ensign 30 August 1941. Though he was assigned to a
patrol squadron in Hawaii, Ensign Hissem volunteered
for temporary duty with Torpedo Squadron 8. Thus he
found himself at a turning point in history, the Battle
of Midway, 4-5 June 1942. In the first attack in the
pivotal battle between carrier fleets, Hissem and his
squadron took off from Hornet, and without fighter pro-
tection pressed home an attack on the Japanese carriers.
Enduring a withering fire the aircraft maintained the
offensive until all were shot down. Although no ships
were sunk in the gallant attack, they diverted air cover
and forced a re-arming of Japanese planes which brought
victory for the U.S. fleet. Ensign Hissem was posthu-
mously awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart for
his heroism.
(DE^OO : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. Edsall)
Hissem (DE^OO) was launched by Brown Shipbuild-
ing Co., Houston, Tex., 26 December 1943; sponsored by
Miss Elizabeth D. Hissem, sister of Ensign Hissem ; and
commissioned 13 January 1944, Lt. Comdr. W. W. Low in
command.
Following a shakedown cruise to Bermuda, Hissem
steamed via Charleston to New York, where she arrived
20 March 1944. Her first combat duty was as an escort
ship with convoy UGS-37, carrying vitally needed troops
and supplies to the Mediterranean. The convoy departed
Norfolk 23 March and entered the Mediterranean without
attack. Then near Algiers the night of 11-12 April the
Luftwaffe attacked. About 35 bombers and torpedo planes
struck in a coordinated attack, and were repulsed by ac-
curate gunnery and evasive chemical smoke. Hissem’ s
gun crews splashed one torpedo plane and damaged an-
other, as the escorts prevented damage to the huge convoy
of transports. The only ship struck was escort ship
Holder, torpedoed but able to make port. The new Ger-
man tactics for stopping Mediterranean convoys were
beaten by training and accurate gunnery.
Subsequently, Hissem performed regular escort duty
across the Atlantic interspersed with anti-submarine and
anti-aircraft training on the East Coast of the LTnited
States. The versatile ship even transported over 500
paratroopers in March 1945, taking them on board in the
Azores, transferring them to SS Altlione Castle, and es-
corting the ship through submarine waters to Liver-
pool. Braving both the Germans and the heavy weather
of the North Atlantic. Hissem made a total of seven convoy
voyages from June 1944 until she returned to New York
28 May 1945.
With the war in Europe over, the destroyer escort pre-
pared to join the Pacific Fleet in dealing the death blows
to the Japanese Empire. She sailed 20 June from New
York and after operations in the Caribbean arrived Pearl
Harbor 26 July 1945. Hissem remained at Hawaii until
after the surrender of Japan, and steamed 30 August for
Eniwetok and Ulithi. The ship then continued to Japan,
arriving Tokyo 7 October 1945 to assist occupation oper-
ations. Sailing to Guam 29 October, the versatile ship
transported occupation troops to nearby islands, acted as
air-sea rescue ship, and steamed as a weather ship
through the western Pacific.
Hissem sailed for the United States 9 January 1946.
Arriving San Pedro 25 January, she got underway 2 days
later for the Panama Canal and Philadelphia, where she
arrived 11 February. After repairs the ship steamed to
Green Cove Springs, Fla., 23 March and decommissioned
15 June 1946.
Hissem was brought out of reserve in 1955 and con-
verted for use as a radar picket ship at Boston Navy
Yard. Equipped with the latest electronic detection de-
vices, she recommissioned at Boston 31 August 1956.
After shakedown the ship joined the Atlantic Barrier,
cruising as a sea extension of the DEW line to strengthen
the northern defenses of Canada and the United States.
In the years that followed, first out of Boston and later
Newport, Hissem alternated 1 month of lonely picket duty
with a month of in-port or training time, often experienc-
ing the characteristic heavy weather of the North Atlantic.
In 1959 and 1962 she made visits to Northern European
and Mediterranean ports.
Hissem saw varied duty in 1963. After two tours of
picket duty she acted as command ship during the search
for lost submarine Thresher 16-21 April. A month as
school ship for sonar training at Key West was followed
by two more days of duty on Thresher search operations
27-28 June. Taking up new duties, Hissem sailed 12
August for New Zealand and Operation Deepfreeze, the
Navy’s continuing effort at exploration and scientific work
in Antarctica. The radar picket ship operated between
the continent and New Zealand as a navigational beacon
and rescue ship for flights to and from the Navy’s air
334
facility at McMurdo Sound. Overlooking the air base a
memorial cross in memory of Captain Robert F. Scott,
RN, is inscribed with words by Tennyson which exemplify
not only his fighting spirit, but that of Hissem and the
Navy as well : “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to
yield.”
Hissem remained a member of Operation “Deep Freeze”
from 19 September to 28 February 1964. She then re-
turned to the Atlantic Fleet by way of the Mediterranean,
arriving 15 May. Early in 1965 Hissem was transferred
to the Pacific Fleet in order to meet the growing threat
to world peace by Communist aggression. After a 5-
month training period at Pearl Harbor, she sailed for
Vietnam 2 September. From January 1966 to March
Hissem was a member of TF-115 operating in the Tonkin
Gulf to prevent the infiltration of supplies to the insurgent
Viet Cong. On 8 March Hissem sailed for Pearl Harbor,
where she underwent repairs and training. Once again
ordered to Vietnam, Hissem left Hawaii 2 September and
arrived Subic Bay 23 September. She resumed her previ-
ous duties of protecting Vietnam from Communist aggres-
sion and operated off Southeast Asia into 1967.
Hissem received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hist
(ScrStr : 1. 174'; b. 23'; dr. 9'10" ; a. 1 3-pdr., 4 1-pdr. ;
cpl. 56)
Hist, formerly Thespia , was built in 1895. She was
purchased at Norfolk from David Dows, Jr., on 22 April
1898 for use in the Spanish-American War. Hist com-
missioned 13 May at New York, Lt. Lueien Young in
command.
Arriving at Guantanamo via Charleston 25 June, Hist
joined the blockading fleet off Santiago on the 29th. The
following day was a memorable one. That morning, in
company with Hornet, Hist captured the Spanish schooner
Nickerson. Their prize in tow, the two ships were joined
by Wompatuck and the column headed for Manzanillo
Bay. On their way. they engaged a Spanish gunboat,
which they sank, and were fired on by shore troops at
Niguero. Reaching Manzanillo, the intrepid flotilla took
on an enemy torpedo boat, four gunboats, four pontoons, a
battery of field artillery, enemy troops firing from the
shore, and a Spanish-held fort. When the smoke and
fire lifted after an hour and 40 minutes of sharp fighting,
Hornet had been disabled but towed to safety by Wom-
patuck, Hist had been hit 11 times ; the Spanish had re-
ceived the worst of the battle, losing a gunboat, a pontoon,
and a sloop loaded with troops as well as suffering serious
damage to the gun and torpedo boats. No American
casualties resulted.
Hist returned to Manzanillo Bay twice more during the
war, 15 July and 12 August. In the first of these return
engagements, 10 Spanish ships were sent to the bottom
and many others seriously damaged. For her part in this
action Hist received commendation from General S. H.
Rios, commanding the Cuban troops rebelling against
Spanish rule. The second engagement at Manzanillo Bay
was no less successful.
On 3 July Hist followed up her early success by joining
the fleet in battle off Santiago as the Spanish attempted
to break the blockade. Under constant enemy fire. Hist
rescued 142 Spanish sailors from their disabled and burn-
ing ship, Viscaya. Eight days after this engagement, she
and Wompatuck cut the important cable connecting Media
Luna and Quizaro Islands. Hist also cut the cable be-
tween Punta Carapacho and Cayo Obispo 21 July, the
day after she had participated effectively in the bombard-
ment of Santa Cruz. When not in combat, Hist patrolled
the Cuban coast, searching ships, and also served as a dis-
patch boat between the blockading fleet at Santiago and
Guantanamo.
With the end of the war Hist headed north, reaching
Key West 22 January 1899 and decommissioning there
two weeks later, 2 February 1899. While out of commis-
sion, Hist traveled up the coast to Newport, R.I., where
she recommissioned 18 July 1902, Lt. Victor Blue com-
manding. Hist sailed to the Caribbean 16 November
1902 and served there as a patrol and dispatch ship, re-
turning to Newport 4 February 1903. On 4 March she
was assigned duty with new submarines being tested in
Long Island Sound. After this, on 27 June Hist was
attached to the First Naval District as a tender, continu-
ing to operate out of Newport. On 28 September 1905
she was assigned to the Training Station at Newport as
tender to the famed frigate Constellation and remained
on this duty until decommissioning 3 May 1907.
Hist recommissioned 16 October 1907 at Newport, Lt.
C. E. Courtney commanding, and became tender to the
2d Submarine Division. On 6 October 1908, she was as-
signed to the Cape Cruz-Casilda surveying expedition
under Comdr. Armistead Rust. Returning to the Carib-
bean once more, Hist served the expedition as a supply
and dispatch vessel for almost 3 years. Putting in at
Portsmouth. Virginia, 18 May 1911, she decommissioned
there 24 July. Hist was stricken from the Navy Register
27 July 1911 and sold 20 November of that year.
Hitchiti
A tribe of Creek Indians who lived in Florida and
Georgia. The word “hitchiti” means “to look up the
stream.”
(ATF-103 : dp. 1,240 ; 1. 205' : b. 38'6" ; dr. 15'4'' ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3", 2 40mm. ; cl. Cherokee )
Hitchiti (ATF-103) was launched 29 January 1944 by
the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Charleston,
S.C. ; sponsored by Mrs. Olin D. Johnston, wife of then-
Governor Johnston : and commissioned 27 May 1944. Lt.
H. A. Guthrie in command.
After shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay area, the fleet
tug sailed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor with four
tows 26 August 1944. Hitchiti was engaged in towing
operations at Eniwetok and Ulithi until October, when
she joined the supnort unit off the Philippine Islands
during the momentous Battle of Leyte Gulf. She re-
turned to Ulithi for further towing operations until 29
December when she joined the 3d Fleet for the seizure of
Luzon. Hitchiti also took part in towing and rescue
operations during the hard-fought Iwo Jima and Okinawa
campaigns as the Pacific war drew near to the Japanese
home islands in the spring of 1945. Work off Okinawa
alternated with operations in the Philippines that sum-
mer, and as the war ended Hitchiti remained in the
Pacific for salvage and towing operations. In 1946 she
performed harbor duty in Japanese waters as well as
at various Pacific island bases, returning to the United
States in September for overhaul at Bremerton. After
further harbor work at Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein.
Hitchiti reached San Francisco 26 December 1947 and
decommissioned there 30 April 1948.
Recommissioned at Alameda, Calif., 3 January 1951,
Hitchiti joined the fleet in Japanese waters 21 Anril to
participate in operations off the Korean coast. Escort
duties alternated with salvage operations along the war-
torn peninsula until she returned to Pearl Harbor 5 Feb-
ruary 1952. Hitchiti participated in towing and salvage
work at Pearl Harbor and along the California coast until
sailing for Alaskan waters 23 March 1954. Her 7
month tour in the north was followed by further duty in
Hawaii and off the West Coast until she returned for a
brief tour in September 1955. Hitchiti sailed for Sasebo,
Japan, 22 May 1956 to begin her first Western Pacific
cruise. This and six subsequent cruises took her to Hong
Kong, Guam, Okinawa, and the Philippines for towing
and salvage as well as tactical training.
Hitchiti’s Western Pacific deployments, interspersed
with duty at Pearl Harbor and off the California coast,
were varied by visits to Mexico in 1959 and 1961 as well as
a third cruise to Alaskan waters 21 October 1969-14 Janu-
335
ary 1961. From 19 September to 14 November 1962 the
veteran fleet tug participated in U.S. nuclear testing at
Johnston Island in the Pacific. All of 1963 was spent serv-
ing the fleet in Hawaiian waters. On 26 October Hitchiti
freed Hat Fu off Honolulu after the Chinese merchant
ship had grounded.
Hitchiti joined the 7th Fleet on 18 May 1964 and op-
erated off Vietnam. She once again returned to Pearl
Harbor 7 October for a brief refitting. From 25 January
1965 to 23 March, Hitchiti made a birdlife study on South
Pacific islands for the Smithsonian Institute. She once
again joined the 7th Fleet off Vietnam 25 October and op-
erated in the war zone until 12 April 1966. Hitchiti ar-
rived back at Pearl Harbor 27 April having 9,000 miles of
towing and four salvage operations to her credit during
the deployment. She then operated in Hawaiian waters
into 1967.
Hitchiti received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hitide, see YP-483
Hitval, see Y P-355
Hitcassee
A river in North Carolina.
(AOG-29 : dp. 845 ; 1. 220'6" ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'11" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 62; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 3 20mm. ; cl. Mettawee)
Hitcassee (AOG-29), a motor gasoline tanker, was
launched 30 August 1944 under Maritime Commission con-
tract by East Coast Shipyard, Inc., Bayonne, N.J. ; spon-
sored by Miss Harriet Savage; acquired 17 October 1944
and commissioned 24 October 1944, Lieutenant R. Raw-
cliffe, USCG, in command.
Following shakedown training Hiwassee sailed through
the Panama Canal to join the giant Pacific Fleet for the
final phases of its island campaign, carrying her precious
aviation gasoline and lubricating oil. She arrived Ulithi
1 April 1945, the day of the landings on Okinawa, and
departed 24 April for that important island. Arriving
1 May, the ship began shuttling gasoline ashore, protected
from the numerous air attacks by smoke screen. She re-
mained off Okinawa after it was secured and until decom-
missioning 20 February 1946. Hiwassee was turned over
to the Army at Okinawa for use there, but was repossessed
by the Navy at Subic Bay, Philippines 25 March 1947.
The tanker was subsequently sold to Luzon Stevedoring
Co.
Hiwassec received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hiyu, see Y AG-34
Hohart Bay
A bay along the coast of Alaska.
Hohart Bay (CVE-113) was laid down 12 May 1944
by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Wash., and was
renamed Puget Sound (q.v.) 5 June 1944.
Hobby
James H. Hobby was born 27 April 1835, at New Bos-
ton, Hillsborough County, N.H. Appointed 3d Assistant
Engineer 1848, he resigned 21 June 1855 but was re-
appointed 2d Assistant Engineer 4 June 1861 and served
with distinction throughout the Civil War. As 1st Assist-
ant Engineer of Sassacus, Hobby participated in an en-
gagement with the Confederate ships Bombshell and
Albemarle in Albemarle Sound 5 May 1864. Although
fearfully scalded when a shot from Albemarle cut Sas-
sacus’s steam pipes, Engineer Hobby remained at his post
to control the engines, thus enabling the vessel to retire
successfully from the action and preventing an explosion.
When Sassacus was out of danger, the badly-wounded
engineer was carried to the deck for medical attention.
For his heroism Hobby was promoted 30 numbers in grade.
He was placed on the retired list 19 October 1870 and died
17 November 1882.
( DD-610 : dp. 1,620; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'4" ; s.
38 k. ; cpl. 259 ; a. 4 5", 4 20mm., 5 21" tt. ; cl. Benson)
Hobby (DD-610) was launched 4 June 1942 by the
Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco ; sponsored by Mrs.
Walter Davis, whose four sons were on active duty with
the Navy ; and commissioned 18 November 1942, Lt. Comdr.
Ernest Blake in command.
After shakedown off the West Coast, Hobby proceeded
to New York City 12 February 1943, to begin transatlantic
convoy duty between there and Casablanca. In five voy-
ages to the Mediterranean that year, Hobby developed
several U-boat contacts and was credited with inflicting
severe damage on one marauder 9 May. She sailed from
Norfolk 2 January 1944 for the Pacific, where she re-
mained in the New Guinea area until 22 August providing
fire support and ASW screen for various invasions in the
Admiralty and Schouten Islands. Sailing north in the
fall, Hobby provided fire support for Peleliu and Ngesebus
island invasions and then remained on screening duty
through November. Despite frequent contacts with Japa-
nese aircraft, she emerged untouched.
On 10 December Hobby sortied with the fast carriers of
Task Force 38 for strikes on the important Philippines
target of Luzon. She remained with the carriers through
further strikes on the Philippines, Formosa, and the China
coast into 1945, as U.S. naval power pushed closer to
Japan. On 16 February Hobby joined Admiral M. A.
Mitscher’s fast carriers of the 5th Fleet as they carried out
the first air strikes against Tokyo since the Halsey-Doolit-
tle raid of April 1942. In addition to screening tankers
for the carrier force, she operated off Iwo Jima and later
off Okinawa as part of the valuable tankers ASW screen.
Detached from Pacific duty at the end of June, Hobby
arrived Seattle 17 July 1945 for overhaul. News of the
Japanese capitulation reached her while she was in
drydoek.
Hobby sailed to New York 6 October to participate in
Navy Day ceremonies, during which she hosted foreign
naval attaches and congressmen during the Presidential
Review of the victorious fleet. Proceeding to Charleston
1 November 1945, Hobby decommissioned there and went
into reserve 1 February 1946. Hobby was transferred
in January 1947 to Orange, Tex., where she remains.
For her participation in the major campaigns of World
War II, Hobby was awarded 10 battle stars.
Hobby, William M., see William M. Hobby
(DE-236)
Hobcaw
A former name retained.
( SP-252 : dp. 19; 1. 52'6" ; b. 12'6" ; dr. 2'6" ; s. 8 k. ;
a. 1 1-pdr.)
Hobcaw, a motor boat, was built by L. B. Newman of
Long Branch, N.Y., in 1907, and acquired by the Navy
from her owner, B. M. Baruche of New York City, 27
August 1917. She commissioned 10 September 1917 at
Georgetown, S.C., Ens. B. T. Daggett in command.
Assigned to the 6th Naval District, Hobcaw performed
harbor patrol in Winyah Bay, S. C., based at Charleston,
until transferred to Paris Island, S.C. Arriving at the
Marine Base 1 August 1918, Hobcaw acted as a towing
boat and carried passengers until entering the Charles-
ton Navy Yard for repairs 19 September 1918. Hobcaic
was returned to her owner 18 November 1918.
336
Hobe Sound
A sound off the coast of Florida.
Hobe Sound (AV-20), a Tangier-class seaplane tender,
was to be built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry
Dock, Newport News, Va., but was cancelled 28 October
1944. Her appropriations were used to build Bryce Can-
yon (AD-36) at Charleston, S.C.
Hobo II
A former name retained.
( SP-783 : dp. 24 ; 1. 75' ; b. 10' ; dr. 4' ; s. 14 k. ;)
Hobo II, a motor boat, was built by Elco Co., Bayonne,
N.J., in 1905, and was acquired from her owner, J. S.
Melcher of New York City, 23 June 1917. She commis-
sioned at Boston, Mass., 24 August 1917, Boatswain G.
R. Hadlock in command.
Hobo II was assigned to the 1st Naval District as a
patrol craft, operating out of Bar Harbor, Maine, on
harbor patrol. She was transferred to Boston, Mass., 21
January 1918, and performed dispatch and general patrol
duties until being returned to her owner 17 February
1919.
Hobson
Richmond Pearson Hobson was born 17 August 1870
in Greensboro, Ala., and graduated from the Naval
Academy in 1889. After duty in Chicago he underwent
additional training and was appointed Assistant Naval
Constructor in 1891. Hobson then served at various
Navy Yards and facilities, including a tour of duty as
instructor at the Naval Academy. In the early days of
Spanish-American War, he was with Sampson in New
York, and arrived off Santiago 1 June 1898. In order
to bottle up Cervera’s squadron Hobson took temporary
command of collier Merrimac, which he would attempt to
sink as an obstruction in the channel. The gallant
attempt was made early 3 June under heavy Spanish fire,
which disabled the steering gear of the collier. Hobson
did sink Merrimac, but was unable to place her in the
shallowest part of the channel. With his intrepid crew
of six, he was picked up by Admiral Cervera himself, and
treated quite chivalrously for his gallant expedition.
Hobson was advanced 10 numbers in grade after the
war and later, in 1933, awarded the Medal of Honor for
his heroic attempt to block the channel. After the
Spanish-American War he worked on the repairing and
refitting of captured Spanish cruisers at Cavite and at
various shore stations of the Navy. Resigning in 1903.
Hobson remained a staunch supporter of the Navy and
during his subsequent career as a Congressman from
Alabama, 1905-15, was a firm advocate of naval expansion.
In 1934, by special act of Congress, he was advanced to
Naval Constructor with a rank of Rear Admiral, and
placed on the retired list. Rear Admiral Hobson died
16 March 1937 in New York City.
( DD— 464 : dp. 1630; 1. 348'1'' ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 38
k. ; cpl. 208; a. 4 5". 4 1.1", 5 21" tt., 5 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Bristol)
Hobson (DD-464) was launched by Charleston Navy
Yard, Charleston, S.C., 8 September 1941 ; sponsored by
Mrs. R. P. Hobson, widow of Rear Admiral Hobson ; and
commissioned 22 January 1942, Comdr. R. N. McFarlane in
command.
Following extensive shakedown and training operations
in Casco Bay, Maine, the new destroyer joined veteran
carrier Ranger at Norfolk and sailed 1 July to escort her
to Africa. Carrying a vital cargo of 72 P-40 aircraft,
Ranger arrived safely via Trinidad, unloaded the planes
and returned with Hobson 5 August 1942. The destroyer
then conducted training exercises off Newport and Norfolk
until 3 October, when she departed Norfolk for Bermuda
on escort duty.
As the Allies prepared to land in North Africa in a bold
amphibious assault across the Atlantic, Hobson joined the
Center Attack Group. Her main job was to screen and
to protect Ranger while the carrier’s mobile air power
supported the assault. Departing 25 October from Ber-
muda, Hobson' s group arrived off Fedhala 8 November and
as the landings proceeded provided the indispensable air
support. Ranger’s planes hit shore batteries, immobile
French battleship Jean Bart, and later helped turn back
the attack by French ships on the transport area. Hobson
screened Ranger until she sailed 11 November for Nor-
folk leaving the Allies fully in command of the assault
area.
Upon her return to Norfolk 27 November 1942, the
destroyer took part in exercises in Casco Bay, later steam-
ing with a convoy to the Canal Zone in December. The
ship again joined Ranger in early 1943 and the antisub-
marine patrol group sailed 8 January to patrol the west-
ern Atlantic. Groups such as Ranger's did much to pro-
tect Allied shipping in the Atlantic from U-boats and con-
tributed mightily to the eventual victory in Europe. Typ-
ical of Hobson’s versatile performance was her rescue
of a group of survivors from SS St. Margaret off Bermuda
2 March 1943.
In April Hobson and Ranger arrived Argentia and began
operations out of that base. The ships provided air cover
for convoys and antisubmarine patrol, and in July 1943
had the honor of convoying HMS Queen Mary, carrying
Prime Minister Churchill to the Quebec Conference. The
veteran destroyer arrived Boston 27 July to prepare for
new duties.
Hobson sailed with Ranger and other ships 5 August to
join the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow. Arriving
19 August, she operated under Royal Navy orders in north-
ern waters, helping to provide cover for vital supply con-
voys to Russia. While at Scapa Flow 21 September, she
was inspected by Secretary of the Navy Knox and Admiral
Stark. Hobson accompanied Ranger on a daring raid 2—4
October 1943, as carrier aircraft staged a devastating at-
tack on German shipping at Bodo, Norway. Following
this operation the destroyer continued to operate with
Home Fleet. She screened HMS Formidable during flight
operations in November and after two convoy voyages to
Iceland returned to Boston and U.S. control 3 December
1943.
During the first 2 months of 1944, Hobson trained in
Chesapeake Bay and operated with carriers between the
East Coast and Bermuda. She joined escort carrier Bogue
and other escorts at Norfolk, departing 26 February.
These hunter-killer groups played a major part in driving
German U-boats from the sea lanes, and this cruise was
no exception. After patrolling for over 2 weeks, the
destroyers spotted an oil slick, made sonar contact, and
commenced depth charge attacks on the afternoon of 13
March. Weather-reporting submarine 17-575 was severely
damaged and was forced to surface, after which gunfire
from Hobson and the other ships sank her. After further
antisubmarine sweeps as far east as the Azores, Hobson
returned to Boston 2 April.
For some time the Allies had been building up tremen-
dous strength in England for the eventual invasion of
France, and the destroyer sailed 21 April 1944 to join the
vast armada which would transport and protect the
soldiers. She spent a month on patrol off Northern Ire-
land, arriving Plymouth 21 May for final preparations for
the invasion. Assigned to Rear Admiral Moon’s Utah
Beach Assault Group, Hobson arrived off Normandy with
other ships of the bombardment group at 0140 6 June, and
blazed away at German shore batteries. During the
early hours Carry struck a mine and sank, after which
Hobson and Fitch fired at German shore positions while
simultaneously rescuing survivors from the water. Hob-
son continued to lend powerful fire support until return-
ing to Plymouth later that afternoon.
The destroyer was not long out of the fray, however,
returning 8 June to screen the assault area. She also
337
jammed glider bomb radio frequencies 9-11 June and
provided channel convoy protection. With the Allies
sorely in need of a good port in France, Hobson steamed
to Cherbourg 25 June to assist in the bombardment. She
fired at the large batteries, screened battleships Texas and
Arkansas ; and when the battleships were dangerously
straddled, Hobson and Plunkett made covering smoke
which allowed all to retire. A few days later the Allies
occupied Cherbourg.
Hobson’s next duty took her to the Mediterranean ; she
arrived Mers el Kebir, Algeria, 11 July, and for a month
performed convoy duties to and from Taranto, Italy.
Joining Rear Admiral Rodgers Delta Assault Force, she
sailed from Taranto 11 August for the invasion of South-
ern France. Early on 15 August she acted as spotter for
Nevada’ s preliminary bombardment ; and, as troops
stormed ashore, provided direct fire support with her own
batteries. The destroyer remained in the assault area
until the next evening, arriving Palermo 17 August to
take up Mediterranean convoy duty.
As the allied offensive in Europe gained momentum,
Hobson steamed as a convoy escort between Algeria, Italy,
and France protecting vital supplies and troops. She
sailed for the United States 25 October 1944, and arrived
Charleston via Bermuda 10 November. There she entered
the Naval Shipyard and was converted to destroyer-mine-
sweeper, and reclassified DMS-26, 15 November 1944.
Through December she underwent trials and shakedown
training off Charleston and Norfolk.
Hobson sailed 4 January 1945 via the Panama Canal
to join the naval strength deployed against Japan in the
Pacific. Arriving Pearl Harbor 11 February, the ship un-
derwent further mine warfare training before sailing 24
February for Eniwetok and a part in the last and greatest
of the Pacific amphibious operations, Okinawa.
Sailing 19 March with the minesweeping group, Hobson
arrived Okinawa well in advance of the assault troops to
sweep the offshore areas, and was often attacked by Jap-
anese planes. As the assault began 1 April, the ship also
took up patrol duties and provided night illumination dur-
ing the first critical days of the campaign. As desperate
enemy suicide attacks were repulsed with heavy losses,
Hobson was called upon 13 April to take up a radar picket
station on which Mannert L. Abele had been sunk in a
heavy attack the previous night. She continued picket
and sweeping duty into 16 April, when another suicide
attack approached at about 0900. Hobson splashed one of
the attackers, but another crashed Pringle , causing a vio-
lent explosion. Only minutes later, another plane was
splashed just off Hobson’s starboard side, but her bomb
exploded on the main deck starting a major fire. Still
firing on kamikazes, the ship restored power, fought fires,
and picked up over 100 survivors from the sunken Pringle.
After the attack she anchored at Kerma Retto, returning
to Ulithi 29 April and Pearl Harbor 16 May. Hobson then
sailed via San Diego and the Canal Zone to Norfolk Naval
Shipyard, where she arrived 16 June 1945 for repairs.
The surrender of Japan came with Hobson still under-
going repairs ; and, after completing shakedown training,
she spent February 1946 on minesweeping operations out
of Yorktown, Va. The remainder of the year was spent
in training and readiness exercises in the Caribbean and
off Norfolk. Until 1950 the ship continued to operate off
the East Coast and in Caribbean waters on amphibious
and mine warfare operations. In late 1948 she visited
Argentina and Halifax on minesweeping operations with
Canadian ships.
With the outbreak of the Korean conflict in June 1950,
Hobson’s schedule of training intensified. She took part
in amphibious exercises off North Carolina and in Puerto
Rico 1950-51 and took part in carrier operations as a
plane giiard and screening ship. During one such ooera-
tion, with carrier Wasp. Hobson was steaming in forma-
tion 700 miles west of the Azores on the night of 26 April
1952. While the ships turned into the wind so that
Wasp could recover aircraft, Hobson crossed the carrier’s
bow from starboard to port and was struck amidships.
The force of the collision rolled the destroyer-minesweeper
over, breaking her in two. Rodman and Wasp rescued
many survivors, but the ship and 176 of her crew were lost,
including her Commanding Officer, Lt. Comdr. W. J. Tier-
ney. Thus ended in tragedy the long career of a gallant
ship.
Hobson received six battle stars for World War II serv-
ice, and shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded
to the ships in the Bogue antisubmarine task group in the
Atlantic.
Hocking
A county in Ohio.
( APA-121 : dp. 6,873 light ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 536; a. 1 5''; cl. Haskell)
Hocking (APA-121 was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract by California Shipbuilding Co., Wilming-
ton, Calif., 6 August 1914 ; sponsored by Miss Frances
Sims ; acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis and
commissioned 22 October 1944, Comdr. C. D. Shutz in
command.
The new transport conducted shakedown and training
exercises off California, departing for Pearl Harbor 4
December to join U.S. forces in the giant amphibious
sweep across the Pacific. After her arrival at Pearl Har-
bor 10 December, Hocking embarked marines and took
part in amphibious exercises and rehearsal preparatory to
the Iwo Jima invasion, destined to be one of the most im-
portant and hard-fought of the war. She joined the vast
armada of transports 27 January 1945 en route to Eniwe-
tok and after a stopover at that island base arrived Iwo
Jima 19 February. There Hocking debarked her troops
and unloaded equipment in the early waves of the assault.
She then anchored offshore, received casualties, and de-
parted 27 February for Saipan, where she arrived 2 March.
With the Iwo Jima campaign underway, thoughts were
turned to the next major objective, Okinawa. Hocking
sailed to Espiritu Santo 15 March, embarked fresh amphib-
ious assault forces, and sailed to Okinawa by way of
Ulithi. The ship arrived off Okinawa during the dif-
ficult first weeks of the fighting, 9 April. She debarked her
replacement troops and their cargo, and again received
battle casualties for transportation out of the forward
area. Hocking departed 14 April for Saipan and Ulithi,
and arrived Marianas 7 May to load troops at Tinian.
These were transported to Okinawa and landed 27 May,
after which the transport again carried casualties from
the battle-torn island. She arrived Pearl Harbor via
Saipan and Eniwetok 26 June and sailed on to San Fran-
cisco, arriving 3 July.
With the war nearing its close, Hocking embarked re-
placement troops and sailed 20 July, stopping at Eniwe-
tok and Ulithi before landing her troops at Okinawa 22
August. She then turned to duties connected with the
occupation of former enemy territory, embarking troops
at the Philippine base on Leyte 5 September and at Panay
island 10 September. They were taken to Jinsen, Korea,
and put ashore to aid in the peninsula occupation. Hocking
sailed 25 September to Luzon, bringing troops to Jinsen,
and made still another passage 18 October-3 November.
She got underway from Jinsen 7 November, brought troops
on board 2 days later at Shanghai, and sailed for the
United States as a unit of operation “Magic-Carpet”,
bringing home thousands of American troops in the Pacific.
Hocking arrived San Pedro 5 December, and subse-
quently made another voyage to Guam and the Philippines
bringing home veterans. Departing San Pedro 1 March
1946, she was designated for return to the Maritime Com-
mission and sailed via the Canal Zone to Norfolk, where
she decommissioned 10 May. Hocking joined the National
Defense Reserve Fleet and is at present berthed in the
James River, near Norfolk.
Hocking received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hodges
Flournoy Glen Hodges, born 22 January 1919 in Dover,
Ga., attended the University of Georgia and entered the
338
Naval Reserve 13 May 1940 at Macon, Ga. He had pre-
liminary flight training at the Naval Reserve Aviation
Base at Miami, and was appointed aviation cadet 15
August 1940. After more flight training at the Naval Air
Stations at Pensacola and Miami, he was commissioned
an Ensign 15 April 1941 and ordered to a torpedo squadron
in the Pacific. He was shot down and reported missing
during the Battle of Midway 4 June 1942. Ens. Hodges
was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and promoted
to Lieutenant (j.g.) 15 June 1942.
( DE-231 : dp. 1,450; 1. 306'; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'8" ; s. 24 k.;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5”, 4 40mm. , 10 20mm., 2 dct., 9 dcp.,
3 21" tt. ; cl. Rudderow)
Hodges (DB-231) was launched 9 December 1943 by the
Charleston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Miss Dorothy Jane
Hodges, sister of Ensign Hodges ; and commissioned 27
May 1944, Lt. Comdr. Victor B. Staadecker in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, Hodges returned to
Charleston before steaming to the British West Indies
for antisubmarine patrol. After more operations along
the East Coast, she sailed 14 October 1944 from New York,
reaching New Guinea 20 November via the Canal Zone.
After operations off New Guinea, Hodges sailed 20 Decem-
ber for the Philippines where she took up antisubmarine
patrol and escort duty.
In early January 1945, Hodges sailed with Vice Ad-
miral Barbey’s San Fabian Attack Force for the landings
at Lingayen Gulf, 9 January. Shortly after 0700, 9 Jan-
uary, as Hodges was on her screening station a kamikaze
started a dive on her. Misjudging the target angle, the
plane knocked down her foremast and radio antennas and
splashed without inflicting a single casualty. Hodges
quickly made emergency repairs and continued providing
air coverage — thus playing a key role in successfully land-
ing the 6th Infantry Division and General Wing’s 43d
Division.
After repairs at Manus Hodges arrived Humboldt Bay,
New Guinea, 15 February to escort a convoy to Leyte.
Through the last of March she was assigned patrol and
escort duty for convoys bringing in supplies to the Philip-
pines. On 11 April, Hodges conducted shore bombard-
ment on enemy gun emplacements in the vicinity of Legas-
pi, Luzon, then for the remainder of April and May
operated out of Manila Bay training with submarines.
After more patrol and escort duty out of Subic Bay,
Hodges sailed for Ulithi 26 June. From 1 July until 18
December she was assigned patrol and plane guard duty
between Ulithi and Okinawa. Hodges departed Samar
18 December, arriving San Francisco 9 January 1946 via
Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor. Hodges decommissioned at
San Diego 22 June 1946 and joined the Reserve Fleet,
where she remains.
Hodges received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hodges, General H. F., see General H. F. Hodges
(AP-144)
Hoe
One of various sharks, especially the dogfish.
( SS-258 ; dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3” ; s. 20 k.;
cpl. 60; a. 10 21" tt., 1 3", 2 .50 2 .30 cal., cl. Gato)
Hoc (SS-258) was launched by Electric Boat Co., Gro-
ton, Conn., 17 September 1942 ; sponsored by Miss Helen
Hess ; and commissioned 16 December 1942, Lt. Comdr.
E. C. Folger in command.
After shakedown Hoc sailed 19 April via the Panama
Canal to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 15 May 1943.
She departed on her first combat war patrol 27 May, and
patrolled the Guam-Palaus area. Hoe damaged two
freighters before returning 11 July to Pearl Harbor via
Ulithi and Midway.
Hoc' s second patrol conducted west of Truk, was marred
by considerable engine trouble. The submarine departed
21 August, damaged one tanker, and eluded several depth
charge attacks before returning to Pearl Harbor 18 Octo-
ber 1943. She also took part in the search for downed
aviators off Wake, 8-9 October.
Following extensive repairs, Hoe set out on her third
patrol 26 January 1944. Patrolling between Mindanao
and Halmahera, the submarine made an attack 16 Febru-
ary which damaged one ship. Although shadowed by
escort vessels, Hoc detected another convoy 25 October
and in two separate attacks sank tanker Nissho Mara.
She returned to Fremantle, Australia, 5 March for refit
and training.
Hoe began her fourth war patrol from Fremantle 4
April, and operated in the South China Sea, the vital
Japanese sea supply line. She attacked a convoy 8 May,
but scored no hits. Two more attacks 17 and 19 May
resulted in several damaged freighters and severe retalia-
tory depth charge attacks on Hoe. She returned to Fre-
mantle 2 June 1944. Her fifth war patrol, in the same
area, was conducted between 29 June and 23 August 1944.
The veteran submarine sailed on her sixth patrol 15
September as leader of a coordinated attack group con-
sisting of Hoe, Aspro, and Cabrilla. Operating southwest
of Lingayen Gulf, the submarines accounted for some
38,000 tons of valuable Japanese shipping in five night
surface attacks. Hoe was credited with the sinking of
passenger-cargo ship Kolioko Maru 8 October, and re-
turned to Fremantle 22 October. Her seventh patrol, 23
November to 3 January 1945, resulted in no sinkings.
Part of this cruise was conducted in coordination with
Flasher and Becuna.
Hoe’s final war patrol began 8 February 1945, when
she again headed for the South China Sea. By this time
the vigorous American submarine offensive had taken its
toll and little Japanese shipping found. The submarine
did detect a tanker and her escort vessel 25 February and
in a well-conducted submerged attack sank the escort,
Shinan. Two days before, while patrolling off Indochina,
she and Flounder had been involved in one of the most un-
usual accidents of the war. While steaming at a depth
of 60 feet Hoe struck an object and broached, sustaining
only light damage. Subsequent analysis proved that she
had actually collided with Flounder, one of the only sub-
merged collisions on record. Ending her last patrol at
Pearl Harbor 6 March, Hoe returned to the United States
for repairs. She sailed again for the Western Pacific 5
July 1945 and was just entering Apra Harbor. Guam,
when the war ended. A few days later she sailed for the
East Coast via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal, ar-
riving New York 29 September 1945.
Hoe decommissioned 7 August 1946 at New London,
Conn., and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. In Septem-
ber 1956 she was taken out of reserve to act as a Naval
Reserve Training Ship in a noncommissioned status in
the 3d Naval District. She was subsequently sold 23 Au-
gust 1960 to Laneett Inc., Boston, Mass.
Hoe received seven battle stars for World War II serv-
ice. Her first, third, fourth, sixth, and eighth patrols
were designated successful.
Hoe, Richard March, see Prince Georges (AK-224)
Hoe, Richard March, see Richard March Hoc (AP-165)
Hoel
William R. Hoel, born 7 March 1825 in Ohio, was a
Mississippi River steamboat pilot who entered the Navy
19 October 1861. On 6 February 1862, while serving as
the First Master of Cincinnati, Hoel was wounded dur-
ing the Battle of Fort Henry. Less than 2 months later,
on 4 April he volunteered to pilot gunboat Carondelet
in her famous run past the Rebel batteries at Island Num-
ber 10 to reach Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army at New Ma-
drid. The gunboat’s valiant dash through a hailstorm
339
of Confederate fire enabled Union forces to cross the
river and to take this key island with quantities of cannon,
equipment and stores. It thus opened the Mississippi
for operations by Union gunboats bringing the Federal
Armies in a long stride to within sight of Memphis.
Hoel’s courageous and skillful service on this occasion
won the praise of Flag-Officer Andrew H. Foote, the
thanks of the Navy from Secretary Gideon Welles, and
promotion to the rank of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant ef-
fective 29 April 1862.
On 10 May 1862 Hoel assumed command of Cincinnati
when serious wounds incapacited her Captain, Comr
mander Roger N. Stembel. The new commander of the
Western Flotilla, Captain Charles H. Davis, took this op-
portunity to express his admiration of Hoel. “I can not
praise more than they deserve his high valor and ability.
He sets the highest example to those below him, and if
it were possible to give him a permanent position worthy
of his merits, the Navy would be the gainer . . .”
On 29 October, Hoel then took command of Pittsburg on
which he served with distinction in the campaign to take
Vicksburg. One of Lieutenant Hoel’s exploits during
this campaign is of special interest since it foreshadowed
the heroism of the World War II destroyer which bore his
name, USS Hoel (DD-533). On 29 April 1863, as Acting
Rear Admiral Porter’s flotilla was bombarding the Con-
federate Batteries at Grand Gulf, his flagship, USS Ben-
ton, became unmanageable and was caught under heavy
fire in a position where she could neither steer nor reply
to the enemy guns. On seeing Porter’s predicament, Hoel
slipped the Pittsburg in between Benton and the flaming
Rebel batteries to protect her by taking the fire himself.
In the next 10 minutes his heroism cost the Pittsburg 6
men killed and 8 wounded, but the sacrifice allowed Ben-
ton to extricate herself from the deadly trap. The bom-
bardment was so successful that the next day General
Grant safely moved his troops across the Mississippi to
begin the operations which at long last isolated and cap-
tured Vicksburg.
Hoel was promoted to Acting Volunteer Lieutenant
Commander on 10 November 1864. Detached from Pitts-
burg, he then took command of Vindicator 1 March 1865
on which he served until 7 July 1865. He was honorably
discharged on 30 December 1865.
I
(DD-533: dp. 2,100; 1. 376'3" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13'; s. 36 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 21" ft., 6 dcp„ 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher )
Hoel (DD-533) was launched 19 December 1942 by the
Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Charles Bunker Crane, Jr., granddaughter of the
namesake; and commissioned 29 July 1943, Commander
William Dow Thomas, USN, in command.
Hoel sailed from San Francisco Bay 16 August 1943
for shakedown training in operating areas out of San
Diego during which she made seven depth charge runs
on an underwater sound contact with unknown results.
After returning to Mare Island Navy Yard 17 September
for final alterations, she cleared San Francisco 26 Octo-
ber as a part of the screen for a convoy which reached
Pearl Harbor 31 October 1943 where Hoel reported to
Captain A. G. Cook, Commander of Destroyer Squadron
47, who then shifted his flag to her from Hcermann.
Fifth Fleet, which was then preparing to take the
Gilbert Islands in Operation GALVANIC, assigned Hoel
to Admiral Richmond K. Turner’s Northern attack force,
TF 52. She joined destroyers Morris, Franks, and Hughes
and minesweeper Revenge in guarding Air Support Group
52.3 composed of escort carriers Liscomc Bay, Coral Sea,
and Corregidor.
Hoel sortied from Pearl Harbor with her group 10
November and guarded her “baby flattops” as their planes
pounded Makin in a dawn preinvasion attack 20 Novem-
ber 1943. For the next 3 days torpedo bombers and fight-
ers from Air Support Group 52.3 supported Major Gen-
eral Ralph C. Smith’s 27th Infantry Division as it strug-
gled to take Makin. Thousands of bom,bs and countless
rounds from the guns on these planes smashed Japanese
troop concentrations, gun emplacements, and shore in-
stallations on the beleaguered island. Before dawn 24
November, a torpedo fired by Japanese submarine 1-115
struck Liscomc Bay amidships and lookouts on the fan-
tail of Coral Sea spotted the wake of a second torpedo
which barely missed their ship. Bluejackets on board
Hoel saw smoke and flame rise at least a thousand feet
when the torpedo ripped into Liscome Bay and detonated
her bomb magazine. Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix,
commander of the Air Support Group, Captain Irving D.
Wiltsie and 642 officers and men perished with the ill-
fated carrier which slipped beneath the surface some 23
minutes later after spewing smoke, flame and red-hot
plane parts for miles around. The group’s destroyers
rescued 272 survivors. At dusk the following day.
Thanksgiving, Japanese planes spotted Rear Admiral
Turner’s task force steaming a few miles off Butaritari
Island and dropped both float and parachute flares on
each side of his ships to light them up as targets for 13
torpedo bombers which swooped in to attack. However,
spirited gunnery and perfectly timed radical simultaneous
turns enabled the American vessels to thwart the at-
tackers by escaping without suffering a single hit.
When the escort carriers cleared the area at night 27
November 1943, Hoel joined the screen protecting Abe-
mama Group I which was unloading on the island of that
name. The next morning she rejoined Rear Admiral
Turner’s task force and arrived off Tarawa 1 December
for antisubmarine patrol five miles off the lagoon en-
trance. Two days later she joined the escort for battle-
ship Tennessee and a group of transports sailing for Pearl
Harbor where they arrived 11 December 1943. Captain
A. G. Cook, commander of De=trover Snuadron 47 shifted
his flag from Hoel to McCord 14 December 1943.
Hoel with fleet units of the 5th Amphibious Force, began
intensive training for the invasion of the Marshall Is-
lands. Departed Pearl Harbor 23 Januarv 1944 with the
transport screen of Reserve Force, T.G. 51.1 which
steamed east of Kwajalein while Rear Admiral Turner’s
Joint Expeditionary Force landed on that atoll 31 Janu-
ary 1944. Hoel escorted the group’s transports into
Kwajalein Lagoon 2 February, and the following day took
station as a radar picket patrol shin south of Kwajalein
where she also was on call for gunfire support. On 6
February she accompanied Miller DD-535 on a tour of in-
spection in the Roi-Namur area for Admiral Nimitz.
When Task Forces 51 and 53 dissolved and their ships
reverted to Task Force 51, Hoel was assigned to Fire
Support Section 3. TU 51, 17.3 of the Eniwetok Expedi-
tionary Group. In the early morning darkness of 17
February Hoel reentered Eniwetok Lagoon with cruiser
Portland to bombard Parry and Japtan Islands. Hoel
picked up several aviators from a wrecked scout plane
from cruiser Indianavolis and returned them to their ship.
That afternoon Hod’s guns destroyed several small craft
on the beach of Parry Island and fired on pillboxes and
troop concentrations inland. She then anchored in
standby position while the rest of the force bombarded
the two islands. The next day Hoel took her turn at
providing harassing fire and at night illuminated the
beaches and the reef to prevent enemy troop movements.
Just before daybreak 19 February she took station off
Eniwetok fer close fire support of the initial landings.
When relieved by destroyer Phelps 21 February, Hoel
steamed to a position off the deep entrance to Eniwetok
Lagoon for patrol duty which continued until 26 February
when she embarked a fighter director team from destroyer
Hazelwood and assumed duties of standby fighter direc-
tor for the Eniwetok area. On 4 March 1944, 2 days later
after the attack and occupation phase of Eniwetok was
completed, the fighter-director team was transferred to
the attack transport Cambria, freeing Hoel to depart for
Majuro for repairs.
Hoel, in company with three other destroyers of DesRon
47, reported to Commander 3d Fleet at Purvis Bay. Florida
Island, 18 March 1944. The next day she cleared that
port to join Task Force 39, but 20 March she was ordered
340
to change course for Emirau Island which was then being
occupied by marines. On 25 March 1944 destroyers
Trathen and Johnston joined Hoel and the rest of DesRon
47 uniting the squadron for the first time.
Hoel then patrolled south and east of Cape Botiangen,
New Hanover, where her guns destroyed an enemy ware-
house 26 March 1944, and, the next day, captured docu-
ments which contained valuable information from a 40-
foot outrigger canoe. That night she made four depth
charge runs on an underwater sound contact with un-
known results. She returned to Purvis Bay 8 April 1944
to screen a convoy carrying troops and supplies to Emirau
Island.
Upon her return to Purvis Bay 14 April 1944 Hoel re-
ported for duty to Rear Admiral R. W. Hayler, the com-
mander of Cruiser Division 12 who kept her busy with
training exercises and convoy duty until 14 August when
she was assigned to the 3d Amphibious Force then pre-
paring for the invasion of the Palaus. She joined escort
carrier Kitkun Bay at Espiritu Santo 24 August 1944 for
passage to Purvis Bay. On 6 September they put to sea
for the Palau Islands with Rear Admiral W. D. Sample’s
escort carrier task force unit to provide air support during
the invasion of Peleliu. While continuing to screen the
escort carriers, she rescued a pilot and passenger from a
plane that had splashed on attempting to take off from
Ommaney Bay and transferred them to Marcus Island.
On 1 October 1944 Hoel made three depth charge runs
on an underwater sound contact with unknown results.
After replenishing at Seeadler Harbor of Manus, Ad-
miralty Islands, Hoel cleared that base with a fire sup-
port group 12 October 1944 to join Rear Admiral Thomas
L. Sprague’s escort carrier group (Task Group 77.4) in in-
vading the Philippines. Sprague’s force was composed of
three units, each comprising a group of escort carriers
and a screen of destroyers and destroyer escorts. These
units, known by their radio calls as the “Three Taffys”,
began operating off Samar 18 October 1944 to cover the
landings on Leyte. Hoel was attached to “Taffy 3” (Es-
cort Carrier Task Unit 77.4.3) commanded by Rear Ad-
miral Clifton A. F. Sprague and comprising four escort
carriers guarded by destroyers Hoel, Heemvann, and
Johnston. Before the decisive battle off Samar, “Taffy
3” was reinforced by the arrival of Admiral R. A. Oftsie
with two more escort carriers and four destroyer escorts,
Dennis, John C. Butler, Raymond, and Samuel B. Roberts.
Dawn of 25 October 1944 found “Taffy 3” steaming
northeast of Samar operating as the Northern Air Support
Group. “Taffy 2” was in the central position patrolling
off the entrance to Leyte Gulf, and “Taffy 1” covered the
southern approaches to the Gulf some 130 miles to the
southeast of Hoel’ s “Taffy 3”. Admiral T. L. Sprague was
under the erroneous impression that Admiral Halsey’s 3d
Fleet was providing protection to the north and so was
taken by surprise when at 0645 “Taffy 3’s” lookouts ob-
served antiaircraft fire to the northward and within 3
minutes were under heavy fire from Kurita’s powerful
Center Force of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light
cruisers, and 11 destroyers.
The only chance for survival of the little group of Ameri-
can “jeep” carriers and “tin cans” lay in fleeing to the
south hoping that aid would arrive before their complete
destruction. While the carriers launched all available
planes to attack their numerous Japanese adversaries and
then formed a rough circle as they turned toward Leyte
Gulf, Hoel and her fellow destroyers Johnston and Heer-
mann, worked feverishly to lay down a smoke screen to
hide their “baby flattops” from the overwhelmingly su-
perior enemy ships. At 0706, when a providential rain
squall helped to hide his carriers, Admiral Clifton Sprague
boldly ordered his destroyers to attack the Japanese with
torpedoes. Hoel instantly obeyed this order by heading
straight for the nearest enemy battleship, Kongo, then
18,000 yards away. When she had closed to 14.000 yards
she opened fire as she continued her race toward the smok-
ing muzzles of Kongo’s 14-inch guns. A hit on her bridge
which knocked out all voice radio communication did not
deflect her from her course toward the enemy until she
had launched a half salvo of torpedoes at a range of 9,000.
Although Hoel’ s “fish” all failed to strike their target, they
caused Kongo to lose ground in her pursuit of the carriers
by forcing her to turn sharply left and to continue to
move away from her quarry until they had run their
course. Minutes later Hoel suffered hits which knocked
out three of her guns, stopped her port engine, and de-
prived her of her Mark-37 fire control director, FD radar,
and bridge steering control. Undaunted, Hoel turned to
engage the enemy column of heavy cruisers. When she
had closed to within 6,000 yards of the leading crusier,
Haguro, the fearless destroyer launched a half-salvo of
torpedoes which ran “hot, straight and normal.” This
time she was rewarded by the sight of large columns of
water which rose from her target. Although Japanese
records deny that these torpedoes hit the cruiser, there is
no evidence to indicate any other explanation for the
geyser effect observed.
Hoel now found herself crippled and surrounded by
enemies. Kongo was only 8,000 yards off her port beam
and the heavy cruiser column was some 7,000 yards off her
port quarter. During the next hour the valiant ship
rendered her final service by drawing enemy fire to her-
self and away from the carriers. In the process of fish-
tailing and chasing salvos she demanded the attention of
her antagonists by peppering them with her two remain-
ing guns. Finally at 0830, after withstanding over 40
hits, an 8-inch shell stilled her remaining engine. With
her engineroom under water, her No. 1 magazine ablaze,
and the ship listing heavily to port and settling by the
stern, Hoel’s stouthearted captain, Commander Leon
S. Kinterberger, reluctantly ordered his crew to “prepare
to abandon ship.” The Japanese fire at the doomed ship
continued as her surviving officers and men went over
the side and only stopped at 0855 when Hoel rolled over
and sank in 4,000 fathoms.
Only 86 of Hoel’s complement survived while 253 officers
and men died with their ship. Commander Kinterberger
described the incomparably courageous devotion to duty
of the men of the Hoel in a seaman’s epitaph to the action :
“Fully cognizant of the inevitable result of engaging such
vastly superior forces, these men performed their assigned
duties coolly and efficiently until their ship was shot from
under them.”
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Hoel re-
ceived the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation
Badge and five battle stars for World War II service.
Hoel (DD-768) was cancelled during construction 13
September 1946.
II
(DDG-13 : dp. 4.500 (f.) ; 1. 437’ ; b. 47' ; dr. 22' ; s. over
30 k* ; cpl. 334 ; a. “Tartar” guided missiles, “Asroc”,
2 5”; cl. Charles F. Adams)
The second Hoel (DDG-13) was launched 4 August 1960
by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Harry H. Long, granddaughter of the namesake ;
commissioned 16 June 1962, Commander Allen W. Slifer,
USN, in command.
After fitting out at Boston, Hoel got underway for her
first homeport, San Diego, putting in at Norfolk ; May-
port and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ; Guantanamo Bay ; Car-
tagena, Colombia ; Canal Zone ; and Acapulco, Mexico,
during the voyage. During the passage from Cartagena
to the Canal Zone she came upon sailing yacht Stardrift
becalmed and adrift enroute to Sidney, Australia, from
London. Hoel towed the 36-foot craft 100 miles to safety
in Panama.
Hoel arrived San Diego 11 September 1962 and spent
the ensuing months completing the various inspections,
tests, and trials by the Board of Inspection and Survey.
When successful firing of ASROC and TARTAR missiles
completed her qualification and acceptance trials, Hoel
joined the ready 1st Fleet.
After a 3-week cruise to E*quimalt, Canada, Hoel spent
April and May of 1963 in Pearl Harbor conducting special
341
exercises. She then returned to waters off San Diego to
participate in the Presidential Demonstration held for
President Kennedy.
The months of July, August, and part of September
were spent at Long Beach Naval Shipyard for the post-
shakedown availability assigned each new ship approxi-
mately 1 year after commissioning. At this time im-
proved fire-control radars were installed and tested by
successful missile firings. Hoel departed Long Beach 17
October 1963 for duty in the AVestern Pacific to serve as
the flagship of Commander Destroyer Division 12.
In ensuing years she alternated deployments in the Far
East with operations off the West Coast. Her 1966 deploy-
ment to the Western Pacific began when she departed San
Diego 28 July. On September she was on search and
rescue patrol off Da Nang. Vietnam. On 8 December the
guided missile destroyer became naval gunfire support
ship in the Corps I area. She fired 2,100 rounds destroy-
ing at least 20 enemy structures and 2 trench networks ;
damaging 61 buildings, 3 bunkers, 8 trench networks, and
5 roads ; and killing 24 Viet Cong while wounding 7. Hoel
retired to Hong Kong 21 December but headed for Yankee
Station the day after Christmas to screen Coral Sea
(CVA-43). On this patrol she helped to rescue a pilot
after his A-4 Sky Hawk had crashed.
Hoel returned to San Diego 3 February 1907 and op-
erated on the West Coast through mid-year preparing for
future action.
Hoga
A Sioux Indian word meaning “fish”.
(YT-146: dp. 325; 1. 100'; b. 25'; dr. 9'7")
Hoga (YT-146), a diesel-powered tug, was launched by
Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, N.Y., 31
December 1940 ; and placed in service 22 May 1941.
Hoga served during World War II as a harbor tug in
the 14th Naval District, and was reclassified YTB-146
15 May 1944. She was loaned to the city of Okland, Calif,
in June 1948, and serves at present as a harbor tug into
1967. She was reclassified YTM-146 on 1 February 1962.
Hogan
Seaman Hogan entered the Navy on board the schooner
Revenge at Boston, Mass., in 1811 and transferred to
frigate Constitution 18 February 1812. During the War
of 1812 he won distinction on board Constitution in an
engagement with the British frigate Guerriere. When
Constitution's flag was shot away from the main topgallant
masthead, Hogan climbed the rigging and lashed the
colors to the masthead. In later action between the Con-
stitution and Java on 3 January 1813 he was severely
wounded, losing the fingers of both hands. He died 1
September 1818.
(DD-178 : dp. 1,060; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8'' ; dr. 8'6" s. 35
k. ; cpl. 101 ; a. 4 4", 2 3", 12 21" tt„ cl. Wickes )
Hogan (DD-178) was launched by Union Iron Works,
San Francisco, Calif., 12 April 1919; sponsored by Mrs.
Magnus A. Anderson, a sister of the Secretary of the
Interior Franklin K. Lane ; and commissioned 1 October
1919, Lt. Comdr. E. M. Williams in command.
After shakedown Hogan arrived San Diego 21 Novem-
ber to join the Pacific Destroyer Force. From 23 Novem-
ber to 6 February 1920 she sailed in company with her
division and engaged in fleet maneuvers, patrol duty,
torpedo exercises and target practice along the California
coast. On 25 March she departed for Hawaii, where she
operated for the next month. The destroyer rejoined her
squadron at San Diego in late April for 5 months of gun-
nery exercises and trial runs in that area. She returned
to San Diego in early 1921 and engaged in important
experimental torpedo practice and divisional operations
until 9 December. For the remainder of her service Hogan
assisted U.S. battleships in conducting torpedo firing ex-
ercises in the Pacific. She decommissioned at San Diego
27 May 1922.
Recommissioned 7 August 1940, Hogan underwent con-
version to a high speed minesweeper at Mare Island and
reclassified DMS-6. Her activity up to World War II con-
sisted mainly of intensified minesweeper training and
patrol duty in the Caribbean and along the Eastern Coast.
During the early months of the war Hogan acted as a
convoy escort in the Caribbean and eastern Atlantic, pro-
tecting shipping from U-boat attack. The first major
operation in which she took part was the invasion of
North Africa in late 1942. For this important amphibious
assault, mounted over an entire ocean, Hogan departed
Norfolk 24 October and arrived with the Center Force
off Fedhala for preliminary sweeps 7 November. As the
landings began early next day, the minesweeper contin-
ued to patrol the vital transport area. Just after 0500
she was sent to investigate strange running lights and
came upon a French steamer and escort vessel. Hogan
ordered both ships to reverse course, and when the order
was not obeyed fired a burst of machine gun fire across
the escort’s bow. The ship, Victoria, replied with fire
of her own and attempted to ram the minesweeper, but
Hogan avoided her and with 20-mm fire forced her
surrender.
In the days that followed the minesweeper continued
to conduct antisubmarine patrol off Fedhala, searching
for submarines that attacked the transports 11 Novem-
ber. The ship entered Casablanca harbor 18 November,
the invasion a success, and after patrol duties sailed for
Norfolk, arriving 26 December.
Hogan next returned to coastal convoy duties until
November 1943. She sailed 13 November from Norfolk
to join the Pacific Fleet, transited the Panama Canal,
arriving Mare Island 5 December. The minesweeper was
needed for the first phase of the long island campaign
toward Japan, the invasion of the Marshalls, and sailed
for Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein 16 January 1944. Hogan
carried out antisubmarine patrol off Roi Island before
departing 4 February for Espiritu Santo, where she ar-
rived 27 February.
After another period of convoy duty, Hogan arrived
Milne Bay 7 April to prepare for the Hollandia operation.
The attack group sailed 18 April and arrived Humboldt
Bay 4 days later. Hogan and other minesweepers cleared
enemy mines for Admiral Barbey’s invasion force, after
which the ship carried out shore bombardment and screen-
ing duties. She arrived Cape Sudest with HMAS Wes-
tralia 25 April.
Hogan sailed from Eniwetok 10 June to make prelimi-
nary sweeps of Saipan for the invasion to come. 'She
remained off Saipan during the assault 15 June, coming
under enemy shore fire, and moved to Guam the next day.
As the Japanese fleet moved toward the Marianas for a
decisive naval battle, Hogan returned to Saipan to pro-
tect the tansports. In the great carrier battle which fol-
lowed 19-20 June, the American fleet won a stunning
victory, crippling the Japanese naval air arm and securing
the Marianas operation from interference. Hogan re-
turned to the staging base at Eniwetok 30 June, but re-
turned to Guam 12 July to carry out screening and mine-
sweeping duties for the assault there. She arrived
Espiritu Santo 5 August 1944.
Following a tour of escort duty in the Solomons, Hogan
steamed via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco for repairs,
arriving 5 October. As the recapture of the Philippines
gained momentum, the ship steamed from San Francisco
6 November and arrived Manus staging area 4 Decem-
ber 1944. Moving to Leyte Gulf before Christmas, Hogan
sortied with the Minesweeping and Hydrographic Group
2 January 1945. Kamikaze attacks, symbol of Japanese
desperation, began soon afterward, and continued during
the voyage to Lingayen Gulf. The minesweepers entered
the invasion area 6 January and began their dangerous
sweeping operations. Four of the minesweepers were
sunk or damaged, and Hogan's gunners were busy with
342
USS Hogan (DMS-6) on 29 July 1943
attacking aircraft. With the operation well underway,
the ship arrived Leyte Gulf 16 January.
After retiring to Tinian, Hogan sailed once more 7
February to take part in the important assault on Iwo
Jima. During this operation she swept mines, screened
transports, and carried out shore bombardment before de-
parting with a group of battleships and their escorts 7
March. Arriving Pearl Harbor 13 April via Ulithi she
continued to San Diego 3 May 1945.
Hogan underwent major repairs and reclassified AG-
IOS 5 June 1945. The veteran ship was assigned as a
target ship for bombing tests and was sunk off San Diego
8 November 1945.
Hogan received six battle stars for World War II
service.
Hogg, James S., see James S. Hogg ( AK-139)
Hoggatt Bay
A bay on the southeastern coast of Baranof Island,
Alaska.
(OVE-75 : dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3" ; b. 65'; ew. lOS'l”; dr.
22'6” ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860; a. 1 5”, 16 40mm.; cl. Casa-
blanca)
Hoggatt Bay (CVE-75) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver,
Wash., 4 December 1943. Originally classified AVG-75,
she had been reclassified ACV-75, 20 August 1942. Spon-
sored by Mrs. Victor Sundrik, she was reclassified again
to CVE-75, 15 July 1943 and commissioned at Astoria,
Oreg., 11 January 1944, Captain W. V. Saunders in com-
mand.
After intensive training off the California coast, Hog-
gatt Bay transported aircraft and crews to Pearl Harbor
10-25 March 1944. Upon her return and further train-
ing in antisubmarine work, she sailed 1 May for Pearl
Harbor and Majuro. The combination of escort carriers
and destroyers had proven itself effective against subma-
rines in the Battle of the Atlantic, and was now to be
used in the Pacific against the Japanese. Hoggatt Bay
and a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts patrolled
in the southwest Pacific 26 May-19 June with notable suc-
cess. Intrepid England scored a kill on Ro-105 31 May
and Taylor sank Ro-111 with depth charges and gunfire
11 June. These operations and those of other groups did
much to reduce Japanese submarine interference with
the invasion of the Marianas.
Returning to the patrol area a brief stay at Eniwetok,
Hoggatt Bay's group provided air support and cover for
the Marianas operation 5 July-9 August, after which the
ships returned to Manus. Next on the timetable of Pa-
cific conquest was Peleliu, a valuable air base for further
advances, and Hoggatt Bay sortied 1 September to furnish
antisubmarine protection and search planes for the inva-
sion. For nearly 2 months the escort carrier cruised these
seas south and west of the Marianas in support of Ameri-
can operations. Samuel S. Miles, a member of her group,
sank 1-177 3 October, and later in the month planes from
Hoggatt Bay helped provide air cover for crippled Houston
as she struggled toward Ulithi.
The ship arrived Ulithi 28 October, and sailed 10 Novem-
ber to provide air support for the developing campaign
in the Philippines. This was followed by amphibious ex-
ercises in Huon Gulf, New Guinea, in preparation for the
256-125 0 - 68 - 24
343
Lingayen Gulf operations. Arriving Manus 20 December
1944, Hoggatt Bay joined the great task force which de-
parted from that and other staging bases in late Decem-
ber for Lingayen Gulf. The voyage through the Philip-
pines was a perilous one, as the Japanese attacked with
their last desperate weapon, the suicide plane. Crew-
men on Hogyatt Bay and the other ships fought continu-
ously after 3 January, downing many of the attackers, but
Ommaney Bay was lost and other ships damaged. Ar-
riving Lingayen Gulf 6 January, Hoggatt Bay sent her
carrier planes in to support the landings and destroy strong
points despite suicide attacks ; this vital work continued
until 17 January, when the ship set course for Ulithi, and
then San Diego.
The veteran escort carrier returned to San Diego 15
February 1945, and after much-needed repairs sailed 6
April to join the vast fleet arrayed oft Okinawa in sup-
port of the invasion. She arrived Okinawa 8 May via
Pearl Harbor and Ulithi and immediately took station
south of the island to lend her aircraft to the carrier
air forces engaged in the operation. Her planes flew direct
support missions, photographic flights, and supply drops
during the period 8 May-24 June.
Hoggatt Bay arrived Leyte Gulf 27 June 1945 and after
a month of training sailed 28 July for Adak, Alaska. The
surrender came while the carrier was en route, however,
and the planned operation was replaced by occupation
plans. After her arrival 18 August, Hoggatt Bay sailed
for Ominato. She arrived September and supported the
occupation of Hokkaido and northern Honshu. During
this period aircraft from the ship discovered many Japa-
nese prison camps, and the ship had the pleasure of
evacuating Lieutenant Colonel Devereux, Marine Com-
mander at Wake Island when captured by the Japanese.
Hoggatt Bay also participated in the occupation of Aomori
before anchoring in Tokyo Bay 27 September.
The escort carrier departed Tokyo 30 September and
after brief service with the “Magic Carpet” fleet returned
to Boston and decommissioned 20 July 1946. Placed in
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Boston, the ship was re-
classified CVHE-75, 12 June 1955 and AKV-25, 7 May 1959.
She was sold for scrap 31 March 1960.
Hoggatt Bay received five battle stars for World War
II service.
Holienfelds, see Long Beach (AK-9)
Hoi-Kong, Robert O., see YAO-2
Hoist
To raise, elevate, lift with tackle.
( ARS-40 : dp. 1,360; 1. 213'6" ; b. 39' ; dr. 14'4" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 120 ; a. 4 40mm., 6 20mm. ; cl. Diver )
Hoist (ARS-40) was launched 31 March 1945 by Basalt
Rock Corp., Napa, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. William E.
Howard ; and commissioned 21 July 1945, Lt. Comdr.
R. M. Brunner in command.
After shakedown Hoist sailed from San Francisco 6
September 1945 to begin salvage operations in the Far
East. Hoist arrived Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 11 October
and commenced salvage and repair duties until 23 De-
cember. Two days later she arrived Wakanoura Wan
and operated there and at Sasebo until 15 March 1946.
Hoist returned to San Pedro 1 June and sailed for
Norfolk 15 July. After overhaul she sailed to Bayonne,
N.J., and trained students at the Naval Training Salvage
School until 23 February. From March 1947 to Decem-
ber 1948, Hoist continued salvage operations along the
East and Gulf coasts. She sailed 8 December for Narsak,
Greenland, where she operated for 2 weeks before re-
turning to Bayonne. In mid-January 1949 she sailed for
the Azores to repair an underwater pipeline, returning 16
March. Hoist sailed 23 March to tow targets for aircraft
squadron exercises off Bermuda, helping maintain the
high readiness of the fleet for service when needed,, then
sailed 9 May for the Virginia Capes for training opera-
tions. Hoist now based her operations out of Norfolk,
and on 9 August steamed to assist Simon Newcomb
(AGSC-14) aground in Mother Burns Cove, Labrador.
Towing the vessel to Argentia, Newfoundland, Hoist re-
sumed her salvage and repair duties out of Norfolk, with
annual deployments to the North Atlantic and periodic
operations in the Caribbean and Florida waters, keeping
the Navy in top fighting condition to preserve the peace
throughout the world. In addition to her salvage and
repair services she acted as station ship, performed towing
operations, and engaged in amphibious exercises.
From early 1960 through 1964, Hoist continued similar
services, but concentrated on local salvage duties out
of Norfolk and operations in Florida and the Caribbean.
From 29 May 1964 to 25 August Hoist operated with
Trieste II at the site of the Thresher tragedy. Next, per-
forming one of her many rescues, Hoist along with Seneca
( ATF-92 ) and Windlass (ARSD^t), freed USNS Blue-
jacket, which had grounded 2 March 1965. Bluejacket
■was pulled free in 2 days saving her perishable cargo of
frozen stores valued at $2,000,000. From 11 October to
12 November Hoist was busy with towing operations when
ordered to assist in the salvage of Alamogordo ( ARDM-2) .
a floating drydock attached to the Polaris program.
Hoist and Recovery (ARS-43) raised Alamogordo in 3
weeks. For the remainder of the year Hoist was active
in local salvage duties.
On 16 February 1966 Hoist arrived at Palomares, Spain,
to take part in the recovery of an H-Bomb. The un-armed
weapon was dropped when a B-52 bomber and KC-135
flying tanker collided. On 7 April after successful com-
pletion of the mission Hoist returned to Norfolk, where
she arrived 4 May. Hoist performed salvage operations
in the Virginia Capes area into 1967.
Holbrook, Willard A., see Willard A. Holbrook (AP-44)
Holder
Randolph Mitchell Holder was born 20 September 1918
in Jackson, Miss., and was commissioned Ensign 10 April
1940 following flight training. Reporting to Torpedo
Squadron 6 in the famous carrier Enterprise, he took part
in the early carrier operations in the critical months fol-
lowing Pearl Harbor and then fought in the pivotal Battle
of Midway, first of the great American successes in the
sea war. In the gallant attack of the torpedo planes early
4 June 1942, Holder and his comrades attacked the Japa-
nese ships without fighter cover. Though Holder and
many others were shot down while pressing this attack,
they forced radical maneuvers and diverted Japanese air
cover so as to make the later raids lethal to the enemy
fleet. Lieutenant (j.g.) Holder was presumed dead next
day, 5 June 1942, and was awarded the Navy Cross post-
humously for his heroism.
I
(DE-^01 : dp. 1,200 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7'' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3'', 2 40mm., 8 20mm. , 2 det, 8 dep, 1 dep
(hh) , 3 21" tt. ;cl. Edsall)
The first Holder (DE-401) was launched by Brown Ship-
building Co., Houston, Tex., 27 November 1943 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Annette Holder, mother of Lieutenant (junior
grade) Holder; and commissioned 18 January 1944, Lt.
Comdr. G. Cook in command.
After completion of her shakedown cruise, Holder de-
parted 24 March escorting a convoy bound for Mediter-
ranean ports. Proceeding along tbe coast of Algeria the
convoy was followed 10 and 11 April by German planes
and just before midnight 11 April it was attacked by
torpedo bombers. Holder and the other escorts immedi-
ately opened fire and began making smoke, but a tor-
344
pedo struck the escort vessel amidships on the port side,
causing two heavy explosions. Though fires spread and
flooding was serious. Holder's crew remained at their guns
to drive off the attackers without damage to the convoy.
Alert damage control kept the ship seaworthy and she
arrived in tow at Oran for repairs. There it was decided
to tow her to New York, where she arrived safely 9 June
1944. She decommissioned at New York Navy Yard 18
September 1944, and the forward part of her hull was
used to repair Menges (DE-320). The remainder was
sold for scrap to John A. Witte, Station Island, N.Y., 19
June 1947.
Holder received one battle star for World War II
service.
II
( DD-819 : dp. 2,425 ; 1. 390'6” ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6” ; s. 35 ;
cpl. 367 ; a. 6 5”, 5 21” tt, 6 dep, 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
The second Holder (DD-819) was launched by Consoli-
dated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 25 August 1945; sponsored
by Mrs. Annette Holder, mother of Lieutenant (j.g.)
Holder ; and commissioned 18 May 1946 at Orange, Tex.,
Comdr. B. K. Atkins in command.
Holder conducted her shakdown training in the Carib-
bean and returned to Norfolk 28 August 1946. After a
period of training exercises along the coast she sailed for
the Mediterranean 23 October. During the subsequent
operations with the 6th Fleet in this troubled area, Holder
visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia, arriving Newport 22
March 1947. She then took part in antisubmarine train-
ing exercises out of Newport and in the Caribbean.
The destroyer continued this pattern of operations for
the years that followed. In June-July 1949 Holder took
part in a Midshipman training cruise to northern Europe
and upon her return moved her home port from Newport
to Norfolk. Her classification was changed to DDE-819
4 March 1950, but she continued to alternate cruises to
Europe and the Mediterranean with periods of training
and upkeep out of Norfolk and the Caribbean. When
crisis flared in the Middle East over Egypt’s seizure of
the Suez Canal in 1956, Holder steamed to join the 6tli
Fleet in insuring the safety of American lives and prop-
erty and helping to lessen the chance of a larger outbreak.
Again in 1958 Holder sailed to the Mediterranean in March
and in July took part in the landings at Beirut, Lebanon.
Answering the call of the legitimate government, Ameri-
can surface ships and amphibious forces acted swiftly to
avert the fall of the rightful government, a Communist
takeover, and disaster in the Middle East.
The veteran destroyer, reclassified DD-819 again 7 Au-
gust 1962, took part in another graphic demonstration of
the imoprtanee of sea power, this time in the Western
Hemisphere. When the introduction of offensive missiles
into Cuba forced President Kennedy to proclaim a naval
quarantine of that island, Holder and other ships took up
station so as to intercept and inspect shipping. The de-
stroyer made an inspection of a Russian ship leaving
Cuba 8 November and remained on this duty until 21
November, when she steamed to Norfolk. Ships had once
more given meaning and teeth to American policy in the
cold war.
Holder entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard 17 December
1962 for Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization Overhaul,
a major repair and modernization job which added years
to her useful life. New weapons, including ASROC and
DASH, and a helicopter hanger and flight deck increased
the ship’s antisubmarine capability. Emerging in October
1963, the ship conducted shakedown training before re-
turning to the Caribbean for maneuvers.
Holder devoted 1964 and 1965 to ASW training. From
12 January 1965 to 4 February she participated in the re-
covery of NASA’s unmanned Gemini II capsule. Between
26 April and 17 May, Holder patrolled the Dominican Re-
public’s coast during the struggle to prevent a Communist
USS Holder (DD-819)
345
take over of that island nation. She spent the next year
on duty in the Atlantic.
On 6 June 1966 Holder sailed through the Panama Canal
on her way to the Pacific Fleet. From 15 to 28 July she
was plane guard ship for Ranger (CVA-61) in Tonkin
Gulf. She then conducted naval gunfire support off Viet-
nam from 29 July to 8 August. In October Holder was
plane guard for Intredip (CVS-11) , and also she acted in
support of Chicago (CG-11) . Sailing for home 10 Novem-
ber via the Suez Canal, Holder arrived in Norfolk 17 De-
cember to prepare for future action.
Holland
John Philip Holland, the man who developed the first
true submarine accepted by U.S. Navy (spending 57 of his
74 years working with submersibles) , was born in Lis-
eanor. County Clare, Ireland, on 29 February 1840. As
a youth, he considered the use of the submarine to further
the cause of Irish Independence. Holland came to the
United States in 1873. In 1875 his first submarine designs
were submitted for consideration by the U.S. Navy, but
turned down as unworkable.
Holland continued to improve his designs and worked
on several experimental boats prior to his successful ef-
forts with the privately built Holland launched in 1898.
This was the first submarine having power to run sub-
merged for any considerable distance. She was pur-
chased by the Navy after rigorous tests, and six more of
her type were ordered.
On 12 August 1914, John Philip Holland died in Newark,
N.J.
( SS-1 : dp. 64 ; 1. 53'10" ; b. 10'3" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 5 k. ; cpl. 7 ;
a. 3 18" tt, 18”)
The first Holland was launched by Crescent Shipyards,
Elizabeth, N.J., 1898 ; commissioned 12 October 1900, New-
port, R.I., Lt. Harry H. Caldwell in command.
On 16 October 1900, Holland left Newport under tow of
tug Leyden for Annapolis where she trained cadets of the
Naval Academy as well as officers and enlisted men ordered
there to receive training so vital in preparing for the
operation of other submarines being built for the Fleet.
Holland proved valuable for experimental purposes in
collecting data for submarines under construction or con-
templation. Her 166-mile surface run from Annapolis to
Norfolk 8 to 10 January 1901 provided useful data on her
performance underway over an extended period.
Except for the period 15 June to 1 October 1901. which
was passed training cadets at the Naval Torpedo Sta-
tion, Newport, R.I., Holland remained at Annapolis until
17 July 1905 as a training submarine.
Holland finished out her career at Norfolk. Her name
was struck from the Navy Register of Ships on 21 Novem-
ber 1910. She was sold as scrap to Henry A. Hitner &
Sons, Philadelphia, on 18 June 1913. Her purchaser was
required to put up $5,000 bond as assurance that the sub-
marine would be broken up and not used as a ship.
USS Holland ( SS-1) entering drydoek with Russian ship Retvizan
346
kli,**nn
“Hi,,
John P. Holland, builder of the Navy’s first submarine, USS Holland (SS-1)
347
II
(AS-3: dp. 8,100; 1. 483'10" ; b. 61'1" ; dr. 16'9" ; s. 16 k;
cpl. 388; a. 8 5", 4 3”)
The second Holland was launched by the Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., 12 April 1926, spon-
sored by Miss Elizabeth Saunders Chase, daughter of Ad-
miral J. V. Chase, and commissioned 1 June, Comdr. John
B. Earle in command.
Holland arrived in San Francisco from Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard on 24 April to become flagship of Captain
J. T. Thompkins, Commander Submarine Divisions, Battle
Fleet. On 24 September she was permanently assigned to
base at San Diego, Calif., tending submarine divisions
there with periodic tours to Panama to service submarines
based at the Canal Zone. On 5 November 1930 Holland
became flagship of Captain Chester W. Nimitz, Comman-
der Submarine Divisions, Battle Fleet with additional
duty as Commander of Submarine Division 20. The for-
mer command was abolished as of 1 April 1931 and Captain
Nimitz retained his flag in Holland as Commander, of his
submarine division, now designated Submarine Division
12. He left Holland on 17 June, relieved by Captain W.
L. Friedell.
In addition to being the flagship of Submarine Division
12, Holland temporarily served as Submarine Force Flag-
ship (March-July 1933). In June 1935 she became joint
flagship of Submarine Squadron 6 and Submarine Division
12. This duty continued until June 1941 when she be-
came flagship of Submarine Squadron 2.
On 22 November 1941 Holland arrived at Cavite Naval
Base, P.I., to service submarines of the Asiatic Fleet.
Due to the air raids in early December 1941, Holland was
hurried out of Manila Bay under cover of night with her
vital cargo of repair and replacement parts for subma-
rines of the Asiatic Fleet. Heading south, she escaped un-
scathed from two air raids while at Balikpapan, Borneo,
then repaired a battle-damaged submarine at Soerabaja,
Java where she was joined by two destroyers that gave
her escort to Port Darwin, Australia, which she reached
on 2 January 1942 for round-the-clock operations which in-
cluded the building of docks and floats as well as the con-
stant repair and equipping of ships as well as submarines.
On 3 February she was underway for Tjilaljap, Java, to
remove Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Jr., and his
Asiatic Fleet Submarine Force Staff to Australia. Her
outstanding service to the Fleet during the first crucial
months of the war brought Holland a Navy Unit Com-
mendation.
While based in Australia, Holland serviced and over-
hauled several submarines before returning for overhaul
at Mare Island Navy Yard in late February 1943. She
reached Pearl Harbor from the West Coast in June and
completed 22 refits and 13 repair jobs for submarines
within the next 11 months. She shifted to Midway Atoll
on 1 June 1944 and sailed the following month directly
to support submarines in the Marianas Islands. Holland
returned to Pearl Harbor late in November to be fitted out
as headquarters ship for Vice Admiral Charles A. Lock-
wood, Jr., Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet.
In January 1945 she steamed out of Pearl Harbor for
Guam where she embarked Vice Admiral Lockwood. By
the close of hostilities, Holland had given 55 instances of
refit to submarines, provided repair and service to 20 sur-
face craft and completed various jobs on shore installa-
tions.
Vice Admiral Lockwood shifted his Submarine Force
Flag ashore to his new quarters on Coconut Island in Apra
Harbor on 30 August 1945, setting up operations and com-
munications for the work ahead. This left Holland ready
to begin a new career as a repair ship (ARG-18). Her
value to the submarine force had diminished with the
commissioning of many new and modern tenders better
USS Holland (AS-3) with submarines alongside at San Diego circa 1927 — USS Langley (CV-1) appears at North Island
with USS Shawmut (CM-4) astern of the carrier. The nearest destroyer on the left is USS Edsall (DD-219).
348
equipped to carry on the job of keeping our submarines
in condition for their assaults against the enemy. With
a few alterations she headed for Buckner Bay, Okinawa,
where she embarked Rear Admiral Allen E. Smith, Com-
mander of Service Squadron 10 and his staff before pro-
ceeding for Tokyo Bay where she dropped anchor on 29
September 1945.
Holland set course 6 June 1946 by way of Pearl Harbor
for San Diego where she arrived on 28 June. She shifted
to San Pedro for inaetiviation overhaul in the Terminal
Island Navy Yard, then was towed to San Diego where
she was decommissioned on 21 March 1947. She was as-
signed to the San Diego, Calif., group of the Pacific Re-
serve Fleet until her name was struck from the Navy
Register on 18 June 1952. Her hull was sold for scrap-
ping on 3 October 1953 to the Bethlehem Steel Co.
Holland earned two battle stars and the Navy Unit
Commendation for World War II service.
Ill
( AS-32 : dp. 19,000 ; 1. 599' ; b. 83' ; dr. 23'4" ; s. 18 k. ; cpl.
1,190 ; a. 2 5" ; cl. Hanley)
The third Holland was launched by Ingalls Shipbuild-
ing Corp., Pascagoula, Miss., 19 January 1963 ; sponsored
by Mrs. John O. Stennis, wife of U.S. Senator from the
State of Mississippi ; delivered to the Charleston Naval
Shipyard, Charleston, S.C. ; and commissioned 7 September
1963, Captain Charles W. Styer, Jr., in command.
Holland departed Charleston on 14 October for shake-
down training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, returning to
Charleston on 19 November. She commenced post-shake-
down availability on 25 November.
While Holland is neither a submersible nor a combatant
ship, she will be a vital link in support of our Nation’s
first line of deterrance — the Navy’s Polaris Weapons Sys-
tem. She is capable of making any submarine repair
other than major overhaul, including servicing and main-
taining the nuclear power plants of Polaris-firing subma-
rines.
The opening of 1964 found Holland at Charleston, S.C.,
making preparations for deployment to the Polaris re-
plenishment anchorage at Rota, Spain. She arrived Rota
1 April and relieved Proteus (AS-19) as the FBM sub-
marine tender shortly thereafter. Holland continued her
vital service to the Polaris submarines until relieved 4
November 1966. Holland arrived Charleston 22 Novem-
ber. There she tended submarines of the Atlantic Fleet
into 1967.
Holland, Joseph, see Hannibal (^G-l)
Hollandia
A town on the northern coast of New Guinea on Hum-
boldt Bay. During World War II Hollandia was a major
Japanese air base, and was taken by a brilliantly executed
American amphibious operation 22 April 1944. The suc-
cess of the operation had much to do with securing New
Guinea and was a major step toward the eventual inva-
sion of the Philippines.
(CVE-97 : dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3'': b. 65'; ew. 108'1" ; dr.
22'6" ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860; a. 1 5'', 16 40mm.; cl. Casa-
blanca; T. S4— S2-BB3)
Hollandia (CVE-97), formerly AVG-97 and ACV-97,
was launched under Maritime Commission contract as
Astrolabe Bay (CVE-97) by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver,
Wash., 28 April 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. William H.
Wheat ; renamed Hollandia 30 May 1944 ; and commis-
sioned 1 June 1944, Captain C. L. Lee in command.
Following training off the West Coast, Hollandia sailed
10 July 1944 from San Diego for a shakedown cruise to
Espiritu Santo. She also transported replacement air-
craft on this cruise, and on the return voyage stopped
at Manus and Guadalcanal, arriving Port Hueneme, Calif.,
27 August. During the next few months the escort carrier
made similar cruises between the United States and the
Navy’s bases in the far Pacific, Manus, Ulithi, and Guam,
bringing vitally-needed supplies and passengers.
Hollandia was anchored at Ulithi 1 April 1945 when
the Navy’s massive amphibious assult of Okinawa began.
She got underway next day and operated off the Okinawan
coast, sending fighters to support the advancing troops.
The ship then returned to San Diego, arriving 1 May 1945.
Following a cargo and passenger voyage to Pearl Harbor
and return, Hollandia departed 7 June to take part in the
climactic events of the Pacific war. Loading replace-
ment aircraft at Pearl Harbor, the ship sailed 18 June
to operate with 3d Fleet’s logistic supply unit, and for
the final 2 months of the war she brought valuable re-
placements to the carriers of the fast task forces pounding
Japan.
Following the surrender of Japan, Hollandia underwent
conversion at Guam for use as a passenger ship and joined
Operation “Magic-Carpet”, charged with the gigantic task
of returning the thousands of American servicemen in
the Pacific. After four such voyages, the ship returned
to San Pedro. Departing 4 February 1946, she arrived
Puget Sound 15 February and decommissioned 17 Janu-
ary 1947. She was reclassified while in reserve to
CVU-97, 12 June 1955 and to AKV-33, 7 May 1959. Hol-
landia was sold to Eisenberg & Co., New York in July
1960, and later scrapped.
Hollandia received two battle stars for IVorld War II
service.
Holliday, Cyrus K., see Gazelle (IX-116)
Hoi l id ays bury
A borough in south-central Pennsylvania.
(PCS-1385 : dp. 251; 1. 136'; b. 24'6" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 14.1
k. ; cpl. 57 ; a. 1 40mm., 2 20mm., 4 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 2
dct. ; cl. PCS-1376)
PCS-1385 was laid down by Wheeler Shipbuilding
Corp., Whitestone, Long Island, N.Y., 8 May 1943;
launched 26 August 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Beatrice
Leonard ; and commissioned 5 October 1944 at New York.
Lt. Wilson W. Tarleton in command.
After shakedown out of New York, PCS-1385 departed
New York 23 October for duty at Key West, Fla. Ar-
riving 30 October, she was assigned to the Fleet Sonar
School. She operated off the coast of Florida, training
officers and men in the use of ASW equipment and in
the tactics of detecting and destroying submarines. The
submarine chaser remained off Florida for the rest of
World War II ; then on 1 October she sailed for duty
in Miami. During the next 6 weeks she trained Chinese
officers prior to their command of transferred patrol
ships.
Departing Miami 8 November, PCS-1385 sailed to Nor-
folk, and upon arrival 12 November she was designated
photographic ship for the Atlantic Fleet Camera Party.
She continued operations along the East Coast until she
decommissioned 6 April 1956. PCS-1385 was named Holli-
daysbury 15 February 1956. Following assignment to
Naval Reserve Training, she began important training
duties in the 4th Naval District out of Cleveland and
Toledo, which have continued through 1967.
Hollis
Ralph Hollis was born 10 September 1906 in Crawfords-
ville, Ga., and served in enlisted status 1923-26. He was
appointed Ensign in the Naval Reserve 21 November 1934
and was called to active duty in May 1941. Ensign
Hollis reported to battleship Arizona in September and
was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
7 December 1941. Over his gallant ship now stands a
monument to men like Ensign Hollis who died on board.
349
(DE-794 : dp. 1400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1”, 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) ; 3 21” tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Hollis (DE-794) was launched by Consolidated Steel
Corp., Orange, Tex., 11 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Hermione C. Hollis, widow of Ensign Hollis ; and com-
missioned 24 January 1944 at Orange, Lt. Comdr. G. D.
Kissam in command.
Following shakedown in the Atlantic, Hollis made two
escort voyages along the East Coast and then reported to
Quonset Point, R.I., to assist in sonic research. The aim
was to find countermeasures for the German acoustic tor-
pedo, and the destroyer escort remained on this important
duty until 28 May, when she sailed to Casablanca in a
carrier screen. Returning to New York 17 June, Hollis
was soon at sea again, this time as part of an escort and
hunter-killer unit. She operated from July to mid-August
escorting convoys in the Mediterranean, and escorted a
convoy to the southern France invasion area 15 August
as allied troops stormed ashore. In the months that fol-
lowed, as the offensive gained momentum, Hollis con-
tinued to act as an escort in the Mediterranean, ensuring
the flow of vital supplies and men. She sailed for the
United States 28 December, and arrived 18 January to
undergo conversion to a high-speed transport at Phila-
delphia Navy Yard.
Fitted out to carry amphibious assault troops, Hollis
was reclassified APD-86, 24 January 1945, and conducted
her shakedown in April and May off the Atlantic coast.
Sailing from Miami 10 May, the ship transited the Panama
Canal and sailed for Pearl Harbor and the Pacific war.
She arrived 30 May and immediately began training with
Underwater Demolition Teams, the Navy’s famed “frog-
men”, on Maui island. Converted to a UDT flagship,
Hollis sailed to Eniwetok and Guam as the Japanese were
accepting surrender terms, arriving Apra Harbor 23 Au-
gust 1945.
Hollis, now flagship for Pacific UDT forces, sailed to
Tokyo Bay to assist in the occupation, arriving 1 Septem-
ber. There she witnessed the formal surrender cere-
monies of the Japanese Empire the next day. Following
occupation duties the ship sailed for San Diego, where she
arrived 23 October, and thence via the Panama Canal to
Boston. Arriving 15 February 1946, the transport spent
4 months at Charleston, S.C., before arriving Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 13 October 1946. Hollis decommissioned
5 May 1947 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
With the increase in fleet strength brought about by the
Korean conflict, Hollis recommissioned 6 April 1951 and
conducted shakedown training out of Norfolk. The ship
sailed from her home port, Little Creek, Va., 8 October
to take part in amphibious exercises in the Caribbean
and on the coast of North Carolina, returning 20 Novem-
ber.
For the next 5 years Hollis continued to participate in
amphibious exercises, antisubmarine training, and ma-
neuvers. In 1954 and 1955 she served briefly as school
ship for Fleet Sonar School, Key West. In 1954 she
took part in a North Atlantic cold weather exercise off
Labrador, and in 1955 her schedule included a month of
NROTC midshipman training.
Hollis arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla., 17 July 1956,
and decommissioned there 16 October 1956. She remains
in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, berthed at present in Orange,
Tex.
Hollis received one battle star for World War II service.
Hollister
Lyle Eugene Hollister, born 6 July 1923 in Sioux Falls,
S. Dak., enlisted in the Navy 26 March 1941 at Minne-
apolis, Minn. Radioman Second Class Hollister first
served in Prairie before being assigned to Plunkett and
Relief. After duty at the Naval Station, Key West, Hol-
lister was reassigned to Plunkett. He was reported miss-
ing in action as result of an engagement of Plunkett with
enemy aircraft during the assault on Anzio, September
1943. Two years younger than their brother, Lyle Eugene,
twins William Howard and Richard Jerome Hollister
were born 22 November 1925 at Sioux Falls, S. Dak. They
enlisted in the Navy 2 March 1943 at Minneapolis. Both
were serving in Liscome Bay when that carrier was tor-
pedoed in the Gilbert Islands area 24 November 1943.
William Howard Hollister died from wounds received in
this action ; Richard Jerome was reported missing and
presumed dead. All three brothers were posthumously
awarded the Purple Heart.
(DD-788 : dp. 2,425 ; 1. 390'6” ; b. 40' 11” ; dr. 18'6” ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 336; a. 3 5”, 12 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 5
21” tt. ; cl. Gearing)
Hollister (DD-788) was launched 9 October 1945 by
Todd Shipyard, Seattle ; sponsored by Mrs. Howard J.
Hollister, mother of the three Hollister brothers ; and com-
missioned 29 March 1946, Commander W. T. Samuels in
command.
After shakedown along the California coast, Hollister
departed San Diego 9 November 1946 for operations in
the Far East. She arrived Shanghai, 1 December and
later that month assisted the Korean Government in the
prevention of smuggling. She continued operations in Far
Eastern waters until returning to San Diego 22 June 1947.
For the next 14 months Hollister engaged in training ex-
ercises and fleet maneuvers along the West Coast.
Hollister departed 1 September 1948 for her second de-
ployment in the western Pacific where she joined the 7th
Fleet on peacekeeping operations. She returned to Long
Beach 24 April 1949 and operated in California waters un-
til July 1950.
Immediately after Communist North Korea invaded
South Korea in June 1950, the United States committed its
military might to halting aggression. Hollister was among
the first reinforcements rushed to the battle area, depart-
ing San Diego 5 July. Operating with Fast Carrier Task
Force 77, she served as a screening ship and performed
plane guard duty. In mid-September Hollister engaged
in support of the highly successful landing at Inchon.
The 3d Battalion, 5th Marines landed at 0633, 15 Sep-
tember. Later that day Gen. Douglas MacArthur praised
the performance saying that “The Navy and Marines have
never shone more brightly than this morning.” A week
later Hollister took Rear Admiral Ewen (TF-77) for a
conference with Commander 7th Fleet. In a message to
his command, Admiral Ewen echoed MacArthur in prais-
ing its work : “The performance of Task Force 77 through-
out the Inchon operations has added another page to the
glorious history of our Navy and its airpower. It has
been made possible only through the determination, the
relentless effort and the esprit de corps of a team that is
really great. Task Force 77 will sail for the high seas soon
and will stay at sea until the North Korean Communists
have their bellies full . . .” In late September the de-
stroyer was detached for diversionary bombardment in
Communist-held areas, effectively weakening enemy posi-
tions as American forces smashed north.
In early November 1950, Hollister sailed with the For-
mosa Straits patrol, returning to Korea in mid-Decem-
ber for support of the Hungnam evacuation. She con-
tinued support operations, anti-junk patrols and shore
bombardment before returning to San Diego 11 April 1951.
Hollister operated in the San Diego area until she re-
turned to Korean action a year later. In late April 1955.
she resumed duties with Task Force 77, including fire-
support missions, patrol, antisubmarine warfare exercises
and screening duty. Hollister joined the Formosa patrol
in August, but resumed operations in Korea before return-
ing to San Diego 18 November.
The veteran ship operated out of San Diego until 21
July 1953 when she sailed for another Far Eastern tour.
Hollister engaged in patrols both off Korea and Formosa
to make clear America’s objective of protecting her allies.
After 6 months in this area she returned home 19 February
1954. In September, she was deployed to the Western
Pacific at a time when the Chinese Communists were
stirring trouble in the South China Sea. During the
350
next 3 months she engaged in hunter-killer operations off
Japan and had patrol duty in the South China Sea. In
late January 1955, Hollister accompanied the 7th Fleet
in evacuation of Chinese Nationalists from the Taehen
Islands. Constant aerial coverage from this powerful
carrier force enabled the Nationalists to move from an
untenable position. This was considered by some as “the
most forthwright U.S. action against communism since
the Korean war.” She returned to San Diego 13 March
for local operations.
Another deployment to the Far East from 27 September
1955 to 11 March 1956, saw Hollister resume her im-
poitant peace-keeping operations in this explosive area.
Only 6 months passed before departing on another tour
of duty with the 7th Fleet, this time visiting Samoa, New
Zealand, Manus, and Guam en route to the South China
Sea. In January and February 1957, she operated with
the Formosa Patrol and conducted training out of Japan
before returning to San Diego 24 March.
Hollister deployed 25 October on her ninth Western
Pacific tour. In the early months of 1958 she operated
with units of the 7th Fleet on Formosa Patrol. Units
in this area were placed on alert as a crisis in Indonesia
threatened the existing government. The presence of
U.S. seapower exerted a powerful influence; the crisis
subsided. The destroyer returned to San Diego 23 April
but sailed again for the Western Pacific 18 December
to operate with the 7th Fleet. Returning San Diego 13
June 1959, Hollister spent the remainder of the year en-
gaged in tactical exercises out of San Diego.
Hollister departed 6 February 1960 for her 11th Western
Pacific deployment and began patrol duty in the Formosa
Straits. This tour of duty also saw her engaged in
various antisubmarine warfare exercises with the Philip-
pine Navy. She returned to San Diego 14 June to resume
training and readiness operations.
Hollister entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 15
March 1961 for FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modern-
ization) overhaul, remaining there through the end of the
year for addition of a helicopter deck and hangar aft.
After refresher training, she departed Long Beach 7 June
1962 for duty with the 7th Fleet. This cruise came after
the Laos crisis and Communist insurgency threatened
Thailand. Once again the Navy came to the support of
a small country whose freedom was in jeopardy.
She remained in the Far East until 21 December 1962
when she returned to Long Beach. During 1963 Hollister
engaged in shore bombardment exercises and antisubma-
rine training off the coast of California and in Hawaiian
waters.
In the first half of 1964, Hollister engaged in anti-
submarine exercises on the American West Coast. On
19 June, she departed Long Beach, Calif., with an anti-
submarine group bound for Pearl Harbor, arriving 27
June. After a passage to Japan, she took up station for
contingency operations in the South China Sea on 4
August, and received the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal for her patrol services off Vietnam. After con-
tinuing these operations intermittently until 17 Novem-
ber, Hollister began transit from Yokosuka, Japan, to
Long Beach on 23 December, arriving 6 January 1965.
With 3 months of overhaul complete, the ship engaged
in continuous training exercises from 28 May to 20 August.
Deploying again to the western Pacific in August, Hollister
was ordered to Taiwan Patrol duty on 14 September.
By 22 September, she returned to Subic Bay, Philippine
Islands, to commence plane guard and antisubmarine
screen duties supporting Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31).
Hollister accompanied the aircraft carrier on Yankee
Station off Vietnam, giving valuable support to the naval
might exercised in preserving that country’s independence.
On 19 December she left station and arrived in Yokosuka
30 December, prior to her departure for the United States
the following day.
After a 6-month repair and training period, Hollister
left Long Beach 25 June for the Far East once again.
Arriving 15 July, she screened carriers and prevented
infiltration of supplies to the Viet Cong. Hollister re-
mained in the Far East, where she was on station in May
of 1967.
Holly
Any of a genus of trees and shrubs having thick, glossy,
spiny margined leaves and bright red berries.
I
(LHT : t. 367; 1. 176'; b. 24'; dr. 8'6'' ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 23)
The first Holly, a wood and steel lighthouse tender,
was built in Baltimore in 1881, and was owned by the De-
partment of Commerce, Lighthouse Service, until being
USS Hollister (DD-788) on 9 January 1962
351
taken over by the Navy 15 April 1917. She served in the
5th Naval District, operating from Norfolk on general and
patrol duty during the balance of World War I. The
steamer was returned to the Lighthouse Service by Execu-
tive order dated 1 July 1919.
II
( YN-14 : dp. 560; 1. 163'2" ; b. 30'6" ; dr. 11'8" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 48; 13”; cl. Aloe)
The second Holly (YN-14) was launched by Marietta
Manufacturing Co., Point Pleasant, W. Va., 17 April 1941 ;
and after the long trip down the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers was placed in service at Algiers, La., 11 October
1941, Ens. R. G. Coburn, Jr., in command.
The net tender spent the first year of her service at
various Gulf and East Coast ports servicing harbor nets.
She performed this duty at Key West, Newport, and Bos-
ton. Holly commissioned at Boston 15 December 1942, Lt.
J. M. C. Tighe in command.
Holly sailed 24 December 1942 to tend nets in New
York harbor and harbors on the island of Jamaica, en
route to the Canal Zone where she arrived 19 January
1943. There she continued servicing net defenses until
departing in convoy for Bora Bora 19 February. In the
months that followed she steamed between Pago Pago,
Suva Harbor, Noumea, and Espiritu Santo, working on
vital net facilities which helped keep American bases and
staging areas secure. Holly's classification was changed
to AN-19, 20 January 1944.
In early 1944, the ship joined LST Flotilla 5 in prepara-
tion for the invasion of the Marianas. Arriving Kwaja-
lein 6 June 1944, the ship sailed 3 days later with an LST
group for the invasion area. During the preinvasion
bombardment and reconnaissance 17 June, the fleet came
under heavy air attack. Holly’s guns assisted in downing
several enemy planes ; and, when LCI-lf68 was damaged in
the battle, moved swiftly to take her in tow. With the
assault well underway, the net tender proceeded to
Eniwetok 25 June, arriving 5 days later.
Holly resumed her net servicing duties in the South Pa-
cific during the remainder of the war, returning to San
Pedro soon after the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.
After a short voyage to Pearl Harbor to help dismantle
net defenses September-October she arrived Bremerton,
Wash., 28 October 1945. and decommissioned at Astoria 7
June 1946. Holly remained in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
until being stricken 1 September 1962, and transferred to
the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Wash., under
Maritime Administration custody.
Holly received one battle star for World War II service.
Hollyhock
( SwStr. : dp. 352 ; 1. 135' ; b. 26'9" ; dph. 11' ; s. 14 k. ; a. 1
20%-pdr., 1 12-pdr. how.)
Reliance was a sidewheel steamer purchased by Rear
Admiral Farragut at New Orleans 5 March 1863, to tow
supplies upriver. She was present below Port Hudson
in early March as Farragut prepared for his gallant pas-
sage of the batteries 14 March, and was subsequently sent
to Berwick Bay, La., to take part in the relentless pressure
of the blockade which strangled the South.
She was renamed Hollyhock in June or July 1863, and
for nearly 2 years she served as a tender and supplyship
based at New Orleans. On this vital service she plied
the river from New Orleans to the mouth. Hollyhock did
participate, however, in one of the most daring episodes
of the war, the escape of the Confederate ram under Lt.
Charles W. Read from the Red River. Read’s ship, Wil-
liam H. Wobb, ran the blockade of the mouth of the Red
River 23 April, and sped toward New Orleans and the Gulf
of Mexico, eventually hoping to make Havana. As Wil-
liam H. Wchb passed New Orleans, all available ships in-
cluding Hollyhock gave chase. The fleeing Webb finally
encountered Richmond, sent upriver to stop her, and ran
aground on the bank to avoid capture.
Hollyhock continued to serve at New Orleans until she
was sold there to Mr. P. Bennett 5 October 1865.
Holmes
(PF-81 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'8" ; dr. 13'8'' ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma)
Holmes (PF-81), originally designated PG-189, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-81, 15 April 1943,
renamed Hong Kong, then Tobago and launched 27 Sep-
tember 1943, sponsored by Mrs. D. AY. Ambridge, Ottawa,
Canada. Tobago was then completed and transferred
under Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom 12 August 1944
as part of the 21-ship “Colony” class. She served as a
patrol and escort vessel until being returned to the United
States 13 May 1946. The frigate was subsequently sold
to Boston Metals Co., of Baltimore, Md., for scrapping,
but was resold to Egypt in 1950 for use as a passenger
vessel by Khedivial Mail Lines, Alexandria.
Holmes
Sir Robert Holmes, a British naval commander dis-
tinguished for service in the Dutch Wars.
( DE-572 : dp. 1,400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'5'' ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
186; a. 3 3'', 2 dct., 8 dep., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Buckley)
Holmes (DE-572) was launched by Bethlehem-Hing-
ham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass., 18 December 1943. Des-
ignated for transfer to Great Britain under Lend-Lease,
she was delivered and commissioned by the Royal Navy
31 January 1944. After serving throughout the rest of
the war as an escort vessel, she was returned to the United
States, stricken from the Navy List 7 February 1946, and
sold to Walter H. Wilms & Co., Detroit, Mich., in October
1947. Holmes was subsequently scrapped.
Holmes County
Counties in Florida, Mississippi, and Ohio.
( LST-836 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266 ; a. 8 40mm„ 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511 )
LST-836 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 11 September 1944 ; launched 29 October ;
sponsored by Mrs. H. E. Hetu ; and commissioned 25 No-
vember, Ens. Elmo J. Sullivan in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-836 loaded ammuni-
tion, lumber, and cement, then departed New Orleans 2
January 1945. She unloaded the cargo at Balboa, C.Z.,
and proceeded to San Diego, arriving on the 23d. In
early February she sailed for Hawaii, where she trained,
embarked troops, then steamed to the Marshall Islands.
Following 3 weeks of preparation in the Marshalls and
Carolines, the landing ship departed Ulithi 12 April for
Okinawa. With the battle for this strategic base well
underway, LST-836 arrived 6 days later ; unloaded troops
and equipment and returned Ulithi 29 April.
For the rest of the war, she shuttled cargo and troops
throughout the Pacific ; then after VJ day was assigned
to duty with the occupation forces in Japan. Returning
to the United States LST-836 arrived San Francisco 19
January 1946; and remained on the West Coast until she
decommissioned at Vancouver, Wash., 25 July 1946.
Following 4 years in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, LST-
836 recommissioned at Bremerton 3 November 1950, Lt.
Thomas J. McLaughlin in command. After refresher
training she sailed for the Far East, to aid United Na-
tions forces, in their struggle to stop Communist aggres-
sion in South Korea. Arriving Yokosuka 28 March 1951.
the veteran landing ship was once again assigned to a
battle zone and for the next 8 months shuttled cargo and
troops between Japan and various Korean ports.
352
After a brief stateside overhaul in early 1952, LST-836
departed San Diego 24 July for operations in conjunction
with the first hydrogen bomb tests in the Marshall Is-
lands. From August to November she aided scientists as
they tested this new source of power that will affect man-
kind in both war and peace. She returned to San Diego :
then, after a brief respite, sailed 16 March 1953 for fur-
ther duty in the still raging Korean conflict. Arriving
Yokosuka 22 April, LST-836 immediately commenced car-
go runs from the staging areas to Inchon.
When the fighting ended, LST-836 remained in the Far
East to transport cargo to the United Nations peacekeep-
ing force stationed in Korea. From 1954 to 1959, she made
three Westpac cruises and participated in training opera-
tions along the West Coast. On 1 July 1955, LST-836
was named Holmes County.
Following a FRAM overhaul in late 1959, the landing
ship was assigned to the Pacific Amphibious Force, and
for the next 5 years Holmes County engaged in amphibi-
ous exercises along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian
Islands.
When Communist aggression continued as an external
threat to the people of South Viet Nam, the United States
responded to preserve the freedom of the little Asian
country. On 11 October 1965, Holmes County , a veteran of
two conflicts, departed San Diego for operations in South-
east Asia. She arrived Da Nang, South Vietnam, 22 No-
vember and operated there for the rest of the year and into
1966. On 29 March 1966, after 89 days in the combat zone,
Holmes County steamed for Yokosuka. Japan, for upkeep
before starting the 5,500-mile journey home. Holmes
County received the following message from Commander
7th Fleet: “As you depart 7th Fleet Intra-Coastal Task
Unit, be assured you leave behind an admiration for the
extraordinary work you have done this cruise.”
On 26 May Holmes County arrived home. After serving
in the San Diego area for 4 months, she participated in
Operation “Base Line” in October. This was one of the
largest peacetime operations conducted by the Pacific
Fleet.
LST-836 received one battle star for World War II
service and three stars for the Korean Conflict.
Holston River
A river in East Tennessee.
(LSMR-509 : dp. 790 ; 1. 206 ; b. 35' ; dr. 8' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl.
147; a. 1 5”, 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2” m., 10 rkt. ; cl.
LSMR-lfOl )
LSMR-509 was laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co.
Inc., Houston, Tex., 7 April 1945; launched 5 May; and
commissioned 2 June, Lt. William R. Hawes in command.
After shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay, LSMR-509 en-
gaged in training operations along the East Coast out of
Little Creek, Va. Sailing 20 September, she cruised to
New Orleans, then proceeded up the Mississippi and Ohio
USS Holmes County (LST-836) at San Diego 20 July 1964
353
Rivers ariving Pittsburgh 22 October for Navy Day
ceremonies.
LSMR-509 returned to Little Creek 14 December, oper-
ated along the East Coast for the next 10 months, then
departed Little Creek 18 October 1946, for the West Coast.
Arriving San Diego 20 November, she operated in an in-
active status until she decommissioned 5 February 1947,
and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed with
the San Diego Group she was named Holston River 1
October 1955. Her name was struck from the Navy List
1 October 1958.
Holt
William Mack Holt was born 9 September 1917, at
Great Falls, Mont., and enlisted in the Navy 4 October
1940. Appointed an Aviation Cadet 26 December 1940,
he reported to Enterprise as a fighter pilot 16 December
1941. Later transferred to the fighter group on board
Saratoga, Holt participated in the air operations over
Guadalcanal so vital in saving the marine beachhead.
Sighting a group of about 27 enemy bombers with escort
7 August 1942, Holt led his two-plane section through
the enemy fighters, downing several, and helped to turn
back the bombers, continuing his relentless attacks until
his own aircraft was shot down. Lieutenant (j.g. ) Holt
was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism.
(DE-706: dp. 1450; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'8” ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 3 21” tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ;
cl. Rudderow)
Holt (DE-706), a destroyer escort, was launched by
Defoe Shipbuilding Co. of Bay City, Mich., 15 February
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Robert Holt, mother of the name-
sake ; and commissioned at New Orleans, La., 9 June 1944,
Lt. Comdr. Victor Blue commanding.
Holt conducted her shakedown cruise off Bermuda and
after a short stay in Boston reported to Norfolk, Va., 8
August 1944. Until 19 August she helped carry out shal-
low water tests in the Patuxent River, Md., and then
, joined Escort Division 74 at Norfolk. Holt screened
escort carriers Wake Island and Mission Bay from Nor-
folk to Newport, R.I., and departed 5 September 1944
on antisubmarine operations along the Eastern seaboard.
She came upon the torpedoed SS George Ade 12 Septem-
ber and joined in the search for the U-boat which had
attacked her. The search had to be called off, however, as
a hurricane approached the next day. Holt returned to
Norfolk, and after escorting coastal convoys to Boston
and New York sailed from Norfolk for the Pacific.
The escort and her division transited the Panama
Canal 23 October and arrived Hollandia, New Guinea,
via the Galapagos and Society Islands 21 November. The
ship then became a unit of the 7th Fleet and departed
28 November to join carrier forces in Leyte Gulf providing
protection for the vital military operations ashore. She
completed this duty 11 December, and steamed with a
convoy toward Mindoro for the establishment of a moitor
torpedo base on that island. During this invasion, an im-
portant step in the retaking of the Philippines, Holt’s
gunfire protected her supply convoy and shot down several
planes attempting to attack the invasion forces during
the landings 15 December. The destroyer returned to
Leyte with a convoy 17 December and remained in San
Pedro Bay until 22 December 1944.
Holt’s next duty was guarding supply ships on the
voyage to Hollandia, and after a stop at Manus Island
she got underway once more from Hollandia 8 January
with the resupply convoy for Lingayen Gulf. Steaming
by way of San Pedro Bay, the task group reached Lingayen
21 January 1945, and Holt began antisubmarine patrol in
support of troop movements ashore. She remained in
the gulf until 27 January, downing a suicide plane which
nearly crashed her 23 January and provided protection
for the convoys off the beaches.
Departing Lingayen 27 January, Holt arrived San Pedro
Bay 1 February, and after escorting another convoy to
Lingayen Gulf entered recently-liberated Subic Bay 12
February 1945. Holt served as an escort to and from
the harbor entrance until she steamed from Subic Bay
27 March to aid in one of the final operations for the
securing of Luzon. Arriving off Legaspi 1 April, Holt
provided fire support during the landing that day and
then returned to Subic Bay to convoy supporting forces
back to Legaspi for the landings 7-8 April. Possession
of this area allowed American forces to control the shores
of San Bernadino Strait, thus shortening the supply routes
from Leyte Gulf to the assault areas on the western
shores of the Philippines.
Returning to San Pedro Bay, Holt next steamed to
Morotai to join a convoy in support of the assault on
Taraken Island, Borneo. The first target in the series of
Borneo landings, Taraken was taken by Australian forces
under Marine and Navy air support 1 May, and Holt
arrived with supply ships 5 days later. The ship was
forced to remain constantly on the alert for suicide
swimmers and limpet mines while in the roads, but de-
parted Borneo safely 9 May for San Pedro Bay.
After repairs in floating drydock, Holt was assigned
to weather patrol, and cruised the eastern South China
Sea sending reports to help guide movements of the vast
fleets then operating in the Pacific. On this duty until
18 December 1945, she departed that date with 75 per-
sons on board for San Francisco via the Marshalls and
Pearl Harbor, arriving 9 January 1946.
Decommissioned 2 July 1946, Holt was assigned to San
Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, until December 1962,
when she began preparations for transfer to a foreign
country. Loaned to the Republic of Korea 19 June 1963
under the Military Assistance Program, she serves as
Chung Nam (DE-73).
Holt received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Holton
Ralph Lee Holton was born 19 September 1918, and
graduated from the Naval Academy in December 1941.
He was awarded the Navy Cross for his valiant rescue
work aiding survivors of the stricken carrier Lexington
8 May 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea. As officer-in-
charge of a boat detailed to rescue survivors from the
burning carrier, Ensign Holton, under a hail of flaming
debris from bombs, ammunition, and gasoline exploding
on Lexington, persistently returned to the stricken ship
and thus effected a series of daring rescues in which
he saved the lives of many members of the ship’s crew
who otherwise would have been lost. Less than a month
later, 6 June, Ensign Holton was reported missing and
presumed dead as his ship, the destroyer Hamman, was
sunk during the Battle of Midway.
(DE-703 : dp. 1,400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10” ; dr. 9'5” ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1”, 8 20mm„ 3 tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.).; cl. Buckley)
Holton (DE-703) was launched 15 December 1943 by
Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Edith Holton, mother of Ensign Holton ; and com-
missioned 1 May 1944 at New Orleans, Lt. Comdr. J. B.
Boy, USNR, in command.
After shakedown, the new destroyer escort sailed 24
July on the Norfolk-Bizerte convoy run, returning with-
out incident to Boston 9 September. On her second trans-
atlantic convoy, begun 2 October, Holton went into action
14 October as two ships, a cargo vessel and a tanker
loaded with high octane gasoline, collided about 400 miles
off the African coast and burst into flames. After picking
up the crew of the Liberty ship, Holton remained close
aboard and sent over a repair party to salvage the fiercely
burning ship. Although her hull was being crushed from
rolling against the other ship, Holton lay alongside
through a long night with six hose lines running to
the stricken ship and by morning had succeeded in getting
the fire under control. The next day the ship’s crew
was transferred back on board and with Holton as escort
she proceeded to Dakar, two-thirds of the cargo as well
as the ship having been saved.
354
Ordered to the Pacific, Holton departed Norfolk
Christmas Day 1944, and arrived at Manus, Admiralty
Islands, 5 February 1945 for duty in the Philippines.
From then through the end of the war some 6 months
later, her principal duty was escorting convoys within
the Philippine Sea Frontier boundaries. After escorting
two Navy ships to Tokyo Bay 31 August, Holton shep-
herded a convoy from Okinawa to Korea 11-13 September
and then made two similar voyages to the Chinese coast.
Departing Okinawa 8 November, the DE streamed her
homeward-bound pennant and reached Boston via Pearl
Harbor, San Diego, and the Panama Canal 15 December.
Proceeding down the coast, Holton berthed at Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 20 January 1946 and remained there until
decommissioning and going into reserve 31 May 1946.
Holton was moved in January 1947 to Orange, Tex,, where
she remains.
Holy Cross, see Kite (AM-75)
Hombro
An Indian word meaning “Mr. Shoulders’’.
( YTB-506 : 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; 9'7")
Hombro (YTB-506), a large harbor tug, was launched
by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg., 1 May 1945,
and placed in service 7 July 1945. She operated in the
13th Naval District, based at Seattle, Wash., until being
placed in reserve out of service in July 1947 at Tacoma,
Wash. She remained in reserve for 17 years.
In September 1964 the tug was called back to active
service and at present operates in the 12th Naval District
at San Francisco. Hombro was reclassified YTM-769 in
March 1966.
Home
(ScStr : dp. 725; 1. 165’ ; b. 29'9" ; dph. 11' ; s. 6 k. ; a. 2
24-pdr. how., 1 12-pdr. r.)
Home, a screw steamer, was built as Key West in 1862
at Brooklyn, New York. She was purchased by the Navy
at New York 14 August 1863, commissioned 21 August
1863, Acting Master W. H. Garfield commanding, and
name changed to Home.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Home sailed after commissioning for Charleston towing
monitor Lehigh. Home was assigned by Rear Admiral
Dahlgren as a rest ship, to which the exhausted crews
of the steaming monitors could retire after the fierce
bombardments of early September. She remained off
Charleston with periodic trips to Port Royal for repairs
until July 1864, when she was assigned to act as a hos-
pital ship inside the bar at Charleston. She continued
her combination blockader-hospital ship service until mid-
1865, when she took up lightship duties in the harbor.
During this period Home also sent members of her crew
ashore on boat expeditions in the Charleston area, notably
5 March 1865 when an important reconnaissance of
Charleston harbor obstructions was effected.
Home returned to New York in August 1865 and de-
commissioned 24 August 1865. Redocumented Key West,
she returned to merchant service; she was stranded and
lost off Cape Hatteras 12 October 1870.
Honduras
(SwStr : t. 376; 1. 150'; b. 27'; dph. 10'; s. 12 k. ; a. 2
12-pdr. r. )
Honduras, a side wheel steamer, was built in 1861 at
New York and purchased from her owner, Simeon Acker-
man, 31 July 1863. Converted to Navy use, she commis-
sioned at New York Navy Yard 8 September 1863, Acting
Lieutenant T. Stites in command.
Assigned as a supply boat and dispatch steamer with
the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, Honduras sailed for
Key West soon after commissioning. She carried mail
and dispatches, and in addition served on the blockade
which so effectively strangled southern commerce and
strength. She captured British blockade-runner Mail in
the Gulf of Mexico 15 October 1863, and early the next
year supported a joint operation at the mouth of the
Caloosahatchie River. Honduras carried troops to the
mouth of the river and disembarked them 4 January 1864.
In addition to her regular dispatch duties, the steamer
also participated in the capture of Tampa, Fla., by joint
expedition. 4-7 May 1864. Honduras, with Sunflower and
James L. Davis, carried General Woodbury and his troops
to Tampa and provided a naval landing party which joined
in the assault. During the successful operation the ships
also captured blockade-running sloop Neptune 6 May.
Continuing to supply the squadron. Honduras, like many
of the ships in that tropical climate, suffered from yellow
fever among the crew during July 1864, and spent much
of her time at Key West. She interrupted her regular
itinerary among the stations of the squadron 4 January
1865 to come to the assistance of San Jacinto, stranded
on a reef in the Bahamas. Honduras helped to salvage
ordnance and equippage from the stricken ship.
Honduras also participated in a joint expedition to the
mouth of the St. Marks River, Fla., 23 February-7 March
1865. Gunboats with troops embarked destroyed Con-
federate installations near the mouth of the river, and
effectually blockaded it against illegal commerce. In July
1865 Honduras was ordered to New York, where she de-
commissioned 5 August. The steamer was sold 5 Septem-
ber 1865 to W. A. Lightfall and returned to merchant
service, finally stranding off Key West, Fla., in 1870.
Honesdale
A borough of Wayne County, in northeastern Penn-
sylvania.
(PC-566 : dp. 277 ; 1. 178' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 59 ;
a. 1 3'', 1 40mm., 2 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
PC-!, 61 )
PC-566 was laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co.,
Houston, Tex., 14 August 1941 ; launched 31 March 1942 ;
sponsored by Miss Ruby Joyce Halfin ; and commissioned
15 June, Lt. Comdr. H. C. Claudius in command.
After shakedown PC-566 was assigned to patrol and
escort operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
Throughout the war, the subchaser remained in the
Florida-Caribbean area on patrol and escort duty and
also as a training ship out of Miami. In March 1945,
she was attached to the Fleet Experimental Sonar School,
Key West, then resumed duties the following month at the
Naval Training Center in Miami.
After World War II, PC-566 continued training exer-
cises along the East Coast, and in the Caribbean until
late 1946. PC-566 decommissioned 8 January 1947, and
joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While berthed at Nor-
folk, she was named Honesdale 1 February 1956., Hones-
dale was struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960 and sold
to Venezuela in June 1961.
Honesty
A British name retained. A common garden plant with
large purple flowers.
Caprice (PG-90) (q.v. ) was renamed HMS Honesty
upon transfer to the United Kingdom under lend-lease
28 May 1943.
355
Honeysuckle
( ScStr : t. 241; 1. 123'; b. 20'2" ; dph. 10'; s. 12 k. ;
a. 2 20-pdr.)
Honeysuckle, a wooden screw steamer, was built as
William G. Fargo in 1862 at Buffalo, N.Y., and was pur-
chased 19 August 1863 at New York from her owner,
Frank Perew. Renamed Honeysuckle, she commissioned
at New York Navy Yard 3 December 1863, Acting Ensign
Cyrus Sears commanding.
Intended for use as a tug and offshore blockader, Honey-
suckle departed New York 24 December 1863 and sailed
by way of Hampton Roads and Charleston to Key West,
arriving about 8 January 1864. There she was assigned
a blockading station in the Gulf of Mexico west of the
Florida coast as part of the East Gulf Blockading Squad-
ron. In the next few months the ship was very active,
tightening the noose of the blockade. She captured Fly
11 January, Florida 20 March, and Miriam 27 April 1864.
Early in May Honeysuckle served as a dispatch vessel at
Key West and during the next 2 months was hit by an
epidemic of yellow fever among the crew. In August she
became a supply vessel, making one notable trip to Indian
River with medical supplies for J. 8. Chambers, a ship
stricken with fever. Honeysuckle continued to act as a
supply vessel and tug until December 1864, when she was
reassigned to active blockade duty after a repair period
at Key West. Taking up station off Cedar Keys, she
captured three more blockade runners in early 1865 ;
Augusta, 17 January ; Sort, 28 February ; and Phantom,
2 March.
Honeysuckle sailed to Tampa at war’s end, and thence
to New York where she decommissioned 30 June 1865.
Sold to a private buyer, she became merchant ship Honey-
suckle late in 1865 and remained active until 1900.
Honolulu
The capital of Hawaii.
I
(dp. 4,902; 1. 412'; b. 51'; dr. 25'3'' ; s. 12 k. ; a. 1.5”;
1 3”)
The first Honolulu was built as Itasca by Armstrong
Whitworth Ltd., Newcastle, England, in 1905. She was
taken over by Resolution of Congress 12 June 1917 ; trans-
ferred to US SB ownership and assigned to Army service.
Although she operated as a U.S. cargo transport with
Navy crew, there is no record of her commissioning.
The name was changed to Honolulu 26 July 1918. Her
service included cargo cruises between the United States
and various French ports. Navy personnel were released
in March 1919 and she was rejected for further service
2 April 1919. Honolulu was returned to the USSB and
sold 26 January 1920. Her name was later changed to
Commercial Trader.
II
(CL-48: dp. 9,650; 1. 608'4”: b. 61 '9”; dr. 19'5”; s.
34 k. ; cpl. 868; a. 15 6”, 8 5”, 16 1.1”, 8 20mm., 8 .50
cal. mg. ; cl. Brooklyn )
The second Honolulu was launched 26 August 1937 by
the New York Navy Yard ; sponsored by Miss Helen
Poindexter, daughter of the Governor of Hawaii ; and
commissioned 15 June 1938, Captain Oscar Smith in
command.
After a shakedown cruise to England Honolulu engaged
in fleet problems and exercises in the Caribbean. She
sailed from New York 24 May 1939 to join the Pacific
fleet, arriving San Pedro, Calif., 14 June. For the re-
mainder of the year she engaged in exercises along the
West Coast. During the fir«t half of 1940, Honolulu
continued operations out of Long Beach and after over-
haul at Puget Sound, sailed 5 November for duty out of
Pearl Harbor. She operated there through 1941 and
was moored at the Naval Station when the Japanese
launched their sneak attack 7 December 1941. Honolulu
suffered only minor hull damage from a near miss. Fol-
lowing repairs she sailed 12 January 1942 to escort a con-
voy to San Francisco, arriving 21 January. The cruiser
continued convoy escort duty to Australia, Samoa, and the
United States until late May.
With the Japanese pushing north toward the Alaskan
peninsula, Honolulu departed 29 May to strengthen Amer-
ica’s position in that area. After 2 months of continuous
operations out of Kodiak, she proceeded to Kiska Island in
the Aleutians 7 August, to begin bombardment of the
island. On 21 August, she screened the first American
landings in the Aleutians at Adak Island (a jumping-
off place for future landings in the island chain). After
a yard period at Mare Island, Honolulu departed San
Francisco 3 November escorting a convoy to Noumea.
Later that month Honolulu sailed from Espiritu Santo to
intercept an enemy convoy attempting to reinforce posi-
tions on Guadalcanal. The Battle of Tassafaronga be-
gan shortly before midnight 30 November, continuing
through the night. Although Admiral Wright’s Task
Force 67 suffered damage to cruisers Minneapolis, New
Orleans, and Pensacola and lost Northampton in this bat-
tle, the enemy was denied the planned reinforcement of
Guadalcanal.
Honolulu operated out of Espiritu Santo in early 1943
with Task Force 67 in an attempt to engage the “Tokyo
Express.” During May she engaged in heavy bombard-
ment on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. Honolulu
departed Espiritu Santo 28 June for more bombardment
of the Solomons. After supporting the landings on New
Georgia on the 4th of July, she opened fire on enemy ships
in the vicinity of Kula Gulf, knocking out one destroyer
and assisting in the destruction of others.
The battle-proved cruiser had another opportunity to
damage the Japanese fleet 13 July in the Battle of Kolom-
bangara. Shortly after midnight contact was made with
an enemy cruiser-destroyer force in the “Slot.” At 0110,
Honolulu opened fire on a Sendai class cruiser ; after three
salvos the target burst into flame and was soon dead in
the water. Honolulu then shifted fire on an enemy de-
stroyer, which was immediately hit and disappeared. At
0211, a torpedo very near the surface struck the starboard
side of Honolulu, causing hull damage. The task force
then retired to Tulagi for temporary renairs, and on 16
August Honolulu arrived Pearl Harbor for overhaul.
After additional repairs at Mare Island, Honolulu de-
parted San Francisco 17 November to continue her
effective role in the struggle against Japan. She arrived
Espiritu Santo 11 December, resuming operations in the
Solomons later that month. On 27 December she engaged
in the bombardment of an enemy barge, troop, and supply
concentration on Bougainville Island. In the early months
of 1944 the cruiser continued bombardment and patrol of
the Solomon Islands. She screened the landings off Green
Island 13 February before retiring to begin preparations
for the Saipan and Guam operations,
Honolulu took part in bombardment of the southeastern
part of Saipan in early June as the American Navy drove
steadily across the Pacific. While bombarding Guam in
mid-June, Honolulu was deployed north to intercept the
Japanese fleet. She returned to Eniwetok 28 June for
replenishment before providing support for the invasion
of Guam. She remained on station for 3 weeks perform-
ing great service with her accurate gunfire before re-
turning to Purvis Bay, Florida Island, 18 August.
Honolulu sailed 6 September to provide fire support for
the landings on Palau Island, remaining in this area dur-
ing September uncontested by the Japanese fleet. America
now had decisive command of the sea and therefore full
freedom of operations.
Honolulu denarted the staging area at Manus Island
12 October and sailed for the Philippine Islands invasion.
She began bombardment 19 October at Leyte Gulf and the
next day began screening the landings. At 1600, 20 Octo-
ber an enemy torpedo plane was sighted as it aimed its
torpedo at Honolulu. Despite the skillful maneuvering of
356
Captain Thurber to evade, the torpedo found its mark on
the port side.
Honolulu sailed the next day, arrived Manus 29 October
for temporary repairs, sailed for Norfolk 19 November,
arriving 20 December via Pearl Harbor and San Diego.
Honolulu remained at Norfolk for the duration of the
war undergoing repairs and after a shakedown cruise in
October 1945, sailed to Newport for duty as a training
ship. Honolulu arrived Philadelphia 8 January 1946 and
decommissioned there 3 February 1947 and joined the
Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia. On 17 November 1949
Honolulu was sold for scrapping.
Honolulu received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Hood, John, see John Hood (DD-655)
Hooper
Stanford Caldwell Hooper was bom in Colton, Calif.,
16 August 1884, and graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1905. Serving in various ships of the fleet, but always
with an interest in the then new art of the “wireless”,
Hooper was appointed Fleet Radio Officer in 1912. A
radio observer during the first part of World War I, he
headed the Radio Division of the Bureau of Engineering
until America’s entry into the war. Hooper commanded
destroyer Fairfax 1917-18 on convoy duty, and received
the Navy Cross. Following the war he became the guid-
ing force behind the development of radio communica-
tions and electronics in the Navy, serving in various tech-
nical posts until his retirement in 1943. Rear Admiral
Hooper was retained on active duty until 1945, and held
offices with civilian firms in the electronics field until his
death 6 April 1955. He was the recipient of many awards
for his work in radio, and is honored annually by the
Navy through the Rear Admiral S. C. Hooper Trophy,
given to the outstanding electronics division in the Naval
Reserve.
( DE-1026 : dp. 1,450; 1. 314'6" ; b. 36'9" ; dr. 13'9” ; s. 25
lc. ; cpl. 170; a. 4 3” ; Weapon ALFA, 1 dct., 8 dcp., 2 21"
tt. ; cl. Evans)
Hooper (DE-1026), originally Gatch but renamed 19
July 1956, was launched by Bethlehem-Pacific Coast Steel
Corp., San Francisco, 1 August 1957 ; sponsored by Miss
Elizabeth Hooper, daughter of Rear Admiral Hooper ; and
commissioned at San Francisco 18 March 1958, Lt. Comdr.
J. K. Leslie in command.
One of a new class of fast escort vessels designed for
convoy work, Hooper conducted shakedown training out of
her home port, San Diego, before deploying with the 7th
Fleet. The escort vessel took part in antisubmarine opera-
tions and joined the vital Formosa Patrol before returning
to the United States 9 April 1959. Through 1961 she
continued to operate with the 7th Fleet and in the San
Diego area.
In January 1962, Hooper began a 2-month assignment as
school ship at San Diego for antisubmarine training.
Entering the yard at Hunter’s Point in March, the ship
had her after 3" mount replaced with a helicopter flight
deck to increase her versatility, and also had the newest
sonar equipment installed. Returning to her regular pat-
tern of deployments to the Far East, Hooper continued to
play an important role in keeping the peace in this vital
area. In addition to her regular operations, she took part
in SEA TO maneuvers in the spring of 1963.
After serving in Hawaiian waters, Hooper returned to
the Far East in July 1964. During November Hooper
patrolled the Taiwan Strait. She returned to San Diego
USS Honolulu (CL--18) — Admiral Husband E. Kimmel’s flagship 1939 to February 1941
357
16 December where she conducted coastal operations
through 1965.
On 6 January 1966 Hooper, along with Bridget (DE-
1024), Evans (DE-1023), and Bronstein (DE-1037), es-
corted Yorktown (CVS-10) to Hawaii. She then de-
parted Pearl Harbor 7 February for Yokosuka, Japan,
where she arrived 17 February. From 21 February to 18
March, she patrolled the Formosa Strait again. During
the next 6 months Hooper operated off Vietnam, contrib-
uting to the safety of the legitimate government of South
Vietnam. On 15 July Hooper departed Yokosuka for San
Diego. En route the ship assisted in the search for a
downed Royal Thailand Army DC-3 carrying Brigadier
General Joseph Stillwell, Jr. The search was fruitless.
Arriving at San Diego 22 July, Hooper operated off the
West Coast for the remainder of the year and into 1967.
Hooper Island
Named for an island located in the Chesapeake Bay.
(ARG-17, dp. 5,159 ; 1. 441'6” ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 23' ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 500 ; a. 1 5", 3 3”, 4 40mm., 12 20mm., cl. Luzon; T.
EC2-S-C1)
Hooper Island (ARG-17), ex-liberty ship Bert Mc-
Dowell, was launched 30 October 1944 by Bethlehem-Fair-
field Shipyards Inc., Fairfield, Md., under a Maritime
Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Hattie Singer,
and commissioned 13 July 1945, Commander E. B. Guern-
sey in command.
After shakedown off the Virginia coast, Hooper Island
departed 1 September 1945 for the western Pacific and
reached Sasebo, Japan, 9 November to provide repair serv-
ices to the Pacific Fleet. She remained there on repair
duty until 31 October 1946, when she sailed for Tsingtao,
China, to perform similar services in support of U.S. oper-
ations to stabilize China. Hooper Island completed her
deployment 14 August 1947, when she sailed for San
Francisco, arriving there 5 September. She remained
there until she decommissioned at Alameda, Calif., 24
January 1948 and joined the Reserve Fleet.
With the outbreak of the Korean conflict, and the need
for additional vessels to halt Communist aggression,
Hooper Island was recommissioned 12 April 1952, Comdr.
Frank H. Rile in command.
After shakedown and repair duty on the west coast,
Hooper Island sailed from Dong Beach 3 December 1952,
bound for the trouble-filled waters of the Far East. From
December 1952 until December 1955 she made three de-
ployments to the Western Pacific in support of the 7th
Fleet, thereby playing a major role in America’s determi-
nation to stop the spread of communism. From August
1954 to July 1955 she supported units of the fleet when they
evacuated almost 300,000 citizens of North Vietnam
( scheduled to be handed over to Communist authority ) to
the South. Vietnamese President Diem responded to this
humanitarian operation known as “Passage to Freedom”
by saying : “In the name of all that you have helped, in
the name of those who far away are hoping, in the name
of all my compatriots whom you have brought south of
the 17th parallel . . . with all my heart I thank you.”
Hooper Island resumed her repair services at Long
Beach, Calif., 5 December 1955, then shifted to San Diego
30 April 1956. After repair services at San Diego she
arrived Seattle to undergo an overhaul. While in Seattle
she performed repair services for two icebreakers engaged
in Operation Deep-Freeze in the Antarctic, another of
America’s unending probes of the sea. She resumed her
duties at San Diego 28 October and remained there until
early 1958. On 15 March, Hooper Island sailed for repair
USS Hooper (DE-1026) preparing to refuel from USS Chemung (AO-30) in the Western Pacific 24 January 1963
358
operations in the Marshall Islands, returning to San Diego
19 July where she decommissioned and once again joined
the Reserve Fleet 15 July 1959, where she remained until
struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960.
For her participation in the Korean war Hooper Island
was awarded one battle star.
Hope
The first Hope retained a former name. The second
Hope was given a name descriptive of her duty.
(Sch : t. 134; 1. 85' ; b. 20'9" ; dr. 9' ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1 20-pdr.)
The first Hope, a wooden schooner, was purchased by
the Navy 29 November 1861 from T. P. Ives, and com-
missioned at New York 14 December 1861, Acting Master
M. S. Chase in command.
Hope spent the war with the South Atlantic Blockading
Squadron based at Port Royal. She acted as a dispatch
vessel supply boat for ships to the southward. In 1862
she took part in the blockade off Femandina and the
adjacent coast of Florida. While patrolling off Charles-
ton 27 January 1863, Hope captured schooner Emma Tut-
tle with a cargo of saltpeter for the Confederates. In
June, the ship returned north for repairs at Philadelphia
and in July resumed blockade station off Charleston.
Throughout most of 1864, Hope remained off Charleston
as a bloekader, helping to tighten the noose which did so
much to choke the rebellion. She also performed limited
dispatch and supply boat duty. Hope captured sloop
Racer, her second prize, off Bull’s Bay 1 August.
Shortly afterward the ship was fitted for diving duty
and in October began salvage operations in the Savannah
River, raising hulks and other obstacles. After the fall
of Savannah in December, Hope worked on the salvage
of C.S.S. Savannah, and in the spring moved to Charleston
to carry out similar duties in the Charleston harbor.
Hope returned north and decommissioned at New York
6 September 1865. She was sold 25 October to T. Morley.
( AH-7 : dp. 6.000; 1. 417'9" ; b. 60'; dr. 27'8" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 233; a. none; cl. Comfort; t. Cl-B)
The second Hope (AH-7) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by Consolidated Steel Oorp., Ltd.,
Wilmington, Calif., 30 August 1943 ; sponsored by Miss
Martha L. Floyd ; acquired by the Navy the same day for
conversion to a hospital ship by U.S. Naval Dry Dock,
Terminal Island, Calif. ; and commissioned 15 August 1944,
Commander A. E. Richards in command.
Manned by a Navy crew but carrying Army medical
teams, Hope completed her shakedown cruise and sailed
23 September 1944 to render medical care during the
climactic phase of the campaign against Japan. Steam-
ing via Pearl Harbor and Manus, the ship arrived Kossol
Passage, in. the Palaus, and received soldiers wounded
taking the islands of the group.
American soldiers, supported by a vast naval task force,
returned to the Philippines 20 October. Hope arrived
Leyte Gulf 7 November, to care for casualties and evacu-
ated them to Hollandia. Thereafter the ship made four
more voyages to Leyte to evacuate wounded. During the
morning of 3 December she was followed by a Japanese
submarine, and that afternoon was attacked unsuccess-
fully by a torpedo plane. Three days later, as she steamed
toward Manus, the hospital was again attacked by air-
craft. One bomb was dropped close aboard but no damage
resulted. Continuing to evacuate wounded from the
Philippines, Hope arrived Subic Bay 16 February 1945,
just as paratroopers landed on Corregidor. The ship
sailed on to Lingayen Gulf for evacuation, and sailed from
Leyte 6 March for Ulithi.
Hope sailed 9 April to take part in the Okinawa opera-
tion, arriving off the bitterly-contested island 4 days later.
During the next month she shuttled between Saipan and
Okinawa, often under attack despite her distinctive mark-
ings. As Japanese suicide planes attempted vainly to
stop the invasion, Hope assisted in rescuing sailors from
damaged ships and embarked wounded soldiers. Depart-
ing 12 May 1945, the ship moved back to the Philippines
and arrived 3 July at Tarakan Island to assist, if needed,
in the evacuation of Australian casualties in the invasion
of Balikpapan. She then returned to the Philippines,
greeting the surrender of Japan 15 August at Manila Bay.
Much medical and evacuation work remained to be done,
however, and Hope sailed 20 August for Okinawa and
Japan, arriving Wakayama 22 September to assist in the
occupation. She sailed 22 October with returnees, arriv-
ing San Francisco 15 November, and subsequently made
two more voyages to Guam and the Philippines to bring
back the sick and wounded. Hope returned to San Fran-
cisco 22 March 1946 and decommissioned 9 May 1946.
From 1946 to 1950 she was in custody of the War Depart-
ment. She is at present in the National Defense Reserve
Fleet berthed at Suisun Bay, Calif.
Hopestill
A former name retained.
( S P-191 : dp. 83; 1. 89' ; b. 16' ; dr. 5' ; s. 13 k. ; a. 1 3-pdr.,
2 1-pdr. )
Hopestill, a yacht, was built by Robert Jacobs, City
Island, N.Y., in 1916, and was acquired from her owner,
Irving E. Raymond, of New York City in May 1917. She
commissioned 26 July 1917 at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Ens.
A. E. Hanscom, USNRF, commanding.
Hopestill was assigned to the 3d Naval District, and
served as a harbor patrol vessel in New York Harbor until
26 April 1918, when she was reassigned to the New York
Naval Hospital. Hopestill carried patients for the hos-
pital and stood by to transport emergency cases from ships
in the harbor. She completed this duty in July 1919 and
was stricken from the Navy List 21 August. Hopestill
was sold to J. S. Milne, of Brooklyn, N.Y., 16 September
1919.
Hopewell
Pollard Hopewell entered the Navy as a Midshipman
in June 1812, and reported to frigate Chesapeake 21
August. With a new crew Captain Lawrence put to sea
to engage the crack British frigate Shannon 1 June 1913.
Despite their captain’s famous cry, “Don’t give up the
ship’’, the crew was overwhelmed and the ship taken.
Midshipman Hopewell was among those killed, as was the
gallant Lawrence.
I
(DD-181 ; dp. 1,060 ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'4" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 101 ; a. 4 4", 2 3'', 4 21" tt. ; cl. Wickes)
The first Hopewell (DD-181) was launched by Newport
News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.,
8 June 1918; sponsored toy Mrs. Grote Hutcheson; and
commissioned 22 March 1919 at Portsmouth, Va., Lt.
Comdr. R. E. Rodgers in command.
Hopewell sailed from Norfolk 19 April 1919 to join the
3d Destroyer Squadron in New England waters, and in
May was on observation station off the Azores during
the historic crossing of the Atlantic by Navy seaplanes.
The destroyer returned to New York 8 June to complete
her interrupted fitting out, and rejoined her squadron in
August for firing tests. The winter of 1920 was spent on
intensive training and target practice in Caribbean waters.
The ship returned to New England in early May, where
she remained until September training reservists and
engaging in division maneuvers. Arriving Charleston
22 September, Hopewell carried out similar operations
out of the South Carolina port, returning to New York
in May 1921 for reserve training. Sailing from Newport
10 October, the destroyer was placed in reserve at Charles-
ton until 10 April, when she departed for Philadelphia.
Hopewell decommissioned there 17 July 1922.
She recommissioned 17 June 1940 as America girded
herself for the conflict that was to come, and after operat-
359
256-125 0 - 68 - 25
ing with the Neutrality Patrol off New England arrived
Halifax 18 September. She decommissioned 23 September
1940 and was transferred to Great Britain as part of the
destroyers-bases exchange. Renamed Bath, the ship was
manned by the Norwegian Navy and was sunk in August
1941. I
II
(DD-681 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37 ;
cpl. 319; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
The second Hopewell (DD-681) was launched by
Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro, 'Calif., 2 May 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. R. A. Spruance, wife of Admiral
Spruance ; and commissioned at Terminal Island 30 Sep-
tember 1943, Comdr. C. C. Shute in command.
Hopewell conducted shakedown training in the San
Diego area before sailing for Hawaii 13 January 1944.
She got underway 23 January for the invasion of the
Marshalls, as American amphibious task forces picked up
momentum in their drive toward Japan. Steaming as a
forward picket ship, Hopewell arrived off Kwajalein 31
January and delivered destructive gunfire support during
the initial assault. That night she bombarded Roi and
Namur Islands and 1 February moved to screening and
patrol duties off the other islands of the group. With the
success of the landings assured, Hopewell sailed to Pearl
Harbor, arriving 24 February.
The destroyer arrived Purvis Bay, Florida Islands,
14 March to take part in the developing offensive on the
northern coast of New Guinea. She carried out screening
and patrol assignments, and contributed shore bombard-
ment during the Aitape landings, part of the bold Hollandia
operation. After Aitape, an unopposed operation carried
out 22 April, Hopewell remained with 7th Fleet patrolling
and screening. With three other destroyers she carried
out a bombardment of Japanese positions on New Ireland
29 May, and in June joined escort carrier Hoggatt Bay
on antisubmarine patrol.
Hopewell’s next important operation was the invasion
of Morotai, vitally necessary as an air base for the Philip-
pines campaign to come. She arrived 16 September, the
day after the initial landing, to assume screening duties,
and shot down an attacking Japanese plane that day. On
the 18th, she supported an auxiliary landing on Morotai,
and sailed 25 September with a convoy for Humboldt Bay.
The long-awaited invasion of the Philippines began
with the Leyte landings 20 October, and 4 days later
Hopewell arrived with a reinforcement group. A damaged
propeller kept her from taking part in the four-part Battle
for Leyte Gulf, in which the Japanese Fleet suffered fatal
defeat 24-25 October. Next day she departed in the van
of a convoy and shaped course for Humboldt Bay, where
repairs could be effected. At the eastern entrance to the
Gulf the convoy was attacked, and in the battle that
followed Hopewell made concealing smoke and shot down
two aircraft.
The veteran ship sailed again 8 November for Leyte,
and after two trips from Humboldt Bay and return with
convoys, she joined the Mindoro invasion forces. After
fighting off heavy air attacks en route, Hopewell arrived
off the assault area 15 December and provided fire support
as troops stormed ashore. As air attacks continued, the
ship helped fight fires on LST-J/72 and assisted in shooting
down other planes before sailing again for Leyte at noon.
With Mindoro in allied hands, and air bases for the
Luzon invasion under construction, Hopewell prepared
for that operation, to be carried out initially at Lingayen
Gulf. She sailed 4 January and fought off desperate
Japanese kamikaze attacks on the nassage to Lingayen,
for the landings 9 January joined the screen of an escort
carrier group providing air cover. Hopewell joined in
the amphibious assault on Corregidor 14 February, and
while clearing obstructions from Mariveles Harbor with
gunfire engaged a large battery on “the rock”. The de-
stroyer laid smoke and moved in to help damaged YMS-48,
and soon received four hits, putting her battery control
station out of commission. Although suffering 17 casual-
ties, Hopewell remained in Manila Bay until 18 February,
when she sailed to Manus for repairs.
The ship next continued to San Francisco, arriving
17 March, and after further repairs sailed for Pearl Har-
bor 28 May 1945. Training operations in Hawaiian waters
occupied her until 20 July, when she sailed for Eniwe-
tok and Guam. The day of the Japanese surrender,
Hopewell sailed from Guam with a refueling group sup-
porting famed Ta®k Force 38 which had done so much
to bring victory. She operated in Japanese waters in sup-
port of the occupation until 21 October 1945, when she
sailed for the United States via Pearl Harbor. Arriving
Puget Sound Navy Yard 8 November, she later moved to
San Diego, where she decommissioned 15 January 1947
and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
With the increased demands of the Korean conflict,
Hopewell recommissioned 28 March 1951 at San Diego.
Immediately following shakedown training she steamed
westward to Korea 18 June, taking up screening duties
with Task Force 77 as carrier based aircraft blasted
Communist positions. The destroyer also bombarded
Wonsan and served on the critical Formosa Patrol August-
Sentember 1951, returning to Mare Island Yard 5 February
1952.
Hopewell sailed for her second tour in Korea 11 August
1952 after shakedown and training exercises. During this
period of stalemate in the land war, the Navy continued
to operate against supply lines and strong points, and
Hopewell screened the carriers and heavy ships of Task
Force 77. Bombardment of Wonsan followed another
period of Formosa Patrol, and in December the ship
steamed to Formosa to help train Nationalist Chinese
sailors. She returned briefly to Korea to screen giant
battleship Missouri during bombardment operations late
in January 1953, and sailed for the United States 3 March
1953.
After operating off the California coast for several
months on antisubmarine training, Hopewell sailed again
for the Far East 27 October 1953. She again took part in
training exercises and patrol off Formosa, returning to
San Diego 23 May 1954. As she began her fourth cruise,
a new crisis between Communist China and Formosa
developed, and in February Hopewell assisted in the
evacuation of the Taehen Islands. Following this impor-
tant Cold War operation, the destroyer took part in fleet
exercises in the western Pacific, returning to San Diego
22 May 1955.
The veteran ship spent the remainder of 1955 on exer-
cises off the coast. Disaster struck 11 November during
an amphibious training operation when a single engine
attack bomber crashed into Hopewell amidships, killing
five and starting gasoline fires. Alert firefighters brought
the flames under control and the ship returned to San
Diego for lengthy repairs.
Returning to active operations again 24 March 1956,
when she sailed for the Far East, Hopewell resumed
her regular pattern of cruises to Japan, Formosa, and
Okinawa interspersed with training and readiness exer-
cises off the West Coast of the United States. She op-
erated with Korean and Nationalist Chinese ships on
maneuvers in 1958 and 1959 and continued to act as an
integral part of America’® pe^ce-keeping fleet in the
Pacific. On 12 November 1959 Hopewell returned to San
Diego for extensive refitting and training. As Communist
activity to overthrow the legal government of South Viet-
nam grew, Hopewell was repeatedly deployed from the
West Coast to Vietnam from 1960 into 1967 in defense of
the small republic. In February 1963 she rescued a crew-
man from a downed A-3B of Ticonderoga (CVA-14) in
the South China Sea. During a 3-month cruise, which
ended in August, Hopewell fired 2,276 rounds, destroyed
112 structures, and silenced a Viet Cong mortar attack
upon ground forces. For the remainder of 1966, she acted
as school ship in gunnery and ASW off the West Coast.
Hopewell received nine battle stars for World War II
service and four for Korean service.
360
Hopi
A group of the Shoshonean Tribe of the Pueblo Indians.
( AT-71 : dp. 1,240; 1. 205'; b. 38'6" ; dr. 15'4” ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3", 2 20mm. ; 4 dcp. ; cl. Cherokee)
Hopi (AT-71) was launched 7 September 1942 by the
Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Charleston, S.C.,
sponsored by Miss F. E. L. Blackwell ; and commissioned
31 March 1943, Lt. O. W. Huff in command.
After shakedown out of Key West, Hopi sailed to New
York to sail 10 June 1943 with a convoy for North Africa.
After arriving Oran the 21st, she performed towing serv-
ice for several days before steaming to Bizerte to join
Vice Admiral Hewitt’s Western Naval Task Force for the
assault on Sicily (10 July-17 August 1943). Departing
Bizerte 8 July with pontoons in tow, Hopi landed them 2
days later and immediately set to work clearing the
beaches of damaged landing craft, fighting fires on vessels
in the transport areas, and performing a multitude of
other jobs so vital to success in amphibious operations.
Hopi returned to Bizerte 10 August to prepare for the
Salerno Operation (9 September-13 October 1943). She
sailed early in September and again performed invaluable
salvage work. At 0940, 11 September, cruiser Savannah,
while lying-to in the support area awaiting calls for
gunfire support, received a direct hit on No. 3 turret which
left her dead in the water. Hopi and salvage tug Moreno
immediately came alongside. Untiring and skillful work
by the two tugs enabled Savannah to retire to Malta that
evening under her own power. At 1427, 16 September,
HMS Warspite was put out of action by two direct hits and
two near misses from guided bombs. She was taken in
tow by Hopi and Moreno and delivered to Malta without
further incident.
Hopi next sailed for the assault on Anzio (22 January
1944) and remained there for the next month. On 15
February the liberty ship Eliliu Yale was severely dam-
aged by a direct bomb hit which left her burning fiercely.
The ship had been abandoned except for one wounded man
trapned below, though there were still some men clinging
to life lines. After picking up survivors, Hopi maneu-
vered alongside and transferred fire fighting equipment
to the stricken vessel. Over 2 days later the last fire
was extinguished. Hopi , which handled the entire opera-
tion without outside assistance, had fought the fire with
only some 40 men. The rest of the crew had remained on
their stations during repeated air raids and heavy fire
from shore; just one of many splendid examples of cour-
age, devotion, and the “can-do” spirit of the Navy’s small
but gallant ships in the face of danger.
Reclassified ATF-71, 15 May 1944, Hopi was assigned
duty towing various craft about the Mediterranean until
August when she again joined Vice Adm. Hewitt’s Western
Naval Task Force for Operation Dragoon, the invasion
of southern France. As flagship of the Salvage and Fire-
fighting Group, Hopi again rendered invaluable service.
After termination of this operation she resumed her tow-
ing duties, principally shuttling pontoons from Bizerte
to Oran.
Hopi arrived Antwerp, Belgium, 25 June 1945 and took
in tow the Army Power Plant Seapower. Delivering it
to Bermuda 25 August, she sailed for Norfolk, arriving
28 August and remained there until 21 October. At that
time she steamed to Boston and 1 December got under-
way to assist the coastal collier Tristan, who had lost her
rudder in a storm. Hopi returned to Boston 3 December
with Tristan in tow.
For the next 3 years she operated along the East Coast
with frequent towing duties to Oran, Algiers, Newfound-
land, and the Caribbean. During the Berlin Airlift in
1948-1949 as Navy tankers and other ships brought 12
million gallons of aviation gasoline, goods, and supplies
into Bremerhaven, Hopi, with the 2d Task Fleet held
maneuvers in the North Atlantic, showing American power
at sea, visible evidence of United States strength if needed,
to maintain sovereignty for free people everywhere.
In the 1950’s Hopi resumed her operations along the
East Coast, performing towing and salvage services in
Newfoundland and the Caribbean as well. She thus con-
tributed to the operating efficiency of the fleet in its im-
portant peace-keeping operations. Hopi decommissioned
at New London 9 December 1955 and joined the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet. She was turned over to the Maritime
Administration 27 March 1962 and moved to the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Va., where
she remains, following permanent transfer to the Mari-
time Administration 1 July 1963, into 1967.
Hopi received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Hopkins
Esek Hopkins, Commander in Chief of the Fleet, was
born 26 April 1718, in what is now Scituate, R.I. Prior
to the Revolutionary War he made voyages to nearly
every quarter of the globe, commanded a privateer in the
French and Indian War, and served as a deputy to the
Rhode Island General Assembly. Appointed a brigadier
general to command all the colony’s military forces 4
October 1775, he immediately began to strengthen Rhode
Island’s defenses. A few months later, 22 December 1775,
he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Fleet au-
thorized by the Continental Congress to protect American
commerce.
Hopkins took command of eight small merchant ships
that had been hastily altered as men of war at Philadel-
phia, then sailed south 17 February 1776 for the first U.S.
Fleet operation that took the fleet to Nassau in the
Bahamas. The amphibious assault on the British colony
there 3 March 1776 was also the first U.S. Amphibious As-
sault. Marines and sailors landed in “a bold stroke,
worthy of an older and better trained service,” capturing
munitions desperately needed in the War of Independence.
The little fleet returned to New London 8 April 1776,
having also made prizes of two British merchantmen and
a six-gun schooner. John Hancock, President of the Con-
tinental Congress, wrote Hopkins : “I beg leave to con-
gratulate you on the success of your Expedition. Your
account of the spirit and bravery shown by the men
affords them [Congress] the greatest satisfaction . . .”
Hopkins’ little fleet was blockaded in Narragansett Bay
by the superior British seapower, but he never wavered in
his loyalty to the cause of American independence. He
continued to serve the Rhode Island General Assembly
through 1786, then retired to his farm where he died
26 February 1802.
I
(DD-6 : dp. 420; 1. 248'8" ; b. 24'6" ; dr. 6'; s. 29 k. ;
cpl. 73 ; a. 2 3"-56 pdrs., 2 18” tt. ; cl. Bainhridge)
The first Hopkins was launched by Harlin & Hollings-
worth Co., Wilmington, Del., 24 April 1902 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Alice Gould Hawes, great great granddaughter of
Esek Hopkins; commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard
23 September 1903, Lt. M. M. Taylor commanding.
Honkins sailed from Philadelphia 12 May 1904, and
joined the Fleet at Norfolk. That summer the destroyer
deployed with the Coast Squadron for the midshipmen
at sea training. During the following 3 years she ranged
into the Caribbean Sea, exercising with the Flotilla, en-
gaging in torpedo practice, and Fleet problems. In Sep-
tember 1906, Hopkins was present for the Presidential
Review off Oyster Bay. On 29 September she and
Lawrence escorted the President in Mayflower to Cape
Cod Bay to witness record target practice. In 1907-1908
Hopkins, as part of the Torpedo Flotilla, accompanied the
Atlantic Fleet on a practice cruise to the Pacific. They
sailed from Hampton Roads 2 December 1907, exchanging
courtesies at various Mexican and South American ports
en route. After target practice in Magdelena Bay, the
Flotilla arrived at San Franci«co 6 May 1908, in time for
the review of the combined Atlantic and Pacific Fleets by
the Secretary of the Navy.
On 1 June 1908. Hopkins jo’ned the Pacific Torpedo
Fleet for tactics along the West Coast, at sea training north
to Alaskan waters, and south to the coast of Mexico. On
361
30 April 1917, after the United States entry into World
War I, Hopkins departed San Diego for the Canal Zone.
She performed patrol duty, convoyed submarines and as-
sisted them in torpedo proving. On 3 August she arrived
at Hampton Roads, Va., for escort and patrol ranging
along the cost to Bermuda.
Hopkins entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard 29 Janu-
ary 1919, and decommissioned there 20 June. She was
sold for scrapping 7 September 1920 to the Denton Shore
Lumber Co.
II
( S P-3294 : t. 34 ; 1. 62'10" ; b. 16' ; dr. 4' ; s. 11 k.)
Hopkins (SP-3294) merchant name retained, was
launched by Hahnes Co., Portsmouth, Va., in 1917. She
was purchased by the Navy from Hopkins Fish and Oyster
Co., Norfolk, and placed in service 3 October 1918.
Hopkins was attached to the 5th Naval District for
harbor duties at Norfolk. Following the close of war she
transferred to the War Department 4 March 1920.
III
( DD-249 : dp. 1,190 ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 lc. ;
cpl. 101; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson )
The third Hopkins (DD-249) was launched 26 June
1920 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
sponsored by Miss Sarah Babbitt, a descendant of Esek
Hopkins; and commissioned 21 March 1921 at Phila-
delphia, Lt. Comdr. C. A. Bailey commanding.
After shakedown Hopkins arrived at Newport, R.I., 31
May for battle practice training during the summer. In
November, she was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15
for tactical training with the Atlantic Fleet along the
East Coast.
Hopkins sailed from Hampton Roads 2 October 1922,
and reached Constantinople 22 October for duty in Turk-
ish waters. She protected American interests and co-
operated with the Relief Mission in the Near East,
ranging to Beirut, Jaffa, and Smyrna. She departed Con-
stantinople 18 May 1923 for New York, arriving 12 June.
For the next 7 years Hopkins operated out of New England
ports in the summer, Charleston in the winter, and the
Caribbean Sea in the spring. During the spring of 1930,
Hopkins participated in force battle practice with air-
craft, attesting to the growing importance of naval
aviation.
On 3 February 1932 Hopkins was one of the two naval
ships rendering medical aid to earthquake victims at
Santiago, Cuba. She departed 5 February to join the
Pacific Fleet at San Diego. She had escort duty for Presi-
dent Roosevelt’s cruise to Canada in Jul: 1936, then re-
sumed training along the Western Seaboard.
Hopkins returned to Norfolk in April 1939, and per-
formed Neutrality Patrol from September 1939 until sail-
ing for San Diego 17 May, thence to Pearl Harbor. She
converted to a high-speed minesweeper (DMS-13) in the
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hopkins
was at Johnston Island for war maneuvers, but immedi-
ately headed back to Hawaii. She continued patrol of
the Hawaiian Sea Frontier, with a short break for over-
haul in the States, until late summer 1942, when she joined
the invasion fleet bound for Guadalcanal. As America’s
first offensive effort of the Pacific war began 7 August,
Hopkins swept the transport area and covered the land-
ings on Tulagi. In a heavy enemy air attack 9 August, she
shot down two enemy planes. During the following
months, Hopkins escorted transports, swept mines, and
carried badly-needed supplies to Guadalcanal.
Hopkins served as flagship for Adm. R. K. “Kelly”
Turner as the Russell Islands were invaded 21 February
1943. During the action, she downed her third enemy
plane. Remaining in the southwest Pacific, she joined in
the initial invasion of Rice Anchorage, New Georgia, 4
July, and of Bougainville 1 November. Convoy escort,
antisubmarine patrol, and sweeping duties kept the four-
stacker busy until the Solomons were secured.
As the Navy moved farther across the Pacific in the long
island-hopping campaign, Hopkins arrived off Saipan 13
June 1944 to sweep the invasion approaches. She pro-
vided screen and fire support for the amphibious landings
of 15 J une 1944. 'She picked up 62 prisoners from sunken
Japanese ships as well as rescuing a downed fighter pilot
and a seaplane crew. A brief rest at Eniwetok was fol-
lowed by a role in the capture of Guam. Hopkins reached
that important Marianas island 14 July to participate in
the preinvasion sweeping and bombardment. She also
gave fire-support to the landings 16 July.
Following overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Hopkins arrived
USS Hopkins (DD-6) in 1908
362
in Leyte Gulf 27 December 1944 to prepare for the Linga-
yen landings. The minesweepers sailed 2 January 1945 to
sweep Lingayen Gulf under unceasing attack from Japa-
nese dive bombers and kamikazes. When her sister ship
Palmer was hit and sank in 13 minutes the morning of 7
January, Hopkins rescued 94 survivors.
Hopkins departed the Philippines 15 January 1945 for
a brief rest at Eniwetok, then swept the transport areas
and channels off Iwo Jima to prepare for invasion 19
February 1945. She remained on patrol off Iwo Jima,
emerging from heavy air and shore fire unscathed. De-
parting Iwo Jima 6 March, Hopkins next headed into
battle off Okinawa, the “last stepping stone to Japan.”
While fighting off the constant raids and suicide attacks,
“Lucky 13” shot down several Japanese planes. On 4
May 1945 she was struck a glancing blow by a flaming
kamikaze just before it plunged into the sea.
On 7 June 1945 Hopkins steamed for overhaul at Leyte,
Philippine Islands where she remained until cessation of
hostilities. Hopkins then rendezvoused with units of the
Third Fleet headed for Tokyo Bay. After two days of
sweeping the entrances to Tokyo Bay, Hopkins anchored
in sight of Mount Fujiyama 30 August 1945. The Japa-
nese may have given up, but the elements had not.
Hopkins had to ride out two typhoons with winds raging
to 125 knots before her departure from Tokyo Bay 10 Octo-
ber 1945 for the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
Hopkins arrived in Norfolk 28 November and decom-
missioned there 21 December 1945. She was sold for
scrapping 8 November 1946 to Heglo Sales Corp., Hills-
dale, N.J.
Hopkins was awarded two Navy Unit Commendations
for heroism off Guadalcanal and in Lingayen Gulf. She
also received 10 battle stars for service in World War II.
Hopocan
A Delaware chief who signed the first Indian treaty
with the United States in 1778.
( YN-33 : dp. 129; 1. 90'; b. 22'6" ; dr. 11'4" ; s. 11 k.)
Hopocan (YN-33), a diesel-powered steel tugboat, was
built as Carmelite in 1937 by Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Brook-
lyn, N.Y., and was acquired by the Navy from the builder
16 August 1940. Converted at the New York Navy Yard,
she was placed in service as Hopocan (YN-33), a net
tender, 9 September 1940.
Assigned to the 15th Naval District, Hopocan steamed
from Hampton Roads 30 October 1940, and arrived the
Canal Zone 13 November. She took up net-tending duties
in the Canal area, helping to protect America’s vital link
between oceans. Hopocan was redesignated YNT-1, 8
April 1942, and departed Cristobal 17 July 1942 for duty
with the 10tli Naval District in the Aruba-Curacao area.
There she remained on net-tending duty until assigned
to Naval Base, Trinidad, in bctober 1944. Near the end
of the war, 4 August 1945, she was redesignated YTM-
728 and assigned harbor tug duties at Roosevelt Roads,
P.R. Brought to New York in July 1946, Hopocan was
placed out of service 2 August at Brooklyn, and stricken
from the Navy List 15 August 1946. She was transferred
to the Maritime Commission for disposal May 1947.
Hopping
Hallsted Lubeek Hopping was born in New York, N.Y.,
25 September 1902 and graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy in 1924. After graduating from flight training. Hop-
ping served with various squadrons, rising to the rank of
lieutenant commander in 1939. He reported as Com-
mander of Scouting Squadron 6 10 July 1941, and lost
his life in a raid on Roi Island from carrier Enterprise 1
February 1942, the first aircraft squadron commander to
lose his life in World War II.
(DE-155 : dp. 1,400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5'' ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) ; cl. Buckley)
Hopping (DEI-155) was launched by Norfolk Navy
Yard, Portsmouth, Va., 9 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
H. L. Hopping, widow of Lieutenant Commander Hopping ;
and commissioned 21 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. F. D. Giambat-
tista in command.
The new destroyer escort conducted shakedown train-
ing out of Bermuda and after escorting an LST convoy to
Norfolk made a voyage to Casablanca, where she arrived
2 September 1943. There Hopping formed with a new con-
voy and returned to New York 25 September.
In the year that followed Hopping made nine convoy
crossings from New York to United Kingdom ports, bring-
ing vital supplies for the war in Europe. While en route
to Britain 3 May 1944 a sister ship, Donnell (DE-56) , was
torpedoed and seriously damaged as the escort vessels
stalked a U-boat. Hopping helped to drive off the ma-
rauder with numerous depth charge attacks and then took
Donnell in tow. Struggling for 2 days in heavy seas,
she managed to bring her sister ship within range of
British salvage ships off Ireland, which towed her into
Londonderry.
Hopping returned to Frontier Base, Staten Island, dur-
ing October-November 1944, where she was converted to
a high-speed transport. Reclassified APD-51, she under-
went shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay and departed
Norfolk 20 December 1944 to take part in the Pacific War,
then entering its climactic stage. The new transport
steamed via the Panama Canal and San Diego to Pearl
Harbor, anchoring 15 January 1945. There she trained
with Underwater Demolition Teams, the Navy’s famed
“frogmen”, until 13 February, when she got underway
for the Philippines. Hopping arrived Leyte Gulf 4 March
to prepare for what was to be the last great amphibious
campaign of the war, Okinawa.
Hopping sailed for Kerama Retto 21 March with UDT
team No. 7 embarked, and during the early days of the
campaign carried out many reconnaissance and demoli-
tion assignments. When not putting frogmen ashore, the
ship acted as screening ship for larger units off Kerama
Retto, and while on this duty assisted in splashing sev-
eral planes the night of 28-29 March. As Marines landed
on Okinawa itself 1 April Hopping turned to screening and
patrol duties, fighting off numerous Japanese air attacks.
While in Buckner Bay on a reconnaissance operation 9
April, the ship engaged a concealed enemy shore battery,
and while silencing the gun, sustained several damaging
hits. As a result she proceeded to Uiithi for repairs, ar-
riving 23 April 1945.
Hopping was soon back in the thick of the fighting at
Okinawa, however, returning 17 May to resume screening
duties as the air and land battles raged. She remained
off Okinawa continuously until the island was secured,
fighting off countless mass attacks by the desperate Jap-
anese. The ship sailed 8 August with a convoy bound
for Leyte and while in the historic Gulf 15 August learned
of the surrender of Japan.
The ship’s first occupation duty was to aid in the evacu-
ation of former prisoners of war from Japan. She arrived
Japan 11 September and disembarked over 100 former
Navy and Marine prisoners at Guam 19 September. Fol-
lowing convoy duty and antimine work in Japanese and
Philippine waters, Hopping got underway from Tokyo Bay
24 November 1945 with returnees for the United States.
She arrived San Diego 11 December.
Hopping departed San Diego 17 December and after
spending short periods at Charleston and Norfolk arrived
Green Cove Springs, Fla., 27 April 1946. She decom-
missioned 5 May 1947 : entered the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet; and remained berthed with the Texas group until
she was struck from the Navy List in September 1964 and
sold 15 August 1966 to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md.
Hopping received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hoptree
A small American tree having two seeded winged fruits
which have been used in place of hops.
363
(AN-62: dp. 1,100; 1. 194'6" ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 56; a. 1 3”; cl. Ailanthus)
Hoptree (AN-^62), a wooden-hulled net layer, was
launched 14 October 1943 by Snow Shipyards Inc., Rock-
land, Maine, as YN-83 ; sponsored by Lt. Ann Jameson ;
reclassified AN-62, 20 January 1944 ; and commissioned
18 May 1944, Lt. M. T. Birkle in command.
Arriving Melville Net Depot for shakedown 31 May,
Hoptree performed training and readiness operations until
27 June, when she joined the net layer precommissioning
and training group at Melville. She then departed 2
December for the West Coast and sailed 3 February 1945
from Naval Net Depot, Tiburon, Calif., for duty in the
Pacific.
Hoptree arrived Pearl Harbor 13 February and was
routed on to Eniwetok Atoll, where she arrived the 28th.
From March through the end of the war the ship was
engaged in the vital work of maintaining and repairing
net defenses in the harbor, and after August she was
occupied in dismantling them. She sailed back to the
United States in November 1945, arriving San Francisco
8 November, and decommissioned 1 March 1946. The ship
was sold to Van Camp Sea Food Co., San Pedro, Calif.,
23 April 1947.
Hoqua
A former name retained.
( S P-142 ; dp. 35; 1. 69'7" ; b. 13'2" ; dr. 4'; s. 11 k. ; a.
1 3-pdr. )
Hoqua , a motor yacht, was built by Charles Seabury,
Morris Heights, N.Y., in 1914, and acquired from her
owner, Robert M. Curtis of Chicago, 111., in June 1917.
She commissioned at Brooklyn 27 July 1917, Chief Boat-
swain H. F. Dellyse, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Hoqua performed gen-
eral harbor duties at Brooklyn until 27 March 1918, when
she arrived New Haven, Conn., for duty. She served
there as an inshore patrol vessel and as an escort for
submarines in and around New Haven harbor for the re-
mainder of the war and was returned to her owner 6
February 1919.
Hoquiam
A coastal city in Washington.
(PF-5 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3”, 4 40mm„ 9 20mm., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) , 2 dct. ; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-S2-AQ1)
Hoquiam (PF-5) was laid down under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Kaiser Cargo, Inc., Yard 4, Rich-
mond, Calif., 10 April 1943; launched 31 July 1943; spon-
sored by Miss Helen Philbrick ; and commissioned 8 May
1944, Lt. Comdr. P. E. Trimble, USCG, in command.
After shakedown off the coast of southern California,
Hoquiam departed San Francisco 20 August, steamed via
Seattle, and arrived Kodiak, Alaska, 27 August for duty
with the Alaskan Sea Frontier. During the remainder of
the war, she patrolled island waters along the Alaskan
coast. After returning to Seattle for overhaul during
June, 1945, she decommissioned at Cold Bay, Alaska, 16
August and transferred to Russia under lend-lease the
same day.
Returned to the U.S. Navy 1 November 1949 at Yo-
kosuka, Japan, Hoquiam recommissioned 27 September
1950, Lt. Comdr. E. A. Lane in command. Following a
brief shakedown, she sailed to join in the repulse of Com-
munist aggression in South Korea. Arriving off Wonsan,
Korea, 25 October, she served as a harbor control and
screening ship during amphibious landings. For the next
2 months she performed patrol, escort, harbor control,
and communications duties along the northeastern coast
of Korea.
In late December Hoquiam assisted with harbor con-
trol operations during the evacuation at Hungnam before
sailing for Japan. Arriving Yokosuka 30 December, she
underwent a brief overhaul, then served as a drone tar-
get ship off the coast of Japan from late January until
early March 1951. She returned to Korean waters 8
March and over the next 6 months operated along the
east coast of Korea from Wonsan to Song jin. She par-
ticipated in interdiction and harassment patrols, designed
to destroy enemy coastal shipping. In addition she con-
ducted ASW operations off Wonsan and bombarded enemy
shore installations and coastal supply routes.
While engaging enemy shore positions 7 May, Hoquiam
was hit by Communist gunfire. She returned to Japan,
arriving Yokosuka 16 May for repairs. Following repairs,
she sailed 4 June via Sasebo to Wonsan where she ar-
rived 10 June to resume bombardment and interdiction
duty. She continued patrolling the eastern coast until
September. After returning to Yokosuka 9 September,
she decommissioned 8 October and was leased to the Re-
public of Korea. She serves the Korean Navy as Nae Tong
( PF-65 ) .
Hoquiam received five battle stars for Korean war
service.
Horace A. Bass
Horace Ancel Bass, Jr., was born in Roanoke, Va., 22
September 1915, and enlisted in the Navy 24 February
1941. In May he was designated Aviation Cadet, and after
aviation training was appointed ensign 5 December 1941.
Ensign Bass underwent further flight training and re-
ported to carrier Saratoga in early 1942. Assigned to Yorlc-
town during the pivotal Battle of Midway, he flew as part
of the combat air patrol 4 June, and although his plane
was damaged, shot down an attacking dive bomber and a
fighter. For his important part in the battle Ensign
Bass was awarded the Navy Cross. Assigned to Fighting
Squadron 5 on board Saratoga. Bass again acted as com-
bat air patrol during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
23-25 August 1942. As he and his fellow pilots protected
Saratoga , Ensign Bass was shot down and reported miss-
ing in action. He was presumed dead 24 August 1942. as
Japanese fleet units were blocked from driving on Guadal-
canal.
( APD-124 : dp. 1,450 ; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 9'8'' ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
186; a. 2 5''; 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. Crosley)
Horace A. Bass (APD-124) was launched, after being
reclassified from DE-691, by Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore
River, Quincy, Mass., 12 September 1944 ; sponsored by
Mrs. H. A. Bass, Jr., widow of Ensign Bass ; and com-
missioned 21 December 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. W. Kuhn in
command.
The new high speed transport fitted out at Boston Navy
Yard and conducted shakedown training off Bermuda,
after which she sailed to New York, where she arrived
15 February 1945. Departing next day, Horace A. Bass
escorted ammunition ship Firedrake to Panama, from
where she proceeded to San Diego 3 March. After gun-
nery exercises in the area the ship sailed westward to
join in the climactic phase of the Pacific War.
Horace A. Bass stopped at Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and
Ulithi, en route to Okinawa, where the largest fleet as-
sembled in the Pacific was engaged in what was to be the
final major amphibious strike of the long war on the
threshold of Japan. The ship arrived off Okinawa 6
April, just in time to take part in repelling one of the
fiercest Japanese air assaults of the campaign. As the
desperate attack was driven off, Horace A. Bass was
credited with at least one plane splashed. As the battle
raged ashore, she served on the vital picket line until
10 April, when she sailed with a convoy to Guam. On
the return passage she sank submarine RO-109 with a
single accurate depth charge attack south of Okinawa
25 April. Arriving 26 April, the ship resumed the hectic
picket duty interspersed with convoy voyages to Saipan
and Guam. Though the island was secured in mid-June,
the air attacks continued, and Horace A. Bass continued
to provide antiaircraft and antisubmarine protection to
364
the countless ships off Okinawa. Early 30 July, the ship
was on picket duty in the area when a low-flying suicider
crashed through her superstructure and fell alongside,
her bomb exploding close aboard. Horace A. Bass suf-
fered hull damage and 14 casualties, but was quickly re-
paired. She remained off Okinawa until sailing north
toward Japan 14 August.
After the surrender 15 August, the transport remained
off Japan with 3d Fleet units until the ships triumphantly
entered Tokyo Bay 27 August 1045. Horace A. Bass took
part in the occupation of the giant Yokosuka Naval Base,
furnishing the prize crew which took possession of battle-
ship Nai/ato, one of the very few major ships left to the
Imperial Navy. The American ship remained at Yokosuka
assisting in the occupation until sailing for the United
States 14 January 1946.
Horace A. Bass arrived San Francisco 7 February 1946,
and spent the remainder of the year in the San Diego
area on training operations. The ship sailed again for
the Far East 27 January 1947, this time to support Ameri-
can efforts to stabilize the volatile Chinese situation.
Arriving Tsingtao 5 March, Horace A. Bass acted as
a station ship until sailing again for San Diego 30 July.
The second half of 1947 was spent on training exercises in
California waters, and in early 1948 the ship operated off
the Mexican coast. She proceeded to China again 16
June 1948, and again served as station ship at Hone Kong
and Tsingtao, occasionally sailing to the Marshalls and
Guam. As Communist troops began to gain the upper
hand in the Chinese civil war, Horace A. Bass evacuated
civilians of several nations from Nanking in November.
The ship departed China 1 December 1948, arriving San
Diego 21 December for repairs and training.
After exercises off San Diego and a large amphibious
training assault in Hawaii, Horace A. Bass sailed from
Hawaii 14 November 1949 for another tour of duty in
China. Arriving Hong Kong 30 November, she remained
in waters off China and southeast Asian countries to
protect American interests in the area, arriving San
Dieeo 12 June 1950.
With the outbreak of the Korean war in June 1950,
American naval power moved swiftly into the Far East
to support and make possible land operations. Horace A.
Bass sailed 14 July to join the fleet units already deployed
off Korea, arriving 2 August with troops of the 2d Ma-
rine Division. Underwater Demolition Teams and Ma-
rine Reconnaissance units were assigned to her, and the
ship moved to the eastern coast of North Korea to carry
out vital raids on Communist supply lines. Between 11
and 17 August she made three successful raids, destroying
three tunnels and two bridges. During this period Horace
A. Bass added bombardment during daylight hours.
As United Nations forces prepared to go on the offen-
sive, the transport played an important part in the plan-
ning for the upcoming Inchon operation. Her raiding
parties reepnnoitered possible beaches 20-25 August, and
departed Pusan 12 September for the main Inchon as-
sault. Horace A. Bass put her troops ashore in the first
wave 15 September, as the brilliantly successful amphib-
ious operation suddenly reversed the course of the war.
As troops pushed northward, the fast transport resumed
her raiding duties, making two attacks on tunnels and
bridges near Songjin, 6-8 October 1950. For this opera-
tion Horace A. Bass carried Royal Marine Commandos.
Late in October, she took part in operations to clear the
l>ort of Wonsan for another landing, assisting minesweep-
ing groups. The ship then spent 3 months on beach sur-
vey duty before sailing for the United States 28 January
1951. For this highly successful tour of duty, Horace A.
Bass and her Special Operations Group received the Navy
Unit Commendation.
The veteran ship steamed toward Korea again 24 Sep-
tember 1951, and after stopping at Yokosuka resumed
bombardment and raiding duties along the coast of North
Korea. In 14 separate raids with American, British, and
Republic of Korea landing parties Horace A. Bass did
much to interrupt the all-important supply lines from the
north, so vulnerable to mobile forces afloat. She com-
pleted her second tour of duty in Korea 3 July, when she
sailed from Yokosuka. The ship arrived San Diego, 20
July 1952.
Horace A. Bass spent the next year in operations off
the California coast, but sailed 15 July 1953 for her third
tour of Korean duty. Upon her arrival Yokosuka 3
August, the ship became flagship of an Amphibious Con-
trol Squadron, and took part in various training land-
ings in Japan. She also conducted three survey opera-
tions and two demolition assignments on the Korean
coast, where the armistice was now in effect. The ship
visited other Pacific ports during this period before
departing Yokosuka 5 April 1954.
The ship operated off the West Coa9t on training
cruises and antisubmarine exercises until getting under-
way for the Far East again 23 October 1954. She carried
on practice landings in Korea and took part in fleet exer-
cises until February, when she moved to the Formosa
Straits to evacuate Nationalist Chinese troops from the
Tachen Islands. With this important Cold War opera-
tion over, Horace A. Bass steamed to Haiphong, Indo-
china, 26 February to take part in operation “Passage
to Freedom”, as thousands of Vietnamese from the north
fled Communist domination. The transporting of these
civilians to the south was completed 20 March and the
ship was underway from Sasebo, Japan, 4 April 1955
bound for San Diego.
After her arri'al Horace A. Bass was transferred to the
Atlantic Fleet, transiting the Canal 2—4 June and arriving
Philadelphia 10 June 1955. She was then assigned to
the 4th Naval District as a naval reserve training ship.
During the years that followed the fast transport made
short cruises with naval reservists to Caribbean ports,
Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, helping to maintain the
skills of hundreds of reserve officers and men She
arrived Orange, Tex., 3 November 1958, and decommis-
sioned 9 February 1959. Horace A. Bass entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, where she remains.
Horace A. Bass received two battle stars for World
War II service, and six battle stars in addition to her
Navy Unit Commendation for Korean War service
Horace Beals
Former name retained.
(Barkentine: t. 296; 1. 121'6" ; b. 30'8" ; dph. 11'8" ;
a. 1 32-pdr. ; 1 30-pdr. )
Horace Beals was purchased in New York City 14 Sep-
tember 1861 ; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard 5
February 1862, Lt. Oomdr. K. R. Breese in command.
Two days later she departed New York for Key West,
where, upon her arrival 23 February, she became a supply
ship for the flotilla of mortar schooners being organized
by Comdr. D. D. Porter. The flotilla sailed from Key
West 3 March, arrived Ship Island, Miss., and 5 days
later crossed the bar at Pass a l’Outre. When, after al-
most a month of backbreaking labor, Farragut finally
succeeded in getting his heavy deep-sea ships inside the
mouth of the Mississippi on 16 April, he ordered the mor-
tar flotilla to commence operations. Porter’s ships, cam-
ouflaged with bushes and tree branches, moved 'up river
to preassigned positions below Forts Jackson and St.
Philip and opened fire 18 April. During the ensuing 6-day
bombardment, Horace Beals kept the mortar schooners
supplied with ammunition and provisions, took on board
ordnance and other stores, and embarked and cared for
sick and wounded from ships of the squadron.
After New Orleans and the forts protecting her had sur-
rendered, the mortar flotilla sailed to Mobile Bay, Ala. ;
but Farragut then ordered Porter to return to the Missis-
sippi, where the mortars were needed to engage the
enemy’s c-liffside batteries at Vicksburg. The Confed-
erates had cleverly placed these guns high on the bluffs
of the Chickasaw Hills perfectly safe from the low trajec-
tory cannon mounted on the Union’s salt-water ships.
365
All vessels of Porter’s flotilla were back at New Orleans
9 June. Kensington steamed up the Mississippi with
Horace Beals and Sarah Bruen in tow 22 June. On the
26th the cruise upstream was enlivened by a duel with
enemy batteries at Ellis Cliffs in which the Northern ships
silenced the Confederate guns. The mortars opened fire
on the batteries at Vicksburg 26 June and continued the
attack while Farragut’s ships ran by the thundering hill-
side cannon 28 June. They repeated the service when
Farragut again ran the gauntlet on his return passage 15
July.
After withdrawing from the Mississippi with Admiral
Farragut, Horace Beals spent the rest of the year supply-
ing ships of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, operat-
ing from Pensacola as a base. She was ordered back to
New Orleans 22 December and arrived there 1 January
1863. She arrived below the Confederate batteries at
Port Hudson 16 March two days after Farragut’s heavy
damage passing the enemy guns at that point. Horace
Beals continued to supply ships operating against Vicks-
burg and Port Hudson until those last Confederate strong-
holds on the Mississippi were taken and President Lincoln
could boast that “The Father of Waters again goes un-
vexed to the sea.” During the remainder of the war this
reliable supply ship operated between New York and sta-
tions in the Gulf of Mexico bringing indispensable war
material to ships of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.
Shortly after the end of hostilities Horace Beals was sold
in New York City to A. Leary 30 May 1865.
Horn Snake
(Packet)
Horn Snake, or Hornsnake, was a small packet acquired
or perhaps chartered by the Continental Navy during
1775 to 1776.
Hornbill
A large bulky bird, noted for the enormous size of the
bill. Their flight is slow and heavy, and their plumage
is chiefly black and white.
I
( AMc-13 : 1. 85' ; dph. 10'5")
Hoimbill (AMc-13), formerly J. A. Martinolich, was
launched in 1938 by Martinolich Repair Basin, Tacoma,
Wash. She was taken over by the Navy and commissioned
7 December 1940.
Hornbill was assigned to the mine force in the 12th
Naval District. She engaged in coastal sweeping of the
main ship channel for magnetic and acoustic type mines.
After Pearl Harbor her service became more valuable
with the Japanese threat to our West Coast sea traffic.
On the morning of 30 June 1942, a lumber schooner, Esther
Johnson, on passage from Coos Bay, Oreg. collided with
Hornbill in San Francisco Bay. Approximately one half
hour after the collision the minesweeper sank. The crew
was saved and a small amount of equipment was safely
removed to the lumber schooner. She was stricken from
the Navy Register 24 July 1942.
II
( YMS-371 : dp. 270; 1. 136' ; b. 25' ; s. 15 k.)
The second Hornbill (YMS-371) was launched as
YMS-371, 27 November 1943 by Weaver Shipyards, Orange,
Tex. ; and commissioned 29 February 1944, Lt. J. L. Grace
in command.
After her commissioning, YMS-371 participated in oper-
ations in the Gulf of Mexico until the summer of 1945,
when she transited the Panama Canal en route to Oki-
nawa, where she arrived 5 July to begin minesweeping
operations. On 17 August, she departed Okinawa for
Japan to sweep mines in Tokyo Bay, around the island
of Honshu and in the naval base of Sasebo. On 16 Feb-
ruary 1946, she ended her occupation duties and sailed
for San Pedro, Calif., arriving 4 April. On 7 February
1947, YMS-371 was named Hornbill and reclassified
AMS-19.
Hornbill served as a training ship on the West Coast
and at Pearl Harbor until 1953, when she commenced
duty with the U.S. Naval Schools of Mine Warfare, York-
town, Va. Reclassified MSC(0)-19 on 17 February 1955,
Hornbill decommissioned September 1957. She was struck
from the Naval Register 1 November 1959, and sold 30
June 1960.
Hornbill earned two battle stars for her service in
World War II.
Hornby
( PF-82 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11'' ; b. 37'8" ; dr. 13'8''; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma )
Hornby (PF-82), originally designated PG-190, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-
Kaiser Co. Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the
United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-82 15 April
1943, renamed Montserrat, and launched 27 September
1943, Mrs. Harry Gray as sponsor. Montserrat was then
completed and transferred under Lend-Lease to the United
Kingdom 31 August 1944 as part of the 12-ship “Colony”
class. She served as a patrol and escort vessel until being
returned to the United States 11 June 1946. The frigate
was subsequently sold to John J. Duane Co., Quincy,
Mass., 30 November 1947 and scrapped.
Horne
Frederick Joseph Horne was born 14 February 1880
in New York, N.Y., and entered the Naval Academy in
1895. As a Naval Cadet, he saw service during the
Spanish-American War in Bancroft and Texas, before
graduating in 1899. Subsequently, he sailed in various
ships during the Philippine Insurrection, served as an
instructor at the Naval Academy in 1905, and filled vari-
ous posts ashore and afloat until taking his first command
in 1914, Rambow. Home rendered distinguished service
as Naval Attache at Tokyo 1915 to 1919, and until World
War II exercised command of many ships and shore in-
stallations. In 1941 he was a Vice Admiral serving on
the General Board of the Navy Department, and in March
1942 he was appointed Vice Chief of Naval Opera-
tions. From 1942 until 1945 Admiral Home had particu-
lar cognizance over matters of logistics, intelligence, and
communications, and was awarded the Distinguished Serv-
ice Medal for his outstanding service. He retired 1 Au-
gust 1946, after over 50 years of active duty with the
Navy. Admiral Horne died in San Diego, Calif., 18
October 1959.
( DLG-30 : dp. 7,900 fl. ; 1. 547'; b. 54'9" ; dr. 28'10'' ;
s. over 30 k. ; cpl. 418; a. Ter. mis., ASROC, 2 5", 4 3'',
8 21'' tt. ; cl. Belknap )
Horne (DLG-30) was laid down 12 December 1962 by
San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif. ;
launched 30 October 1964 ; sponsored by Mrs. Frederick
J. Home, widow, and commissioned 15 April 1967, Captain
Stansfield Turner in command.
After shakedown, the new guided missile frigate joined
the Pacific Fleet and operated out of San Diego, a major
addition to American sea power.
Horner, T. D., see T. D. Horner
Hornell, see YF-8Jf9
366
Hornet
A large strong wasp whose sting is severe.
I
(Sip : a. 10 9-pdrs.)
The first Hornet was a merchant sloop chartered from
Captain William Stone in December 1775 to serve under
Stone as a unit of Esek Hopkins’ Fleet.
Hornet fitted out at Baltimore, then sailed with Hop-
kins fleet 18 February 1776. Outside the Virginia Capes,
she ran afoul of Fly and was unable to accompany the
fleet for the amphibious assault on New Providence. She
patrolled in the Delaware Bay for nearly a year, then
ran the British blockade to convoy merchantmen to
Charleston. Documents of service are incomplete after
this time but it appears that Hornet fell into British
hands on the coast of South Carolina in the summer of
1777.
II
( Sip : t. 71 ; cpl. 34 ; a. 10 guns )
The second Hornet, formerly merchant ship Traveller
of Massachusetts, was purchased at Malta and joined the
American blockade of Tripoli in April 1805, Lt. Samuel
Evans in command. Her bombardment in company with
Argus and Nautilus 27 April 1805 helped force the sur-
render of Derne to a land expedition bringing pressure
to bear on the besieged port of Tripoli, where the Bashaw
soon accepted terms of peace.
After helping to evacuate the expedition from Derne,
Hornet joined the fleet in a show of strength off Tunis
and other Barbary ports. This was effective in quelling
threats of piratical acts against merchant shipping in
the Mediterranean. Hornet continued patrol to insure
safety of American commerce in the Mediterranean until
3 June 1806. After riding out a severe gale that carried
away her top mast, she arrived in Philadelphia 9 August.
Hornet decommissioned and was sold at Philadelphia 3
September 1806.
III
(Brig : t. 440 ; 1. 106'9" ; b. 31'5" ; dr. 14' ; a. 18 g.)
The third Hornet was launched 28 July 1805 by William
Price of Baltimore, Md. ; commissioned there 18 October
1805, Master Commandant Isaac Chauncey in command.
Hornet cruised the Atlantic coast until 29 March 1806
when she sailed to join the squadron protecting American
commerce from threats of piracy in the Mediterranean.
She returned to Charleston 29 November 1807 and was
decommissioned.
Hornet recommissioned 26 December 1808. She trans-
ported General James Wilkinson to New Orleans, cruised
in home waters to enforce the Embargo Act, and carried
dispatches to Holland, France, and England. This service
was intervened November 1810 to September 1811 during
which time Hornet was rebuilt and ship- rigged in the
Washington Navy Yard.
Cruising with Commodore John Rodgers’ Squadron
during the War of 1812, Hornet captured privateer
Dolphin 9 July 1812, only to have Dolphin recaptured
while en route to the United States. After assisting the
blockade of the Brazilian port of Bahia, she captured
HMS Peacock in a short but skillfully fought engagement
off British Guiana 24 February 1813.
Hornet sailed north to New London after capturing
Peacock. She was blockaded there until 14 November
1814 when she slipped past British cruisers and took
another merchant prize en route to New York. Unaware
that the war had ended, she sailed south and captured
HMS Penguin 23 March 1815, off the island of Tristan
da Cunha.
After a cruise to the West Indies and Copenhagen in
1818 ; and, a second to the Mediterranean in 1819, Hornet
based at Key West and Pensacola, Fla., to help end piracy
in the Caribbean Sea. She captured the pirate schooner
Moscow 29 October 1821 off the coast of Santo Domingo.
She cruised throughout the Caribbean for the next 9
years, departing Pensacola the last time 4 March 1829.
She set course for the coast of Mexico and was never
seen again. On 27 October 1829 the commander of the
West Indies Squadron received information that Hornet
had been dismasted in a gale off Tampico 29 September
1829 and had foundered with the loss of all hands.
IV
(Sch: cpl. 57 ; a. 5 18-pdr.)
The fourth Hornet was purchased at Georgetown, D.C.,
in 1813, and commissioned 15 March 1814, Sailing Master
Joseph Middleton in command. She served primarily as
a dispatch ship along the eastern seaboard, assisting in
some coast and harbor survey work before sold at Norfolk
in 1820.
V
( SwStr : t. 835, 1. 242' ; b. 26'6" ; dr. 13'3'' ; a. 8 g.)
The fifth Hornet was built as the Confederate blockade
runner Lady Sterling at Blackwell, England, in 1864;
taken prize and set afire off Wilmington, N.C., by Eolus
and Calypso of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron 28
October 1864 ; sold by the New York Prize Court to the
Navy ; commissioned 24 April 1865, Acting Master Joseph
Avant in command; and renamed Hornet 17 June.
After fitting out at the Washington Navy Yard, Hornet
carried President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of the Navy
Gideon Welles, and their party to Point Lookout 22 to 24
July and subsequently cruised to Norfolk in late Septem-
ber. Departing Washington 22 October, she joined Rhode
Island at Norfolk and sailed south to escort the sur-
rendered Confederate ram Stonewall from Havana to
Washington. Separated from the other two ships in a
severe gale, Hornet returned to Washington 24 November,
two days ahead of them. She then transported 115 men
from Norfolk to the Receiving Ship at New York, putting
in at Philadelphia after her voyage. Hornet decommis-
sioned there 15 December 1865 and was sold to private
citizens 26 June 1869.
VI
(t. 301; 1. 180'; b. 24'; dr. 11'; s. 15 k.; a. 3 6-pdrs. ;
2 1-pdrs. )
The sixth Hornet, the former yacht Alicia, was built
by Harlan and Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Del., in 1890 ;
purchased from H. M. Flagler 6 April 1898 ; and commis-
sioned at New York 12 April 1898, Lt. J. M. Helm in
command.
Six days after she commissioned, Hornet sailed to join
the American fleet blockading Spanish Cuba. Reaching
Havana 24 April, she cruised in Cuban waters with several
short trips to Key West. On 30 June 1898 Hornet was
sent to reconnoiter cays and shoals off the Spanish fort
at Manzanillo in company with Hist and Wompatuck.
Early that morning she seized the schooner Nickerson,
of English registry but loaded with provisions and under
a Spanish crew, trying to make her way into the block-
aded harbor. At 0815 the American ships spotted a
Spanish gunboat anchored under the blockhouses of the
Army, but closed for action anyway. Although under
heavy and continuous fire from shore batteries and a
small arms fusillade from Spanish troops, the American
ships fired on and sank the gunboat, withdrawing with no
casualties. That same day the three ships entered Man-
zanillo harbor and were soon deep in battle, with shells
splashing in the water all around. Hornet's main steam
pipe was cut by a Spanish shell and the ship filled with
steam.
Although disabled, Hornet continued to fire on the
enemy, her crew passing ammunition through the scald-
ing steam as they drifted close in under the shore bat-
teries. A small Spanish sloop came in from port,
assuming that Hornet’s attention was totally centered on
her starboard batteries which were pounding the enemy.
Hornet’s alert crew shifted to port and with one well-
placed shot from the six-pounder sent the sloop, rifles and
367
all, to the bottom. By now Hornet had drifted danger-
ously close to shoal water. Wompatuck steamed over to
tow her, all guns still blazing. Despite the day’s heated
action, not one sailor had been lost.
On 11 July 1898 Hornet was back on station, joining
Hist and Wompatuck to cut the cable near Santa Cruz
del Sur, destroying telegraphic communication between
Havana and Manzanillo. A week later she returned to
Manzanillo as the American fleet entered the harbor.
In an hour and forty minutes of sharp action, Hornet and
her sister ships sank nine Spanish ships as well as four
armed pontoons, while under heavy Are from shore bat-
teries and enemy troops lining the harbor.
Departing Key West 10 August, Hornet reached Norfolk
2 weeks later and decommissioned 18 October 1898.
Loaned to the North Carolina Naval Militia, she served
with them until 1902 and then reported to Norfolk as
tender to the receiving ship Franklin. Hornet's name was
struck 18 March 1910. She was sold 12 July 1910 to N. S.
Sterns of New Orleans.
VII
(CV-8 : t. 19,800; 1. 809'9" ; ew. 144’ ; dr. 21'8" ; s. 33 k. ;
cpl. 1,889; a. 8 5”, 16 1.1 mg.; cl. Hornet)
The seventh Hornet (CV-8) was launched 14 Decem-
ber 1940 by the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock
Co., Newport News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. Frank M.
Knox, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commis-
sioned at Norfolk 20 October 1941, Captain Marc A.
Mitscher in command.
During the uneasy period before Pearl Harbor, Hornet
trained out of Norfolk. A hint of a future mission oc-
curred 2 February 1942 when Hornet departed Norfolk
with two Army B-25 medium bombers on deck. Once at
sea, the planes were launched to the surprise and amaze-
ment of Hornet's crew. Her men were unaware of the
meaning of this experiment, as Hornet returned to Nor-
folk, prepared to leave for combat, and on 4 March sailed
for the West Coast via the Panama Canal.
Hornet arrived San Francisco 20 March. With her own
planes on the hangar deck, she loaded 16 Army B-25
bombers on the flight deck. Under the command of Lieu-
tenant Colonel James H. Doolittle 70 officers and 64 en-
listed men reported aboard. In company of escort ships
Hornet departed San Francisco 2 April and embarked on
her mission under sealed orders. That afternoon Cap-
tain Mitscher informed his men of their mission : a bomb-
ing raid on Japan.
Eleven days later Hornet joined Enterprise off Midway
and Task Force 16 turned toward Japan. With Enter-
prise providing air combat cover, Hornet was to steam
deep into enemy waters where Colonel Doolittle would
lead the B-25s in a daring strike on Tokyo and other im-
portant Japanese cities. Originally, the task force in-
tended to proceed to within 400 miles of the Japanese
coast; however, on the morning of 18 April a Japanese
patrol boat, No. 23 Nitto Maru, sighted Hornet. The
cruiser Nashville sank the craft which already had in-
formed the Japanese of the presence and location of the
American task force. Though some 600 miles from the
Japanese coast, confirmation of the patrol boat’s warning
prompted Admiral William F. Halsey at 0800 to order the
immediate launching of the “Tokyo Raiders.”
As Hornet swung about and prepared to launch the
bombers which had been readied for take-off the previous
day, a gale of more than 40 knots churned the sea with
30-foot crests; heavy swells, which caused the ship to
pitch violently, shipped sea and spray over the bow, wet
the flight deck and drenched the deck crews. The lead
plane, commanded by Colonel Doolittle, had but 467 feet
of flight deck while the last B-25 hung far out over the
fantail. The first of the heavily-laden bombers lumbered
down the flight deck, circled Hoi'net after take-off, and
set course for Japan. By 0920 all 16 of the bombers were
airborne, heading for the first American air strike against
the heart of Japan.
Hornet brought her own planes on deck and steamed
at full speed for Pearl Harbor. Intercepted broadcasts,
both in Japanese and English, confirmed at 1445 the suc-
cess of the raids. Exactly one week to the hour after
launching the B-25s, Hornet sailed into Pearl Harbor.
Hornet's mission was kept an official secret for a year;
until then President Roosevelt referred to the origin of
the Tokyo raid only as “Shangri-La.”
Hornet steamed from Pearl 30 April, to aid Yorktown
and Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea. But that
battle was over before she reached the scene. She re-
turned to Hawaii 26 May and sailed 2 days later with her
sister carriers to repulse an expected Japanese fleet as-
sault on Midway.
Japanese carrier-based planes were reported headed for
Midway the early morning of 4 June 1942. Hornet, York-
town, and Enterprise launched strikes as the Japanese
carriers struck their planes below to prepare for a second
strike on Midway. Hornet dive bombers missed contact,
but 15 planes comprising her Torpedo Squadron 8 found
the enemy and pressed home their attacks. They were
met by overwhelming fighter opposition about 8 miles
from three enemy carriers and followed all the way in to
be shot down one by one. Ens. George H. Gay, USNR,
the only surviving pilot, reached the surface as his plane
sank. He hid under a rubber seat cushion to avoid straf-
ing and witness the greatest carrier battle in history.
Of 41 torpedo planes launched by the American carriers,
only six returned. Their sacrifices drew enemy fighters
away from dive bombers of Enterprise and Yorktown who
sank three Japanese carriers with an assist from sub-
marine Nautilus. The fourth Japanese carrier, Hiryu,
was sunk the following day ; gallant Yorktown was lost to
combined aerial and submarine attack.
Hornet planes attacked the fleeing Japanese fleet 6 June
1942 to assist in sinking cruiser Mikuma, damaged a de-
stroyer, and left cruiser Mo garni aflame and heavily dam-
aged. Hits were also made on other ships. Hornet's
attack on Mogami Wrote the finis to one of the decisive
battles of history that had far reaching and enduring
results on the Pacific War. Midway was saved as an
important base for operations into the western Pacific.
Likewise saved was Hawaii. Of greatest importance was
the crippling of Japan’s carrier strength, a severe blow
from which she never fully recovered. The four large
aircraft carriers sent to the bottom of the sea carried with
them some 250 planes along with a high percentage of
Japan’s most highly trained and battle-experienced car-
rier pilots. This great victory by Hornet and our other
ships at Midway spelled the doom of Japan.
Following the Battle of Midway, Hornet had new radar
installed and trained out of Pearl Harbor. She sailed
17 August 1942 to guard the sea approaches to bitterly
contested Guadalcanal in the Solomons. Bomb damage
to Enterprise (24 August), torpedo damage to Saratoga
(31 August), and loss of Wasp (15 September) reduced
carriers in the South Pacific to one — Hornet. She bore
the brunt of air cover in the Solomons until 24 October
1942 when she joined Enterprise northwest of the New
Hebrides Islands and steamed to intercept a Japanese
carrier-battleship force bearing down on Guadalcanal.
The Battle of Santa Cruz Island took place 26 October
1942 without contact between surface ships of the oppos-
ing forces. That morning Enterprise planes bombed car-
rier Zuiho. Planes from Hornet severely damaged car-
rier Shokaku, and cruiser Chikuma. Two other cruisers
were also attacked by Hornet aircraft. Meanwhile, Hor-
net, herself, was fighting off a coordinated dive bombing
and torpedo plane attack which left her so severely dam-
aged that she had to be abandoned. Commented one
sailor, awaiting rescue, when asked if he planned to re-
enlist, “Dammit, yes — on the new Hornet!" Captain
Mason, the last man on board, climbed over the side and
survivors were soon picked up by destroyers.
The abandoned Hornet, ablaze from stem to stern, re-
fused to accept her intended fate from friends. She still
floated after receiving nine torpedoes and more than 400
368
rounds of 5-inch shellfire from destroyers Must in and
Anderson. Japanese destroyers hastened the inevitable
by firing four 24-inch torpedoes at her blazing hull. At
0135, 27 October 1942, she finally sank off the Santa Cruz
Islands. Her proud name was struck from the Navy
List 13 January 1943.
Hornet (CV-8) received four battle stars for World
War II service. Her famed Torpedo Squadron 8 was
awarded the Presidential Unit Citation “for extraordinary
heroism and distinguished service beyond the call of duty”
in the Battle of Midway.
VIII
(CV-12 : dp. 27,000; 1. 872'; b. 147'6'' ; dr. 28'; s. 33 k. ;
cpl. 3,448 ; a. 12 5" ; 40 40mm. ; cl. Essex )
The eighth Hornet (CV-12) was launched 30 August
1943 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. Frank M. Knox,
wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned 29
November 1943, Captain Miles M. Browning in command.
Hornet conducted shakedown training off Bermuda be-
fore departing Norfolk 14 February 1944 to join the Fast
Carrier Task Force 20 March at Majuro Atoll in the
Marshalls. After lending air support to protect the in-
vasion beaches in New Guinea, she conducted massive
aerial raids against Japanese bases in the Caroline Islands
and prepared to support the amphibious assault for the
occupation of the Marianas Islands.
On 11 June 1944 Hornet launched raids on Tinian and
Saipan. The following day she conducted heavy bombing
attacks on Guam and Rota. During 15 to 16 June, she
blasted enemy air fields at Iwo and Chichi .Tima to pre-
vent air attacks on troops invading Saipan in the Mari-
anas. The afternoon of 18 June 1944 Hornet formed with
the Fast Carrier Task Force to intercept the Japanese
First Mobile Fleet, headed through the Philippine Sea
for Saipan. The Battle of the Philippine Sea opened 19
June 1944 when Hornet launched strikes to destroy as
many land-based Japanese planes as possible before the
carrier-based Japanese aircraft came in.
The enemy approached the American carriers in four
massive waves. But fighter aircraft from Hornet and
other carriers did a magnificent job and broke up all the
attacks before the Japanese aerial raiders reached the
task force. Nearly every Japanese aircraft was shot
down in the great air battles of 19 June 1944 that became
commonly known as “The Marianas Turkey Shoot.” As
the Japanese Mobile Fleet fled in defeat on 20 June, the
carriers launched long-range airstrikes that sank Jap-
anese carrier Hiji and so damaged two tankers that they
were abandoned and scuttled. Admiral Ozawa’s own flag
log for 20 June 1944 showed his surviving carrier air
power as only 35 operational aircraft out of the 430
planes with which he had commenced the Battle of the
Philippine Sea.
Hornet, basing from Eniwetok in the Marshalls, raided
enemy installations ranging from Guam to the Bonins,
then turned her attention to the Palaus, throughout the
Philippine Sea, and to enemy bases on Okinawa and
Formosa. Her aircraft gave direct support to the troops
invading Leyte 20 October 1944. During the Battle for
Leyte Gulf she launched raids for damaging hits to the
Japanese center force in the Battle off Samar, and has-
tened the retreat of the enemy fleet through the Sibuyan
Sea towards Borneo.
In the following months Hornet attacked enemy ship-
ping and airfields throughout the Philippines. This in-
cluded participation in a raid that destroyed an entire
Japanese convoy in Ormoc Bay. On 30 December 1944
she departed Ulithi in the Carolines for raids against
Formosa, IndojChina, and the Pescadores Islands. En
route back to Ulithi, Hornet planes made photo recon-
naissance of Okinawa 22 January 1945 to aid the planned
invasion of that “last stepping-stone to Japan.”
Hornet again departed Ulithi 10 February for full-
scale aerial assaults on Tokyo, then supported the amphib-
ious landing assault on Iwo Jima 19-20 February 1945.
Repeated raids were made against the Tokyo plains in-
dustrial complex, and Okinawa was hard hit. On 1 April
1945 Hornet planes gave direct support to the amphibious
assault landings on Okinawa. On 6 April her aircraft
joined in attacks which sank the mighty Japanese battle-
ship Yarnato and her entire task force as it closed
Okinawa. The following 2 months found Hornet alter-
nating between close support to ground troops on Okinawa
and hard-hitting raids to destroy the industrial capacity
of Japan. She was caught in a howling typhoon 4 to 5
June 1945 which collapsed some 25 feet of her forward
flight deck.
Hornet was routed back to the Philippines and from
there to San Francisco, arriving 7 July 1945. Her over-
haul was complete by. 13 September 1945 when she de-
parted as a part of the “Magic Carpet” operation that saw
her return home troops from the Marianas and Hawaiian
Islands. She returned to San Francisco 9 February 1946.
She decommissioned there 15 January 1947, and joined
the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Hornet recommissioned 20 March 1951, then sailed
from San Francisco for the New York Naval Shipyard
where she decommissioned 12 May 1951 for conversion to
an attack aircraft carrier (CVA-12). She recommis-
sioned 11 September 1953 and trained in the Caribbean
Sea before departure from Norfolk 11 May 1954 on an
8-month global cruise.
After operations in the Mediterranean Sea and the In-
dian Ocean, Hornet joined the mobile 7th fleet in the
South China Sea where 25 July, search planes from her
task group shot down two attacking Chinese Communist
fighter planes. She returned to San Francisco 12 De-
cember 1954, trained out of San Diego, then sailed 4 May
1955 to join the 7th fleet in the Far East.
Hornet helped cover the evacuation of Vietnamese from
the Communist controlled north to freedom in South
Vietnam, then ranged from Japan to Formosa, Okinawa,
and the Philippines in readiness training with the 7th
fleet. She returned to San Diego 10 December 1955 and
entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard the following
month for conversion that included a hurricane bow
and the installation of an angled flight deck which permits
the simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft.
Following her modernization overhaul, Hornet oper-
ated along the California coast. She departed San Diego
21 January 1957 to bolster the strength of the 7th fleet
until her return from the troubled Far East 25 July.
Following a similar cruise, 6 January-2 July 1958, she
was converted to an Antisubmarine Warfare Support
Carrier (CVS-12) in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
On 3 April 1959 she sailed from Long Beach to join the
7th fleet in antisubmarine warfare tactics ranging from
Japan to Okinawa and the Philippines. She returned
home in October, for training along the western seaboard.
In the following years, Hornet was regularly deployed
to the 7th fleet for operations ranging from the coast of
South Vietnam, to the shores of Japan, the Philippines
and Okinawa. On 25 August 1966 she was on recovery
station for the unmanned Apollo moonship that rocketed
three-quarters of the way around the globe in 93 minutes
before splashdown near Wake Island. Scorched from the
heat of its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, the
Apollo space capsule, designed to carry American astro-
nauts to the moon, was brought aboard Hornet after
its test.
Hornet returned to Long Beach 8 September, but headed
back to the Far East 27 March 1967. She reached Japan
exactly a month later and departed Sasebo 19 May for the
war zone. She operated in Vietnamese waters through-
out the remainder of spring and during much of the sum-
mer of 1967 aiding in the struggle to keep freedom alive in
Southeast Asia.
Hornet received the Presidential Unit Citation and
seven battle stars for service in World War II.
Hosmer, Harriet, see Luna (AKS— 7)
369
Hoste
(PF-83 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'8" ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma)
Hoste (PF-83), originally designated PG-191, was built
under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-Kaiser
Co. Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the United
Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-83 15 April 1943, re-
named Nyasaland, and launched 6 October 1943, sponsored
by Mrs. William A. Cahir. Nyasaland was then completed
and transferred under Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom
31 July 1944 as part of the 21 ship “Colony ’’-class. She
served as a patrol and escort vessel until being returned
to the United States 15 April 1946. The frigate was
subsequently sold to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Chester, Pa., 10 November 1947, and scrapped.
Hoste
Admiral Sir William Hoste (1780-1828), an outstanding
Bxdtish frigate captain who, in 1811, won the Battle of
Lissa.
( DE-521 : dp. 1,140 ; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21 k ;
cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 21mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) ; cl. Evarts)
Hoste (DE-521) was launched 24 September 1943 by
Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass. ; accepted and trans-
ferred to Great Britain 3 December 1943 under Lend-
Lease. This and other Evarts- class destroyer escorts
formed the Captain- class in the Royal Navy and played
a vital part in allied antisubmarine operations during the
Battle of the Atlantic. Hoste was returned to U.S.
custody at Harwich, England, and commissioned 22 Au-
gust 1945, Lt. C. G. Helm, Jr., in command.
The destroyer escort sailed 29 August from Harwich,
arriving Philadelphia Navy Yard 9 September 1945.
There she decommissioned 23 October and was eventually
scrapped 7 May 1946.
Hotham
A British name.
(DE-574 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 2 dct., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 8 dcp.; cl.
Buckley)
Hotham (DE-574) was launched by the Bethlehem-
Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass., 21 December 1943.
Designated for transfer to Great Britain under Lend-
Lease, she was delivered to the Royal Navy and com-
missioned by them 8 February 1944. Hotham served
through the remainder of the war as an escort vessel, and
was retained by the British after 1915 for experiments
with gas turbine propulsion. She was returned to the U.S.
Government 25 April 1952 and simultaneously transferred
to the British under the Mutual Defense Assistance Pro-
gram. The partially-stripped vessel was later returned to
U.S. custody in February 1956, and her powerplant was
sold to the Netherlands.
Hotham
( PF-75 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'8" ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3" ; cl. Tacoma)
Hotham (PF-75), originally PG-183, was built under
Maritime Commission contract by Walsh-Kaiser Co. Inc.,
Providence, R.I. Intended for use by the United King-
dom. she was reclassified PF-75 15 April 1943, renamed
Bahamas, and launched 17 August 1943, Mrs. James A.
Gallagher as sponsor. Bahamas was then completed and
transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease 6
December 1943 as part of the 21-ship “Colony” class.
She served as a patrol and escort craft until being re-
turned to the United States 11 June 1946. The frigate was
sold to John J. Duane Co., Quincy, Mass., 16 December
1947 and scrapped.
Hotspur
A former name retained.
Hotspur (AP-102) was renamed La Salle (q.v.) 6 April
1943.
Houghton
Communities in northwestern Michigan and south-
western New York.
The bark A. Houghton (q.v.) was incorrectly called
Houghton and Van Houghton.
I
(PC-588 : dp. 295 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 65 ;
a. 1 3", 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp. ; cl. PC-461 )
PC C— 588 was laid down by Leathern D. Smith Shipbuild-
ing Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 22 November 1941 ; launched
3 May 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Joshua L. Johns ; and
commissioned 22 June, Lt. J. R. Hinton in command.
After shakedown off Florida, PC-588 was assigned to
patrol and escort duty out of Key West and in the Gulf
of Mexico. In late September 1942 she joined a convoy
en route to the Pacific; after touching California ports,
she arrived Pearl Harbor 28 November. From Novem-
ber 1942 until January 1944 the submarine chaser per-
formed patrol and escort duty in the Hawaiian Islands.
Departing Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944, PC-588 es-
corted SS Richard Yates to Makin, Gilbert Islands.
For the remainder of World War II, she operated on pa-
trol and escort duty in the South Pacific. Her efforts
played an effective role in keeping the supply lines open
during the final months of the war. PC-588 returned to
the United States in late 1945, decommissioned at Puget
Sound 29 July 1946, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
While berthed with the Columbia River Group, PC-588
was named Houghton 15 February 1956. She was struck
from the Navy List and sold to Geomarine Services, Inc.,
11 March 1960.
Houma
(Str : t. 10,387 (gr.) ; 1. 435' ; b. 56' ; dph. 33'6" ; dr. 26' ;
s. 10.5 k.)
Houma, a tanker, was built by the Bethlehem Ship
Building Co., Sparrows Point, Md., and commissioned
there on 22 January 1919, Lt. Comdr. C. Moore
commanding.
After a trip up the coast to New York and Melville,
R.I., the tanker sailed to Port Arthur, Tex., for fuel oil,
arriving 24 April. Three days later she sailed, arriving
at Ponta Delgada, Azores, 14 May to refuel American
destroyers there. Houma remained in the Azores a
month, servicing ships at Horta as well as Ponta Del-
gada refueling three destroyers at sea. She sailed for
the States on 19 June arriving in New York 10 days later.
Houma again sailed to Ponta Delgada, arriving there
24 July, and performed the same services as before. She
returned to New York via Brest, France on 22 August.
Houma decommissioned at New York 4 September 1919,
and was redelivered to the U.S. Shipping Board.
Housatonic
One of the rivers of New England which rises in Berk-
shire County, Mass., and flows southward into Connecticut
before emptying into Long Island Sound a little east of
Bridgeport.
I
( ScSlp. : t. 1,240; 1. 207' ; b. 38' ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 160;
a. 1 100-pdr. Parrott rifle, 3 30-pdr. Parrott rifles, 1 11"
370
Dahlgren sb., 2 32-pdrs., 2 24-pdr. howitzers, 1 12-pdr.
howitzer, 1 12-pdr. rifle)
The first Housa tonic was launched 20 November 1861
by the Boston Navy yard; sponsored by Miss Jane CoflSn
Colby and Miss Susan Paters Hudson ; and commissioned
there 29 August 1862, Commander William Rogers Taylor
in command.
Housatonic departed Boston 11 September and arrived
Charleston 19 September to join the South Atlantic Block-
ading Squadron. She took station outside the bar. On
29 January 1863 her boats, aided by those of Augusta,
Blunt, and America, boarded and refloated iron steamer
Princess Royal. Unadilla had driven the blockade run-
ner ashore as she attempted to slip into Charleston from
England with a cargo consisting of two marine engines
destined for Confederate ironclads and a large quantity
of ordnance and ammunition. These imports were of
such great potential value to the South that they have
been called “the war’s most important single cargo of
contraband.”
It was possibly in the hope of recovering this invaluable
prize that Confederate ironclad rams Chicora and Pal-
metto State slipped out of the main ship channel of
Charleston Harbor to attack the Union blockading fleet
in the early morning fog 2 days later. They rammed
Mcrcedita forcing her to strike her colors “in a sinking and
perfectly defenseless condition” and moved on to cripple
Keystone State. Gunfire from the rams also damaged
Quaker City and Augusta before the Confederate ships
withdrew under fire from Housatonic to the protection of
shore batteries.
Housatonic captured sloop Neptune 19 April as she at-
tempted to run out of Charleston with a cargo of cotton
and turpentine. She was credited with assisting in the
capture of steamer Seccsli 15 May. Howitzers mounted
in Housatonic ’s boats joined in the attack on Fort Wagner
10 July which began the continuing bombardment of the
Southern works at Charleston. In ensuing months her
crew repeatedly manned boats which shelled the shore-
line, patrolled close ashore gathering valuable information,
and landed troops for raids against the outer defenses of
Charleston.
Meanwhile Housatonic vigilantly maintained her station
in the blockade outside the bar until just before 9 o’clock
on the night of 17 February 1864. Her officer of the
deck sighted an object in the water 100 yards off, ap-
proaching the ship. “It had the appearance of a plank
moving in the water,” he later reported. Although the
chain was slipped, the engine backed, and all hands were
called to quarters, it was too late. Within 2 minutes
of the first sighting, H. L. Hunley rammend her torpedo
into Housatonic’s starboard side, forward of the mizzen-
mast, in history’s first successful submarine attack on a
warship. Before the rapidly sinking ship went down,
the crew managed to lower two boats which took all the
men they could hold ; most others saved themselves by
climbing into the rigging which remained above water
after the stricken ship settled on the bottom. Only two
officers and three men in Housatonic were lost.
H. L. Hunley, with all her gallant crew, perished in the
attack ; but only after having written a fateful page in
the history of naval warfare which foretold a giant role
for undersea warfare in generations to come.
II
( SP-1697 : dp. 7,620 n. ; 1. 405' 1" ; b. 48'; dr. 22'6" ; s.
15 k. ; cpl. 100 ; a. 1 5'', 2 3", 2 mg.)
The second Housatonic was built in 1899 by Newport
News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Norfolk, Va., and
was acquired by the Navy from Southern Pacific Steam
Ship Co., under the name El Rio. She commissioned 25
January 1918 and served as a mine planter in the 3d
Naval District until decommissioning 5 August 1919 when
she was returned to her owner.
SBKaSEb
USS Housatonic was destroyed by Confederate Submarine H. L. Hunley off Charleston Harbor 17 February 1S64.
371
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Ill
(AO-35: dp. 21,825 fl. ; 1. 520'0" ; b. 68'0" ; dr. 30'10" ;
s. 17 k. ; cpl. 239 ; a. 1 4”, 4 3" ; cl. Chicopee)
The third Housatonic was a tanker completed in No-
vember 1941 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Chester, Pa., under the name Esso Albany. After two
voyages for Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, she
was acquired by the Navy 9 January 1942, converted to
a fleet oiler, and renamed Housatonic.
Shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay ended 10 March,
and Housatonic joined Service Force, Atlantic Fleet.
During the remainder of 1942 Housatonic carried fuel oil
and aviation gas from the Gulf of Mexico to ports on the
Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean. A shortage of es-
corts necessitated the oiler’s proceeding alone through
waters infested with German submarines which were
making many kills at that time. In July, the fleet oiler
performed her first fueling at sea, servicing carrier
Ranger, cruiser Augusta, and six destroyers engaged in
ferrying Army P—40 fighter plans aboard the carrier from
Port of Spain to Akkra on the Gold Coast of Africa.
Fuel from Housatonic enabled this group to return to
Port of Spain without stopping or putting into any port
during the entire voyage.
In November, during Operation Torch, the invasion of
North Africa, Housatonic fueled battleships, cruisers,
and destroyers while they were at sea supporting the
assault and capture of Cassablanca, French Morocco.
During 1943, the fleet oiler made four voyages to the
Mediterranean from New York and Norfolk fueling de-
stroyers at sea as they escorted convoys which supported
the victorious allied campaigns in North Africa, Sicily,
and southern Italy. In between these voyages she made
one run from Norfolk to Argentia, Newfoundland and
five from Texas ports to Norfolk. The close of the year
found her at Bermuda training new destroyer escorts in
the techniques of fueling at sea.
In 1944 Housatonic made three voyages from Norfolk
to the Mediterranean, the first to Casablanca, the next to
Oran, and the last to Naples. Then came a round trip
from New York to Scotland and back with fast convoys.
The highlight of this voyage came in Clyde where she
fueled Queen Elizabeth.
Housatonic departed Norfolk 20 November for the Caro-
line Islands via Aruba, the Panama Canal, and Pearl
Harbor. She arrived Ulithi 31 December and joined the
Service Force, Pacific Fleet. From the first of the year
until the surrender of Japan Housatonic was based at
Ulithi whence she steamed to sea to fuel carriers, battle-
ships, battle cruisers, cruisers, and destroyers of fast
carrier groups which hammered Japanese installations as
gigantic America sea power swept inexorably toward
Japan. In this way she supported operations which took
Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa and which bombarded
the Japanese home islands.
After the surrender of Japan, Housatonic operated in
the Yellow Sea fueling carriers, cruisers, and destroyers
of the 7th Fleet which were supporting the occupation
of North China and Korea. Floating mines made this
duty particularly dangerous.
Housatonic arrived Tokyo Bay 17 October, and remained
there until departing for the United States 12 November.
She arrived San Francisco 26 November and decommis-
sioned there 11 March 1946. She was transferred to the
Maritime Commission 22 October and was sold to her
former owner, The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey,
14 October 1947.
Houston
A city in Texas.
I
( AK-1 : dp. 9,000; 1. 392'; b. 50'9" ; dr. 25'4" ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 145; a. 4 3")
The first Houston (AK-1) was the former German
freighter Liebenfels, built by Bremer Vulcan, Vegesack,
Germany, in 1903. Operated by the Hansa Line, she
arrived Charleston, S.C., in August 1914, and remained
there until 1 February 1917, when her crew scuttled her.
Finding her sunk and abandoned, U.S. authorities set
about to raise the ship and took her to Charleston Navy
Yard for refitting 20 March 1917. She commissioned as
Houston (AK-1) 3 July 1917, Lt. Comdr. W. H. Lee,
USNRF commanding.
Assigned to the transport service, Houston departed
Charleston 11 July, loaded coal and oil at Hampton Roads,
and joined a convoy sailing from New York 7 August
1917. She arrived Brest 25 August and subsequently
made four voyages to and from New York transporting
such valuable cargoes as radio equipment, trucks, air-
planes, and general supplies. Returning to New York
18 November, the ship was assigned to the Naval Over-
seas Transportation Service, and made four more voy-
ages between the East and West coasts of the United
States, departing on the first of these 15 December 1918
from New York. Until her return to New York 14 April
1921 Houston carried coal, ordnance, lumber, and general
supplies between the coasts in support of the Navy’s
two-ocean operations.
Houston was next assigned to trans-Pacific duty. She
sailed from New York 4 May, took on cargo at Philadel-
phia and Norfolk, and steamed by way of San Francisco,
Pearl Harbor and Guam to Manila, arriving 22 October
1921. The ship departed Cavite 16 November, and arrived
San Francisco 11 January 1922. Houston decommissioned
23 March 1922 and was sold 27 September 1922 to Frank
M. Warren of Portland, Oreg.
II
(CA-30 : dp. 9,050 ; 1. 600'3" ; b. 66'1" ; dr. 16'4" ; s. 33 k. ;
cpl. 621; a. 9 8", 6 21" tt. ; cl. Northampton)
The second Houston (CA-30) was launched by Newport
News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.,
7 September 1929 ; sponsored by Miss Elizabeth Holcombe,
daughter of the mayor of Houston, Tex. ; and commis-
sioned as CL-30 17 June 1930, Captain J. B. Gay com-
manding. Her designation was changed to CA-30, 1 July
1931.
After conducting shakedown cruise in the Atlantic
Houston returned to the United States in October 1930.
She then visited Houston, Tex., and joined the fleet at
Hampton Roads. Steaming to New York, the cruiser de-
parted 10 January 1931 for the Pacific, and after stopping
at the Canal Zone and the Hawaiian Islands arrived Ma-
nila 22 February 1931. Houston became flagship of the
Asiatic Station upon arrival, and for the next year partici-
pated in training operations in the troubled Far East.
With the outbreak of war between China and Japan in
1932. Houston got underway 31 January for Shanghai to
protect American lives and property. She landed Marine
and Navy gun platoons to help stabilize the situation
and remained in the area, with the exception of a good will
cruise to the Philippines in March and one to Japan in
May 1933, until being relieved by Augusta 17 November
1933. The cruiser sailed to San Francisco to join the
Scouting Force, and for the years preceding World War II
participated in Fleet Problems and maneuvers in the
Pacific. During this period Houston made several special
cruise?. President Roosevelt came on board 1 July 1934
at Annapolis, Md., for a cruise of almost 12,000 miles
through the Caribbean and to Portland, Oreg., by way of
Hawaii. Houston also carried Assistant Secretary of the
Navy Henry L. Roosevelt on a tour of the Hawaiian
Islands, returning to San Diego 15 May 1935. After a
short cruise in Alaskan waters, the cruiser returned to
Seattle and embarked the President again 3 October 1935
for a vacation cruise to the Cerros Islands, Magdalena
Bay, Cocos Islands, and Charleston, S.C. Houston also
celebrated the opening of the Golden Gate bridge at San
Francisco 28 May 1937, and carried President Roosevelt
for a Fleet Review at the same city 14 July 1938.
Houston became flagship of the U.S. Fleet 19 September
1938, when Rear Admiral Bloch broke his flag on board
374
her, and maintained that status until 28 December, when
she returned to the Scouting Force. Continuing the now-
familiar routine of training exercises, she got underway
for Fleet Problem 20, 4 January 1939 from San Francisco,
sailed to Norfolk and Key West, and there embarked the
President and the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral
Leahy, for the duration of the problem. She arrived
Houston, Tex., 7 April for a brief visit before returning to
Seattle, where she arrived 30 May.
Assigned as flagship Hawaiian Detachment, the cruiser
arrived Pearl Harbor after her post-overhaul shakedown
7 December 1939, and continued in that capacity until re-
turning to Mare Island 17 February 1940. Sailing to
Hawaii, she departed 3 November for the Philippine
Islands as the world situation grew darker. Arriving
Manila 19 November 1940, she became flagship of Admiral
Hart, Commander Asiatic Fleet.
As the war crisis deepened, Admiral Hart deposed his
fleet in readiness. On the night of the Pearl Harbor at-
tack, Houston got underway from Panay Island with fleet
units bound for Darwin, Australia, where she arrived 28
December 1941 by way of Balikpapan and Surabaya.
After patrol duty she joined the ABDA ( American-British-
Dutch-Australian) naval force at Surabaya. Air raids
were frequent in the area, and Houston’s gunners splashed
four planes 4 February as Admiral Doorman, RNN, took
his force to engage Japanese reported to be at Balikpapan.
Houston took one hit, disabling her No. 3 turret, and
cruiser Marblehead was so damaged that she had to be
sent out of the battle area. Doorman was forced to aban-
don his advance.
Returning to Australia, Houston departed 15 February
with a small convoy to reinforce the garrison on Timor.
Before the day was out, the group was forced to beat off
numerous air attacks, and next morning the Japanese
attacked in full force. During this defensive action,
Houston distinguished herself by driving off nearly the
entire raid without damage to her transports.
Receiving word that the major Japanese invasion force
was approaching Java protected by a formidable surface
unit, Admiral Doorman resolutely determined to meet and
seek to destroy the main convoy. Sailing 26 February
with Houston, HMAS Perth, HNMS Be Ruyter, HMS
Exeter, HNMS Java and 10 destroyers, he met the Japa-
nese support force under Admiral Takagi consisting of 4
crpisers and 13 destroyers. In the Battle of the Java Sea
which followed, Doorman’s forces fought valiantly, but
were doomed by lack of air cover and communication
difficulties. The ships met for the first time in the late
afternoon, and as Japanese destroyers laid smoke the
cruisers of both fleets opened fire. After one ineffective
torpedo attack the Japanese light cruisers and destroyers
launched a second at 1700, this attack sinking Kortenaer.
Exeter and destroyer Elcctra were hit by gunfire, Electro
fatally, and at 1730 Admiral Doorman turned south to-
ward the Java coast, not wishing to be diverted from
his main purpose, the destruction of the convoy itself.
With dogged fighting spirit he dodged another torpedo
attack and followed the coastline, during which time
Jupiter was sunk, either by mine or internal explosion.
Then Encounter was detached to pick up survivors from
Kortenaer, and the American destroyers, their torpedoes
expended, were ordered back to Surabaya. Now with no
destroyer protection, Doorman’s four remaining ships
turned north again in a last gallant attempt to stop the
invasion of Java.
At 2300 the same night, the cruisers again encountered
the Japanese surface group. On parallel courses the op-
posing units opened fire, and the Japanese launched a
devastating torpedo attack 30 minutes later. Be Ruyter
and Java, caught in a spread of 12 torpedoes, exploded and
sank, carrying their captains and Admiral Doorman down
with them.
Before losing contact with Perth and Houston, Doorman
had ordered them to retire. This was accomplished, but
the next day the two ships steamed boldly into Banten
Bay, hoping to damage the Japanese invasion forces there.
The cruisers were almost torpedoed as they approached
the bay, but evaded the nine torpedoes launched by
destroyed Fubuki. Tbe cruisers then sank one transport
and forced three others to beach. A destroyer squadron
blocked Sunda Strait, their means of retreat, and on the
other hand large cruisers Mogami and Mikuma stood dan-
gerously near. The result was foreordained, but Houston
and Perth fought valiantly. Perth came under fire at
2336 and in an hour had been sunk from gunfire and
torpedo hits. Houston then fought alone, her guns blaz-
ing at the enemy all around her, a champion at bay. Soon
after midnight she took a torpedo and began to lose head-
way. During this time Houston’s gunners scored hits on
three different destroyers and sank a minesweeper, but
suffered three more torpedo explosions in quick succession.
Captain Rooks was killed by a bursting shell at 0030 and
as the ship came to a stop Japanese destroyers swarmed
over her machine gunning the decks. A few minutes later
the gallant Houston, her name written imperishably in
the records of heroism, rolled over and sank, her ensign
still flying.
Houston’s fate was not known by the world for almost
9 months, and the full story of her courageous fight was
not fully told until after the war was over and her sur-
vivors were liberated from prison camps. Captain Rooks
received posthumously the Medal of Honor for this extraor-
dinary heroism.
In addition to two battle stars, Houston was awarded
tbe Presidential Unit Citation.
Ill
( CL-81 : dp. 10,000, 1. 610'1" ; b. 66'4" ; dr. 20' ; s. 33 k. ;
cpl. 992; a. 12 6”, 12 5” ; cl. Cleveland)
The third Houston (CL-81) was launched by Newport
News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.,
19 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. C. B. Hamill. Originally
named Vicksburg, her name had been changed 12 October
1942. The ship commissioned 20 December 1943, Captain
W. W. Behrens commanding.
Houston departed Norfolk 1 February 1944 for her
shakedown cruise in the Caribbean and after a period of
training out of Boston sailed for tbe Pacific 16 April. She
arrived Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal and San
Diego 6 May, and after more training exercises arrived
Majuro Atoll 31 May to join Vice Admiral Mitscher’s
famed fast carrier task force. Houston was to take part
in the invasion of the Marianas, a spectacular amphibious
operation and another important step in the drive across
the Pacific Islands to Japan. Departing 5 June 1944,
Houston screened carrier strike units which pounded the
Marianas 12-13 June and the Bonins 15-16 June.
As the forces of Adm. Kelly Turner landed on Saipan
15 June, the Japanese made preparations to close the
island for a decisive naval battle. The great fleets ap-
proached each other 19 June for the biggest carrier en-
gagement of the war, and as four large air raids hit the
American dispositions, fighter cover and antiaircraft fire
from Houston and other screen ships decimated the attack-
ing Japanese formations. In this great Battle of the Phil-
ippine Sea, the first phase of which is called “The Marianas
Turkey Shoot,” Japan’s naval air power was struck a
death blow and the invasion of the Marianas secured.
After offensive raids had sunk carrier Hiji, the battle
ended with the task force returning to protect the Mari-
anas. Houston remained to screen carrier strikes and
engaged 26 June in shore bombardment on Guam and Rota,
destroying a radar station, an airstrip, and 10 aircraft on
the ground. She then returned to Eniwetok 12 August
to prepare for the next operation.
Assigned to the newly-designated Task Group 38.2 under
Rear Admiral Bogen, Houston sailed 30 August for air
attacks on the Palaus 6 September, after which the cruiser
and a group of destroyers bombarded Peleliu and other
islands preparatory to amphibious landings. The carrier
group then turned to the Philippines for strikes against
airfields and shipping, and returned to Peleliu to support
the forces ashore 17-19 September.
375
256-125 0 - 68 - 26
Embarked in USS Houston (CA-30) in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Admiral William D. Leahy observed
a fleet problem
Returning to Ulithi 1 October 1944, Houston and her
task group sailed 5 days later for an important operation
into the western Pacific. Warming up with strikes
against Okinawa 10 October, the carrier force moved
toward its real objective 12 October — Formosa. In a
devastating 3 days of attacks, naval air forces did much
to destroy Formosa as a supporting base for the Japanese
in the island battles still to come. Japanese forces re-
taliated with heavy and repeated land-based aircraft
attacks. Houston splashed four aircraft in one attack
on 12 October, and helped repel another attack next day,
in which Canberra suffered damage. Taking Canberra's
old station 14 October, Houston and other shins met
another heavy raid. Her gunners shot down three of the
attackers but a fourth’s torpedo hit her engine room,
causing loss of power.
Captain Behrens requested a tow. This delicate opera-
tion was undertaken by Boston. By midnight both Can-
berra and Houston were under tow to Ulithi for repairs.
Paicnee, fleet tug, assumed the tow 16 October. Late that
afternoon one of the determined strikes from Formosa
still trying to sink the ships placed another torpedo in
Houston, in her stem. Evacuating surplus hands to es-
corting ships, the captain kept his damage control parties
working and managed to keep Houston afloat and moving
slowly toward Ulithi.
Learning that the Japanese believed “CripDiv I”, as it
was called, to be the battered remnants of Task Force 38,
Admiral Halsey set a trap for the enemy fleet, hoping to
lure them into an attack on the two crippled cruisers.
The Japanese fleet actually did sortie from the Inland
Sea but after an air attack evidently thought better of
the idea and retired. Houston and Canberra were soon
out of land-based air range, and arrived Ulithi 27 October
1944. After temporary repairs she proceeded to Manus
20 December and eventually steamed to New York Navy
Yard, arriving 24 March 1945.
Houston steamed out of New York harbor 11 October
1945, after extensive rebuilding. Following refresher
training in the Caribbean she took part in training exer-
cises out of Newport, R.I. She sailed 16 April 1946 for
an extended goodwill tour of European ports, visiting
cities in Scandinavia, Portugal, Italy, and Egypt. She
returned 14 December 1946 and engaged in training and
readiness operations until 17 May 1947, when she sailed
with Cruiser Division 12 for a Mediterranean cruise.
Returning to Philadelphia 16 August 1947, Houston de-
commissioned 15 December 1947, was placed in reserve,
and finally stricken from the Navy List 1 March 1959-and
scrapped.
Houston received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Hoven
(Tk: dp. 14,530; 1. 453' ; b. 56' ; dr. 26' ; dph. 33'6" ; s. 11
k. ; cpl. 67)
Hoven, a tanker, was built by the Bethlehem Ship Build-
ing Co., Sparrows Point, Md. ; and commissioned there 16
May 1919, Lt. Comdr. Alexander MacKenzie in command.
After loading fuel oil at Bayonne, N.J., the tanker sailed
for Europe on 23 May, reaching Horta, Azores, on 31 May
and continuing on to Brest on 5 June. At both ports she
refueled American warships, and then returned to New
376
York on 22 June. Hoven sailed to Port Arthur for fuel oil
and from 22 July to 9 August transited the Atlantic to
Brest. She returned to New York on 31 August and de-
commissioned there 8 September 1919. Hoven was
delivered to the USSB the day she decommissioned. Hoven
was sold to Beacon Oil Co., Boston, Mass., in 1927 and
renamed Beacon Hill.
Hovey
Charles Emerson Hovey was born in Portsmouth, N.H.,
10 January 1885. Ensign Hovey graduated from the
Naval Academy in 1907. He served in Pamgamga in the
Philippines in 1911. While in charge of a shore party on
the island of Basilan, Ensign Hovey was killed by gun shot
when attacked by hostile natives 24 September 1911.
( DD-208 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'4" ; b. 30'8" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 167; a. 4 4”, 8 .50 cal. mg., 2 dct. ; cl. Clcmson)
Hovey (DD-208) was launched 26 April 1919 by William
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia ; sponsored by Mrs. Louise F.
Kautz, sister of Ensign Hovey ; and commissioned 2 Octo-
ber 1919, Comdr. Stephen B. McKinney in command.
After shakedown off the coast of Florida and in the
Caribbean Hovey sailed from Newport 19 December 1919
in company with Chandler for the Azores and Brest,
France, for duty as station ship. She sailed from Dal-
matia, Italy 10 July 1920 for the Adriatic to deliver im-
portant papers and claims. Arriving Constantinople 12
July she later visited various Russian ports as station ship
until 17 December when she sailed for Port Said, Egypt,
and duty with the Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines.
Hovey remained on the Asiatic station until she returned
to San Francisco 2 October 1922, decommissioning at San
Diego, 1 February 1923.
Hovey recommissioned 20 February 1930 at San Diego,
Commander Stuart O. Greig in command. After shake-
down out of San Diego and Mare Island she served princi-
pally as training ship for reservists until 9 April 1934 when
she transited the Panama Canal, arriving New York 31
May. After training and fleet exercises out of New Eng-
land and off the Florida coast, Hovey returned to San
Diego 9 November. After overhaul at Mare Island, she
resumed her operations along the West Coast with addi-
tional exercises and fleet problems in the Canal Zone and
Hawaiian waters.
With the advances in technology and the good foresight
and judgment of our naval leaders in strengthening Amer-
ica’s Navy, Hovey converted to a high speed minesweeper
and was reclassified DMS-11 19 November 1940. After
intensive training she sailed 4 February 1941 for duty at
Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
7 December 1941 Hovey was steaming in company with
Chandler as antisubmarine screen for Minneapolis, en-
gaged in gunnery practice some 20 miles off Pearl Harbor.
The minesweeper immediately took up patrol and convoy
duty around Pearl Harbor until 20 May when she escorted
a 20-ship convoy to San Francisco, arriving 31 May.
Hovey returned to Pearl Harbor in mid-June and sailed
10 July for the southwest Pacific escorting Argonne in
company with Southard. She reached the Fiji Islands
23 July and joined Minesweeping Group of Rear Adm.
Richmond K. Turner’s South Pacific Amphibious Force
the 31st.
On 7 August during the invasion of Guadalcanal, the
first amphibious assault in the long island-hopping cam-
paign, Hovey was assigned a screening station for the
transports. Then, shortly before 0800, she took a bom-
bardment station to cover the landings east of Gavutu.
Japanese shore batteries opened up but were quickly
silenced by accurate fire from Hovey and the other ships
providing fire support. She next joined other DMS’s for
sweeps between Gavutu and Bungana Islands. The next
morning she steamed into Lengo Channel to help ward off
an attack by a squadron of torpedo bombers. The fire
from our own surface units was so intense that it caused
the enemy to drop their torpedoes prematurely at too great
a range, thereby rendering the attack almost totally
ineffective.
Hovey continued her operations around Guadalcanal
before retiring to New Caledonia 13 September for re-
plenishment. From there she proceeded to Samoa before
returning to Ndeni, Santa Cruz, with a reconnaissance
party of marines on board. Returning to New Caledonia,
Hovey departed 10 October with two PT boats in tow and
127 drums of aviation gasoline on board, which she de-
livered to Tulagi two days later. Hovey continued escort
duty between Guadalcanal and Espiritu Santo, until she
returned to San Francisco 19 April 1943 for overhaul. She
joined a convoy out of Mare Island 31 May for New Cale-
donia, arriving 10 August. She then resumed her escort
and patrol duties until 30 October when she joined Rear
Adm. T. S. Wilkinson’s III Amphibious Force for the
Cape Torokina landing, 1 November 1943. Never before
in the Pacific had a major landing been made so close to
a major enemy air base as Torokina was to Rabaul. But
Wilkinson’s force had excellent air coverage and the oper-
ations went off so well that he informed his transports that
they could bombard Cape Torokina. For the next week
during the seizure of Empress Augusta Bay, Hovey oper-
ated with the invasion forces, screening transports and
making prelanding sweeps.
Hovey continued screening and escort duties in the
Solomons until 5 April 1944 when she escorted Linden-
icald from Tulagi to Majuro, Marshall Islands. She re-
turned to Espiritu Santo 11 April and on the 20th joined
Task Unit 34.9.3 (Captain Kane in Pctrof Bay) delivering
replacement planes to other carriers at Manus. The task
unit rendezvoused 29 April with Fast Carrier Task Force
58 to furnish replacement planes for the first strikes on
Truk. Proceeding to Florida Island, Hovey departed for
the West Coast, arriving 31 May via Pearl Harbor.
Repairs complete, Hovey sailed for Pearl Harbor 29 July
to become flagship for Mine Squadron Two (Commander
W. R. Loud). She sortied from Port Purvis 6 September
as part of the antisubmarine screen for Rear Admiral
Oldendorf’s Western Gunfire Support Group for operations
in the southern Palaus. After sweeps between Angaur
and Peleliu Islands and in Kossol Passage Hovey took up
antisubmarine patrol in the transport area off Peleliu
Island. She joined the Minesweeping and Hydrographic
Group of Rear Adm. Thomas Sprague’s Escort Carrier
Group for the Invasion of Leyte (17-25 October 1944).
On the 17th she began sweeping ahead of the high speed
transports and fire support vessels in the approach to the
landing beaches on Dinagat Island. After more sweeps
through Looc Bay and the Tacloban-Dulag approach
Hovey retired to Manus 25 October.
As flagship for Commander Loud’s Minesweeping and
Hydrographic Group, Hovey departed Manus 23 Decem-
ber, arriving Leyte Gulf the 30th. She sortied 2 January
1945, proceeded south through Suriago Strait and passed
into the Mindanao Sea en route to the landings on Lin-
gayen, Luzon. Many snoopers harassed the convoy during
the night but no attacks developed until morning of the 3d.
From then on the convoy was under air attack so much
that Hovey had to adopt the policy of not firing unless
she was directly under attack, lest she expend all her
ammunition. By 6 January the minesweepers were in
the entrance to Lingayen Gulf. At 0800 the sweepers
came under attack and Hovey immediately splashed one
suicide plane. As the ships made a return sweep, two
suicide planes made straight runs on the last two ships
in the column, crashing Brooks and Long. Hovey slipped
her gear and stood in to assist Long. Long’s entire bridge
and well deck was on fire, with intermittent explosions
coming from the forward magazine and ready ammunition.
Because of the explosions and air attacks, Hovey could
not get alongside, but spent an hour picking up 149 sur-
vivors. At dark the sweepers made their night retirement
and began steaming off the entrance to Lingayen Gulf.
No more attacks occurred until 9425, 7 January, when
enemy aircraft were picked up on radar. At 9450, one
plane flying low to the water came in from the starboard
quarter passing ahead of Hovey. A few moments later
377
another plane coming from the port beam was put on fire
by Chandler. This plane passed very low over Hovey
and crashed on the starboard beam. At 0455, the instant
the burning plane crashed, Hovey was struck by a torpedo
on her starboard side in the after engineroom. Lights and
power were lost instantly. The stern remained nearly
level and sinking to the top of the after deck house, the
bow listed 40 degrees to starboard and rose out of the
water, the ship breaking in half. Two minutes later the
bow listed to 90 degrees, rose vertically and rapidly sank
in 54 fathoms of water, suffering 24 killed in addition to
24 more men who were survivors from Long and Brooks.
In 1778 John Paul Jones said “I wish to have no con-
nection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend
to go in harms way”. So it was with Hovey. Though
lightly armed, she braved enemy shore fire, strafing and
bombing attacks to complete minesweeping, fire support,
escort duty, and many other missions. Constantly vigi-
lant and ready for battle she fought her guns valiantly, in-
flicting serious damage on vital enemy units. She
steamed boldly through enemy waters, contributing di-
rectly to the success of eight major operations. Her own
gallant fighting spirit and the skill and courage of her en-
tire crew reflected the highest credit upon Hovey and
the U.S. Naval Service.
Hovey received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Howard
Charles W. Howard volunteered for service in the Navy
during the Civil War, being appointed mate in October
1862. As acting ensign he served on board the New
Ironsides and was in charge of the deck when that ship
was attacked by the Confederate torpedo boat David in
Charleston Harbor, on the night of 5 October 1868. Mount-
ing the rail, he ordered the sentries to fire on the approach-
ing enemy, and while exposed he received a mortal wound.
He died 5 days later and was honored by being appointed
acting master after his death “for gallant conduct in face
of the enemy.”
(DD-179 : dp. 1,060; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 8’6" ; cpl.
101 ; a. 4 4", 2 3", 12 21” tt. ; cl. Wiclces )
Howard (DD-179) was launched by Union Iron Works,
San Francisco, Calif., 26 April 1919; sponsored by Marion
Filmer, and commissioned 29 January 1920 at Mare
Island, Calif., Comdr. L. M. Stewart in command.
Howard departed San Francisco 1 March 1920 to join
the Pacific Destroyer Force at San Diego. After initial
tactical maneuvers and gunnery training, she departed San
Diego 3 May for Topolobampo, Mexico, where she was
vitally needed to protect American interests. She re-
joined her destroyer flotilla 17 May to participate in in-
tensive and prolonged operations in the San Diego area,
including torpedo practice, patrol, battle practices and
exercises with submarines. Howard decommissioned 27
May 1922.
Recommissioned 29 August 1940, Howard '■ was converted
to a minesweeper and reclassified DMS-7. She sailed from
San Diego in mid October, arrived at Norfolk on the 29th
and proceeded 19 November for duty in the Caribbean.
She remained there until 17 May 1941 conducting mine-
sweeping assignments and patrol duty enforcing the Neu-
trality Act. Howard returned to Norfolk 19 May and
participated in exercises along the Chesapeake Bay until
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941
plunged the United States into the war.
Howard was underway 8 December on escort duty, and
in the months that followed, convoyed transports and
tankers in the Caribbean and western Atlantic, keeping
supply lanes open despite German U-boats. Plans called
for an invasion of North Africa in 1942, a massive and
hazardous amphibious operation projected across thou-
sands of miles of ocean. In October, Heyward joined Ad-
miral Hewitt’s Western Naval Task Force at Norfolk.
She sailed 24 October and screened flagship Augusta dur-
ing the Atlantic crossing. As troops landed 8 November
she performed both minesweeping and screening duties.
During the first phase of the Naval Battle of Casablanca
that day Howard screened Augusta as the cruiser engaged
shore batteries and dueled French battleship Jean Bart.
The destroyer then remained off Casablanca and Safi
while the American soldiers consolidated their beachheads
and moored with victorious naval units at Casablanca 16
November 1942. After performing antisubmarine patrol
duties she returned to Norfolk 29 December.
During most of 1943, Howard plied the convoy lanes of
the Atlantic and Caribbean protecting Allied ships from
submarine and air attack. She steamed to the West In-
dies, Panama, Newfoundland, and Iceland on this duty,
a key part of which was protecting the oil tankers so vital
to the conduct of the war.
As the tempo of operations against Japan increased,
Howard was transferred to the western Pacific theater,
sailing from Norfolk 21 November 1943, and arriving San
Diego 7 December. After repairs and training, the ship
sailed 25 March, escorting ships to Pearl Harbor and
Majuro. She screened a returning convoy to Pearl Har-
bor, arriving 24 April, and there began preparations for
the gigantic invasion of the Marianas. Joining Adm.
“Kelly” Turner’s hard-fighting amphibious task force,
Howard sortied 29 May and arrived off Saipan via Eni-
wetok 13 J une. The ship swept minefields during the day
and conducted patrol and harassing fire by night until the
landings 15 June. Howard then was assigned to screen
transports, and made two shuttle voyages to Eniwetok
and back to the Marianas before returning to Pearl Har-
bor 10 August 1944. In capturing the Marianas, the Navy
had taken a long stride toward Japan and, as a bonus,
had wiped out enemy naval air strength while smash-
ing the Japanese Navy’s attempt to defend the strategic
island group.
Howard's next operation was the long-awaited invasion
of the Philippines, slated for October on the island of
Leyte. Following training in the Hawaiian Islands she
arrived Eniwetok 24 September, and steamed to Leyte
Gulf 17 October. Once more she carried out dangerous
minesweeping duties, clearing paths in Surigao Strait and
Leyte Gulf, despite heavy weather. Her task completed,
she departed 24 October for Manus with the invasion un-
derway and during the first phase of the giant fleet battle
for Leyte Gulf, which ended in a decisive victory for the
U.S. Navy.
Training operations in the Admiralties occupied the
ship for the next 2 months, but she sailed again from
Manus 23 December to take part in the next phase of the
Philippines operation, the invasion of Luzon. She ren-
dezvoused at Leyte Gulf 30 December and departed in con-
voy for Lingayen Gulf, 2 January 1945. During this voy-
age through the Philippines, the Japanese made desperate
suicide attacks, with Howard splashing one attacker and
assisting in destroying many others. Unchecked, the
invasion force drove on to the goal, arriving 6 January.
The minesweepers began their work under almost con-
stant air attack ; and, by the time troops landed 9 January,
three of Howard's sister ships had been lost. But the
assault could not be blocked and proved another of a long
series of outstanding amphibious victories, success as-
sured. The veteran minecraft departed to arrive Leyte
Gulf 15 January 1945, and Ulithi 5 February.
As the American amphibious sweep surged ever closer
to Japan, Howard sailed from Tinian 13 February with
the invasion force for Iwo Jima. Assuming her custom-
ary role in advance of the landings, she commenced ex-
ploratory sweeps off the island 16 February, fighting off
numerous air attacks. After the assault 19 February the
ship acted as a screening ship, arriving Saipan 2 March.
Following another period of screening duty off Iwo Jima
later in March, Howard arrived Pearl Harbor via Guam
4 April 1945.
Newer ships now took the 25-year-old veteran’s duty on
the front lines. Reclassified AG-106, 5 June 1945, she es-
corted submarines in Hawaiian waters and acted as plane
guard for carrier operations before sailing for the United
378
USS Howard (DD-179) on acceptance trials in Santa Barbara Channel 13 January 1920 just prior to commissioning
States 2 October. Transiting the Panama Canal, Howard
arrived Philadelphia 2 November and decommissioned 30
November 1945. In 1946 Howard was sold to Northern
Metals Co., Philadelphia, Pa., and scrapped.
Howard received six battle stars for World War II
service.
Howard, see YP-JfTI
Howard, Curtis W., see Curtis W. Howard (DE-752)
Howard, Douglas L., see Douglas L. Howard (DE-138)
Howard, Edwin A., see Edwin A. Howard (DE-346)
Howard, John M., see John M. Howard (EX-75)
Howard, Sidney, see Sidney Howard (IX-111)
Howard D. Crow
Howard Daniel Crow was born in Alvarado, Tex., 2
February 1918, and was commissioned ensign after com-
pleting Naval Reserve Midshipman’s School, Northwest-
ern University, 14 March 1941. Ensign Crow reported to
battleship Maryland 29 March. In the surprise Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, Maryland was
moored inboard of Oklahoma and received two bomb hits,
one of which killed Ensign Crow.
( DE-252 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306'; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
epl. 186 ; a. 3 3”, 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21” tt. ; cl. Edsall )
Howard D. Crow (DE-252) was launched by Brown
Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 26 April 1943 ; sponsored
by Miss Viola Elaine Warner; and commissioned 27 Sep-
tember 1943, Lt. Comdr. D. T. Adams, USCG, in command.
Manned by the Coast Guard, Howard D. Crow con-
ducted shakedown training out of Bermuda during Octo-
ber and November, reporting to Norfolk for convoy duty
1 December. The destroyer escort sailed with her first
convoy 15 December, saw it safely to Casablanca, and re-
turned to New York 24 January 1944. In the months that
followed Howard D. Crow made 10 arduous escort voy-
ages to British ports, protecting the supplies which sus-
tained the great land offensive which was to end the war
with Germany.
The destroyer escort was berthed at New York when
Germany surrendered 8 May 1945, and after extensive
refresher training in the Caribbean sailed from Guan-
tanamo Bay for the Pacific War 2 July. Arriving Pearl
Harbor via the Panama Canal 25 July, Hoicard D. Crow
continued into the western Pacific for a tour of vital
weather-reporting duty, so important to the operation
of the great fleets. She sailed from Midway 13 Decem-
ber 1945, and after stopping at the Panama Canal and
New York arrived Green Cove Springs, 15 March 1946.
She decommissioned 22 May 1946 and entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet.
With the Korean conflict came greater demands on the
far-flung Navy, and Howard D. Crow recommissioned
6 July 1951 with a Navy crew. After shakedown train-
ing she reported to Key West as Sonar School training
ship, helping develop new equipment and tactics in anti-
submarine warfare. Moving north to Newport in 1952,
the ship took part in fleet antisubmarine exercises off the
coast. For the next 6 years Howard D. Crow followed
this pattern of operations — antisubmarine training, exer-
cises in the Atlantic and Caribbean, and periodic over-
hauls. In 1957 she took part in important NATO
exercises with almost 50 ships from a dozen countries,
and in 1958 the versatile ship acted as communications
ship during a successful Jupiter nose-cone recovery off
Puerto Rico.
Howard D. Crow was assigned to Galveston, Tex., as
reserve training ship in September 1958. In this capacity
she conducted 2-week training cruises for reservists, and
at the same time maintained the ship in a high state of
readiness for any emergency. Her periodic training
cruises took the escort vessel to Key West and the
Caribbean. In August 1961, however, the Berlin situation
worsened, and Howard D. Croiv was one of several re-
serve training ships returned to active service to increase
the nation’s readiness. She conducted refresher training
at Guantanamo Bay and operated with the fleet in the
Atlantic and Caribbean until August 1962.
The ship returned to reserve training duty 1 August
1962, again based at Galveston. She continued through
1963 into 1967 to provide at-sea training for naval re-
servists so vital in keeping America’s defenses at the
highest possible level of training and skill.
Howard F. Clark
Howard Franklin Clark was born in Wilmington, Del.,
15 September 1914, and graduated from the Naval
379
Academy 2 June 1938. He served at sea until 1940, when
he underwent flight training. Reporting to carrier
Lexington 1 April 1941 as a member of Fighter Squadron
3, he won a Distinguished Flying Cross 20 February 1942
when he brought down an enemy bomber attempting to
attack the carrier. During the Battle of the Coral Sea,
Clark again and again engaged enemy aircraft, in utter
disregard of his own safety, until his plane was shot down.
Lieutenant (j.g.) Clark was posthumously awarded a
second Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism during
the battle, 7-8 May 1942.
( DE-533 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5" ; 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.), 3 21" tt. ;
cl. John C. Butler )
Howard F. Clark (DE-533) was launched by the Boston
Navy Yard 8 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Howard
dark, widow of the namesake ; and commissioned at
Boston 25 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. E. B. Hayden in
command.
Howard F. Clark conducted shakedown training off
Bermuda, returned to Norfolk 16 August, and two days
later got underway for the Pacific. She transited the
Panama Canal, called briefly at San Diego, and reported
for duty at Pearl Harbor 18 September. For the next
3 months Howard F. Clark participated in battle ma-
neuvers and training exercises in preparation for her part
in the Navy’s sweeping island campaign against Japan.
Acting as screening ship during carrier operations, and
later training with the Pacific Fleet Gunnery and Torpedo
School, she departed Pearl Harbor 11 December 1944.
The destroyer escort arrived Manus 22 December and
joined Admiral Stump’s escort carrier group, forming
for the important Lingayen Gulf invasion. The ships
got underway 27 December, with Howard F. Clark in
screening position, were joined by fast troop transports,
and arrived Leyte Gulf 3 January 1945, where the entire
invasion group assembled. This formidable force de-
parted the same day for Lingayen Gulf, and began soon
after its departure to experience fierce Japanese air at-
tacks. The next day, she succeeded in downing several
attackers. The toll, especially from suicide attacks,
was high, but the force proceeded to its objective after
splashing many of the aircraft, and the troops stormed
ashore at Lingayen 6 January 1945. During the impor-
tant landing and the battle which followed, Howard F.
Clark screened the escort carriers as they furnished air
support to soldiers ashore and flew combat missions to
keep the skies above clear of enemy aircraft. The de-
stroyer escort had occasion both 8 and 9 January to
rescue downed aviators from the water, and was detached
soon after the second rescue to return to Ulithi with
Admiral Durgin’s carriers.
Arriving 23 January 1945, they got underway 1 Feb-
ruary for the next major step in the campaign — Iwo Jima.
She became part of an underway replenishment group off
Eniwetok and steamed to the eastward of the Marianas,
where the group refueled and replenished Task Force
58 13-14 February. During the next days she protected
the refueling operations of many ships in support of the
Iwo Jima landings to come, landings which would provide
an important air base for attacks against Japan. She
arrived off the bitterly-contested island 5 March, spent
2 days patrolling the refueling area offshore, and returned
to Ulithi 10 March.
Howard F. Clark joined with ammunition-laden LST’s
at Ulithi and departed 21 March for Okinawa, the next
island on the schedule of victory in the Pacific. Reaching
recently-captured Kerama Retto 28 March with her pre-
cious convoy, she then steamed again for refueling ren-
dezvous protecting the task force ships as they refueled.
This duty engaged her until returning to Ulithi 13 April,
after which the destroyer escort steamed back toward
Okinawa 22 April with another refueling task force.
Task Force 58 was again serviced 26 April, and 6 May
Howard F. Clark departed again for Ulithi as part of the
escort for battleship Missouri. She arrived 9 May and
was soon at sea again screening another unit of Admiral
Beary’s 5th Fleet replenishment group. More refueling
operations were conducted in the ocean approaches to
Okinawa until 10 June, when Howard F. Clark was
detached to escort an oiler unit to Guam. They arrived
13 June and continued to Ulithi, 22 June.
Howard F. Clark continued her vital screening opera-
tions as Admiral Beary’s group became part of 3d Fleet.
Steaming from Ulithi 3 July 1945, the ships replenished
Task Force 38, thus supporting the carrier strikes against
the Japanese mainland. During these operations, 8 July,
the alert escort vessel rescued a pilot after a forced land-
ing on the starboard bow of escort carrier HoUandia.
Subsequently, she made three voyages in support of the
buildup on Okinawa, returning from the final passage
7 September 1945. After several weeks of patrol and
training maneuvers off Ulithi, she arrived Guam 11 Oc-
tober. The ship made one more stop at Ulithi 22 October,
then sailed to Guam with a cargo of spare parts. She
departed 5 November for the United States.
The destroyer escort arrived San Pedro, Calif., via Pearl
Harbor, 23 November 1945, and decommissioned 15 July
1946 at San Diego. Entering the reserve fleet, San Diego
Group, she was later transferred to Stockton, where she
remains.
Howard Greene
A former name retained.
( SP-2200 : dp. 230; 1. 92'; b. 22'; dr. 11'3" ; s. 12 k.;
a. 2 2-pdrs., 1 mg.)
Howard Greene (SP-2200), a steam harbor tug built in
1917 by the Baltimore S.B. & D.D. Co., Baltimore, Md.,
was purchased by the Navy 11 February 1918. While
serving as a district tug at the Washington Navy Yard,
she was renamed Catawba (q.v.) and classified YT-32
20 July 1920. Ordered to Norfolk 18 July 1922, the tug
served in the Hampton Roads area until 1933 when she
was transferred to Charleston, S.C.
Reclassified YTM-32 on 15 May 1944, she operated out
of Charleston Harbor through World War II. Catawba
was placed out of service 20 August 1946, transferred to
the Maritime Commission 26 December 1946, and sold to
Lockwood Bros., Charleston, S.C.
Howard W. Gilmore
Howard Walter Gilmore was born in Selma, Ala., 29 Sep-
tember 1902 and enlisted in the Navy 15 November 1920.
In 1922 he was appointed to the Naval Academy and after
commissioning in 1926 reported to battleship Mississippi.
Gilmore underwent submarine training in 1930 and in the
years that followed served in various submarines and at
stations ashore. In 1941 he assumed his first command,
Shark, only to be transferred the day following Pearl
Harbor to take command of the still-unfinished Growler.
Gilmore commanded his submarine skillfully during three
Pacific war patrols, receiving the Navy Cross for an
attack on enemy destroyers during the first and a gold
star in lieu of a second Navy Cross for the second. The
submarine continued to take a heavy toll of shipping on
her fourth war patrol, and on the night of 6-7 February
1943 she approached a convoy stealthily for a surface
attack. Suddenly a fast gunboat closed and prepared
to ram. Commander Gilmore skillfully outmaneuvered
his opponent and rammed him at 17 knots, seriously dam-
aging Growler. What followed Is perhaps most elo-
quently expressed in the official citation : “In the terrific
fire of the sinking gunboat’s heavy machine guns, Com-
mander Gilmore calmly gave the order to clear the bridge,
and refusing safety for himself, remained on deck while
his men preceded him below. Struck down by the fusil-
lade of bullets and having done his utmost against the
enemy, in his final living moments Commander Gilmore
gave his last order to the Officer of the Deck, ‘Take her
down !’ The submarine dived ; damaged but under con-
trol, she was brought safely to port by her well-trained
380
crew inspired by the courageous fighting spirit of their
captain.” Commander Gilmore received the Medal of
Honor posthumously, and his inspiring words and cour-
ageous sacrifice have taken their place among the great
traditions of the U.S. Navy.
(AS-16 : dp. 9,250 ; 1. 529'6” ; b. 73'4" ; dr. 23'6" ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 1,303; a. 4 5"; cl. Fulton)
Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), originally Neptune but
renamed before launching, was launched by Mare Island
Navy Yard, Mare Island, Calif., 16 September 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. H. W. Gilmore, widow of Commander
Gilmore ; and commissioned 24 May 1944, Captain D. N.
Cone in command.
For her first 2 months, Howard IF. Gilmore conducted
shakedown training out of San Diego. After loading
parts and supplies she sailed 12 August for Pearl Harbor,
arriving 18 August.
Howard IF. Gilmore arrived Majuro Atoll 19 September
1944, and began her vital tending duties. In the 4 months
that followed she made voyage repairs on submarines,
replenished them, and helped in training both crewmen
and repairmen. She thus did much to maintain the high-
intensity attack on Japanese shipping which hastened the
end of the war. The ship also provided repairs and parts
for surface ships when necessary. Returning to Pearl
Harbor 29 January 1945, she took on replacement crews
for Australia-based submarines and sailed for Brisbane,
arriving 23 February. But the busy tender was soon
underway again, this time sailing via Humboldt Bay to
Subic Bay, Philippines, with supplies for an advanced
base. Howard IF. Gilmore arrived 13 March and imme-
diately started refitting 7th Fleet subs and setting up a
recuperation area for their crews. She continued this
duty through the climactic days of the Pacific war, sail-
ing for the East Coast, via Pearl Harbor and Panama
31 August 1945. Arriving New York 17 October, Hoicard
IF. Gilmore took part in the joyous Navy Day celebrations
in New York Harbor, where the fleet was reviewed by
President Truman.
After a short stay in New London, Conn., Howard IF.
Gilmore steamed to Portsmouth, N.H., to load torpedoes
and then sailed to her new home port, Key West, where
she arrived 25 January 1946. Serving Submarine Squad-
ron 4, the ship was to stay in Florida for the greater part
of the next 13 years, serving submarines on their far-flung
training and readiness duties. The ship occasionally
tended submarines at Norfolk, and deployed to the Carib-
bean twice during this period, notably for Operation
Springboard, a giant fleet exercise in the Caribbean in
1958.
Howard IF. Gilmore sailed into storied Charleston har-
bor 30 July 1959 to take up her tending duties from this
new base. In addition to servicing submarines during
the next 18 months, the ship rode out Hurricane Donna
in September 1960 off Charleston. During 1961 she op-
erated off the Florida coast before entering Charleston
Naval Shipyard in November for a major overhaul. Dur-
ing this repair period Howard IF. Gilmore was fitted with
facilities for servicing nuclear submarines, increasing her
versatility and usefulness for today’s nuclear Navy.
With this important Fleet Rehabilitation and Moderniza-
tion Overhaul (FRAM) completed the ship returned to
the Caribbean for refresher training before resuming
tender duties at Charleston.
In October 1962 the introduction of offensive missiles
into Cuba brought strong response from the American
President and people — a naval quarantine of the island.
USS Howard IF. Gilmore (AS-16) in May 1950
381
Howard W. Gilmore’s crew worked ’round the clock servic-
ing two squadrons of submarines for Caribbean opera-
tions. American naval power forced the removal of the
Communist threat to the Western Hemisphere.
From 1963 into 1967, the veteran tender continued to
serve submarines from her home port, Charleston, making
short cruises for training off the South Carolina coast
and in the Caribbean. Howard W. Gilmore and her
sister tenders fulfill the goal expressed in the slogan :
“Service for the silent service”.
Howarda
A former name retained.
(SP-144 : dp. 38; 1. 75'; b. 16'; dr. 3'4" ; s. 9 k. ; a. 1
3-pdr. )
Howarda, a wooden yacht, was built in 1913 by the
Essington Company of Pennsylvania, and acquired by the
Navy 11 June 1917 from her owner, H. 'S. Kerner, of
Boca Grande, Fla. She commissioned at Key West 19
June 1917.
Assigned to the 7th Naval District, Howarda was based
at Egmont Key and patrolled waters in the Gulf of
Mexico and Tampa Bay. The boat served as guard boat
and section patrol craft until being stricken from the Navy
List and offered for sale 31 March 1919. Later with-
drawn, Howarda was transferred to the Department of
the Treasury for Coast Guard use 1 July 1919.
Hotcell Cobb
A U.’S. Coast Survey name retained.
Howell Cobb, a Coast Survey schooner, was taken over
by the Navy 10 June 1861 by Comdr. J. H. Ward, com-
manding Potomac Flotilla. Her first commanding officer
was Acting Master’s Mate A. J. Frank. Howell Cobb was
actively employed on the Potomac River as a convoy ship,
assisting the Army to insure smooth movement of sup-
plies. This was vital service at a time when rail traffic
north of Washington had been cut off by riots in Balti-
more. She was also engaged, in Breton’s Bay and vicinity,
in suppressing illegal trade on the shores of the waters
controlled by the Union. Sent to Philadelphia Navy Yard
for repairs, she arrived Philadelphia 9 July 1862, and
did not return to active service in the Civil War. She
was later returned to the Coast Survey.
Hoivett
( PF-84 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'8" ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190; 3 3"; cl. Tacoma )
Howett (PF-84), originally designated PG-192, was
built under Maritime Commission contract by Walsh -
Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I. Intended for use by
the United Kingdom, she was reclassified PF-84 15 April
1943, renamed Papua, and launched 10 October 1943,
sponsored by Mrs. William Eastham. Papua was then
completed and transferred under lend-lease to the United
Kingdom 25 July 1944 as part of the 21-ship “Colony”
class. She served as a patrol and escort vessel until being
returned to the United States 13 May 1946. The frigate
was subsequently sold to Boston Metals Co., of Baltimore,
Md., for scrapping, but was resold to Egypt in 1950 for
use as a passenger vessel by the Khedivial Mail Line,
Alexandria.
Howick Hall
(NOTS : d. 8,097 t. ; 1. 413' ; b. 51'6" ; dr. 25'11" ; sp. 10' ;
cpl. 91)
Howick Hall was built by William Hamilton Co., Port
Glasgow, Scotland, in 1910. Acquired from her owners,
the U.S. Steel Products Co., she commissioned at Balti-
more on 24 August 1918, Lt. Comdr. Gust E. Jonsson in
command.
After loading cargo at Baltimore, Howick Hall joined
a convoy at New York and from there sailed to St. Nazaire,
France, reaching that port on 30 September. She dis-
charged cargo and on 31 October was back at Baltimore.
Her second transatlantic voyage began at Newport
News, where she loaded cargo for La Verdun Roads,
France, on 25 December. From there Howick Hall went
to Bassens for fuel, and on 3 February 1919, sailed for the
States. However, a case of spinal meningitis in the crew
necessitated her stopping at Bermuda on 21 February.
Ship and crew were placed in quarantine and denied com-
munication with the island until they sailed for Baltimore
on 25 February.
Howick Hall arrived at Baltimore via Newport News
on 5 March and decommissioned there 13 March 1919.
She was returned to her former owners the same day.
Hotcorih
William L. Howorth was bom in Massachusetts 16 July
1841, and was appointed Acting Master’s Mate 29 April
1863. Attached to Honticello, a blockader off North Caro-
lina, Howorth accompanied the redoubtable Lt. W. B.
Cushing on a reconnaissance up the Cape Fear River to
Wilmington 23-24 June 1864, gaining valuable information
about Confederate defenses. Later in the year, Howorth
joined Cushing’s famous expedition up the Roanoke River
to sink Confederate ram Albemarle. The ram was de-
stroyed 27 October, but the launch carrying the Federal
sailors was destroyed. Cushing and one other man es-
caped, while Howorth and others were captured. In his
report Cushing noted : “Acting Master’s Mate William L.
Howorth, of the Honticello, showed, as usual conspicuous
bravery.” Howorth was promoted to Acting Master and
exchanged in February 1865. Honorably discharged in
October, he reentered the Navy in 1866 and was appointed
ensign 12 March 1868. He resigned 4 April 1869.
(DD-592 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6'' ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 35
k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 5 40-mm„ 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Howorth (DD-592) was launched by Puget Sound Navy
Yard, Bremerton, Wash., 10 January 1943 ; sponsored by
Mrs. R. P. Bromley; and commissioned 3 April 1944,
Comdr. E. S. Burns in command.
After exhaustive shakedown training had been com-
pleted, Howorth sailed 22 July 1944, screening a large con-
voy carrying marines toward Pearl Harbor. The ship ar-
rived 7 days later and began a second training period in
Hawaiian waters. Departing 25 August she joined the
7th Fleet at Hollandia and, after brief stops at Purvis
Bay and Manus on escort duty, she arrived at newly-taken
Morotai 30 September. The next 2 weeks were spent in
the busy Solomons on escort and antisubmarine duty.
Howorth steamed out of Humboldt Bay 16 October en
route to Leyte. Arriving 22 October, three days after the
initial landings, the ship guarded the transport anchor-
ages while other fleet units decimated the Japanese in the
epochal Battle for Leyte Gulf. She next made convoy
voyages to Kossol Roads, Guam, and Manus before return-
ing to Leyte for the Ormoc landings 7 December 1944.
Next on the destroyer’s schedule was the Mindoro opera-
tion. Hoivorth departed 12 December with Nashville and
soon came under kamikaze attack. Upon arrival off Min-
doro, the destroyer moved to Mangarin Bay for shore bom-
bardment, aiding the assault troops by knocking out en-
emy emplacements. She was attacked by three suiciders,
and while two were shot down close aboard, the third
damaged Howorth’ s mast before splashing. Accordingly,
the ship returned to Hollandia via Leyte, arriving 28 De-
cember. With the bases on Mindoro necessary for air
support of Lingayen Gulf landings under construction,
preparations continued for the invasion of Luzon.
382
The Lingayen operations got underway 9 January, and
Hoivorth arrived with the first reinforcement group 13
January, after again fighting off suicide attacks en route.
The ship was occupied until 1 February providing fire sui>
port to ground forces in the area, fighting off air attacks,
and patrolling to seaward of the Gulf. From Luzon she
sailed to Saipan 15 February to take part in rehearsals
for the next major amphibious assault, Iwo Jima.
Hoivorth arrived off Iwo Jima with the invasion fleet
19 February and, as troops landed for what was to be
one of the hardest fought campaigns of the war, she began
nearly a month of continuous air action and shore bom-
bardment. With accurate ground support fire Hoivorth
contributed much to the taking of this strategic island.
Departing 14 March, she spent only a short rest at Ulithi
before getting underway again, this time for the Okinawa
invasion, last stop on the island road to Japan itself.
The veteran destroyer screened a transport group from
Ulithi, arriving Okinawa with the huge invasion fleet 1
April. Once again she performed shore fire and screening
duties, and shot down many attacking aircraft as the
Japanese made a desperate attempt to stop the landings.
While proceeding with cruiser St. Louis to station 1 April,
Hoivorth and the larger ship were attacked by no less
than eight kamikazes. While literally splashing planes
on every quarter, the destroyer was crashed in the super-
structure. Nine men were killed, but while the fires were
being extinguished the last kamikaze was shot down
astern.
Hoivorth was routed back to the United States for
repairs, arriving Mare Island 2 May 1945. After shake-
down training in early July, the ship sailed 15 July for
Pearl Harbor and was en route to Adak. Alaska 15 Au-
gust when the surrender of Japan was announced. She de-
parted Adak 31 August for Japanese waters to screen
flight operations and receive former prisoners of war
before mooring at Yokohama 17 September 1945. Escort
work carried Hoivorth to Pearl Harbor and back to Japan
in October. She sailed finally from Tokyo Bay 11 Novem-
ber, arriving San Francisco 28 November. She decommis-
sioned 30 April 1946 at San Diego and remained in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet until March 1962 when she was sunk
in torpedo tests off San Diego.
Hoivorth received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Hoicquah
OSwStr : t. 460; 1. 120'7'' ; b. 22'10" ; dr. 12' ; s. 10 k. ; a.
2 30-pdr. P. r., 1 12-pdr. r„ 1 12-pdr. )
Howquah was purchased in Boston from G. W. Upton
17 June 1863, for action against Confederate commerce
raider Tacony then preying upon Northern merchantmen
during what Prof. Richard S. West has called “the most
brilliant daredevil cruise of the war.”
Howquah departed Boston 25 June 1863, Acting Volun-
teer Lieutenant E. F. Devens in command, to search for
Tacony in the southern section of the Banks of Newfound-
land ; but her quarry had been destroyed the day before she
sailed. Tacony' s captain, Lt. Charles W. Read, OSN, in an
effort to elude the Northern gunboats who were scouring
the sea for his ship, shifted his guns to captured fishing
schooner Archer and put the torch to Tacony. He and his
crew were captured 3 days later while attempting to escape
to sea from Portland, Maine, in still another prize, Reve-
nue cutter Caleb Cushing (q.v. Tacony, p. 571, vol. II).
When Hoicquah returned to Boston 3 July, she re-
ceived orders to sail for Wilmington, N.C., for blockade
duty. Except for occasional brief interruptions for re-
pairs, she remained in waters off Wilmington until close
to the end of the war, usually stationed near New Inlet.
There on 5 November 1863 she assisted Nansemond and
Army transport Fulton capture Margaret and Jessie after
the ship had run the blockade 15 times. Only 5 days
later, she took Ella, a small, fast and new side-wheel
steamer subsequently serving the Navy as a picket, patrol,
and dispatch vessel. Next, on 11 December, she forced
an unidentified ship to run on the beach to be wrecked
by a heavy sea.
On Christmas Eve she transported troops from Beau-
fort, N.C., to Bear Inlet to ruin salt works vital to the
Confederate war economy. Again on 21 April 1864, she
joined Niphon in an attack on salt works on Masonboro
Sound. Her guns shelled the beach while a landing party
smashed salt-making equipment ashore.
Early morning 7 May 1864, Howquah and five other
blockaders engaged Confederate ironclad ram Raleigh
and drove her back toward the harbor to run aground and
“break her back” while attempting to cross the bar to
safety. On 25 September, while chasing and firing on
blockade runner Lynx, Howquah was caught in a cross
fire from Fort Fisher and from “friendly guns” on two
other Union ships, Buckingham, and Niphon. In this
operation one of her bluejackets was killed and four
others were wounded, but her hull was not seriously
damaged. Lynx ended up on the beach totally destroyed
by fire.
Christmas Eve 1864 found Howquah engaged in am-
phibious operations. This time the objective was Fort
Fisher, which protected Wilmington, one of the South’s
most successful centers of blockade running and her last
port for overseas aid. Howquah landed troops who took
the Flag Pond Hill battery and bombarded enemy positions
to support Union forces ashore. Unfortunately, Maj.
Gen. B. F. Butler nullified this success by ordering his
troops to give up their beachheads and return to their
ships ; and Howquah had the unpleasant task of assisting
in the evacuation. But in less than a month, the North-
ern ships were again attacking Fort Fisher in conjunction
with the Army. Howquah anchored off Half Moon Bat-
tery 16 January 1865 and fired at targets ashore while her
cutters evacuated the wounded. She remained in the area
supporting Northern troops and the fleet’s landing force
with her guns until the last pockets of resistance along the
Wilmington waterfront had been snuffed out.
Howquah was transferred to Key West for duty in the
East Gulf Blockading Squadron. She was stationed in
Saint George’s Sound, Fla., until ordered North 1 June.
She decommissioned at Philadelphia 22 June 1865 and was
sold at public auction 10 August 1865.
Howse, General R. L., see General R. L. Howze (AP-134)
Hoxbar
(Str: dp. 14,530; 1. 453'; b. 56'; dr. 26'; s. 11 k. ; cpl.
71)
Hoxbar, a tanker, was built by the Bethlehem Ship Build-
ing Co., of Sparrows Point, Md., in 1918. She commis-
sioned there 13 June 1919, Lt. Comdr. Morris E. Huntley
commanding.
With a full load of fuel oil, Hoxbar sailed from New
York on 21 June, arriving at Ponta Delgada, Azores, on
1 July. After refueling various U.S. destroyers based
there, she continued on to Brest to service other American
ships. She left Europe on 15 July and sailed to Port Ar-
thur, Tex., via New York, arriving 3 August.
At Port Arthur Hoxbar took on another load of fuel
oil and on 9 August sailed for Scotland. At sea her or-
ders were changed and she reset her course for Hampton
Roads, arriving 16 August. After discharging her cargo,
Hoxbar decommissioned at Newport News on 28 August
1919 and was redelivered to USSB. In 1925 she was sold
to Malston Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.
Hoyt
(ScTug: 1. 45'; b. 10'5'' ; dph. 4'7" ; s. 7 k. ; a. 1 spar
torp.)
Hoyt, a former merchant tug Luke Hoyt, built at Phila-
delphia in 1863, was acquired 1 July 1864. She and steam
tugs Belle and Martin, fitted as torpedo boats, were dis-
383
patched by Rear Adm. S. P. Lee to join Union Naval
Forces in the rivers and sounds of North Carolina. These
torpedo boats were intended as counter-weapons against
much-feared Confederate rams rumored to be building
up the Roanoke River. Admiral Lee described their arma-
ment: “This form of torpedo is intended to explode on
impact, and to be placed on a pole or rod projecting not
less than 15 feet, and if possible 20 feet, beyond the vessel
using it. It contains 150 pounds of powder.”
Hoyt took station at New Berne, N.C., waiting for com-
bat opportunity that never came. She steamed north late
in May 1865, and was sold 10 August 1865 at Philadelphia.
She was a part of the small beginning of a most serious
weapon in the 20th century. The Confederacy had first
pointed the way to moderate success of torpedo warfare
in the Civil War when a similarly-armed “David” dam-
aged the New Ironsides. Union blockaders were much
alarmed in February 1864 when the hand-powered sub-
marine torpedo boat H. L. Hunley, armed with a spar tor-
pedo, sank the steam sloop-of-war Housatonic. The im-
portance of torpedo warfare was further underscored the
night of 27-28 October 1864, when gallant Lieutenant
Cushing and a daring crew of 14 sank the dreaded iron-
clad ram Albemarle with an improvised torpedo boat.
These hardy pioneers cast a shadow far ahead toward the
enormous underseas combat capabilities of the 20th
century.
Hubbard
Joseph Charles Hubbard was born 24 January 1900
in Danbury, Conn., and graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy in 1920. After serving in various ships during his
early career, Hubbard underwent submarine training in
1924-25 and reported on board his first command, 0-7,
in 1930. Following other assignments ashore and afloat,
he reported to cruiser San Francisco in November 1939 as
Damage Control Officer and First Lieutenant. Hubbard
was appointed Commander in 1942 and died 13 November
1942 on board San Francisco. His ship, flagship for Ad-
miral Callaghan, was crashed by a Japanese plane 12
November. Hubbard relieved the critically wounded ex-
ecutive officer, and it was in this post that he was killed
next day during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, as
American ships prevented a Japanese bombardment of the
island.
(DE-211 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24
k. ; cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 8 20mm., 4 1.1" ; 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Hubbard (DE-211) was launched by Charleston Navy
Yard, 11 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Helen L.
Hubbard, widow of Commander Hubbard ; and commis-
sioned 6 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. L. C. Mabley in command.
Following shakedown training out of Bermuda, the new
destroyer escort returned to Norfolk 7 May 1944. She
then escorted oiler Manatee to the Caribbean, returning to
Norfolk 23 May for armament changes. Armed with
40mm. guns in lieu of torpedo tubes, Hubbard sailed with
her first convoy 1 June, seeing the transports safely to
Bizerte, Tunisia, and returning to New York 19 July 1944.
She subsequently made two more convoy crossings in
1944, and underwent antisubmarine training at Casco
Bay, Maine, between voyages.
Hubbard sailed 26 December 1944 with other destroyer
escorts to hunt down weather-reporting U-boats in the
Atlantic. Equipped with the latest direction-finding gear,
the ships scouted the suspected area until they came upon
U-2J/8 16 January 1945. Depth charge attacks sank the
German marauder late that morning. The ships arrived
New York 6 February and after additional training in
Casco Bay sailed again to search for submarines 4 April
from Argentia. As part of Operation Teardrop, she took
part in the destruction of the last desperate U-boat group
to sortie, with escort carriers Bogue, Core, and many sister
ships. Frederick C. Davis (DE-136) was torpedoed and
sunk suddenly 24 April, and Hubbard joined in hunting
the attacker. After many depth charge attacks, four by
Hubbard alone, U-5J)6 surfaced. The destroyer escorts’
guns blazed away and the submarine quickly sank.
Hubbard returned to Boston 10 May 1945 and began her
conversion to a fast transport, suitable for the still-hot
Pacific war. She was reclassified APD-53, 1 June 1945
and emerged from Sullivans Dry Dock, Brooklyn, 14 Au-
gust, the day before the surrender of Japan.
Following 3 months of training operations in the Carib-
bean and Casco Bay, Hubbard arrived Green Cove Springs,
Fla., 12 November 1945. She decommissioned 15 March
1946 and entered the Reserve Fleet, where she remained
until she was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1966 and
scrapped.
Hubbard received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hubbard, B. H. B see B. H. B. Hubbard (No. 416)
Hubbard, Elbert, see Elbert Hubbard (ARG-3)
Hubbard, Elbert, see Mindanao (ARG-3)
Hubbard, Harry E., see Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748)
Huckleberry Finn, see YP-J)66
Hudgins, Clara L., see YP-50 7
Hudgins, Edith L,, see YP-5J)9
Hudson
William Levereth Hudson was born 11 May 1794 at
Brooklyn, N.Y. His first service afloat was in the Mediter-
ranean Squadron under Commodore Bainbridge in the
schooner Alert and sloop Ontario from 1815 to 1817. Hud-
son was appointed midshipman 1 January 1816. In 1821-
1823 he served in Dolphin on the Pacific coast of South
America, and in Warren for a Mediterranean cruise 1826-
1829. In 1830-1831 Hudson accompanied Lieutenant
Ramsey on a tour to Russia, and then assumed duty at
the New York Navy Yard. In June 1838 he was ordered
to command Peacock, attached to the Wilkes Exploring
Expedition. After strenuous service in the Antarctic, the
South iSeas, and along the coast of North America, Pea-
cock was wrecked 18 July 1841 while attempting to cross
the bar and enter the Columbia River on Wilkes’ orders.
Commander Hudson made every effort to free his ship
but was forced to leave her, fortunately saving all his men
and the scientific papers. In September 1849, after shore
and lighthouse duty, he was ordered to command Vin-
cennes, cruising the Pacific until 1852. In March 1857
Hudson, appointed captain 8 October 1855, assumed com-
mand of Niagara. That August, in conjunction with Brit-
ish ships, he made the first attempt at laying a trans-
atlantic cable. This try was unsuccessful, but a second
attempt met with success 10 August 1858. After com-
manding the Boston Navy Yard 1858-1862, Captain Hud-
son was made Inspector of the 3d Light House District.
He died 15 October 1862 in Brooklyn.
I
(Frigate: t. 1,728; 1. 177' ; b. 45' ; dr. 13'8")
Hudson, formerly Liberator, was built in 1826 for the
Greek government by Smith & Dimon of New York. When
Greece was unable to pay for her, she was purchased by
the Navy and commissioned at New York.
In 1828, Hudson began fitting out for what was to be her
only cruise, and during this period was inspected by Presi-
dent John Quincy Adams and his entourage. The frigate
384
sailed from New York 28 September 1828 to serve as Com-
modore John Creighton’s flagship in the Brazil Squadron.
In company with Erie, she touched at New London for sup-
plies and ammunition before turning south to reach Rio
de Janerio 29 November to help eradicate the insidious
traffic in slaves along those shores. From there Hudson
conducted several patrols along the South American coast,
stopping and boarding for inspection American as well as
foreign ships. She also served as a harbor patrol vessel
at Montevideo and Rio and cruised to Bahia and St.
Catherine during her 3 years on station.
Hudson departed 13 June 1831 and reached New York
via Bahia 5 August. She remained at New York as a re-
ceiving ship until 1844, when she was broken up and sold.
II
The second Hudson was loaned to the Navy for use in
the Spanish-American War by the Treasury. The revenue
cutter was acquired at New York 24 March 1898 and com-
missioned there, Lt. F. H. Newcombe in command.
Departing New York 24 April, Hudson sailed to Key
West via Wilmington and Jacksonville. There, after brief
patrol duty, she was pressed into use as a dispatch carrier
and sent to the Fleet off Cuba. On the morning of 12 May
the gunboat Winslow was disabled by heavy fire from
Spanish shore batteries and five of her crew were killed.
Hudson, under heavy fire from shore, towed the other ship
to safety and took on board the dead and wounded of her
crew. Finally delivering her dispatches to Havana 14
May, Hudson remained there on blockade duty for a while
before returning to Key West. Another period of patrol
ended 10 July as she returned to the blockading fleet with
further dispatches. Hudson captured two small fishing
sloops attempting to run the blockade off Havana. Reach-
ing Norfolk via Key West and Charleston 21 August 1898,
Hudson was subsequently returned to the Treasury
Department.
Ill
(DD^75 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37 k. ;
cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm.; cl. Fletcher)
Hudson (DD^175) was launched 3 June 1942 by the
Boston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. Henry H. Hough,
wife of Adm. Henry H. Hough (Ret.) ; and commissioned
13 April 1943, Comdr. Richard R. Pratt in command.
After shakedown and escort duty along the Atlantic
coast, Hudson sailed for Efate, New Hebrides, where she
was just in time to provide fire support for the initial land-
ings on Bougainville 1 November. As the Japanese staged
a heavy air attack 8 Noyember, Hudson helped repel them
by splashing two “bogies” and assisting on a third. She
then made antishipping sweeps in the Truk area and par-
ticipated in operations against the Green Islands 1 Febru-
ary 1944. En route to the invasion Hudson attacked and
sank a Japanese submarine 31 January.
Following a brief respite in Australia, Hudson steamed
to Kwajalein to join the armada readying for the invasion
of the Marianas. After delivering shore bombardment to
clear the way for landings on Saipan, Guam, and Tinian,
the tough little destroyer took part in the Battle of the
Philippine Sea 19 June. Here she contributed two kills to
the massive destruction of Japanese planes later known
as “The Marianas Turkey Shoot”. In mid-July, as the
invasion of Guam was launched, Hudson steamed off the
island to screen transports and chalk up another “bogie”
as well as rescuing three Navy pilots and a Japanese flier.
From the Marianas, Hudson steamed to Palau to support
landings on Peleliu and Angaur 12-25 September. De-
parting Manus, Admiralty Islands, 4 October, she reached
San Francisco 2 weeks later for overhaul.
Frigate USS Hudson circa 1826 from an engraving by W. J. Bennett
385
After refresher training at Pearl Harbor, Hudson re-
turned to battle, arriving off Iwo Jima 19 February 1945.
Here she provided vital radar picket protection during the
initial invasion of that enemy bastion. While retiring
from Iwo Jima after the island was secured, Hudson
rescued eight survivors of a B-29 Superfortress which had
crashed at sea 8 March. Her next action came as she
assumed duties as a radar picket ship off Okinawa 1 April,
when American troops stormed the last enemy stronghold
before the home islands. On 5 April the valiant Hudson
gained credit for sinking her second Japanese submarine
of the war as a 6-hour attack with six barrages of depth
charges resulted in the death of RO-J/9 off Okinawa.
Although under almost constant attack by kamikazes,
Hudson was to come through the war with only one injury
to a crewman ; that was inflicted when a kamakaze crashed
close aboard 22 April 1945, clipping a chief on the head
with a wingtip but missing the ship.
It was off Okinawa that Hudson earned the title of the
“destroyer who saved a carrier.” On 4 May a kamikaze
crashed in the escort carrier Sangamon. Hudson steered
for the fiercely blazing carrier. Despite the exploding
ammunition on board the drifting carrier, the superbly
managed destroyer was able to go alongside three times,
getting a total of 16 hoses over the side. The overhanging
flight deck of the carrier caused extensive damage to
Hudson’s superstructure as burning debris — and a flaming
plane jettisoned by Sangamon’s crew which crashed into
Hudson’s depth charges on the fantail — caused scattered
damage. When the fires were finally under control,
Hudson had suffered damage equal to that of the original
victim, although the carrier had been saved with small
loss of life through the destroyer’s efforts, and was routed
to Guam for repairs 10 May.
Promptly repaired, Hudson joined the 3d Fleet off
Okinawa 22 June and then proceeded to Eniwetok for con-
voy duty in the Marshalls. After escorting a convoy to
the Aleutians, she returned to Northern Japan to take
part in the occupation and control of the enemy home is-
lands 8 September, 6 days after the signing of uncondition-
al surrender in Tokyo Bay. From Japan, Hudson sailed to
Alaska where she began carrying veterans back to the
States in Operation “Magic-Carpet.” She then put in at
the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., to pre-
pare to decommission. Sailing to San Diego 15 March
1946, Hudson decommissioned and went into reserve there
31 May. In January 1947 Hudson was moved to Mare
Island, Calif, where she remains.
Hudson received nine battle stars for World War II
service.
Hudson, see Gould Island (YFB-31)
Hugh L. Scott
See General H. L. Scott for biography.
(AP^3: dp. 12,579; 1. 532'; b. 72'; dr. 30'6" ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 119)
Hugh L. Scott (AP-43) was built as Hawkeye State for
USSB by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Sparrows Point,
Md., in 1921. Renamed President Pierce, she sailed for
the Dollar Steamship Co., and later for the American
President Lines as a passenger liner. Taken over by the
Army 31 July 1941, she was renamed Hugh L. Scott and
made four voyages to the Far East before sailing to the
East Coast in July 1942. The ship was taken over by
the Navy 14 August 1942, and converted to an attack
transport at Tietjen and Lang (later Todd Shipbuilding
& Drydock Co.), Hoboken, N.J. She commissioned 7
September 1942, Captain Harold J. Wright commanding.
The transport was slated for participation in the North
Africa landings, the giant amphibious assault mounted
across the entire width of the Atlantic. Hugh L. Scott
joined Transport Division 3 for this, our first offensive
move in the European-Afriean theater, and sailed 24
October after intensive amphibious training. She- ap-
proached the beaches at Fedhala, French Morocco, early
on the morning of 8 November and after bombardment
by surface ships, landed her troops. Hugh L. Scott then
cleared the immediate invasion area, and did not return
until 11 November, when she entered the refueling area
and then anchored in the exposed Fedhala roadstead to
unload her supplies.
During the evening of 11 November, German submarine
17-173 slipped inside the protective screen to torpedo
transport Joseph Hewes, tanker Winooski, and destroyer
Hamhcrton. Hugh L. Scott and the other transports went
to battle stations the entire night, and resumed unloading
the next day. That afternoon, 12 November, another
submarine, U-130, stalked the transports and torpedoed
Hugh L. Scott, Edward Rutledge, and Tasker H. Bliss.
Hugh L. Scott, hit on the starboard side, burst into flames
and foundered, but owing to the availability of landing
craft for rescue, casualties were held to a minimum —
8 officers and 51 men. (7-173 was later sunk by destroyers,
but U-130 escaped.
Hugh Purvis
Hugh Purvis was born in Philadelphia in 1843 and
enlisted in the Marine Corps 27 October 1869. He re-
ported immediately to the marine detachment on board
Alaska soon departing for the Far East. During the
punitive expedition to Korea in 1871, he took part in the
assault on an enemy fort on the Han River. In desperate
hand-to-hand fighting, the sailors and marines stormed
the walls of the citadel. Private Purvis ran immediately
to the flagstaff which bore the enemy’s colors and loosed
the halyards. He was joined by Cpl. Charles Brown, and
the two tore down the flag. For his inspiring and
heroic act Private Purvis was awarded the Medal of
Honor. He was discharged in 1873 and served two later
tours with the Marine Corps, 1874 to 1879 and 1879 to 1884,
rising to Corporal.
( DD-709 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6'' ; b. 40' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 6 dep., 10 21"
bt. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
Hugh Purvis (DD-709) was launched by Federal Ship-
building & Dry Dock Oo., Kearny, N.J., 17 December 1944;
sponsored by Mrs. Mary Alice Purvis, widow of Corporal
Purvis ; and commissioned 1 March 1945, Comdr. B. L.
Gurnette in command.
Following shakedown training in the Caribbean, Hugh
Purvis transited the Panama Canal to take part in train-
ing exercises in Hawaiian waters after the close of World
War II, returning to Casco Bay, Maine, 16 April 1946.
After a long overhaul at New York she trained in the
Caribbean and arrived her new homeport, Newport, 14
December 1946. Hugh Purvis sailed for her first Euro-
pean cruise 2 February 1947 and after exercises with
allied ships in the north Atlantic, formed a part of
America’s official party at the burial of King Christian
of Denmark in April. The ship returned to Newport 14
August and took part in antisubmarine exercises off the
New England coast the balance of the year.
Hugh Purvis departed Newport for her first cruise with
the 6th Fleet 13 September 1948. For the next 5 months
she took part in the fleet’s vital work of peace-keeping.
Returning to Newport 10 February 1949, she operated
from that port until sailing 27 June for New Orleans.
Hugh Purvis made reserve training cruises out of the
gulf port until returning to Newport and regular fleet
duties 10 December 1950.
As the demands on the Navy increased during the
Korean conflict, Hugh Purvis continued intensive readi-
ness training. She made another Mediterranean cruise
March to October 1951, and took part in another giant
NATO cruise in August 1952. Another 6th Fleet cruise
was completed in July 1953 after which the veteran ship
embarked midshipmen for a Caribbean training cruise.
She participated in Operation Springboard in the Carib-
bean before returning to Newport 23 November 1953.
386
Hugh Purvis spent 1954 on training operations on this
side of the Atlantic, but sailed 5 January 1955 for another
important deployment with the 6th Fleet. She returned
26 May to join a hunter-killer group in antisubmarine exer-
cises until July 1956. On 2 July she sailed again for
duty in the troubled Mediterranean, joining other 6th
Fleet units in that ancient center of civilization. During
this period, American power afloat did much to dampen
the Suez crises and to discourage foreign interference in
this vital area. While in the Persian Gulf in October
1956, Hugh Purvis acted as an escort vessel during evacu-
ation of refugees from Haifa, Israel, and the removal of
United Nations Truce Team officials from Gaza, Egypt.
During the summer of 1957, the destroyer took part in
another midshipman training cruise to Chile and the
Canal Zone, and operated with NATO units in thp north
Atlantic. In early 1958 she trained in the Caribbean,
sailing 12 June for visits to NATO countries in northern
Europe. It was during this crucial period that the 6th
Fleet was proving its peace-keeping power in the Lebanon
crisis, and was successful in preventing a leftist revolt.
After her return from Europe in August 1958 she began
16 months of training and experimental work with the
Destroyer Development Group designed to increase her
fighting capacity for the modern Navy. In March 1960
she entered Boston Naval Shipyard to begin a FRAM
(Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization) overhaul,
which included extensive refitting and the installation
of a helicopter landing deck and hangar aft. Emerging
with a greatly increased life span, the ship took part in
antisubmarine exercises in January 1961, including the
use of the new DASH antisubmarine drone helicopter.
Hugh Purvis then sailed 8 March for her sixth deploy-
ment to the Mediterranean. During this cruise the fleet
stood by for any eventuality during a deepening of the Ber-
lin crisis, materially strengthening America’s hand in this
confrontation of power. The ship returned to Newport
4 October 1961.
In January 1962, as the dawning space age increased
America’s need for control of the sea, Hugh Purvis oper-
ated in the Atlantic recovery area, aiding in the historic
recovery of Col. John Glenn’s Mercury space capsule.
Sonar exercises occupied her until late October, when the
introduction of offensive missiles into Cuba precipitated
another cold war crisis. Hugh Purvis joined the quaran-
tine line off Cuba, helping to force the withdrawal of the
missiles — another dramatic example of the power of the
fleet when firmly used in checking communism and keep-
ing the peace. She returned to Newport 20 December
1962 and throughout the next year took part in antisub-
marine exercises with ASW carriers and helicopters in
the Atlantic.
The year 1964 found her preparing for her annual oper-
ational readiness inspection and in February of that year
she entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for a regular
overhaul. After overhaul and a new radar radome
mounted on a 30-foot mast she began evaluation of a new
ASW sensor. On 18 January 1965 she sailed from Newport
to become an important part of Operation “Springboard”.
At the completion of competitive year 1965, Hugh Purvis
was awarded two Cruiser Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet,
departmental excellence awards in operations and weap-
onry. During the latter tart of 1965 Hugh Purvis was
adapted for a new conformed planar array sonar at the
Boston Naval Shipyard. This new equipment will in-
crease the “vision” of the Fleet thereby providing a better
tool to safeguard the peace and freedom of the world and
the future of the American way of life.
Ready for action 21 January 1966 Hugh Purvis operated
along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean through
most of the year. On 6 March she rescued fishing boat
Good Will II and her crew of five. The destroyer sailed
for the Mediterranean 29 November, and transited the
Straits of Gibraltar 7 December to join the 6th Fleet.
She operated in the eastern Mediterranean into 1967, pro-
tecting the peace and security of the free world.
Hugh W. Hadley
Hugh William Hadley was born 17 February 1901 at
Moro, Oreg., and was appointed to the Naval Academy in
1918. Commissioned Ensign 29 May 1922, he served on
board many ships, including Pennsylvania and S-27, and
various shore stations in the prewar years. After serv-
ing as Executive Officer of Roper 1936-1939 and on board
Maryland 1941-1942, he was appointed Commander and
assigned to command Transport Division 12 in the Pacific.
Hadley’s attack transports made nightly runs into Guadal-
canal to support American troops there, and while on
board Little 5 September 1942 Hadley was surprised by
three Japanese destroyers off Lunga Point. His out-
gunned shij) fought valiantly, but was sunk along with
attack transport Gregory. Commander Hadley was killed
in the action and was posthumously awarded the Silver
Star for his outstanding performance in the bitter Solo-
mons campaign.
(DD-774 : dp. 2,220; 1. 376'6" ; b. 41'2" ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34
k. ; cpl. 336 ; a. 6 5” ; 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Allen
M. Sumner)
Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) was launched by Bethlehem
Steel Shipbuilding Co., San Pedro, Calif., 16 July 1944 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Hugh W. Hadley, widow of the name-
sake ; and commissioned 25 November 1944, Comdr. L. C.
Chamberlin in command.
After intensive shakedown training off the coast of
California, Hugh W. Hadley sailed 21 February 1945 in
company with HMS Ranee for Pearl Harbor. The ships
arrived 27 February, but Hugh W. Hadley was soon under-
way again, sailing 8 days later for Ulithi and the great
Okinawa invasion. The ship departed in company with
a large group of LST’s and their escorts 25 March bound
for the Japanese island stronghold, and arrived off the
Okinawa group 31 March. As the night approach was
made, Hugh W. Hadley led a group of LST’s toward the
beach, shooting down an attacking Japanese plane en route.
The destroyer escorted her charges safely to the beach,
watched them unload their troops and equipment the
morning of 1 April, and then took up antisubmarine patrol
station outside the transport area. As the bitter fighting
ashore continued, Hugh W. Hadley helped protect against
submarines and aircraft as the Japanese made a final
effort to stop the invasion. The ship remained on patrol
until 4 April, when she sailed with a group of transports
to Saipan, arriving 14 April.
Hugh W. Hadley was soon on her way back to Okinawa,
however, and arrived from Saipan 27 April to resume her
outer patrol. For the next few days the destroyer fought
off numerous air raids, picked up a downed fighter pilot,
and carried out antisubmarine patrol. She went along-
side destroyer Brown 7 May for transfer of communica-
tion equipment, and then took up additional duties as a
fighter direction ship for the Combat Air Patrols, so vital
to the invasion’s air cover.
As radar picket ships were scarce, Hugh W. Hadley was
assigned this duty on the afternoon of 10 May. Joining
destroyer Evans (DD-552) and four smaller craft, she
took station 15 west of Okinawa and early the next morn-
ing began vectoring aircraft to meet the oncoming Japa-
nese. For nearly 2 hours the morning of 11 May, Hugh W.
Hadley and Evans came under severe attack, as the Jap-
anese mounted their sixth attack against American forces
at Okinawa. Both ships maneuvered at high speed, down-
ing many suicide planes and directing air attacks on for-
mations of Japanese. The attackers numbered some 150
planes. After Evans took several serious hits and went
dead in the water about 0900, Hugh W. Hadley fought on
alone. At 0920, she was attacked by 10 planes simultane-
ously, from both ahead and astern. The ship destroyed
all 10, but not without damage to herself. One bomb
hit aft, a baka bomb hit, and two kamikaze crashes were
inflicted on the gallant ship as her gunners ran low on
ammunition. Finally, as the attack ended, all but 50 of
the crew were ordered over the side in life rafts, the re-
maining men fighting fires and working to control the
387
U. ft. ft. HUGH W. HAOLKY < DO-T74 )
oo njr wt of»ic»
• AM FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA
The U.S.S. HUGH W. HADLEY (DD774) was assigned duty as RADAR PICKET SHIP AND FIGHTER
DIRECTOR SHIP on Station ^15 off Okinawa, Nansei Shoto, 10 May 1945. Ships in company were the
U.S.S. EVANS (DD552), LCS (L) 84, LCS 82, LCS 83 and LSM (R) 193 as support ships. The Evans turned
over the duties of Tactical Command to the Hodley .
The MISSION of this group of ships was to detect and report approaching enemy aircraft, to control
the assigned Combat Air Patrol, and to prevent enemy planes from reaching the transport area at Okinawa.
On the night of 10 May, an enemy plane attacked our formation at 1935 and was taken under fire
by both ships. The Evans reported seeing it destroyed. Throughout the night the ship was at General
Quarters due to the threatening movements and a few attacks by enemy planes which were In the immediate
vicinity of the formation.
At about 0755, numerous enemy planes were contacted by our instruments as coming towards the
ship (and Okinawa) from the north, distance about 55 miles. One division of CAP was ordered out to
intercept. Shortly thereafter, several enemy formations were detected, and the entire CAP was ordered out
to intercept. Our Fighter Director Officer in CIC has estimated that the total number of enemy planes was
156 coming in at different heights in groups as follows: Raid ONE 36, Raid TWO 50, Raid THREE 20, Raid
FOUR 20 to 30, Raid FIVE 20; Total 156 planes.
From 0830 to 0900 the Hadley was attacked by groups of planes coming in on both bows. Twelve
enemy planes were shot down by the Hodley's guns during this period, at times firing all guns In various
directions. The Evans which, at this time, was at a distance of about three miles to the northwest, was
seen fighting off a number of planes by herself, several of which were seen to be destroyed. At 0900 the
Evans was hit and put out of action. At one time toward the close of the battle when friendly planes were
closing to assist us, the four support ships were prevented from shooting down two friendlies whom they hod
taken under fire. One plane was seen to splash Inside their formation due to their own gunfire. However,
I am not able to give an accurate account of their action. They were very helpful In picking up my crew
who were In the water. In coming alongside and removing wounded and In helping us to pump.
For 20 minutes, the Hodley fought off the enemy singlehanded being separated from the Evans,
which was out of action, by three miles and the four small support ships by two miles. Finally, at 0920,
ten enemy planes which had surrounded the Hadley, four on the starboard bow under fire by the main
battery and machine guns, four on the port bow under fire by the forward machine guns, and two astern
under fire by the after machine guns, attacked the ship simultaneously. All ten planes were destroyed
in a remarkable fight and each plane was definitely accounted for. As a result of this attack, the Hadley
was (1) Hit by a bomb oft (2) By a B^KA bomb seen to be released from a low flying BETTY (3) Was
struck by a suicide plane aft (4) Hit by suicide plane In rigging.
From this point on, a truely amazing, courageous and efficient group of men and officers with utter
disregard for their own personal safety approached the explosions and the fire with hoses and for fifteen
minutes kept up this work. The torpedoes were Jettisioned, weights removed from the starboard side, and
finally, the fire was extinguished and the list and flooding controlled and the ship was saved. Although
the ship -vos still in an extremely dangerous condition, one fireroom bulkhead held and she was finally
towed sately to the IE SHIMA anchorage .
The total number of enemy planes destroyed by the Hodley In this period of one hour and thirty-five
minutes of continual firing was twenty-three. This number includes twenty shot down to the water and
three suicide hits.
Our mission was accomplished. The transports at the Okinawa anchoroge were saved from an attack
by one hundred and fifty-six enemy planes by the action of our ships. We bore the brunt of the enemy
strength and absorbed what they hod to throw at us. It was a proud day for destroyer men .
PERSONNEL PERFORMANCE AND CASUALTIES: 1 . Killed In action twenty-eight; wounded in
action sixty-seven; missing in action none.
No Captain of a man of war ever hod a crew who fought more valiantly ogainst such overwhelming
odds. Who can measure the degree of courage of men who stand up to their guns In the face of diving planes
that destroy them? Who can measure the loyalty of a crew who risked death to save the ship from sinking
when all seemed lost? I desire to record that the history of our Navy was enhanced on 1 1 Mary 1945. I am
proud to record that I know of no record of a Destroyer's crew fighting for one hour and thirty-five minutes
ogainst overwhelming enemy aircraft attacks and destroying twenty-three planes. My crew accomplished
their mission and displayed outstanding fighting abilities. I am recommending awards for the few men who
displayed outstanding bravery above the deeds of their shipmates in separate correspondence . Destroyer
men are good men and my officers and crew were good destroyer men .
Report by Commanding Officer of USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) dated 15 May 1945
388
Fighting side-by-side off Okinawa 11 May 1945, USS Hugh TF. Hadley (DD-774) and USS Evans (DD-552) splashed
38 planes.
damage. Though her engineering spaces were flooded and
she was badly holed, Hugh IF. Hadley was kept afloat by
the determination and skill of her damage control parties
and eventually arrived Ie Shima.
During this remarkable battle. Hugh TF. Hadley had
succeeded in downing some 23 enemy aircraft and aided
in splashing countless others. After temporary repairs,
the ship was taken to Kerama Retto 14 May, where men
from repair ship Zaniah worked on her battered hull.
Hugh TF. Hadley subsequently was taken to Buckner Bay,
Okinawa, in a floating drydock towed by Avoycl (ATF-
150), 15 July 1945, and after 20 days there began the long
voyage under tow to the United States. After encounter-
ing heavy weather during the passage the ship arrived
Hunter’s Point, Calif., via Pearl Harbor, 26 September
1945. Decommissioned 15 December 1945, she was sold
2 September 1947 to Walter W. Johnson Co., San Fran-
cisco, and scrapped.
In addition to one battle star for her World War II
Service, Hugh TF. Hadley received the Presidential Unit
Citation for her performance in the action off Okinawa
11 May 1945.
Hugh Young, see Zaurak (AK-117)
Hughes
Edward Merritt Hughes, born 28 January 1850 in Ohio,
was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1866. After serv-
ice in a number of ships and stations ashore, he reached
the high point in his career during the Spanish-American
War. He was Executive Officer of Petrel during the
Battle of Manila Bay. Immediately after the action, he
commanded a small boat which boarded and set fire to
five Spanish ships lying in Cavite Harbor, despite reports
that fuses had been set to their magazines and in the face
of a large and excited armed force on shore nearby. He
was advanced five numbers in rank for eminent and con-
spicuous conduct on this occasion. Commander Hughes
died at Yokohama, Japan, 28 September 1903.
(DD— 410 : 1. 348'2” ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'4" ; s. 35 k. ; cpl. 450 ;
a. 4 5", 8 21” tt. ; cl. Sims)
Hughes (DD^IO) was laid down 15 September 1937 by
Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; launched 17 June 1939 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Edward M. Hughes, widow of Com-
mander Hughes ; and commissioned at Boston Navy Yard,
21 September 1939, Lt. Comdr. Donald J. Ramsay in
command.
Following shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Hughes
joined the Atlantic Fleet. From July 1940 through De-
cember 1941, Hughes served in the Atlantic, first on patrol
off Martinique to watch Vichy-controlled French Forces
there and then on Neutrality patrol off Iceland. During
this time, she became the first American destroyer to
escort a British convoy all the way to England.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, warships were
urgently needed in the Pacific and Hughes sailed from
Norfolk 18 December 1941, arriving San Diego in company
with Yorktoum (CV-5), 30 December. She departed San
Diego 12 January 1942 as an escort for ships bringing rein-
forcements to Samoa. Hughes then sailed from Samoa
as part of a carrier striking force built around carrier
Yorktown. She screened the carrier in strikes on Jaluit,
Makin, Mili, and Canton Islands ; then supported the com-
bined Lexington-Y orktown Task Force 17, as it attacked
Japanese bases at Lae and Salamaua, 10 March 1942.
Missing the Battle of the Coral Sea while escorting a
tanker carrying fuel to Noumea, Hughes reached Pearl
Harbor in time to participate in the Battle of Midway.
Hughes, while protecting carrier Yorktown during this
action, shot down two torpedo planes and assisted in
shooting down two others. After Yorktown was hit 4
June, Hughes continued an all-night vigil to prevent her
capture. When the carrier was torpedoed by a submarine
6 June, Hughes helped damage the attacker with depth
charges, and rescued the survivors when Yorktoum sank
the next day.
After a brief time as convoy escort, she joined American
Forces at Guadalcanal, where she screened the carrier
Hornet (CV-8) throughout the campaign. During the
Battle of Santa Cruz, Hughes splashed one Japanese plane
and assisted in downing two more. Despite her valiant
efforts, Hornet was hit and sunk 27 October 1942. Join-
ing Task Force 16, 10 November 1942, Hughes participated
in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal by screening Enter-
prise (CV-6). Hughes continued screening operations
until the end of February 1943.
Following a refit and brief convoy duty, Hughes was
detached from the South Pacific and sailed to Pearl Har-
bor, departing 18 April for the Aleutian Islands and ar-
rived on the 24th. Bombardments of Kiska on 6 and 22
July were high points of her months in northern waters.
After Kiska was occupied, Hughes departed the Aleutians
for overhaul 25 August in San Francisco.
Following overhaul, Hughes sailed for Pearl Harbor 26
October to prepare for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.
She sailed 10 November as part of the screen for the es-
cort carriers covering the invasion of Makin Atoll. When
Liscombe Bay (CVE-56) was sunk 24 November, Hughes
rescued 152 of the survivors. She began screening the
transport group 27 November, and 2 days later departed
for Pearl Harbor, and arrived there, 7 December 1943.
On 13 January 1944, Hughes joined Task Force 53 for
the invasion of the Marshall Islands. She joined in the
preinvasion, 3 to 11 February 1944. The destroyer con-
tinued to support the escort carriers during the strikes
against Palaus 31 March.
389
Hughes took part in the invasion of Hollandia, New
Guinea, 23 April, acting as a screen for the CVE group
which provided air cover for the landings at Aitape and
Tanahmerah Bay. Then Hughes remained off New
Guinea as a convoy escort and fire-support ship of the
7th Fleet, until 25 September when she departed for the
invasion of the Philippines. During this time, Hughes
participated in the invasions of Biak, Noemfoor, Cape
Sensapor, and Morotai, serving as flagship of Rear Adm.
William M. Feehteler during the latter campaign.
During the invasion of Leyte, Hughes was the flagship
of Rear Adm. Arthur D. Struble commanding the tiny
task group detailed to capture the small islands of Dinigat
and Homohon guarding the entrance to Leyte Gulf. Fol-
lowing the successful conclusion of this operation, Hughes
screened Philippine bound convoys, making frequent trips
to and from New Guinea until 6 December 1944 when
she reembarked Admiral Struble and departed for the
invasion of Ormoc Bay, Leyte. Following this operation,
Hughes was serving as a picket destroyer off the south-
ern tip of Leyte when she was hit by a kamikaze 10
December 1944. Badly damaged with one engine room
demolished and much of her other machinery destroyed,
Hughes was towed to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, where, after
temporary repairs, she departed for Humboldt Bay, New
Guinea, 19 December en route to Pearl Harbor, where
she arrived 23 January 1945. Following more repairs,
she sailed for San Francisco, arriving Hunter’s Point
Naval Drydocks 2 February. Hughes remained there for
the next 3 months undergoing extensive overhaul.
After a long testing period, Hughes was declared com-
bat ready and departed for Adak in the Aleutians 4 June
1945. Assigned to the Northern Pacific Force, she re-
mained in the Aleutians until the end of the war, harassing
enemy shipping and bombarding Japanese bases. Hughes
then served as part of the patrol force off Northern
Honshu until relieved 20 October. She sailed for the
United States 10 days later with Destroyer Squadron 2.
She was decommissioned 28 August 1946, and struck
from the Navy List 26 November 1948.
Hughes earned 14 battle stars for World War II service.
Hughes, Admiral C. F., see Admiral C. F. Hughes
( AP-124)
Hughes, Charles F., see Charles F. Hughes (DD-428)
Hulbert
Henry Lewis Hulbert, born in Kingston-upon-Hull,
England, 12 January 1867, enlisted in the Marine Corps
28 March 1898. During the Philippine Insurrection, he
received the Medal of Honor for an action on Samar 1
April 1899 when he refused to desert disabled comrades
in the face of heavy fire. Soon after America entered
World War I, Hulbert was appointed a marine gunner
with the Fifth Regiment. During the Battle of Chateau
Thierry 6 June 1918, despite serious wounds, he directed
his platoon in a successful attack and received the Dis-
tinguished Service Cross for his heroism. Appointed First
Lieutenant for his extraordinary service, Hulbert was
killed near Mont Blanc 5 October 1918, and was post-
humously awarded the Navy Cross.
(DD-342 ; dp. 1,190 ; 1. 314'5" : b. 30'8" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 36 k. ;
cpl. 126; a. 4 4", 2 3", 12 21” tt. ; cl. Clemson)
Hulbert (DD-342) was launched by Norfolk Navy Yard,
Portsmouth, Va., 28 June 1918; sponsored by Mrs. V. C.
Hulbert, widow of Lieutenant Hulbert ; and commissioned
27 October 1920, Lt. S. A. Maher in command.
Following shakedown training out of Norfolk, Hulbert
took part in destroyer maneuvers in the Atlantic until
June 1921, when she assisted in the famous ordnance tests
on obsolete American and captured German ships. For
the next year, the ship operated out of Newport with other
destroyers.
Hulbert sailed 20 June 1922 for duty on the Asiatic Sta-
tion, steaming via the Mediterranean and Ceylon to
Ohefoo, China, 26 August. The ship patrolled Chinese
and Philippine waters in the year that followed, protecting
American interests during the raging Chinese Civil War.
She also took part in periodic fleet exercises designed to
keep her crew and equipment at maximum war readiness.
Hulbert took part in the evacuation of American civilians
and missionaries in March 1927 and September 1928. Com-
pleting this lengthy tour of duty in the Far East, she sailed
22 July 1929 from Yokohama, arriving San Diego 17
August.
During the remainder of the year, Hulbert acted as
plane guard for carriers Langley and Saratoga off Cali-
fornia, thus helping to develop carrier-group tactics. She
took part in important fleet exercises on both coasts, dur-
ing the period from 1930 to 1934 and arrived Philadelphia
14 August 1934. She decommissioned there 17 October
1934 and was placed in reserve.
Hulbert was converted to a seaplane tender 1939-1940,
recommissioning at New York Navy Yard as AVP-6 on 2
August 1940. She arrived San Diego 24 August via Guan-
tanamo Bay and the Canal Zone, and began servicing
Patrol Wing 1 on operations off the West Coast, helping
to perfect America’s seaplane reconnaissance capability.
Hulbert sailed 8 May 1941 for Pearl Harbor, where she
became headquarters ship for the seaplane wing and con-
tinued servicing and repairing her planes.
On the fateful morning of 7 December 1941, Hulbert
was moored at the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor. Gen-
eral Quarters sounded just before 0800, and the ship’s
antiaircraft batteries instantly opened fire at attacking
planes. As the Japanese directed their attention to Ford
Island and the battleships, she shot down one torpedo plane
and damaged several others. After the attack the ship
assisted in the massive rescue effort. After loading am-
munition, she moved to Hilo 9 December to set up an
advance base for the all-important patrol bombers. Hul-
bert was also called upon to aid aircraft at sea, as on
Christmas Day she repaired a seaplane at sea and then
towed it for nearly 3 days when heavy seas prevented a
safe takeoff. The ship also made supply runs to Palmyra
before moving north to Kodiak 6 June 1942.
The Japanese had occupied Kiska and Attu as part of
the abortive Midway Offensive, and Hulbert was assigned
to tend the seaplanes of VP--43 during reconnaissance
flights and bombing raids on those islands. The versatile
ship also steamed to Seguam Island 30 August 1942, land-
ing a party of marines to search for a Japanese radio sta-
tion. Next day, she arrived Atka to aid torpedoed tender
Casco , alternating between salvage efforts and seaplane
tending during September. Hulbert sailed 4 October for
supplies and repairs at San Francisco.
She was again underway from Seattle 8 December 1942
for Kodiak where the veteran ship serviced patrol bombers
during the first months of 1943. In May Hulbert moved
to Amchitka, acting as communications ship during the re-
capture of Attu that spring. She moved again to Attu in
June, to provide fuel and communications' services for sea-
planes and torpedo boats but was blown ashore in Massa-
cre Bay during a severe storm 30 June 1943. Hulbert’ s
hull was seriously damaged and, after temporary repairs
at Dutch Harbor, she arrived Seattle 30 August for a
major overhaul.
The ship was reclassified DD-342 on 1 December 1943,
and sailed 15 January 1944 to San Diego to take up new
duties as an escort ship. For the remainder of the war
Hulbert acted as plane guard and screen ship for dozens
of new escort carriers as they made ready to join Amer-
ica’s powerful striking fleet in the Far East. The ship
also served as a maneuvering torpedo target during pilot
training and rescued a dozen pilots during this period.
After the war’s end, Hulbert sailed 30 September, escort-
ing carrier Ranger to the Canal Zone and arrived Phila-
delphia 17 October 1945. She decommissioned 2 Novem-
390
ber 1945 and was sold for scrap in October 1946 to Ship
Shape, Inc., Philadelphia.
Hulbert received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hull
Isaac Hull was born in Derby, Conn., 9 March 1773 and
was appointed Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy 9 March 1798.
During the Quasi-War with France he served as Execu-
tive Officer of frigate Constitution under Silas Talbot,
and distinguished himself by leading a successful expedi-
tion to capture the fort at Porto Plata, Santo Domingo.
The intrepid Hull spiked the fort’s guns, cut out a prize,
and escaped from the harbor with it. In the war with
Tripoli 1802-05 he added to his reputation while in com-
mand of brig Argus. In the War of 1812 Hull was given
command of Constitution. In July 1812, while off the
coast of New Jersey, he encountered a squadron of four
British frigates and one ship of the line under Admiral
Blake. As the wind was light or non-existent, Hull alter-
nately towed Constitution with boats and hauled her
ahead on her anchor. After three days of this skillful
and strenuous work, she escaped. Later, on August 19th,
Hull engaged HMS Guerriere in one of the classic battles
of naval history, compelling the British ship to strike her
colors and earning for his vessel the name “Old Ironsides”.
Promoted to Commodore, Hull commanded the Boston
and Washington Navy Yards, the Pacific Squadron, and
finally the Mediterranean Squadron in his later career.
Commodore Hull died 13 February 1843 at Philadelphia.
I
(DD-7 : dp. 408 n. ; 1. 248'8" ; b. 24'6" ; dr. 6'; s. 29 k. ;
cpl. 73; a. 2 3", 5 6-pdr., 2 18" tt. ; cl. Bainbridge)
The first Hull (DD-7) was launched by Harlan & Hol-
lingsworth of Wilmington, Del., 21 June 1902; sponsored
by Miss Mabel Hull, a descendant of Commodore Hull;
and commissioned 20 May 1903, Lt. S. S. Robinson in
command.
During her first 2 years of service, Hull engaged in
patrol and training maneuvers off Newport and in Chesa-
peake Bay. After a cruise to the Caribbean January-
April 1905 she returned to League Island, Pa., where she
decommissioned 30 September 1905.
Hull recommissioned 14 November 1906 at Philadelphia,
and took part in winter exercises with fleet units in Cuban
waters. After operations off Newport the ship returned
to Norfolk in October 1907 to prepare for the voyage of
the Great White Fleet. Hull sailed as an escort vessel
2 December and after stopping at many South American
and Central American ports on the voyage around South
America with the great battleships, arrived San Diego
28 April 1907. Hull was detached on the west coast, and
the Great White Fleet continued on its cruise, showing
the flag around the world. The destroyer remained in
the vicinity of San Francisco until departing 24 August
1908 for a cruise to the South Pacific. She took part in
various exercises in Hawaiian and Samoan waters before
returning to San Diego in November.
Hull spent the years before World War I on patrol and
training exercises off the California coast. She decom-
missioned 30 October 1912 and joined the Reserve Tor-
pedo Division at Mare Island, with which she made occa-
sional training cruises to California ports. When Amer-
ica entered the war in April 1917 Hull was being refitted
at Mare Island. She sailed with other destroyers for the
Canal Zone 25 April 1917 and for the next 3 months was
engaged in defensive patrol off the western approaches to
that vital waterway. She sailed to Norfolk 26 July for
escort and patrol duty along the East Coast. In the
months that followed Hull escorted ships to Bermuda
and engaged in training maneuvers with other ships of
the fleet as well. In June 1918 she broke up an attack
by German submarine TJ-151 on a merchant ship, and
often rescued sailors from sinking ships. She continued
this vital ocean patrol duty until the end of the war.
Hull arrived Philadelphia 29 January 1919, and decom-
missioned 7 July 1919. She was sold 5 January 1921 to
Joseph G. Hitner of Philadelphia.
II
(DD-330 : dp. 1,190 ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31 '8" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 95; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt ; cl. Clemson)
The second Hull (DD-330) was launched by Bethlehem
Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, 18 February 1921 ; spon-
sored by Miss Elizabeth Hull ; and commissioned 26 April
1921, Lt. T. J. Doyle in command.
Following shakedown along the California coast, Hull
engaged in operations and tactical exercises out of San
Diego for the remainder of the year. During 1922 she
took part in charting and sounding operations along the
coast of southern California. Upon completion of winter
maneuvers off Panama and training exercises out of San
Diego, Hull sailed 28 June 1923 to act as escort vessel on
President Harding’s trip to Alaska. It was on this voy-
age that the President was taken ill, and he died in San
Francisco 2 August. The destroyer returned to San
Diego 8 September and resumed operations and exercises
in that area.
Hull sailed 2 January 1924 for operations in the Carib-
bean, which included a visit to Vera Cruz, Mexico, to
protect American lives and property during the recurring
Mexican revolution. In April the ship steamed to Seattle
and operated between that city and Seward, Alaska,
taking soundings for the new Alaskan cable. Upon her
return in early May Hull resumed ojierations along the
coast.
The destroyer continued to operate out of San Diego
with occasional voyages to Panama until 1927. She then
sailed in company with the Battle Fleet 17 November for
tactical maneuvers in the Caribbean. Hull visited New
York before returning to San Diego 26 June to resume
her training operations. The ship arrived Mare Island
11 June 1929 for overhaul, and returned to San Diego in
October, where she decommissioned 31 March 1930. Hull
was sold for scrap 10 June 1931 in accordance with the
London Treaty of 1930.
III
( DD-350 : dp. 1,395; 1. 341'4" ; b. 34'3" ; dr. 8'10" ; s. 37
k.; cpl. 160; a. 5 5", 4 .30 cal., 8 21" tt.; cl.
Farragut )
The third Hull (DD-350) was launched by New York
Navy Yard 31 January 1934; sposored by Miss Patricia
Louise Platt; and commissioned 11 January 1935, Com-
mander R. S. Wentworth in command.
Following a shakedown cruise which took her to the
Azores, Portugal, and the British Isles, Hull arrived San
Diego via the Panama Canal 19 October 1935. She began
her operations with the Pacific Fleet off San Diego, en-
gaging in tactical exercises and training. During the
summer of 1936 she cruised to Alaska and in April 1937
took part in fleet exercises in Hawaiian waters. During
this increasingly tense pre-war period, Hull often acted
as plane guard to the Navy’s Pacific carriers during the
perfection of tactics which would be a central factor in
America’s victory in World War II. She continued these
operations until the outbreak of the war, moving to her
new home port, Pearl Harbor, 12 October 1939.
The pattern of fleet problems, plane guard duty, and
patrolling was rudely interrupted 7 December 1941 when
the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Hull was alongside
tender Dobbin undergoing repairs, but quickly put her
anti-aircraft batteries into operation and assisted in
downing several planes. As the main object of the raid
was battleships, the destroyer suffered no hits and de-
parted next day to join carrier Enterprise and escort her
into Pearl Harbor. During the next critical months of
the war, Hull operated with Admiral Wilson Brown’s
Task Force 11, screening Lexington in important strikes
on Japanese bases in the Solomons. She returned to
Pearl Harbor 26 March, and for 3 months sailed on con-
voy duty between San Francisco and Pearl Harbor. Hull
391
256-125 0 - 68 - 27
was soon back in the thick of combat, however, as she
sailed 7 December for Suvu, Fiji Islands, to prepare for
America’s first offensive land thrust, the amphibious
assault on Guadalcanal. She departed 26 July for the
Solomons, and on the day of the landings, 7 August 1942,
screened cruisers during shore bombardment and then
took up station as antisubmarine protection for the trans-
ports. Next day she helped repel strong enemy bombing
attacks, shooting down several of the attackers, and that
evening performed the sad duty of sinking transport
George F. Elliott, burning beyond control. On 9 August
the destroyer sank a small schooner off Guadalcanal,
departing that evening for Espiritu Santo. During the
next difficult weeks on Guadalcanal, Hull made three
voyages with transports and warships in support of the
troops, undergoing air attacks 9 and 14 September.
The ship returned to Pearl Harbor 20 October, and
spent the remainder of the year with battleship Colorado
in the New Hebrides. She sailed 29 January from Pearl
Harbor bound for repairs at San Francisco, arriving
7 February 1943. Upon completion she moved to the bleak
Aleutians, arriving Adak 16 April, and began a series
of training maneuvers with battleships and cruisers in
the northern waters. As the Navy moved in to retake Attu
in May, Hull continued her patrol duties, and during
July and early August she took part in numerous bom-
bardments of Kiska Island. The ship also took part in
the landings on Kiska 15 August, only to find that the
Japanese had evacuated their last foothold in the Aleutian
chain.
Hull returned to the Central Pacific after the Kiska
operation, arriving Pearl Harbor 26 September 1943. She
departed with the fleet 3 days later for strikes on Wake
Island, and operated with escort carriers during diver-
sionary strikes designed to mask the Navy’s real objec-
tive— the Gilberts. Hull bombarded Makin during this
assault 20 November, and with the invasion well under-
way arrived in convoy at Pearl Harbor 7 December 1943.
From there she returned to Oakland 21 December for
amphibious exercises.
Next on the island road to Japan was the Marshall
Islands, and Hull sailed with Task Force 53 from San
Diego 13 January 1944. She arrived 31 January off
Kwajalein, screening transports in the reserve area, and
through February carried out screening and patrol duties
off Eniwetok and Majuro. Joining a battleship and car-
rier group, the ship moved to Mille Atoll 18 March, and
took part in a devastating bombardment. Hull also took
part in the bombardment of Wotje 22 March.
The veteran ship next participated in the devastating
raid on the great Japanese base at Truk 29-30 April,
after which she arrived Majuro 4 May 1944. There she
joined Admiral Lee’s battleships for the next major inva-
sion, the assault on the Marianas. Hull bombarded Saipan
13 June, covered minesweeping operations with gunfire,
and patrolled during the initial landing 15 June. Two
days later Hull and other ships steamed out to join
Admiral Mitscher’s carrier task force as the Japanese
made preparations to close the Marianas for a decisive
naval battle. The great fleets approached each other 19
June for the biggest carrier engagement of the war, and
as four large air raids hit the American dispositions
fighter cover from the carriers of Hull's Task Group 58.2
and surface fire decimated the Japanese planes. With an
able assist from American submarines, Mitscher suc-
ceeded in sinking two Japanese carriers in addition to
inflicting fatal losses on the Japanese naval air arm
during “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” 19 June,
Hull assisting in several of these brilliant antiaircraft
engagements.
During July the destroyer operated with carrier groups
off Guam, and after the assault 21 July patrolled off the
island. In August she returned to Seattle, arriving the
25th, and underwent repairs which kept her in the States
until 23 October, when she anchored at Pearl Harbor.
Hull joined a 3d Fleet refueling group, departing 20 No-
vember 1944 to rendezvous with fast carrier striking
forces in the Philippine Sea. Fueling began 17 December,
but increasingly heavy seas forced cancellation later that
day. The fueling group became engulfed in an approaching
typhoon next day, with barometers falling to very low
levels and winds increasing above 90 knots. At about 1100
18 December Hull became locked “in irons”, in the trough
of the mountainous sea and unable to steer. All hands
worked feverishly to maintain integrity and keep the ship
afloat during the heavy rolls, but finally, in the words of
her commander : “The ship remained over on her side at
an angle of 80 degrees or more as the water flooded into
her upper structures. I remained on the port wing of
the bridge until the water flooded up to me, then I
stepped off into the water as the ship rolled over on her
way down”.
The typhoon swallowed many of the survivors, but val-
iant rescue work by Tahherer and other ships of the fleet
in the days that followed saved the lives of 7 officers and
55 enlisted men.
Hull received 10 battle stars for World War II service.
IV
( DD-945 : dp. 3,990 fl. ; 1. 418' ; b. 45' ; dr. 14'9" ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 324 ; a. 3 5", 4 3'', 4 21'' tt., 1 dct. ; cl. Forrest
Sherman)
The fourth Hull (DD-945) was launched by Bath Iron
Works, Bath, Maine, 10 August 1957 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Albert G. Mumma ; and commissioned 3 July 1958, Com-
mander H. H. Ries in command.
Hull conducted her shakedown training in New Eng-
land waters, steaming out of Newport 7 September 1958 to
join the Pacific Fleet at San Diego. Arriving 13 October
via the Panama Canal, she took part in fleet training exer-
cises until departing for the Far East 15 April 1959.
During this cruise she operated with the mighty 7th
Fleet on Formosa Patrol, helping express America’s de-
termination to protect the island and maintain peace in
the area. She returned to San Diego 3 September 1959
and after training operations sailed again for the Far
East 7 July 1960. On this cruise she added hunter-killer
group training to regular Formosa Patrol. Hull stopped
at various ports in the region before returning to San
Diego 26 November 1960.
The destroyer engaged in readiness exercises during
January-August 1961, departing 31 August for another
deployment to the strategic Far East. She operated off
Formosa and in the South China sea, expressing Amer-
ican protection of the Southeast Asian countries in the
fight against Communism. After fleet operations in Ha-
waiian waters she arrived San Diego 14 February 1962.
As the introduction of offensive missiles into Cuba
precipitated another Cold War crisis, Hull sailed from
San Diego 28 October 1962 to escort amphibious forces
to the Canal Zone to strengthen American defenses and
show her determination to resist incursion into the West-
ern Hemisphere. As the crisis abated, again attesting to
the power and importance of mobile seapower, Hull re-
turned to her regular operations out of San Diego. She
sailed once more for the Far East 17 October 1963, operat-
ing out of Subic Bay through December until returning to
San Diego 16 April 1964. Hull operated on the West
Coast until getting underway for the Orient 27 April 1965.
During the deployment, she made three patrols off Viet-
nam. On 16 July she rescued an American flyer who had
splashed in the Gulf of Tonkin. On 29 August she effec-
tively shelled enemy strong points near Chu Lai. The
veteran destroyer returned to San Diego 10 November.
Hull departed San Diego 18 January 1966 for the Long
Beach Naval Shipyard and an overhaul until 26 April.
From 12 to 22 July she participated in Exercise “Belaying
Pin” off San Diego. Then on 17 August Hull departed
San Diego for a 6-month WestPac deployment. She was
the flagship of Commander Task Unit 70.8.9 for three
30-day patrols off South Vietnam. Between patrols the
distroyer visited Kaoshiung, Taiwan ; Hong Kong ; Chin-
hae, Korea; and Sasebo, Japan. The third war patrol
began 21 December and ended 16 January 1967. Hull
392
returned to San Diego in late January, arriving 11 Feb-
ruary, for operations into the fall off the West Coast
Humboldt
A bay on the northern coast of California, some 250
miles north of San Francisco.
(AVP-21: dp. 2,592; 1. 310'9" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 13'6" ; s.
18 k. ; cpl. 367 ; a. 2 5” ; cl. Bamegat)
Humboldt (AVP-21) was launched by Boston Navy
Yard 17 March 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. William T. Tar-
rant; and commissioned 7 October 1941, Comdr. W. G.
Tomkinson in command.
Following rigorous shakedown training off the Atlantic
coast, the new seaplane tender sailed from Norfolk 13
May 1942 to join Rear Admiral Ingram’s South Atlantic
Force on the Brazilian coast. After stops at San Juan
and Trinidad she arrived Recife 5 August and began tend-
ing the aircraft of VP-83. During the months that fol-
lowed, these patrol aircraft, operating with ships of the
Brazilian and U.S. Navies, patrolled the vital South At-
lantic sea lanes and hunted down Axis submarines. Hum-
boldt supplied and repaired seaplanes and, in addition,
carried aviation gasoline to outlying air bases on the coast
while engaging in antisubmarine patrol herself.
While at Natal, Brazil, 28 January 1943, Humboldt was
the site of a conference between President Roosevelt,
returning from the Casablanca Conference, and President
Vargas of Brazil. Following this meeting, which helped
to achieve even closer cooperation between the naval units
of the two countries, the seaplane tender continued to
visit isolated ports on the Brazilian coast with supplies,
establishing a new seaplane base at Aratu in May 1943.
Humboldt headed north 1 July 1943, arriving Boston 17
July to take up new duties in the North Atlantic. Sailing
23 August, the ship carried supplies and parts to the
Fleet Air Wings in Newfoundland, Iceland, and Britain.
She continued this dangerous duty, often sailing unes-
corted, into the early months of 1944, occasionally sailing
to Casablanca as well. She was at Casablanca in late
May 1944 and upon hearing of the torpedoing of escort
carrier Block Island and destroyer Barr steamed out to
help with survivors and to escort Barr to safety. Hum-
boldt was soon underway again, this time to bring an ex-
perienced submarine officer to rendezvous with Guadal-
canal's hunter-killer group, which had just captured U-505
in an epic encounter 4 June. The seaplane tender con-
tinued to bring supplies to squadrons in the Azores and
North Africa until 22 March 1945 when she sailed from
Norfolk for Brazil.
Returning to her original tending duties in the South
Atlantic, Humboldt arrived Recife 5 April and remained
on duty until the surrender of Germany, after which she
sailed for Norfolk 10 June. She moved to Philadelphia
Navy Yard 16 July for conversion to a Press Ship. Re-
classified AG-121 30 July 1945, Humboldt was to serve as
a broadcast and teletype center for correspondents dur-
ing the final phases of the war against Japan ; but the war
ended before her conversion was completed. Arriving
Orange, 'Texas, 22 November 1945, the ship decommis-
sioned 19 March 1947 and entered the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. (Loaned to the Coast Guard in January 1949, she
now serves at Boston as a weather ship, designated
WHEC-372.
Hummer
A hummingbird.
Hummer (AM-367), an Admirable- class minesweeper,
was under construction at Puget Sound Bridge and Dredg-
ing Co., Seattle, Wash., but was canceled 6 June 1944.
Hummer (AM-401), an Admirable- class minesweeper,
was under construction by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay
City, Mich., but was canceled 11 August 1945.
I
(YMS-372: dp. 215 ; 1. 136' ; b. 24'6" ; dr. 6' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl.
50; a. 1 3”)
Hummer (YMS-372) was launched as YMS-372, 23 De-
cember 1943 by Weaver Shipyards, Orange, Tex. ; and
commissioned 28 March 1944. She was named Hummer
and reclassified AMS-20 on 17 February 1947.
After shakedown and operational training in early 1945,
Hummer departed the United States to sweep mines and
to patrol between Okinawa and Japan from 29 June to 31
July.
With the cessation of hostilities, the ship swept mines
on the coasts of Japan and Korea until 21 February 1946
when she departed for the Western Seaboard.
Hummer decommissioned 23 June and joined the Pa-
cific Reserve Fleet. She recommissioned 3 November
1950 to help support the United Nations commitment to
containing aggression in Korea. Her training and read-
iness activities centered on the West Coast between San
Diego and San Francisco until 13 November 1953 when
she again decommissioned at Long Beach. Reclassified
MSC(O)-20, 17 February 1955, the ship was transferred
to the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force 29 January
1959, serving as Ninoshima.
Hummer received three battle stars for her service in
World War II.
Humming Bird
One of a family of small, brilliantly colored, nonpasser-
ine birds.
( AMc-26 : dp. 180; 1. 90'5" ; b. 19'10" ; dr. 9' ; s. 9 k.)
The first Humming Bird (AMc-26), a wooden dragger,
was built as Whaling City in 1936 by Morse Shipyard,
Thomaston, Maine ; acquired by purchase 30 October 1940
from her owner, William Hayes of New Bedford, Mass. ;
converted to Navy use at Geo. Lawley & Son, Neponset,
Mass., and placed in service 12 June 1941.
Humming Bird operated throughout the war as a mine-
sweeper and minesweeping training vessel, largely in the
vicinity of Mine Warfare Training School, Yorktown, Va.
She was reclassified Small Boat C-13548, 12 June 1944
and placed out of service at New York 18 February 1945.
Delivered to the Maritime Commission, the craft was
eventually sold.
H
(MSC-192 : dp. 290; 1. 144' ; b. 28' ; dr. 9' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl.
39; a. 2 20mm.; cl. Bluebird)
The second Humming Bird, usually spelled Humming-
bird (MSC-192), was originally classified AMS-192, but
reclassified 7 February 1955. She was launched by Quincy
Adams Yacht Yard, Inc., Quincy, Mass., 27 January 1954 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Felice Low; and commissioned 9 Feb-
ruary 1955, Lt. (j.g.) W. J. Whitley in command.
Following shakedown training off Key West in June,
Hummingbird underwent minesweeping training at
Charleston, S.C., in July. From 21 October to 14 Novem-
ber she took part in her first amphibious exercises,
sweeping the landing area and dropping marker buoys to
guide the simulated assault on the shores of North Caro-
lina. Arriving New York 8 January 1956, she took part
in surveying work for the Hydrographic Office until 15
February, after which Hummingbird returned to
Charleston.
During 1957 and 1958 the ship was based at Mine War-
fare School, Yorktown, Va., and in March 1958 she par-
ticipated in another large amphibious operation at Ons-
low, North Carolina. In 1959 she shifted her home port
to the amphibious base at Little Creek, Va., and continued
to perform minesweeping duties during the periodic prac-
tice assaults on the Atlantic coast. She arrived Halifax,
Nova Scotia, 6 October 1960 to take part in Sweep Clear
V, a NATO minesweeping exercise with Canadian mine
craft, returning to Little Creek 26 October. In July 1961
393
Hummingbird repeated this highly successful combined
exercise in Canadian waters.
The year 1962 saw more rigorous mine warfare train-
ing for Hummingbird, with amphibious operations at Ons-
low and in the Caribbean. The versatile ship also took
part in a search for a downed Air Force plane off Dela-
ware 1 June before departing for Panama City, Fla., to
take part in mine experiments. September included a
third NATO minesweeping exercise. As American naval
power quarantined Cuba in October, Hummingbird stood
ready in case larger operations were necessary, and in
early 1963 took part in patrols off Cuba. From 1963 to
1967 the veteran minesweeper continued her training
and readiness operations, a vital part of America’s fight-
ing power on the seas.
Humphreys
Joshua Humphreys was bom in Haverford, Pa., 17
June 1751, and as a youth was apprenticed to a ship-
builder in Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War
he was active as a designer, and played a major part in
planning Randolph, a frigate, and a 74-gun ship which was
never built. After the war Humphreys became an im-
portant shipbuilder in Philadelphia ; and, when Congress
in 1794 passed the act providing for the construction of
six frigates, he was called upon to design them. He
was appointed Naval Constructor 28 June 1794 and began
work on these important ships, the beginnings of the
U.S. Navy. United States was built by Humphreys in
Philadelphia, and was the first of the new ships to be
launched on 10 May 1797. These brilliantly designed and
skillfully handled vessels, larger and faster than other
ships of their class, formed the core of the Navy during
the War of 1812, and scored several stirring victories
against powerful British ships. Humphreys’ genius is
evident by the fact that two of these ships, Constellation
and Constitution (Old Ironsides), are still afloat. The
former is at Baltimore and in the process of restoration,
and the latter on view at Boston as the oldest commis-
sioned vessel in the U.S. Navy. Humphreys, an influen-
tial builder, died at Reading, Pa. 12 January 1838.
( DD-236 : dp. 1,190 ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9’3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpk 101 ; a. 4 4", 1 3", 2 .30 cal., 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson)
Humphreys (DD-236) was launched 28 July 1919 by
New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; sponsored
by Miss Letitia A. Humphreys, great-granddaughter of
Joshua Humphreys ; and commissioned at Philadelphia 21
July 1920, Comdr. W. Baggaley in command.
After completing her shakedown training in New Eng-
land waters, Humphreys sailed 14 August for special duty
in the Mediterranean. For the next year she operated
primarily in the eastern Mediterranean with Turkish
ships, protecting American and Turkish interests in the
area during the conflict which followed the Russian
revolution. Humphreys did surveying work and acted as
station and communications ship. In November 1920 she
evacuated civilians from the Crimea during the last stages
of fighting in Russia, and, until August 1921, operated
off Palestine, Turkey, and Egypt on maneuvers. She
sailed from Constantinople 6 August 1921, arriving New-
port, R.I. 23 August, and spent the rest of the year in
training operations.
Humphreys spent the next 2 years on ship and fleet
training exercises in Atlantic and Caribbean waters. She
sailed 21 January 1925 via the Canal Zone for San Diego,
and after her arrival 12 March took part in important fleet
maneuvers off the California coast. In June she returned
to New York and her regular schedule of training in the
Caribbean. Humphreys maintained this operational pat-
tern until decommissioning at Philadelphia 10 January
1930, taking part in annual reserve training cruises dur-
ing the summers 1926-29.
Humphreys recommissioned at Philadelphia 13 June
1932, and sailed 15 August for maneuvers on the West
Coast. The ship took part in two fleet problems, vital
tools in perfecting equipment and tactics, before sailing 19
April 1934 for New York. Upon her arrival 31 May
Humphreys resumed her readiness operations on the East
Coast, taking part in a fleet exercise off Haiti in October.
From the Caribbean the ship returned to San Diego 8
November 1934 and for the next year took part in im-
portant carrier training exercises in the Pacific. Acting
as screen ship and plane guard, Humphreys helped per-
fect the tactics of carrier warfare which were to exert
a decisive influence on the coming war. She remained
on the West Coast, with occasional voyages to Pearl
Harbor and Midway, until decommissioning at San Diego
14 September 1939.
The veteran ship recommissioned once more 26 Septem-
ber 1939 as the beginning of the war in Europe necessitated
an increase in America’s readiness. Humphreys con-
ducted shakedown off San Diego and sailed 13 November
to join the Neutrality Patrol in the Caribbean, designed to
protect American shipping. During May and June 1940
the ship took part in a sound school at Newport to in-
crease her antisubmarine capacity, and sailed 4 December
from Norfolk for San Diego, where she arrived 2 days
before Christmas. There she continued Neutrality Patrol
duty and engaged in antisubmarine training off California.
Humphreys was in San Diego when the Japanese at-
tack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the
war 7 December 1941. During the critical early months
she operated as a coastal escort ship between San Pedro
and Seattle, but in May she sailed northward to Kodiak,
Alaska, arriving 31 May 1942. In the bleak Aleutians she
escorted transports, patrolled American-held islands, and
engaged in exercises with Honolulu, Indianapolis, and sev-
eral destroyers. Humphreys arrived San Francisco 11
November and entered Mare Island Navy Yard for conver-
sion to high-speed transport.
The veteran ship was reclassified APD-12 on 1 Decem-
ber 1942 ; and, following shakedown training, arrived Pearl
Harbor 31 December to prepare for duty in the western
Pacific. After amphibious training in Hawaiian waters,
the ship sailed to Noumea 22 January 1943 and began
ferrying troops and supplies from advance bases to
Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida Island. During these
critical months as the ship repeatedly steamed into the
Solomons in support of amphibious assaults, she often
fought off bombing and strafing attacks by Japanese
aircraft.
After training landings Humphreys embarked elements
of the 1st Cavalry Division at Noumea and transported
them to Townsville, Australia, in preparation for the in-
vasion of Woodlark and Kiriwina Islands. Arriving
Townsville 20 May 1943, the ship sailed for Milne Bay
21 June, and from there landed troops and equipment on
Woodlark 23 June without enemy opposition. This first
landing of the long New Guinea campaign was also the
first for Admiral Barbey’s 7th Fleet Amphibious Force,
and provided invaluable experience for the numerous
amphibious operations to come.
Humphreys sailed to Brisbane for repairs during July
and August, and returned to Milne Bay 15 August 1943.
There she prepared for VII Phib’s next move up the coast
of New Guinea to Lae. After putting their troops ashore
early 4 September, the high-speed transports remained
off the beach to protect landing craft from Japanese air
attack. The Australian troops landed by Humphreys and
the other ships soon took Lae, and the ship departed 7
September with casualties for Buna. On the 10th she
returned with three other transports for a night sweep of
Huon Gulf, driving away supply barges and bombarding
Japanese positions around Lae.
Next on Barbey’s amphibious timetable in New Guinea
was Finschhafen, where Humphreys and her sisterships
carried out a surprise landing 22 September. After bring-
ing reinforcements 8 days later, the ship took casualties
to Buna 8 October and arrived Goodenough Island 19
October for amphibious exercises.
Seizure of New Britain was vital to the advance toward
the Philippines as it provided control of the strategic
Vitiaz and Dampier Straits. The first step of the opera-
394
tion was to gain control of the harbor at Arawe. Hum-
phreys sailed with other amphibious units for southern
New Britain, arriving 15 December; put ashore raider
units in rubber boats to seize harbor islands; then stood
offshore to provide gunfire support before retiring to
Buna that afternoon.
Humphreys also took part in the Cape Gloucester land-
ings 26 December, remaining in the Cape Sudest area into
February 15)44. She then sailed for the landings in the
Admiralties 27 February, arriving off Los Negros 2 days
later. Humphreys landed troops at Hyane; steamed to
Cape Sudest; and, when resistance stiffened in early
March, returned off Hyane with vital reinforcements.
In April the ship began preparations for the three-
pronged amphibious leap into central New Guinea, the
Hollandia operation. Humphreys landed troops at Hum-
boldt Bay 22 April against light opposition, and remained
off the beaches providing gunfire support. Following the
assault, she returned to Buna and sailed 12 May for the
United States.
The veteran ship arrived San Francisco 30 May, and was
converted to carry “frogmen,” the Navy’s skilled Under-
water Demolition Teams. Sailing again 30 July, Hum-
phreys trained in Hawaiian waters before sailing to Manus
28 September to join the giant invasion fleet for the return
to the Philippines. Sailing 12 October, she carried UDT
Team No. 5 to the Leyte beaches 18 October, remaining
close in to provide fire support during this vital recon-
naissance. Next day she patrolled Leyte Gulf for enemy
submarines, and continued this work during the main
landings 20 October 1944. The veteran ship assisted in
shooting down a bomber 21 October before sailing in con-
voy for Manus.
The invasion of Luzon was next on Humphreys’ sched-
ule. After stopping at Noumea and Hollandia, she sortied
from the Palaus 1 January 1945 with the Lingayen in-
vasion group. Steaming through the Philippines the ships
encountered desperate suicide attacks and shot down many
planes. These attacks became more intense as Humphreys
entered Lingayen Gulf 6 January ; and next day as her
UDT team swam ashore for vital reconnaissance work, the
ship provided gunfire cover. She remained in the Gulf
until sailing with a convoy 10 January, 1 day after the
main landings.
The ship arrived Ulithi 23 January 1945 and took on a
new duty, screening logistics groups during at-sea replen-
ishment and refueling of the wide-ranging carrier striking
forces. She screened refueling operations for 5th Fleet
escort carriers covering the Iwo landings, then steamed
on to Iwo Jima itself 8 March 1945. There Humphreys
acted as screening ship until arriving Leyte with a convoy
17 March.
As an important preliminary to the main landings on
Okinawa, Humphreys took part in the assault of Keise
Shima 31 March, screening LST’s and performing escort
duties until. 3 April when she sailed for Ulithi. This last
and largest of Pacific landings was then well underway,
and the ship escorted resupply convoys from Ulithi to bit-
terly contested Okinawa until returning to Pearl Harbor
4 June 1945. From there she sailed to San Diego where
she was reclassified DD-236 on 20 July 1945. Humphreys
decommissioned 26 October 1945 and was sold for scrap
26 August 1946 to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal
Island, Calif.
Humphreys received seven battle stars for World
War II service.
Hunch
A former name retained.
( S P-1197 : 1. 35'2" ; b. 6'3” ; dr. 2'6”; s. 20 k.)
Hunch , a motor launch, was built by Charles Seabury
& Sons, Morris Heights, N.Y., in 1907, and was acquired
from her owner, R. A. Alger of Detroit, Mich., in August
1917. Her first C.O. was Ensign P. L. Emerson, USNRF.
Assigned to the 9th, 10th, and 11th Naval Districts,
Hunch acted as a patrol boat on the Detroit River during
the First World War and was returned to her owner in
1918.
Hunchback
A former name retained.
( SwStr : t. 517 ; 1. 179' ; b. 29' ; dph. 10' ; s. 12 k. ; a. 3 9",
1 100-pdr. Parrott r.)
Hunchback , a wooden steam ferryboat, was built in 1852
at New York City and was purchased by the Navy
16 December 1861. She sailed to Hampton Roads soon
afterward and commissioned there 3 January 1862, Acting
Lt. Edmund R. Colhoun in command.
Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Hunchback steamed to Hatteras Inlet late in January to
prepare for the coming amphibious operation to capture
Roanoke Island. Departing 5 February, the strong force
began its bombardment of Fort Barrow two days later,
supported the capture of the forts by General Burnside’s
troops, and forced the Confederate squadron to withdraw
up the Pasquotank. In this action Hunchback slugged it
out with Fort Barrow at close range and suffered consid-
erable damage, but contributed greatly to the victory
which opened North Carolina to the Union and cut off
Norfolk from its supply lines.
Hunchback , continuing to support Army operations in
the area, landed troops up the Chowan River 18 Febru-
ary. She was under the command of Comdr. Rowan dur-
ing the capture of New Bern, N.C., 14 March. Departing
anchorage at Hatteras Inlet 12 March, the naval force
sailed up the Neuse River to New Bern, engaged the bat-
teries in heavy firing 14 March, and landed troops to cap-
ture the town and its immense depot of Confederate
supplies.
Following these two important actions, Hunchback was
assigned patrol duty in the sounds of North Carolina. She
made an important series of reconnaissance expeditions up
the Chowan River 12 to 22 May, destroying a battery and
capturing four small ships. The ship then continued her
patrol of the sounds. As Confederate forces gathered
near Franklin, Va., on the Blackwater River, early in
October, the Army commander sent an urgent request for
Navy assistance. Lt. Comdr. Flusser sped to their sup-
port with Hunchback, Commodore Perry, and Whitehead
3 October, and, although the ships could not reach Frank-
lin, they engaged Confederate troops for three hours below
the town, and were forced to withdraw only as the South-
erners began felling trees over the narrow river behind
them.
Several expeditions and engagements occurred in
Hunchback’s next few months in the sounds. She took
part in a reconnaissance expedition to Hamilton 2 to 6
November, and 14 March 1863 helped defend Fort Ander-
son from attack by Confederate troops. Later that month
Confederate forces laid siege to the city of Washington,
N.C., on the Pamlico River. Confederate positions lined
the river; but Union ships passed the batteries, brought
supplies to the town, and succeeded in breaking up the
attack by 16 April.
Hunchback returned to New Bern before the end of the
siege, and remained there for some time afterward. She
sailed 6 September 1863 for Hampton Roads, her useful-
ness much impaired by damage and wear on machinery.
Early in 1864 she repaired at Baltimore, and returned to
Hampton Roads in May. She towed monitor Saugus up
the James River 5 May, staying to shell Confederate troop
positions in the continuing stalemate there. It was sub-
sequently decided to keep her in the James, and she was
occupied during the next months convoying and occa-
sionally shelling Confederate positions. Hunchback also
carried dispatches during this period, and was based at
Deep Bottom, on the James.
Just before the end of the war 17 March 1865, Hunch-
back returned to her old patrol station, the sounds of
North Carolina. After another expedition up the Chowan
River 1 April, she was sent north, and decommissioned at
New York 12 June 1865. She was sold 12 July 1865 to the
395
New York & Brooklyn Ferry Co., was renamed General
Grant in 1866, and remained in service until 1880.
Hunley
Horace Lawson Hunley was born 29 December 1823, in
Sumner County, Tenn. He early moved to New Orleans
where he practiced law and represented Orleans Parish
in the Louisiana State Legislature. On outbreak of the
Civil War, he joined James R. McClintock and Baxter
Watson in sponsoring the building of Confederate privateer
submarine Pioneer, later scuttled to prevent capture when
New Orleans fell. The three men built a second sub-
marine at Mobile, Ala., but it sank in Mobile Bay. Hunley
then provided the entire means for building a third sub-
marine named H. L. Hunley in his honor. This manual
powered submarine had successful trials in Mobile Bay,
then was shipped to General Beauregard for the defense
of Charleston in August 1863.
When early submarine operations at Charleston failed
to produce a sinking, Hunley provided a crew headed
by Lt. Georg6 A. Dixon, CSA. But Hunley took charge
in the absence of Dixon 15 October 1863, and perished
with his entire crew of seven when the submarine failed
to surface from a dive under CSS Indian Chief.
Dixon raised and refitted CSS H. L. Hunley, armed her
with a “Lee Spar Torpedo” and sank steam sloop-of-war
Housatonic off Charleston Harbor 17 February 1864.
Though submarine and crew perished in this mission,
H. L. Hunley was the first submarine to sink a warship
in combat, casting a long shadow into the 20th century.
( AS-31 : dp. 19,000; 1. 599'; b. 83'; dr. 23'4" ; s. 18 k. ;
cpl. 1,190; a. 2 5" ; cl. Hunley)
Hunley (AS-31) was launched 28 September 1961 by
the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport
News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. J. Palmer Gaillard, wife of
the Mayor of Charleston, S.C. ; and commissioned 16 June
1962, Captain Douglas N. Syverson, in command.
Hunley has the distinction of being the first ship de-
signed and built up from the keel to service and maintain
the U.S. Navy’s nuclear powered Ballistic Missile Sub-
marine Fleet. She has complete facilities for servicing
the complex Polaris Weapons Systems and for accomplish-
ing any submarine repair other than a major shipyard
overhaul.
Hunley sailed 25 July 1962 for shakedown training off
Cuba. This completed 6 September, she visited several
Gulf and Atlantic ports, including Mobile and Charleston.
She returned north tx> Norfolk 28 September for postshake-
down alterations until 8 December. She next paid a 3-day
visit to New York City to host the Naval Reserve Officers
Seminar “New Ships for the Modern Navy.” She stood
out of the Norfolk Operating Base 29 December 1962 for
Holy Loch, Scotland, arriving 9 January 1963. Almost
immediately she began taking the load off Proteus, whom
she officially relieved 15 March 1963 as tender to Subma-
rine Squadron 14 at Holy Loch, Scotland. This duty
continued until 12 April 1964 when Hunley sailed for con-
version that provided capability of handling the new A3
Polaris Missile. She resumed her duties at Holy Loch
15 June 1964.
A Polaris milestone was reached in December 1965 when
Thomas A. Edison came alongside to commence the 100th
refit of an SSBN by Hunley. This signified that one hun-
dred SSBN submarines had gone out on time from Hunley
and not one of them had to make an early return from
patrol. This represents some 200 months of Polaris on
station or 16% years of submerged strategic deterrent
since Hunley' s arrival in Holy Loch 9 January 1963.
Among impressive jobs carried out by Hunley is weld-
ing on SSBN pressure hulls or reactor plant fluid systems.
Once unheard of in submarine tending, these jobs are only
a few of many tackled with confidence and skill by Hun-
ley. These and many other alterations are carried out as
a matter of routine to keep SSBN’s on the line with’the
newest possible technical improvements and safety de-
vices. For example, an auxiliary “Sub-Safe” package
was accomplished on Theodore Roosevelt in which over
40 fittings and more than 100 feet of new piping in a major
system were installed. A battery replacement for Ethan
Allen was completed in only 11 days. Hu'nley meets de-
mands from making water-borne propeller replacements to
encapsulation of AG induction motors ; delicate repairs to
navigation and fire control, and many other varied tasks
to insure that each SSBN has the finest of care on each
refit. The resolution, can-do spirit, and persevering fidel-
ity of her officers and men give firm allegiance to Hunley’s
motto : “We Serve to Preserve Peace.”
Hunley returned to the United States late in 1966 and
in 1967 operates out of Charleston, S.C., laboring to keep
sharp the edge of the Navy’s underwater nuclear
deterrent.
Hunt
William Henry Hunt, born in Charleston, S.C., 12 June
1823, was Secretary of the Navy under President Gar-
field. After studying law at Yale, he finished his profes-
sional training in his brothers’ office in New Orleans, where
he was admitted to the bar in 1844. Hunt opposed seces-
sion and favored the Union cause. He was nevertheless
drafted into the Confederate Army and commissioned
Lieutenant Colonel. However, he managed to avoid in-
volvement in military operations until Admiral Farragut
captured New Orleans.
In March 1876, Hunt was appointed Attorney-General
of Louisiana, and in July of that year he was the Repub-
lican candidate for this office. Both parties claimed vic-
tory in the election, but Hunt lost the position when Presi-
dent Hayes recognized the Democratic government of the
State. As compensation, the President appointed him As-
sociate Judge of the United States Court of Claims, 15
May 1878. He served in this capacity until he became
President Garfield’s Secretary of the Navy.
Secretary Hunt rendered invaluable service by report-
ing that the Navy, grossly neglected after the Civil War,
was no longer able to protect Americans abroad. He ap-
pointed the first Naval Advisory Board which undertook
the work of rebuilding the Navy, emasculated by public
apathy and lock of funds. After Vice President Arthur
succeeded Garfield in the presidency, he retired Hunt from
the cabinet by appointing him Minister to Russia 7 April
1882. He died February 1884, while representing the
United States at Saint Petersburg.
I
( DD-194 : dp. 1,215 ; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31 '9'' ; dr. 9'4" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 101; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21'' tt. ; cl. Clemson )
The first Hunt (DD-194) was launched by the Newport
News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., 14
February 1920; sponsored by Miss Virginia Livingston
Hunt; and commissioned 30 September 1920, Lt. Roswell
H. Blair in command.
After shakedown, Hunt participated in training and
readiness exercises with the Atlantic Fleet and conducted
torpedo trials on the range out of Newport, R.I. She
shifted her base of operations to Charleston, S.C., 3 Decem-
ber 1920. Sailing from Charleston Harbor 29 May 1922,
she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard 6 June and de-
commissioned there 11 August 1922. From 13 September
1930 to 28 May 1934 the U.S. Coast Guard had custody
of the ship.
Hunt recommissioned at Philadelphia and cleared that
port 26 January 1940 for neutrality patrol in the Caribbean
Sea. She departed Panama Canal 3 April to escort sub-
marine Searaven to Cape Canaveral and then engaged in
gunnery practice in Cuban waters en route to Norfolk
arriving 17 April 1940. The next few months were de-
voted to maneuvers in Chesapeake Bay and training
cruises down the eastern seaboard.
Hunt was 1 of the 50 “overage fourstacker destroyers”
exchanged with the British for American bases in British
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Inventor H. L. Hunley’s proposal to use his submarine to attack a Union Ship
397
USS Hunley ( AS-31) in Holy Loch, Scotland, 17 January 1963
West Indies. She got underway from Newport 3 October
1940, and reached Halifax, Nova Scotia 5 October. The
following day she embarked 100 English officers and blue-
jackets for instructions in ship handling. On 8 October
she decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and commissioned
in the British Navy as HMS Broadway.
Broadway arrived at Belfast 24 October 1940, where
she joined the 11th Escort Group, Western Approaches
Command, with whom she engaged in escorting numerous
convoys. On 9 May, with the help of destroyer Bulldog
and corvette Auhrietia, she captured German submarine
TJ-110 between Iceland and Greenland. On the previous
night, the U-boat had crept in to attack Broadway's convoy
but was prevented from surfacing by the strong destroyer
escort. She continued to shadow the Allied ships until
early in the afternoon watch when she launched three
torpedoes from periscope depth. Broadway and her fellow
escorts promptly counterattacked and forced her to sur-
face where she surrendered. Unfortunately the prize sank
while in tow to port but only after her captors had re-
covered documents of great value and importance. This
victory was especially sweet since TJ-110 was commanded
by Korvetten-Kapitan Lemp who had made the first kill
of the war by sinking liner Athenia 3 September 1939, the
day England declared war. Lemp was lost with 14 mem-
bers of his crew, but a war correspondent, 4 officers and 28
men were rescued.
During 1942 and 1943 Broadway continued to escort
Atlantic convoys. On 12 May 1943 she joined frigate
Lagan and aircraft from escort carrier Biter in destroy-
ing another German submarine, TJ-89, which was sunk
northeast of the Azores.
After refitting at Belfast in September 1943, Broadway
became a target ship for aircraft and served as such at
Rosyth in Scotland until the war ended in Europe. In
May 1945 she left Rosyth for Northern Norway with one
of the occupation forces. At Narvik, Norway, she took
charge of a convoy of German submarines which was sail-
ing for Trondheim. In the reduction of the British Navy
after the war, Hunt was scrapped.
II
( DD-674 : dp. 2,100; 1. 376'3" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13'; s. over
30 k. : cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt., 6 dcp. ; 2 dct. ; cJ.
Fletcher)
Hunt (DD-674) was launched by the Federal Shipbuild-
ing & Drydock Co., Kearny, N. J., 1 August 1943 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Henry Kent Hewitt, wife of Vice Admiral Hewitt
and granddaughter of the namesake ; and commissioned
22 September 1943, Comdr. Frank P. Mitchell in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda and final alterations in
New York Navy Yard, Hunt cleared Norfolk for the Pacific
2 December 1943. She entered Pearl Harbor 24 Decem-
ber 1943 and joined Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher’s Fast
Carrier Task Force 58 operating as a part of the anti-
submarine screen for a task group which included Essex
(CV-9) , Intrepid (CV-11), and Cabot (CV-25). She
sortied with the carrier task force 16 January 1944 to
support the invasion of the Marshall Islands, the opera-
tion which, in the words of Rear Adm. Richard L. Conolly,
“. . . really cracked the Japanese shell. It broke the
crust of their defenses on a scale that could be exploited
at once.” At dawn 29 January, Mitscher’s planes opened
the operation with strikes against enemy-held airfields on
Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, while Hunt protected the
carriers from which they were launched. The next day
she joined battleships North Carolina (BB-55), South
Dakota (BB-52) and Alabama (BB-60) in shelling pill
boxes and other targets on the northern beaches of Roi
and Namur Islands. After 2 days on bombardment sta-
tion she rejoined the screen of the carriers who were fur-
nishing planes to support landing operations on the small
islands adjoining Roi and Namur. She entered newly
won Majuro Lagoon in company with Essex 5 February
1944 for replenishment.
On 12 February Hunt sailed with most of the Fast
Carrier Force for Truk Atoll to neutralize that reputedly
impregnable enemy air and naval base which threatened
both General MacArthur’s forces then encircling Rabaul
and Rear Adm. H. W. Hill’s amphibious vessels prepar-
398
ing to assault Eniwetok. In the early morning dark-
ness of 17 February, Hunt arrived off Truk with the rest
of the force which began the systematic destruction of
the Japanese ships and planes caught in the area. A
group of heavies — two battleships, two heavy cruisers,
and four destroyers — circled the atoll to catch enemy
ships attempting to escape, while carrier-based planes
attacked targets on the islands and in the Lagoon. Hunt’s
role in the operation was to protect Admiral A. E. Mont-
gomery’s carrier group from submarine or air attack.
When her task force steamed away the following evening,
its planes and ships had sunk two light cruisers, 4 destroy-
ers, 3 auxiliary cruisers, 6 auxiliaries of different types,
and 137,091 tons of merchant shipping. Moreover, the
destruction and damaging of between 250 and 275 enemy
planes was especially gratifying to the Navy which, by
this successful raid, had forced the Japanese Combined
Fleet to shun Truk, its base since July 1942, in favor of
safer areas closer to home.
After clearing Truk, Hunt, in company with carrier
Enterprise (CV-6), cruiser San Diego (CL-53), and five
other destroyers, left the main body of the task force to
raid “leapfrogged” Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands, 20
February 1944. The next day she anchored in Majuro
Lagoon from which, after a brief visit to Pearl Harbor, she
put to sea as a part of the screen of the Bunker Hill car-
rier task group bound for the Palau Islands 22 March.
She steamed on station as the first air strikes at Peleliu
were launched 30 March. Intense and accurate anti-
aircraft fire from Hunt and her sister ships drove off three
flight groups of Japanese torpedo bombers as strikes con-
tinued during the next 3 days. On 1 April she left the
formation with destroyer Hickox (DD-673) to destroy
two 125-foot patrol craft which had been firing on Amer-
ican planes.
She returned to Majuro on 6 April for replenishment,
then set course with the Bunker Hill carrier task group to
lend support to the invasion and occupation of Hollandia,
D.N.G. Planes from the carriers repeatedly struck enemy
emplacements in the area, and night fighters successfully
repelled all enemy planes which approached the warships.
On the passage returning to Majuro Hunt’s carriers paused
off Truk 29 and 30 April for another raid on that weakened
but reinforced enemy base. Thereafter Truk was almost
useless to the Japanese.
May was a welcome interlude devoted to training exer-
cises in the Marshalls enlivened by a diversionary raid
on Wake Island 24 May to draw attention away from the
Marianas. Hunt put to sea with the Bunker Hill carrier
task group 6 June for the invasion of the Marianas. The
first air strikes of the operation against the Island Group
were launched on 11 June and continued until 15 June
when the marines hit the beaches, and attention shifted to
providing close support for troops ashore. On that day,
Admiral Spruance received a warning from submarine
Flying Fish that an enemy carrier force was approaching
from San Bernardino Strait. In the early hours of 19
June it arrived within striking distance of the fast carrier
force which guarded the amphibious forces off Saipan.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea began in a series of dog-
fights over Guam, where American planes were neutraliz-
ing Japanese land-based air forces. About an hour and a
half later, the major phase of the battle, nicknamed “The
Marianas Turkey Shoot”, opened when the American
flattops launched their fighters to intercept the first of
four raids from the Japanese carriers. During the en-
suing 8 hours of fierce, continuous fighting in the air,
Japan lost 346 planes and 2 carriers while only 30 U.S.
planes splashed and 1 American battleship suffered a bomb
hit but was not put out of action. Hunt then steamed
westward with the carriers in pursuit of the fleeing rem-
nants of the enemy fleet. The’following afternoon planes
from the carriers caught up with their quarry and ac-
counted for carrier Hiyo and two oilers while damaging
several other Japanese ships. This carrier battle, the
greatest of the war, virtually wiped out the emperor’s
naval air power which would be sorely missed in the im-
pending battle for Leyte Gulf.
The next evening the task force gave up the chase and
set course for Saipan. On the return passage, Hunt res-
cued four pilots and seven crewmen from planes which
had been unable to land on their carriers. Once back in
the Marianas, Hunt and her sister ships resumed the
task of supporting the American forces which were taking
Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. They continued this duty
until fighting in these islands ended early in August.
After voyage repairs at Pearl Harbor, she departed
30 August as part of the screen for Admiral Halsey’s flag-
ship, New Jersey. Hunt joined the Bunker Hill Carrier
Group off the Admiralty Islands 6 September for opera-
tions south of the Palau Islands. On 11 September she
carried Admiral Halsey from New Jersey to carrier Lex-
ington for a conference .and returned him to his flagship.
In the following days she guarded the carriers which were
repeatedly raiding the Palaus to soften them up for the
invasion. When marines landed on Peleliu 15 September,
planes from these carriers supported the efforts on shore
until the determined leathernecks finally sitamped out the
last organized resistance of the dogged Japanese defend-
ers. Hunt entered Kossol Passage 30 September to embark
Admiral Halsey and his staff for passage to Peleliu. Hull
put him ashore that afternoon and steamed off shore as
stand-by flagship until the following afternoon when he
again came on board to be returned to Kossol Passage.
On 6 October, she cleared port with the Bunker Hill
carrier task group for air strikes against Okinawa Jima.
Hunt rescued a pilot and two crewmen of a splashed
Bunker Hill plane 10 October. She repeated this feat
2 days later when she saved a pilot and two crewmen
whose plane had been downed during an attack on Formo-
san airbases.
Hunt accompanied the carriers off Northern Luzon dur-
ing the landings on Leyte 20 October while they struck
again and again at Japanese airfields throughout the
Philippines to eliminate enemy airpower during General
MacArthur’s long-awaited return. During the decisive
Battle for Leyte Gulf they went after the Japanese north-
ern force and sank four carriers and a destroyer besides
damaging several other ships.
For the rest of the year, Hunt continued to serve as a
screening unit for the carrier strikes against Formosa and
Japanese-held areas in the Philippines. On 16 February
1945, her fast carrier task force hit hard at the Tokyo
Bay area in a furious 2-day attack. Then the flattops
turned their attention to support the landings on Iwo Jima
which began 19 February. That day her guns brought
down an enemy plane as they repelled the first of the air
raids against American ships off that bitterly-contested
island. Hunt sailed from Iwo Jima 22 February for
waters off Honshu, Japan and another swipe at Tokyo
Bay, 25 February. On the way to Ulithi the carriers
paused to strike Okinawa 1 March.
Hunt departed Ulithi 14 March for rendezvous with
carrier Franklin (CV-13) off the Ryukyu Islands
18 March. The next day Franklin maneuvered closer to
the Japanese mainland than had any other U.S. carrier
up to that point in the war to launch a fighter sweep
against Honshu and later a strike against shipping in
Kobe Harbor. Suddenly a single enemy plane broke
through the cloud cover and made a low level run to
drop two semi-armor- piercing bombs on the gallant ship.
The carrier burned furiously as the flames triggered
ammunition, bombs, and rockets. Hunt closed the
stricken ship to assist in picking up survivors blown over-
board by the explosions. After rescuing 429 survivors,
she joined three other destroyers in a clockwise patrol
around the stricken ship which had gone dead in the
water within 50 miles of the Japanese Coast. Cruiser
Pittsburgh (CA-72) took the ship in tow and, after an epic
struggle, managed to get her to Ulithi 24 March. Hunt
put the survivors ashore and sped to the Ryukyus 5 April
to support troops who were struggling to take Okinawa.
Hunt took up radar picket station off Okinawa 8 April.
On 14 April a kamikaze roared in toward Hunt and was
riddled by her guns during the approach. It struck the
destroyer at deck level shearing off the mainmast and
399
slicing into the forward stack where it left its starboard
wing. The fuselage of the suicide plane splashed into
the water about 25 yards from Hunt whose crew quickly
doused the small fires which had broken out on board.
A second kamikaze which approached Hunt that day was
knocked down by her alert gunners before it could reach
the ship.
Hunt continued to guard the carriers as they gave direct
support to troops on Okinawa, taking time out on 4 sepa-
rate days for radar picket duty in dangerous waters.
When she departed Ryukyus 30 May for tender overhaul
in Leyte Gulf, her crew had been to general quarters
54 times.
Hunt sailed for the United States 19 June 1945, arrived
in San Francisco for overhaul 6 July, and decommis-
sioned 15 December 1945 at San Diego.
Hunt recommissioned at San Diego 31 October 1951,
Comdr. Lynn F. Barry in command. After refresher
training in local areas, she departed 14 February for New-
port where she arrived 3 March 1952. She cruised from
that port for the next 2% years conducting antisubmarine
and plane guard duty. She departed Newport 1 June 1954
for Yokosuka where she arrived 7 July and was underway
again 16 July for task force maneuvers off the Philippine
Islands. On 21 October she cleared Sasebo, Japan, on the
second leg of a world cruise which took her to Hong Kong,
Singapore, the Suez Canal, and Naples which she reached
20 November 1954. She passed through the strait of
Gibraltar 12 December 1954 and arrived back in Newport
18 December.
The next 2 years were filled with intensive antisubma-
rine warfare and convoy exercises. Hunt departed New-
port 6 November for patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean
during the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Revolution.
She returned to Newport 27 February 1957 where more
antisubmarine warfare and convoy exercises awaited.
She embarked midshipmen at Annapolis for a training
cruise which included the International Naval review in
Hampton Roads on 12 June, and a visit to Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. She departed Newport for Belfast, Northern Ire-
land 3 September to participate in Operation “Seaspray”,
maneuvers with the combined forces of NATO. From 22
October 1957 through 1 August 1958 Hunt operated out of
Newport. On the latter date while on a cruise to the
Caribbean she sped from San Juan, Puerto Rico to join
attack carrier Saratoga (CVA-60) in the Mediterranean
to augment the 6th Fleet during the Near Eastern crisis
which had necessitated the landing of marines in Beirut,
Lebanon to check aggression. She reached that port 28
August and 3 days later was underway for the Red Sea.
She completed transit of the Suez Canal 11 September for
Massawa, Ethiopia, and after calling at Aden, Arabia,
set course 14 October for the Mediterranean and ma-
neuvers with the 6th Fleet en route home to Newport,
arriving 13 November.
Hunt operated out of Newport with occasional cruises
in the Caribbean conducting exercises in antisubmarine
warfare and battle practice. She won the Battle Effi-
ciency Award for the fiscal year 1957 to 1958 and repeated
the feat for the 1958 to 1959 period. She decommissioned
30 December 1963 and was berthed in the Atlantic Re-
serve Fleet at Philadelphia, Pa., where she remains.
Hunt, Colonel Henry /., see Bastion (ACM-6)
Hunt, S. B., see Flambeau (IX-192)
Hunter
A British name retained.
(Brig : 1. 180 ; a. 10 guns)
Hunter, a brig, was built in 1806 as General Hunter for
the Canadian Provincial Marine at Malden, Canada. She
was part of Commodore Barclay’s squadron on Lake Erie
and was captured along with five other ships in the famous
Battle of Lake Erie 10 September 1813. Commodore
Oliver Hazard Perry had built his fleet literally from noth-
ing, had forced his enemy to do battle, and courageously
carried through to an important victory. Hunter was
one of the ships spoken of in Perry’s immortal dispatch
to Gen. William Henry Harrison : “We have met the
enemy and they are ours — two ships, two brigs, one
schooner and one sloop.” The victory secured the Lake
region for the United States and ended the threat of in-
USS Hunt (DD-674) during 1959
400
vasion from that quarter. Hunter served on the Lake for
the remainder of the war and was then sold.
Block Island (ACV-8) (Q-v.) was renamed Hunter by
the British upon transfer under Lend-Lease in 1943.
Hunter Liggett
An Army name retained.
(AP-27 : dp. 21,900 limiting; 1. 535'; b. 72'; dr. 31'3" ;
s. 15; epl. 824; a. 4 3")
Hunter Liggett (AP-27) was built as S.S. Pan America
in 1922 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Sparrows Point,
Md., and after sailing for many years as a passenger ship
was transferred to the Army and renamed Hunter Liggett
in February 1939. The transport operated from New
York to San Francisco and from the West Coast to Hawaii
until 27 May 1941, when she was turned over to the Navy.
Converted to Navy use at Brooklyn Navy Yard, she com-
missioned as AP-27 9 June 1941, Captain L. W. Perkins,
USCG, commanding. She was reclassed APA-14 1 Feb-
ruary 1943.
Hunter Liggett and her Coast Guard crew were ordered
to the Pacific in April 1942. Departing New York 9 April,
the ship stopped at the Canal Zone and Tongatabu before
arriving Wellington, New Zealand, 28 May. The trans-
port was scheduled to take part in America’s first offensive
operation in the Pacific, the occupation of Guadalcanal,
and after amphibious training and a rehearsal landing
in the Koro Islands she sailed with other ships 31 July
for the Solomons.
Hunter Liggett arrived off Guadalcanal the night of
6 August. In this assault, America’s first amphibious op-
eration since 1898, the ship was assigned to a later wave,
but sent her boats to aid in the initial landings, 7 August.
Air attacks began on the day after the landing, sinking
fellow transport George F. Elliott. Hunter Liggett’ s gun-
ners shot down several of the attackers as she remained
off the beaches. Early on the morning of 9 August, men
in the transport area could see the flashes of light from
an engagement off Savo Island. As the Japanese at-
tempted to reinforce their Solomons garrison and destroy
the transports they surprised an American Task Force
and inflicted heavy losses. Hunter Liggett and the other
vulnerable transports got underway, but soon returned
to the transport area. After noon 9 August, they began
the grim job of rescuing survivors from the sunken
cruisers Vincennes, Astoria, and Quincy. That afternoon
the transport sailed with the wounded, in company with
the damaged Chicago, to Noumea, where she arrived 2
days later. With the Guadalcanal campaign began the
refinement of amphibious techniques which was to pay
off so handsomely as the war progressed.
The transport spent the next month at Noumea and on
local amphibious training operations. After a period of
repair at Wellington she sailed 22 October for Efate, New
Hebrides, loaded marines, and returned to bitterly-con-
tested Guadalcanal 4 November. As she off-loaded near
Lunga Point, Japanese shore batteries and air attacks
(made every moment a potentially fatal one. As the
“Tokyo Express” was due that night, Hunter Liggett and
the other transports retired in the evening, only to return
next day to finish landing operations.
For most of the next year, Hunter Liggett remained on
this hazardous duty, the support of Guadalcanal. She
made numerous trips to the island bringing troops from
Noumea and New Zealand, carried equipment, and trans-
ported wounded marines and Japanese prisoners from the
embattled island. Constantly threatened from the air
and by submarines, she continued this vital job until ar-
riving 22 October 1943, when she anchored at Efate, New
Hebrides.
At Efate, Hunter Liggett took part in training opera-
tions for another important amphibious operation, the in-
vasion of Bougainville. As American strength grew and
the Gilberts operation got underway to the east, the task
force sailed 28 October for Empress Augusta Bay, Bou-
gainville. Arriving early 1 November the transports un-
loaded with startling efficiency during air attacks from
Rabaul. Hunter Liggett remained in the area that night
and once more witnessed from afar the Japanese attempt
to break up the landing. This time, in the night action
of Empress Augusta Bay, the Japanese were roundly de-
feated by Rear Admiral Merrill’s task force. Hunter
Liggett departed that day for Tulagi and after another
passage to Bougainville to support the amphibious toe-
hold there 11 November sailed for Espiritu Santo 18
November.
Loading wounded at Espiritu Santo, Hunter Liggett pro-
ceeded to Pago Pago for more casualties and sailed for
San Francisco, arriving 9 December. For several months
the transport underwent major repairs. Then, 3 April
1944, she steamed to San Diego to begin a new career as
an amphibious training ship. For the next 8 months she
imparted the lessons learned in the Solomons campaign to
those who would carry out some of the largest and best
executed assaults in our history — Leyte, Iwo Jima, Oki-
nawa, and others.
Hunter Liggett joined the “Magic-Carpet” fleet 10 De-
cember 1945 to return to American servicemen from the
Pacific. She made voyages to Ulithi, Guam, Pearl Har-
bor, and the Palaus before reporting to Olympia, Wash-
ington, for return to the Army 9 March 1946. She de-
commissioned 18 March, and wras later sold to Boston
Metals Co., 30 January 1948, and scrapped.
Hunter Liggett received four battle stars for World War
II service.
Hunter Marshall
Hunter Marshall III was born in Charlotte, N.C., 6
October 1917 and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 12 July
1941. Called to active duty in September, Marshall was
appointed Midshipman and attended Midshipman’s School
at New York. He later attended Armed Guard School
and in April 1942, reported to Army transport Merrimack
and took command of her naval Armed Guard Unit. Car-
rying military supplies to the Panama Canal Zone, the
ship was torpedoed by submarine U-68 south of Yucatan
Channel 9 June 1942. Despite the danger of further
attacks Ensign Marshall led his Armed Guard gun crews
in furious resistance to the submarine until the forward
part of the ship was actually awash. Because of his loyal
and determined fighting spirit, Marshall was one of the
last to leave the ship and was lost. He was presumed
dead 10 June 1943, and was awarded the Silver Star for
his gallantry.
( APD-112 : dp. 1,390; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 12'7'' ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm. ; cl. Crosley)
Hunter Marshall (APD-112), originally classified DE-
602, was launched 5 May 1945 by Bethlehem-Hingham
Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Mass. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Hunter Marshall, mother of Ensign Marshall; and com-
missioned 17 July 1945, Comdr. A. A. Campbell in com-
mand.
The new fast transport got underway from Boston 3
August 1945 to conduct shakedown training in Caribbean
waters, and before completion, the surrender of Japan
ended the war. She returned to Norfolk 5 September
and remained there until 10 October 1945, when she joined
other fleet units at Boston for the triumphant Navy Day
Presidential Review. Hunter Marshall arrived Green
Cove Springs, Fla., via Norfolk, 25 November 1945, decom-
missioned 30 May 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. She was eventually stricken from the Navy list 1
June 1960 and sold in July 1961 to Ecuador.
Hunterdon County
A county in New Jersey.
(LST-838: dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 268 ; a. 12 20mm. )
401
LST-838 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 20 September 1944; launched 8 November;
sponsored by Miss Margaret Foster; and commissioned
4 December, Lt. Allen T. Larkins, Jr., in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-838 loaded heavy con-
struction equipment at New Orleans and departed 5 Janu-
ary 1945. Loading troops and additional cargo at Pearl
Harbor, the landing ship sailed to the Mariana Islands,
arriving Guam 4 March. She unloaded her cargo, then
steamed to Saipan where she loaded equipment and em-
barked units of the 130th Naval Construction Battalion
for the invasion of Okinawa.
Departing Saipan 25 March, LST-838 was en route to
the heavily fortified Japanese stronghold, arriving off the
southern Okinawa beaches 1 April. Despite a futile effort
by the enemy to salvage the last barrier protecting their
homeland, Allied forces succeeded in securing a beach-
head. On D-day, after LST-S84 was struck by a suicide
plane, LST-838 recovered 79 survivors from the heavily
damaged ship. The landing ship stood off the Coast of
Okinawa until 13 April when she approached Green Beach
to discharge Seabees and construction equipment. The
following day during one of the many raids she splashed
a Japanese plane.
Departing Okinawa on the 16th, LST-884 arrived Ulithi
6 days later. For the rest of the war she transported men
and equipment throughout the South and Western Pacific
Islands.
Following the victorious conclusion of World War II,
LST-838 moved men and equipment to Japan for occupa-
tion duties. She remained in the Far East until 7 No-
vember, when she departed Yokohama for Guam ; then em-
barked 544 Army veterans and steamed to the United
States, arriving San Francisco 23 December.
On 5 March 1946, LST-838 sailed to Portland, Oreg.,
and decommissioned at Vancouver, Wash., 7 August. She
joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet and remained there until
she recommissioned at Vallejo, Calif., 10 September 1966
to help meet the large demands for ships in the Vietnam
war. While in reserve LST-838 was named Hunterdon
County 1 July 1955. Hunterdon County operated out of
San Diego until sailing for the Far East early in 1967.
She arrived Subic Bay 8 March and promptly busied her-
self transporting men and materiel in support of the Allied
struggle to thwart Communist efforts to take over the
Republic of South Vietnam. She continued to operate off
Southeast Asia through mid-1967.
LST-838 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hunting
An island on the southern coast of South Carolina.
(LSM-398 : dp. 1,095; 1. 203'6" ; b. 34'6” ; dr. 7'4" ; s.
13 k. ; cpl. 59 ; a. 2 40mm. )
Hunting (LSM-398) was launched as LSM-398 by
Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, S.C., 6 January
1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. T. B. Thompson ; commissioned
6 August 1945, Lt. L. L. Walters in command. Based at
Little Creek, Va., the ship operated as a part of the
Amphibious Fleet in the Atlantic, taking part in many
training assaults in the Caribbean and on the Atlantic
coast. In June 1953, she began a conversion to sonar
research ship at Norfolk, and following completion she
reported to Operational Development Force 1 October
1954.
In late 1954, the ship started a new career developing
and testing experimental sonar equipment in conjunction
with the famed Naval Research Laboratory. She was
reclassified EAG-398 and assigned the name Hunting
13 June 1957. The ship’s testing and evaluation activities
took her from the Naval Research Laboratory near Wash-
ington into the Chesapeake Bay, the coastal waters off the
Virginia Capes, and the Caribbean. She played a vital
part in the development of new and better sonar equip-
ment for the fleet. During 1961 the veteran ship was
severely limited by mechanical problems and was finally
decommissioned 23 November 1962 at Portsmouth, Va.
She was sold 30 July 1963 to Commercial Manufacturing
Corp., Kansas City.
Huntington
A city in West Virginia.
I
( ACR-5 : dp. 13,680 n. ; 1. 503'11” ; b. 69'7" ; dr. 24'1” ; s.
22 k. ; cpl. 829; a. 4 8", 14 6", 2 18” tt. ; cl. Pennsyl-
vania)1
The first Huntington (ACR-5), an armored cruiser, was
launched as West Virginia 18 April 1903 by Newport
News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va. ; sponsored
by Miss Katherine V. White; and commissioned 23 Feb-
ruary 1905, Captain C. H. Arnold in command.
After shakedown training, West Virginia cruised with
the New York Naval Militia as a unit of the Atlantic
Fleet until 30 September 1906 when she sailed for duty
with the Asiatic Squadron. The ship remained with the
Asiatic Squadron on training operations for 2 years, and
after overhaul at Mare Island in 1908 joined the Pacific
Fleet for similar exercises along the West Coast of the
United States. During 1911 and 1912 she made a cruise
with the Fleet to Hawaiian waters and in 1914 steamed
on special duty off the west coast of Mexico for the pro-
tection of American interests. She remained off Mexico
during the Vera Cruz crisis, and returned to Bremerton,
Wash., to become a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
West Virginia remained at Bremerton until 20 Septem-
ber 1916 when she again sailed to Mexico for the protection
of American lives and property and to back up U.S.
diplomacy. While on this service, she was renamed
Huntington 11 November to permit the assignment of her
old name to a newly-authorized battleship, BB— 48. After
5 months service off Mexico she steamed to Mare Island
for the installation of catapult devices on the quarterdeck
and equipment to accommodate four seaplanes on the
boat deck ways.
Huntington was detached from the Reserve Force and
placed in full commission 5 April 1917. She departed
Mare Island 11 May and steamed to Pensacola, Fla., via
the Panama Canal. Detached from the Pacific Fleet
after her arrival in Florida 28 May, she spent the next
2 months at the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola,
engaging in a series of important early experiments with
balloons and seaplanes launched from the deck. The
cruiser then sailed for Hampton Roads 1 August and
arrived New York '5 days later. There Huntington
formed with a convoy of six troopships bound for France,
departing 8 September. En route, several balloon ob-
servation flights were made, and on one of these, 17 Sep-
tember, the balloon was forced down by a squall and the
balloonist became entangled in its rigging. Seeing the
emergency, shipfitter Patrick McGunigal jumped over-
board to release the pilot from the balloon basket, by then
overturned and underwater. For his heroic action
McGunigal was awarded World War Fs first Medal of
Honor. The day after the rescue the convoy was turned
over to American destroyers in European waters ; and
Huntington steamed back to Hampton Roads, arriving
30 September.
After replenishing at Norfolk, Huntington sailed to
New York 5 October to have her catapult and seaplanes
removed. She got underway 27 October and arrived
Halifax 2 days later to embark a high-level U.S. Com-
mission to confer with the Allies. Presidential envoy,
Colonel House ; Adm. W. S. Benson ; Gen. T. H. Bliss ;
and other dignitaries took passage in Huntington, arriv-
ing Davenport, England, 7 November 1917, to be met by
British officials. Huntington departed for New York, via
Hampton Roads, arriving 27 November.
Subsequently, the cruiser returned to the important
duty of escorting convoys of troops and supplies to Europe,
402
making nine such voyages to Europe and back between
19 February and 13 November 1918. In addition, Hunt-
ington made three coastal convoy passages from New
York to Hampton Roads. She entered Brooklyn Navy
Yard 17 November 1918 for conversion to a troop
transport.
Assigned to Transport Force, Atlantic Fleet, Huntington
next sailed for France to bring home veterans of the
European fighting. She departed New York 17 December,
arrived Brest 29 December, and brought over 1,700 pas-
sengers to New York 14 January. The ship made five
more voyages to France and return, bringing home nearly
12,000 troops, and terminated her last voyage at Boston
5 July 1919. Detached from Transport Force, she was
reassigned to Cruiser Force and became flagship of Fly-
ing Squadron 1 8 July 1919. Huntington decommissioned
at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., 1 Septem-
ber 1920. She was struck from the Navy List 12 March
1930 and sold in accordance with the London Treaty for
the reduction of naval armaments 30 August 1930.
Huntington (CL-77) was under construction at New
York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J., 1941 to 1942, but
was converted to an aircraft carrier while building to be
launched as Cowpcns (CVL-25).
II
( CL-107 : dp. 10,000 ; 1. 611'2" ; b. 66'6" ; dr. 20' ; s. 33 k. ;
cpl. 992; 12 6”, 12 5" ; cl. Fargo )
The second Huntington (CL-107) was launched by the
New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 8 April 1943;
sponsored by Mrs. M. L. Jarrett, Jr.; and commissioned
23 February 1946, Captain D. R. Tallman in command.
After shakedown training off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
Huntington sailed from Philadelphia 23 July 1946 for
duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. During
the cruise she visited many ports, including Naples, Malta,
Villefranche, and Alexandria, helping to stabilize the
volatile post-war situation in Europe. Departing
Gibraltar 8 February 1947, she took part in exercises off
Guantanamo Bay, stopped at Norfolk and Newport, R.I.,
and departed the latter port 20 May 1947 for another tour
of duty in the Mediterranean.
Returning from her cruise 13 September 1947, Hunt-
ington departed Philadelphia 24 October with Naval Re-
serve personnel for exercises off Bermuda and Newfound-
land until 14 November 1947. The ship then entered
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and underwent an extensive
overhaul until 12 April 1948. Returning to Norfolk 27
April from her refresher training cruise in the Caribbean,
Huntington sailed to Newport and departed for another
tour of duty in the Mediterranean 1 June 1948.
Huntington visited a variety of ports during June to
August 1948, and after transiting the Suez Canal 22
September, embarked on a good will tour of Africa and
South America, arriving Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 No-
vember. There the ship was honored by an official visit
from President Peron, and continuing to Uruguay received
a similar visit from President Berres 10 November.
Huntington called at Rio and Trinidad before returning
from this valuable good will cruise 8 December 1948.
The cruiser made one short cruise from Philadelphia
to the Caribbean, returned to Newport 22 January, and
decommissioned 15 June 1949. She was finally struck
from the Navy List 1 September 1961 after being in
reserve, and was subsequently scrapped.
Huntington, Robert K., see Robert K. Huntington
(DD-781)
Huntress
A former name retained.
I
(StwStr : dp. 211 ; 1. 131'8" ; b. 31'3" ; dph. 4'2" ; s. 5 k. ;
/a. 2 30-pdr. P. r., 4 24-pdr. how.)
Huntress, a stern-wheel steamer, was built in 1862 in
New Albany, Ind. She was purchased by the Navy at
Louisville, Ky., in May 1864, taken to Cincinnati, Ohio,
for outfitting and reported to 'the 8th District, Mississippi
Squadron for duty 10 June 1864, Acting Master J. S.
Dennis in command.
Assigned to the area of the river between Memphis,
Tenn., and Columbus, Ky., Huntress engaged in the key
role of keeping the vital river lines of supply open, stop-
ping illegal trade in cotton along the riverbank and
suppressing bands of guerrillas who attacked transports
and gunboats. After repairs at Mound City, 111., Novem-
ber 1864, she returned to active patrolling on the stretch
of river between Mound City and Memphis. Huntress
remained on that duty between March and July 1865,
maintaining Union control of the Mississippi during the
waning moments of the Civil War. In July, she returned
to Mound City and, after brief service transporting ord-
nance at the Naval Base, decommissioned 10 August
1865. She was sold 7 days later to Samuel Black.
Redocumented Huntress 2 October, she resumed her ca-
reer as a river steamer but was lost after stranding near
Alexandria, La., 30 December 1865.
II
(Sch: dp. 82; 1. 97' wl. ; b. 16'; dr. 7'3" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 20)
The second Huntress, a steam yacht with schooner rig,
was built in 1895 at Nyack on Hudson, N.Y., by Charles L.
Seabury & Co., and was purchased for the Navy from
F. C. Fowler in June 1898. She commissioned 1 July
1898 after outfitting at New York Navy Yard, Lt. Felton
Parker in command.
Used as an auxiliary gunboat, Huntress departed New
York for patrol duties off Staten Island, and from 29
July to 12 August cruised in Long Island Sound. She
then operated briefly around New York before decommis-
sioning in August or September. Huntress departed New
York Navy Yard 30 December 1898 for duty with the New
Jersey Naval Militia.
The yacht remained with the New Jersey Naval Militia
helping to train officers and men until 1907, when she
was loaned to Missouri for Naval Militia training.
Huntress was sold 3 December 1917.
Huntsville
Cities in Alabama and Texas. The first Huntsville
retained her former merchant name.
I
(ScStr : dp. 860 ; 1. 196'4'' ; b. 29'6'' ; dr. 19'5'' ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 64 ; a. 1 64-pdr., 2 32-pdrs. )
The first Huntsville, a wooden screw steamer, was
chartered from her owner, H. B. Cromwell & Oo., in New
York City 24 April 1861 ; commissioned there 9 May
1861, Comdr. Cicero Price in command ; and purchased by
the Navy 24 August 1861 while on active duty.
Huntsville sailed for Key West, arriving 11 May 1861,
and joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron. In early
August she steamed from the Florida coast westward
and almost immediately captured two small schooners
off Mobile. She cruised on blockade duty from Alabama
to Texas, and on 24 December she engaged Florida off
Mobile Bay. Following an hour-long gun battle, she
turned the blockade runner back into Mobile.
Huntsville returned to New York in the spring of 1862,
and she decommissioned 5 April. She recommissioned 11
June, Lt. Howard Rogers in command, and returned to
blockade duty along the Gulf Coast. By the end of
July she had taken three prizes, Confederate steamers
403
Adela and Reliance and British schooner Agnes, carrying
cargoes of cotton, rosin, and other commodities. Before
the end of the year, she captured two additional blockade
runners, schooners Courier and Ariel, trying to run into
Mobile with cargoes of lead, tin, medicines, wines, and
coffee.
As the relentless pressure of 'the blockade against
the South continued, the third year of the war proved
even more profitable for Huntsville. During 1863 she
captured two Confederate ships, Minnie and A. J. Hodge;
two British schooners, Surprise and Ascension; and
Spanish steamer TJnion. In addition, she drove 'two
others, Cuba and Eugenia, into the hands of other ships
in the blockading fleet and was given partial credit in
the capture of Last Trial, a Confederate sloop captured
off Key West harbor. Among the variety of cargo seized,
Huntsville captured 523 bales of cotton, the most valuable
commodity in the South ; and she prevented a great quan-
tity of supplies, mainly from Havana and Nassau, from
reaching the beleaguered South.
During the first part of 1864 Huntsville operated along
the coast of Florida and off Cuba. Late in May she
sailed to Tafupa Bay to support landing forces. An
outbreak of yellow fever in near-epidemic proportions
struck the Union ships. Huntsville was one of the
hardest hit, and the disease felled more than half her
crew. Departing Tampa 23 July, she coaled at Key West
and reached New York 3 August. Following a period of
quarantine, she decommissioned 19 August.
Huntsville recommissioned 25 March 1865, Lt. Comdr.
Edward F. Devens in command. Departing New York 2
April, she steamed via Mobile and arrived New Orleans
17 April. There she embarked passengers and prisoners
and sailed for New York, arriving Brooklyn Navy Yard
1 May. She departed 14 May; touched at Baltimore
to embark 150 men bound for Panama ; and arrived As-
pinwall 30 May. Departing Panama 5 June, she dis-
covered survivors of the wrecked steamer Golden Rule
on Roncador Island. With the aid of State of Georgia, she
rescued the stranded voyagers and carried them to Aspin-
wall. She sailed 16 June with 85 members of Golden
Rule’s crew embarked and arrived New York nine days
later.
After completing two passenger runs to Boston, Hunts-
ville escorted monitor Nausset to Philadelphia where she
arrived 22 August. She decommissioned there 28 Au-
gust and was sold at New York 30 November to Russell
Sturgis.
II
( T-AGM-7 : dp. 5,498 (lt.) ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 29' ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 49 ; a. none ; T. VC2-S-AP3)
The second Huntsville was laid down under Maritime
Commission contract as Knox Victory by Oregon Ship-
building Corp., Portland, Oregon, 2 March 1945 ; launched
13 April 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Charles B. Gilbert ; and
delivered to WSA 11 May 1945. During the remainder
of the war she operated as a merchant ship under charter
to Olympic Steamship Co., and she continued merchant
service under bareboat charters from the Maritime Com-
mission and the Maritime Administration until 1958 when
she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olym-
pia, Wash.
Knox Victory was acquired by the Navy from the Mari-
time Administration 11 August 1960 and assigned to
MSTS. She was renamed Huntsville and designated T-
AGM-7, a missile range instrumentation ship, 27 Novem-
ber. After conversion to a special projects ship by Triple
“A” Machine Shop, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., Hunts-
ville began duty as a range tracking ship in 1961.
Manned by a civilian crew, Huntsville operated out of
Port Hueneme, Calif., and Honolulu, Hawaii, while as-
signed to special duties in the Pacific. During the next
4 years she made intermittent “on station” patrols in the
Central Pacific, extending from the coast of Mexico to
Wake Island and the Marshalls. She continued these
patrols, which contributed mightily on America’s space
programs, until the spring of 1965 ; then she entered Avon-
dale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La., 2 June 1965 for con-
version, completed 30 October 1966. In June 1967
Huntsville returned to the Pacific, where she operated
with W atertown (T-AGM-6) . As an improved sea-based
tracking station, she provides an important link in com-
munications during the scheduled “Apollo” moon shots,
which will send American astronauts to the moon and
back.
Hu pa
A former name retained.
( SP-650 : dp. 5 ; 1. 63' ; b. 8' ; dr. 3' ; s. 25 k. )
Hupa, a wooden motor boat, was built by George Law-
ley & Sons, Neponset, Mass., in 1905 ; was acquired by the
Navy from her owner, L. T. Carey of Boston in June 1917 ;
and commissioned 10 July 1917 at Boston.
Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Hupa served as a
patrol craft in Cape Cod Bay and Cape Cod Canal, based
at Provincetown, Mass. She was struck from the Navy
List 25 October 1919 and offered for sale, finally being sold
to the Hyde Engineering Works of Montreal, Canada
12 March 1920.
Huron
Center lake in the Great Lakes and a city in east central
South Dakota. Huron IV and V were named after the
city.
I
ScStr. : t. 507 ; 1. 158' ; b. 28' ; dph. 12' ; a. 1 11-inch D.sb.,
1 20-pdr., 2 24" how.)
The first Huron, a schooner-rigged screw steamer, was
launched 21 September 1861 by Paul Curtis, Boston under
Navy contract; and commissioned 8 January 1862 at
Boston Navy Yard, Lt. John Downes in command.
Huron joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
in February to take part in Union strangulation of Con-
federate commerce, and steamed off the coasts of Georgia
and Florida. In addition to blockading duties, her men
often took part in shore expeditions against the Confed-
erates, as on 15 March 1862 on the Georgia coast. Huron
chased a schooner ashore 12 April 1862 and 7 days later
captured schooner Glide off Charleston with 100 bales of
cotton and other cargo. She also captured schooner
Albert 1 May and British blockade runner Cambria
26 May. As Union naval power increased the pressure
on Charleston in coordination with the Army, Huron
engaged batteries in the Stono River 30 May and took part
in an engagement with Fort McAllister 29 July 1862.
Back on regular blockade duty, she captured schooner
Aquilla 4 August.
Huron continued her patrol and blockading duties off
Charleston into 1863. During the ironclad attack on the
forts in Charleston Harbor 7 April 1863, the ship formed
part of a reserve squadron outside the bar. Five days
later, while patrolling with Flag, she detected blockade-
running steamer Stonewall Jackson attempting to dash
into Charleston. The two Union ships opened fire imme-
diately, so damaging the blockade runner that she was
forced to run aground and destroy her cargo, which
included vitally needed Army artillery and shoes.
The veteran blockader made two more captures in
December 1863-January 1864, and later in 1864 moved
north to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
whose main attention was turned to Wilmington, N.C.,
and its powerful defender. Fort Fisher. During the first
attack on the fort 24 to 25 December 1864, Huron took
part in the bombardment which was to cover the storming
by Army troops. This first assault aborted, but prepara-
tions were quickly made for a second joint operation in
January 1865. Again Huron provided a part of the dev-
astating naval bombardment; and, with the help of a
landing party of 2.000 sailors and marines, the Army as-
sault forces captured Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865, effec-
404
tually closing Wilmington to blockade runners. Then,
during the final months of the war, Huron took part in
combined operations against the city itself, bombarding
Forts Anderson and St Philip in February.
After Appomattox, responding to the attempted escape
of President Davis of the Confederate States, Huron
steamed to Key West in an effort to capture Confederate
officials bound for Havana or Mexico by water. She ar-
rived 2 May, but Davis was captured near Iwinville, Ga.,
10 May 1865.
Huron served on South American station after the Civil
War, returning to New York and decommissioning 8 Octo-
ber 1868. She was sold at New York 14 June 1869.
II
(ScStr. : dp. 1,020; 1. 175'; b. 32'; dph. 15'; a. 1 11-inch
D.r., 2 9-in. D.r., 1 60-pdr. P.r., 1 12-pdr. how., 1 G.g. ;
cl. Alert)
The second Huron, an iron sloop-rigged steamer, was
built by John Roach, Chester, Pa., 1873-75, and commis-
sioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 15 November 1875,
Comdr. George P. Ryan in command.
Huron arrived 11 December 1875 for duty at Norfolk,
and spent the next 2 years cruising in the Caribbean and
the Gulf of Mexico. She stopped at Yera Cruz and Key
West on her first cruise, returning to Port Royal 4 August
1876, and visited many Caribbean and Venezuelan ports
March-June 1877. After repairs at New York Navy Yard
in August, the ship sailed to Hampton Roads, and
departed 23 November 1877 for a scientific cruise on the
coast of Cuba. Huron encountered heavy weather soon
after departure, however, and was wrecked shortly after
1 a.m. next morning near Nag’s Head, N.C. For a time
her crew worked in relatively little danger, attempting to
free their ship, but she soon heeled over, carrying 98
officers and men to their deaths.
Screw gunboat Alliance (q.v.) was launched as Huron
3 March 1875 but was renamed before commissioning.
Ill
(Str : t. 10,170; 1. 523' ; b. 60' ; dr. 34' ; s. 15 k. ; cpl. 446)
The third Huron was built as Friedrich Der Grossc in
1896 by Vulcan Shipbuilding Corp. Stettin, Germany, and
sailed the Atlantic for North German Lloyd Lines until
being interned in New York Harbor in 1914. She was
seized as a prize of war 6 April 1917. Her crew had sab-
otaged her boilers so the ship was taken to Robbins Dry-
dock Co., Brooklyn for repairs. The USSB then turned
the ship over to the Navy, and she commissioned at New
York Navy Yard 25 July 1917 as Fredrick Der Grossc.
The ship, Comdr. S. II. R. Doyle in command, was renamed
Huron 1 September 1917.
Huron acted as a troop transport during the remaining
years of the war. She made eight round trips to France
before the Armistice, and then seven more, bringing Amer-
ican soldiers back from Europe.
She arrived New York after her last voyage 23 August
1919 and decommissioned 2 September for return to the
USSB.
Huron operated in the Atlantic for the U.S. Mail Lines
(later U.S. Lines) from 1920 to 1922. Renamed City
of Honolulu in May 1922, she was turned over to the Los
Angeles Steamship Co. ; and on her maiden voyage caught
fire 12 October and sank with no loss of passengers or
crew.
Ocean tug Allegheny (q.v.) was originally named Hu-
ron, but renamed before launching.
IV
Armored cruiser South Dakota (q.v.) wTas renamed
Huron 7 June 1920.
V
(PF-19: dp. 1,430; 1. 303'1" ; b. 37'6'' ; dr. 13'8" ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 190; a. 3 3'', 4 40mm.; cl. Tacoma; T. S2-
S2-AQ1 )
The fifth Huron (PF-19), originally PG-127, was
launched under Maritime Commission contract by Ameri-
can Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, Ohio 3 July 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. J. S. Tschetter, wife of the mayor of Huron,
S. Dak. ; acquired and commissioned 7 September 1944,
Lt. Comdr. W. W. Collins, USCG, in command.
Manned by a coast guard crew, Huron conducted shake-
down training off Bermuda during October and November.
Returning to Norfolk, the ship sailed with a convoy bound
from Norfolk to North Africa 1 December 1944. While
bringing together merchant ships which had become sepa-
rated during the night, Huron was rammed by SS James
Fcnimore Cooper shortly after midnight 8 December.
Though the engine room flooded rapidly, the ship’s dam-
age control work was timely and skillful, keeping her
afloat. After temporary repairs, Huron was towed
through rough weather by Choctaw, arriving Bermuda 15
December 1944. From there she was taken to Charleston
for conversion to a sonar-training ship.
Huron arrived Key West 22 February 1945 for training
operations at the Fleet Sonar School. She spent the re-
mainder of the war providing both technical and tactical
antisubmarine training for officers and men. Huron de-
parted Key West for Norfolk 19 March 1946 and decom-
missioned there 19 April 1946. She was sold to United
Dock Corp. 15 May 1947.
Huron, Lake, see Lake Huron
Hurst
The first Hurst (SP-3196) retained her merchant name,
The second Hurst (DE-250) was named for Edwin
William Hurst. Born 16 October 1910 at Falls City,
Nebr., he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1932.
After serving in Tennessee, he completed flight training in
1935. He was then assigned to several squadrons and
aviation shore facilities before reporting on board Lexing-
ton 19 May 1941. Hurst earned two Distinguished Fly-
ing crosses. During the critical Battle of the Coral Sea
7 to 8 May 1942, he daringly attacked carrier Slioho, scor-
ing hits which contributed to her sinking ; and the follow-
ing day severely damaged carrier Shokaku. While flying
over the uncharted Owen Stanley range, he pressed home
a successful torpedo attack in the face of heavy antiair-
craft fire, severely damaging enemy shipping and installa-
tions at Salamaua and Lae, N.G., 10 March 1942. With
his gallant carrier Lexington sunk during the Battle of the
Coral Sea, Lt. Hurst flew from New Zealand until his
death 9 June 1942 in a crash near Whemuapai.
I
(SP-3196: dp. 17; 1. 62'7" ; b. 12'8'' ; dr. 5'; s. 15 k.)
Hurst, a motor boat, was built by W. F. Dunn, of Nor-
folk, Va., in 1918 and was acquired by the Navy from her
owner, T. C. Hurst, of Norfolk, 22 August 1918. She com-
missioned the same day, Boatswain’s Mate 2/c Raymond
Cash in command.
Hurst was assigned as a passenger and dispatch boat
under the 5th Naval District and served the District
Supervisor, NOTS, at Hampton Roads until being turned
over to the Public Health Service, Department of the
Treasury, 15 November 1919.
II
(DE-250 : dp. 1,200 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3'' ; 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Edsall)
The second Hurst (DE-250), a destroyer escort, wras
launched by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 14
April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Jeanette Harris Hurst,
405
widow; and commissioned 30 August 1943, Lt. Comdr.
B. H. Brallier commanding.
Hurst departed Houston 3 September and after a short
period of outfitting at Galveston sailed 12 September for
shakedown training off Bermuda. After returning briefly
to Charleston in November and screening a convoy to the
Caribbean, Hurst arrived Norfolk, Va., 29 November 1943
to join Escort Division 20.
Assigned to the vital job of protecting ocean commerce
from submarines, Hurst departed Norfolk with her first
convoy 14 December 1943, stopped at Casablanca, and re-
turned to New York 24 January 1944. She then con-
ducted gunnery and antisubmarine warfare exercises in
Casco Bay, Maine, before sailing with another convoy
from New York 23 February. Enemy action was not the
only hazard on such voyages as two days out of New York
merchant vessels El Coston and Murfreesboro collided
and sank during a heavy gale, the survivors being taken
on board one of the ever-ready escort ships. Hurst
reached Lisahally, Northern Ireland, 5 March 1944, and
1 week later returned to New York with another convoy.
Hurst made no less than 10 more escort voyages from
Boston or New York to ports in Northern Ireland and
Great Britain before returning to New York 11 June
1945. In this way she contributed mightily to winning the
“Battle of the Atlantic”. After her final voyage, the de-
stroyer escort sailed with her division for training in
Chesapeake Bay and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Reas-
signed to the Pacific Fleet for these last months of the
war, she transited the Panama Canal and arrived Pearl
Harbor via San Diego 26 July 1945. There the ship took
part in exercises with submarines and departed 27 August
for the Samoan Islands. Arriving Pago Pago 25 Septem-
ber, Hurst spent the next weeks steaming among the small
outlying islands of the Samoan, Fiji, and Society and
other island groups, sending parties ashore to search for
missing personnel and to investigate possible remaining
enemy units. Completing this painstaking duty she de-
parted Pago Pago 3 November 1945 and sailed for San
Diego via Pearl Harbor. She arrived San Diego 23 No-
vember and sailed 2 days later for New York via the
Panama Canal. Hurst entered New York harbor 10 De-
cember 1945, sailed to Green Cove Springs, Fla., and then
decommissioned there 1 May 1946. She then entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs. In Janu-
ary 1947 Hurst was transferred to Orange, Tex., where she
remains.
Hurst, Floyd, see Floyd Hurst (SP-2384)
Huse
Harry McLaren Pinckney Huse was born at the Military
Academy, West Point, N.Y., 8 December 1858 and grad-
uated from the Naval Academy in 1878. During the
Spanish-American War, he served as Executive Officer in
Gloucester and under Richard Wainright, took part in the
famous Battle of Santiago. The converted yacht, off the
harbor entrance when the Spanish fleet sortied, engaged
enemy destroyers Pluton and Furor, defeating both.
Lieutenant Huse was advanced five numbers in grade for
“eminent and conspicuous conduct in battle.” He later
led a successful landing party at Guaniea, Puerto Rico 25
July 1898. Following the war, Huse taught at the Naval
Academy and commanded various ships, including Ver-
mont and Nevada. He also took part in the landings at
Vera Cruz 21-22 April 1914, and for his skillful direction
and outstanding leadership received the Medal of Honor.
In 1919 he went to France as a member of the Allied Naval
Armistice Commission, and 24 June 1920 became Com-
mander, U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters, with the
rank of Vice Admiral. Admiral Huse’s last active assign-
ment was as a member of the General Board. Retiring
in December 1922, he died 14 May 1942 at the Naval Hospi-
tal, Bethesda, Md.
(DE-145 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306'; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7” ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21” tt.; cl. Edsall)
Huse (DE-145) was launched by Consolidated Steel
Corp., Orange, Tex. 23 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
L. M. Humrichduse, daughter of Vice Admiral Huse; and
commissioned 30 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. W. A. Sessions in
command.
Following exhaustive shakedown cruise off Bermuda,
Huse returned to Charleston 25 October 1943. She then
moved to Norfolk for additional training before joining her
first Atlantic convoy there 13 November. After seeing this
convoy safely to Casablanca, she returned to New York
Christmas Day 1943. Following training exercises off
Norfolk, Huse escorted another convoy to Africa 25 Janu-
ary-11 February 1944, then, before returning home, en-
gaged in antisubmarine patrol work off Gibraltar with
ships of the Royal Navy.
Returning to New York 8 March, the ship was given a
new assignment: to join escort carrier Croatan’s anti-
submarine group in the Atlantic. Sailing from Norfolk 24
March to search for U-boats, the ships were rewarded with
contact 7 April. The escorts dogged U-856 until it sur-
faced and was destroyed by gunfire from Huse and Champ-
lin. After a brief period at Bermuda, the group stood out
to the search area again 12 April. Carrier aircraft and
escort vessels came upon another submarine 26 April,
and the DE’s sank U-boat U-488.
Huse spent the period 11 May-3 June at Brooklyn, de-
parting the latter date with Croatan to search for sub-
marines. They had not long to wait, beginning attacks on
a submerged submarine the morning of 11 June. Six
depth charge and two hedgehog runs brought no confirma-
tion of a sinking, but the persistent ships remained in the
area searching until just after midnight 12 June when
radar revealed a surfaced submarine. The badly damaged
U-Sf90 was finished off by gunfire. In the months that fol-
lowed Huse continued to operate with the Croatan hunter-
killer group that had much to do with keeping open the
important supply lines to Europe. Replenishing as neces-
sary at Norfolk, Bermuda, or Casablanca, they scoured the
sea for enemy submarines. In addition, Huse rescued
downed pilots from Croatan' s air group on three separate
occasions. She arrived Brooklyn 2 October 1944 for re-
pairs and training, after which she conducted exercises in
Chesapeake Bay and the Caribbean.
Huse joined Croatan for hunter-killer operations again
25 March 1945, and two of her sister ships scored a kill on
TJ-880 on 16 April 1945 in the Atlantic. They continued to
operate in northern waters out of Argentia until return-
ing to New York 14 May 1945.
The war against Germany over, Huse prepared to join
the Pacific Fleet for the final effort to defeat Japan. She
sailed 10 July 1945 for training exercises in the Caribbean,
passing through the Panama Canal and arriving San Diego
7 August 1945. During the voyage to Pearl Harbor, the
ship learned of Japan’s collapse 15 August. After various
exercises in Hawaiian waters, the veteran escort ship re-
turned to Norfolk via San Diego and the Canal Zone 28
September 1945. She, subsequently, arrived Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 19 January 1946 ; decommissioned 27 March :
and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Huse recommissioned in response to the increased needs
of the Navy during the Korean conflict 3 August 1951.
After shakedown training in the Caribbean, she arrived
Key West 15 January 1952 to act as sonar-training ship.
In May she steamed northward to take part in a cold-
weather operation off Labrador. The ship then began
regular training operations, based at Newport, R.I., tak-
ing her to the Caribbean and Key West. This antisub-
marine readiness training was maintained until July
1955 when the ship sailed to Norfolk to embark NROTC
Midshipmen on a training cruise to Northern Europe.
Huso returned to Newport 3 September 1955 and resumed
antisubmarine operations. This continued until early
1957 when she made preparations to join the crack Navy
task group operating off the Atlantic Missile Test Range.
406
During May 1957 IT use operated off Puerto Rico in
connection with the launching of a Vanguard satellite
test vehicle, and the subsequent nose cone recovery ef-
forts. After further tactical exercises at Key West, she
sailed in September for important NATO exercises in
Northern European waters, returning to Newport 21 Oc-
tober 1957. During 1958 and 1959, except for short
cruises to the Caribbean and periodic overhaul, Muse
remained in the Key West area on sonar-training op-
erations.
Huse was assigned to the Naval Reserve Training pro-
gram in March 1960, and for the next three months car-
ried out training cruises with reservists from New York
and Norfolk. She arrived New Orleans, her new home
port, 6 July 1960 to begin reserve training cruises, de-
signed to keep the Navy’s reserve officers and men at
a peak of training and professional knowledge should
expansion of the navy be required to protect and defend
the United States. In October 1962, when the introduc-
tion of offensive missiles into Cuba brought on just such
a demand, Huse promptly steamed to Florida to bolster
Naval strength in support of the quarantine operations.
Through 1963 into 1965 she continued to operate out of
New Orleans in the Gulf and the Caribbean performing
her vital training function. In June 1965 Huse decommis-
sioned and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at
Norfolk, Va., where she remains.
Huse received five battle stars for World War II service,
Husl, see YF-112If
Hustle
To push, move, or shove in a rude, rough, or hurried
manner ; to work or act rapidly or energetically.
The wooden ferry launch Despatch ( q.v .) was re-
named Hustle 11 April 1918 while serving at the Naval
Training Station, Newport, R.I.
Hutchins
Carleton Barm ore Hutchins was born in Albany, N.Y.,
12 September 1904 and graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy in 1926. After serving in battleship Pennsylvania
until 1928, he underwent flight training at Pensacola
and was designated a naval aviator in February 1929.
During the early thirties Hutchins flew fighters from
Saratoga, scout planes from Concord, and studied aero-
nautical engineering at the California Institute of Tech-
nology. In 1937 he served with a seaplane squadron in
the Caribbean and in November was transferred to Patrol
Squadron 11 based on Langley. During fleet exercises
2 February 1938 off the coast of southern California,
Lieutenant Hutchins’ seaplane collided in mid-air with
another PBY. His citation for the Medal of Honor reads :
“Although his plane was badly damaged, Lieutenant
Hutchins remained at the controls endeavoring to bring
the damaged plane to a safe landing and to afford an
opportunity for his crew to escape by parachutes. His
cool, calculated conduct contributed principally to the
saving of the lives of all who survived. His conduct on
this occasion was above and beyond the call of duty.”
Lieutenant Hutchins lost his life in the crash and received
the Medal of Honor posthumously.
(DD-476: dp. 2.050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17 '9" ; s.
37 k. ; cpl. 273 ; a. 5 5", 6 40mm., 10 20mm., 10 21" tt. ;
cl. Fletcher)
Hutchins (DD-476) was launched by Boston Navy Yard,
Boston 20 February 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. C. B. Hutch-
ins, widow of Lieutenant Hutchins; and commissioned 17
November 1942, Lt. Comdr. E. W. Herron in command.
After completing shakedown cruise in Casco Bay, Maine,
Hutchins got underway from Boston 17 March 1943 and
escorted two tankers to Galveston, Tex. From there she
proceeded through the Panama Canal to San Diego, where
she arrived 11 April. Following an escort voyage to New
Caledonia and Espiritu Santo, Hutchins arrived Pearl
Harbor 30 May for armament alterations. While testing
her guns in Hawaiian waters 25 June, an electrical failure
caused the gun to fire into Hutchins’ stack, killing 9 men
and wounding 20. While repairing at Pearl Harbor, the
ship was fitted with the newest Combat Information Cen-
ter equipment.
The ship returned to San Diego 11 July 1943 for train-
ing, and got underway with an LST group 7 days later
for the voyage to Adak Island in the Aleutians. She took
part in the occupation of Kiska 15 August as the Japanese
gave up their Aleutians foothold, and in the months that
followed patrolled the islands and engaged in fleet train-
ing maneuvers.
Hutchins departed the bleak northern Pacific 18 No-
vember 1943 for the steaming and bitterly-contested coast
of New Guinea. She arrived Milne Bay 19 December and
soon afterward screened LST’s during the landings at
Cape Gloucester. Designed to secure the important
straits between New Britain and New Guinea, the land-
ings began 26 December. Hutchins and the other screen-
ing vessels came under severe air attack in the days that
followed, with Hutchins downing one aircraft and assist-
ing with another. After escorting a support convoy to
Cape Gloucester from Buna, the destroyer steamed with
another LST group to Saidor, farther up the coast of
New Guinea. During a rain squall she collided with an-
other destroyer in the congested assault area, and was
forced to steam to Cairns, Australia 16 January for bow
repairs.
Hutchins departed Cairns 22 February and, after im-
portant night tactical drills, sailed 28 February with Ad-
miral Barbey’s amphibious group for the Admiralties.
Arriving next day, the ship carried out shore bombardment
of Manus, the base which was to become so vital in the
coming campaigns, and with Rear Admiral Crutchley,
RN, in HMAS Shropshire, established a patrol off Manus.
During late March and April Hutchins and other de-
stroyers made bombardment sweeps of Wewak and Hansa
Bay, encouraging the Japanese in the mistaken belief that
the next amphibious assault would be in that area. In
reality it was planned for much farther up the coast, at
Hollandia.
Steaming from Cape Sudest 18 April, Hutchins arrived
Hollandia 22 April and with other fleet units gave close
gunfire support to the well-executed initial assault. She
then retired to screen escort carriers providing air cover
and, near the end of April, bombarded Wakde Island. The
versatile destroyer steamed south of Truk 10 May to pick
up survivors of a B-24 raid on the Japanese stronghold, re-
turning south for the next step in New Guinea.
Hutchins next took part in the Wakde-Sarmi operation
17 May. After shore bombardment and screening opera-
tions she moved on to Biak with its vital airbase site 10
days later. Early in June the destroyer operated with
Task Forces 74 and 75 off Biak, and on the night of the 8th,
the ships detected Japanese ships approaching from the
northwest. The enemy destroyers cast off their troop-
laden barges and with Hutchins and the rest of Admiral
Crutchley’s force in pursuit, retired rapidly. During a
long stem chase the destroyers exchanged gunfire at long
range; Allied ships broke off the chase just before 0230
and returned to the assault area.
In July Hutchins took part in the Noemfoor landings,
providing the all-important gunfire support, and operated
with the nimble PT boats in the Aitape area 15-25 July
in harassing Japanese communications. She also took
part 30 July in the landings at Sansapor, completing the
brilliant series of amphibious hops along the northern
coast of New Guinea.
August 1944 was spent at Sydney and on fleet exercises
off New Guinea, and, after a drydock period, Hutchins
sailed from Humboldt Bay 12 September to take part in
the Morotai landings, an important steppingstone to the
Philippines. She bombarded airstrips 16 September and
returned to Seeadler Harbor 29 September to prepare for
407
256-125 0-68-28
the invasion of the Philippines. The giant invasion fleet
sortied to arrive Leyte Gulf 20 October. Hutchins took
part in preinvasion bombardment, gunfire support, and
patrolled the entrance after the initial phases of the
assault.
As the Japanese fleet moved toward the Philippines
in a gigantic three-pronged attempt 'to stop the invasion,
Hutchins joined Admiral Oldendorf’s surface forces wait-
ing in Surigao Strait for Nishamura’s Southern Force.
In this major phase of the larger Battle for Leyte Gulf,
Hutchins, carrying the flag of Captain McManes, DesRon
24, was stationed on the right flank of the powerful array
of firepower Oldendorf had assembled. As Nishamura
steamed up the strait early 25 October his ships were
harassed by PT boats and then attacked by destroyers
on both sides. Hutchins' group steamed boldly south,
launched torpedoes at about 0330, and turned to close
the range. As the large Japanese ships began to slow and
scatter, the destroyers fired another spread of torpedoes,
this time blowing up destroyer Hichisliio. After exchang-
ing gunfire with the Japanese heavy ships, McManes
brought Hutchins and the rest of the squadron out of
range, their job gallantly and skillfully done, so that
the big guns of the waiting fleet could open fire. Olden-
dorf won a smashing night victory, and Japanese naval
power was dealt a death blow.
After the decisive actions of Leyte Gulf, Hutchins re-
turned to screening. She ran onto an uncharted hulk 26
October and after helping to repel air attacks until 29
October, sailed for San Francisco via Pearl Harbor, ar-
riving 25 November 1944 for repairs.
Hutchins returned to Pearl Harbor to resume her com-
bat duty 26 January 1945. Training exercises were car-
ried out until 3 February when she steamed toward Saipan
to join a carrier force for the Iwo Jima operation. Her
carrier group arrived 3 days before the landings to pound
Japanese defenses and continued to support the operation
during February and March 1945. With this important
island in allied hands, Hutchins returned to Ulithi briefly
before sailing 27 March for the giant Okinawa operation,
last step on the long island campaign toward Japan. She
screened a transport group during the landings 1 April
and for 3 days following, undergoing numerous air at-
tacks which she skillfully helped repel. Assigned to
gunfire support 4 April, in the battle-filled days that fol-
lowed Hutchins spent her days close to the beaches and
her nights screening the larger ships during bombard-
ment and air defense. Hutchins shot down several at-
tacking planes during the great air attack 6 April, rescuing
survivors from the stricken Newcomb, and was under
severe attack again 12-13 April.
While on close support operations 27 April, Hutchins
was attacked by a Japanese suicide boat. The small fast
boat slipped through the formation and dropped a large
explosive charge close aboard. Hutchins was shaken
violently by the explosion and her hull severely damaged,
but no casualties were suffered and damage control parties
brought flooding under control. The ship retired to Ke-
rama Retto for temporary repairs, thence to Portland,
Oreg., 15 July 1945.
Still undergoing repairs at war’s end Hutchins was
towed to Puget Sound 20 September 1945. She decom-
missioned at Bremerton 30 November 1945, afid was sold
for scrap in January 1948 to Learner & Co., Oakland,
Calif.
Hutchins received six battle stars for World War II
service.
Hutchins, Johnnie, see Johnnie Hutchins (DE-360)
Hutchinson
A city in central Kansas.
( PF-45 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303T1" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20;
cpl. 190; a. 33", 2 dct., 1 dep. (h.h.), 8 dcp. ; cl. Tacoma)
Hutchinson (PF-A5) , originally designated PG-153,
was launched 27 August 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp.,
Los Angeles, Calif., under Maritime Commission contract ;
sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Cole; and commissioned 3 Feb-
ruary 1944, Comdr. C. H. Stober, USCG commanding.
The frigate engaged in shakedown training until 13
April 1944, and departed San Pedro 30 April for the
southwest Pacific. She arrived via Pearl Harbor at one
of the most important bodies of water in the Pacific
area, Leyte Gulf, 10 November. There Hutchinson took
up escort and patrol duties among the many transports
supporting the landing. During her stay off Leyte the
ship engaged in several battles with attacking Japanese
aircraft. Hutchinson sailed for Fremantle, Australia, via
New Guinea, 30 November 1944.
Assigned to the submarine base, Fremantle, for training
duty with submarines, Hutchinson remained in Australia
until 27 August 1945. Departing for the United States,
she touched at Manus and Pearl before arriving Terminal
Island, Calif., 10 January 1946. Here she converted to a
weather ship. Following conversion, she proceeded to
Seattle and got underway 6 February 1946 for weather
station A in the northern Pacific. After performing the
demanding and essential task of weather picket for two
separate periods, Hutchinson sailed to San Francisco and
decommissioned 15 April 1946. She was then recommis-
sioned a Coast Guard vessel on loan from the Navy, and
sailed westward to take up her weather ship duties once
more. After two more such cruises, Hutchinson arrived
Seattle in early September and decommissioned 23 Sep-
tember 1946.
Hutchinson was stricken from the Navy List 29 October
1946 and was sold to Mexico 24 November 1947. She
served the Mexican Navy as California until scrapped in
June 1964.
Hutchinson received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Hyac
A former name retained.
(SP-216: dp. 48; 1. 75'4" ; b. 14'5" ; dr. 5' ; s. 10 k.)
Hyac, a yacht, was built in 1915 by Weckler Boat Co..
Chicago, and was acquired from her owner, W. M. Derby,
of Chicago, in 1917. Commissioned 5 July 1917, her first
Commanding Officer was Lt. W. M. Derby, USNRF.
Assigned to the 9th, 10th, and 11th Naval Districts,
Hyac served as a patrol boat on the Great Lakes between
Chicago and 'Sault Ste. Marie, based at 'Chicago, until
returned to her owner 26 November 1918.
Hyacinth
A well-known plant of the lily family having spikes of
bell-shaped flowers.
I
(ScStr. : t. 50; dr. 6', s. 8 k. ; a. 1 gun)
The first Hyacinth was a tug used by the Army under
the name Spitfire on the upper Mississippi River in 1862.
She captured Confederate transport Sovereign near Fort
Pillow, Tenn., 5 June 1862; and 9 days later, took steamer
Clara Dolsen after a long chase from Helena, Ark., ending
on the White River a short distance above its mouth.
Spitfire was transferred by the War Department to
the Navy 30 September 1862, and renamed Hyacinth 19
October. Hyacinth served the Mississippi Squadron until
the end of the war. She was especially useful in opera-
tions which resulted in the fall of Vicksburg, and assisted
in the salvage work which refloated Indianola. She was
sold at public auction at Mound City, 111., to A. T. Paine 17
August 1865.
II
(ScStr.: t. 738; 1. 165'0" ; b. 28' 0" ; dr. 11'6" ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 25)
408
The second Hyacinth was a lighthouse tender launched
for the U.S. Lighthouse Service 26 July 1902. She was
transferred to the Navy with the entire Lighthouse Serv-
ice by Executive order 11 April 1917. Throughout the war
she continued to perform her former duties servicing light-
houses and other navigational aids in the Great Lakes.
She was returned to the custody of the Department of
Commerce 1 July 1919.
Hyades
A cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus, including
Aldebaran, shaped like the letter “V”.
(AF-28 : dp. 7,700 It. ; 1. 468'9" ; b. 63' ; dr. 25'11" ; s. 16
k. ; cpl. 252; a. 1 5", 4 3" ; cl. Hyades; T. C2-S-E1)
Hyades (AF-28), ex-Iberville, was launched under
Maritime Commission contract by Gulf Shipbuilding Co.,
Chickasaw, Ala., 12 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. L. R.
Sanford; and commissioned at Bethlehem Steel, Balti-
more, after conversion, 1 August 1(444; Comdr. M. C.
Wheyland in command.
Hyades got underway 11 September 1044 for Trinidad
and the Panama Canal, escorted by destroyer Warrington.
In the Caribbean the ships encountered a severe hurri-
cane ; by 13 September Warrington was foundering. The
heavy weather had separated the two ships; when the
destroyer went down, Hyades proceeded to her last known
position to pick up survivors. She rescued 61 before pro-
ceeding to Panama, where she arrived 19 September.
The refrigerator ship steamed to Majuro to supply the
fleet with foodstuffs 10 October, touching at Kwajalein,
Eniwetok, and other bases before returning to San Fran-
cisco. Underway again 1 December 1944, the ship made
two more voyages to the advance bases and the Philip-
pines with stores, returning to Seattle from the second
cruise 13 April 1945. She continued on this duty, so
vital to the support of our huge Pacific fleet, until well
after the surrender of Japan. In addition to supplying
ships she brought food and supplies to many shore bases.
In 1946 Hyades brought supplies to American ground
troops in China, spending March at Tsingtao and April
at Hong Kong. In 1947 she continued to support the ef-
forts to protect American interests and establish democ-
racy in that troubled country, spending several months
at Shanghai. Thereafter operating out of San Francisco,
Hyades became a familiar sight to the various occupation
groups and island outposts in the Pacific.
The ship sailed through the Panama Canal to Norfolk
to join the Atlantic Fleet, arriving 14 June 1948. She de-
parted for her first cruise to the Mediterranean 12 July
1948, during which she operated with the fast Carrier
forces serving as a mobile replenishment ship. During
this troubled period, 1948-1955, U.S. fleet units did much
to protect freedom in the area, notably in Greece and Tur-
key ; Hyades brought supplies and showed the flag in many
Mediterranean ports, including Piraeus, Naples, Valencia,
and Gibraltar.
As tension mounted in the Mediterranean in early 1956,
Hyades replenished destroyers patrolling the eastern
Mediterranean, returning to Norfolk 28 February. She
later rendezvoused with powerful fleet units in July, in-
cluding Iowa, New Jersey, Des Moines, and Macon, as
American naval power moved in to prevent the widening
of the Suez crisis. In April of 1957 the ship replenished
carrier Lake Champlain during moves to support the
threatened government of Jordan and took part in an im-
portant NATO fleet exercise during September-October
in northern European waters.
In the years that followed, Hyades continued to support
the 6th Fleet in its cold war operations, keeping the peace
in the Mediterranean. During August-September 1958,
she visited Crete and Turkey when the latter country was
threatened. In 1959, she sailed 11 May for fleet replenish-
ment in response to the heightened Berlin crisis, effec-
tively showing American might and determination. The
veteran stores ship returned twice more to the Mediter-
ranean in 1959, and again in 1960 and 1961.
Hyades responded quickly in the Cuban missile crisis
of 1962, arriving at Guantanamo Bay 22 October to evac-
uate dependents as the introduction of offensive missiles
forced a naval quarantine of the island. After the safe
evacuation, the ship returned to the quarantine line for
underway replenishment of the ships patrolling off Cuba.
After the easing of the situation in December, Hyades
entered Horne Bros. Shipyard in Newport News, Va., for
the installation of a helicopter deck aft to increase her
versatility and replenishment capabilities.
During 1963 the ship cruised with the 6th Fleet in July
and August. In 1964 she took part in Operation Spring-
board in the Caribbean, returning to Norfolk 1 February
1964. Hyades continued to serve the Fleet through the
mid 1960’s and in the Fall of 1967 was based at Nor-
folk, Va.
Hyde
Countries in North Carolina and South Dakota.
( APA-173 : dp. 6,873 (It.) ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 17 k. ;
a. 1 5" ; cl. Haskell)
Hyde (APA-173) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland,
Oreg., 30 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. James H. Bond ;
and commissioned 26 November 1944, Captain E. F. May
commanding.
Following a brief shakedown cruise, Hyde arrived
Seattle 27 January 1945 to embark troops and cargo, after
which she sailed for Pearl Harbor in convoy 1 February.
Carrying reinforcements for the Pacific campaign, then
drawing to its climax, Hyde stopped at Eniwetok before
anchoring at Iwo Jima 13 March. The ship remained off
that battle-scarred island only long enough to unload,
then steamed to Guam 15 March, where she embarked
over 400 marine casualties. Hyde continued to Pearl
Harbor, loaded more casualties 29 March, and arrived
San Francisco 22 May 1945.
By June the Okinawa campaign, last step on the island
road to Japan, was well underway, and Hyde sailed 6
June with cargo and troops. After stopping at Ulithi she
arrived Okinawa 24 July. There she discharged her
passengers and cargo under constant threat of air attack,
getting underway for Ulithi 6 August. During this stay
at the giant staging base, Hyde received the news of the
surrender of Japan.
The transport immediately took up duties in connection
with the occupation. She arrived Leyte 21 August, loaded
troops, and disembarked them with the early occupation
forces 8 September at Yokohama. Hyde then took on
board Allied prisoners of war for transportation to Guam,
where she arrived 23 September. Sailing to Tsingtao 11
October, the transport debarked marines for the occupa-
tion of China and to aid in the stabilization of that trou-
bled country. She then steamed to Manila and thence to
Haiphong, Indochina, arriving 2 November. At Haiphong,
Hyde embarked 200 Nationalist Chinese troops for further
transfer to Chinwangtao, China, and unloaded them 12
November to aid in the occupation. After a stop at Taku,
the transport arrived Sasebo, Japan, 4 December 1945 to
join in “Magic-Carpet,” the vast operation designed to re-
turn veterans with the greatest possible speed. Hyde
sailed for California 7 December and arrived San Diego
22 December. After a second voyage, to Pearl Harbor and
back, she sailed 16 February 1946 via Panama for Nor-
folk. She arrived there 13 March, decommissioned 14
May and returned to the Maritime Commission 2 days
later. She was placed in the National Defense Reserve
Fleet and is berthed on the James River, near Norfolk,
Va.
Hyde received one battle star for World War II service.
#
Hydra
A southern constellation of stars named for the nine-
headed water monster in Greek mythology slain by Her-
409
cules as the second of 12 “Labors” which were imposed
upon him by Eurystheus, the king of Argos.
The light draft monitor Tunxis ( q.v .) was renamed
Hydra 15 June 1869, while laid up out of commission at
League Island, Pa.
I
( AK-82 : dp. 1,677; 1. 269T0'' ; b. 42'6" ; dr. 20'9" ; s. 10
k. ; cpl. 83 ; a. 1 3" ; cl. Enceladus ; T. N3-M-A1)
Hydra (AK-82), formerly Eben H. Linnell, was
launched 23 January 1943 under Maritime Commission
contract by Penn-Jersey Ship Building Corp., Camden,
N. J. ; acquired by the Navy 1 January 1943 ; and commis-
sioned 25 September 1943, Lt. E. F. McCotter, USCGR, in
command.
Hydra arrived at Norfolk 1 October to prepare for her
shakedown. For the next month she engaged in various
operations, including speed trials and target runs in the
Chesapeake Bay. She departed Norfolk in early Novem-
ber and sailed into Boston Harbor 5 November to begin
transferring process. She decommissioned 19 November
1943 and transferred to the Army the same day. Hydra
served in the Army as an ammunition ship and was sub-
sequently returned to the Maritime Commission. Hydra
was renamed Madison Jordan Manchester and arrived
in the James River 20 August 1947 where she is berthed
as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
Hydrangea
( ScTug : t. 224 ; 1. 120' ; b. 20'3" ; dph. 9'6" ; s. 11 k. ; a.
1 20-pdr. Parrott r. ; 2 12-pdr. how.)
Hydrangea, a wooden steam tug, was built as Hippo-
dame in 1862 at Buffalo, N.Y., and purchased by the Navy
at New York, from her owner, C. W. Copeland, 16 October
1863. She commissioned at New York Navy Yard 18 April
1864, Ens. C. W. Rogers in command.
Reporting to Hampton Roads for duty with the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Hydrangea spent May
towing monitors and acting as tender to Onondaga. She
then took up station in the James River, where she acted
as a tug and mail boat. Making two trips a day from
Deep Bottom, near the front lines, to the large supply
base at City Point, she helped support the Union efforts
to break the military stalemate around Richmond. Hy-
drangea was then transferred to the South Atlantic Block-
ading Squadron 23 July 1864, and after repairing reported
to Port Royal, S.C., 30 September. She was used as a
blockading ship and tug inside the Charleston Bar until
the end of the war. Hydrangea decommissioned at New
York 1 September 1865, and was sold 25 October to S. and
J. M. Flanagan. Redocum.ented Norman 4 January 1866,
she returned to private service and was stranded and lost
off Cape May, N.J., 17 November 1886.
Hydraulic
A former name retained.
( Sp-2584 : dp. 30; 1. 83'6" ; b. 11'6" ; dr. 5'6" ; s. 13 k.)
Hydraulic, a steam yacht, was built by A. C. Brown
Shipbuilding Co., Tottenville, N.Y., and was acquired
from her owner Max Zickel of Hoboken, N.J., on a bare
boat basis 29 May 1918. She commissioned 17 August
1918, Chief Quartermaster R. F. Supper in command.
Hydraulic was assigned to the 3d Naval District, and
served in New York harbor throughout her commissioned
career. Her duties included patrolling, transportation
of passengers, and relieving port guards on neutral ships
in the harbor. The yacht was returned to her owner 23
January 1919.
Hydrographer
One versed in the science of determining and making
known the conditions of navigable waters, charting
coasts, and surveying rivers.
I
( Str : dp. 146 ; 1. 101' ; b. 19'6" ; dr. 6'9" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 23 ;
a. 23-pdr., lmg.)
Hydrographer, a wooden steam launch, was built in
1901 at Port Jefferson, N.Y., and engaged in survey work
for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey until coming
under Navy jurisdiction in 1917. She continued her sur-
veying duties in the Gulf of Mexico and in addition per-
formed' section patrol in 1918. She was returned to the
Coast and Geodetic Survey under an Executive order 1
April 1919.
II
(PY-30: dp. 1,044 (f.) ; 1. 164'11" ; b. 31'6" ; dr. 11'6" ;
s. 10 k.; cpl.; a. 2 3”)
The second Hydrographer (PY-30), originally classi-
fied PY-30 before commissioning, was built in 1928 by
Spear Engine Works, Norfolk, Va., and operated as a sur-
vey ship along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean for
the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Acquired by the
Navy in April 1942, she was converted by Choctaw Boat
Works, Ala. ; and commissioned as AGS-2 at Mobile 20
May 1942, Comdr. W. M. Scaife, USCGS, in command.
Immediately after commissioning, Hydrographer
steamed to Newfoundland, where she spent the remainder
of 1942 charting the approaches and harbor to the im-
portant Allied base at Argentia. She returned to Nor-
folk 7 November 1942 ; and, after alterations to fit her for
duty in the Pacific, sailed 30 December for San Diego,
via the Canal Zone. The survey ship got underway 26
February 1943 for Atka Island, in the Aleutians, and
arrived 22 March to carry out a survey of Korovin Bay,
in preparation for the spring offensive to come. In April
she moved to Adak for more survey work.
As combined forces moved on Attu 11 May, Hydrog-
rapher moved into the assault area. Steaming into Mas-
sacre Bay 12 May, she sent out survey parties to outline
transport anchorages and chart shoals. Late in May, she
landed parties on tiny Shemya Island to begin work on
a bomber strip, after which she returned to Adak. Hy-
drographer also took part in the occupation of Kiska,
sailing 13 August and reaching the island 2 days later,
only to find that the Japanese had completely evacuated.
With the Aleutians secured, the ship continued her all-
important survey and sounding work until returning San
Diego 22 September 1943.
Hydrographer arrived Pearl Harbor 10 November 1943
to take part in the great push across the Pacific to Japan.
She arrived Abemama, in the Gilberts, 24 December and
made surveys of the lagoon and anchorages. Makin Is-
land was also surveyed before she moved on to the
Marshalls, as the survey ship followed closely behind the
amphibious groups. She remained at Kwajalein until May
preparing charts; and, after survey work at Roi, sailed
24 July to Guam. Arriving 3 August 1944, Hydrographer
surveyed Apra Harbor and other coves in the vicinity.
During these operations the ship’s shore parties were
often fired upon by Japanese snipers ; but, undaunted,
carried out their vital hydrographic work.
As the fleet continued to press toward Japan in a series
of striking amphibious successes, Hydrographer sailed
from Guam 1 October bound for the Palaus. En route
she rode out a large typhoon and arriving safely Kossel
Passage, 14 October 1944. In the months that followed,
the ship charted and surveyed many islands in the
southern Palaus, helped to establish anchorages and sea-
plane landing areas, and buoyed channels. She was oc-
casionally harassed by night raids from the Japanese-
held island, and on the night of 9-10 February 1945
helped destroy two swimmers approaching with an ex-
plosive raft.
410
Her work completed 25 February, she sailed via
Guam and Pearl Harbor for San Francisco, where she
arrived 22 April. The veteran survey ship trained off the
West Coast until the end of the war. Getting underway
again 16 August 1945, she made further surveys at
Eniwetok, Wake, and Kwajalein before sailing from Pearl
Harbor for the United States 3 January 1946. Transit-
ing the Panama Canal, she arrived Norfolk 6 March and
decommissioned 1 July 1946. She was simultaneously
returned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey for peacetime
operations.
Hydrographer received three battle stars for World
War II Service.
Hydrus
A southern constellation between Horologium and Oc-
tans ; the Water Snake.
( AKA-28 : dp. 4,087 light; 1. 426' ; b. 58' ; dr. 15'6" ; s. 17
k. ; cpl. 303 ; a. 1 5" ; cl. Artemis)
Hydrus (AKA-28) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence,
R.I., 28 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Alexander Hylek ;
and commissioned 9 December, Lt. Comdr. R. J. Wissinger
in command.
Hydrus departed Providence 22 December for Hampton
Roads and her shakedown training, completing this phase
of her operations early in January 1945. The attack
transport got underway 7 January for the Pacific theater,
sailing via the Canal Zone to Pearl Harbor, where she
arrived 27 January.
With the island campaign in the Pacific then entering
its final phases, Hydrus sailed 1 February for Guadal-
canal to participate in the extensive training operations
for the projected invasion of Okinawa, last objective be-
fore the mainland itself. Arriving 11 February, she took
part in practice landings on Guadalcanal until 15 March,
when her group, Task Force 53, sailed for the final stag-
ing area, Ulithi. The period after her arrival 21-26
March, was spent in final preparations for the giant in-
vasion, and 27 March found Hydrus and other transports
of Task Force 53 steaming toward Okinawa with marines
and their equipment. They arrived off the beaches 1
April and under the command of Vice Adm. Kelly Turner
carried out the successful assault. Hydrus discharged
her troops and equipment off the Hagushi beaches. Be-
tween 1 April and 9 April the ship remained off the
bitterly-contested island, often undergoing heavy air
attack. She departed 10 April for Guam and Pearl
Harbor, arriving in Hawaii 26 April 1945.
Hydrus got underway 5 May for the United States, and
arrived San Francisco 6 days later. After loading fresh
cargo she once again sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving 26
May. ITlie next 2 months saw Hydrus operate temporarily
as an inter-island cargo carrier, transporting supplies of
various types among the myriad islands in the Hawaiian
chain. After brief repairs, she sailed with a cargo for
Christmas Island and Canton Island, but returned to
Honolulu 3 August.
Slated for return to the western Pacific, Hydrus sailed
7 August for Ulithi and Okinawa. During this passage
she received word of the war’s end, and arrived Okinawa
to unload her cargo 3 September. Except for 16-18 Sep-
tember, when she got underway to ride out the great
typhoon, Hydrus remained at anchor off Okinawa until
25 September. She then sailed to Manus to embark units
of a Marine Air Group for the occupation of the Chinese
mainland. The transport arrived Tsingtao 17 October to
put ashore her cargo and passengers, thus helping to speed
the occupation and help stabilize the explosive internal
situation in China. She subsequently embarked addi-
tional troops in the Philippines and carried them to Taku,
China, 14 November.
Her role in the Chinese occupation over, Hydrus was
assigned duty with “Magic-Carpet”, the gigantic operation
for the return of our Pacific veterans. She sailed from
Shanghai 6 December and arrived Seattle, Wash., 23 De-
cember. Designated for return to the Maritime Commis-
sion, the ship sailed 11 January for the East Coast and
arrived New York 2 February. There Hydrus was
selected as a training ship for the New York State Mari-
time Academy, and steamed up the East River to Fort
Schuyler 6 March 1946. She decommissioned there 26
March and became Empire State II.
After a 10-year career as a training ship for future
maritime officers, the ship was placed in the Maritime
Commission’s National Defense Reserve Fleet in June
1956. She remained there until being sold in April 1964
to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., of New York, and
scrapped.
Hydrus received one battle star for World War II
service.
Hylan, John F., see Nahant (No. 1250)
Hyman
Willford Milton Hyman was born in Pueblo, Colo., 16
August 1901, and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1924. He first served in battleship Nciv Mexico, and in
the years before World War II, was assigned to many
ships and a variety of shore stations, including the Office
of Naval Operations. He assumed command of destroyer
Sims 6 October 1941. After convoy escort duty in the
Atlantic, Sims moved to the Pacific in early 1942. In
May, as the Japanese threatened to extend their conquest
to Port Moresby, the ship was operating with oiler Neoslio
in a fueling group for Admiral Fletcher’s vital carriers.
While the carrier fleets maneuvered for position, Japa-
nese planes found Neosho and Sims in the Coral Sea ;
and, thinking they were carrier and escort, attacked in
strength. After Lt. Comdr. Hyman fought his ship
through 2 air raids with great skill, 36 Japanese planes
attacked the 2 ships. Sims took three 500-lb. bomb hits
in this third attack. Realizing that the destroyer was
damaged beyond repair, Hyman ordered “abandon ship”
but remained on the bridge, calmly directing the evacua-
tion until going down with his ship. The sacrifice of his
ship and Neosho had much to do with saving the Navy’s
carriers in the widely separated engagements known as
the Battle of the Coral Sea. Lieutenant Commander
Hyman received the Navy Cross for his heroic service.
( DD-732 : dp. 2.200 ; 1. 376' ; b. 41 '1" ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 1120mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. Allen M. Sumner)
Hyman conducted exhaustive shakedown training off
Bermuda and in Casco Bay, Maine, before sailing from
Boston 18 September to join the Pacific war. She
steamed via the Canal Zone and San Diego to Pearl Har-
bor 12 October 1944. During the next few months she
was occupied with training exercises, including practice
amphibious assaults, and escort voyages to the advance
base at Eniwetok.
As the amphibious pincers, one reaching across Micro-
nesia and the other pushing through the Philippines,
closed on Japan in early 1945, the island of Iwo Jima
became a prime objective. Hyman sailed 27 January
1945, with the transports of Kelly Turner’s expeditionary
force, touching at Eniwetok before carrying out on Saipan
a final rehearsal of the great Iwo Jima landing. On the
morning of 19 February, the destroyer formed part of
the screen for the transports ; and, as the first wave
landed, she turned her 5-incli guns shoreward and opened
fire to provide support for the assaulting troops. She
blasted enemy troops and bunkers until 23 February,
when she made an antisubmarine sweep south of Iwo
Jima. The next day, after returning to gunfire support
station, Hyman fought off a fierce air attack. Fire sup-
port duties continued until the destroyer sailed for Leyte
Gulf 2 March 1945. There she took part in practice bom-
bardments for the upcoming invasion of Okinawa.
Hyman sailed with Admiral Hall’s Southern Attack
411
Force 27 March 1945 and arrived Okinawa 1 April. As
troops landed she took station off the transport area,
protecting the American ships from enemy submarines
and planes. In the following days she fought off several
air attacks and on 5 April, led a search group hunting a
reported midget submarine. Next day the ship was at-
tacked in company with other picket and patrol ships
west of Ie Shima as the Japanese made desperate suicide
attacks in hopes of stopping the landing. Shooting at
attacking planes on all sides, Hyman downed several be-
fore a damaged aircraft crashed near fier torpedo tubes,
its engine exploding on the main deck. While fighting
fire and flooding, Hyman helped down two more suiciders
before the engagement ended, leaving 10 of her men killed
and over 40 wounded.
After emergency repairs at Keraina Retto 7 April ar-
rived Saipan 11 days later. From there she steamed on
one engine to San Francisco, arriving 16 May 1945.
The battle-tested destroyer was ready for sea again in
late July 1945; and, after training exercises, sailed to
Pearl Harbor, where she arrived the day of the Japanese
surrender, 15., August. Hyman performed plane-guard
duties in Hawaiian waters until arriving Kwajalein 5
September to assist in receiving the surrender of outlying
Pacific islands. She received the surrender of Japanese
forces on Kusaie 8 September and Ponape 11 September.
Captain Momm, division commander on Hyman, assumed
duties as military governor of Ponape next day. The
ship remained as station ship, assisting in the occupation
and repatriation until arriving Eniwetok 26 December
1945. After exercises out of Yokosuka early in 1946, the
ship sailed via California and the Canal Zone to Casco
Bay, Maine, where she arrived 16 April 1946. Hyman
took part in antisubmarine training operations in the
Caribbean through the end of 1946, and sailed for her
first deployment to the Mediterranean 2 February 1947.
During the next few months she visited many ports,
helping to stabilize this troubled area then threatened by
Communist aggression and subversion, before returning
to Newport 14 August 1947. For the next year she oper-
ated in coastal waters, but sailed 13 September 1948 with
a carrier and cruiser group for the Mediterranean. The
ships supported the U.N. Peace Force in Palestine, show-
ing American determination to maintain the peace. After
this important cruise Hyman returned to Newport 23
January 1949.
Through 1949 and 1950 the veteran destroyer was as-
signed to reserve training duty out of Algiers, La., and
on this duty she steamed for 2-week periods giving valu-
able training for reserve officers and men. With the
outbreak of the Korean conflict in June 1950, Hyman en-
gaged in maneuvers and training in the Caribbean, end-
ing her reserve duty in September. After another cruise
to the Mediterranean 6 March to 7 June 1951 she pre-
pared for Korean duty, getting underway from Newport
2 October 1951. Hyman steamed with her division via the
Panama Canal, San Diego, and Hawaii, arriving Yokosuka
31 October.
With the ground war in Korea then in stalemate, fleet
air power, and surface bombardment carried much of the
fight to the Communist enemy. Hyman arrived Wonsan
for shore bombardment 6 November, remaining in the
area until 19 November, when she moved farther out to
sea as plane guard for Australian carrier Sydney. Re-
turning to Wonsan Harbor the destroyer engaged in a
gunnery duel with batteries on Kalmo Pando peninsula
24 November, sustaining minor shrapnel damage during
the close-in exchange. She carried out search and rescue
duties into December when she joined Task Force 77 in
the sea of Japan during interdiction strikes on North
Korea. Hyman returned to Yokosuka 22 February 1952
and soon afterward embarked on the long cruise home,
completing her round the world voyage at Newport 21
April after visiting Ceylon, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and
France.
The veteran ship sailed again for Mediterranean waters
7 January 1953. On this cruise she took part in joint
operations with British and French ships, returning to
her home port 24 May 1953. During 1954 and 1955 Hyman
took part in antisubmarine operations in the Caribbean
and Atlantic. In 1956 she cruised to the Caribbean with
midshipmen on training operations, and participated in
NATO maneuvers off the Virginia Capes in May. In
June 1957 the ship was part of the International Naval
Review at the Jamestown Festival, commemorating the
350th anniversary of the first permanent English settle-
ment in the New World.
After another Midshipman cruise, Hyman sailed 29 No-
vember 1957 for the Mediterranean, visiting various east-
ern Mediterranean ports with the 6th Fleet in its cease-
less effort to maintain peace and freedom in the region.
She returned to the United States 12 April 1958 and for
the remainder of the year was occupied with NATO exer-
cises in the North Atlantic and antisubmarine training.
Operations in home waters continued until 4 August 1960,
when Hyman again sailed for duty with the 6th Fleet.
In April 1961 the ship steamed west of the Azores as a
station ship in America’s historic Project Mercury.
During 1962 the destroyer made another cruise to Medi-
terranean and Middle Eastern ports, operating with naval
units from many navies. While Hyman was undergoing
repairs in October, the introduction of offensive missiles
into Cuba precipitated another cold-war crisis, and the
ship steamed to join the quarantine just as it was lifted in
late November. Sea power again proved the strength and
shield of American security.
Hyman sailed to Costa Rica in March 1963 in connec-
tion with President Kennedy’s visit to that Central Ameri-
can country ; and, after antisubmarine exercises, pro-
ceeded to waters east of Cape Canaveral for another
Project Mercury assignment. She acted as part of the
recovery group on Maj. L. Gordon Cooper’s successful
orbital flight. During the remainder of the year the ship
conducted training exercises in the Caribbean.
During 1964 Hyman participated in ASW exercises and
served as surveillance ship in Cuban waters. She entered
Boston Naval Shipyard in April and departed for her
11th deployment with the 6th Fleet on 27 November.
Hyman returned to Newport 13 March 1965 and received
a new training assignment for Naval Reservists. This
at sea training keeps her busy on the eastern seaboard, a
vital link in keeping the U.S. Navy always at the ready.
While conducting training exercises in mid-September
1965, Hyman was ordered to search for a chlorine 'barge
lost in the Mississippi river during Hurricane “Betsy.”
Although damaged by the same hurricane that sunk the
barge, Hyman searched the Mississippi River for a week.
Sonar sweeps and fathometer traces located the barge
with its deadly gas near Baton Rouge, La., 17 September.
With a job well done, Hyman went to Orange, Tex., for
hull repairs. Training of Naval Reservists kept Hyman
busy into 1967.
Hyperion
A satellite of Saturn named for one of the Titans of
Greek mythology, the son of Uranus and Gaea and the
father of Helios, the sun-god.
( AK-107 : 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s. 12.5 k. ; cpl.
206 ; a. 1 5”, 1 3" ; cl. Crater)
Hyperion (AK-107), formerly liberty ship SS Christo-
pher C. Andrews, was launched 24 June 1943 by Perma-
nente Metals Corp., Richmond, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Percy Lindt; acquired by the Navy from WSA 10 July
1943 ; and commissioned 25 August 1943 at San Diego,
Lt. Comdr. C. C. Newman in command.
With gasoline barge YOG-85 in tow, Hyperion sailed
for the Pacific 18 September on what was to be a mem-
orable voyage. During the 42-day trip, the tow was lost
twice; lightning struck the mainmast; a crewman was
lost in high seas; and emergency flares were spotted but
nothing was found. Hyperion finally reached Espiritu
Santo, New Hebrides 30 October 1943. The following
half year saw the cargo ship shuttling among the Solomon
Islands bringing valuable supplies — gasoline, diesel oil,
412
rolling stock, foodstuffs — to the staging area for some of
the Pacific’s most hard-fought campaigns.
On 5 April 1944 Hyperion steamed from the Solomons
with 45 passengers in addition to her usual cargo of oil
and supplies. Arriving 10 April at Emirau Island in the
Bismarcks, occupied only 3 weeks earlier, Hyperion dis-
charged cargo by day and steamed out to safety at night.
She then returned to her valuable work in the staging
areas, operating between New Caledonia, Guadalcanal,
New Zealand, and the Bismarcks.
In the fall of 1944, as the war advanced steadily across
the Pacific and culminated in the climactic Battle of Leyte
Gulf, one of the greatest naval engagements of all time,
Hyperion had her first taste of battle. Departing Espiritu
Santo 22 September, Hyperion picked up stores at Tulagi
and joined TG 78.8’s reinforcement group which supported
Admiral Daniel Barbey’s Northern Attack Force TF 78.
She sailed into Leyte Gulf in a 33-ship convoy 29 October,
only 3 days after the conclusion of that great battle. Dur-
ing the next fortnight, Hyperion went to general quarters
87 times, fought off 37 Japanese air attacks, and splashed
2 enemy planes.
Another tour of duty shuttling cargo in the staging area
between New Zealand and New Caledonia ended in late
April 1945 as Hyperion loaded 6,500 tons of Army engi-
neering equipment at Noumea and steamed for Okinawa,
still the scene of bloody fighting. During the 18 days it
took her to discharge cargo at Okinawa 8 May, Hyperion
witnessed naval bombardments of the Japanese positions
on the island, the battles of Naha and Shuri, and countless
kamikaze attacks — she was anchored less than 500 yards
from New Mexico when two suicide planes damaged the
battleship 12 May.
As the war drew to a close, Hyperion sailed for San
Francisco 4 August 1945 ending 2 years of continuous
service in the Pacific. The cargo ship had steamed some
75,225 nautical miles, carried 150,000 tons of cargo, trans-
ported over 1,000 passengers, made 62 voyages to 29
islands and 37 ports, and had fought at Leyte and Oki-
nawa. Hyperion had crossed the equator six times and
the international date line four times (she celebrated two
Fourths of July in 1944 ! ) .
After minor repairs at San Francisco, which she reached
24 August, Hyperion sailed for the East Coast via the
Panama Canal. Reaching Norfolk 24 October 1945, she
decommissioned 16 November and was returned to WSA
the following day. Hyperion was placed in the Maritime
Commission National Defense Reserve Fleet, and was
berthed in the James River until she was scrapped in
1961.
Hyperion received three battle stars for World War II
service.
she was sold to the Merritt, Chapman, & Derrick Wreck-
ing Co. 13 December 1919.
I. IS. Seymour, see Isaac N. Seymour
Iberville, see Hyades (AF-28)
Ibex
A variety of wild goat found in Europe, Asia, and
Africa.
I
( SwStr : t. 235 ; 1. 157' ; b. 33' ; dph. 4'6" ; a. 2 30-pdr. P.r.,
2 12-pdr. r., 4 24-pdr. how.)
Ibex, a tinclad, side-wheel gunboat formerly called Ohio
Valley, was built at Harmer, Ohio, in 1863 and was pur-
chased by the Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio, from Theodore
Johnson 10 December 1864; and commissioned at Mound
City, 111., 4 April 1865, Lt. Comdr. R. L. May in command.
After fitting out as a gunboat at Mound City, Ibex was
ordered to Memphis for duty with the Mississippi Squad-
ron’s 8th District 29 April 1865. She served faithfully in
the Mississippi assisting Rear Admiral S. P. Lee in attend-
ing to many of the innumerable tasks entailed in closing
the Mississippi Squadron. Ibex decommissioned at Mound
City 5 August and was sold at public auction to Thompson
Dean 17 August 1865. She was redocumented Harry Dean
5 October 1865 and lost when she exploded at Gallipolis,
Ohio, 3 January 1868.
II
(IX-119: dp. 14,500 (lim.) ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ;
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 176 ; a. 1 5", 1 3", 8 20mm. ; T. EC2-S-C1)
The second Ibex (IX-119) was laid down as Nicholas
Longwortli under a Maritime Commission contract by the
California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., 16 Oc-
tober 1943 ; renamed Ibex 27 October ; launched 15 No-
vember; sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Olson; acquired by the
Navy 13 December 1943 ; and commissioned the same day,
Lt. Comdr. John L. Frazer in command.
After shakedown off the West Coast, Ibex departed
San Pedro 23 January 1944, arriving Noumea, New Cale-
donia, 18 February. Operating as a floating storage ship,
she transported gasoline and lube oil in the South Pacific
for the next 8 months. From October until the end of
World War II she operated with Servron 8, 3d Fleet, which
supplied the fighting units during the most crucial months
of the war.
After VJ day she remained in the Far East servicing
the occupation forces ; then returned to the United States
early in 1946. Ibex decommissioned at Norfolk 28 June
1946 and was returned to the Maritime Commission on
the 30th. In 1948 she was sold to T. J. Stevenson Co., Inc.
and renamed Helen Stevenson.
I
I. J. Merritt
A former name retained.
(Str : 1. 174' ; b. 34' ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 11 k.)
I. J. Merritt, a salvage steamer, was launched 8 Febru-
ary 1919 by Brown’s Shipyard, Staten Island, N.Y. She
was taken over by the Commandant of the 3d Naval Dis-
trict 27 August 1919. After a period of limited service
Ibis
A wading bird related to the heron.
I
( SP-3051 : t. 299; 1. 141'5" ; b. 23'3" ; dr. 13'6" ; s. 11 k. ;
a. 1 3", 2 mg.)
The first Ibis (SP-3051), a trawler formerly named
Sea Gull, was built in 1917 by Globe Shipbuilding Co.,
Superior, Wis. ; acquired by the Navy in June 1918 from
her owner, the Atlantic Coast Fisheries Co., of New York
City. She was commissioned 19 August 1918.
Ibis was used as minesweeper during the months that
followed, operating in the 1st Naval District. She was re-
turned to her owner 3 March 1919.
II
(AM-134: dp. 590; 1. 147'; b. 26'; dr. 13'; s. 12 k.;
a. 2 6-pdr.)
413
The second Ibis (AM-134), a converted steel-hulled
trawler, was built as Tide in 1937 by the Bethlehem Ship-
building Co., Quincy, Mass. ; acquired from her owner,
General Sea Foods Corp., of Boston, 1 January 1942; and
commissioned 23 May 1942, Lt. F. G. Crane in command.
Ibis was assigned to Woods Hole Section Base, Mass., as
a training ship until spring 1943, when she took up mine-
sweeping duties out of Newport, R.I. She decommissioned
1 May 1944. Her name was struck from the Navy List
16 September 1&44 and she transferred to the Maritime
Commission. She was subsequently sold to General Foods
Corp., Boston, Mass.
Ice Boat
(Str : cpl. 50; a. 4 32-pdr.)
Ice Boat, also known as Refrigerator and Release, was
owned by the city of Philadelphia and offered to the Navy
free of expense soon after the outbreak of the Civil War.
She was placed in service at Philadelphia 23 April 1861,
Comdr. Oliver S. Glisson in command.
She departed Philadelphia the same day to protect the
landing of troops at Annapolis to encourage Maryland’s
adherence to the Union and to be available for the defense
of Washington. Ice Boat was ordered to Washington for
duty in the Potomac 21 May arriving 2 days later. Most
of her service was off Aquia Creek where she labored to
stop trade across the Potomac between Virginia and Mary-
land, occasionally engaging Confederate batteries on the
Virginia shore. News of the Union Army’s defeat at the
First Battle of Bull Run caused Ice Boat’s return to Wash-
ington to defend the Nation’s Capital. A fortnight later
the ship was back off Aquia Creek where she remained
until she was returned to her owner late in November
1861.
Ice King
(No. 3160 : dp. 10,562 n. ; 1. 392'6" ; b. 52' ; dr. 23'8" ; s. 10
k.; cpl. 86; a. 15", 13")
Ice King was launched as War Unit 22 December 1917
by Standard Shipbuilding Co., New York City, under
Shipping Board contract with Cunard Steamship Co., ac-
quired by Navy 2 July 1918 and commissioned next day at
Brooklyn, Lt. Comdr. N. Fogarty in command. She car-
ried the name Passaic in 1918 but was renamed Ice King
shortly before commissioning.
Assigned to NOTS on Army account, Ice King, a refrig-
erator ship, transported vital supplies and foodstuffs to
Allied troops in Europe. Departing Halifax 19 July, she
sailed in convoy through the dangerous North Atlantic;
and, while en route from Brest to Quiberon Bay 3 August,
maneuvered clear of two torpedoes from a German U-boat.
She continued to ply the Atlantic, making five more voy-
ages to France before decommissioning 26 May 1919. Ice
King was returned to the Shipping Board for service until
laid up in 1923. The ship subsequently entered merchant
service as Georgian and later as Hilton, for A. H. Bull
Lines, until scrapped in 1950.
Icefish
Any member of the family Salangidae, small smeltlike
fishes of China and Japan. Also known as whitebait.
( SS-367 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9" ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 21
k. ; cpl. 66; a. 1 5", 1 40mm., 1 20mm., 2 .50 cal. mg.,
10 21" tt. ; cl. Perch )
Icefish (SS-367) was launched 20 February 1944 by
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Stanley P. Mosely, wife of Captain Mosely ; and
commissioned 10 June 1944, Comdr. Richard W. Peterson
in command.
After trials and diving tests in Lake Michigan, voyages
down the Mississippi in the wake of Huckleberry Finn,
and shakedown out of New Orleans, Icefish joined the
Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor 22 August. Assigned to Vice
Admiral Lockwood’s Task Force 17 (Supporting Subma-
rines Pacific Fleet), she joined “Banister’s Beagle’s” (con-
sisting of Comdr. A. B. Banister in Sawfish and Brum)
and departed 9 September on her first war patrol which
took her into Luzon Straits and the South China Sea.
October 1944 was a peak month in the war of U.S. sub-
marines on Japanese shipping: 322,265 tons were sunk,
and almost one-third of that total consisted of tankers. In
October Icefish and Drum together sank 26,901 tons of
enemy shipping in “Convoy College,” code name for the
area extending across the East China Sea from Luzon
Strait to Formosa and the coast of China. Icefish sank a
4,009-ton cargo vessel on 23 October and on 26 October
she was credited with sinking a transport of 10,000 tons.
She terminated her first war patrol at Majuro, Marshall
Islands, 13 November.
Icefish departed Majuro 8 December on her second war
patrol in company with Spot and Balao. This patrol lasted
43 days with no results and she was forced to return to
Pearl Harbor 20 January 1945 due to materiel difficulties.
The third war patrol began 20 February when she departed
Pearl Harbor with Sawfish and Kingfish. This patrol was
also conducted in the East China Sea, northeast and east
of Formosa. As the war was coming to an end and
Japanese shipping had dwindled away largely due to our
Silent Service, Icefish’ s third war patrol terminated after
60 days at Apra Harbor, Guam.
Her fourth war patrol was conducted in the Hainan,
Hong Kong, Formosa, Siam Gulf, and Java Sea areas.
This patrol lasted 46 days with no contacts. Japan’s sea
arteries had withered away under the relentless attack of
the U.S. Navy, and with it her dreams of empire and
victory.
Instead Icefish carried out another very useful func-
tion of our submarines. On 7 June with a PBY Catalina
for air cover, she rescued six Army aviators off the coast
of Formosa. Icefish arrived Fremantle 4 July for refit
by Clytie and sailed 29 July for her fifth war patrol. En
route to station 7 August a small diesel lugger of 15 tons
was intercepted. The crew consisted of two Japanese, two
Eurasians, and five Chinese. One Japanese jumped over-
board rather than be captured ; the rest were taken on
board Icefish. The lugger was sunk by gunfire.
Icefish arrived Tanapag Harbor, Saipan. 22 August 1945,
thus ending her fifth and last war patrol. She departed
Saipan 1 September arriving San Francisco the 18th.
Icefiish decommissioned at Mare Island 21 June 1946 and
jointed the Reserve Fleet.
Recommissioned at Mare Island 5 June 1952, Icefish
transited the Canal Zone and arrived Groton, Conn., 14
July. She decommissioned there 29 July 1952 and once
again joined the Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 10 De-
cember 1952 at Groton, she remained in that area con-
ducting various tests until 21 February 1953 when she
was decommissioned and transferred to the Netherlands.
She serves as Walrus ( S-802) .
Icefish received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Ida
A former name retained.
(StTug : 1. 104 ; a. 1 gun)
Ida was chartered by the Navy in New Orleans 3 Feb-
ruary 1863 and purchased 6 March. She was assigned to
the mortar flotilla for use as a dispatch vessel and for
towing the motor boats in the swift and tricky currents
of the Mississippi. She operated primarily below Port
Hudson, maintaining communication between the flotilla
and the squadron flagship. She was also used comman-
deering and towing off any boats suitable for military
use found in the river.
She came under fire while assisting Iberville 3 July but
escaped damage. After Port Hudson fell 9 July clearing
the entire Mississippi for Union shipping, Ida continued
414
to operate in the lower river towing oceangoing vessels
between the mouth of the river and New Orleans.
Early in 1865 she was ordered to Mobile Bay, where
she arrived 1 February. Two weeks later she took on
board two smoothbore howitzers in preparation for picket
duty.
While clearing the main channel of Mobile Bay, Ida
struck a torpedo mine which crushed the timbers on
her starboard side, burst her boilers, and tore up her
decks 13 April 1865. In a few moments she flooded and
sank in midchannel. Three members of her crew were
killed and two were wounded. Her wrecked hull was
sold 11 September 1865.
Ida and Joseph, see TP-376
Idaho
The 43d State of the Union, admitted in 1890.
I
(Ship : dp. 3,241 ; 1. 298' ; b. 44'6” ; dr. 16' ; s. 15 k. ; a. 8
guns)
The first Idaho was launched as a wooden steam sloop
8 October 1864 by George Steers of New York. Her twin-
screw machinery was of a novel design by E. N. Dicker-
son and was built by Morgan Iron Works. She was com-
pleted in 1866 but upon trials in May was found to be far
slower than the contract speed of 15 knots, having been
in commission between 2 April and 26 May under the com-
mand of Captain John L. Worden. A board of Naval
Officers recommended her rejection, but Dickerson ap-
pealed to Congress and obtained a resolution in February
1867 for her purchase by the Navy. She was subsequently
converted to a full-rigged sailing ship at New York and
recommissioned 3 October 1867, Lt. Edward Hooker in
command.
The converted Idaho was one of the fastest sailing
ships of her day, and sailed 1 November 1867 for Rio de
Janeiro. From there she continued the long voyage to
the Far East, arriving Nagasaki 18 May 1868. The ship
remained there for 15 months as a store and hospital ship
for the Asiatic Squadron.
In mid-August 1869 Idaho moved to Yokohama to pre-
pare for the long voyage back to the United States, and
soon afterward, 20 September, she got underway for San
Francisco. Next day, however, the ship was hit by a
raging typhoon. Her masts were carried away and her
hull was severely damaged, but the stout ship stayed
afloat and was brought back to Yokohama by her crew.
Little more than a hulk, the gallant Idaho remained in
the harbor until decommissioning 31 December 1873. She
was sold in 1874 to East Indies Trading Co.
II
(BB-24 : dp. 13,000 n. ; 1. 382' ; b. 77' ; dr. 24'8" ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 744; a. 4 12”, 8 8”, 8 7”, 12 3”, 2 21” tt. ; cl. Mis-
sissippi)
The second Idaho (BB-24) was launched by William
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, 9 December 1905 ; sponsored
by Miss Louise Gooding, daughter of the Governor of
Idaho ; and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 1
April 1908, Captain S. W. B. Diehl in command.
The new battleship conducted a shakedown cruise to
Cuba April-May 1908, and after a visit to Panama returned
to Philadelphia for alterations. The ship took part in
the giant naval review in Hampton Roads 22 February
1909 celebrating the return of the Great. White Fleet from
its around the world cruise. In March she returned to
the Caribbean for maneuvers, continuing to take part
in training operations until October 1910. Idaho sailed
29 October for exercises in British and French waters,
and upon her return participated in gunnery exercises in
Chesapeake Bay 19 to 23 March 1911.
Idaho sailed from Philadelphia 4 May 1911 for a cruise
up the Mississippi River to Louisiana ports. She then
steamed to the east coast of Florida for battleship ma-
neuvers, and continued to operate off the coast and in
the Caribbean until entering the reserve at Philadelphia
27 October 1913. There she remained until 9 May 1914,
when the ship sailed to the Mediterranean with mid-
shipmen for at sea training. After visiting various ports '
USS Idaho (BB-24) on review at New York October 1912
415
in North Africa and Italy and carrying out a rigorous
training program, Idaho arrived Villefranche 17 July
1914, transferred her crew to Maine, and decommissioned
30 July. She was turned over to the government of
Greece, whom she served as coastal defense ship Kilkis
until being sunk in Salamis harbor by German aircraft in
April 1941.
III
( S P-545 : t. 23 ; 1. 60' ; b. 12'6" ; dr. 4” ; s. 11 k. ; a. 1 mg.)
The third Idaho (SP-545), a motor boat, was built in
1907 by Stearns & McKay, Marblehead, Mass. ; acquired
from her owner, W. W. Vensel of Pittsburgh, in June
1917 ; and commissioned at Cape May, N.J., 12 July 1917,
Chief Quartermaster W. H. Naylor, USNRF, in command.
Idaho was assigned to the 4th Naval District for patrol
and general duties, serving on harbor entrance patrol and
submarine net patrol in the Cape May and Philadelphia
areas. She was out of commission during the winter of
1917-18, and finally returned to her owner 30 November
1918.
IV
(BB-42 : dp. 32,000 n. ; 1. 624' ; b. 97'5" ; dr. 30' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 1,081; a. 12 14", 14 5", 4 3", 2 21" tt. ; cl. New
Mexico)
The fourth Idaho (BB-42) was launched by New York
Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 30 June 1917 ; sponsored
by Miss H. A. Limons, granddaughter of the Governor of
Idaho; and commissioned 24 March 1919, Captain C. T.
Vogelgesang in command.
Idaho sailed 13 April for shakedown training out of
Guantanamo Bay, and after returning to New York re-
ceived President Pessoa of Brazil for the voyage to Rio
de Janeiro. Departing 6 July with her escort, the bat-
tleship arrived Rio 17 July 1919. From there she set
course for the Panama Canal, arriving Monterey, Calif.,
in September to join the Pacific Fleet. She joined other
dreadnaughts in training exercises and reviews, including
a Fleet Review by President Wilson 13 September 1919.
In 1920 the battleship carried Secretary Daniels and the
Secretary of the Interior on an inspection tour of Alaska.
Upon her return from Alaska 22 July 1920 Idaho took
part in fleet maneuvers off the California coast and as
far south as Chile. She continued this important train-
ing until 1925, taking part in numerous ceremonies on the
West Coast during the interim. Idaho took part in the
fleet review held by President Harding in Seattle shortly
before his death in 1923. The battleship sailed 15 April
1925 for Hawaii,, participated in war games until 1 July,
and then got underway for Samoa, Australia, and New
Zealand. On the return voyage Idaho embarked gallant
Comdr. John Rodgers and his seaplane crew after their
attempt to fly to Hawaii, arriving San Francisco 24 Sep-
tember 1925.
For the next 6 years Idaho operated out of San Pedro
on training and readiness operations off California and
in the Caribbean. She sailed from San Pedro 7 Septem-
ber 1931 for the East Coast, entering Norfolk Navy Yard
30 September for modernization. The veteran battleship
received better armor, “blister” antisubmarine protec-
tion, better machinery, and tripod masts during this ex-
tensive overhaul, and was readied for many more years
of useful naval service. After completion 9 October 1934
the ship conducted shakedown in the Caribbean before
returning to her home port, San Pedro, 17 April 1935.
As war clouds gathered in the Pacific, the fleet increased
the tempo of its training operations. Idaho carried out
fleet tactics and gunnery exercises regularly until arriv-
ing with the battle fleet at Pearl Harbor ‘l July 1940.
The ship sailed for Hampton Roads 6 June 1941 to per-
form Atlantic neutrality patrol, a vital part of U.S. policy
in the early days of the European fighting. She moved
to Iceland in September to protect American advance
bases and was on station at Hvalfjordur when the Japa-
nese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941 and cata-
pulted America into the war.
Idaho and sister ship Mississippi departed Iceland 2
days after Pearl Harbor to join the Pacific Fleet, and
arrived San Francisco via Norfolk and the Panama Canal
31 January 1942. She conducted additional battle exer-
cises in California waters and out of Pearl Harbor until
October 1942, when she entered Puget Sound Navy Yard
to be regunned. Upon completion of this work Idaho
again took part in battle exercises, and sailed 7 April
1943 for operations in the bleak Aleutians. There she
was flagship of the bombardment and patrol force around
Attu, where she gave gunfire support to the Army land-
ings 11 May 1943. During the months that followed she
concentrated on Kiska, culminating in an assault 15 Au-
gust. The Japanese were found to have evacuated the
island in late July, thus abandoning their last foothold
in the Aleutians.
Idaho returned to San Francisco 7 September 1943 to
prepare for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. Moving
to Pearl Harbor, she got underway with the assault fleet
10 November and arrived off Makin Atoll 20 November.
She supported the fighting ashore with accurate gunfire
support and antiaircraft fire, remaining in the Gilberts
until sailing for Pearl Harbor 5 December 1943.
Next on the Pacific timetable was the invasion of the
Marshalls, and the veteran battleship arrived off Kwaja-
lein early 31 January to soften up shore positions. Again
she hurled tons of shells into Japanese positions until
5 February, when the outcome was one of certain victory.
After replenishing at Majuro she bombarded other islands
in the group, then moved to Kavieng, New Ireland, for a
diversionary bombardment 20 March 1944.
Idaho returned to the New Hebrides 25 March, and after
a short stay in Australia arrived Kwajalein with a group
of escort carriers 8 June. From there the ships steamed
to the Marianas, where Idaho began a preinvasion bom-
bardment of Saipan 14 June. With this brilliantly ex-
ecuted landing assault underway 15 June, the battleship
moved to Guam for bombardment assignments. As the
American fleet decimated Japanese carrier air power in
the Battle of the Philippine Sea 19 to 21 June, Idaho
protected the precious transport area and reserve troop
convoys. After returning briefly to Eniwetok 28 June to
9 July the ship began preinvasion bombardment of Guam
12 July, and continued the devastating shelling until the
main assault eight days later. As ground troops battled
for the island, Idaho stood offshore providing vital fire
support until anchoring at Eniwetok 2 August 1944.
The ship continued to Espiritu Santo and entered a
floating dry dock 15 August for repairs to her “blisters.”
After landing rehearsals on Guadalcanal in early Septem-
ber, Idaho moved to Peleliu 12 September and began
bombarding the island, needed as a staging base for the
invasion of the Philippines. Despite the furious bom-
bardment, Japanese entrenchments gave assault forces
stiff opposition, and the battleship remained off Peleliu
until 24 September providing the all-important fire sup-
port for advancing marines. She then sailed for Manus
and eventually to Bremerton, Wash., where she arrived
for needed repairs 22 October 1944. This was followed
by battle practice off California.
Idaho's mighty guns were needed for the next giant
amphibious assault on the way to Japan. She sailed from
San Diego 20 January 1945 to join a battleship group at
Pearl Harbor. After rehearsals she steamed from the
Marianas 14 February for the invasion of Iwo Jima. As
marines stormed ashore 19 February Idaho was again
blasting enemy positions with her big guns. She re-
mained off Iwo Jima until 7 March, when she got under-
way for Ulithi and the last of the great Pacific assaults —
Okinawa.
Idaho sailed 21 March 1945 as part of Rear Admiral
Deyo’s Gunfire and Covering Group and flagship of Bom-
bardment Unit 4. She arrived offshore 25 March and
began silencing enemy shore batteries and pounding in-
stallations. The landings began 1 April, and as the Jap-
anese made a desperate attempt to drive the vast fleet
away with suicide attacks, Idaho's gunners shot down
numerous planes. In a massed attack 12 April the battle-
416
ship shot down five kamikazes before suffering damage
to her port blisters from a near-miss. After temporary
repairs she sailed 20 April and arrived Guam five days
later.
The veteran of so many of the landings of the Pacific
quickly completed repairs and returned to Okinawa 22
May to resume fire support. Idaho remained until 20
June 1945, then sailed for battle maneuvers in Leyte Gulf
until hostilities ceased 15 August 1945.
Idaho made her triumphal entry into Tokyo Bay with
occupation troops 27 August, and witnessed the signing
of the surrender on board Missouri 2 September. Four
days later she began the long voyage to the East Coast of
the United States, steaming via the Panama Canal to Nor-
folk 16 October 1945. She decommissioned 3 July 1946
and was placed in reserve until sold for scrap 24 Novem-
ber 1947 to Lipsett Inc., of New York City.
Idaho received seven battle stars for World War II
service.
Idaho-Eider, see YP-198
Idalia, see YP-^51
Idalis
A former name retained.
( SP-270 : t. 40; 1. 67'8" ; b. 14'2" ; dr. 3'; s. 10 k. ; a. 1
1-pdr.)
Idalis (SP-270), a motor yacht, was built in 1908 by
Gas Engine & Power Co., Morris Heights, N.Y. Originally
Idalis, she was acquired by the Navy in June 1917 as
Amalia IV from her owner, Carl Reinschild of New York
City ; renamed Idalis, she commissioned 25 August 1917,
Lt. G. C. Fry, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Idalis served as a pa-
trol craft in Long Island Sound and as training ship for
officers at the Naval Reserve Training School, Pelham Bay
Park, N.Y. She continued these duties until the close of
the war, and was returned to her former owner 22 March
1919.
Ideal
A standard of perfection, beauty, or excellence.
(AMc-85 : dp. 195; 1. 97*1"; b. 22'; dr. 9'1" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 17 ; cl. Accentor )
Ideal (AMc-85), a wooden-hulled coastal minesweeper,
was laid down 4 June 1941 by Warren Boat Yard, Inc.,
Warren, R.I., launched 20 September 1941 ; sponsored by
Miss Edith C. Alder ; and placed in service at Boston 24
April 1942.
After shakedown out of Boston, Ideal reported to Mine
Warfare School, Yorktown, Va., 11 May 1942. The ship
served subsequently in the 8th Naval District at Burr-
wood, La., and in the 5th Naval District as a mine warfare
training ship. She returned to Norfolk 26 May 1946 and
decommissioned there 10 June 1946. Ideal was turned
over to the Maritime Commission 26 December 1946.
Idealia
A former name retained.
USS Idaho (BB-42) in 1925
417
(SP-125: t. 52; 1. 75'8" ; b. 13'8'' ; dr. 2'10" ; s. 14 k. ;
a. 1 1-pdr.)
Idealia (SP-125), a motor yacht built in 1911 by the
Elco Co., Bayonne, N.J., was acquired by the Navy and
simultaneously commissioned 25 May 1917, Ensign Charles
Clegg, USNRF, in command.
Idealia was assigned to the 4th Naval District, based
at Cape May, N.J., and operated as a harbor entrance pa-
trol craft at Philadelphia and in Delaware Bay. She was
returned to her owner, Ira D. Bertolet, Jr., of Philadel-
phia, 22 November 1918.
Idyl, see YHB-15
Idylease
A former name retained.
( SP-119 : t. 29; 1. 65'; b. 13'6" ; dr. 2'6'' ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1
1-pdr.)
Idylease (SP-119), a motor yacht, was built in 1916
by Kyle and Purdy, City Island, N.Y. ; acquired by the
Navy from Richard Goldsmith of New York City in June
1917, and commissioned 9 July 1917, Chief Boatswain C. E.
Geohegan, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Idylease performed
patrol and radio inspection duties in Hampton Roads and
on the Elizabeth River during the war. She was returned
to her owner at Norfolk 30 April 1919.
Illinois
Illinois, the 21st State, was admitted to the Union 3
December 1818, and was named for a French rendition of
the Algonquian word “Illini,” meaning men or warriors.
Illinois, a screw sloop-of-war of 2,354 tons displacement,
was laid down at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth,
N.H., in 1864, but was never completed. She was broken
up in 1872.
I
(BB-7 : dp. 11,565; 1. 368' ; b. 72'3" ; dr. 23'6" ; cpl. 660;
s. 17 k. ; a. 4 13'', 14 6'', 16 6-pdr., 6 1-pdr., 4 tt. ; cl.
Illinois)
Illinois (BB-7) was laid down 10 February 1897 by the
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport
News, Va., launched 4 October 1898; sponsored by Miss
Nancy Leiter ; and commissioned 16 September 1901, Cap-
tain G. A. Converse in command.
After shakedown and training in Chesapeake Bay, the
new battleship sailed 20 November 1901 for Algiers, La.,
where she was used to test a new floating dry dock. She
returned to Newport News in January 1902 and from 15
to 28 February Illinois served as flagship for Rear Admiral
R. D. Evans during the reception for Prince Henry of
Prussia. Bearing the flag of Rear Admiral A. S. Crown-
inshield, the battleship departed New York 30 April 1902
and arrived Naples 18 May, where the Admiral took com-
mand of the European Squadron. Illinois carried out
training and ceremonial duties until 14 July 1902, when
she grounded in the harbor of Christiana, Norway, and
had to return to England for repairs. She remained at
Chatham until 1 September 1902, then proceeded to the
Mediterranean and South Atlantic for fleet maneuvers.
Illinois was detached from the European Squadron 10
January 1903 and assigned to the North Atlantic. She
engaged in fleet maneuvers, gunnery and seamanship
training, and ceremonial operations until December 1907,
when she joined the Great White Fleet for the cruise
around the world. Following a Presidential review, the
mighty battleships sailed from Hampton Roads on their
important voyage. The Atlantic Fleet joined the Pacific
Fleet 8 May 1908 in San Francisco Bay and after a re-
view by the Secretary of the Navy the combined fleets
continued their cruise. The ships visited Australia,
Japan, Ceylon and other countries, arriving Suez 3 Jan-
uary 1909. At Suez word of the Sicilian earthquake sent
Illinois, Connecticut, and Culgoa to Messina. After ren-
dering valuable aid to victims of the disaster, the
ships rejoined the fleet, returning to Hampton Roads 22
February 1909. President Roosevelt reviewed the fleet as
it arrived, having given the world a graphic demonstra-
tion of America’s naval might. Illinois decommissioned
at Boston 4 August 1909.
The battleship was placed in reserve commission 15
April 1912 and recommissioned 2 November 1912, in time
to take part in winter fleet exercises and battle maneuvers
with the Atlantic Fleet. During the summers of 1913 and
1914 Illinois made training cruises to Europe with Mid-
shipmen. In 1919 the ship was again laid up at Phila-
delphia Navy Yard and was later loaned to the State of
New York 23 October 1921 for use by the Naval Militia.
Excluded from further use as a warship by the terms of
the Washington Treaty, Illinois was fitted out as a float-
ing armory at New York Navy Yard in 1924 and was as-
signed to the New York Naval Reserve. She remained
there for more than 30 years, though reclassified IX-15
8 January 1941 and renamed Prairie State to allow her
name to be assigned to a projected new battleship. Dur-
ing World War II she served as a U.S. Naval Reserve
Midshipmen Training School at New York. Following
the war, she was retained on loan to the State as quarters
for a Naval Reserve unit until 31 December 1955.
Prairie State, after over 50 years of useful service to
the Navy and the Nation, was towed to Baltimore and
sold for scrap to Bethlehem Steel Co., 18 May 1956.
Illinois (BB-65), an Iowa class battleship under con-
struction by Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, was canceled 12
August 1945.
Illinois, see Albatross (AM-71)
Illinois, see YP-J)19
Illusive
Deceiving by false show ; unreal.
Illusive (AM-243), an Admirable class minesweeper,
was under construction by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc.,
Tampa, Fla., but was canceled 6 June 1944.
I
(AM-448 : dp. 630 ; 1. 172' ; b. 36' ; dr. 10' ; s. 16 k. ; cpl. 72 ;
a. 1 40mm. ; cl. Agile)
Illusive (AM-448) was launched by Martinolich Ship-
building Co., San Diego, Calif., 12 July 1952; sponsored
by Mrs. Vito Marino ; and commissioned 14 November
1953, Lt. Comdr. J. E. Ruzic in command.
After shakedown and individual 'ship training out of
Long Beach during 1954, the ship entered Long Beach
shipyard for extensive modifications October 1954 to Feb-
ruary 1955. She was reclassified MSO— 148 7 February
1955. 'She continued to operate out of Long Beach, taking
part in a major Pacific Fleet training exercise in Novem-
ber 1955. For the next year she trained in California
waters.
Illusive again entered the yard in November 1956, this
time to replace her engines with experimental Packard
models, and until May 1957 was engaged in engineering
evaluation trials. She then sailed for her first deploy-
ment to the Far East 1 August 1957. Through December
she took part in the vital operations of the 7th Fleet for
the maintenance of peace and security in East Asia. She
418
I
USS Illinois (BB-7)
took part in joint exercises with Japanese naval units 6-9
October and with the Chinese Nationalist Navy 15 to 17
December 1957. Illusive returned to Long Beach 15 Feb-
ruary 1958.
The remainder of 1958 was spent in training operations
out of Long Beach. In 1959 she remained in California
waters, and took part in a large amphibious exercise off
Camp Pendleton. Illusive then made ready for her sec-
ond deployment to the western Pacific, sailing 8 January
1960 for Japan. During this critical period, in which
American Navy ships were increasingly active in helping
to prevent Communist takeover of the countries of South-
east Asia, the minesweeper carried out maneuvers off
Japan, the Philippines, and Okinawa. Illusive returned
to Long Beach 19 July 1960.
The year 1961 saw the ship return to the Far East. She
sailed 24 August, and operated in the Philippines as well
as out of Guam and Formosa. She moved to Sattahib,
Thailand, 25 November, as American ships demonstrated
support for that nation, and in December visited Bang-
kok. Thailand, and Saigon, capital of the struggling Re-
public of South Vietnam. During this period Illusive con-
ducted training exercises with several Southeast Asian
navies. She was particularly active in training South
Vietnamese officers and men until sailing for Long Beach
3 March 1962.
The veteran ship returned to the far Pacific in August
1963 and after stopping at island bases along the way ar-
rived Sasebo 23 September. In the months that followed
Illusive took part in 7th Fleet training with Korean, Na-
tionalist Chinese and Japanese minesweepers. She re-
turned to Long Beach 7 March 1964 for yard overhaul,
followed by refresher training off the coast of southern
California.
On 13 August 1965 Illusive departed Long Beach for
training in the Pacific that took her to Hawaii, the
Marshalls, the Marianas, and the Philippines. She stood
out of Subic Bay 2 October 1965 to join the “Market Time
Patrol” vigilantly trying to stop the coastal flow of con-
traband by junks and boats to Vietcong the full length of
Vietnam’s 1,000-mile coastline. Her patrol service may
include acting as a mother ship for replenishing the needs
of “Swift” boats, providing gunfire support to U.S. forces
ashore, or conducting a hydrographic survey on shoreline
depths, in addition to patrolling thousands of miles within
the inspection zone to intercept Vietcong men and sup-
plies. Illusive continued this vital duty until she turned
homeward in February 1966. The minesweeper reached
Long Beach 28 April. She operated along the West Coast
for the remainder of 1966 and into 1967.
Imbue
To saturate or tinge deeply.
Imbue (AM-244), an Admirable class steel-hulled mine-
sweeper under construction at Tampa Shipbuilding Co.,
Tampa, Fla., was canceled 6 June 1944.
Impeccable
Free from fault, blemish, or error.
(AM-320: dp. 890; 1. 221'2'' ; b. 32' ; dr. 10' ; s. 18 k. ; cpl.
105; a. 1 3'', 2 40mm., 2 dct., 5 dcp. ; cl. Auk)
Impeccable (Am-320), ex B AM-7, was launched by
General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif.,
21 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Agnes W. Hanson ; and
commissioned 24 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. H. H. Smith in
command.
The new minesweeper conducted shakedown training off
the California coast before sailing 3 July 1944 on Pacific
escort duty. Until November she steamed between Pearl
Harbor and the advance base at Eniwetok, and during
the last two months of 1944 operated on this vital duty in
the Palaus. After patrol and escort duty out of Ulithi
in early 1945, Impeccable departed 19 March 1945 to take
part in the largest of the great Pacific amphibious as-
saults, Okinawa.
Arriving off the island 24 March in advance of the
landing group, the minesweeper began her critical job of
sweeping the approach and transport areas. She under-
went air attack 28 March and with the main assault 1
April moved to screening duties. As the Japanese hurled
419
wave after wave of suicide planes at the invasion fleet in
a desperate attempt to stop the capture of Okinawa, Im-
peccable's crew frequently manned their guns for long
periods. She underwent air attack at Kerama Retto 6
April, and in the long days that followed patrolled both
off the Hagushi beaches and on picket station. On 20 May
she went alongside to give assistance to Chase, damaged
by a kamikaze attack. She also performed rescue duties
when other screening and escort ships were damaged by
enemy air action. Despite the heavy raids, Okinawa was
won, and Impeccable sailed 1 July for Guam.
The veteran minesweeper returned to Okinawa with a
resupply convoy from Guam and sailed again 16 August,
the day after the Japanese agreement to Armistice. De-
spite the end of hostilities, much necessary and dangerous
work remained for units of the fleet. Impeccable returned
to Okinawa 21 August ; then in September and Novem-
ber swept the approaches to Wakayama, Japan, in support
of occupation operations. Impeccable departed Sasebo
20 November, sailing via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco,
where she arrived 15 December 1945. She remained there
until decommissioning at Terminal Island 27 March 1947.
Impeccable' recommissioned 12 March 1952 to strengthen
American fleet units in Korea, and after shakedown sailed
3 September for Sasebo. She moved immediately to the
Wonsan area to strengthen the naval siege and keep the
harbor clear of mines. The ship also took part in the am-
phibious feint at Kojo 12 to 14 October, exchanging fire
with shore batteries in the area. During the months that
followed Impeccable remained on the eastern coast, aiding
the naval blockade and helping to maintain our position on
the offshore islands. She drove a sampan ashore off Hung-
nam 17 November 1952, and fought with Wonsan batteries
20 February 1953 while covering a minesweeping opera-
tion.
Her tour in the stalemated Korean conflict ended, Im-
peccable arrived Pearl Harbor 31 March and her home-
port, Long Beach, 10 April 1953. For the rest of the year
the ship operated on training and readiness exercises off
Mexico and the Canal Zone. Impeccable remained on
minesweeping and fleet maneuvers through the first half
of 1955. Impeccable was reclassified MSF-320, 7 Feb-
ruary 1955. She arrived Astoria, Oreg., 16 August 1955 ;
decommissioned 14 October ; and entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, Wash., where she remains.
Impeccable received three battle stars for World War II
service and two for Korean service.
Imperator
A German name retained.
(Str: 1. 906'; b. 98'3" ; dr. 35'2" ; s. 23.5 k.)
Imperator, a German passenger liner, was built by Vul-
can Works, Hamburg, Germany, in 1910. Following the
Armistice 11 November 1918, she was taken over from
Germany by the Food Shipping and Finance Agreement.
She sailed to Brest, France ; was acquired there by the
Navy 5 May 1919 ; and commissioned the same day, Cap-
tain J. K. Robison in command.
After embarking 2,100 American troops and 1,100 pas-
sengers, Imperator departed Brest 15 May 1919, arriving
New York 1 week later. Operating with the Cruiser-
Transport Force from 3 June to 10 August she made
three cruises from New York to Brest, returning over
25,000 troops, nurses, and civilians to the United States.
While en route to New York 17 June, Imperator assisted
the French cruiser Jeanne D'arc, which had broken down
in the Atlantic. The President of Brazil was on board
Jeanne D'arc and Imperator received him and his party
for transport to the United States, arriving there several
days later.
The troop transport was transferred to the 3d Naval
District 19 September, decommissioned at New York 24
November 1919, and was delivered to the British Ministry
of Shipping the same day.
Impervious
Impenetrable.
Impervious (AM-245), an Admirable- class minesweep-
er, was under construction by Tampa Shipbuilding Co.,
Inc., Tampa, Fla., but was canceled 6 June 1944.
I
(AM-449: dp. 630; 1. 172'; b. 36'; dr. 10'; s. 16 k. ; cpL
72 ; a. 1 40mm. ; cl. Agile)
Impervious (AM-449) was launched by Martinolich
Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif., 29 August 1952 ; spon-
sored by Miss Mary Lin Moore ; and commissioned 15
July 1954, Lt. Comdr. A. T. Ford in command.
Following shakedown and mine warfare training off
the California coast, Impervious was reclassified MSO-
449 on 7 February 1955. She sailed 1 July with her di-
vision for duty in the Far East with the 7th Fleet, ar-
riving Sasebo via Pearl Harbor 5 August. During this
deployment, she operated with ships of the Republic of
Korea Navy and visited Taiwan before returning to her
home port, Long Beach, 15 February 1956. During the
next two years she operated out of Long Beach.
Impervious sailed for her second 7th Fleet deployment
3 January 1958, and during the next 6 months trained in
Japanese waters. She also helped train Nationalist
Chinese crews during April and May, preparing them to
help to preserve the freedom and independence of Taiwan.
The minesweeper returned to Long Beach 15 July 1958,
and during September took part in a giant amphibious
exercise off Camp Pendelton, Calif.
In April 1959 Impervious interrupted her regular train-
ing schedule to take part in a joint mine warfare exer-
cise with Canadian ships, and spent the rest of the year
on training exercises in California waters. In early 1960
the ship prepared for another deployment to the Far
East, sailing 3 May for Japan. During August she par-
ticipated in maneuvers with Korean and Nationalist
Chinese ships, and in October Impervious operated with
units of the Philippine Navy in similar operations off
Corregidor. She sailed via Guam and Pearl Harbor to
Long Beach, arriving 16 November.
The ship spent 1961 and early 1962 on important readi-
ness operations, visiting several West Coast ports, and
sailed again for 7th Fleet duty 7 April 1962. After train-
ing in the Philippines the minesweeper spent part of July
on patrol with Vietnamese Naval units off Danang, and
the Navy supported the South Vietnamese people in their
fight for freedom. She visited Hong Kong and Yokosuka
before arriving Pearl Harbor 8 September 1962. During
October and November, Impervious took part in atomic
tests at Johnson Island, and arrived Long Beach 21
November.
In March 1963 the ship took part in another large
amphibious operation, “Steelgate”, then worked out of
Long Beach before again joining Canadian ships for mine
warfare exercises off British Columbia in November. She
got underway for the western Pacific again 8 May 1964,
and after stopping at various islands moved to the coast
of South Vietnam in September for special operations
supporting the American Advisory unit. After mine ex-
ercises off the Philippines she returned Long Beach 7 De-
cember 1964. The following 12 months were spent in
tactics and exercises along the coast of southern Cali-
fornia, overhaul at Los Angeles, and readiness operations
to prepare her for another Far Eastern deployment as-
sisting Allied forces to defend freedom in Southeast Asia.
Impetuous
Moving with great force or violence.
(PC— 454 : dp. 140; 1. 121'; b. 14'5" ; dr. 6'; s. 16 k. ; a.
6 30 cal. mg. )
420
The patrol yacht Arlis was built in 1915 by Robert
Jacob Inc., City Island, N.Y. ; acquired by the Navy 12
August 1940; and commissioned as PC-lf51t 16 October
1940.
Assigned to the 15th Naval District, PC-.}54 arrived
Canal Zone in mid-November 1940, to patrol the approaches
to the Panama Canal. From November 1940 to August
1944, she performed escort and patrol operations off
Central America while on constant vigil for enemy sub-
marines. PC-454 was named Impetuous and reclassified
PYc— 46 15 July 1943. On 31 August 1944, the patrol
yacht arrived Philadelphia and decommissioned there 27
September. Impetuous was struck from the Navy List
14 October, and sold by WSA 14 June 1945.
Implicit
To be understood though not expressed; implied.
I
(AM-246: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
The first Implicit (AM-246) was launched by Savannah
Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga., 6 September 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Helen P. Page ; and commissioned 20
January 1944, Lt. Comdr. H. V. Brown in command.
Following her shakedown training in Chesapeake and
Casco Bays, Implicit sailed from Norfolk 21 April 1944
on convoy duty to Bermuda. She steamed between Nor-
folk and Caribbean ports on escort duty until returning to
Hampton Roads 16 June. The ship then prepared for her
part in the invasion of southern France, sailing 24 July
1944 with transports bound for Oran, Algeria. She ar-
rived off southern France 20 August, 5 days after the ini-
tial landings, and began a daily schedule of minesweeping
and patrolling. She disposed of many floating mines, and
exchanged fire with a shore battery 6 September and
10 September. Implicit sailed from San Rafael for Bizerte
23 October where she conducted minesweeping exercises.
The ship sailed from Palermo 18 January 1945 and
after stopping at Athens and Istanbul arrived Yalta 31
January 1945 to be on hand at the historic Yalta Confer-
ence of Allied heads of state. After the conference she
retraced her steps, arriving Palermo 21 February. After
antisubmarine exercises, Implicit sailed in convoy for the
United States, arriving Norfolk 5 May 1945. With the
war in Europe over, she prepared for Pacific service, and
sailed 5 July 1945 via the Panama Canal for San Diego.
There the ship conducted minesweeping and counter-
measures exercises in California waters before arriving
Pearl Harbor 20 August, 5 days after the surrender of
Japan.
The end of the war brought rigorous duty for fleet
minesweepers, and Implicit sailed 3 September for Eni-
wetok, Saipan, Okinawa, and other Pacific Islands to take
up minefields. She also performed this vital dangerous
duty in Sasebo harbor and in the South China Sea, as
well as in Formosa Strait. The ship sailed from Eniwetok
18 February 1946, and arrived San Pedro via the Hawaiian
Islands 18 March. She remained there until 20 July, when
the veteran ship got underway for transfer to China.
Steaming via Eniwetok and the Philippines, she arrived
Subic Bay 30 October 1946 and decommissioned 16 No-
vember 1946. After much delay she was eventually
turned over to the Nationalist Chinese Navy 15 June 1948,
where she serves as Yung Chia (MSF-47).
Implicit received two battle stars for World War II
service.
II
(AM-455 : dp 630 ; 1. 172' ; b. 36' ; dr. 10' ; s. 16 k. ; cpl. 72 ;
a. 1 40mm. ; cl. Agile)
Implicit (AM— 455) was launched by Wilmington Boat
Works, Wilmington, Calif., 1 August 1953; sponsored by
Mrs. Landon Horton ; and commissioned 10 March 1954,
Lt. Comdr. A. C. Filiatrault in command.
One of a class of new minesweepers constructed en-
tirely of nonmagnetic materials, Implicit conducted shake-
down training in California waters during mid-1954.
She then began an operational pattern which was to con-
tinue for 3 years — minesweeping exercises, fleet maneu-
vers, and training cruises in the California-Mexico area.
The ship then got underway from her home port, Long
Beach, 7 August 1957 to join the 7th Fleet in the stra-
tegic Far East. During this deployment, Implicit operated
with Japanese ships, Nationalist Chinese minesweepers,
and with regular units of the 7th Fleet on their daily mis-
sion of maintaining peace and security in the area. She
returned to Long Beach 1 March 1958.
Training and readiness exercises out of Long Beach
occupied the minesweeper until her second cruise to the
Far East. She steamed out of Long Beach 8 January
1960 and during 6 months in the western Pacific took part
in mine warfare exercises with 7th Fleet ships in the
Philippines and off Okinawa. Implicit arrived Long Beach
after this cruise 17 Julr 1960.
Training operations and mine countermeasures drill
were carried out until August 1961, when the veteran
minecraft took part in joint American-Canadian mine-
sweeping exercises off British Columbia. Returning to
Long Beach, the ship prepared for another Far Eastern
deployment, this time in support of the American advisory
effort in South Vietnam. Sailing 2 January 1962 for this
embattled country, Implicit first participated in SEATO
maneuvers and then moved to various ports in South
Vietnam to assist in training officers and men in their
struggle against Communist subversion. She returned to
Long Beach from South Vietnam 17 August 1962.
Implicit resumed a schedule of underway training and
fleet exercises out of Long Beach until her next deploy-
ment, sailing with her division 3 January 1964. Stopping
at Guam and Midway en route, she arrived off Formosa
for mine-warfare exercises in March. In May she re-
turned to the Formosa Strait for a second operation, in
which the ship acted under a Chinese Nationalist division
commander in a demonstration of cooperation and smooth
combined operations. Following her second SEATO ex-
ercise in the Pacific, Implicit returned to Long Beach
28 July 1964 for a yard overhaul and readiness tactics
and training along the coast of California.
Implicit departed Long Beach 21 September 1965 for
the Far East. A unit of Mine Division 91, she joined the
“Market Time Patrol” along Vietnam’s 1,000-mile coast-
line to intercept Vietcong men and supplies trying to in-
filtrate into South Vietnam. Once she was fired on by
Vietcong while cruising close to shore and retaliated with
her 40mm. and other machineguns.
After a 2-week stopover, Implicit departed Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, 14 January to continue her “Market Time” pa-
trols into late 1966. By 15 March she had boarded more
than 1,000 junks and saipans for inspection. On 22 and 23
March, the minesweeper fired nearly 700 rounds of 40mm.
ammunition supporting small South Vietnamese naval
craft under fire from enemy shore batteries. On 28 June
Implicit got underway with a mine division for Long
Beach, Calif., via Guam, Kwajalein, and Pearl Harbor,
arriving Long Beach, 2 August. From 13 to 20 Septem-
ber she participated in minesweeping Operation “Eager
Angler” off Santa Rosa Island. Implicit joined a carrier
task unit for Operation “COMPTUEX” through Decem-
ber and then continued training operations off Long Beach
into 1967.
Improve
To make better or enhance.
(AM-247: dp. 530; 1. 184'6''; b. 33'; dr. 9'9” ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104; a. 1 3'', 4 40mm.; cl. Admirable)
Improve (AM-247) was laid down 1 June 1943 by Sa-
vannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ; launched
26 September 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Poythress ;
and commissioned 29 February 1944, Lt. P. W. Howie, Jr.,
in command.
After shakedown, Improve reported to Mine Warfare
421
School, Yorktown, Va., for duty as school ship. She was
next assigned to convoy duty, sailed for Africa on 23 July,
and arrived Mers-el-Kebir 10 August 1944. The mine-
craft arrived off southern France for duty 25 August.
During this period Improve swept coastal waters, oc-
casionally exchanging fire with German shore batteries.
The enemy still controlled the Italian coastline in this
area, and menaced sweeping operations with one-man
torpedoes and other devices. The ship helped sweep a
channel into Mentone 9-10 September and assisted sinking
a one-man torpedo on the 10th. From October until
March 1945 Improve swept mines and performed patrol
duties at Bizerte ; Cagliari, Sardinia ; and Palermo,
Sicily. Her group developed the new technique of using
a Navy blimp to spot floating mines.
Following a brief operation off Anzio 3 March, Improve
resumed operations off Sardinia and Sicily, before de-
parting Oran 17 April for the United States. She arrived
Norfolk 5 May 1945 and, with the focus of war now shifted
to the Pacific, sailed 5 July for duty in that theater. She
proceeded via the Panama Canal to San Pedro, Calif.,
arriving 26 July, and remained there on training duty until
after the end of the Pacific war. The need for minesweep-
ing operations was still great, however, and Improve sailed
17 September for Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Saipan, and
Okinawa. She arrived off Sasebo 17 November for addi-
tional minesweeping duty and finished the year working
off Formosa and in the Pescadores. In March 1946 the
ship was at Shanghai, earmarked for transfer to China,
but she was subsequently returned to Seattle and decom-
missioned 6 November 1946. Improve was eventually
turned over to the Maritime Commission and sold 24
February 1949 to Ricardo Granja.
Improve received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Impulse
An impelling force or impetus.
(PG-68 : dp. 925 ; 1. 205'2" ; b. 33' ; dr. 14'6" ; s. ; 16 k. ;
cpl. 89; a. 1 4", 1 3" ; cl. Temptress)
Impulse (PG-68) was launched by Cook, Welton, and
Gemmill, of Hull, England, 18 September 1940 as HMS
Begonia; served in the Royal Navy until 1942; and com-
missioned Impulse at London 16 March 1942, Lt. C. M.
Lyons in command.
One of a group of corvettes transferred to the U.S. Navy
under reverse Lend-Lease, Impulse departed from Lon-
donderry, Northern Ireland, 15 April 1942 as a convoy
escort. Upon arrival at New York 4 May, the ship steamed
to Norfolk and began regular operations as a coastal
escort ship from Norfolk to Key West. Impulse returned
to New York 25 August 1942 for duty protecting the im-
portant supply line between that port and Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. For the next 3 years she made repeated escort
voyages to and from Cuba, effectively helping to counter
the German U-boat menace.
Impulse arrived Boston 6 July 1945 for return to the
Royal Navy. She departed 1 August and arrived Harwich,
England, 15 August. Decommissioned 22 August 1945, the
corvette was returned to the Royal Navy and sold in 1946.
Inaugural
Pertaining to an inauguration.
(AM-242: dp. 530; 1. 184'6‘" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm.; cl. Admirable)
Inaugural (AM-242) was laid down 22 May 1944 by
Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Co., Winslow,
Wash. ; launched 1 October 1944 ; sponsored by Miss
Jacqueline Gage; and commissioned 30 December 1944,
Lt. J. H. Pace in command.
Following shakedown off the California coast, Inaugural
sailed 14 March 1945 for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived
8 days later. For the next 2 months the minesweeper per-
formed patrol and escort duties between Hawaii and the
islands of the western Pacific. She was at Saipan 22 May
and departed that day with a convoy bound for Okinawa,
site of the last and largest amphibious operation of the
tough Pacific war. After a voyage enlivened by several
attacks on suspected submarines, the convoy reached
Okinawa 30 May 1945.
During the desperate struggle for Okinawa, Inaugural
patrolled the seas around the island group, often firing at
enemy planes as Japanese aircraft made a suicidal effort
to stop American ground forces by destroying their sup-
port from the sea. Except for the period 19-24 July, when
the ship put to sea to ride out the great typhoon, Inaugural
remained in the dangerous waters around Okinawa until
30 August 1945.
With the war then over, she steamed to the waters
around Japan and Korea for vital minesweeping opera-
tions that were a necessary prelude to occupation. She
swept the approaches to Jinsen, Korea, in September, and
later cleared mines in waters off Nagasaki and Sasebo,
Japan. Inaugural proceeded to Okinawa for needed
equipment 14-24 October and then returned to the impor-
tant minesweeping operations around the Japanese home
islands.
The veteran minesweeper sailed 24 December for the
United States, via Saipan and Pearl Harbor, and arrived
San Pedro, Calif., 7 February 1946. Sailing again 11
March, she proceeded to Galveston, Tex., and decommis-
sioned there 9 September 1946. Inaugural entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, where she remained
until struck from the Navy List 1 March 1967 and sold.
She was reclassified MSF-242 on 7 February 1955.
Inaugural received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Inca
Former names retained.
I
( Str : 1. 120 ; 1. 114' ; b. 18' ; dr. 7' ; a. 1 1-pdr. )
Inca, a screw steamer, was built in 1898 by George
Lawley & Son, South Boston, Mass., and was acquired
by the Navy from F. B. McQuesten of Boston 13 June 1898.
She commissioned 15 June, Lt. W. E. McKay in command.
Inca was assigned to Boston harbor during the Spanish-
American War, serving as a patrol and training vessel.
She decommissioned 27 August 1898, and was turned over
to the Massachusetts Militia, which she served until 1908.
II
( Str : 1. 100' ;b. 28')
The second Inca, a steam ferry, was built for the Navy
by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I., in 1911,
and accepted by the Navy 4 December 1911. She pro-
vided ferry service for Naval Training Station, Newport,
until about 1920, when she was assigned to the Norfolk
area. The ferry remained in service there until the
thirties, when she moved to Philadelphia. Inca was strick-
en from the Navy List 28 February 1939.
III
( SP-4212 : t. 23; 1. 62'4'' ; b. lO'll" ; dr. 2'6''; s. 21 k. ;
a. 1 1-pdr.)
The third Inca was a motor boat, built in 1917 by Her-
reshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I. ; and acquired by
the Navy from her owner, F. B. McQuesten of Boston.
She commissioned 28 July 1917 at Boston, Ensign R. B.
Fuller, U SNRF, in command.
A versatile craft, Inca was first assigned to the First
Naval District and patrolled outer Boston Harbor. She
also performed coast convoy duties with submarines dur-
ing this period, and acted as test ship for submarine sig-
nalling and detector devices. She was reassigned to
Fifth Naval District in October 1917 and arrived Hamp-
422.
ton Roads 3 November. Inca's job was to serve as rescue
ship for aircraft from the Naval Air Station on flights
over the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. She also
served as a seaplane tender during 1918, and spent time on
harbor patrol in Hampton Roads. Inca was assigned 26
July 1918 to the Industrial Department, Hampton Roads,
as a dispatch boat, and remained on this duty until re-
turned to her owner 17 April 1919.
IV
( SP-3219 : 1. 103 ; 1. 101' ; b. 20' ; dr. 7'9" ; s. 12 k. ; a. none)
The fourth Inca, an iron tug, was built in 1879 by J. H.
Dialogue & Sons, Camden, N.J. ; and acquired by the Navy
31 July 1918. She commissioned 2 August 1918.
The tug was assigned to the 6th Naval District, and
operated until after World War I ended at Parris Island
Marine Barracks, S.C. She was stricken from the Navy
List 1 February 1919.
Liberty ships Henry L. Abbott and William B. Allison
were both acquired by the Navy from WSA 30 July 1945
for use as floating storage. On 14 July 1945 Henry L.
Abbott was renamed Gamage and classified IX-227 ; on
6 August 1945 William B. Allison was renamed Inca and
classified IX-229. However, when the former Henry L.
Abbott was subsequently found unfit for service, her ac-
quisition was canceled; and the name, Gamage ( q.v .), and
the classification, IX-227, were given to the former Wil-
liam B. Allison. Nevertheless, occasional references to
Inca (IX-229) appear in the ComServDiv 104 War Diary
until January 1946.
Incessant
(AM-248: dp. 530; 1. 184'6'' ; to. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Incessant (AM-248) was laid down 3 July 1943 toy
Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ;
launched 22 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Ralston
Mingledorff ; and commissioned 25 March 1944, Lt. C. H.
Romig in command.
After shakedown out of Casco Bay, Maine, Incessant de-
parted Norfolk 24 May 1914 for escort and training duty
in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Returning to
Norfolk 8 July she sailed in convoy 23 July and after stop-
ping at Mers-el-Kebir arrived off the coast of Southern
France.
As the Allies pushed northward from the beachheads,
the powerful guns of the fleet protected the flanks and
knocked out the German coastal batteries on the Italian
Riviera while minesweepers cleared the channel off the
French coast. Incessant and her sister ships performed
dangerous sweeping in the harbors of southern France
in spite of human torpedoes and enemy shore fire from the
Italian side. Incessant helped clear the channel into Men-
tone 9-10 September and then continued her minesweep-
ing and patrol duties at other Mediterranean points — Bi-
zerte, the coast of Sardinia, and Palermo, Sicily. In
January 1945 she was assigned new duties, and after
transiting the historic Dardanelles, arrived Sevastapol 26
January. There Incessant met her Russian pilot and in-
terpreter and began important air-sea rescue work in the
Black Sea. She departed for Palermo 15 February and
resumed Mediterranean operations until sailing from
Mers-el-Kebir 17 April for the United States.
With the European war won, Incessant arrived Norfolk
5 May and after a period of training sailed 5 July for the
western Pacific via the Panama Canal and San Diego,
arriving Pearl Harbor 21 August, after the war’s end.
Minesweepers were still needed, however, and Incessant
proceeded to Eniwetok, Saipan, and Okinawa, in the
weeks that followed. 'She arrived Sasebo for sweeping
operations incident to the occupation 25 October, and
in November 1945 operated in the East China Sea. In
March 1946 she was at Shanghai, earmarked for transfer
to China, but was eventually returned to Seattle and
decommissioned 6 November 1946. Incessant was sub-
sequently returned to the Maritime Commission and sold
to R. A. Rutherford 30 November 1948.
Incessant received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Inch
Richard Inch, born 29 June 1843 at Washington, D.C.,
was warranted Third Assistant Engineer 13 September
1863. He served in Lancaster and other ships during the
Civil War. During his long career Inch served as special
assistant at the White House, as Inspector of Coal, and
as an officer in many of the ships of the fleet. He was at
Mare Island Navy Yard during the Spanish- American
war, but was assigned to Naval Station Cavite in March
1899. Inch served with distinction during this tumultuous
time in the Philippines, and was later advanced three
numbers in grade for his performance. He retired as a
Rear Admiral in 1905 and died 21 April 1911 at Washing-
ton, D.C.
(DE-146 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7'' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3'', 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dep. 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 tt. ; cl. Edsall)
Inch (DE-146) was laid down 19 January 1943 by Con-
solidated Steel Corp, Orange, Tex. ; launched 4 April 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Philip L. Inch, daughter-in-law of Ad-
miral Inch ; and commissioned 8 September 1913, Lt.
Comdr. C. W. Frey in command.
Following shakedown off Bermuda, Inch began convoy
escort operations from New York to Norfolk. Early in
1945 she joined a special hunter-killer group in the At-
lantic, built around escort carrier Croatan. The ships
sailed 24 March for the convoy lanes to search for Ger-
man U-boats. During the months that followed, Inch took
part in many attacks on submarines. On the evening of
11 June the ship, in company with Frost and Huse, made
a contact and proceeded to attack. After over 40 depth
charges, the submarine surfaced, signalling SOS. Suspect-
a ruse, Inch and her companions opened fire and destroyed
U-490. The entire crew of 60 German sailors was rescued
by the escorts.
Soon after the attack on U-490, the escort vessels, op-
erating as usual in concert with aircraft from Croatan,
detected another submarine. They attacked 3 July and
scored another kill, this time on U-154 ■ Inch remained on
this vital duty, so important in stopping the German sub-
marine menace, until reaching New York 14 May 1945.
She had had only brief in-port periods the preceding year,
and after repairs conducted her second shakedown out of
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. With the war in the Atlantic
won, Inch sailed to the Pacific, departing the Canal Zone
23 July. She touched at San Diego and Pearl Harbor, and
remained in Hawaiian waters for exercises designed to
train her for the planned invasion of Japan. Soon after
her arrival 12 August, however, the capitulation was an-
nounced.
After completing training and readiness exercises, Inch
sailed 5 September for Norfolk, via the Panama Canal,
and arrived 28 September 1945. She decommissioned 17
May 1946, entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, and is now
berthed at Norfolk.
Inch received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Incredible
Extraordinary and improbable; hard to believe.
(AM-249; dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104; a. 1 3'', 4 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 .50 cal., 2 dct.,
3 dcp. ; cl. Admirable)
Incredible (AM-249) was launched 21 November 1942
by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Herbert Hezlep ; and commissioned 17
April 1944, Lt. R. N. Ekland, USNR, in command.
428
256-125 0 - 68 - 29
After shakedown along the East Coast and in the Carib-
bean, Incredible departed Norfolk 24 July, escorting a con-
voy to North Africa for the invasion of southern France,
the Allies landing 15 August. She carried out her sweep-
ing duties very effectively, sometimes without destroyer
cover. On 10 September Incredible and her group gallant-
ly repelled an attack of 12 human torpedoes, 2 of which
she destroyed. She continued her minesweeping duties off
southern France until 18 January 1945 when she sailed
for a special mission to Russia and the Black Sea. In-
credible performed sweeping duties out of Sevastopol,
Russia, then served as air-sea rescue patrol ship in the
Black Sea until returning to Palermo, Sicily, 20 February.
Incredible returned to Norfolk 5 May ; and, after over-
haul, departed 23 July for duty in the Pacific. She ar-
rived Pearl Harbor 8 days after the fighting stopped via
the Canal Zone and San Diego. The minesweeper sailed
from Pearl Harbor 31 August for Operation “Skagway,”
clearing the minefields in the East China Sea-Ryukyus
area. This important duty lasted until 17 February 1946
when she returned to San Pedro, Calif. She remained
there until she decommissioned at Puget Sound 6 Novem-
ber, joining the Reserve Fleet. From 28 November 1947
to 28 September 1949 Incredible was “In Service, out of
commission,” based at Yokosuka, Japan.
In June 1950 when the Communists again tested the
will of the free world by attacking South Korea, Presi-
dent Truman readily accepted the challenge and immedi-
ately ordered American forces into the area to drive the
enemy back and establish peace in Korea. Incredible
recommissioned 14 August 1950 at Yokosuka and departed
18 September for minesweeping and patrol duties in the
Pusan area. While on patrol in mine-infested waters, on
12 October she rescued 27 survivors from Pirate which
had struck a mine. Delivering her passengers to safety,
she continued her operations in the battle zone, sweeping
harbors and serving on patrol and escort duty. Returning
to Yokosuka, Incredible sailed for Long Beach, arriving
4 August 1951.
The minesweeper operated along the West Coast and
out of Pearl Harbor until 6 August 1953 when she sailed
for the Far East. For the remainder of the year she
operated out of Japan and on patrol along the coast of
Korea. Incredible returned to Long Beach 11 March 1954
and decommissioned there 21 September, again joining
the Reserve Fleet. Reclassified MSF-249, 7 February
1955, Incredible remained in the Long Beach Group,
Pacific Reserve Fleet until she was struck from the Navy
List 1 December 1959. She was sold 8 August 1960 to Na-
tional Metal and Steel Corp.
Incredible received two battle stars for World War II
service and four for Korean service.
Independence
Freedom of control by others ; self-government.
I
(Sip: 10 guns)
The first Independence was a Continental sloop pur-
chased and fitted out by the Marine Committee. In Sep-
tember 1776 she cruised under Captain John Young along
the Atlantic Coast to the Caribbean to guard American
merchant trade in the West Indies. During 1777 she
sailed for France, arriving at L’Orient in late Septem-
ber with important diplomatic dispatches. She had cap-
tured two prizes en route and disposed of these before
the British could interfere. She was in Quiberon Bay
14 February 1778 when John Paul Jones in Ranger re-
ceived the first national salute to the flag — first ofl&cial
recognition of the American Republic by a foreign power.
The following morning, Jones embarked in Independence
and again exchanged salutes. Independence soon sailed
for the United States. She was wrecked on the bar 24
April 1778 while attempting to enter Okracoke Inlet, N.C.
II
(SL: t. 2,243; 1. 190'10” ; b. 54'7" ; dr. 24'4" ; cpl. 790;
a. 90 32-pdrs.)
Independence, first ship-of-the-line commissioned in the
U.S. Navy, launched 22 June 1814 in the Boston Navy
Yard. She immediately took on guns and was stationed
with frigate Constitution to protect the approaches to
Boston Harbor. Wearing the broad pennant of Commo-
dore William Bainbridge, and under command of Cap-
tain William Crane, she led her squadron from Boston
3 July 1815 to deal with piratical acts of the Barbary
Powers against American merchant commerce.
Peace had been enforced by a squadron under Decatur
by the time Independence arrived in the Mediterranean.
But she led an impressive show of American naval might
before Barbary ports that encouraged them to keep the
peace treaties concluded. Having served adequate notice
of rising U.S. seapower and added to the prestige of the
Navy and the Nation, Independence returned to Newport
15 November 1815. She continued to wear the pennant
of Commodore Bainbridge at Boston until 29 November
1819, then was flagship of Commodore John Shaw until
placed in ordinary in 1822.
Independence remained in ordinary at Boston until 1836
when she was razed or cut down to one covered fighting
deck with poop and forecastle. She was rated down to
54 guns as her configuration gave way to that of a very
large frigate. She proved to be one of the fastest and
most powerful “frigates” of the Navy.
Independence recommissioned 26 March 1837 and sailed
from Boston 20 May 1837 as flagship of Commodore John
B. Nicholson. On board for her record passage across the
Atlantic to England was the Honorable George Dallas,
Minister to Russia. She arrived at Portsmouth, England,
13 June, called at Copenhagen ; then proceeded into Cron-
stadt 29 July 1837 to receive a visit from the Emperor of
Russia. Two days later a steamboat arrived to transport
Mr. Dallas and his family to St. Petersburg.
Having received marked social courtesies from the Rus-
sian government, Independence departed Cronstadt 13
August 1837 for Rio de Janeiro, where she became flag-
ship of the Brazil Squadron to guard American com-
merce along the eastern seaboard of South America.
This duty continued into the spring of 1839 when Commo-
dore Nicholson attempted mediation to end the war be-
tween France and Argentina. He reported 22 April 1839
that : “I volunteered, as I conceived it a duty I owed to my
Country, as well as to all Neutrals, to endeavor to get
peace restored that commerce should be allowed to take its
usual course. In accordance of the feelings of humanity
at least, I hope my endeavors will be approved by the De-
partment ... I see no probable termination of this War
and Blockade which is so injurious to the Commerce of
all Neutrals . . .”
Independence returned north to New York 30 March
1840. She was laid up in ordinary until 14 May 1842
when she became flagship of Commodore Charles Stewart
in the Home Squadron. Basing at Boston and New York,
she continued as his flagship until laid up in ordinary 3
December 1849. She recommissioned 4 August 1846 and
the Nation was at war with Mexico as she departed Bos-
ton 29 August 1846 for the coast of California. She en-
tered Monterey Bay 22 January 1847 and became the flag-
ship of Commodore William B. Shubriek, commanding the
Pacific 'Squadron.
Independence assisted in the blockade of the Mexican
coast, capturing Mexican ship Correo and a launch 16 May
1847. She was present to support the capture of Guay-
mas 19 October and landed bluejackets and Marines to
occupy Mazatlan 11 November 1847. She later cruised as
far as Hawaii, arriving Honolulu 12 August 1848. Inde-
pendence returned to the East Coast at Norfolk 23 May
1849 and decommissioned there 30 May.
Recommissioned 7 July 1849, Independence departed
Norfolk 26 July under Captain Thomas A. Conover to
serve as flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron under
424
Commodore Charles W. Morgan. She was the first U.S.
man-of-war to show the flag at Spezia, Italy, arriving 23
May 1850 for an enthusiastic welcome. She returned to
Norfolk 25 June 1852 and was placed in ordinary at New
York 3 July 1852.
Independence recommissioned 4 September 1854 and de-
parted New York 10 October to serve as flagship of the
Pacific Squadron under Commodore William Mervine.
She arrived Valparaiso, Chile, 2 February 1855. Her
cruising grounds ranged northward to San Francisco and
west to Hawaii. Proceeding from Panama Bay, she en-
tered the Mare Island Navy Yard 2 October 1857. She
served as receiving ship there until decommissioned 3
November 1912. Her name •was struck from the Navy
List 3 September 1913.
Independence did not leave the Mare Island Navy Yard
until 28 November 1914. Sold to John H. Rinder, she was
towed to the Union Iron Works, San Francisco. On 5
March 1915 she shifted to Hunter’s Point, and remained
for a week. Some repairs were made and a plan formu-
lated to use her as a restaurant for the Panama-Pacific
Exposition. But this plan was not executed though a
permit was granted by Exposition authorities. Pig iron
and ballast were removed from her hold and valuable
hard wood salvaged from her orlop deck knees. The
night of 20 September 1919, Independence was burned on
the Hunter’s Point mud flats to recover her metal fittings.
The sturdy veteran of the days of wooden ships and iron
men had survived more than a century, 98 years of which
were spent serving the U.S. Navy.
III
(Str : t. 4,980; 1. 440'2" ; b. 56' ; dr. 28'8" ; s. 11 k. ; a. 25")
The third Independence was built in 1918 by Bethlehem
Shipbuilding Corp., Alameda, Calif., for the USSB. She
was delivered to the Navy and commissioned 16 Novem-
ber 1918, Lt. O. P. Rankin in command.
Independence sailed with a cargo of foodstuffs 6 Decem-
ber 1918, arrived New York 1 January 1918; and con-
tinued on to England. Upon her return to New York, the
ship decommissioned 20 March 1919 and was returned to
the USSB. She was later extensively rebuilt to be sold
7 August 1930 to Baltimore Mail Steamship Co. and re-
named City of Norfolk. In 1940 she was reacquired by
the Navy and served in World War II as troop transport
Neville \q.v.)
IV
(CV-22: dp. 11,000; 1. 622'6" ; b. 71'6" ; ew. 109'2" ; dr.
26' ; s. 31 k. ; cpl. 1,569 ; a. 26 40mm. ; cl. Independence)
The fourth Independence (CV-22), begun as Amster-
dam (CL-59) , was launched as CV-22 on 22 August 1942
by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N. J. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Rawleigh Warner; and commissioned 14 January
1943, Captain G. R. Fairlamb, Jr., in command.
A painting of Razee USS Independence, the first USN Ship-of-the-LIne
425
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426
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The first of a new class of carriers converted from
cruiser hulls, Independence conducted shakedown training
in the Caribbean. She then steamed through the Panama
Canal to join the Pacific Fleet, arriving San Francisco 3
July 1943. Independence got underway for Pearl Harbor
14 July, and after 2 weeks of vital training exercises sailed
with carriers Essex and Yorktown for a devastating raid
on Marcus Island. Planes from the carrier force struck
1 September and destroyed over 70 percent of the installa-
tions on the island. The carrier began her next opera-
tion, a similar strike against Wake Island 5 to 6 October,
as CVL-22, redesignated 15 July 1943.
Independence sailed from Pearl Harbor for Espiritu
Santo 21 October; and, during an ensuing carrier attack
on Rabaul 11 November, the ship’s gunners scored their
first success — six Japanese planes shot down. After this
operation the carrier refueled at Espiritu Santo and
headed for the Gilberts and prelanding strikes on Tarawa
18 to 20 November 1943. During a Japanese counter-
attack 20 November, Independence was attacked by a
group of planes low on the water. Six were shot down,
but the planes managed to launch at least five torpedoes,
one of which scored a hit on the carrier’s starboard quar-
ter. Seriously damaged, the ship steamed to Funafuti 23
November for repairs. With the Gilberts operation, first
step on the mid-Pacific road to Japan, underway, Inde-
pendence returned to San Francisco 2 January 1944 for
more permanent repairs.
The veteran carrier returned to Pearl Harbor 3 July
1944. During her repair period the ship had been fitted
with an additional catapult ; and upon her arrival in Ha-
waiian waters, Independence began training for night
carrier operations. She continued this pioneering work
24 to 29 August out of Eniwetok. The ship sailed with a
large task group 29 August to take part in the Palaus
operation, aimed at securing bases for the final assault
on the Phillipines in October. Independence provided
night reconnaissance and night combat air patrol for Task
Force 38 during this operation.
In September the fast carrier task force regularly
pounded the Philippines in preparation for the invasion.
When no Japanese counterattacks developed in this pe-
riod, Independence shifted to regular daytime operations,
striking targets on Luzon. After replenishment at Ulithi
in early October, the great force sortied 6 October for
Okinawa. In the days that followed the carriers struck
Okinawa, Formosa, and Philippines in a striking demon-
stration of the mobility and balance of the fleet. Japa-
nese air counterattacks were repulsed, with Independence
providing day strike groups in addition to night fighters
and reconnaissance aircraft for defensive protection.
As the carrier groups steamed east of the Philippines
23 October, it became apparent, as Admiral Carney later
recalled, that “something on a grand scale was under-
foot.” And indeed it was, as the Japanese fleet moved on
a three pronged effort to turn back the American beach-
head on Leyte Gulf. Planes from Independence's Task
Group 38.2, under Rear Admiral Bogan, spotted Kurita’s
striking force in the Sibuyan Sea 24 October and the
carriers launched a series of attacks. Planes from Inde-
pendence and other ships sank giant battleship Musashi
and disabled a cruiser.
That evening Admiral Halsey made his fateful decision
to turn Task Force 38 northward in search of Admiral
Ozawa’s carrier group. Independence? s night search planes
made contact and shadowed the Japanese ships until dawn
25 October, when the carriers launched a massive attack.
In this second part of the great Battle for Leyte Gulf,
all four Japanese carriers were sunk. Meanwhile Ameri-
can heavy ships had won a great victory in Suriago Strait ;
and a light carrier force had outfought the remainder of
Kurita’s ships in the Battle Off Samar. After the great
battle, which virtually spelled the end of the Japanese
Navy as a major threat, Independence continued to pro-
vide search planes and night fighter protection for Task
Force 38 in strikes on the Philippines. In these operations
the ship had contributed to a major development in carrier
group operations.
Independence returned to Ulithi for long-delayed rest
and replenishment 9 to 14 November, but soon got under-
way to operate off the Philippines on night attacks and
defensive operations. This phase continued until 30 De-
cember 1944, when the great task force sortied from Ulithi
once more and moved northward. From 3 to 9 January
the carriers supported the Lingayen landings on Luzon,
after which Halsey took his fleet on a daring foray into
the South China Sea. In the days that followed the air-
craft struck at air bases on Formosa and on the coasts
of Indo China and China. These operations in support of
the Philippines campaign marked the end of the carrier’s
427
night operations, and she sailed 30 January 1945 for re-
pairs at Pearl Harbor.
Independence returned to Ulithi 13 March 1945 and got
underway next day for operations against Okinawa, last
target in the Pacific before Japan itself. She carried
out preinvasion strikes 30 to 31 March, and after the
assault 1 April remained off the island supplying Combat
Air Patrol and strike aircraft. Her planes shot down
numerous enemy planes during the desperate Japanese
attacks on the invasion force. Independence remained
off Okinawa until 10 June when she sailed for Leyte.
During July and August the carrier took part in the final
carrier strikes against Japan itself, attacks which lowered
enemy morale and had much to do with the eventual
surrender. After the end of the war 15 August, Independ-
ence aircraft continued surveillance flights over the main-
land locating prisoner of war camps, and covered the land-
ings of Allied occupation troops. The ship departed
Tokyo 22 September 1945, arriving San Francisco via
Saipan and Guam 31 October.
Independence joined the “Magic-Carpet” fleet begin-
ning 15 November 1945, transporting veterans back to the
United States until arriving San Francisco once more 28
January 1946. Assigned as a target vessel for the Bikini
atomic bomb tests, she was placed within one-half mile
of ground zero for the 1 July explosion. The veteran
ship did not sink, however, and after taking part in an-
other explosion 25 July was taken to Kwajalein and de-
commissioned 28 August 1946. The highly radioactive
hulk was later taken to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco
for further tests, and was finally sunk in weapons tests off
the coast of California 29 January 1951.
Independence received eight battle stars for World War
II service.
y
(CVA-62: dp. 56,300 It.; 1. 1046'; b. 236'; ew. 249'6" ;
dr. 37' ; s. 34 k. ; cpl. 3,950; a. 8 5" ; cl. Forrestal)
The fifth Independence (CVA-62) was launched by
New York Navy Yard 6 June 1958; sponsored by Mrs.
Thomas Gates, wife of the Secretary of the Navy ; and
commissioned 10 January 1959; Captain R. Y. McElroy
in command.
One of the newest class of “supercarriers” at the time
of her commissioning, Independence conducted shakedown
training in the Caribbean and arrived her home port Nor-
folk, 30 June 1959. She operated off the Virginia Capes
for the next year on training maneuvers, and departed 4
August 1960 for her first cruise to the Mediterranean.
There she added her great strength to the peace-keeping
power of the 6th Fleet in that troubled region, remaining
in the eastern Mediterranean until her return to Norfolk
3 March 1961. The remainder of the year was spent in
training and readiness operations off the Atlantic Coast.
Independence sailed 19 April 1962 for 6th Fleet Duty
in support of President Kennedy’s firm stand on Berlin
during a reoccurrence of stress in a critical area. She
returned to Norfolk 27 August and sailed 11 October for
the Caribbean Sea. She arrived off Puerto Rico in re-
sponse to the Communist defiance in the Cuban Missile
Crisis and took part in the quarantine operations which
finally forced withdrawal of the Russian missiles. She then
returned to Norfolk 25 November for readiness exercises
along the eastern seaboard, overhaul in the Norfolk Naval
Shipyard, and refresher training out of Guantanamo
Bay.
Independence departed Norfolk 6 August 1963 to take
part in combined readiness exercises in the Bay of Bis-
cay with sea-air units of the United Kingdom and France ;
then entered the Mediterranean 21 August for further
duty with the 6th Fleet. Cruising throughout the Medi-
terranean, she gained much valuable experience during
combined NATO exercises, including close air support to
Turkish paratroops, reconnaissance, communications, and
convoy strike support. President Makarios of Cyprus paid
her a visit 7 October, after which she joined in bilateral
U.S. -Italian exercises in the Adriatic with Italian patrol
torpedo boats, and U.S. -French exercises which pitted
her aircraft against French interceptors and a surface
action with French cruiser Colbert. She returned to Nor-
folk 4 March 1964.
Following training exercises ranging north to New
York and south to Mayport, Fla., Independence departed
Norfolk 8 September 1964 for NATO “Teamwork” exer-
cises in the Norwegian Sea and off the coast of France,
thence to Gibraltar. She returned to Norfolk 5 November
1964 and entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for over-
haul.
The first Atlantic Fleet carrier to deploy to the South
China Sea in support of Vietnam operations, Independence
and her embarked Air Wing 7 received the award of the
Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious
service from 5 June to 21 November 1965. They partici-
pated in the first major series of coordinated strikes
against vital enemy supply lines north of the Hanoi-
Haiphong complex, successfully evading the first massive
surface-to-air missile barrage in aviation history while
attacking assigned targets, and executing, with daring
and precision, the first successful attack on an enemy
surface-to-air missile installation. The carrier launched
more than 7,000 sorties in sustaining an exceptional pace
of day and night strike operations against military and
logistic supply facilities in North Vietnam. “The superior
team spirit, courage, professional competence, and devo-
tion to duty displayed by the officers and men of Inde-
pendence and embarked Attack Carrier Air Wing 7 reflect
great credit upon themselves and the United States Naval
Service.”
Independence returned to her homeport, Norfolk, Va.,
in December, arriving the 31st. During the first half of
1966, she operated off Norfolk, replenishing and training
air groups. On 4 May she participated in Operation
“STRIKEX.” The carrier departed Norfolk 13 June for
European operations with the 6th Fleet. Independence
was involved with unit and NATO exercises from July
into December. She then continued her 6th Fleet deploy-
ment into 1967.
India
A former name retained.
( Ship : t. 366 ; a. none)
India was purchased at New Bedford, Mass., 14 Novem-
ber 1861 for service as an obstruction in the second stone
fleet which was sunk in the Maffitt’s-Ohannel approach to
Charleston 26 January 1862.
Indian
(M.B. 707:1. 60'9" ; b. 11')
Indian, a wooden motor launch, was acquired from
Joseph Van Vleck, at Norfolk in 1906. She served as a
ferry launch at the Naval Proving Ground, Indian Head,
Md., until she collided with the merchant vessel SS
Northland and sank off Inc” an Head 31 May 1917.
Indian Island
An island on the Penobscot River in the State of Maine.
(AG-77 : dp. 5,766 ; 1. 4,416'' ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 23' ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 908; a. 1 5", 4 40mm., 12 20mm., cl. Basilan; T.
EC2-S-C1 )
Indian Island (AG-77) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by the New England Shipbuilding
Corp., South Portland, Maine, 19 December 1944; spon-
sored by Mrs. Mary H. Flaherty ; acquired by the Navy 30
December 1944; converted to an AG by Bethlehem Steel
Co., Brooklyn, N.Y. ; and commissioned 27 July 1945, Lt.
Comdr. J. M. O’Toole in command.
After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Indian Island
sailed for the West Coast via the Canal Zone, arriving
428
San Diego 19 September 1945. She departed San Diego
27 September enroute Shanghai, China, and Sasebo, Japan,
where she embarked veterans for return to the United
States. Returning to San Francisco 4 December, Indian
Island departed for Orange, Tex., 14 December where she
arrived 2 January 1946. She decommissioned there 11
May 1947 and joined the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. Reclassified AKS-25, 18 August 1951, Indian
Island remained in the Reserve Fleet until sold for scrap-
ping in August 1960.
Indiana
Indiana, the 19th State, was admitted to the Union 11
December 1816, and was named because it had been the
home of Indians.
I
(BB-1 : dp. 10,288 n. ; 1. 350'11" ; b. 69'3" ; dr. 24' ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 473 ; a. 4 13", 8 8", 4 6”, 20 6-pdr„ 6 1-pdr.)
The first Indiana (BB-1) was laid down 7 May 1891 by
William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia ; launched 28 Febru-
ary 1893 ; sponsored by Miss Jessie Miller, daughter of the
Attorney General of the United States ; and commissioned
20 November 1895, Captain Robley D. Evans in command.
Following fitting out at Philadelphia Navy Yard, In-
diana trained off the coast of New England. This duty
continued until the outbreak of the Spanish- American War
in 1898, when Indiana formed part of Admiral Sampson’s
squadron. The 10 ships sailed south to intercept Cer-
vera’s Spanish squadron, known to be en route to the
Caribbean. Indiana took part in bombardment of San
Juan 12 May 1898, and returned to Key West with the
squadron to guard Havana 18 May. After it was dis-
covered that Cervera was at Santiago, Sampson joined
Schley there 1 June and took up the blockade.
In late June, Army units arrived and were landed for an
assault on Santiago. Cervera sawT that his situation was
desperate and began his gallant dash out of Santiago
3 July 1898, hoping to outrun the American blockaders.
Indiana did not join in the initial chase because of
her extreme eastern position on the blockade, but was
near the harbor entrance when destroyers Pluton and
Furor emerged. In a short time both ships were de-
stroyed by Indiana's guns and those of the other ships.
Meanwhile the remaining Spanish vessels were sunk or
run ashore, in one of the two major naval engagements
of the war.
Indiana returned to her previous pattern of training
exercises and fleet maneuvers after the war, and made
practice cruises for midshipmen of the Naval Academy be-
fore decommissioning 29 December 1903.
The battleship recommissioned at New York Navy Yard
9 January 1906. During this phase of her career, Indiana
CV122/ A16-3 >.S. INDEPENDENCE * * (10/ »)
Serial No. 0015
Jut:, ct: Action Report on Stalorete II.
t ojv of routing patrolo, CAP and AS*. Plan* to conduct night heckler epera-
‘ic.'.n and night attacks on snipping failed to naterialiso due to complete lack
l suitable targets. Opportunities to utilise thin group of highly trained
s. ecialiats in night operations were ncn-oxlstant except for ocoasiotkal pre-
•. take-offs and occasional landiitgo after sunset by the CAP.
5. During the period 19 thru 21 Se4Aori>or, the Fighting Squadron of
the INDEPENDENCE took port it. Uu tidily successful attacks »n Luzon ari on Conor.
Pay, In the so operations, INDEPEJCmCE group lost its iiontity as a night
op rating organization and performed all the functions of the rwrrval CVL group
in a highly creditabla mnner, this in spite of the fact tntt previous training
had entirely overlooked training in fitting plane tactile ”nd had concentrated
upor. the training required by the individual for night interception* and for
individual gunnery.
7. On the evening of 12 Septudbor, VF 11 had its one opportunity to
derxnartrato its proficiency in ito specialty by ouccossfuily intercepting and
splashing a Dinah after a chase of 69 riles which involved a rapid climb to
:’3 000 feet, 'ft 10 return to the zihip after dark and subsequent landing of U VF
w.’w) cocploiod in an expeditious manner.
Action Report on Operation “Stalemate II”
429
FIL*
A16-3/(ll)
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UNITER STATES PACIFIC FLEET
THIRD FLEET
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,, At tide writ in ,, tlie nirit carrier task .grout is an
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served with the Naval Academy Practice Squadron, sailing
to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. At Queens-
town, Ireland, she fired a 21-gun salute 22 June 1911 in
honor of the coronation of King George V. This impor-
tant work in training the Navy’s future leaders ended in
1914 and she decommissioned at Philadelphia 23 May 1914.
Indiana recommissioned a second time 24 May 1917, and
served through World I as a training ship for gun crews
off Tomkinsville, N.Y., and in the York River, Va. She
decommissioned at Philadelphia 31 January 1919. The
name Indiana was canceled 29 March 1919 and she was
reclassified Coast Battleship Number 1 so that the name
could be assigned to a newly authorized battleship. She
was used as a target in an important series of tests de-
signed to determine the effectiveness of aerial bombs and
was sunk in November 1920. Her hulk was sold for scrap
19 March 1924.
Indiana (BB-50) was laid down by the New York Navy
Yard 1 November 1920, but her construction was canceled
8 February 1922 in accordance with the terms of the Wash-
ington Treaty for naval limitation.
II
(BB-58 : dp. 35,000 ; 1. 680' ; b. 108'2" ; dr. 29'3" ; s. 27 k. ;
cpl. 2,500 ; a. 9 16", 20 5", 24 40mm., 16 20mm., cl. Indiana)
Indiana (BB-58) was launched by Newport News Ship-
building & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., 21 Novem-
ber 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lewis C. Robbins, daughter
of Indiana governor Henry F. Schricker ; and commis-
sioned 30 April 1942, Captain A. S. Merrill in command.
Following shakedown in Casco Bay, Maine, the new
battleship steamed through the Panama Canal to bolster
U.S. fleet units in the Pacific during the critical early
430
USS Independence (CVA-62) on 30 July 1963
months of World War II. She joined Rear Admiral
Lee’s carrier screening force 28 November 1942. For the
next 11 months, Indiana helped protect carriers Enter-
prise and Saratoga, then supporting American advances
in the Solomons.
Indiana steamed to Pearl Harbor 21 October 1943, and
departed 11 November with the support forces designated
for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. The battleship
protected the carriers which supported the Marines during
the bloody fight for Tarawa. Then late in January 1944
she bombarded Kwajalein for 8 days prior to the Marshall
Island landings, 1 February. While maneuvering to re-
fuel destroyers that night, Indiana collided with battle-
ship Washington. Temporary repairs to her starboard
side were made at Majuro, and she arrived Pearl Harbor
13 February for additional work.
Indiana joined famed Task Force 58 for the Truk raid
29-30 April and bombarded Ponape Island 1 May. In
June the battlewagon proceeded to the Marianas with a
giant American fleet for the invasion of that strategic
group. She bombarded Saipan 13-14 June and brought
down several enemy aircraft while fighting off concen-
trated air attacks June 15. As the Japanese fleet closed
the Marianas for a decisive naval battle, Indiana steamed
out to meet them as part of Rear Admiral Lee’s battle
line. The great fleets approached each other 19 June for
the biggest carrier engagement of the war, and as four
large air raids hit the American formations, Indiana,
aided by other ships in the screens and carrier planes,
downed hundreds of the attackers. With able assistance
from submarines, Mitscher sank two Japanese carriers
in addition to inflicting fatal losses on the enemy naval
air arm during “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”
Indiana shot down several planes, and sustained only
two near torpedo misses. The issue decided, the battleship
resumed her screening duties around the carriers, and
stayed at sea 64 days in daily support of the Marianas
invasion.
In August the battleship began operations as a unit
of Task Group 38.3, bombarding the Palaus, and later
the Philippines. She screened strikes on enemy shore
installations 12-30 September 1944, helping to prepare for
the coming invasion of Leyte. Indiana departed for
Bremerton, Wash., arriving 23 October.
Reaching Pearl Harbor 12 December, the battleship
immediately began underway training preparedness.
She sailed 10 January 1945 and with a fleet of battleships
and cruisers bombarded Iwo Jima 24 January. Indiana
then joined Task Force 58 at Ulithi and sortied 10 Feb-
ruary for the invasion of that strategic island, next step
on the island road to Japan. She supported the carriers
during a raid on Tokyo 17 February and again on 25
February, screening strikes on Iwo Jima in the inter-
val. Indiana arrived Ulithi for replenishment 5 March
1945, having just supported a strike on the next target —
Okinawa.
Indiana steamed out of Ulithi 14 March for the mas-
sive Okinawa invasion, and until June 1945 steamed in
support of carrier operations against Japan and Okin-
awa. These devastating strikes did much to aid the ground
campaign and lower Japanese morale at home. During
this period she often repelled enemy suicide plane at-
tacks as the Japanese tried desperately but vainly to
stem the mounting tide of defeat. In early June she
rode out a terrific typhoon, and sailed to San Pedro Bay,
Philippines, 13 June.
431
Forward main deck of USS Indiana (BB-1)
As a member of Task Group 38.1 Indiana operated
from 1 July to 15 August supporting air strikes against
Japan and bombarded coastal targets with her big guns.
The veteran battleship arrived Tokyo Bay 5 September
and 9 days later sailed for San Francisco, where she
arrived 29 September 1945. She was placed in reserve
in commission at Bremerton 11 September 1946. She de-
commissioned 11 September 1947, and entered the Pa-
cific Reserve Fleet. She was stricken from the Navy
List 1 June 1962 and sold for scrap. Indiana's mast is
erected at the University of Indiana at Bloomington ;
her anchor rests at Fort Wayne ; and other relics are
on display in various museums and schools throughout
the State.
Indiana received nine battle stars for World War II
service.
Indiana, see YM-18
Indianapolis
The capital of Indiana.
I
( Str : dp. 16,900 ; 1. 439'6" ; b. 60' ; dr. 28' y2" ; s. 11 k. ; cpl.
70)
Indianapolis was launched 4 July 1918 by Pusey &
Jones, Gloucester, N.J., for USSB; delivered to the Navy
Department 12 December 1918; and commissioned the
same day at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. J. M.
Masury, USNRF, in command.
Attached to NOTS, Indianapolis carried cargo to Eu-
rope— Philadelphia to England and Holland — returning to
Norfolk (28 December 1918-23 February 1919) ; and Nor-
folk to France and back (31 March-22 June 1919). She
decommissioned 9 July 1919, and was returned to USSB
at Norfolk the same day.
II
( CA-35 : dp. 9,800 ; 1. 610' ; b. 66' ; dr. 17'4" ; s. 32 k. ; cpl.
1,269; a. 9 8", 8 5"; cl. Portland)
Indianapolis was laid down 31 March 1930 by the New
York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; launched 7 No-
vember 1931 ; sponsored by Miss Lucy Taggart, daughter
of the late Senator Thomas Taggart, a former mayor of
Indianapolis ; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy
Yard 15 November 1932, Captain John M. Smeallie in
command.
Following shakedown in the Atlantic and Guantanamo
Bay until 23 February 1932, Indianapolis trained in the
Canal Zone and in Pacific off the Chilean coast. After
overhaul at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the heavy cruiser
432
Fleet Admiral Nimitz received his “At Sea Training” in USS Indiana during his plebe year at the Naval Academy in 1901.
USS Indiana (BB-58) on 8 September 1942
433
sailed to Maine to embark President Roosevelt at Campo-
bello Island 1 July 1933. Getting underway the same
day, Indianapolis arrived Annapolis 2 days later where
she entertained six members of the cabinet. After dis-
embarking the President, she departed Annapolis 4 July,
and returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
On 6 September, Secretary of the Navy Claude A.
Swanson broke his flag in Indianapolis for an inspection
tour of the Pacific, visiting the Canal Zone, Hawaii, and
the fleet in the San Pedro-San Diego area. He debarked
at San Diego 27 October, and Indianapolis became flagship
of the Scouting Force 1 November 1933. Following ma-
neuvers off the West Coast, she departed Long Beach,
Calif., 9 April 1934 and arrived New York City 29 May.
There she again embarked the President and his party
for a review of the Fleet. She arrived Long Beach 9 No-
vember 1934 for tactical war problems with the Scouting
Fleet.
Indianapolis acted as flagship for the remainder of her
peacetime career, and again welcomed President Roosevelt
at Charleston, S.C., 18 November 1936 for a “Good-Neigh-
bor” cruise to South America. After carrying President
Roosevelt to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Monte-
video for state visits, she returned to Charleston 15 Decem-
ber where the presidential party left the ship.
As international tension built up during ensuing years
and the United States girded to meet aggression, the
heavy cruiser’s intensified training program fused ship
and crew into a fighting machine of high efficiency ready
to defend the Nation from any enemy who might attack.
When Japanese bombs struck Pearl Harbor, Indian-
apolis, then making a simulated bombardment of John-
ston Island, immediately joined Task Force 12 and
searched for Japanese carriers reportedly still in the
vicinity. She arrived Pearl Harbor 13 December and
entered Task Force 11 for operations against the enemy.
Her first action came in the South Pacific deep in enemy-
dominated waters about 350 miles south of Rabaul, New
Britain. Late in the afternoon of 20 February 1942, the
American ships were attacked by 18 twin-engined bomb-
ers, flying in 2 waves. In the battle that followed, 16 of
the planes were shot down by accurate antiaircraft fire
of the ships and fighter planes from Lexington. All ships
escaped damage and they splashed two trailing Japanese
seaplanes.
On 10 March the Task Force, reinforced by carrier
Yorktoion, attacked enemy ports at Lae and Salamaua,
New Guinea, where the enemy was marshalling amphibi-
ous forces. Carrier-based planes achieved complete sur-
prise by flying in from the south, crossing the high Owen
Stanley mountain range, and swooping in to strike Japa-
nese harbor shipping. As they inflicted heavy damage on
Japanese warships and transports, the American flyers
knocked down many of the enemy planes which rose to
protect the ports. American losses were exceptionally
light.
Indianapolis then returned to the United States for
overhaul and alterations in the Mare Island Navy Yard.
Reinvigorated, Indianapolis escorted a convoy to Aus-
tralia, then headed for the North Pacific where Japanese
landings in the Aleutians had created a precarious situa-
tion. The weather along this barren chain of islands is
noted for continuous coldness ; persistent and unpredict-
able fogs ; constant rain, snow, and sleet ; and sudden
storms with violent winds and heavy seas.
By 7 August, the task force to which Indianapolis was
attached finally found an opening in the thick fog which
hid the Japanese stronghold at Kiska Island, and im-
periled ships in the treacherous and partially uncharted
nearby coasts. Indianapolis' 8-inch guns opened up along
with those of the other ships. Although fog hindered ob-
servation, scout planes flown from the cruisers reported
seeing ships sinking in the harbor and fires burning among
shore installations. So complete was the tactical surprise
that it was 15 minutes before shore batteries began to an-
swer ; and some of them fired into the air, believing they
were being bombed. Most of them were silenced by ac-
curate gunnery from the ships.
Japanese submarines then appeared but were promptly
depth-charged by American destroyers. Japanese sea-
planes also made an ineffective bombing attack. The opera-
tion was considered a success despite the scanty informa-
tion on its results. It also demonstrated the necessity of
obtaining bases nearer the Japanese-held islands. Con-
sequently, U.S. forces occupied the island of Adak later
in the month, providing a base suitable for surface craft
and planes further along the island chain from Dutch
Harbor.
In January 1943, Indianapolis supported the U.S. occu-
pation of Amchitka, which gave us another base in the
Aleutians.
On the night of 19 February 1943, while Indianapolis
and two destroyers patrolled southwest of Attu, hoping
to intercept enemy ships running reinforcements and sup-
plies into Kiska and Attu, she contacted a Japanese cargo
ship, Akagane Maru. When challenged, the enemy tried
to feign a reply but was shelled by Indianapolis' 8-inch
guns. Since the maru exploded with great force and left
no survivors, she was presumably laden with ammunition.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1943, Indianapolis
operated in Aleutian waters escorting American convoys
and covering amphibious assaults. In May the Navy
took Attu, the first territory stolen by the Japanese to be
reconquered by the United States. After Attu was pro-
claimed secure, the U.S. forces focused their attention
on Kiska, the last enemy stronghold in the Aleutians.
However, the Japanese managed to evacuate their entire
garrison under cover of persistent, thick fog before our
landings there 15 August.
After refitting at Mare Island, the ship next moved to
Hawaii where she became flagship of Vice Admiral
Spruance commanding the 5th Fleet. She sortied from
Pearl Harbor 10 November with the main body of the
Southern Attack Force of the Assault Force for Operation
“Galvanic,” the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. On 19
November 1943, Indianapolis, in a force of cruisers bom-
barded Tarawa and next day pounded Makin. The ship
then returned to Tarawa and acted as a fire-support ship
for the landings. That day her guns splashed an enemy
plane and shelled enemy strong points as valiant landing
parties struggled against fanatical Japanese defenders in
an extremely bloody and costly battle. She continued this
role until the leveled island was declared secure 3 days
later.
The conquest of the Marshall Islands followed hard
on victory in the Gilberts. Indianapolis was again 5tli
Fleet Flagship. She rendezvoused with other ships of
her task force at Tarawa, and on D-Day minus 1, 31
January 1944, she was a unit of the cruiser group which
bombarded the islands of Kwajalein Atoll. The shelling
continued on D-Day with Indianapolis silencing two
enemy shore batteries. Next day she obliterated a block-
house and other shore installations and supported ad-
vancing troops with a creeping barrage. The ship entered
Kwajalein Lagoon 4 February and remained until all
resistance disappeared.
During March and April of 1944, Indianapolis, still
flagship of the 5th Fleet, attacked the Western Carolines.
Carrier planes struck at the Palau Islands 30-31 March
with shipping as their primary target. They sank 3
destroyers, 17 freighters, 5 oilers and damaged 17 other
ships. In addition, airfields were bombed and surrounding
waters mined to immobilize enemy ships. Yap and Ulithi
were struck on the 31st and Woleai on 1 April. During
these 3 days, enemy planes attacked the U.S. fleet but
were driven off without damaging the American ships.
Indianapolis shot down her second plane, a torpedo
bomber, and the enemy lost 160 planes in all, including 46
destroyed on the ground. These attacks successfully pre-
vented enemy forces from the Carolines from interfering
with the U.S. landings on New Guinea.
During June, the 5th Fleet was busy with the Marianas
assault, raids on Saipan which began with carrier-based
planes on the 11th followed by surface bombardment, in
which Indianapolis had a major role, from 13 June. On
D-Day, 15 June, Admiral Spruance received reports that
434
a large fleet of battleships, carriers, cruisers, and de-
stroyers was headed south to relieve their threatened
garrisons in the Marianas. Since amphibious operations
at Saipan had to be protected at all costs, Admiral Spru-
ance could not draw his powerful surface units too far
from the scene. Consequently, a fast carrier force was
sent to meet this threat while another force attacked
Japanese air bases on Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima in the
Bonin and Volcano Islands — bases for dangerous potential
enemy air attacks.
A combined fleet met the enemy on 19 June in the Battle
of the Philippine Sea. Enemy carrier planes, which hoped
to use the airfields of Guam and Tinian to refuel and re-
arm and attack our off-shore shipping, were met by car-
rier planes and the guns of the escorting ships. That
day the Navy destroyed 402 enemy planes while losing
only 17 of her own. Indianapolis, Avhich had operated with
the force which struck Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima, shot
down one torpedo plane. This famous day’s work became
known throughout the fleet as the “Marianas Turkey
Shoot.” With enemy air opposition wiped out, the U.S.
carrier planes pursued and sank two enemy carriers, two
destroyers, and one tanker and inflicted severe damage
on other ships. Indianapolis returned to Saipan on 23
June to resume fire support there and 6 days later moved
to Tinian to smash shore installations. Meanwhile, Guam
had been taken ; and Indianapolis was the first ship to
enter Apra Harbor since that American base had fallen
early in the war. The ship operated in the Marianas
area for the next few weeks, then moved to the Western
Carolines where further landings were planned. From
12 to 29 September she bombarded the Island of Peleliu
in the Palau Group, both before and after the landings.
She then sailed to Manus in the Admiralty Islands where
she operated for 10 days before returning to the Mare
Island Navy Yard.
Overhauled, Indianapolis joined Vice Adm. Marc A.
Mitscher’s fast carrier task force on 14 February 1945
2 days before it made the first attack on Tokyo since Gen-
eral Doolittle’s famous raid in April 1942. The operation
covered American landings on Iwo Jima, scheduled for 19
February 1945, by destroying Japanese air facilities and
other installations in the “Home Islands”. Complete tac-
tical surprise was achieved by approaching the Japanese
coast under cover of bad weather, and attacks were
pressed home for 2 days. On 16 and 17 February, the
American Navy lost 49 carrier planes while shooting down
or destroying on the ground 499 enemy planes. Besides
this 10-to-l edge in aircraft victories, Mitscher’s Force
sank a carrier, 9 coastal ships, a destroyer, 2 destroyer
escorts, and a cargo ship. Moreover, they wrecked hang-
ers, shops, aircraft installations, factories, and other in-
dustrial targets. Throughout the action, Indianapolis
played her vital role of support ship.
Immediately after the strikes, the Task Force raced to
the Bonins to support the landings on Iwo Jima. The
ship remained there until 1 March, aiding in the bloody
struggle for that little island by protecting the invasion
ships and training her guns on any targets spotted on
the beach. The ship returned to Admiral Mitscher’s Task
Force in time to strike Tokyo again on 25 February and
Hachijo off the southern coast of Honshu the following
day. Although weather was extremely bad, the Ameri-
cans destroyed 158 planes and sank 5 small ships while
pounding ground installations and demolishing trains.
A large base close to the home islands was needed to
press the attack, and Okinawa in the Ryukyus seemed
ideal for the part. To capture it with minimum losses,
airfields in southern Japan had to be pounded until they
were incapable of launching effective airborne opposition
to the impending invasion.
Indianapolis, with the fast carrier force, departed Ulithi
14 March 1945, and proceeded toward the Japanese coast.
On 18 March, from a position 100 miles southeast of
Kyushu, the flat-tops launched strikes against airfields on
the island, ships of the Japanese fleet in the harbors of
Kobe and Kure on southern Honshu. After locating the
American Task Force 21 March, Japan sent 48 planes
to attack the ships, but 24 planes from the carriers in-
tercepted the enemy aircraft s<j»e 00 miles away. At
the end ®f the battle, every one of the enemy planes was
in the sea.
Preinvasion bombardment of Okinawa began 24 March
and for 7 days Indianapolis poured 8-inch shells into the
beach defenses. Meanwhile, enemy aircraft repeatedly
attacked the ships ; and Indianapolis shot down six planes
and assisted in splashing two others. On 31 March, the
day before the invasion, the ship’s sky lookouts spotted a
Japanese single-engined fighter plane as it emerged from
the morning twilight and roared at the bridge in a ver-
tical dive. The ship's 20-millimeter guns opened fire, but
less than 15 seconds after it was spotted the plane was
over the ship. Tracer shells crashed into the plane,
causing it to swerve ; but the enemy pilot managed to re-
lease his bomb from a height of 25 feet and crash his plane
on the port side of the after main deck. The plane top-
pled into the sea, causing little damage; but the bomb
plummeted through the deck armor, the crew’s mess hall,
the berthing compartment below, and the fuel tanks still
lower before crashing through the bottom of the ship and
exploding in the water under the ship. The concussion
blew two gaping holes in the ship bottom and flooded
compartments in the area, killing nine crewmen. Al-
though Indianapolis settled slightly by the stern and listed
to port, there was no progressive flooding ; and the plucky
cruiser steamed to a salvage ship for emergency repairs.
Here, inspection revealed that her propeller shafts were
damaged, her fuel tanks ruptured, her water-distilling
equipment ruined ; nevertheless, the battle^proud cruiser
made the long trip across the Pacific to the Mare Island
Navy Yard under her own power.
After repairs and overhaul, Indianapolis received orders
to proceed at high speed to Tinian, carrying parts and
nuclear material to be used in the atomic bombs which
were soon to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Due to the urgency of her mission, Indianapolis departed
San Francisco on 16 July, foregoing her postrepair shake-
down period. Touching at Pearl Harbor 19 July, she
raced on unescorted and arrived Tinian 26 July, having
set a record in covering some 5000 miles from San Fran-
cisco in only 10 days.
After delivering her top-secret cargo at Tinian, Indi-
anapolis was dispatched to Guam where she disembarked
men and reported for onward routine to Leyte. From
there she was to report to Vice Adm. Jesse B. Oldendorf
for further duty off Okinawa. Departing Guam 28 July,
Indianapolis proceeded by a direct route, unescorted.
Early in the morning, 12:15 a.m., 30 July 1945, 2 heavy
explosions occurred against her starboard side forward,
and she capsized and sank in 12 minutes, at 12°02' N.,
134°48' E. Indianapolis had been hit by two torpedoes
from Japanese submarine 1-58, Commander Machitsura
Hashimoto in command. The seas had been moderate ; the
visibility, good ; Indianapolis had been steaming at 17
knots. When the ship did not reach Leyte on the 31st, as
scheduled, no report was made that she was overdue.
This omission was due to a misunderstanding of the Move-
ment Report System. Thus it was not until 1025 on 2
August that the survivors were sighted, mostly held
afloat by life jackets, although there were a few rafts
which had been cut loose before the ship went down.
They were sighted by a plane on routine patrol ; the pilot
immediately dropped a life raft and a radio transmitter.
All air and surface units capable of rescue operations
were dispatched to the scene at once, and the surrounding
waters were thoroughly searched for survivors.
Upon completion of rescue operations, 8 August, a
radius of 100 miles had been combed by day and by night,
saving 316 of the crew of 1,199 men.
Captain Charles B. MeVay, III, USN, commanding of-
ficer of Indianapolis at the time of her sinking, was vin-
dicated from any blame concerned with the loss of his
ship. All personnel involved in the failure to report the
ship’s absence from Leyte were also exonerated, after all
the evidence had been carefully weighed.
Traditionally the flagship of the powerful 5th Fleet,
435
she had served with honor from Pearl Harbor through the
last campaign of the war and had gone down in action
a scant two weeks before the war’s end.
Indianapolis earned 10 battle stars for World War II
service.
Indianola
(SwScStr : t. 511 ; 1. 174' ; b. 50' ; dr. 5' ; s. 9 k. ; a. 2 11"
D.sb., 2 9" D.sb.)
Indianola, an ironclad gunboat propelled by both side
wheels and screw propellers, was built at Cincinnati by
Joseph Brown. The danger that Confederate Gen. Kirby
Smith, whose troops had reached Covington, Ky., just
across the Ohio River, would capture Cincinnati, prompted
Brig. Gen. Lew Wallace to take Indianola from the con-
tractor before completion 2 September 1862 and have her
launched 2 days later. Acting Master Edward Shaw was
placed in command of the ship 18 September, and she was
reported in commission 9 days later.
Indianola was “armed and ready to defend Cincinnati”
23 October ffiut was not completed. When ready for
general service several weeks later, the water level in the
Ohio had fallen too much for her to get over the falls at
Louisville. She finally arrived at Cairo, 111. and joined
the Mississippi Squadron 23 January 1863. She served
briefly in the Mississippi and the Yazoo Rivers
before running past the Confederate batteries at Vicks-
burg to join Queen of the West in an effort to stop the
Confederate flow of supplies from the Red River.
She left her anchorage in the Yazoo at 10:15 p.m. 13
February and moved slowly down stream until the first
gun was fired at her from the Vicksburg cliffs slightly
more than an hour later. She then raced ahead at full
speed until out of range of the Confederate cannon which
thundered at her from above. She anchored for the night
4 miles below Warrenton, Miss., and early the next morn-
ing got underway down river.
Two days later, 16 February, Indianola met prize
steamer Era No. 5 manned by the survivors of Queen of
the West which had run aground while under heavy fire
from Confederate shore batteries at Gordon’s Landing in
the Red River. Late that afternoon lookouts in Indianola
spotted Confederate steamer Webb abreast Ellis Cliffs. She
promptly cleared for action and steamed ahead full speed
firing at the Southern ship which proved to be barely out
of range. Webb turned about and dashed down stream
and out of sight around a bend in the river. A heavy
fog set in compelling Indianola to give up the chase and
anchor for the night. Early the next afternoon the fog
cleared enabling Indianola to proceed to the mouth of the
Red River where she maintained a strict blockade until
21 February when she began steaming upstream. Her
progress was slowed by two coal barges which she towed
so that she might furnish fuel to any ships sent to rein-
force her from above Vicksburg. On the evening of 24
February Webb and Queen of the West, now Confederate-
manned, overtook Indianola and attacked from each side
ramming her seven times before the game ironclad, “in
an almost powerless condition” ran her bow on the west
bank of the river and surrendered.
The loss of Indianola was deeply distressing to the
Union. It ended Admiral Porter’s efforts to blockade the
Red River by detached vessels while keeping the body of
his fleet above Vicksburg, and it prompted Farragut’s
costly run by the South’s forts at Port Hudson 14 March
1863. On the brighter side, it set the stage for one of
the most successful hoaxes of the war. A dummy monitor
was made by building paddle boxes on an old coal barge
to simulate a turret which in turn was adorned with
logs painted black to resemble guns. Pork-barrel fun-
nels containing burning smudge pots were the final touch
added just before the strange craft was cast adrift to
float past Vicksburg on the night of Indianola' s surrender,
Word of this “river Monitor” panicked the salvage crew
working on Indianola causing them to set off the ships
magazines to prevent her recapture.
After Vicksburg fell, and following long and difficult
struggle, Indianola was refloated 5 January 1865 and
towed to Mound City 17 January where she was sold.
Indicative
Giving intimation or knowledge.
(AM-250 : dp. 530 ; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33' ; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ; cpl.
104 ; a. 1 3" ; 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Indicative (AM-250), a steel-hulled minesweeper, was
laid down 29 September 1943 by Savannah Machine &
Foundary Co., Savannah, Ga. ; launched 12 September
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. E. L. Smith ; and commissioned
26 June 1944, Lt. E. A. Comee in command.
Following shakedown and a training period at Little
Creek, Va., Indicative sailed 19 August 1944 for anti-
submarine exercises off Bermuda. She then took up regu-
USS Indianapolis (OA-35) and line of battleships in fleet review at New York 31 May 1934
436
1863
lar duties as a convoy escort vessel between U.S. ports
and Bermuda, helping to counter the German submarine
menace in the western Atlantic.
The minesweeper departed New York 5 February 1945
and steamed by way of the Canal Zone and West Coast
ports to Cold Bay, Alaska, arriving 4 April 1945. With
other minecraft, she was transferred to Russia under
Lend-Lease the next day. She was not returned after
the war and was probably lost between 1948 and 1950.
Indien
(Fr: t. 1,430; 1. 170'; b. 43'3" ; dph. 16'6" ; cpl. 550)
L' Indien, a frigate built for the U.S. Commissioners in
France, Benjamin Franklin, Silas Dean, and Arthur Lee,
was laid down early in 1777 by a private shipyard in Am-
sterdam, Holland. Late in the year John Paul Jones
sailed for France, hoping to assume command of L’ Indien;
but, before his arrival, financial difficulties and opposition
from the still-neutral Dutch government, under pressure
from Great Britain, had forced the Commissioners to sell
the new frigate to the King of France.
For over 2 years the ship remained idle while several
American and European agents schemed to obtain her.
Finally, on 30 May 1780 the King granted her to the
Duke of Luxembourg, who simultaneously chartered her to
South Carolina, represented by Commodore Alexander
Gillon of the South Carolina Navy. Gillon renamed the
frigate South Carolina (see South Carolina in “States
Navy Appendix,” Vol. V, DANFS).
Subsequently, she took several prizes and led the com-
bined United States-Spanish expedition which captured
the Bahamas. British man-of-war Astrea, Diomede, and
Quebec captured South Carolina as she attempted to dash
out of Philadelphia through the British blockade 20 De-
cember 1782.
Perhaps her greatest significance comes from the fact
the marine architect Joshua Humphreys studied her sleek
hull and used her lines in designing the U.S. Navy’s first
frigates, especially Constitution and Constellation.
Indolence, see YP-lJt3
Indra
In Vedic mythology, the great national God of the
Indo-Aryans.
( ARL-37 : dp 2,125; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 14' ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 253; a. 1 3'', 8 40mm.; cl. Achelous)
Indra (ARL-37) was laid down as LST-1147 on 12
February 1945; reclassified while building and launched
as ARL-37 by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, 111., 21
May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Regina K. Hlubek; placed
in reduced commission and brought to Bethlehem-Key
Highway Shipyard, Baltimore, for conversion, and com-
missioned 2 October 1945, Lt. Comdr. R. J. Siegelman in
command.
After shakedown Indra sailed to Green Cove Springs,
Fla., where she remained from 30 November 1945 until
8 May 1946. She then steamed through the Panama Canal
to San Diego, arriving 4 June. The ship remained in
California until departing 7 January 1947 for the Far
East. Indra arrived Tsingtao 19 February to support
American marines there attempting to stabilize the volatile
Chinese situation and protect American lives and prop
erty. She performed repair and general services there
and at Shanghai until 30 August, when she sailed for San
Diego. Upon her arrival 25 September 1947, Indra de-
commissioned 6 October and entered the Pacific Reserve
Fleet, San Diego group, where she remains.
Indus
The Indian, a southern constellation between Grus and
Pa vo.
( AKN-1 : dp. 4,023 It.; 1. 441'6'' ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ;
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 228; a. 1 5”, 4 40mm.; cl. Indua; T.
EC2-S-C1)
Indus (AKN-1) was launched as liberty ship Theodore
Roosevelt by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Balti-
more, Md., 29 October 1943 under Maritime Commission
contract; sponsored by Mrs. William MacMillan, grand-
daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt; acquired by
the Navy 5 November 1943; converted at Maryland Dry
437
Dock Co. ; and renamed Indus. She commissioned 15
February 1944, Corndr. A. S. Einmo in command.
After the installation of additional equipment at Nor-
folk, the net cargo ship conducted shakedown in Chesa-
peake Bay until 14 March 1944. She sailed from Norfolk
1 April for the Pacific theater, via the Canal Zone, and
arrived Espiritu Santo 12 May 1944. Her first assign-
ment was the installation of nets in Seeadler Harbor, and
she arrived there 1 June 1944 to direct and support the
work of net-laying ships. With these important anti-
torpedo nets completed, the ship departed 29 July to load
gear at Milne Bay, New Guinea, arriving Mios Woendi
to install nets 30 August. Indus then returned to Milne
Bay 27 September, and soon afterward became flagship
for Commander 7th Fleet Service Forces during the Leyte
operation. She sailed 12 October for Hollandia and ar-
rived Leyte Gulf 24 October to support that vital opera-
tion. The versatile ship issued stores and did repair
work during this period, and during the numerous air
raids shot down at least two Japanese aircraft. She
departed 6 December for Hollandia where she loaded
additional gear and provisions.
As the next major assault in the Philippines, the Lin-
gayen Gulf operation, began to take shape at staging
bases, Indus joined the service group and departed 28
December for the landing. Although the Japanese made
desperate air attacks on the convoy, sinking some ships
but suffering heavy losses themselves, the fleet resolutely
drove through to its objective. Indus arrived safely at
the assault area 9 January 1945 and performed service
duties during the initial landing stages. Departing 23
February, the ship sailed to the recaptured base at Subic
Bay and on 28 February began to establish net defenses.
She continued this vital work until departing 11 May for
Hollandia, where she arrived two days later.
Indus returned to the Manila Bay area 24 May to un-
load supplies, then sailed 1 June for Pearl Harbor. She
remained there until 30 June, when she sailed with net
gear for Eniwetok Atoll, for work on the net defenses there.
The veteran ship returned to Pearl Harbor in August,
and was in port when the surrender of Japan was an-
nounced. She subsequently carried cargo and did net
work at Eniwetok, Saipan, and Kwajelein until the end
of 1945. She returned to Norfolk 14 March 1946, via the
Panama Canal, decommissioned at Norfolk 20 May 1946,
and was returned to the Maritime Commission 3 days
later. Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
under her old name, she is berthed at Wilmington, N.C.
Indus received one battle star for World War II
service.
Industry
Habitual diligence in any employment or pursuit.
(AMc-86 : dp. 195; 1. 97' ; b. 21' ; dr. 9'1" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
16 ; a. 2 .50 cal. mg. ; cl. Accentor)
Industry (AMc-86) was laid down 11 May 1941 by F. L.
Fulton Shipyard, Antioch, Calif. ; launched 6 September
1941 ; sponsored by Miss June Marken ; and placed in
service 19 December 1941.
Following shakedown training, the wooden-hulled mine-
sweeper sailed for Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor 11
March 1942. For more than 2 years the ship swept the
channels of Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Harbor. As the
Pacific war neared its climax in late 1944, the need for
mine locator vessels became acute, and Industry's sweep-
ing equipment was replaced by sound gear and diving
equipment for underwater locator work. She commis-
sioned 15 December 1944 and began training in company
with Med rick (AMc-203).
Industry and two other converted minesweepers de-
parted Pearl Harbor 1 May 1945 and, after stops at Eni-
wetok, Guam and Saipan, arrived off Okinawa 4 July.
There she located and raised mines and sunken Japanese
midget submarines during the months that followed. The
ship fought off enemy air raids in July and August, and
in September endured a major typhoon. The ship was
scheduled to depart for Japan in early October, but her
departure was delayed by another typhoon, this one rank-
ing with the most powerful in the recent history of Oki-
nawa. In the violent storm in Buckner Bay 9 October,
Industry drove ashore on a reef. Her crew kept her afloat
until rescue came next morning. The battered mine-
sweeper was finally stripped and decommissioned 22
December 1945. The remaining hulk was sunk.
Inflict
Cause to suffer ; impose.
I
(AM-251: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9'' ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104; a. 1 3'', 4 40 mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct., 3 dep. ; cl.
Admirable)
The first Inflict (AM-251), was laid down 26 October
1943 by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah,
Ga. ; launched 16 January 1944; and commissioned 28
August 1944, Lt. Comdr. Sherman B. Wetmore in com-
mand.
After shakedown and minesweeping exercises off the
Virginia coast, Inflict arrived Casco Bay, Maine, 30 Oc-
tober for antisubmarine warfare exercises. Following up-
keep at Norfolk, she arrived Miami 1 December for duty
as training school ship. Inflict trained student officers
until 1 April 1945 when she sailed for the West Coast,
arriving San Diego 5 May. Two days later she sailed for
the Far East, and engaged in convoy escort duty and
minesweeping off Okinawa while American units ashore
fought doggedly against fierce and determined opposi-
tion. After Americans finally snuffed out the last re-
sistance and declared the island secured 21 June, Inflict
operated out of it as a base. From 13 to 23 August she
swept minefields off Kyushu clearing the way for vessels
bringing American occupation forces. She then returned to
Okinawa to prepare for occupation duty.
As the greatest sea war in history ended in Allied vic-
tory, Inflict departed Okinawa 30 August for operations
in Korea, Formosa, and Japan, remaining there until
January 1946.
The minesweeper returned to San Pedro, Calif., 17
February for training and readiness operations. After a
summer cruise to Guam and Pearl Harbor, she arrived
Bremerton, Wash., in mid-October, decommissioning
there 6 November 1946. Inflict was transferred to the
Maritime Commission 8 October 1948 and released to her
purchaser, Ricardo Granja, the same day.
Inflict received three battle stars for World War II
service.
II
(AM-456 : dp. 630 ; 1. 172' ; b. 36' ; dr. 10' ; s. 16 lc. ; cpl. 72 ;
a. 1 40mm. ; cl. Agile)
The second Inflict (AM-456) was launched 16 October
1953 by Wilmington Boat Works, Inc., Wilmington, Calif. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Robert E. Carlson ; and commissioned
11 May 1954, Lt. G. T. Ragon in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Inflict engaged
in sonar and minesweeping exercises until she departed
Long Beach 1 July for the western Pacific. Arriving Yo-
kosuka, Japan 5 August she began operations with the
navies of South Korea, Nationalist China, and Japan,
In February 1955 she was reclassified MSO-456. Inflict
returned to Long Beach 17 February 1956 and spent the
remainder of the year on training operations.
During 1957 Inflict continued operations off California
and Mexico, helping to maintain one of America’s mighty
antisubmarine warfare forces. The minesweeper sailed
3 January 1958 for duty in the Far East. She arrived
there as a crisis loomed in Indonesia. The strength of this
mighty armada made itself felt as the crisis diminished
quickly without incident.
438
During her tour Inflict participated in joint exercises
with the Philippine, Thailand, and Chinese Nationalist
navies before returning to Long Beach 15 July.
For the next 20 months she remained in California wa-
ters constantly training to keep at peak readiness. Inflict
sailed 3 May 1960 for joint operations with our Asian
allies, remaining there for the next 6 months as a symbol
of joint naval cooperation for security of the Free World.
She returned to Long Beach 16 November. During 1961,
Inflict was engaged in minesweeping operations and mid-
shipman training out of Long Beach. She sailed 7 April
1962 for exercises in Hawaiian waters, returning to Long
Beach 17 August. In 1963, in addition to her training in
California waters, Inflict sailed 28 October for joint coun-
termeasure exercises with Canada. Returning to Long
Beach 3 December she resumed operations out of Long
Beach until 22 May 1964 when she sailed for duty in the
Far Blast. Inflict again operated with the friendly navies
of Asia, and during the summer was deployed for service
along South Vietnam, as our support of that embattled
republic was increased to assist its struggle against ag-
gression. Inflict returned to Long Beach 7 December.
She sailed for the Far East 7 February 1966. Arriving
Subic Bay 28 March, she headed for her “Market Time”
station 5 April and remained on patrol preventing the
infiltration of arms and men from North Vietnam to the
south. Except for brief interludes, she continued this
important duty until she left the war zone 1 November
and returned to Long Beach 13 December.
Inflict operated on the West Coast through mid-1967.
Ingersoll
Ingersoll (DD-652) was named for two naval men.
Royal Rodney Ingersoll was bom in Niles, Mich., 4
December 1847, and graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1868. He served in various ships of the fleet on the
European and Asiatic Squadrons until 1876 when he was
assigned to the Naval Academy. Ingersoll taught and
wrote about Ordnance subjects during several tours at the
Academy, and in the early years of the 20th century com-
manded such ships as Bennington, New Orleans, and
Maryland. He was Chief of Staff of the Atlantic Fleet
during the first part of its famous cruise around the
world, and a member of the General Board in 1908. Rear
Admiral Ingersoll retired in 1909, but was called back to
duty during World War I as President of the Naval Ord-
nance Board. In 1919 he returned to his home in Laporte,
Ind., where he was active in public affairs until his death
21 April 1931.
Royal Rodney Ingersoll, III, the grandson of Admiral
Ingersoll, was born at Manila, P.I., 17 December 1913.
After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1934, he
served in California, Cassin, and other ships during the
thirties, and reported on board carrier Hornet during her
fitting out period in 1941. Lieutenant Ingersoll served in
Hornet during the critical early months of the Pacific war.
In the great Battle of Midway 4 to 6 June 1942, in which
the U.S. fleet decisively turned back the Japanese threat
to the Hawaiian Islands, he was killed at his battle sta-
tion by machine gun fire from Japanese aircraft.
(DD-652: dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'7" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37
k. ; cpl. 319; a. 5 5”, 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct., cl. Fletcher)
Ingersoll (DD-652) was launched by Bath Iron Works
Corp., Bath, Maine, 28 June 1942; cosponsored by Miss
Alice Jean Ingersoll, granddaughter of Admiral Ingersoll,
and Mrs. R. R. Ingersoll, II, widow of Lieutenant Inger-
soll ; and commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 31 August
1943, Comdr. A. C. Veasy in command.
Ingersoll conducted shakedown training off Bermuda
during September and October 1943, and returned to Bos-
ton to embark Adm. R. E. Ingersoll, Commander in Chief
of the Atlantic Fleet, who was son of the first namesake
and father of the second, for a fleet review, 10 November
1943. The ship sailed 29 November to join the Pacific
Fleet ; and, after stops at the Panama Canal and San
Diego, arrived Pearl Harbor 21 December. There she
joined Task Force 58 for the invasion of the Marshall
Islands.
The destroyer departed 16 January with the Southern
Bombardment Group, and began preinvasion firing on
Kwajalein 30 January. The landings began next day with
Ingersoll lying offshore in her vital support role. With the
victory won, she retired to Majuro 5 February, but was
underway again 16 February to screen the fast carrier
forces in their devastating raid on Truk 17 to 18 February.
After this attack, “The Gibraltar of the Pacific” was un-
tenable as a major base for the Japanese. After air strikes
in the Marianas, Ingersoll returned with the carriers to
Majuro 26 February.
Then on 7 March the versatile destroyer sailed for
Espritu Santo, New Hebrides, but soon returned to Task
Force 58 for carrier strikes against the Palaus and Hol-
landia. In the months that followed, the ships hit Ponape
twice with shore bombardments and screened carrier
strikes in the Palaus in connection with the advance of
American combined forces. Ingersoll and the other ships
remained at sea for long periods during these support op-
erations, refueling and replenishing underway when
necessary.
Ingersoll took part in preinvasion bombardments of Pe-
leliu 7 September, and early in October joined in the sor-
tie of Task Force 38 for one of the most important opera-
tions of the war. The giant fleet rendezvoused 7 October
west of the Marianas, and launched air strikes on Oki-
nawa and the Philippines. The ships then moved to their
real objective — Japanese air strength on Formosa. In
3 days of attacks Formosa’s value as a base was severely
reduced, while air strikes on the American fleet were re-
pulsed by Combat Air Patrol and the gunfire of Ingersoll
and her sister ships. The carrier groups turned south-
ward from Formosa to launch strikes against targets in
the Philippines.
In late October the Japanese moved in a three-pronged
attack to repel the invasion of the Philippines and force
a decisive naval battle. The ensuing battle was the four-
part Battle for Leyte Gulf, in which Ingersoll and her
task group played an important role.
Her carrier planes struck Admiral Kurita’s fleet a dev-
astating blow in the Sibuyan Sea 24 October, That eve-
ning Admiral Halsey turned Task Force 38 northward
in search of Admiral Ozawa’s carrier group. Carrier
strikes the next morning dealt crippling blows to the Jap-
anese in the Battle off Cape Engano. When Admiral
Halsey detached part of his fleet southward to intercept
Kurita, who had slipped through San Bernadino Strait,
Ingersoll joined Admiral Dubose’s group in pursuit of the
fleeing remnants of the Japanese fleet. During the long
stern chase Ingersoll fired one torpedo at long range, but
the group did not engage the remaining Japanese heavy
ships.
After the great victory Ingersoll returned to Ulithi for
a well-earned rest and overhaul. She got underway
again in January 1945 with fast carrier forces for strikes
on Formosa, the Philippines, and the coast of China.
From 3 to 9 January these operations supported the Lin-
gayen landings directly. Then Halsey took his ships on
a daring foray into the South China Sea, striking Indo
China, Hainan, and the China coast in a graphic demon-
stration of the power and mobility of American carrier
groups when supported by destroyers and heavy units.
This pivotal operation was completed 20 January ; Inger-
soll was detached 1 February to sail to Pearl Harbor.
She arrived 7 February, and after training exercises
steamed to San Pedro 15 February 1945.
Following battle repairs and crew rotation Ingersoll
got underway for Pearl Harbor 18 April 1945 and after
training exercises sailed for Ulithi 2 May. From that
staging base she steamed toward Okinawa, serving as a
patrol vessel and screening flight operations. While off
Okinawa 24 May the ship engaged a small suicide boat,
and next day she shot down two Japanese aircraft dur-
ing one of many air raids. Two more planes were
439
256-125 0 - 68 - 30
splashed 28 May, and Ingersoll continued the hectic patrol
and picket duty through June.
With Okinawa won, the ship rejoined Task Force 38
on 1 July 1945. Again acting as a screening and support
ship, she took part in the final devastating raids on Japan
and other Japanese-held islands. 'She also bombarded the
iron works at Kamaishi 15 July as part of a battleship,
cruiser, and destroyer group in one of the first operations
against the home islands by surface ships.
After the surrender of Japan 15 August, Ingersoll as-
sisted with the occupation ; she was anchored in Tokyo
Bay for the surrender ceremonies on board Missouri 2
September 1945. The veteran destroyer remained in Ja-
pan to help demilitarize Japanese bases, departing 5 De-
cember for the United States. After a long voyage via
San Diego and the Canal Zone, she arrived Boston 17 Jap-
uary 1946. Ingersoll arrived Charleston, S.C., 4 April
1946; decommissioned 19 July; and joined the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet.
The destroyer recommissioned at Charleston 4 May
1951 in response to the U.N. Forces’ growing need for
naval support during the Korean conflict. The veteran
fighting ship operated along the Atlantic Coast and in
the Caribbean until departing for the Mediterranean 26
August 1952 to join the 6th Fleet. She operated in that
crucial region, helping to prevent a spread of the conflict
to Europe, .until returning to Newport 10 February 1953.
Training operations occupied Ingersoll until she de-
parted Newport for the Far East 10 August. Sailing via
the Panama Canal, San Diego, and Pearl Harbor, she
arrived Yokosuka, Japan, 14 September to begin opera-
tions with Task Force 77 off Korea. The ships sailed off
Korea in support of the armistice, before moving to the
Formosa area to help stabilize the volatile strait in
November-December. Ingersoll then sailed to Singapore
and steamed westward to transit the Suez Canal 13
February 1954. After stopping at various Mediterranean
ports she completed her circuit of the globe upon arrival
Fall River, Mass., 18 March 1954.
Following repairs and training, the veteran ship got
underway again 30 November 1954 for the Pacific, ar-
riving San Diego 15 December and departing 4 January
1955. She rejoined the 7th Fleet in time to take part
in the evaculation of the Tachen Islands, which threat-
ened to bring war between Chinese Nationalists and Com-
munists. After fleet maneuvers the ship spent March and
April at Formosa helping to train Nationalist sailors. In-
gersoll returned to San Diego 19 June 1955 ending another
highly successful cruise in the Far East.
The destroyer returned to 7th Fleet duty January to
April 1956 ; and, after her return to San Diego 26 April,
engaged in training operations until August. From 27
August to 8 December Ingersoll underwent a yard period
in San Francisco in which a new underwater fire control
system was installed. After additional evaluation and
antisubmarine training the ship sailed again 16 April 1957
for the western Pacific. On this cruise Ingersoll stopped
at Melbourne, Australia, and the Fiji Islands, participat-
ing in fleet exercises off Guam and the Philippines. In
August the destroyer steamed to Taiwan for the now-
familiar Formosa Patrol, helping to maintain peace and
stability in those troubled waters. After carrier exercises
she sailed for home, arriving San Diego 14 October 1957.
Ingersoll returned to the Far East with the 7th Fleet
25 June to 18 December 1958; and, in the early part of
1959, took part in type training and readiness operations
off California. The veteran ship sailed westward once
more 15 August 1959 and operated with a submarine
hunter-killer group during most of her deployment. She
returned 1 February 1960, as trouble began to mount in
Southeast Asia.
The destroyer got underway with a hunter-killer group
for the Far East 1 October 1960, and after spending Octo-
ber and November training in Hawaiian waters steamed
to the South China Sea to support American efforts to
stabilize the threatened kingdom of Laos. In December
she screened transports during the landing of a battalion
landing team in Laos to enforce the Geneva solution. She
remained off Laos until April, returning to her home port
2 May 1961.
Ingersoll spent the remainder of 1961 on the West
Coast, then sailed 6 January 1962 for duty with the 7th
Fleet that included cruising with carrier Hancock off
South Vietnam when trouble flared again in Laos. She
also patrolled Taiwan Straits in response to the reports of
Communist troops on the mainland opposite the Nationalist
island. She returned to San Diego 18 July 1962 for west-
ern seaboard operations until October 1962 when the
Cuban missile crisis broke. Ingersoll responded quickly,
sailing with an amphibious group to the Canal Zone in
case additional troops were needed in the emergency.
When the sea blockade coupled with strenuous American
diplomacy resulted in the removal of the missile threat,
she resumed training out of San Diego. She returned to
the Far East in October 1963 to support carrier operations
in the East and South China Seas and resumed operations
out of San Diego in the spring of 1964.
Ingersoll completed a yard overhaul 5 February 1965,
conducted readiness operations along the seaboard, then
sailed from San Diego 9 June 1965 for the coast of South
Vietnam. Her “Market Time Patrols” to intercept Viet
Cong men and supplies, were punctuated with 24 gunfire
missions against 116 targets, contributing to the success
in all 4 Vietnamese Corps Areas of the South China Sea
coastline, and 3 missions fired 7 miles up the Saigon River
in support of the IV Corps. She also took time out for
* plane guard and screen duties with fast carriers, includ-
ing Independence and Midway as they launched hard-
hitting air strikes to inland and coastal targets in North
Vietnam. She returned to San Diego 23 November 1965 for
a much deserved leave and upkeep period extending
through 31 December.
Ingersoll completed yard overhaul 5 February 1965 and
immediately began training for a WestPac deployment.
She sailed for the Far East 9 June and on 5 July began
coastal surveillance patrols to help to stem, the flow of
men and munitions from North Vietnam. On the 20th
she joined the naval .gunfire support group off the coast
of Quang Ngai. Her guns delivered powerful aid to
friendly troops throughout the summer and well into
the fall. On 10 October she was assigned to plane guard
duty in the South China Sea. On 4 November she headed
home and arrived San Diego on the 23d.
Ingersoll operated along the West Coast until depart-
ing San Diego 5 November 19C6 for the Far East. Upon
reaching the war zone she participated in Operation “Sea
Dragon,” anti-shipping and interdiction operations, and
plane guard duty for Kitty Hawk (OVA-63). On 5 De-
cember a North Vietnamese coastal battery fired on the
destroyer whose prompt counter fire silenced the enemy
guns. Ingersoll continued to operate in the war zone and
other Oriental waters until returning home in the spring
of 1967 to prepare for future assignments.
Ingersoll received nine battle stars for World War II
service.
Inglis
A British name.
( DE-125 : dp. 1,140 ; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm„ 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) ; cl. Evarts)
Inglis (DE-525) was launched 2 November 1943 by
Boston Navy Yard. Boston, Mass., accepted and trans-
ferred to Great Britain under Lend-Lease 12 January
1944. This and other Faarfs-class DE’s formed the Cap-
tain class in the Royal Navy and played a vital part in
Allied antisubmarine operations n the Atlantic. Inglis
was returned to the Navy 20 March 1946. She was sold
to C. B. Baldridge, Bay, Ohio, in September 1947 and
subsequently scrapped.
440
Ingraham
Captain Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham was born in
Charleston, S.C., 6 December 1802. He was appointed
Midshipman 18 June 1812 at the age of 10 and, after
distinguished service, was commissioned Captain 14 Sep-
tember 1855. While in command of the sloop-of-war St.
Louis in the Mediterranean, in July 1853, he interfered
at Smyrna with the detention by the Austrian consul
of Martin Koszta, a Hungarian who had declared in New
York his intention of becoming an America citizen, and,
who had been seized and confined in the Austrian ship
Hussar. For his conduct in this matter he was voted
thanks and a medal by Congress. Captain Ingraham served
as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrographer of
the Navy from 1856 until 1860. He resigned from the Navy
4 February 1861 to enter the Confederate States Navy with
the rank of captain. He was commandant of the Charles-
ton station 1862 to 1865. He died at Charleston 16 October
1891.
I
(DD-111 : dp. 1,060; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 113 ; a. 4 4", 2 3”, 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wickcs)
The first Ingraham (DD-111) was launched 4 July 1918
by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Alfred S. Gann ; and commissioned 15 May 1919,
Comdr. D. L. Le Breton in command.
Ingraham departed 20 May for her shakedown cruise,
transiting the Panama Canal and arriving Newport 6 June.
After repairs in New York, she sailed for a European
tour of duty. While visiting Ostend, Belgium 22 Septem-
ber, she carried the King and Queen of Belgium to Calais,
France. The destroyer returned to San Diego 8 January
1920 via New York and the Canal Zone to begin conversion
to a minelayer.
Reclassified DM-9, Ingraham began minelaying exercises
January 1921 along the California coast before departing
Mare Island 7 June. She arrived Pearl Harbor 18 June
and engaged in operations there until she decommissioned
at Pearl Harbor 29 June 1922. Her name was struck from
the Navy List 1 December 1936 and she was sold for
scrapping.
II
(DD^44: dp. 1,630; 1. 347'9" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. ll'lO" ; s. 33
k. ; cpl. 208 ; a. 5 5", 12 .50 cal. mg., 1 Y gun, 10 21" tt.,
2 dct. ; cl. Gleaves)
The second Ingraham (DD^44) was launched 15 Feb-
ruary 1941 by the Charleston Navy Yard ; sponsored by
Mrs. George Ingraham Hutchinson, granddaughter of Cap-
tain Ingraham ; and commissioned 17 July 1941, Lt. Comdr.
W. M. Haynsworth, Jr., in command.
After shakedown and local operations along the East
Coast, Ingraham commenced duties as convoy escort De-
cember 1941 as the Japanese surprise attack drew Amer-
ica into the fight for freedom. During 1942 she escorted
convoys between the United States, Iceland, and the
United Kingdom, bringing supplies desperately needed
by the Allies to stem Hitler’s advance and to take the
offensive. Under constant threat from German U-boats,
Ingraham continued her escort duty to Europe and as far
south as the Panama Canal.
On the night of 22 August as she was investigating a
collision between U.S. destroyer Buck and a merchant
vessel, Ingraham collided with tanker Chemung in heavy
fog off the coast of Nova Scotia and Ingraham sank almost
immediately. Depth charges on her stern exploded. Only
11 men survived the collision. She was struck from the
Navy Register 11 September 1942.
III
( DD-694 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6" ; b. 40'; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34
k. ; cpl. 336 ; a. 3 5", 12 40mm„ 11 20mm., 2 dcp., 6 dcp.,
10 21" tt. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
The third Ingraham (DD-694) was launched 16 January
1944 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N. J. ;
sponsored by Mrs. George Ingraham Hutchinson ; and
commissioned 10 March 1944, Comdr. H. W. Gordon in
command.
After shakedown in Bermuda and training out of Nor-
folk, Ingraham sailed for duty with the Pacific Fleet, ar-
riving Eniwetok 31 October in time to begin the final
push of the enemy to its home islands. In mid-November
she commenced screening carriers during strikes on Luzon
in which considerable damage was done to the dwindling
Japanese navy and air force. The destroyer continued
patrol and antisubmarine duty until 12 December when
she sailed for the assault and landings on Mindoro. Three
days later in company with Barton, she sank a Japanese
cargo ship off the southwest tip of Mindoro.
After a brief stay, she departed San Pedro 2 January
1945, for the operations in the Lingayen Gulf. Arriving
off the Gulf on the sixth, she added her powerful anti-
aircraft fire to that of the invasion fleet, and bombarded
shore targets behind the beaches.
At the end of January, Ingraham joined a fast carrier
task force for strikes on the Japanese homeland. Fol-
lowing repair at Saipan 20 February, she joined the in-
vasion fleet off Iwo Jima 23 February, and provided ac-
curate call fire for the Marines ashore.
On 21 March the ship took up radar picket station in
support of the Okinawa-Gunto operation. On 5 May, she
came under concerted air attack, and shot down four of
the enemy planes before a fifth crashed the ship above
the waterline on the port side, its bomb exploding in the
generator room. With only 1 gun operative, and with
51 casualties aboard, Ingraham retired to Hunter’s Point,
Calif., for repairs.
After repairs she operated along the East Coast until
7 May 1946 when she departed for the atomic bomb tests
at Bikini (another example of the Navy’s participation
in technological development to strengthen America).
After the tests and overhaul Ingraham departed San Di-
ego 24 February 1947 for the Far East. The destroyer
engaged in various exercises and in late June arrived
Manila to act as official U.S. representative at the Philip-
pine Independence anniversary. She returned to San
Diego 8 October 1947.
Ingraham operated along California until 4 April 1949
when she departed San Diego for Norfolk, arriving 20
April. She participated in training exercises in the At-
lantic until 24 November 1950 when she departed Norfolk
for four months duty with the 6th fleet. Communist ag-
gression in Korea once against threatened the peace of
the world ; and the U.S. Navy stood out as a symbol of
strength to defeat this threat. She commenced exercises
in the Atlantic during the summer of 1951, then made
another cruise to the Mediterranean during the fall of
1951 and summer of 1952.
Ingraham departed Norfolk 24 April 1953 to escort
carrier Lake Champlain to Japan via the Mediterranean
and Suez Canal. She arrived Yokosuka 9 June and later
that month joined the carrier task force providing air
support to our forces in Korea. Her accuracy was excel-
lent as she destroyed gun emplacements and supply areas.
Following the truce, she operated on security patrol before
returning to Norfolk 27 October. During 1954 the de-
stroyer operated on hunter-killer operations, a cruise
to South America, and NATO exercises out of Northern
Ireland. She resumed training operations following over-
haul in June 1955 and sailed on a summer training cruise
to the Scandinavian countries, returning to Norfolk 6
September.
Ingraham departed Norfolk 28 July for duty with the
6th Fleet as trouble flared over the Suez Canal. The pres-
ence of the fleet was felt and the crisis was resolved with-
out a major conflict. She returned to Norfolk 4 December
to begin a series of training cruises climaxed by a NATO
exercise in September and October 1957.
The destroyer returned to 6th Fleet duty in February
1958 and operated on patrol and exercises in the Medi-
terranean and the Red Sea. She returned to Norfolk,
Va., 2 July prior to the Lebanon crisis in which the 6tb
441
Fleet played a major role in preserving the freedom of
a small nation. Ingraham operated on the East Coast
until 13 February 1959, when she departed for another
tour with the 6th Fleet, and a crisis over Berlin was
averted through our strong naval force. Departing the
Mediterranean on 30 August, she returned to Portsmouth,
Va„ 7 September and began overhaul.
During 1960 she engaged in operations out of May-
port, Fla., before embarking on another cruise with the
6th Fleet, beginning late September. She resumed readi-
ness training out of Mayport in March 1961, before un-
dergoing an extensive 8-month overhaul at Portsmouth.
Ingraham arrived at her new homeport, Newport, R.I.,
23 February 1962, then engaged in fleet operations in the
Atlantic and in the Caribbean. In September and October
she was assigned to the recovery area for the Project
Mercury flight of “Sigma 7” and under more somber
conditions took pari in the Cuban blockade which ended
in the removal of Russian missiles from that island.
Once again this courageous ship helped participate in a
series of crises resolved peacefully because of America’s
overwhelming naval power.
She continued operations along the East Coast until
1 October 1963, when she sailed for another deployment
to the Mediterranean to strengthen our peace-keeping
force in Europe.
Regular deployment with the Atlantic Fleet occupied
Ingraham's time until 29 September 1965, when she de-
parted Newport for the western Pacific, arriving 31 Octo-
ber at Yokosuka, Japan, for resupply before operations in
the South China Sea. Though acting as a part of the
screen for the carrier Ticonderoga (CVA-14), she also
fired support missions for ground troops ashore.
On 12 November, Ingraham steamed 10 miles up the
Saigon River to bombard an enemy supply base, and, by
the 13th, shelled a guerrilla assembly area some 300 miles
from the site of her action the previous day.
In early December, the ship kept regular surveillance
on a Russian submarine off Hainan Island, bordering the
Gulf of Tonkin. Ingraham's presence with the fleet of
Vietnam underscores the determination of Americans to
preserve the freedom of a small nation. From 1 January
1966 to 2A January, Ingraham operated with TF-77 in the
South China Sea. She left for Newport 4 February by
way of the Suez Canal.
Arriving 8 April off the East Coast, Ingraham began a
repair and training period. From 14 June to 21 June she
participated in Operation “Beachtime,” an amphibious
landing in the Caribbean. Ingraham spent 28 October to
28 November preparing for service in the Mediterranean.
On 8 December she arrived at Gibraltar.
Ingraham received the Navy Unit Commendation for
her action off Okinawa and four battle stars for service
in World War II. She earned a fifth battle star for serv-
ice in Korea.
Ingram, George W., see George W. Ingram (DE-62)
Ingram, Osmond, see Osmond Ingram (DD-255)
USS Ingraham (DD-694)
442
Inman
A British name.
(DE-526: dp. 1,140; 1. 280'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21 k. ;
Cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) ; cl. Evarts)
Inman (DE-526) was launched 2 November 1943 by
Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass., accepted and trans-
ferred to Great Britain 13 January 1944 under Lend-
Lease. This and other Evarts- class DE’s formed the Cap-
tain class in the Royal Navy and played a vital part in
allied antisubmarine operations in the Atlantic. Inman
was returned to the Navy 1 March 1946. She was sold
to G. H. Nutman, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., in November 1946
and subsequently scrapped.
Innisfail, see YP-35J)
Ino
A merchant name retained.
(Ship: t. 895; 1. 160'6" ; b. 34'11" ; dph. 17'5" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 144; a. 8 32-pdr.)
Ino was a clipper ship, purchased at Boston 30 August
1861 and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 23 Sep-
tember, Lt. J. P. Cressy in command. Unusual speed and
large storage space suited her ideally for long-range cruis-
ing against Confederate commerce raiders. Her first duty
began 27 September when she departed Boston in search
of “rebel pirates.” When word came that the South’s
famed cruiser Sumter, under the brilliant master of sea-
manship, Captain Raphael Semmes, was in European
waters, Ino sailed from Boston 5 February 1862 and
reached Cadiz only 13 days and 16 hours later. She as-
sisted Kearsarge and Tuscarora to blockade Semmes at
Gibraltar where he vainly sought repairs. Semmes finally
abandoned Sumter there in order to get back into action.
An interesting side light to this operation occurred at
Tangier, Morocco 26 February when Ino took two crew-
men of Sumter from a threatening mob and turned the
prisoners over to Boston-bound Harvest Moon.
Back in Boston, Ino was ordered to Port Royal, S.C.,
for duty in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron 4
August 1862. On her voyage south she captured the French
bark La Manche attempting to run the Charleston block-
ade 23 August. Six days later she arrived at St. George,
Bermuda, to obtain from the American consul the latest
information on blockade running activity in that quarter.
She got underway the next day at the behest of the
neutrality-conscious governor of Bermuda and made Port
Royal 7 September. Only 4 days later she set sail for New
York to be prepared for a cruise in search of her old ad-
versary, Semmes, who was now attacking nonthern mer-
chantmen with his new raider, Alabama. Ino departed
New York 5 November and cruised in the lanes frequented
by American merchantmen and whalers, arriving at St.
Helena 5 January 1863. She remained in waters off St.
Helena until setting course for the United States 1 March.
She arrived New York 15 April for repairs.
Jno departed New York 29 May 1863 escorting Cali-
fornia-bound clipper Aquilla carrying the disassembled
parts of monitor Comanche. After successfully shepherd-
ing her charge to safe waters well below the equator, she
searched for Alabama and Florida in waters ranging to
the island of Fernando de Noronha, thence to New York,
arriving 7 September 1863.
After repairs at New York, Ino joined the North At-
lantic Blockading Squadron. Disguised as a merchantman
to lure Florida into action, she cruised in the North
Atlantic 24 October when she arrived Portland, Maine.
Ino was transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squad-
ron 22 November where she served until after the end of
the war. She returned to New York 1 August 1865 and
remained there under repairs until 16 October when she
sailed to serve in the Mediterranean and off the coast
of Portugal.
Ino set course for the United States 13 December 1866
and arrived Boston 25 January 1867. She decommissioned
there 13 February and was sold at public auction 19 March
1867 to Samuel G. Reed.
Instill
To impart gradually.
(AM-252: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 2 40mm„ 6 20 mm., 2 dct., 3 dct. ; cl.
Admirable)
Instill (AM-252) was launched 5 March 1944 by the
Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Lydia G. Mehoffey ; and commissioned 22
May 1944, Lt. Charles A. Hardy, USNR, in command.
After shakedown out of Little Creek, Va., and a few
weeks of escort duty in that area, Install was assigned
to Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, as a training ship. This
duty continued until 11 August when she reported to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to operate with shakedown ships
as a radar countermeasure ship. Returning to Norfolk
22 October, Instill remained there until 21 January 1946
when she sailed to Orange, Tex. The minesweeper de-
commissioned there 26 February 1947, joining the Re-
serve Fleet.
When Communist aggression in South Korea required
strengthening of American seapower, Instill recommis-
sioned 16 March 1951 and began an intensive period of
training and patrol duty between Charleston and Norfolk.
She continued her important minesweeping operations
and patrol duty along the East Coast until she returned
to Orange, Tex., 3 January 1954. Instill decommissioned
there 1 March and once again joined the Reserve Fleet.
Reclassified MSF-252, 7 February 1955, she remained in
the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from
the Navy List 1 May 1962, and sold in October 1966 to Mex-
ico, serving at present as DM-10.
Insurgent
One who is engaged in an uprising against an existing
government.
(Fr: 1. 148'; b. 37'5" ; dr. 11'9" ; a. 24 12-pdrs„ 2 18-
pdrs., 8 long 6-pdrs., 4 36-pdrs., 2 24-pdrs. ; cpl. 340)
Insurgent, formerly the French frigate L'Insurgente,
was captured by Constellation, Captain Thomas Truxtun
in command, after a chase and battle of an hour and a
quarter off the island of Nevis in the West Indies 9
February 1799. The battle was exceptionally well-fought
under Truxtun’s able leadership and remains one of the
most famous in naval history. Considered a prize in the
quasi-war with France, the frigate was refitted for serv-
ice in the West Indies and cruised under Lt. John Rodgers
in company with Constellation until May 1799.
Ordered back to the United States, Insurgent was pur-
chased by the Navy for $84,500. Commissioned with
Captain Alexander Murray in command, Insurgent sailed
from Hampton Roads for Europe 14 August 1799. Cruis-
ing in European waters during the winter of 1799-1800,
the frigate captured French ship Vendemaire and re-
captured the American ships Margaret, Augora, Com-
merce, and William and Mary. Insurgent returned to the
United States in March 1800 via the West Indies.
Patrick Fletcher assumed command of Insurgent 29
April 1800 and was ordered to cruise between the West
Indies and the American coast to see that United States
shipping rights were observed and to capture any enemy
vessels he encountered. Insurgent departed Baltimore 22
July and after a brief stop at Hampton Roads sailed for
her station 8 August 1800. Never heard from again, the
frigate and her crew were presumed lost as a result of the
severe storm which struck the West Indies 20 September
1800.
443
Integrity
A British name.
(BAT-4: dp. 521 It.; 1. 143' ; b. 33'; dr. 14'; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 34; a. 1 3", 2 20mm.)
Integrity (BAT-4) was launched 28 March 1942 by
Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Tex., under contract
from General Motors. She was completed and delivered
to Great Britain under Lend-Lease 15 July 1942. After
serving as an ocean rescue tug with the Royal Navy she
was returned to the Navy at Subic Bay, Philippine
Islands, 19 February 1916. Stricken from the Navy List
12 April 1946, she was turned over to the State Depart-
ment Foreign Liquidation Commission and subsequently
sold to T. Y. Fong.
Intelligent Whale
( Sub : t. 4,000 ; 1. 28'8'' ; b. 7' ; dph. 9' ; s. 4 k. ; cpl. 6 to 13)
Intelligent Whale, an experimental hand-cranked sub-
marine, was built on the design of Scovel S. Meriam in
1863 by Augustus Price and Cornelius S. Bushnell. In
1864 the American Submarine Co., was formed, taking
over the interests of Bushnell and Price and there fol-
lowed years of litigation over the ownership of the craft.
When title was established by a court the submarine was
sold 29 October 1869 to the Navy Department, with most
of the price to be paid after successful trials. In Sep-
tember 1872 the first trial was held and was unsuccessful,
whereupon the Department refused further payments and
abandoned the project.
Intelligent Whale submerged by filling water compart-
ments, and expelled the water by pumps and compressed
air. It was estimated that it could stay submerged for
about 10 hours. Thirteen crewmen could be accomo-
dated, but only 6 were needed to make her operational.
The only known trial, reported by submarine pioneer
John Holland, was made by a certain General Sweeney
and two others. They submerged the boat in 16 feet of
water and Sweeney, clad in a diver’s suit, emerged
through a hole in the bottom, placed a charge under a
scow, and reentered the submarine. The charge was ex-
ploded by a lanyard and a friction primer attached to
the charge sinking the scow.
Intelligent Whale, an early experiment in a field now
of central importance, is on exhibit at the Navy Museum,
Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Intensity
Degree or amount of strength.
(PG-93 : dp. 900; 1. 205' ; b. 33' ; dr. 14'7" ; s. 16 k. ; cpl.
90 ; a. 2 3" ; cl. Action)
Intensity (PG-93) was one of a group of Canadian
corvettes turned over to the Navy and manned by the
Coast Guard. She was launched as Milfoil (CN-311) by
Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec, Canada, 22
August 1942 ; taken over by the Navy, renamed, and com-
missioned at Quebec 31 March 1943, Lt. H. F. Morrison,
USCG, in command.
Intensity sailed to Bermuda for her shakedown, re-
turned to New York 5 August 1943, and took up regular
escort duties from that port. 'Small patrol ships such as
Intensity did much to lessen the effect of U-boat patrols on
Allied commerce during this critical period of the war.
The ship steamed between New York and Guantanamo
Bay until November 1944, completing over 15 convoy pas-
sages. She returned to New York 5 November for patrol
duty but in mid-December returned to the Caribbean
shipping lanes as an escort.
After the end of the war in Europe, Intensity sailed to
Charleston, arriving 29 June 1945. She decommissioned
there 3 October 1945 and was returned to the Maritime
Commission. In 1950 she was sold to Balleneros Ltd.,
S.A., Panama, R. P., renamed Olympic Promoter, and
converted to a whale catcher.
Interceptor
One who intercepts.
( YAGR-8 : dp. 10,760 fl. ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 24' ; s.
11 k. ; cpl. 151; cl. Guardian; T. Z-EC2-S-C5)
Intercepter (YAGR-8) was launched as Liberty Ship
Edward W. Burton by J. A. Jones Construction Co., Inc.,
Panama City, Fla., 12 September 1945 ; sponsored by Miss
Juanita M. Kay lor ; and delivered to T..J. Stevenson & Co.
8 November 1945. She served several lines as a cargo
ship until being placed in the National Defense Reserve
Fleet at Wilmington 20 June 1948. Acquired by the
Navy 28 June 1955, the ship was converted to Navy use
at Charleston Naval Shipyard and commissioned Inter-
ceptor 15 February 1956, Lt. Comdr. B. L. Hall in com-
mand.
Interceptor was designed to carry the latest in long-
range radar and communications equipment and to act as
an ocean radar station ship. Following shakedown train-
ing she sailed from Charleston 17 March en route to her
new home port, San Francisco. Arriving via the Panama
Canal 11 April, the ship began a regular cycle of 3- to
4-week at-sea periods as a picket ship under the Continen-
tal Air Defense Command. Operating with search air-
craft, Interceptor could detect, track, and report aircraft
at great distances as well as control interceptor aircraft
in the event of an air attack on the United States. Patrol-
ling off the coast of Canada she formed an integral part of
North America’s air early warning system. Reclassified
AGIL-8, radar picket ship, 28 September 1958, Interceptor
for the next 7 years operated with NORAD in forming an
important link in the nation’s defenses. Interceptor was
struck from the Navy List 1 September 1965 and placed
in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay,
Calif., where she remains.
Interdictor
One who prohibits.
( YAGR-13 : dp. 10,760 (f.) ; 1. 441'6” ; 56'11" ; dr. 24';
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 149; cl. Guardian ; T. Z-EC2-S-C5)
Interdictor (YAGR-13) was launched as Liberty Ship
Edwin H. Duff by J. A. Jones Construction Company,
Inc., Panama City, Fla.. 29 June 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Edwin H. Duff ; and delivered to McCormack Steamship
Co. 27 July 1945. She carried aircraft until entering the
National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Va., 17
October 1945, and except for brief cargo service remained
there until being acquired by the Navy 10 May 1957. Re-
named Interdictor and converted to Navy use at Charles-
ton Naval Shipyard, she commissioned 7 April 1958, Lt.
Comdr. J. P. Dordahl in command.
Fitted with the latest and best electronic search and
tracking equipment, Interdictor sailed 2 May 1958 for
shakedown training in the Caribbean. She departed
Charleston 18 July and sailed to her new home port, San
Francisco. Arriving 13 August, the ship assumed her role
as an ocean radar station ship, part of America’s vast
early warning defense system. Operating with search
aircraft, Inderdictor could detect, track, and report enemy
aircraft at great distances, supplementing land-based
radar stations, and controls high-speed interceptor aircraft
in case of attack. She also carried out weather reporting
duties during her three to four week cruises in the
Pacific.
Interdictor' s hull classification was changed 28 Sep-
tember 1958 to AGR-13. She continued on radar picket
patrols for the Continental Air Defense Command out of
San Francisco until decommissioned 5 August 1965. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 1 September 1965
when she transferred to the Maritime Administration for
444
lay-up in the Suisun Bay River Defense Reserve Fleet,
San Francisco, Calif., where she remains.
Interpreter
One who explains, translates, or tells the meaning of.
(AGR-14 : dp. 10,760(f.) ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11'' ; dr. 24' ; s.
11 k. ; cpl. 151 ; cl. Guardian ; T. Z-EC2-S-C5)
Interpreter (AGR-14) was launched as Liberty Ship
Dudley H. Thomas by J. A. Jones Construction Co., Inc.,
Panama City, Fla., 8 February 1945; sponsored by Miss
Carrie Corbitt; and delivered 21 February 1945 to Mer-
chants and Miners Transportation Co., Boston. The ship
served as an aircraft freighter during the war and later
as a cargo ship for various companies. She was in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet 1947-1951 and from 25
August 1953 until acquired by the Navy 5 June 1957.
Renamed Interpreter, the ship was converted to Navy use
at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and commissioned there
29 September 1958, Comdr. J. S. Craft in command.
One of a class of sixteen radar picket ships, Interpreter
conducted shakedown exercises in the Caribbean before
departing Guantanamo Bay 1 February 1959 for her new
home port, San Francisco. Equipped with the most ad-
vanced long range radar and communications gear, In-
terpreter jointed the Continental Air Defense Command
as part of America’s vital early warning system. Operat-
ing with search aircraft for periods of 3 to 4 weeks at
sea, the ship reported and tracked aircraft at great dis-
tances and controlled interceptors in the event of enemy
air attack.
Interpreter continued regular patrols in the Contigu-
ous Radar Barrier, for 6 years, providing a vital link in
the air defense of her country.
Struck 1 July 1965, Interpreter was turned over to the
Maritime Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif., where she
remains.
Interrupter
One who breaks in upon some action, hinders, or ob-
structs.
Interrupter (AGR-15) was renamed Tracer (q.v.) 4
September 1959.
Interstate 2, see YD-H 4
Intrepid
Fearless, brave.
I
(Ketch: t. 64; 1. 60' ; b. 12' ; cpl. 70; a. 4 guns)
The first Intrepid was built in France in 1798 for
Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition. She was subsequently
sold to Tripoli, whom she served as Mastico. The bomb
ketch was one of several Tripolitan vessels capturing
Philadelphia 31 October 1803 after the American frigate
had run fast aground on uncharted Kaliusa reef some 5
miles east of Tripoli.
Enterprise, Lt. Stephen Decatur in command, cap-
tured Mastico 23 December 1803 as she was sailing from
Tripoli to Constantinople under Turkish colors and with-
out passports. After a time-consuming search for a trans-
lator, the ketch’s papers and the testimony of an English
ship master who had been in Tripoli to witness her role
in operations against Philadelphia convinced the comman-
der of the American squadron, Commodore Edward Preble,
that Mastico was a legitimate prize. He took her into the
U.S. Navy and renamed her Intrepid.
Meanwhile, Philadephia lay in Tripoli Harbor threat-
ening to become Tripoli’s largest and most powerful cor-
sair. Preble decided that he must destroy the frigate
before the enemy could fit her out for action against his
squadron. In order to take the Tripolitans by surprise,
he assigned the task to the only ship which could be sure
of passing as a North African vessel, Intrepid. He ap-
pointed Lieutenant Stephen Decatur captain of the ketch
31 January 1804 and ordered him to prepare her for a
month’s cruise to Tripoli in company with Siren. Preble’s
orders directed Decatur to slip into harbor at night, to
board and bum the frigate, and make good his retreat
in Intrepid, unless it then seemed feasible to use her as
a fire ship against other shipping in the harbor. In the
latter case, he was to escape in boats to Siren which would
await just outside the harbor.
Intrepid and Siren set sail 2 February and arrived off
Tripoli 5 days later. However, bad weather delayed the
operation until 16 February. That evening Siren took
station outside the harbor and launched her boats to
stand by for rescue work. At 7 o’clock Intrepid entered
the harbor and 2% hours later was alongside Philadelphia.
Leaving a small force commanded by Surgeon Lewis
Heermann on board Intrepid, Decatur led 60 of his men
to the deck of the frigate. A brief struggle, conducted
without firing a gun, gave the Americans control of the
vessel enabling them to set her ablaze. Decatur, the
last man to leave the burning frigate, remained on board
Philadelphia until flames blazed from the hatchways and
ports of her spar deck. When he finally left the ship,
her rigging and tops were afire. Shore batteries opened
up on Intrepid as she escaped only to be answered from
abandoned Philadelphia when her guns discharged by the
heat of the conflagration.
When Lord Nelson, then blockading Toulon, heard of
Intrepid’s feat, he is said to have called it “the most bold
and daring act of the age.”
Intrepid returned to Syracuse 19 February, and the next
day her crew returned to their original ships. The ketch
remained in Syracuse with only a midshipman and a few
men on board while the squadron was at sea during the
next few months. She became a hospital ship 1 June
and continued this duty through July. She departed
Syracuse 12 August for Malta, where she took on board
fresh supplies for the squadron and departed 17 August.
She rejoined the squadron off Tripoli 22 August. A week
later she began to be fitted out as a “floating volcano” to
be sent into the harbor and blown up in the midst of the
corsair fleet close under the walls of Tripoli. Carpenters
of every ship were pressed into service and she was
ready 1 September. However, unfavorable weather de-
layed the operation until 4 September. That day Lt.
Richard Somers assumed command of the fire ship. His
crew of Lt. Henry Wadsworth and 10 men, all volunteers,
was completed shortly after Intrepid got underway when
Midshipman Joseph Israel arrived with last-minute orders
from Commodore Preble and insisted on accompanying
the expedition. The anxious fleet heard two signal guns
as Intrepid entered the harbor; and at 9:30, sometime
before she was expected to reach her destination, the
American squadron was shaken by the concussion of a
violent explosion.
Commodore Preble later concluded that Tripoline de-
fenders must have boarded Intrepid prompting her valiant
men to blow her up giving their lives to prevent the ship’s
valuable cargo of powder from falling into the hands of
the enemy. All on board were lost.
II
(ScStr : t. 438; 1. 170'3" ; b. 35'; dr. 12'0" ; s. 11 k. ; a.
4 24-pdr. how.)
The second Intrepid was launched by the Boston Navy
Yard 5 March 1874; sponsored by Miss H. Evelyn Froth-
ingham Pooke and commissioned 31 July, Comdr. Augus-
tus P. Cooke in command.
The experimental steam torpedo ram departed Boston
3 August and arrived Newport, R.I. the next day. She
departed Newport 31 August and arrived New York Navy
Yard 1 September. The following 2 months were devoted
to torpedo trails along the North Atlantic Coast. Intrepid
arrived New York Navy Yard 24 October and decom-
missioned 30 October.
The steamer recommissioned New York Navy Yard 28
445
August but, with the exception of brief visits to New Eng-
land ports in 1875 and 1876, she remained at the Navy
Yard. She decommissioned 22 August 1882 for conver-
sion to a light-draft gunboat. Work was suspended in
1889 and a survey in 1892 found Intrepid unserviceable.
She was sold 9 May 1892 to Mathew Gill, Jr., of Phil-
adelphia.
III
(Bark: t. 1,800; 1. 176'5" b.p. ; b. 45'8” ; dr. 16'5" ; cpl.
136 ; a. 6 4”, 4 6-pdrs., 2 1-pdrs. )
The third Intrepid was launched by Mare Island Navy
Yard 8 October 1904 ; sponsored by Miss Helen de Young
and commissioned 16 August 1907, Comdr. Edward E.
Capehart in command.
The steel bark was assigned to the Yerba Buena Train-
ing Station, San Francisco for duty until 28 February 1912
when she became the receiving ship at the same station.
The latter assignment lasted until 25 January 1914 when
Intrepid became receiving ship at Mare Island Navy Yard,
where she decommissioned 15 October.
Intrepid commissioned in ordinary at Mare Island Navy
Yard 11 November 1915 for use as a barracks for the men
of submarines F-l through F-Jt of the Pacific Fleet. In
1920 she again became receiving ship at Mare Island Navy
Yard. Intrepid decommissioned 30 August 1921 and was
sold 20 December.
IV
(CV-11 : dp. 27,100; 1. 872' ; b. 147'6" ; dr. 28'7" ; s. 33 k ;
cpl. 3,448; a. 12 5", 68 40mm., over 80 ac. ; cl. Essex)
The fourth Intrepid, was launched 26 April 1943 by New-
port News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News,
Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. John Howard Hoover ; and com-
missioned 16 August, Captain Thomas L. Sprague in
command.
After training in the Caribbean Intrepid departed Nor-
folk 3 December 1943 for San Francisco, then to Hawaii.
She arrived Pearl Harbor 10 January and prepared for
the invasion of the Marshall Islands, the next objective
in the Navy’s mighty island-hopping campaign. She
sortied from Pearl Harbor with carriers Cabot and Essex
16 January to raid islands at the northeastern corner of
Kwajalein Atoll 29 January 1944 and pressed the attack
until the last opposition had vanished 2 February. The
raids destroyed all of the 83 Japanese planes based on
Roi and Namur before the first landings were made on
adjacent islets 31 January. That morning Intrepid' s
planes strafed Ennuebing Island until 10 minutes before
the first marines reached the beaches. Half an hour later
that islet, which protected Roi’s southwestern flank and
controlled the North Pass into Kwajalein Lagoon, was
secured, enabling marines to set up artillery to support
their assault on Roi.
Her work in the capture of the Marshalls finished, In-
trepid headed for Truk, the tough Japanese base in the
center of Micronesia. Three fast carrier groups arrived
undetected daybreak the 17th, sinking two destroyers and
200,000 tons of merchant shipping in 2 days of almost con-
tinuous attacks. Moreover, the carrier raid demonstrated
Truk’s vulnerability and thereby greatly curtailed its use-
fulness to the Japanese as a base.
The night of 17 February 1944 an aerial torpedo struck
Intrepid' s starboard quarter, 15 feet below her waterline,
flooding several compartments and jamming her rudder
hard to port. By racing her port screw and idling her
starboard engine, Captain Sprague kept her on course
until 2 days later strong winds swung her back and forth
and tended to weathercock her with her bow pointed
Bark-rigged Training Ship USS Intrepid at San Francisco in 1912
446
toward Tokyo. Sprague later confessed : “Right then
1 wasn’t interested in going in that direction.” At this
point the crew fashioned a jury-rig sail of hatch covers
and scrap canvas which swung Intrepid about and held
her on course. Decorated by her crazy-quilt sail, Intrepid
stood into Pearl Harbor 24 February 1944.
After temporary repairs, Intrepid sailed for the West
Coast 16 March and arrived Hunter’s Point, Calif., the
22d. She was back in fighting trim 9 June and departed
for 2 months of operations out of Pearl Harbor, then to
the Marshalls.
Intrepid's, planes struck Japanese positions in the Pa-
laus 6 and 7 September concentrating on airfields and
artillery emplacements on Peleliu. The next day her fast
carrier task force steamed west toward the southern
Philippines to strike airfields on Mindanao 9 and 10 Sep-
tember. Then, after raids on bases in the Visayan Sea
12 through 14 September, she returned to the Palaus 17
September to support marines in overcoming fanatical
opposition from hillside caves and mangrove swamps on
Peleliu.
When the struggle on that deadly island settled down
to rooting Japanese defenders out of the ground on a
man to man basis, Intrepid steamed back to the Philip-
pines to prepare the way for liberation.
She struck throughout the Philippines, also pounding
Okinawa and Formosa to neutralize Japanese air threats
to Leyte.
As Intrepid's planes flew missions in support of the
Leyte landings 20 October 1044, Japan’s Navy, desperately
striving to hold the Philippines, was converging on Leyte
Gulf from three directions. Ships of the U.S. Navy par-
ried thrusts in four major actions collectively known as
the Battle for Leyte Gulf.
The morning of 24 October, an Intrepid plane spotted
Admiral Kurita’s flagship, Yamato. Two hours later,
planes from Intrepid and Cabot braved intense antiair-
craft fire to begin a day-long attack on Center Force.
Wave after wave followed until by sunset American car-
rier-based planes had sunk mighty battleship Musashi
with her mammoth 18-inch guns and had damaged her
sister ship Yamato along with battleships Nagato and
Haruna and heavy cruiser Myoko forcing the latter to
withdraw.
That night Admiral Halsey’s 3d Fleet raced north to
intercept Japan’s Northern Force which had been spotted
off the northeastern tip of Luzon. At daybreak the tire-
less fliers went aloft to attack the Japanese ships then off
Cape Engano. One of Intrepid' s planes got a bomb into
light carrier Zuiho to begin the harvest. Then American
bombers sank her sister ship Chitosi, and a plane from
either Intrepid or San Jaointo scored with a torpedo in
large carrier Zuikaku knocking out her communications
and hampering her steering. Destroyer Ayitsuki went to
the bottom and at least 9 of Ozawa’s 15 planes were shot
down.
On through the day the attack continued and, after five
more strikes, Japan had lost four carriers and a destroyer.
The still potent Center Force, after pushing through
San Bernardino Strait, had steamed south along the coast
of Samar where it was held at bay by a little escort car-
rier group of six “baby flattops”, three destroyers, and
four destroyer escorts until help arrived to send it fleeing
in defeat back towards Japan.
As Intrepid’s planes hit Clark Field 30 October a burn-
ing kamikaze crashed into one of the carrier’s port gun
tubs killing 10 men and wounding 6. Soon skillful dam-
age control work enabled the flattop to resume flight op-
erations.
Intrepid’ s planes continued to hit airfields and shipping
in the Philippines.
Shortly after noon 25 November a heavy force of Japa-
nese planes struck back at the carriers. Within 5 minutes
2 kamikazes crashed into the carrier killing 6 officers and
59 bluejackets. Intrepid never lost propulsion nor left
her station in the task group ; and, in less than 2 hours,
had extinguished the last blaze. The next day, Intrepid
headed for San Francisco, arriving 20 December for re-
pairs.
Back in fighting trim in mid-February 1945, the car-
rier steamed for Ulithi, arriving 13 March. The next day
she pushed on eastward for powerful strikes against air-
fields on Kyushu, Japan, 18 March. That morning a twin
engine “Betty” broke through a curtain of defensive fire,
turned toward Intrepid and exploded only 50 feet off In-
trepid's forward boat crane. A shower of flaming gasoline
and plane parts started fires on the hangar deck, out dam-
age control experts quickly snuffed them out.
Intrepid's planes joined attacks on remnants of the
Japanese fleet anchored at Kure damaging 16 enemy naval
vessels including super battleship Yamato and carrier
Amagi. Then the carriers turned to Okinawa as D-Day
of the most ambitious amphibious assault of the Pacific
war approached. Their planes lashed the Ryukyus 26 and
27 March, softening up enemy defensive works. Then, as
the invasion began 1 April, they flew support missions
against targets on Okinawa and made neutralizing raids
against Japanese airfields in range of the embattled
island.
During an air raid 16 April, a Japanese plane dove into
Intrepid’s flight deck forcing the engine and part of her
fuselage right on through, killing 8 men and wounding
21. In less than an hour the flaming gasoline had been
extinguished, and only 3 hours after the crash, planes
were again landing on the carrier.
The following day, Intrepid retired homeward via Ulithi
and Pearl Harbor arriving San Francisco 19 May for
repairs.
Intrepid stood out of Sail Francisco 29 June and en-
livened her westward voyage 6 August as her planes
smashed Japanese on by-passed Wake Island. The next
day she arrived Eniwetok where she received word 15
August to “cease offensive operations.”
The veteran carrier got under way 21 August to sup-
port the occupation of Japan. She departed Yokosuka 2
December and arrived San Pedro, Calif., 15 December
1945.
Intrepid shifted to San Francisco Bay 4 February 1946.
Her status was reduced to “in commission in reserve”
15 August before decommissioning 22 March 1947 and
joining the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Intrepid recommissioned at San Francisco 9 February
1952 and got underway 12 March for Norfolk. She de-
commissioned in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard 9 April 1952
for conversion to a modern attack aircraft carrier. Re-
classified CVA-11 1 October, she recommissioned in re-
serve 18 June 1954. She became the first carrier in history
to launch aircraft with American-built steam catapults 13
October 1954. Two days later she went into full commis-
sion as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet.
After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay 1955, Intrepid
departed Mayport, Fla., 28 May 1955 for the first of two
deployments in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet,
mainstay in preventing Communist agression in Europe
and the Middle East. She returned to Norfolk from the
second of these cruises 5 September 1956. The carrier
got under way 29 September for a 7-month modernization
overhaul in the New York Navy Yard, followed by re-
fresher training out of Guantanamo Bay.
Boasting a reinforced angle flight deck and a mirror
landing system, Intrepid departed the United States in
September 1957 for NATO’s Operation “Strikeback”, the
largest peacetime naval exercise up to that time in his-
tory. Operating out of Norfolk in December she con-
ducted Operation “Crosswind”, a study- of the effects of
wind on carrier launches. Intrepid proved that carriers
can safely conduct flight operations without turning into
the wind and even launch planes while steaming down-
wind.
During the next 4 years Intrepid alternated Mediter-
ranean deployments with operations along the Atlantic
coast of the United States and exercises in the Caribbean.
On 8 December 1961 she was reclassified to an anti-
submarine warfare support carrier, CVS-11. She entered
447
the Norfolk Navy Yard 10 March 1962 to be overhauled
and refitted for her new antisubmarine warfare role.
She left the shipyard 2 April carrying Air Antisubmarine
Group 56.
After training exercises, Intrepid was selected as the
principal ship in the recovery team for Astronaut Scott
Carpenter and his Project Mercury space capsule.
Shortly before noon of 24 May 1962, Carpenter splashed
down in Aurora ^ several hundred miles from Intrepid.
Minutes after he was located by land-based search air-
craft, two helicopters from Intrepid, carrying NASA of-
ficials, medical experts, Navy frogmen, and photo-
graphers, were airborne and headed to the rescue. One
of the choppers picked him up over an hour later and flew
him to the carrier which safely returned him to the
United States.
After training midshipmen at sea in the summer and
a thorough overhaul at Norfolk in the fall, the carrier
departed Hampton Roads 23 January 1963 for warfare
exercises in the Caribbean. Late in February she inter-
rupted these operations to join a sea hunt for Vene-
zuelan freighter, Anzodtegui whose mutinous second mate
had led a group of pro-Castro terrorists in hijacking the
vessel. After the Communist pirates had surrendered at
Rio de Janeiro, the carrier returned to Norfolk 23 March
1963.
Intrepid operated along the Atlantic Coast for the next
year from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean perfecting her
antisubmarine techniques. She departed Norfolk 11
June 1964 carrying midshipmen to the Mediterranean for
a hunter-killer at sea training with the 6th Fleet. While
in the Mediterranean, Intrepid aided in the surveillance
of a Soviet task group. En route home her crew learned
that she had won the coveted Battle Efficiency “E” for
antisubmarine warfare during the previous fiscal year.
Intrepid operated along the East Coast during the fall.
Early in September she entertained 22 NATO states-
men as part of their tour of U.S. military installations.
She was at Yorktown 18 to 19 October 1964 for cere-
monies commemorating Lord Cornwallis’s surrender 183
years before.
During a brief deployment off North Carolina, swift and
efficient rescue procedures on the night of 21 November
1964 saved the life of an airman who had plunged over-
board while driving an aircraft towing tractor.
Early the next year Intrepid began preparations for a
vital role in NASA’s first manned Gemini flight. On
23 March 1965 Lt. Comdr. John W. Young and Maj. Virgil
I. Grissom in Molly Brown splashed down some 50 miles
from Intrepid after history’s first controlled re-entry into
the earth’s atmosphere ended the pair’s nearly perfect
three-orbit flight. A Navy helicopter lifted the astro-
nauts from the spacecraft and flew them to Intrepid for
medical examination and debriefing. Later Intrepid re-
trieved Molly Brown and returned the spaceship and
astronauts to Cape Kennedy.
After this mission Intrepid entered the Brooklyn Navy
Yard in April for a major overhaul to bring her back to
peak combat readiness.
This was the final Fleet Rehabilitation and Moderni-
zation (FRAM) job performed by the New York Naval
Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y., slated to close after more than
a century and a half of service to the nation. In Sep-
tember, Intrepid, with her work approximately T5 percent
completed, eased down the East River to moor at the
Naval Supply Depot at Bayonne, N.J., for the completion
of her multi-million dollar overhaul. After builder’s sea
trials and fitting out at Norfolk she sailed to Guantanamo
on shakedown.
Mid-1966 found Intrepid with the Pacific Fleet off Viet-
nam. Here her gallant pilots delivered powerful blows
for freedom and scored what is believed to be one of the
fastest aircraft launching times recorded by an American
carrier. Nine A— t Skyhawks and six A-l Skyraiders,
loaded with bombs and rockets, were catapulted in 7
minutes, with only a 28-second interval between launches.
A few days later planes were launched at 26-second in-
tervals. After 7 months of outstanding service with the
7th Fleet off Vietnam, Intrepid returned to Norfolk hav-
ing earned her Commanding Officer, Captain John W.
Fair, the Legion of Merit for combat operations in South-
east Asia.
In June 1967, Intrepid returned to the Western Pacific
by way of the Suez Canal just prior to its closing during
the Israeli-Arab crisis. There she began another tour
with the 7th Fleet to safeguard the peace and freedom
of the world, for, as Daniel Webster said in 1834, “God
grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always
ready to guard and defend it.”
Intrepid, see Sylph (PY-12)
Intrepid, see YF-331
Intrepid, see YSR-42
USS Intrepid (CV-11) continues operations near Luzon despite kamikaze hit 25 November 1944.
448
From top to bottom — USS Intrepid (CVA-11), USS Saratoga (CVA-60), and USS Independence (CVA-62) off the
North Coast of Sicily 17 November 1960
Intrigue
A plot or plotting to gain a desired end.
(AM-253: dp. 530; 1. 184'6" ; to. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Intrigue (AM-253) was laid down 17 December 1943
by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ;
launched 8 April 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Henry R. Kel-
ler; and commissioned 31 July 1944, Lt. P. F. McLaughlin
in command.
Following exhaustive shakedown in Chesapeak Bay, In-
trigue departed Norfolk 28 September 1944 for coastal
convoy duty. She sailed with cargo ships from American
ports to the Canal Zone and as far north as Argentia,
Newfoundland, before returning to Norfolk 5 December
1944. In January 1945 she served as a target-towing ves-
sel off the coast, and in June Intrigue sailed to Miami to
train student officers on the Florida coast. She arrived
23 September at Yorktown, Va., to act as training ship at
the Mine Warfare School, and decommissioned 31 Slay
1946. Intrigue subsequently joined the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet at Orange, Tex., and reclassified MSF-253 on 7 Feb-
ruary 1955. She was sold to Mexico 30 August 1962 and
now serves as DH-17 (E-7).
Invade
To enter for conquest or plunder.
(AM-254 : dp. 530 ; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33' ; dr. 9'9'' ; s. 15 k., cpl.
104 ; a. 1 3", 4 40mm. ; cl. Admirable)
Invade (AM-254) was laid down 19 January 1944 by
Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah. Ga. ;
launched 6 February 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Thayer C.
Allen ; and commissioned 18 September 1944, Lt. H. H.
Silliman in command.
After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Invade steamed
to Casco Bay, Maine, for training 24 November 1944. Fol-
lowing these operations and additional drills out of Nor-
folk, the minecraft assumed duties there as towing ship
for aircraft targets and as an experimental minesweeper.
She remained on this important duty through the end of
449
USS Intrepid (CVA-11) — Gemini 3 spacecraft being hoisted on board 23 March 1965 after a threes orbit mission by
Astronauts Grissom and Young
450
the war and reported 21 September 1945 to the Mine War-
fare School at Yorktown, Va., as a training ship. Invade
decommissioned 7 August 1946 and joined the Atlantic Re-
serve Fleet at Orange, Tex. She was reclassified M'SF-
254 on 7 February 1955, struck from the Navy List 1 May
1962, and sold to Mexico 30 August 1962.
Inver
British river.
Gunboat PG-107 was laid down under U.S. Navy con-
tract 14 September 1942 by Canadian Vickers, Ltd., Mont-
real, P.Q., Canada ; launched 5 December 1942 ; and trans-
ferred to England under lend lease 19 July 1943. She
served the British Navy as Inver, operating in the North
Atlantic until the end of World War II. She was re-
turned to the U.S. Navy and sold 15 December 1946.
Investigator
One who makes an inquiry or examination.
(YAGR^9: dp. 10,760 (f.) ; 1. 441 '6" ; b. 56'11' ; dr. 24';
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 150; cl. Guardian; T. Z-EC2-S-^C5)
Investigator (YAGR-9) was launched by J. A. Jones
Co., Inc., Panama City, Fla., as Liberty Ship Charles A.
Draper 9 January 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. E. L. Cills ;
and delivered 24 January 1945 to Polarus Steamship Co.,
Inc. The ship carried replacement aircraft and cargo
until the end of the war and entered the James River
National Defense Reserve Fleet 26 October 1945. After
a brief period of service in 1947, she entered the Reserve
Fleet at Mobile, and was acquired by the Navy 2 July
1956. Renamed Investigator, she was converted to Navy
use at Charleston Naval Shipyard and commissioned
there 16 January 1957, Lt. Comdr. J. H. Mehus in
command.
Equipped with the latest in air search and tracking
systems, the ship conducted her shakedown training in
the Caribbean and departed Guantanamo Bay for her
new home port, Davisville, R.I. Investigator began her
operational pattern of 3- to 4-week cruise in the North
Atlantic as the seaward extension of the Continental Air
Defense Command’s air early warning system. Operating
in conjunction with search aircraft, she could detect,
track, and report aircraft at long ranges, and in the event
of enemy attack could control high speed U.S. interceptor
aircraft and direct them to target. The ship was re-
classified AGR-9 effective 28 September 1958. She con-
tinued radar picket station duties for the Continental
Air Defense Command, detecting and tracking inbound
airborne objects and controlling jet interceptor aircraft
until decommissioned 29 March 1965. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 1 April 1965. She was trans-
ferred the same day to the Maritime Commission and
entered the Maritime Hudson River Defense Reserve
Fleet, N.Y., where she remains.
Invincible
Merchant name retained.
(Str : dp. 15,942 n. ; 1. 440'2" ; b. 36' ; dr. 28'7" ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 70)
Invincible, a cargo ship, was launched in 1918 by Bethle-
hem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif. ; trans-
ferred to the Navy from USSB 17 October 1918 and com-
missioned the same day, Lt. Comdr. George H. Zeh in
command.
Assigned to NOTS, Invincible took on cargo at Port
Costa and sailed for New York 31 October via the Panama
Canal. She arrived New York 25 November and departed
for London with supplies for the Allies 11 December, ar-
riving there 27 December.
Invincible left London 18 January 1919 and arrived
New York 1 February. She made one more voyage to
London before decommissioning 15 April 1919, and being
returned to USSB the same day. The ship continued to
sail for the Shipping Board and later for National Bulk
Carriers, Inc., until the late 1930’s.
Iolanda
A minor planet, No. 509.
( AKS-14 : dp. 5,244 ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s. 12
k. ; cpl. 193; a. 1 5'', 4 3''; cl. Acubens; T. EC2-S-C1)
Iolanda (AKS-14), originally a “liberty ship”, was
launched by New England Shipbuilding Corp., South Port-
land, Maine, 21 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. Cary
Jones; acquired and commissioned with a skeleton crew
31 October for transfer to Bethlehem Steel’s Simpson
Yard, East Boston, Mass. The ship decommissioned 2 No-
vember 1944 for conversion to Navy use, and commissioned
in full 14 June 1945, Lt. Comdr. E. G. Kelly in command.
Following shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay area,
Iolanda arrived Bayonne, N.J., 21 July 1945 to load al-
most 3,000 tons of general stores consisting of the almost
8,000 different items needed by the operating ships of the
fleet. She departed 3 August for duty in the western
Pacific and sailing via the Canal Zone and Pearl Harbor
arrived Ulithi, America’s bustling advance base in the
western Carolines. Iolanda steamed into Ulithi 24 Sep-
tember to help supply America’s victorious fleet. She
steamed from Ulithi 30 September, to provision ships at
Okinawa, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The first day of
1946 saw her at Manus loading additional stores, and
she departed 1 February to replenish vessels at Guam,
Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Iolanda supplied both ships
and shore stations in support of the occupation until de-
parting Shanghai 10 April 1946. After a stopover at Guam
she proceeded to Pearl Harbor, where she decommissioned
11 July 1946. Later towed to San Francisco, Iolanda was
returned to the Maritime Commission 24 April 1947 and
was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun
Bay, Calif., where she remains.
Iolite
A gem found in various shades of blue, with glassy
luster and strong dichroism.
Iolite (PYc-24), a yacht, was reclassified YP-454 (q.v.)
when her name was cancelled 23 June 1942.
I
( PYchII : t. 200 ; 1. 154' ; b. 20 ; 7'6" ; s. 10 k. )
Iolite (PYc-41), a yacht, was built in 1914 as Florence
D by Geo. Lawley & Son, Neponset, Mass. She was pur-
chased by the Navy 4 September 1942 from Julian F.
Detmer, of Tarrytown, N.Y., converted to Navy use and
commissioned 9 November 1942, Ens. C. J. Symington in
command.
Iolite sailed from New York via Norfolk and Miami 15
December 1942 and arrived Key West 22 January 1943
for duty at the Sound school. The converted yacht car-
ried out training operations in the Straits of Florida, test-
ing underwater sound equipment and monitoring tech-
niques vital to submarine and antisubmarine warfare.
She was detached from this duty in May 1944 and sailed
for New York 28 May. Arriving Tomkinsville, N.Y., 14
June, the ship was placed in service 17 June for use as a
training ship for reserve officers. She was badly damaged
by explosion 26 August 1944 and placed out of service 2
October 1944. Stricken from the Navy List 14 October
Iolite was transferred to the Maritime Commission in 1945
and sold.
451
lonita
Iona
The first Iona retained her Spanish name. The second
was named after the first.
I
( YT-107 : 1. 56' ; b. 10'3'' ; dr. 5'8")
The first Iona (YT-107), a wooden tug, was captured
from the Spanish at Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines, in
1898. iShe was taken over by the Navy and utilized as
a yard tug at Cavite for many years. The old tug was
lost 2 January 1942 in a Japanese raid on the Navy Yard.
II
( YTB-220 : dp. 415; 1. 110' ; b. 28' ; dr. 13' ; s. 12 k.)
The second Iona (YTB-220), a wooden tug originally
classified YT-220, was launched by Greenport Basin &
Construction Co., Greenport, N.Y., 26 August 1944 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Martina E. 'Swanson ; and placed in service
2 February 1945.
The new tug was assigned harbor duty in the 14th
Naval District, based at Pearl Harbor, and she remained
there until transferred to the Philippine Islands in 1955.
At Subic Bay Iona performed harbor duties so necessary
for the smooth functioning of a great naval base and was
reclassified YTM-220 in February 1962. In June, 1963,
following accidental sinking in May, she was disposed of
by burning.
lonie
Iriquois (q.v.) was renamed lonie 30 November 1904.
A former name retained.
( SP-388 ; t. 1 ; 1. 55' ; b. 8' ; dr. 2'2'' ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 5)
lonita (SP-388), a motor yacht, was built by Church
Boat Works, Trenton, Mich., in 1914 ; acquired by the
Navy from her owner, R. A. Newman of Detroit 16 August
1917 ; and commissioned 23 September 1917, William W.
Ford, USNRF, in command.
lonita was assigned to the 9th Naval District as a sec-
tion patrol craft and spent the war on patrol in the De-
troit River. After the Armistice, she was transferred to
the Naval Training Camp, Detroit, and was later sold to
William Thewes, Cleveland, Ohio, 20 November 1919.
Iosco
(SwStr. : t. 974; 1. 205'; b. 35'; dph. 11'6" ; s. 9 k. ; cpl.
173; a. 2 100-pdr. Pr., 4 9” D. sb., 2 24-pdr. how., 1
heavy 12-pdr., 1 12pdr.)
Iosco, a wooden, double-ended, side-wTheel gunboat, was
launched by Larrabee & Allen, Bath, Maine, 20 March
1863 ; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 26
April 1864, Comdr. A. J. Drake in command.
She was at New London, Conn., 9 June when ordered to
New York to complete her crew.
Iosco sailed for the Gulf of St. Lawrence 28 August to
protect American fishing vessels in that vicinity. Off
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, she assisted sev-
eral ships endangered by fierce storms. She towed Gen-
eral Burnside off a reef 15 September and aided battered
i . s. - j. im i
Type of (hi! Sassucnx da--: length. 210 led: beam, 35 feet; di.«p,, 1.175 tons.
In general appearance, without regard to dimensions, this vessel well represents the Octorora class of l.Sfil and tie
Mnhunijo class of 1.N65, as well as its own class of double-enders.
452
Colonel Ellsworth and the English bark Empress 2 days
later.
Ordered to Hampton Roads 2 October to join the 1st Di-
vision of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Iosco
was stationed off Wilmington, where she captured British
schooner Sybil attempting to escape to sea with 307 bales
of cotton 21 November.
On Christmas Eve 1864, Iosco participated in the first
amphibious attack on Fort Fisher, N.C. which protected
Wilmington, one of the South’s most active centers of
blockade running and her last port of entry for European
aid. Her guns engaged the batteries at Mound Fort and
succeeded in shooting down the Confederate flag which
flew above the works. During the firing a Confederate
shot carried away the head of Iosco's foremast. The
next day, she led nine other ships in an attack on the for-
tress, closing the shore as near as her draft would permit.
Meanwhile her boats dragged the channel for torpedoes.
Throughout the operation she protected the right flank of
the Union troops ashore until they reembarked under or-
ders from the Army commander, Major General B. F.
Butler 27 December 1864.
A fortnight later Iosco was again in the thick of the
fighting during the second attack on Fort Fisher. She as-
sisted the landing of troops and covered the right flank
of the Army as it fought on shore 13 January 1865.
Forty-four of her own men fought beside the soldiers on
the beaches while her cannon fired at the mound until
the Confederates surrendered 15 January.
The remainder of Iosco’s wartime service was in the
North Carolina Sounds carrying out operations as Con-
federate resistance ceased. She sailed north 15 July and
decommissioned 28 July 1865. Her engines were removed
and her hull turned over to the Bureau of Construction
and Repair for service as a coal hulk at the New York
Navy Yard in February 1868.
Iosco (AT-29) was renamed Tatnuck (q.v.) 24 Febru-
ary 1919.
Iowa
Iowa, the 29th state, was admitted to the Union, 28
December 1846, and was named for a Sioux Indian tribe
that originally inhabited the Missouri Territory.
I
Ammonoosuc (q.v.) was renamed Iowa 15 May 1869.
II
( BB-4 : dp. 11,346; 1. 360'; b. 72'2" ; dr. 24'; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 727; a. 4 12", 8 8", 6 4", 20 6-pdrs., 4 l-pdrs„ 24
14" tt.)
The second Iowa (BB-4) was laid down by William
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, 5 August 1893 ; launched
28 March 1896 ; sponsored by Miss M. L. Drake, daughter
of the governor of Iowa ; and commissioned 16 June 1897,
Captain W. T. Sampson in command.
After shakedown off the Atlantic Coast, Iowa was
assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and was ordered to blockade
duty, 28 May 1898, off Santiago de Cuba. On 3 July
1898, she was the first to sight the Spanish ships ap-
proaching and fired the first shot in the Battle of Santiago
de Cuba. In a 20-minute battle with Spanish cruisers
Maria Teresa (flagship) and Oquendo, her effective fire
set both ships aflame and drove them on the beach. Iowa
U ; ( . 4ltA , I "V --17 V7
vv (L
USS low a (BB-4) — Admiral Spruance served in her In 1906 and 1907.
453
continuing the battle in company with converted yacht
Gloucester, sank the Spanish destroyer Pluton and so dam-
aged destroyer Furor that she ran upon the rocks. Iowa
then turned her attention to the Spanish cruiser Viscaya
which she pursued until Viscaya ran aground. Upon
the conclusion of the battle. Iowa received on board Span-
ish Admiral Cervera and the officers and crews of the
Viscaya, Furor and Pluton.
After the Battle of Santiago, Iowa left Cuban waters
for New York, arriving 20 August 1898. On 12 October
1898, she departed for duty in the Pacific, sailed around
Cape Horn, and arrived San Francisco 7 February 1899.
The battleship then steamed to Bremerton, Wash., where
she entered drydock 11 June 1899. After refit, Iowa
served in the Pacific Squadron for 2 y2 years, conducting
training cruises, drills, and target practice. Iowa left
the Pacific early in February 1902 to become flagship of
the South Atlantic Squadron. She sailed for New York
12 February 1903 where she decommissioned 30 June 1903.
Iowa recommissioned 23 December 1903 and joined the
North Atlantic Squadron. She participated in the John
Paul Jones Commemoration ceremonies, 30 June 1905.
Iowa remained in the North Atlantic until she was placed
in reserve 6 July 1907. She decommissioned at Phila-
delphia 23 July 1908.
Ioica recommissioned 2 May 1910 and served as an
at sea training ship and as a component of the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet. During the next 4 years she made a num-
ber of training cruises to Northern Europe and partici-
pated in the Naval Review at Philadelphia, 10 to 15
October 1912. She decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy
Yard 27 May 1914. At the outbreak of the first World
War, Iowa was placed in limited commission 23 April 1917.
After serving as Receiving Ship at Philadelphia for 6
months, she was sent to Hampton Roads, Va., and re-
mained there for the duration of the war, training men
for other ships of the Fleet, and doing guard duty at the
entrance to Chesapeake Bay. She decommissioned for the
final time 31 March 1919.
On 30 April 1919, Ioica was renamed Coast Battleship
No. If, and was the first radio controlled target ship to
be used in a fleet exercise. She was sunk 23 March 1923
in Panama Bay by a salvo of 14-inch shells.
BB-53 was laid down as Iowa at Newport News Ship-
building & Drydock Co., 17 May 1920, but on 8 February
1922, work was suspended when the ship was 31.8 percent
complete. Construction was cancelled 17 August 1923
in accordance with the terms of the Washington Treaty
limiting Naval armaments. She was sold for scrap 8
November 1923.
Ill
( BB-61 : dp. 45,000 t. ; 1. 887'3" ; b. 108'2" ; dr. 37'9" ; s.
33 k.; cpl. 2,800; a. 9 16", 20 5" ; cl. Iowa)
The third Iowa (BB-61) was laid down at New York
Navy Yard, 27 June 1940 ; launched 27 August 1942 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Henry A. Wallace, wife of Vice President
Wallace, and commissioned 22 February 1943, Capt. John
L. McCrea in command.
On 24 February, Iowa put to sea for shakedown in
Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast. She got
underway, 27 August for Argentia, Newfoundland to
neutralize the threat of German Battleship Tirpitz which
was reportedly operating in Norwegian waters.
In the fall, Iowa carried President Franklin D. Roose-
velt to Casablanoa, French Morocco on the first leg of
his journey to the Teheran Conference in November.
After the conference she returned the President to the
United States.
As Flagship of Battleship Division 7, Iowa departed the
United States 2 January 1944 for the Pacific Theatre and
her combat debut in the campaign for the Marshalls.
From 29 January to 3 February, she supported carrier air
strikes made by Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman’s
task group against Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls in the
Marshall Islands. Her next assignment was to support
air strikes against the Japanese Naval base at Truk,
Caroline Islands. Iowa, in company with other ships was
detached from the support group 16 February, 1944 to
conduct an anti-shipping sweep around Truk to destroy
enemy naval vessels escaping to the north. On 21
February, she was underway with Fast Carrier Task
Force 58 while it conducted the first strikes against
Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam in the Marianas.
On 18 March, Iowa, flying the flag of Vice Admiral
Willis A. Lee, Commander Battleships, Pacific, joined in
the bombardment of Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Although struck by two Japanese 4.7" projectiles during
the action, Iowa suffered negligible damage. She then
rejoined Task Force 58, 30 March, and supported air
strikes against the Palau Islands and Woleai of the
Carolines which continued for several days.
From 22 to 28 April 1944, Iowa supported air raids on
Hollandia, Aitape, and Wakde Islands to support Army
forces on Aitape, Tanahmerah Bay, and Humboldt Bay
in New Guinea. She then joined the Task Force’s second
strike on Truk, 29-30 April, and bombarded Japanese
facilities on Ponape in the Carolines, 1 May.
In the opening phases of the Marianas campaign, Iowa
protected the flattops during air strikes on the islands of
Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Rota, and Pagan, 12 June. Iowa
was then detached to bombard enemy installations on
Saipan and Tinian, 13-14 June. On 19 June, in an en-
gagement known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Iowa,
as part of the battle line of Fast Carrier Task Force 58,
helped repel four massive air raids launched by the Japa-
nese Middle Fleet. This resulted in the almost complete
destruction of Japanese carrier-based aircraft. Iowa then
joined in the pursuit of the fleeing enemy Fleet, shooting
down one torpedo plane and assisting in splashing
another.
Thoroughout July, Iowa remained off the Marianas
supporting air strikes on the Palaus and landings on
Guam. After a month’s rest, Iowa sortied from Eniwetok
as part of the 3d Fleet, and helped support the landings
on Peleliu, 17 September. She then protected the carriers
during air strikes against the Central Philippines to
neutralize enemy air power for the long awaited invasion
of the Philippines. On 10 October, Iowa arrived off
Okinawa for a series of air strikes on the Ryukyus and
Formosa. She then supported air strikes against Luzon,
18 October and continued this vital duty during General
MacArthur’s landing on Leyte 20 October.
In a last ditch attempt to halt the United States cam-
paign to recapture the Philippines, the Japanese Navy
struck back with a three-pronged attack aimed at the
destruction of American amphibious forces in Leyte Gulf.
Iowa accompanied TF-38 during attacks against the
Japanese Central Force as it steamed through the Sibuyan
Sea toward San Bernardino Strait. The reported results
of these attacks and the apparent retreat of the Japanese
Central Force led Admiral Halsey to believe that this
force had been ruined as an effective fighting group.
Iowa, with Task Force 38, steamed after the Japanese
Northern Force off Cape Engano, Luzon. On 25 October
1944, when the ships of the Northern Force were almost
within range of Iowa's guns, word arrived that the
Japanese Central Force was attacking a group of Amer-
ican escort carriers off Samar. This threat to the Amer-
ican beachheads forced her to reverse course and steam to
support the vulnerable “baby carriers.’’ However, the
valiant fight put up by the escort carriers and their screen
had already caused the Japaneses to retire and Iowa was
denied a surface action. Following the Battle for Leyte
Gulf, Iowa remained in the waters off the Philippines
screening carriers during strikes against Luzon and
Formosa. She sailed for the West Coast late in December
1944.
Iowa arrived San Francisco, 15 January 1945, for over-
haul. She sailed 19 March 1945 for Okinawa, arriving
15 April 1945. Commencing 24 April 1945, Iowa sup-
ported carrier operations which assured American troops
vital air superiority during their struggle for that bitterly
contested island. She then supported air strikes off
454
southern Kyushu from 25 May to 13 June 1945. Iowa
participated in strikes on the Japanese homeland 14-15
July and bombarded Muroran, Hokkaido, destroying steel
mills and other targets. The city of Hitachi on Honshu
was given the same treatment on the night of 17-18 July
1945. Iowa continued to support fast carrier strikes until
the cessation of hostilities, 15 August 1945.
Iowa entered Tokyo Bay with the occupation forces, 29
August 1945. After serving as Admiral William F. Hal-
sey’s flagship for the surrender ceremony, 2 September
1945, Iowa departed Tokyo Bay 20 September 1945 for
the United States.
Arriving Seattle, Wash., 15 October 1945, Iowa returned
to Japanese waters in January 1946 and became flagship
of the 5th Fleet. She continued this role until she sailed
for the United States 25 March 1946. From that time on,
until September 1948, Iowa operated from West Coast
ports, on Naval Reserve and at sea training and drills
and maneuvers with the Fleet. Ioica decommissioned 24
March 1949. After Communist aggression in Korea
necessitated an expansion of the active fleet, Iowa recom-
missioned 25 August 1951, Captain William R. Smedberg
III in command. She operated off the West Coast until
March 1952, when she sailed for the Far East. On 1
April 1952, Iowa became the flagship of Vice Admiral
Robert T. Briscoe, Commander, 7th Meet, and departed
Yokosuka, Japan to support United Nations Forces in
Korea. From 8 April to 16 October 1952, Iowa was in-
volved in combat operations off the East Coast of Korea.
Her primary mission was to aid ground troops, by bom-
barding enemy targets at Songjin, Hungnam, and Kojo,
North Korea. During this time, Admiral Briscoe was re-
lieved as Commander, 7th Fleet. Vice Admiral J. J.
Clark, the new commander, continued to use Iowa as his
flagship until 17 October 1952. Ioioa departed Yokosuka,
Japan 19 October 1952 for overhaul at Norfolk and train-
ing operations in the Caribbean Sea.
Iowa embarked midshipmen for at sea training to
Northern Europe, July 1953, and immediately after took
part in Operation “Mariner,” a major NATO exercise,
serving as flagship of Vice Admiral E. T. Woolfidge,
commanding the 2d Fleet. Upon completion of this exer-
cise, until the fall of 1954, Iowa operated in the Virginia
Capes area. In September 1954, she became the flagship
of Rear Admiral R. E. Libby, Commander, Battleship-
Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
From January to April 1955, Iowa made an extended
cruise to the Mediterranean as the first battleship reg-
ularly assigned to Commander, 6th Fleet. Iowa departed
on a midshipman training cruise 1 June 1955 and upon
her return, she entered Norfolk for a 4-month overhaul.
Following refit, Iowa continued intermittent training
cruises and operational exercises, until 4 January 1957
when she departed Norfolk for duty with the 6th Fleet
in the Mediterranean. Upon completion of this deploy-
ment, Iowa embarked midshipmen for a South American
training cruise and joined in the International Naval Re-
view off Hampton Roads, Va., 13 June 1957.
On 3 September 1957, Iowa sailed for Scotland for
NATO Operation “Strikeback.” She returned to Norfolk,
28 September 1957 and departed Hampton Roads for the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, 22 October 1957. She de-
commissioned 24 February 1958 and entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, where she remains.
Iowa earned nine battle stars for World War II service
and two for Korean service.
256-125 0 - 68 - 31
Iowan
Former name retained.
(Str : dp. 14,375 n. ; 1. 428'9" ; b. 53'6" ; dr. 28' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 96; a. 1 4", 1 6-pdr.)
Iowan (#3002) was launched in 1911 by the Maryland
Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md. ; acquired by the Navy
from American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., New York ; and
commissioned 23 December 1917, Lt. Comdr. Frank L.
Dow, USNRF, in command.
Iowan loaded cargo at Newport News, Va., and sailed
9 February 1918 for New York to rendezvous with her
convoy. The convoy departed from New York 11 February
for France, where she arrived on the 28th with a cargo
of flour, iron, and machinery for the Allied Forces. For
the next 16 months Iowan continued transporting food-
stuffs and livestock, making nine round-trip voyages be-
tween the United States and France.
After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June
1919, Iowan engaged in transporting troops back to the
United States. She made two cruises for that purpose
during July and August, before decommissioning 22 Sep-
tember 1919. She was then returned to the American-
Hawaiian Steamship Co.
Ipswich
A city in Massachusetts.
(P01186: dp. 295; 1. 174'; b. 23'; dr. 8'; s. 19 k. ; cpl.
65; a. 1 3'', 1 40mm., 2 20mm. , 2 rkt., 4 dcp., 2 dct.)
PC-1186 was laid down by the Gibbs Gas Engine Co.,
Jacksonville, Fla., 20 April 1943 ; launched 27 September ;
sponsored by Mrs. George Wharton; and commissioned
9 June 1944, Lt. (j.g.) Paul L. Adams in command.
After shakedown and ASW training off Miami, Fla.,
PC-1186 was assigned to convoy escort duty in the At-
lantic. From August to December she performed escort,
patrol, and reconnaissance duties from the coast of New
England to Guantanamo, Cuba. Late in December 1944
she arrived Coco Solo, C.Z., for patrol and escort opera-
tions between the Panama Canal and Cuba.
PC-1186 continued these services for the remainder of
World War II. After the war, she patrolled off the Canal
Zone and performed training exercises with submarines
until 7 May 1946 when she sailed for Charleston, S.C.
The sub chaser decommissioned at New York 22 July 1946,
and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While berthed
at Boston, PC-1186 was named Ipswich 15 February 1956.
Ipswich was struck from the Navy List 1 April 1959 and
sold to Hughes Brothers, Inc., 16 September 1959.
Ira Jeffery
Ira Weil Jeffery was born Minneapolis, Minn., 8 March
1918, and enlisted in the Navy 23 August 1940. He was
appointed Midshipman in 1941 and, after undergoing offi-
cer training at the Naval Reserve Midshipman’s School,
Northwestern University, was commissioned Ensign 12
June 1941. He reported to battleship California 25 July
1941. During the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor
7 December 1941, Ensign Jeffery organized an ammuni-
tion passing party at great risk to his own life in an
attempt to maintain a supply of ammunition for the
stricken ship’s anti-aircraft guns. Ensign Jeffery was
killed in the attack, and received a letter of commenda-
tion from the Secretary of the Navy for his valor.
(DE-63 ; dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3'', 4 1.1'', 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) , 3 21" tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Ira Jeffery (DE-63) was laid down as Jeffery 13 Febru-
ary 1943 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hing-
ham, Mass. ; launched 15 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
D. C. Jeffery, mother of Ensign Jeffery ; renamed Ira
Jeffery 29 July 1943; and commissioned 15 August 1943,
Lt. Comdr. R. A. Fitch in command.
Ira Jeffery conducted shakedown training off Bermuda
and in Casco Bay, Maine, before returning to Naval
Torpedo Station, Quonset, R.I., for experiments with
noise-makers designed to counter the German acoustic
torpedo. She then moved to New York and departed 5
November 1943 with her first Atlantic convoy. During
the next year she sailed with seven Atlantic troop con-
voys, seeing each safely to staging points in Northern
Ireland or Great Britain. After her return to Charles-
ton 22 October 1944, Ira Jeffery joined a large convoy of
cranes, powerplants, and tugs bound for the invasion
ports of Europe. On the return crossing 20 December 1944
the escort’s convoy was attacked by a German submarine.
After sinking an LST and damaging Fogg, the submarine
was driven off. Ira Jeffery assisted the damaged ship
and eventually escorted her through rough seas to the
Azores.
Returning to the United State 1 February 1945, the
ship spent two weeks working with experimental mines
in Chesapeake Bay. She entered the New York Naval
Shipyard 15 February for conversion to a high-speed
transport. After the installation of troop quarters and
extensive alterations she emerged in May 1945 as APD-44
(officially reclassified 23 February 1945) and departed 12
May for shakedown in Chesapeake Bay. Ira Jeffery then
sailed 25 May with carrier Antietam for the Panama
Canal and Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 18 June 1945.
After training in Hawaiian waters, the ship returned
to San Diego 23 July and began training with under-
water demolition teams. She sailed 16 August, 1 day
after the war’s end for the forward areas, stopping at
Eniwetok, Ulithi, and Manila. After demolition exer-
cises in Lingayen Gulf, she sailed to Wakayama, Japan,
where underwater demolition teams reconnoitered beaches
prior to American occupation landings. After the suc-
cessful operation Ira Jeffery sailed for the United States,
arriving San Diego 20 November 1945.
The ship sailed via the Panama Canal for the East
Coast and after her arrival Philadelphia 8 December
underwent repairs. Ira Jeffery then sailed to Jackson-
ville, Fla., and decommissioned at Green Cove Springs
18 June 1946. She entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
and remained there until struck from the Navy List 1
June 1960. She was sunk during tests in July 1962.
Iredell
A county in North Carolina.
Iredell (APA-242), a Haskell-c\&ss victory transport,
was under construction by Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Port-
land, Oreg., under Maritime Commission contract, but
was cancelled 27 August 1945.
Iredell County
A county in North Carolina.
( LST-839 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 14'1" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 226; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-5^2)
LST-839 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 25 September 1944; launched 12 November
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur Lehner ; and commis-
sioned at New Orleans, La., 6 December 1944, Lt. Waldo
F. McNeir in command.
After shakedown off the coast of Florida, LST-839
loaded Army troops and cargo and departed New Orleans
for the Pacific 9 January 1945. Steaming via the Panama
Canal, Pearl Harbor, and Eniwetok, she reached Saipan
10 March. There she prepared to support the invasion
of Okinawa ; and, after embarking Seabees and loading
construction equipment, she sailed 12 April for that
456
strategic island, which lay at the gateway to the heart
of the Japanese Empire.
The campaign was well underway when LST-839
reached Kinmu Wan, Okinawa, 17 April. Despite heavy
enemy air raids, she debarked troops and discharged
cargo, then returned to Saipan 21 April to transport addi-
tional troops. During the 4 remaining months of the war,
she shuttled troops and equipment among the Marianas,
Philippine, and Okinawa staging areas for the possible
invasion of Japan. The enemy’s acceptance of Allied
peace terms precluded an invasion, and the landing ship
then operated between the Philippines and Japan, trans-
porting occupation forces until mid-November.
Arriving Guam 12 November, LST-839 embarked 500
veterans of the Pacific fighting and sailed 17 November
for the United States. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she
reached San Francisco 28 December. She sailed for As-
toria, Oreg., 25 January 1946; decommissioned at Van-
couver, Wash., 24 July; and entered the Pacific Reserve
Fleet. While berthed in the Columbia River, she was
named Iredell County 1 July 1955.
Iredell County recommissioned at San Diego, Calif.,
18 June 1966. Completing training, Iredell County sailed
to join the 7th Fleet 3 September 1966. En route to Japan
with her first cargo since 1945, she called at Pearl Harbor
and her new homeport of Guam. Exchanging cargo at
Iwakuni, Japan, on 12 October Iredell County departed for
Danang, Vietnam, arriving 21 October. She shuttled pe-
troleum, building materials, rations, troops, and equipment
between Danang and Chu Lai, 65 miles to the south.
Iredell County transported more than 7,360 tons of cargo
and made 12 landings. She sailed to Guam 15 December
1966. In response to the American effort to protect and
defend the independence and integrity of South Vietnam
from external Communist aggression, she continues to
serve the Pacific Fleet and participate in the vital peace-
keeping operations currently underway in the turbulent
and troubled Southeast Asia.
LST-839 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Irene Forsyte
( IX-93 : 1. 144'; b. 27'7” ; s. 13 k. ; a. 1'4", 1 40mm„ 2
20mm., 1 ASW rocket)
Irene Forsyte (IX-93), a schooner, was built in 1920 as
Irene Myrtle by MacLean Construction Co., Mahone Bay,
Nova Scotia, and was purchased by the Navy 16 Novem-
ber 1942 from Thomas Antle of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.
Renamed Irene Forsyte, she was converted for Navy use
at Thames Shipyard, New London, Conn., and commis-
sioned 26 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. R. Parmenter in
command.
Irene Forsyte was one of five “Q ships” used by the
Navy in World War II. Based on the experience of
World War I, it was hoped that these ships, with their
relatively heavy armament concealed, could act as decoys
to lure submarines into close quarters on the surface and
then sink them. The schooner sailed 29 September 1943
with a volunteer crew. Off Nantucket Island she changed
her name and flag to that of a Portuguese fishing schooner
and stood southeast in hopes of encountering submarines.
Caught in a hurricane near Bermuda, Irene Forsyte was
severely damaged and averted sinking only by anchoring
in Hamilton Sound, Bermuda. She was reconditioned
and prepared to resume her cruise ; but, when it was de-
cided that the project held little promise of sinking enemy
submarines, she was ordered back to the United States.
The schooner arrived New York 8 November 1943 and
decommissioned 16 December 1943 for return to the Mari-
time Commission. She was used for a time on a loan
basis by the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps as a training
ship and returned to the Navy for disposal in November
1944. Irene Forsyte was sold at public auction 18 Octo-
ber 1945.
Irene W. Allen, see YO-llfl
Irex
One of the oceanic fishes belonging to the family
carangidae.
( SS-482 : dp. 1,570 ; 1. 311'8” ; b. 27'4” ; dr. 15'5” ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 81 ; a. 1 5", 2 40mm., 4 .50 cal. mg., 4 .30 cal. mg., 10
21” tt. ; cl. Tench)
Irex (SS-482) was launched 26 January 1945 by Ports-
mouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Allen J. Ellender, wife of Senator Ellender of Louisiana ;
and commissioned 14 May 1945, Comdr. J. D. Crowley in
command.
After shakedown in the New London area, Irex sailed
for the Pacific via the Panama Canal. While she was in
the Canal Zone, the war ended. Irex was ordered to Key
West, where she joined Submarine Squadron 4. She
spent the remainder of the year there and at Guantanamo
Bay conducting exercises. By December 1946 the Navy
had completed plans for the modern telescopic snorkel (a
device to enable diesel-powered submarines to run sub-
merged for long periods of time) , and Irex was ordered to
Portsmouth for installation and test of this equipment.
She spent July 1947 to February 1948 evaluating her new
apparatus and then joined Submarine Squadron 8 at New
London as the U.S. Navy’s first operational snorkel
submarine.
For the next 3 years Irex trained out of New London
and off the Virginia Capes. In May 1951 she was assigned
patrol duty in the North Atlantic and in August com-
menced operations out of Key West and Cuba. Returning
to New London in the fall, Irex continued her important
training out of New England and in the Caribbean until
26 October 1953 when she sailed for the Mediterranean
to join the 6th Fleet. Returning to New London 3 Febru-
ary 1954 Irex resumed her operations along the East
Coast and in the Caribbean for the next 2 years.
Irex again deployed in 1956 to the Mediterranean with
units of the powerful 6th Fleet. In the developing Mid-
East crisis that culminated in the nationalization of the
Suez Canal (July 1956) and armed conflict between Egypt
and the forces of France, Israel, and the United Kingdom,
U.S. Naval forces acted early to support America’s policy.
In February, patrols in the Red Sea and along the Israeli-
Egyptian border were established as a means of express-
ing our interest in the peaceful outcome of the crisis.
Returning to New London, she resumed her operations and
also served as training ship for submarine students.
During early 1957 Irex participated in fleet exercises
and again served as training ship. In July she entered
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she was fitted out
with a new type plastic sail. The plastic sail, which re-
placed the World War II conning tower, is lighter in
weight, higher, and acts as a stabilizer. With the excep-
tion of one tour to the Mediterranean (13 September-20
December 1958) and training cruises to Bermuda and Hal-
ifax, Irex continued her operations out of New London for
the next year and a half. In early 1960 she took part in
fleet exercises in the North Atlantic before returning home
3 March. After operations out of New London, and a
training cruise to Halifax, Irex deployed 1 August 1961
for submarine warfare training with the 6th Fleet in the
Mediterranean. She returned to New London in Novem-
ber, ranging south to Bermuda and north to New York
and Boston as she trained reservists and men of the New
London Submarine School. She based winter operations
January to March 1963 from Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands, then was overhauled in the Philadelphia Naval
Shipyard before resuming training at New London. In
October 1963 she again sailed for the Mediterranean, tak-
ing time out during this 6th Fleet tour to transit Suez
Canal for CENTO exercises in the Red and Arabian Seas.
She returned home mid-January 1965 to aid in the devel-
opment of antisubmarine warfare tactics, joined U.S.-
Canadian warfare exercises reaching northward to Nova
Scotia, then returned home to New London in November
1965 and continued local training duties into 1967.
457
Iris
In Greek mythology, the goddess of the rainbow.
I
(Str : t. 388 ; 1. 145' d. ; b. 27' ; dr. 9'9" ; cpl. 70 ;
a. 1 32-pdr.)
The first Iris was a wooden steamer propelled by radial
pa*ddle wheels built at New York in 1847 and purchased
there by the Navy in the same year. She commissioned at
New York Navy Yard 25 October 1847, Comdr. Stephen B.
Wilson in command.
The next day Iris departed New York Harbor for Yera
Cruz, Mexico, where she arrived 11 December. With the
exception of a brief visit to Mobile, Ala., in February 1848
and a voyage to Pensacola, Fla., in September, Iris re-
mained on duty in the vicinity of Vera Cruz for the next
year. During the closing months of the Mexican War, she
assisted in maintaining the blockade of the coast of Mexico
and protected the Army’s water communications. There-
after she vigilantly protected United States interests in
that volatile area lest trouble break out anew.
Iris departed Vera Cruz 8 November and arrived Nor-
folk 16 December. She decommissioned there 16 Decem-
ber and was sold soon thereafter. She redocumented as
Osprey 9 March 1849, being destroyed by fire at Kingston,
Jamaica, 18 April 1856.
II
( SwStr : 1. 159 ; 1. 87' ; b. 19' ; dr. 9' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 34 ;
a. 2 20-pdr. P. r.)
The second Iris was built as Willet Rowe at Brooklyn,
N.Y., in 1863 and was purchased by the Navy in New York
City from C. W. Copeland 16 October of that year. She
was outfitted as an armed tug and sailed from New York
2 November to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squad-
ron off Charleston 6 November. She took station inside
the bar at Charleston where she served faithfully during
most of the remainder of the war.
Iris steamed with Nipsic to the North Edisto River
8 February 1864 to support a reconnaissance in force
undertaken by the Army as a diversion to prevent South-
ern troops in the Charleston area from moving to Florida
for action against Brigadier General Truman Seymour.
A week later she was back at her old station inside the bar.
On 12 December Iris moved to the Savannah River to be
on hand to support General W. T. Sherman at the end of
his march through Georgia, to the sea where he was as-
sured of supplies and a secure operating base behind the
big guns of the Navy. From Savannah she sailed to Port
Royal for repairs, arriving 1 January 1865.
Iris returned to service early in February in time to
participate in the expedition to Bull’s Bay which diverted
Confederate troops from General Sherman’s path as he
marched north close to the sea ever ready to retire to the
coast under Naval protection if necessary. The combined
forces departed Charleston Roads on the night of 11 Feb-
ruary and entered Bull’s Bay before daybreak the next
morning. The Union ships engaged enemy forts at
Andersonville 13 February but found the Confederate posi-
tions too strong to carry. The next 2 days were spent
exploring the marshlands in the area seeking a route
which would enable the Northern vessels to approach
Andersonville from the rear. A passage was found on the
night of 15 February enabling Iris and other ships to land
troops behind the fortress which soon fell. This diver-
sionary movement was one of the factors which compelled
the Confederacy to evacuate Charleston where the war
had begun four long years earlier, with the firing on Fort
Sumter.
Iris remained in Charleston until 28 April when she
sailed with eight other ships to the coast of Florida to
intercept Jefferson Davis and his cabinet in their flight
toward political asylum in Cuba. Upon learning of
Davis’ capture at Irwinville, Ga., she returned to Charles-
ton where she remained until sailing north with Rear
Admiral Dahlgren in Pawnee 17 June.
She decommissioned at Washington Navy Yard 15 July
1865 and was transferred to the Treasury Department for
the Lighthouse Service 18 October 1865.
III
The third Iris was a light-draft monitor built as Shiloh
(q.v.) by George C. Bestor at St. Louis in 1865. She had
no service before being laid up at Mound City, 111. in 1866.
She was renamed Iris 15 June 1869 and was laid up at
New Orleans until 17 September 1874 when she com-
missioned briefly. After decommissioning 5 October 1874,
Iris was sold at New Orleans.
IV
(ScStr : 1,923; 1. 321'0''; b. 39'0'' ; dr. 24'0" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 124; a. none)
The fourth Iris was built in 1885 by A. Leslie & Co.,
Newcastle, England, and was purchased by the Navy from
Miami Steamship Co. 25 May 1898 for service in the Span-
ish American War. However, reconditioning and con-
version to a distilling ship was not completed until after
the end of active operations against Spain. Iris com-
missioned at Norfolk Navy Yard 1 August 1898, Lt. Arthur
B. Connor in command.
The distilling ship departed Norfolk 31 August and ar-
rived Montauk Point, N.Y., 5 September. She departed
New York Harbor 14 October for the Philippine Islands
arriving Manila 18 March 1899. She acted as a general
utility ship for the Asiatic Squadron in the Philippines
during the occupation of the islands and during the sub-
sequent insurrection. She decommissioned for repairs at
Hong Kong 31 January 1900 and resumed duty in May.
Iris sailgd for home in the fall of 1903 arriving San
Francisco 13 November and decommissioning at Mare Is-
land Navy Yard 18 December. She was overhauled there
and placed in service as a collier for the Asiatic Squadron.
For the next 5 years, she fueled United States vessels in
the Orient.
She departed Manila 20 May 1909 for San Francisco
where she was converted to a torpedo boat tender. She
was placed out of service 15 October and recommissioned
the same day. During the following years she served as
parent ship for the Pacific Torpedo Fleet operating off the
West Coast of the United States.
In the fall of 1915 disorder in Mexico threatened Amer-
ican citizens and interests. Iris arrived Topolobampo,
Mexico 9 December to begin patrol duty on the Mexican
coast. She remained in the area ready to act in the event
of any emergency until departing La Paz, Mexico, 30
January 1916. She arrived San Diego, Calif., 4 February
and began duty towing targets off southern California.
Two months later Iris was ordered to San Francisco.
After arriving 16 April, she decommissioned at Mare Is-
land 2 May 1916. Iris was transferred to the USSB 3 May
1917.
V
(ScStr: t. 428; 1. 153'0" ; b. 30'0" ; dr. 8'7" ; cpl. 23; a.
2 3-pdrs., 2 mg.)
The fifth Iris was a lighthouse tender built for the
United States Lighthouse Service at Philadelphia in 1897.
She was transferred to the Navy with the entire Light-
house Service by Executive order 11 April 1917. She was
returned to the custody of the Department of Commerce
1 July 1919.
Irish, W. M., see Nausett (IX-190)
Iro
(Str : t. 1,271 ; 1. 256' ; b. 37'7" ; dr. 9' ; s. 10 k.)
Iro, a wooden steamer, was launched in 1889 by the
Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. The Navy acquired her
458
8 August 1918 from the Hudson Navigation Co., New York
City. Iro served as a patrol and freight boat in the 5th
Naval District, operating out of Norfolk, until she was
returned to her owner 30 April 1919.
Iron Age
(ScStr : t. 424; 1. 144'; b. 25'; dph. 12'6'' ; a. 3 30-pdr.
D.r., 6 8" D.)
Iron Age was built at Kennebunk, Maine, in 1802 ; then
purchased by the Navy at Boston 28 April 1863 and com-
missioned 25 June 1863, Lt. Comdr. E. E. Stone in com-
mand. That day she sailed from Boston in search of
Confederate commerce raider, Tacony, which was taking a
heavy toll of New England shipping. After learning that
the enemy cruiser had been burned and her crew captured,
Iron Age returned to Boston 7 July. She spent the rest of
the summer in New England waters protecting Union com-
merce, fisheries, and coasts.
Iron Age was transferred to the North Atlantic Blockad-
ing Squadron 3 September and sailed for Wilmington, N.C.,
2 days later, arriving off New Inlet 11 September. On her
fifth day of blockade duty she discovered a runner at-
tempting to escape, drove her back, and forced her to run
ashore just abreast of Fort Fisher. On 21 October she
assisted Nansemond and Niphon in destroying blockade
runner Venus. Christmas Eve that year was the occasion
for a raid on salt works at Bear Inlet. A large stockpile
of salt desperately needed by the South was destroyed.
This blow was doubly effective since the raiders also pre-
vented the manufacture of a new supply by smashing the
irreplaceable equipment in the plants.
Iron Age and Daylight were ordered to Lockwood’s
Folly Inlet, near Wilmington, to try to float grounded
blockade runner Bendigo 9 January 1864. The following
morning at 0900 Iron Age ran hard aground. After un-
tiring efforts to lighten her failed to refloat the ship, she
was put to the torch at 0400 11 January 1864 and was
destroyed 1 hour and 40 minutes later when her magazine
exploded.
Iron County
Counties in Michigan, Mississippi, Utah, and Wisconsin.
( LST-840 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-54%)
LST-840 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 28 September 1944; launched 15 November;
sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Doerr ; and commissioned 11
December, Lt. David McC. Bon in command.
Following shakedown off Florida, LST-840 loaded cargo
at Gulfport, Miss.; then sailed 14 January 1945 for the
Pacific. Additional cargo stops were made at San Fran-
cisco and Seattle before departing for the Marshall
Islands. She arrived Eniwetok 24 March.
After preparations in the Marshall and Caroline
Islands, the landing ship departed Ulithi 12 April for
Okinawa. The battle for this strategic island, which lay
at the gateway to the Japanese homeland, was well under-
way when LST-840 arrived on the 18th. She unloaded
combat engineers and equipment, then returned Ulithi
5 May.
For the remainder of World War II, she shuttled troops
and cargo throughout the American staging areas in the
Pacific. After V-J Day, LST-840 operated with U.S. oc-
cupation forces in Japan and Okinawa for the next 3
months. Embarking 500 marines at Guam, she departed
11 November en route to Pearl Harbor and the United
States. Arriving San Diego 15 December, she remained
on the West Coast until she decommissioned at Van-
couver, Wash., 1 June 1946, joining the Columbia River
Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet.
In the effort to stop Communist aggression In South
Korea, veteran ships were called out of reserve to provide
support for the U.N. forces in Asia. LST-840 recommis-
sioned 3 November 1950, Lt. Merle A. Coe in command.
Following training off the West Coast and Hawaii, she
loaded trucks and equipment, then departed Honolulu 1
May 1951 for the Pacific staging areas. From June to
November, the loading ship operated between Korea and
Japan, shuttling cargo and prisoners of war along the
war-torn peninsula.
She returned to the United States 27 November and,
following overhaul, she departed Oakland, Calif,. 16 May
1952 for duty in Alaska. LST-840 performed cargo oper-
ations there for 6 months before returning to San Diego.
On 13 March 1953, she sailed on her second Korean tour,
arriving Yokosuka 1 May. For the duration of the con-
flict, she remained in the Inchon vicinity and after the
July truce continued peacekeeping operations in the Far
East until late November.
After a stay in the United States, LST-840 was back in
the Far East, arriving Henrietta Pass, French Indochina,
28 October 1954. In the aftermath of the Indochinese
War, she loaded French troops and equipment and shuttled
them along the coast of southeast Asia. Arriving Subic
Bay 22 November, she operated in the Far East until
April 1955, then steamed for San Diego.
LST-840 was named Iron County 1 July 1955 and on
10 January 1956 she was en route to Pearl Harbor, her
new home port. From January 1956 to November 1957,
she performed amphibious exercises out of Hawaii, re-
turning to the West Coast 23 November. Iron County
remained at San Francisco until 1 July 1958 when she
was transferred to the Republic of China under the Mili-
tary Assistance Program. She now serves the Chinese
Nationalist Navy as Chung Fu.
Ironsides Jr.
Ironsides Jr., occasionally called simply Ironsides, was
a bark chartered by the Navy at Port Royal, S.C., in
August 1863. She was used as a storeship at Port Royal
until 1 June 1864, the date of the last reference to her in
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies
in the War of the Rebellion.
Ironicood
Any one of many trees or shrubs of several species with
unusually strong, hard, or heavy wood.
Ironwood (YN-67) was renamed Laneeivood (q.v.) 3
April 1943 prior to launching.
Iroquois
A powerful and warlike Indian confederacy formerly
inhabiting central New York.
I
( StSlp : t. 1,016; 1. 198'11" ; b. 33'10" ; dr. 13'; s. 11 k. ;
a. 1 50-pdr., 4 32-pdrs., 1 12-pdr. how.)
The first Iroquois, a steam sloop of war, was launched
by the New York Navy Yard 12 April 1859 and commis-
sioned 24 November 1859, Comdr. J. S. Palmer in
command.
Iroquois got underway from New York 19 January
1860 for duty in the Mediterranean. Her service came
at a time of political unrest in Europe, with the move-
ment for Italian unification in its beginning stages.
Iroquois sailed for Palermo, Sicily, to protect American
lives and property as Garibaldi began his campaign to
drive French troops from the island. The Italian patriot
came on board Iroquois 20 June 1860 and conferred with
Comdr. Palmer.
The ship operated in the Mediterranean into 1861, but
the impending Civil War brought greater demands on
459
the Navy and she was recalled. Arriving 15 June 1861
at New York, she was immediately sent to the Caribbean
to search out and destroy southern commerce raiders.
At Martinique she found Sumter anchored in the harbor.
But the Confederate ship, under command of Semmes,
with the assistance of French authorities slipped out 23
November to resume attacks on Union shipping. Iroquois
continued her patrol in the Caribbean. On 14 January
1862 she stopped British sloop Rinaldo. On board were
Confederate ministers Mason and Slidell, captured earlier
by Union ships but released ; Comdr. Palmer allowed them
to proceed under surveillance.
Iroquois was sent later in 1862 to join Flag Officer
Farragut at the mouth of the Mississippi, in preparation
for his attack on New Orleans. Arriving off Ship Island
28 March, the ship moved to a position below Forts
Jackson and St. Philip, guarding New Orleans, 16 April.
Comdr. D. D. Porter’s mortar boats then began a devas-
tating bombardment, and by 24 April the ships were
ready to attack. Iroquois moved abreast the forts as
part of the 3d Division under Captain H. H. Bell and,
after a spirited engagement, passed them and pressed
on for the capture of New Orleans, the South’s largest
and wealthiest city, and key to the Mississippi Valley.
After the great victory Iroquois advanced up the river
with Farragut, with the aim of eventually joining Flag
Officer Foote, who was driving southward. A landing
party was sent ashore at Baton Rouge 8 May 1862 and
Comdr. Palmer received the surrender of the Louisiana
capital that day. Iroquois, along with Oneida, also took
possession of Natchez 13 May as the fleet moved steadily
toward the Southern stronghold at Vicksburg. Within a
week they were below the city and preparing to pass the
formidable batteries.
After periodic shelling Flag Officer Farragut, supported
by the mortar boats, passed the Vicksburg batteries 28
June after a heavy exchange of gunfire. Iroquois sur-
vived the action virtually unscathed. With the rest of
the fleet she met Flag Officer Davis and his Western
Flotilla above Vicksburg. This was but the first step of
Lincoln’s order to “clear the river.” Iroquois remained
in the Vicksburg area until late July, helping in the
bombardments and preparations for expeditions into the
surrounding marshlands. In early September she again
entered the Gulf of Mexico to take part in the strangling
blockade of Southern commerce, but boiler trouble sent
her north 21 September. She arrived New York 2 October
and decommissioned 6 October 1862 for repairs.
Iroquois recommissioned 8 January 1863, Comdr. Henry
Roland in command, and got underway later that month
to convoy monitor Weehawkcn to Newport News. Join-
ing the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off North
Carolina, she captured blockade runner Merrimac 24 July
and helped in the capture of Kate 12 days earlier. After
several more months on arduous blockade, she steamed
to Baltimore for repairs, decommissioning 8 October 1863.
The ship recommissioned 31 March 1864, Comdr. C. R.
P. Rodgers in command. After serving briefly in the
North Atlantic, Iroquois steamed to the Mediterranean
to protect American commerce and interests. She also
took part in the giant search for the Confederate raider
Shenandoah, finally arriving Singapore in May 1865 after
a long voyage around South America and across the
Pacific. With the war over, she sailed in July for the
United States, arriving New York 1 October 1865. She
decommissioned there 6 October 1865.
Upon recommissioning 7 January 1867, Comdr. Earl
English in command, the veteran ship sailed 3 February
for duty with the Asiatic Squadron. She was present at
Osaka, Japan, when that port and neighboring Hiogo
were opened to foreign commerce 1 January 1868 ; and
she took part in the rescue operations following the over-
turning of Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell’s boat in the
harbor 11 January. Despite the best efforts of the ships
present, the squadron commander and 11 others were
drowned. During the local conflicts which engulfed the
ports during January, Iroquois stood by to protect Ameri-
can interests, and carried the foreign ministers to Hiogo
1 February when they were expelled from Osaka. She
remained on this critical duty with the Asiatic Squadron
until returning to the United States in February 1870.
She decommissioned at League Island, Pa., 23 April 1870.
Iroquois recommissioned 23 August 1871 under Comdr.
H. A. Adams. She operated on the East Coast until 18
March 1872. She then sailed for another cruise with the
Asiatic Fleet, making the long voyage via the Mediter-
ranean, the Suez Canal, and the Indian Ocean. The ship
remained off China and Japan until returning to San
Francisco 1 July 1874. She again decommissioned for
repairs 23 July 1874.
Following a long period of inactivity, Iroquois recom-
missioned 12 April 1882, Comdr. J. H. Sands in command.
USS Iroquois, Screw Sloop-of-War served from 1859 to 1910.
460
On Pacific station, she patrolled to South America,
Hawaii, Australia, and Pacific islands protecting Ameri-
can interests and commerce. She took part in naval ac-
tion in Panama in the spring of 1885, helping to land
Marines to protect American commerce during the revolu-
tion. After 10 years of service on the Pacific Station,
Iroquois arrived Mare Island 24 April 1892 and
decommissioned there 12 May 1892.
The ship was transferred to the Marine Hospital Serv-
ice and served until she recommissioned 13 December
1898, Lt. Charles Pond in command. She cruised in the
Pacific for 6 months before decommissioning at Honolulu
30 June 1899. Iroquois was then transferred again to
the Marine Hospital Service. Her name was changed to
Ionie 30 November 1904. Her name w’as struck from
the Navy List 26 August 1910.
II
( AT-46 : dp. 702 ; 1. 152' ; b. 26' ; dr. 13'6'' ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 39; a. 4 3", 1 G.g.)
The second Iroquois (AT-46), a steam tug, was built
as Fearless by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, in 1892 ;
purchased by the Navy from J. D. Spreckles Bros. & Co.
18 April 1898; and commissioned Iroquois 6 July 1898,
Lt. L. H. Turner in command.
Iroquois served as a station tug at Mare Island until
19 January 1899, when she sailed for duty in the Hawaiian
Islands. Upon arriving Honolulu 28 January she acted
as a station tug, mail boat, and even surveying ship
between the main islands and Midway. She returned
to Mare Island 15 February 1910, and for the next 10 years
operated between that base and San Diego as a collier
and supply ship. Iroquois also performed patrol and
salvage duties during this period.
After America’s entry into World War I the tug
steamed to New York early in 1918, and for the next few
months served as a tug and convoy escort along the East
Coast. Following this service, she departed New York
31 June 1919 for Charleston, then left for San Diego
arriving 27 October. She served 13th Naval District
as a harbor craft out of San Diego until decommissioned
7 March 1925. She was sold 15 May 1928 to Benjamin
L. Jones, Bellingham, Wash.
Iroquois, see YP-539
Irwin
Noble Edward Irwin was born 29 September 1869 at
Greenfield, Ohio, graduated from the Naval Academy in
June 1891, and was wounded in action 1 May 1898 while
in command of Manila in the Battle of Manila Bay. He
was awarded the Navy Cross for meritorious service as
Director of Naval Aviation in World War I. Thereafter
he was in command of battleship Oklahoma, and Destroyer
Squadrons of the Scouting Fleet, and was Chief of the
Naval Mission to Brazil (1927-31). Rear Admiral Irwin
became Commandant of the 15th Naval District in March
1931 and was transferred to the Retired List 1 October
1933. He died 10 August 1937 at Warner Springs, Calif.
(DD-794: dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6''; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9''; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 320; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm.; 2 dct., 6
dcp., 10 21'' tt. ; cl. Fletcher )
Irwin was launched 31 October 1943 by the Bethlehem
Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Charles A.
Lockwood, Jr., daughter of Admiral Irwin and wife of
Vice Admiral Lockwood ; and commissioned 14 February
1944, Comdr. Daniel B. Miller in command.
Following shakedown, Irwin departed San Diego 26
April 1944 for Hawaii, thence to Eniwetok to stage for
the invasion of the Marianas. She sailed 11 June in the
screen of escort carriers providing air cover for the in-
vasion of Saipan 15 June 1944. As the Japanese Mobile
Fleet was turned back in defeat from the Marianas 19 to
21 June, Inoin shot down an enemy torpedo bomber while
repelling air attacks on the escort carriers.
Irwin bombarded the enemy on Saipan 21 to 29 June,
guarded escort carriers covering the invasion of Tinian
23 July, then gave bombardment support to troops fighting
on Guam. She next joined the screen of fast attack
carriers hitting hard at enemy base9 in the Palau Islands,
along the coast of Luzon, Okinawa and Formosa. Off
the latter enemy-held shore 14 October 1944, she shot
down a torpedo bomber. She assisted in the escort of the
bomb-damaged cruisers Houston and Canberra to safety,
then again joined the screen of fast attack carriers giving
direct air support to the liberation landings at Leyte, 20
October 1944.
As the Japanese fleet made a three-pronged approach
to the Philippines 24 October 1944, planes from Inoin’ s
carrier task group made destructive bombing runs on the
Japanese Center Force of battleships and cruisers. But
land-based Japanese bombers retaliated with heavy air
strokes, scoring a lucky bomb hit on light carrier Prince-
ton. In a heroic saga that brought Irwin the award of
the Navy Unit Commendation, she braved raging flames,
violent explosions, falling debris, and exploding shells as
she went alongside Princeton. Fighting dense black
smoke in a choppy sea, she rigged hoses and fought fires
in the forward part of Princeton’ s hangar deck. Later,
when an awesome explosion blew off the major portion of
Princeton's stern, Irwin immediately dispatched boats and
her men dived into icy seas to rescue survivors. Though
damaged herself, the destroyer stood at close quarters
until she had rescued 646 men from the sea and from the
decks of Princeton.
Irwin headed for Ulithi with Princeton survivors as
the Japanese Southern Force was largely destroyed In
the Battle of Surigao Straits, their carriers destroyed off
Cape Engano, and their powerful battleship^cruiser-de-
stroyer bombardment force turned back in the Battle of
Samar. From Ulithi she sailed for overhaul in the San
Francisco Navy Yard (17 November 1944-23 January
1945). She then steamed for Hawaii, thence to the
Marshalls and finally to Saipan, arriving 14 February
1945.
Irwin helped screen attack carriers giving direct air
support to the invasion of Iwo Jima, 19-23 February 1945,
then pounded Okinawa. She joined in the preinvasion
bombardment of Okinawa 27-31 March, fighting off re-
peated attacks from planes, torpedo boats, and suicide
craft. On 30 March Inoin repelled three Japanese tor-
pedo boats, sinking one, damaging another, and forcing
the other to flee. As Marines stormed the shores of
Okinawa 1 April 1945, she shot down a twin-engined
bomber and rescued one enemy survivor from this victim.
For 2 months, Irwin bombarded enemy artillery positions,
machine gun emplacements, troop concentrations, caves
and suicide boat hiding places. She shot down a suicide
torpedo bomber 12 April 1945, and scored another kill the
16th as she covered the landings on Ie Shima. Another
enemy suicide plane was shot down 21 May. Irwin
figured in another mercy mission the night of 16 June
1945 when she assisted in the rescue of survivors from
destroyer Twiggs, sunk by combined air, torpedo, and
suicide attacks.
Inoin remained off Okinawa until hostilities ceased
with Japan 15 August 1945. She entered Tokyo Bay 31
August and escorted occupation troops between Okinawa
and Japan until 26 October when she stood out of
Yokosuka for return to San Diego, arriving 15 November
1945. Following inactivation overhaul, she decommis-
sioned there 31 May 1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve
Fleet.
Irwin recommissioned 26 February 1951 at Long Beach,
Calif. She sailed 12 May for overhaul in the Philadelphia
Navy Yard, then shifted to base at Newport, R.I., 16
December 1952. She bolstered 6th Fleet strength and
readiness in the Mediterranean, January to June 1952,
trained along the eastern seaboard, then sailed from Fall
River, Mass., 1 April 1953.
461
Steaming through the Panama Canal, Irwin called at
San Diego and Hawaii en route to join the 7tli Fleet in
waters off embattled Korea. She guarded the fast at-
tack carriers as they blasted communist targets far in-
land, and herself joined in the destruction of enemy
coastal supply routes and depots by making repeated
coastal gunstrikes in support of United Nations troops
ashore. Following the uneasy truce, she transited the
Suez Canal and called at Mediterranean ports en route
to Boston, arriving 2 October 1953.
Irwin engaged in coastwise operations out of Newport
until 5 January 1955 when she sailed for NATO maneu-
vers in the North Atlantic, thence into the Mediterranean.
She returned to Newport 26 May 1955, engaging in Atlantic
seaboard operations until departure 29 March 1956 to
base at Long Beach, Calif.
Irwin arrived in Long Beach 15 April but soon deployed
to spend the summer with the roving 7th Fleet in waters
ranging from Japan to Okinawa, the Philippines and
Taiwan. She returned to Long Beach 11 August for
tactics ranging as far west as Hawaii, again sailing 12
March 1957 to join the 7th Fleet in the Far East. Fol-
lowing patrol of the Taiwan straits, combined fleet
maneuvers with SEATO nations, and goodwill visits to
ports of the Philippines and Japan, she returned to Long
Beach 24 August 1957 for inactivation. She decommis-
sioned 10 January 1958 and remains in the Pacific Reserve
Fleet berthed at Mare Island, Calif.
Irwin received the Navy Unit Commendation and six
battle stars for service in World War II and one battle
star for Korean service.
Isaac N. Seymour
A former name retained.
(SwStr : t. 133; 1. 100'; b. 19'8" ; dr. 6'0” ; s. 11 k. ; cpl.
30; a. 1 30-pdr. P.r., 1 20-pdr. P.r.)
Isaac N. Seymour (also called Seymour, I. N. Seymour,
and J. N. Seymour ) was built at Keyport, N.J., in 1860
and was purchased by the Navy at New York from Mr.
Schultz 26 October 1861. She was assigned to the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron 20 November and 3 days
later was stationed in Hampton Roads. While there she
joined three other ships in engaging Confederate steamer
Patrick Henry and drove her back up stream.
A month later Flag Officer Goldsborough ordered Isaac
N. Seymour to Hatteras Inlet for impending operations
in the sounds of North Carolina. She participated in the
combined operations which took Roanoke Island 8 Febru-
ary, and at the end of the action she was commended for
being “conspicuously in the foreground throughout the
bombardment.” One of her powdermen was killed and
her chief engineer was seriously wounded in the fight.
The next day Isaac N. Seymour steamed up Piankatank
River to Elizabeth City, N.C., with Comdr. Rowan’s
expedition to destroy enemy gunboats and to break up
communications between Albemarle Sound and Norfolk,
Ya. She continued mop-up operations in the sounds until
she struck an abandoned anchor in Hatteras Inlet 20
February and sank before she could be run aground.
She was raised, repaired, and returned to service in
May. She resumed her former duty and continued to
give a good account of herself in the sounds until 24 Au-
gust when she struck a bank and sank in the Neuse River
some 3 miles above New Bern while steaming upstream to
cover a landing of troops. A month later she was re-
ported raised and on the ways being readied for service.
Back in fighting trim 23 October, she was ordered to tow
schooner Minnehaha to Plymouth, N.C., to deliver provi-
sions. Five days later she made the return passage tow-
ing damaged steamer Whitehead to New Bern for repairs.
Similar duty maintaining communications and lines of
supply between Navy units in the sounds continued until
12 December when Isaac N. Seymour ascended the Neuse
River with four other ships to support an Army expedi-
tion to destroy railroad bridges and track near Golds-
boro, N.C., but the mission was aborted by low water
which prevented their advancing more than 15 miles be-
yond New Bern.
Confederate troops attacked the Union garrison at
Washington, N.C., 31 March 1863 establishing a siege
which threatened to starve the Northern troops into sur-
render. Isaac N. Seymour departed Plymouth 2 April to
play an active role in the naval operations which, despite
well-served batteries ashore, brought the beleaguered sol-
diers food and ammunition. The Southern troops were
finally forced to lift the blockade 16 April. Once again
the daring and versatility of the Navy had been decisive
in holding a hard-pressed position for the North.
Isaac N. Seymour was a part of the task force which
started up the James River 11 July to demonstrate against
Richmond. The high point of the expedition came 14
July when Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, flying his flag in Isaac
N. Seymour, occupied Fort Powhatan, the last Confederate
defense on the river below Chaffin’s and Drewry’s Bluff.
Isaac N. Seymour continued to serve in the North At-
lantic Blockading Squadron — maintaining Union control
of North Carolina’s inland waters and supporting Army
operations from the James and York Rivers as General
Grant supplied and supported by water, relentlessly
pressed toward Richmond and victory.
Isaac N. Seymour was detached in March 1865 and de-
commissioned at Washington 16 May. She was trans-
ferred to the Light House Board 20 June which she served
as Tulip until sold and redocumented Magnolia 7 June
1882. Magnolia was sold to a foreign owner in 1888.
Isaac Smith
( ScStr : t. 453; 1. 171'6" ; b. 31'4" ; dph. 9' ; cpl. 56; a. 1
30-pdr. P.r., 8 8-inch D.sb.)
Isaac Smith, built in 1851 at N.vaek, N.J., as Isaac P.
Smith, was purchased at New York from E. J. Hamilton
9 September 1861. On 16 October she was assigned to the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in time to join Flag
Officer S. F. Du Pont’s assault against Port Royal, S.C.
An intense hurricane occurred during the voyage south
compelling the ship to jettison her guns. Nevertheless,
she gallantly ignored her own distress and attempted to
assist Marine Corps transport, Governor, which foun-
dered off Cape Hatteras.
During a reconnaissance in force on 4 and 5 November,
she engaged and repelled three attacking Confederate
steamers and silenced batteries at Hilton Head and Bay
Point, S.C. Two days later she towed sailing sloop Van-
dalia into action during the landings which wrested Port
Royal from Confederate hands providing the Union a
splendid base for the fleet and combined operations that
steadily destroyed the Confederacy.
Isaao Smith participated in operations against the
coast of South Carolina until 21 January 1862 when she
sailed to join the expedition to Savannah, Ga., led by
Captain C. H. Davis, USN, and Brig. Gen. H. G. Wright of
the Army. This operation was primarily a diversionary
effort to cover up a projected attack on Femandina, Fla. ;
but it also provided valuable information about Confed-
erate defenses of the water approaches to Savannah, and
it interrupted communications between Fort Pulaski and
Savannah.
During the latter half of March and all of April, Isaac
Smith was active in the vicinity of St. Augustine, Fla.
She took possession of the post office there 18 March and
two days later mounted a gun upon the ramparts of Fort
Marion in a position to command the main road to the
city. Her boats captured blockade runner British Empire
3 April.
Isaac Smith stood out of St. Augustine and entered St.
John’s River 4 May to begin a period of 3 months’ serv-
ice in the vicinity of Jacksonville, Fla. Her presence
there helped tighten the blockade, provided sanctuary for
refugees, drew Southern troops away from more active
fronts, and facilitated Union intelligence activity.
462
In need of repair, Isaac Smith sailed for New York 10
August for “beaching, breeming, and improvements”
which kept her away from her squadron until 11 October.
Then Rear Admiral Du Pont ordered her to the Stono
River where she served until 30 January 1863. That day
she was caught in a cross fire from masked shore bat-
teries. Disabled by accurate fire and with her deck cov-
ered with wounded men, her captain surrendered the ship
rather than risk their lives. Eight men were dead and
17 were wounded.
Isaac Smith served the Confederate Navy in Charleston
waters under the name Stono until she was wrecked on
the breakwater near Fort Moultrie, S.C., while attempting
to run the blockade with a load of cotton 5 June 1863.
( q.v . “Confederate Appendix”, DANFS II, 569.) No data
on salvage operations for Stono has been found, but the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in
the War of the Rebellion state that she was “burned by
the Confederates at the evacuation of Charleston in 1865.”
Isabel
A former name retained.
( PY-10 ; t. 710; 1. 245'3" ; b. 27'9" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 26 k.; a.
4 3”)
Isabel, a yacht, built in 1917 by Bath Iron Works, Bath
Maine, was acquired before completion by the Navy from
her owner, automobile manufacturer John North Willys
of Toledo, Ohio ; converted to Navy use as a destroyer; and
commissioned 28 December 1917, Lt. Comdr. Harry E.
Shoemaker in command.
Isabel sailed 28 January 1918 for France via Bermuda
and the Azores. While performing coastal convoy duty,
she fought German submarines on four occasions. On 18
March she joined Reid in an attack on a submarine, and
the two ships were credited with sinking her. How-
ever, evidence later gathered indicated that the submarine
probably escaped.
Lt. Comdr. Harry E. Shoemaker received the Navy
Cross “for distinguished service ... as commanding of-
ficer of . . . Isabel, engaged in the important, exacting
and hazardous duty of transporting and escorting troops
and supplies through waters infested with enemy sub-
marines and mines.” He was relieved by Lt. Lewis W.
Comstock 24 July.
Isabel continued protecting convoys carrying troops and
supplies to France until the end of the war. Arriving Bos-
ton 2 January 1919, Isabel was assigned to recruiting duty
for the Navy, sailing up the Mississippi River 14 May
1919 and stopping at various cities along the way to St.
Louis. Returning to New Orleans 20 August, she was
soon underway for Rockaway Beach, Long Island, for
duty as a tender for the famous flying boats of the NC-4
Flotilla. Reporting 18 September, she cruised the Atlan-
tic Coast with the aircraft from Maine to Florida before
returning to Rockaway Beach 4 January 1920. Isabel
decommissioned at Philadelphia 30 April 1920.
Recommissioning at Philadelphia 18 July 1921, Isabel
sailed for the Far East 21 August 1921 to join the famous
Yangtze Patrol. Transiting the Panama Canal she ar-
rived Hong Kong 7 November. During the tumultous
years that followed in China, Isabel served as a member
of the patrol and as its flagship, charged with protecting
American commerce from pirates and American nationals
from the dangers of constant civil war. Based at Shang-
hai, Isabel spent the low water period on the river at
Hankow, returning to the coast in the summer. She and
the other small gunboats of the Navy in China performed
the arduous task of protecting American interests during
numerous incidents and threats to American nationals.
On many occasions the ship came under fire, as in October
1926 when she was caught between the rifle fire of oppos-
ing Chinese armies on the Yangtze. Isabel also took part
in the Nanking affair, when shelling and threats of force
procured the release of a large group of American and
British prisoners held by the nationalists in the city. She
patrolled the 1,700 miles of dangerous river until 1928,
when she joined the Asiatic Fleet.
Isabel spent the 1930’s with the Asiatic Fleet in the
Philippines and China, much of the time as flagship at
Manila. In December 1941, as the threat of war grew ever
larger, the small ship was readied for action and sent out
on orders from President Roosevelt to make a reconnais-
sance of the coast of Indo China. She was ordered to re-
turn to Manila 5 December, and was nearing that port
when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor two days later.
Admiral Hart sent this ominous message early on 8
December to the far-flung units of the Asiatic Fleet:
“Japan started hostilities. Govern yourselves accord-
ingly.” Japanese planes raided Clark Field that day and
Manila 10 December. At Cavite Navy Yard eight bombs,
all duds, ringed Isabel’s fantail ; she brought down one
of the attackers.
For the next month Isabel operated as an antisubma-
rine escort for convoys in the East Indies, as the Allies
tried desperately to stem the tide of Japanese conquest.
She underwent air raids at Batavia, Palembang, and
Tjilatap, escaping from several ports only days ahead of
the invasion forces. On the way back from convoy as-
signment 7 February 1942, Isabel was sent to rescue sur-
vivors from Dutch merchantman Van Cloon near Sura-
baya. As she picked up survivors from the torpedoed
vessel, the enemy submarine surfaced nearby. Isabel
quickly drove the sub down with gunfire, and assisted a
patrolling Catalina in dropping depth charges to drive
it from the area.
The Battle of the Java Sea in late February saw out-
numbered Allied naval units fail in their gallant actions
to stop the invasion of Java which resulted in Japanese
control of the Malay barrier.
Isabel arrived in Austrialia 7 March 1942 after seeing
Asheville sunk in numerous air raids south of Java.
Based at Fremantle, she took up new duties as escort and
training ship for the submarines which now made that
Australian port their base. She helped keep allied sub-
marines in top tactical shape, and thus contributed to the
mighty toll taken by them on Japanese shipping and war-
ships. Isabel remained on this duty until 27 August 1945,
when she sailed eastward, stopping at various Pacific is-
lands and arriving San Francisco 26 October 1945. The
gallant ship, her long career in two wars ended, decom-
missioned 11 February 1946 and was sold for scrapping
25 March 1946.
Isabel received one battle star for World War II service.
Isabela
Merchant name retained.
(Str. dp. 7,050 (n.) ; 1. 347'8" ; b. 46'9" ; dr. 20'6" ; s. 10
k. ; cpl. 62 ; s. 1 5", 1 3”)
Isabela was a freighter launched in 1911 by Newport
News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va. ;
transferred to the Navy from USSB 9 April 1918; and
commissioned 12 April 1918, Lt. Comdr. A. H. Strumm,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Isabela loaded cargo at New York
and Halifax and sailed for France 27 April 1918. She
arrived at Brest 13 May with supplies which were vitally
needed for the final Allied offensive. Isabela made a
total of three voyages to France prior to the signing of
the Armistice 11 November 1918.
After an overhaul at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Isabela
departed for her final cruise to Europe 23 November. She
arrived at LeHavre, France 8 December, and visited
Plymouth, England, in early January 1919. Upon her
return passage from Plymouth, which began 7 January,
she picked up a crew from an unseaworthy schooner and
transported them to safety. Isabela arrived Baltimore
27 January, decommissioned 14 February 1919, and was
returned to USSB for return to her owner the New York
and Porto Rico S.S. Co.
463
USS Isabel (PY-10) , Flagship of the Yangtze River Patrol, China, in 1921
Isanti
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 12,000; 1. 423' 9" ; b. 54'; dr. 24'2" ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 70)
Isanti (No. 3423) was launched by Western Pipe & Steel
Co., San Francisco, Calif., 2 June 1918. She was trans-
ferred to the Navy from New York & Puerto Rico S.S. Co.,
and commissioned 30 September 1918 at San Francisco,
Lt. Comdr. J. K. Koughan, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Isanti immediately began loading
cargo for transport to Europe. She departed San Pedro
10 October and arrived New York via Panama Canal 3
November. After loading more supplies, she sailed for
France 22 November, arriving Cherbourg early in Decem-
ber to discharge the vital cargo. Her supply activity took
her to various French ports. She returned to the United
States 15 February 1919 and decommissioned 24 February.
Isanti was transferred to USSB the same day for return
to her owner. She operated under USSB until abandoned
in 1930.
Isbell, Arnold J., see Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869)
Isherwood
Benjamin F. Isherwood was bom in New York City
6 October 1822, and was appointed First Assistant Engi-
neer in the Navy 23 May 1844. During the Mexican War,
he served in Princeton and later was senior engineer of
Spitfire. While on a cruise of more than 3 years on the
Asiatic Station, Isherwood served as Chief Engineer of the
steam frigate San Jacinto. Shortly after the outbreak of
the Civil War, he was appointed Engineer-in-Chief of the
Navy, and so important were his services considered that
the Bureau of Steam Engineering was created under his
direction. He was a pioneer in the production of fast
cruisers, producing this class against strong opposition.
Following a tour of European dockyards, he became presi-
dent of the Experimental Board under the Bureau of
Steam Engineering until his retirement 6 October 1884.
He died in New York City 19 June 1915.
I
( DD-284 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 120 ; a. 4 4", 2 3", 12 21" tt., cl. Clemson)
Isherwood (DD-284) was launched 10 September 1919
by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Squantum, Mass. ;
sponsored by Mrs. R. C. Walling; and commissioned 4
December 1919 at the Boston Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr.
W. D. Brereton in command.
As a unit of the 43d Division, 1st Squadron, Destroyer
Force, Atlantic Fleet, Isherwood conducted shakedown
out of Boston until 26 January 1920 when she sailed for
Cuba via Newport. Arriving Guantanamo Bay 3 Febru-
ary she remained there engaging in target practice and
drills until departing 26 April, escorting Pennsylvania to
receive the Secretary of the Navy at Lynnhaven Roads,
Va. Following this assignment, Isherwood proceeded to
Mexico for patrol duty on the Mexican coast until 21 June
when she arrived Boston for repairs. She sailed 21 Oc-
tober for Charleston to join the Destroyers in Reserve.
Isherwood stayed in reserve status until 10 May 1921
when, with 50 percent complement, she sailed to the
Boston Navy Yard, where she joined the Destroyer Force.
Operating with reduced complement, she transported
Naval Reservists between Boston and Newport and en-
gaged in target practice until 4 August. Following re-
pairs at the Boston Navy Yard (13 March-8 May 1922),
Isherwood joined Destroyer Squadron 9 at Philadelphia
and proceeded to Yorktown, Va., for exercises with the
Fleet. She maneuvered in the area until 3 January 1923
when she rendezvoused with the Scouting Fleet Destroyers
for training in the Caribbean ; at Beaufort, N.C. ; and at
Baltimore, Md. She continued her readiness operations in
the Caribbean until 28 March 1925.
464
On 7 May 1925, Isherwood arrived Boston for a Naval
Reserve cruise from Maine to the District of Columbia.
She rejoined her squadron at Newport 31 August, and
arrived Guantanamo 24 September for maneuvers in the
Caribbean. Having completed exercises with the Fleet,
Ishenvood arrived Portsmouth, Va., 13 April, and de-
parted 12 June for France via Newport and the Azores.
Islierwood arrived St. Nazaire 29 June ; she then con-
ducted a good will cruise to various British and Mediter-
ranean ports.
After her arrival in Boston 15 July 1927, Ishencood
resumed her schedule of reservist training cruises and
fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean until June 1929.
From Jacksonville, Fla., she received Naval Reservists
for a summer cruise (Maine to Massachusetts) 29 June,
and following their disembarkation 20 July, she under-
went repairs at Newport and overhaul at Norfolk.
Kalmia towed her from Norfolk to the Philadelphia Navy
Yard 26 August, and she decommissioned there 1 May
1930. She was sold 17 January 1931, and scrapped in
1934 by her purchasers.
II
(DD-520 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37
k. ; cpl. 273 ; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
The second Isherwood (DD-520) was launched by Beth-
lehem Shipbuilding Co., Staten Island, N.Y., 24 November
1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Kerwin, granddaughter of
Rear Admiral Isherwood; and commissioned 12 April
1943 at New York Navy Yard, Comdr. R. E. Gadrow in
command.
The new destroyer conducted her shakedown training in
Casco Bay, Maine, and off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
through April and May. During the next 2 months she
operated with a patrol and escort group out of Argentia,
Newfoundland, and on 5 August 1913 departed for England
with troop ship Queen Mary. Isherwood arrived Scapa
Flow 19 August to carry out combined operations with the
British Home Fleet, including a search toward Spitz-
bergen for German battleship Tirpitz. Sailing 14 Septem-
ber, the destroyer returned to Boston with a convoy 29
September 1943.
Isherwood was subsequently reassigned to the Pacific,
sailing from Boston 14 November for San Francisco.
From there she steamed to Pearl Harbor and sailed 11
December to join Task Force 94 in the Aleutians. For the
next eight months, Isherwood carried out antisubmarine
sweeps of the cold Alaskan waters. In June she took part
in bombardments of the Kurile Islands, finally arriving
San Francisco for repairs 15 August 1944.
Isherwood sailed for Pearl Harbor 26 August 1944 to
take part in the long-awaited invasion of the Philippines,
scheduled for October. She arrived Manus 4 October and
steamed into Leyte Gulf with the assault force 20 October,
carrying out escort and patrol duties during the first days
of the operation. She also provided gunfire support and
night illumination fire. Isherwood remained in the as-
sault area during the giant four-part Battle for Leyte Gulf
23-26 October, in which the Japanese surface fleet was all
but annihilated. During November the ship escorted con-
voys from advance bases to the Philippines in support of
the buildup there.
The next major invasion of the Philippines campaign
was to be at Lingayen Gulf. Isherwood joined Vice Ad-
miral Wilkinson’s Lingayen Attack Force at Manus, sail-
ing 27 December. During the voyage through the islands
from Leyte to Lingayen, the transport groups and carrier
task groups were attacked incessantly by kamikazes, but
even these desperate attacks could not stop the invasion.
Isherwood shot down at least one suicide plane and as-
sisted in splashing others before arriving the assault area
9 January 1945. She screened a landing craft group dur-
ing the landing, sailing for Leyte with a returning group
11 January. During the last days of the month, specifi-
cally 29 and 30 January, the ship returned to Luzon to
support the unopposed landings at San Antonio and Subic
Bay, as ground units moved on Manila. Isherwood re-
mained in the Philippines providing antisubmarine pro-
tection and patrolling until mid-March.
The veteran ship sailed for the Okinawa operation 21
March 1945; and, after her arrival 5 days later, took part
in the landings on Kerama Retto preparatory to the main
Okinawa assault. Troops from the main task force
stormed ashore 1 April in the biggest amphibious opera-
tion of the Pacific war, and 2 days later Isherwood moved
to a position off the beaches for fire support missions.
This continued until 16 April, when the ship was sent
to aid stricken destroyers Pringle and Laffey off Ie Shima.
That afternoon she took over Laffey’ s duties as fighter
director ship on picket station.
The days that followed found Isherwood in numerous
heavy air raids, as the Japanese made a desperate attempt
to dTive off the invasion fleet with suicide planes. While
on station 22 April a kamikaze made a dusk attack on the
destroyer and crashed No. 3 gun mount. Many fires
were started, but all were quickly extinguished except
the one in the depth charge rack aft. After 25 minutes
of dangerous fire-fighting, the charge exploded, causing
great damage in the after engine room. The gallant ship
arrived Kerama Retto with over 80 men killed, wounded,
or missing.
Isherwood arrived Ulithi for repairs 9 May 1945 and
steamed into San Francisco Bay 3 June. She finished
her overhaul just as the Pacific war ended ; and, after
training exercises, sailed 3 October for New York. After
taking part in the Navy Day Presidential Review, the
ship steamed to Charleston, where she decommissioned
1 February 1946 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet.
Isherwood recommissioned at Charleston 5 April 1951,
and after shakedown and training in the Caribbean
steamed into Newport, her new home port, 6 August.
Plane guard duty off Jacksonville and operations in Nar-
ragansett Bay occupied her through the end of 1951. She
then sailed for a cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediter-
ranean, departing 22 April 1952, and, for the next 6
months, visited various ports supporting the important
peace-keeping operations of the fleet. She returned to
her home port 17 October 1952.
Isherwood made another 6th Fleet cruise 22 April-26
October 1953, after which she took part in maneuvers
and plane guard duty off the East Coast. In June 1954
the ship underwent Tefresher training out of Guantanamo
Bay, and sailed from Newport 30 November 1954 to join
the Pacific Fleet.
The veteran ship arrived San Diego via the Panama
Canal 15 December 1954, and got underway for the Far
East 4 January 1955. During this cruise she operated
mainly in the Philippines, with a period on Taiwan Patrol
in April and May 1955. Her part in these important 7th
Fleet operations ended in June and she arrived San Diego
the 19th for additional training and readiness steaming.
1956, however, brought Isherwood back to these troubled
waters, as she spent the period January-July on
operations off Taiwan, Malaya, and Japan.
The destroyer returned to the Far East in 1957 and
again in 1958. During the latter cruise she steamed off
Taiwan during the tense Quemoy-Matsu crisis, when
American forces afloat helped prevent a flareup between
Nationalist and Communist Chinese. The ship returned
to her home port 7 December 1958, and spent the first 6
months of 1959 on maneuvers and training exercises.
Isherwood then sailed for her fifth 7th Fleet cruise 1
August 1959. During the next months she operated with
carrier Lexington in the South China Sea, helping to
limit the fighting in Laos and lending strength to United
Nations efforts to find a solution. After additional flight
operations and fleet exercises, the ship sailed for San
Diego 29 November 1959.
In 1960 Isherwood took part in training operations,
including a summer NROTC midshipmen training cruise,
until sailing again for 7th Fleet duty 18 October. She
served on Taiwan Patrol and took part in an amphibious
465
exercise on Okinawa before arriving San Diego 27 March
1961.
Isherwood engaged in training off California until de-
commissioning 11 September 1961. She was loaned to
Peru 8 October 1961, where she serves the Peruvian Navy
as Guise (DD-72).
Isherwood received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Isilda
(Sch: dr. 8' ; a. 1 24-pdr.)
Isilda, sometimes spelled Ezilda, was a Confederate
blockade running schooner, claiming to be English, which
sailed from Havana 26 September 1861, cleared for Mata-
moros, Mexico. She was captured and claimed as a prize
by South Carolina 4 or 5 miles off Timbalier Light, La.,
30 September. Isilda was fitted out*as a tender and
joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron to be assigned to
South Carolina 1 November. For a short time she was on
duty off the Mississippi Delta, but her most distinguished
service was performed off the west coast of Florida.
Isilda fired a shot across the bow of an unidentified
ship standing in for shore off Cedar Keys, Fla., 24 April
1862. When the vessel refused to heave to, Isilda gave
chase until the runner slipped into shoal water and ran
hard aground. Two days later as an armed launch from
Isilda was pulling toward the schooner, a column of black
smoke rose from the stern of the blockade runner and
she blew up with a loud report. The plucky little tender
scored again 10 June when she surprised steamer Havana
in Deadman’s Bay, Fla., and forced her crew to put her
to the torch to prevent capture. On 24 March 1863, with
Wanderer, she chased Ranger, enabling Ft. Henry to take
the sloop off Crystal River, Fla., with her cargo — so badly
needed by the South — of salt, dry-goods, and gunpowder.
This steady toll taken on Confederate shipping by Isilda
and her fellow blockaders slowly but surely strangled
the Southern economy and sapped the Confederacy’s
ability to wage war.
But her faithful service in the blockade was costly
to the diligent little ship. In April 1863, after partici-
pating in an expedition which scoured the west coast of
Florida from the mouth of the Suwanee River to the
Anclote Keys, Isilda showed signs of serious wear and
tear. She remained on station off Cedar Keys until 11
June when she finally sailed to Key West for repairs.
There, when a survey found her too badly battered for
economical repair, she was condemned, stripped, and sold
at public auction.
Isis
A former name retained. Isis was an Egyptian god-
dess who originated the arts and agriculture and sym-
bolized fertility.
(ScStr : dp. 555; 1. 199'; b. 24'9" ; dr. 11'8" ; s. 15 k. ; cpl.
71)
Isis, a coastal survey ship, was launched 1902 at New-
burgh, taken over by the Navy 24 September 1917 from
the Coast and Geodetic Survey ; commissioned 4 October
1917, Lt. Gilbert T. Rude in command.
After a minor overhaul, Isis commenced duty as flagship
for Commander of Squadron 2 Cruiser Force, 13 November
1917, at Staten Island, N.Y. She served in that capacity
until 14 June 1918, and remained in the New York area
until December when she arrived at Norfolk. Following
operations at Norfolk, she decommissioned there 30 April
1919 and was returned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Isla de Cuba
Former name retained.
(Gbt : dp. 950 ; 1. 197' ; b. 30' ; dr. 10'7'' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl. 137 ;
a. 4 4'', 3tt.)
Isla de Cuba was built in 1886 for the Spanish Navy
by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne, England ;
captured in the Philippines by the U.S. Navy in 1898 dur-
ing the Spanish War; and commissioned 11 April 1900
at Hong Kong, China, Lt. J. N. Jordan in command.
Following extensive repairs and shakedown out of Hong
Kong, Isla de Cuba was assigned to the Asiatic Station
where she served in several capacities during the revolu-
tionary unrest in the Philippines following the war. As
a supply ship and patrol boat she cruised the Philippine
Islands. At Ormoc, Leyte, 17 November to 8 December
1900, she sent a battalion asbore to hold the town while
the army garrison leader was away on an expedition
against the insurgents. In 1901 she made a survey of
Ormoc anchorage and Parasan Harbor; and in March
and April as a unit of the Southern Squadron, she ren-
dered distinguished service in cutting off the enemy’s
supplies in Samar; in helping to capture Lukban, the
insurgent leader in Samar ; in contributing to the general
defeat of the insurgents ; and in maintaining the close
blockade of the island — all of which contributed to the
final declaration of an armistice.
Isla de Cuba ended her service with the Asiatic Station
when she departed Cebu for the United States on 4 March
1904. Decommissioning 9 June at Portsmouth, N.H., she
remained there undergoing repairs until 21 March 1907
when she was loaned to the Naval Militia of Maryland for
use as a school ship. She was sold at Charleston, S.C., to
the Republic of Venezuela 2 April 1912. Renamed Mari-
seal Sucre, she served Venezuela until she was scrapped
in 1940.
Isla de Luzon
Former name retained.
(Gbt: dp. 1,020; 1. 195'; b. 30'; dr. H'43,4" ; cpl. 137; a.
4 4", 3 tt.)
Isla de Luzon was launched in 1887 by Sir W. G. Arm-
strong, Neweastle-on-Tyne, England, for the Spanish Navy.
A captured prize of the Spanish-American War she com-
missioned in the United States Navy 31 January 1900,
Comdr. J. V. B. Bleecker in command.
Operating out of Zamboanga, Philippine Islands, Isla de
Luzon supported naval and land operations against Philip-
pine insurgents. She was a unit of the Southern Squad-
ron that cut off the enemy supplies on Samar ; assisted in
the capture of Lukban, the insurgent leader in Samar,
and the close blockade of the island, all of which contrib-
uted to final declaration of Armistice.
Isla de Luzon was detached from the Asiatic Station
15 August 1902 when she departed Cavite for home. Fol-
lowing long custom, when she visited Muscat’s picturesque
harbor, members of her crew painted “Isla de Luzon” on
the steep entrance cliff. In recent years this has been
periodically refurbished by visiting ships of the U.S. Mid-
dle East Force Command. After transiting the Suez
Canal and touching ports of the Mediterranean, she re-
turned to Pensacola, Fla., 16 March 1903. She was at-
tached to the Pensacola Navy Yard until 6 December
when she was assigned duty with the Louisiana Navy
Militia, and, subsequently, with the Illinois Naval Militia
on the Great Lakes.
At the beginning of World War I, Isla de Luzon was
stationed at Chicago, as a training ship on the Great
Lakes. She remained until 30 September 1918 when she
arrived at Narragansett Bay for assignment to the Naval
Torpedo Station for duty with the Seamen Gunner’s
Class. Following the installation of torpedo tubes, she
was on range in the Bay from 13 November 1918 until
13 December 1918.
Isla de Luzon decommissioned 15 February 1919 and
was designated as yard craft of the Naval Torpedo Sta-
tion, Newport, R.I., until her name was struck from the
Navy List 23 July 1919. She was sold 10 March 1920 to
the Bahama & West Indies Trading Co., New York, N.Y.,
and renamed Reviver.
466
USS Isla de Cuba, Gunboat from 1900 to 1912
Island Belle
(SwStr : t. 123; 1. 100' ; b. 20'4" ; dph. 6'7" ; a. 1 32-pdr.,
1 12-pdr. rifle)
Island Belle was purchased at New York from Luther
Adams 4 September 1861. She fitted out at Washington
Navy Yard and sailed 17 September to join the Potomac
Flotilla. She served in the Potomac as a tug and a dis-
patch boat occasionally exchanging fire with batteries and
riflemen on the Virginia shore. She sailed to Hampton
Roads, Va., 19 March 1862 escorting transports carrying
troops to Fort Monroe in preparation for the Peninsular
campaign against Richmond. She returned to Washing-
ton as soon as the soldiers were disembarked and again
got underway for Hampton Roads escorting a second divi-
sion of transports 23 March.
Island Belle devoted most of April and May to recon-
naissance work, searching the Virginia rivers between
Washington and Richmond for information valuable to
either the Army or the Navy.
Island Belle was transferred to the North Atlantic
Blockading Squadron 22 May. Two days later Flag Offi-
cer Goldborough assigned her to duty in the James River
where the Navy was valiantly supporting the left flank
of General McClellan’s mighty force as it advanced up the
peninsula toward Richmond. She steamed up the James
25 May, carefully observing the river banks to detect any
signs of Confederate military activity. When she joined
Commander William Smith, the senior Naval officer on the
James, he used Island Belle in a wide variety of ways.
He sent her on reconnaissance missions to learn about
enemy defenses in the Chickahominy River and other
tributaries of the James ; he entrusted her with his mes-
sages to General McClellan and to the other ships of his
command ; he used her to carry coal to the hungry fur-
naces of his steamships ; and he kept her on call to help
refloat ships which often ran aground in the tricky and
everchanging currents of the river.
On 26 June Island Belle steamed up the shallow Ap-
pomattox River in an attempt to destroy the railroad
bridge at Petersburg. The next day she ran hard
aground. After strenuous efforts failed to refloat her,
Island Belle was burned 28 June 1862 to prevent her
falling into Confederate hands.
Islander, see YP-827
Isle of Surry
A former name retained.
( SP-1860 : t. 38 ; 1. 60' ; b. 17'6" ; dr. 6' ; s. 10 k. )
Isle of Surry (SP-1860), a wooden freight boat, was
built in 1911 at Crittenden, Va. ; acquired by the Navy 18
September 1917 from C. W. Warren of Smithfield, Va.
Her first commanding officer was Boatswrain Hoffman.
Isle of Surry was ideally suited for small freight serv-
ice in the Hampton Roads area, and carried out this
service all during her career. In addition to carrying
supplies to varied activities around Norfolk, the motor
boat operated on the upper Chesapeake Bay as far north
as Baltimore. She decommissioned 31 January 1919 at
Norfolk and was returned to her owner.
467
Isle Royale
A National Park in Michigan.
(AD-29: dp. 8,165 it.; 1. 492'; b. 69'6" ; dr. 27'3" ; s. 19
k. ; cpl. 977 ; a. 1 5", 4 3" ; cl. Shenandoah)
Isle Royale (AD-29) was launched by Todd Pacific
Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash., 19 September 1945; spon-
sored by Mrs. Greer A. Duncan ; and delivered to the Navy
2 July 1946 for layup in the San Diego Reserve Fleet.
During her period of inactivation, Isle Royale served as
headquarters ship for the San Diego Subgroup, Pacific
Reserve Fleet. She was designated to replace Hamul in
the active fleet, and commissioned at Long Beach 9 June
1962, taking Hamul' s officers and men as that ship de-
commissioned. After shakedown Isle Royale moved to
Long Beach to begin her services to Pacific Fleet destroy-
ers, supplying them with parts and vital repair facilities.
The tender sailed for Pearl Harbor 8 February 1963 and
for the next seven months served the destroyers roaming
the Pacific on their vital peace-keeping mission. She re-
turned to Long Beach from this deployment 11 September
1963, and conducted training operations in California
waters until June 1964. The ship then got underway
again for Pearl Harbor, where she operated until 30
October. She returned to Long Beach 5 November where
she operated until departing 3 August 1965 for a scheduled
6-month mid-Pacific cruise. However, upon arriving
Pearl Harbor, she received orders to proceed on to the
Philippines where she tended ships of the 7th Fleet
fighting in Vietnam.
Isle Royale returned to Long Beach 5 March 1966 and
operated along the West Coast until sailing again for the
Far East 16 September. She remained in the Orient
operating primarily out of Subic Bay tending the de-
stroyers of the 7th Fleet until her return to Long Beach
12 April 1967. Thereafter Isle Royale operated in waters
off southern California preparing for future action.
Isom, William, see William Isom
Isonomia
( SwStr : t. 593 ; 1. 212' ; b. 30' ; dph. 9' ; s. 12 k. ; a. 1 3-pdr.
P.r., 2 24-pdr. how.)
Isonomia, formerly Shamrock, was purchased at New
York from Charles S. Leary 16 July 1864. She commis-
sioned at New York Navy Yard 16 August, Lt. Comdr. E.
Simpson in command. Isonomia sailed for Beaufort, N.C.,
19 August and arrived there 23 August to join the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She served off New Inlet,
N.C., until ordered to Key West 18 September with special
instructions to cruise in the vicinity of Nassau and the
Bahama Banks. But at Key West she was found unready
for sea service and stationed at West Pass, Fla., where she
operated until 15 November when she returned to Key
West to prepare for cruising in Bahama waters. At the
end of January 1865 Isonomia was returned to coastal
blockade duty off western Florida and continued this duty
until the end of the war. She captured British bark
George Doutliwaite attempting to slip into the Warrior
River with a cargo of sugar, rum, wool, ginger, and ma-
hogany from Jamaica. Towing Somerset, she sailed for
New York 9 June 1865 where she decommissioned 28 June
1865 and was sold at public auction to Tabor & Co., 12
July 1865.
Israel
Joseph Israel entered the Navy as Midshipman 15 Janu-
ary 1801. He served in Maryland during the quasi-war
with France and in Chesapeake, New York, and Constitu-
tion during operation in the Mediterranean against the
Barbari pirates. Midshipman Israel was killed 4 Sep-
tember 1804 when ketch Intrepid exploded in the harbor
of Tripoli during the valiant night effort to destroy the
enemy shipping led by Lt. Somers. A monument to the
memory of Israel and his fellow officers and men stands
on the grounds of the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
( DD-98 : dp. 1,060; 1. 314'5" ; b. 21'9" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 113; a. 4 4'', 2 1-pdrs., 12 21" tt.)
Israel was launched 22 June 1918 by the Fore River
Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored by Miss
Dorothy Brown ; and commissioned 13 September 1918,
Lt. Comdr. George N. Barker in command.
Following shakedown out of Boston, Israel rendez-
voused with South Carolina at Newport 24 September
1918, and performed escort duty on the East Coast as a
unit of the Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. She departed
New York 13 October with a convoy, and arrived at
USS Isle Royale (AD-29) at Pearl Harbor 10 May 1963
468
Gibraltar 6 November, via the Azores and Port Leixoes,
Portugal. Having escorted the Brazilian Detachment to
Gibraltar Harbor 9 November, Israel arrived Venice 18
November and joined the Eastern Mediterranean Forces.
She operated out of Venice and Spalato as a station ship
transporting supplies and personnel until 12 July 1919
when she departed Villefranehe, France, via Gibraltar
and the Azores, arriving Boston 24 July.
While undergoing overhaul at the Portsmouth Navy
Yard, Israel was fitted out as a light minelayer and her
classification changed 17 July 1920 to DM-3.
Sailing from Portsmouth, N.H., 4 March 1921, Israel
cruised along the East Coast until 5 July when she joined
Mine Squadron 1, Atlantic Fleet, at Gloucester, Mass.
During the remainder of the year she engaged in mining
practice and exercises on the East Coast ; and from Janu-
ary to April 1922, participated in important fleet exercises
based at Guantanamo Bay and Culebra, Puerto Rico.
Israel arrived Philadelphia 15 May 1922 and decommis-
sioned there 7 July. Remaining inactive during the fol-
lowing years, she was reduced to a hulk in 1936 in accord-
ance with the London Treaty. Her name was struck
from the Navy List 25 January 1937, and she was sold
to the Union Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Md., 18 April
1939.
Itara
An old Indian village in northern Florida.
( YTB-391 : dp. 237; 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9'7" ; s. 12 k.)
Itara (YTB-391), originally classified YT-391, was
launched by Consolidated Shipbuilding Co., Morris
Heights, N.Y., as YTB-391, 9 September 1944 ; and placed
in service 30 December 1944.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Itara
served as a harbor tug at the Navy’s giant Hampton Roads
base throughout the war. After 1945 she continued on
duty at Norfolk, one of the hundreds of yard craft neces-
sary to the smooth functioning of the Navy in the cold
war. She was reclassified YTM-391 on 1 February 1962.
Itara continued to serve at Norfolk through 1966 into
1967.
Itasca
Former names retained.
I
(ScStr : t. 507; 1. 158'; b. 28'; dph. 12'; cpl. 70; a. 2
32-pdrs., 1 10" D. sb., 1 20-pdr. P.r.)
The first Itasca was a wooden screw steamer launched
by Hillman & Streaker at Philadelphia 1 October 1861 ;
and commissioned there 28 November 1861, Lt. 0. H. B.
Caldwell in command.
Assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron, Itasca
promptly began to establish a distinguished record. She
captured schooner Lizzie Weston loaded with cotton bound
for Jamaica 19 January 1862. A month later she assisted
Brooklyn in capturing Confederate steamer Magnolia
loaded with cotton and carrying several secret letters con-
taining valuable intelligence concerning Confederate plans
to import arms and to assist side-wheel, blockade runner
Tennessee to escape through the blockade.
When the Gulf Blockading Squadron was split 20 Janu-
ary 1862, Itasca was assigned to the Western Squadron
under Flag Officer Farragut, who stationed her briefly at
Mobile and then called her to the mouth of the Mississippi
River 4 March 1862 for service in the impending operations
against New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley. This
formed one prong of the gigantic pineer movement that
was destined to cut the Confederacy in two, assuring its
defeat. Itasca joined the fleet below Forts St. Philip and
Jackson 19 April and promptly added her guns to the
bombardment. The next day, accompanied by Kinco and
Pinola, she boldly steamed up close to the forts to break
the boom which prevented Farragut’s ships from sailing
up the river to attack New Orleans. Four days later the
Union Squadron dashed through the passage to take the
South’s largest and most highly industrialized city.
Itasca, in the dangerous rear of the movement, was caught
in “a storm of iron hail . . . over and around us from
both forts” and disabled by a 42-pound shot which made a
large hole in her boiler. Before she could drift down the
river out of range, the gallant gunboat received fourteen
hits.
After the fall of New Orleans, Itasca served in the
Mississippi River for the remainder of the year success-
fully fulfilling a wide variety of duties. On one occasion
she saved Admiral Farragut from grave danger when
Hartford ran hard aground below Vicksburg 14 May 1862.
Itasca, deep in hostile territory, worked hastily, refloating
her 3 days later.
Early in 1863, Itasca was ordered to blockade duty off
Galveston, Tex., where she arrived 31 January. While in
Texas waters, Itasca took two prizes : Miriam, loaded with
cotton, 17 June ; and Sea Drift, containing a cargo of
war materiel and drugs, 22 June. On 30 June urgent
need for repairs caused her to be dispatched to New
Orleans, and she sailed from that port for the North
15 August, arriving Philadelphia for overhaul 26 August.
Itasca departed Philadelphia 26 December and arrived
at New Orleans on the last day of 1863. Five days later
she was ordered to blockade duty off Mobile Bay, where
she was stationed until Admiral Farragut closed the last
great gulf port opened to the South 5 August 1864. Dur-
ing historic battle of Mobile Bay, after dashing past
the forts as part of Farragut’s formation, Itasca engaged
and captured Confederate gunboat Selma.
After returning to the Texas coast, she took English
schooner Carrier Mair off Pass Cavallo, Tex., 30 Novem-
ber; and she chased on shore and destroyed sloop Mary
Ann.
Itasca remained on duty in the Gulf of Mexico until
sailing from Pensacola for Philadelphia 5 August 1865.
She decommissioned 22 August and was sold at New York
30 November 1865. She was documented as Aurora 23
August 1866 and sold abroad the following year.
II
( SP-810 : t. 42; 1. 75'; b. 15'; dr. 4'6" ; s. 12% k. ; cpl.
11 ; a. 2 1-pdrs., 1 mg.)
The second Itasca, a wooden motor boat built in 1908
by Stamford Motor Construction Co., Stamford, Conn.,
was taken over by the Navy from Mr. Henry Henke at
Norfolk, Va„ 10 August 1917 ; and commissioned 8 days
later, Chief Machinist Mate R. P. Comstock in command.
Itasca served as a hospital boat in waters near Norfolk
until 26 February 1919 when she was returned to her
owner.
Itasca II
A former name retained.
( SP-803 ; t. 58; 1. 99'9" ; b. 16'7" ; dr. 4'9" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 10; a. 1 6-pdr., 1 1-pdr., 2 mg.)
Itasca II (SP-803), a motor boat, was built by Hudson
Yacht & Boat Building Co., Nyack, N.Y., in 1911 ; acquired
by the Navy 29 May 1918 under free lease agreement ; and
commissioned 13 July.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Itasca II operated out
of New York on section and harbor patrol for the next
8 months. The motor boat decommissioned 6 February
1919 and was returned to her owner, E. B. Hawkins,
Duluth, Minn.
Itty E.
A former name retained.
(SP-952 : 1. 25' ; b. 6' ; dr. 20" ; s. 35 k.)
Itty E. (SP-952), a fast open motor boat, was built in
1916 by Murray and Tregurtha, South Boston, Mass. ;
469
acquired July 1917 from her owner, F. H. Rawson of
Chicago.
Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Itty E. did yeoman
service during the months before the war as a fast rescue
boat at the Boston Naval Air Station. She was trans-
ferred to Norfolk 20 October 1917, but saw little service
beceause of the need for extensive engine repairs. After
her engine was burned in a fire ashore in July 1918,
Itty E. was taken to the Washington Navy Yard in
October 1918, and scrapped in 1920.
Iuka
A village in northeastern Mississippi, where Union
troops under General Rosecrans engaged Confederate
forces under General Price in an indecisive battle 19
September 1862.
I
(SwStr : dp. 944 ; 1. 200' ; b. 31'6" ; dr. 20' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
116; a. 1 20-pdr. Parrott rifle, 1 heavy and 1 light 12-
pdr., 1 24-pdr. )
The first Iuka was purchased as Commodore 8 March
1864 from George Griswold of New York. She prepared
for service at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned
23 May 1864, Acting Volunteer Lt. W. C. Rogers in com-
mand.
Departing New York 7 June, Iuka joined the East Gulf
Blockading Squadron at Key West. For the remainder
of the war she performed blockade duty cruising in the
Gulf of Mexico. This service was briefly interrupted in
October 1864 when Iuka escorted a prize steamer from
Key West to Boston and then returned to the Gulf. On
31 March 1865 she captured the English schooner Comus
sailing from Saint Mark’s, Fla., to Havana with a cargo
of contraband cotton. After the war Iuka departed Key
West 2 June 1865 and reached Boston 12 June. She de-
commissioned there 22 June and was sold at public auction
to Arthur Leary 1 August 1865.
II
(AT-37 : dp. 795; 1. 156'8" ; b. 30'2'' ; dr. 14'7'' ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 44; a. 1 mg.)
The second Iuka (AT-37) was launched 12 January
1920 by the Staten Island Shipbuilding Co., Port Rich-
mond, N.Y. ; commissioned 29 October 1920, Lt. Harry F.
Quandt in command.
Attached to the Train Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, Iuka
sailed for Guantanamo 2 January 1921. After towing and
delivering duties there and at the Canal Zone, the tug
returned to Norfolk 28 April. Iuka completed a year’s
service with the Train Squadron, operating along the
East Coast in the summer and at Guantanamo in the
winter. On 29 April 1922 she reported to the 3d Naval
District, at New York, where she served well for the next
decade. From 27 April to 7 July 1926, Iuka operated out
of Newport, R.I., to salvage the submarine S-51, sunk by
collision with SS City of Rome. When the hulk of S-51
was raised 5 July as a result of skillful salvage work,
Iuka and Sagamore towed it to New York. Iuka decom-
missioned at New York 20 July 1932.
She recommissioned at Philadelphia 23 November 1940
and rejoined the Train Squadron, Atlantic Fleet, for
operations along the East Coast and out of Guantanamo.
After 3 years of harbor duties and towing target ra cs,
mainly operating from Portland, Maine, Iuka was trans-
ferred to the Western Sea Frontier, reporting for duty 4
February 1945. She had been reclassified ATO-37, 15 May
1944. Harbor duties at San Diego formed Iuka's basic
work for the following year. She decommissioned but
remained in service 15 August 1946 and was placed out of
service at San Francisco 15 April 1947. Iuka was de-
livered to her purchasers, Pan American Steamship Corp.
of Panama, at Los Angeles 8 July 1948.
Ill
( ATR-45 : dp. 835; 1. 143' ; b. 33'10" ; dr. 13'2'' ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 45; a. 1 3")
ATR-^5 was laid down by Levingston Shipbuilding Co..
Orange, Tex., 21 November 1942 ; launched 20 December ;
and commissioned 30 June 1943, Lt. (j.g.) J. L. Hostinsky
in command.
After a brief period of duties out of Norfolk, ATR-45
sailed for the Pacific, reaching Espiritu Santo, New
Hebrides, via the Panama Canal and Bora Bora, Society
Islands, late in October. For the duration of war the
fleet tug remained in the South Pacific islands, operating
primarily at Espiritu Santo, to tow targets and barges as
well as handle other harbor duties. ATR-45 was reclassi-
fied ATA-123 15 May 1944.
The ocean tug returned Pearl Harbor 7 September 1945
and from there set course for San Francisco. She per-
formed harbor duties along the California coast until she
decommissioned at San Pedro and went into reserve 26
November 1947. While berthed with the Columbia River
Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, ATA-123 was named Iuka
16 July 1948. She remained in the Pacific Reserve until
September 1960 when she was transferred to the Maritime
Administration. In September 1962 Iuka entered the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash., where
she remains.
Ivy
A European evergreen shrub of the climbing variety,
or one of various other climbing plants.
I
(Tug: t. 50; dr. 10'; s. 10 k.)
Ivy, a screw tug, was built as Terror by the Army at St.
Louis in 1862 ; transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862
and renamed Ivy.
Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, Ivy took part as
tug and dispatch boat in the winter operations around
Vicksburg 1862-63. In the important attack on Fort
Hindman 9-11 January 1863, she served as Rear Admiral
D. D. Porter’s flagship. As the more powerful gunboats
pounded the fort in support of General Sherman’s attack,
Ivy came alongside both Cincinnati and Louisville to help
quench fires started by shore fire. A memorandum in the
office of Secretary Welles noted : “The officers and crew
behaved with great coolness, though under a brisk fire
of musketry.” The naval attack, directed from Ivy, re-
sulted in Sherman’s capture of the fort, a severe blow
to the Confederate cause in the West.
Ivy was also present for the passage of the Vicksburg
batteries by Admiral Porter’s ships 16-17 April 1863.
Lashed to the side of the powerful Benton, Ivy steamed
boldly past Vicksburg, opening operations south of the
city to Porter and contributing importantly to the fall of
Grand Gulf and eventually to the capture of Vicksburg.
In May the tug accompanied the gunboats up the Red
River. The ships reached abandoned Fort De Russy 5
May and 2 days later took Alexandria, only to be forced
back downstream by low water. The fort was partially
destroyed and Porter returned to Grand Gulf to continue
the assault on Vicksburg.
The tug remained near Vicksburg, often as Porter’s
flagship, until after its fall 4 July 1863, and subsequently
acted as a dispatch boat and tug on the river and as a re-
ceiving ship for prisoners of war. Ivy entered the Red
River again in 1864 when the major part of Admiral
Porter’s fleet was caught by low water above the rapids
at Alexandria. She assisted gunboat Ozark over the
rapids 13 May 1864 and returned to the Mississippi with
the fleet amid frequent Confederate attacks from shore.
For the remainder of the war Ivy was used to tend and
pump coal barges at Donaldsonville. She was sold at
Mound City, 111., 17 August 1865 to W. G. Priest.
470
Ivy, a steam tug, was purchased as Monitor by the Navy
in 1863 and renamed Monterey ( q.v .). Her name was
changed to Ivy 3 January 1891 and she was sold 7 October
1892.
II
( LHT : t. 550 ; 1. 173' ; b. 30' ; dr. 8'5" )
Ivy, a steel-hulled tender, was built in Baltimore in
1904 and transferred to the Navy Department via the
War Department by a letter of 25 May 1917. She was
returned to the Lighthouse Service 1 July 1919 after per-
forming general patrol duties during the preceding two
years.
Iwana
An Indian name.
I
( YT-2 : dp. 192 ; 1. 92'6" ; b. 21' ; dr. 8' ; s. 11.5 k. ; cpl. 9 ;
a. 2 1-pdrs., 1 mg.)
Iwana (YT-2) was laid down in April 1891 by City
Point Iron Works, Boston, Mass. ; launched 12 March
1892; and was assigned to the 1st Naval District for
harbor duties.
Iwana performed towing operations and miscellaneous
services out of Boston from 1892 until early 1946.
Her name was dropped 5 October 1942, and she operated
as YT-2 until reclassified YTM-2 on 15 May 1944. She
was transferred to WSA, 20 March 1946.
II
( YT-272 : dp. 244 ; 1. 100' ; b. 26' ; dr. 10' ; s. 11 k. ; cpl. 12 ;
a. 2 .50 cal. AA mg.)
Iivana (YT-272) was laid down 24 August 1942 by
Ira S. Busbey & Sons, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. ; launched 23
December ; and placed in service 27 April 1943.
After shakedown Iwana was assigned to the 1st Naval
District as a supply handler and tug in Casco Bay. From
1943 to 1946 she performed towing duties and miscellane-
ous harbor operations in the New England area. During
this time Iwana was reclassified YTB-272 15 May 1944.
From 1946 into 1967 she has operated in the 1st Naval
District at Boston, Mass. Iwana was again reclassified
YTM-272 in February 1962.
I wo Jima
A small volcanic island in the Bonin Group. Iwo Jima
was the site of one of the most important and most bitterly
fought amphibious operations of the Pacific War. The
strategic island, needed as an air base for the assault on
Japan itself, was invaded 19 February 1945 and declared
secure almost a month later. Fleet Admiral Chester W.
Nimitz spoke eloquently of the sailors and marines who
fought there: “Among the Americans who served on Iwo
Island uncommon valor was a common virtue.” The
famous photograph of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi
has become a symbol of valor and strength in the years
since 1945.
Iwo Jima (CV-46), a Ticonderoga-cla.ss aircraft car-
rier, was under construction by Newport News Shipbuild-
ing & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., but was canceled
12 August 1945. Her partially completed hull was
scrapped.
I
(LPH-2: dp. 11,000 (It.); 1. 592'; b. 84'; ew. 105'; dr.
27' ; s. 22 k. ; cl. Iwo Jima )
Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was launched by Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., 17 September 1960; spon-
sored by Mrs. Harry Schmidt ; and commissioned 26 Au-
gust 1961, Captain T. D. Harris in command.
The first ship to be designed and built from the keel up
as an amphibious assault ship, Iwo Jima carries helicop-
ters and a detachment of embarked Marines for use in
the Navy’s newest “vertical envelopment” concept of am-
phibious operations. Following shakedown training, she
spent the rest of 1961 off the California coast in amphibi-
ous exercises. In April 1962 the ship joined Joint Task
Force 8 in the Johnston Island-Hawaii area for an im-
portant series of nuclear tests. Iwo Jima evacuated sev-
eral islands and took part in the test evaluation. She
sailed for Pearl Harbor 26 July from the test area, and
continued to San Diego, where she arrived 10 August 1962.
In September the ship took part in full-scale amphibious
exercises in California, departing 17 October from San
Diego for her first deployment to the western Pacific.
As a crisis flared 19 October over the introduction of
offensive missiles into Cuba, however, Iwo Jima returned
to San Diego, embarked Marines 22 to 27 October, and
departed quickly for the Caribbean. As part of Amer-
ica’s powerful and mobile force afloat, she cruised in a
“ready” status until December brought an easing of the
Cuban situation. She arrived San Diego 13 December,
having played a major role in preserving American and
Latin American security.
Iwo Jima operated out of her home port during the first
half of 1963, carrying out amphibious exercises and train-
ing. She departed 30 August on her long-delayed cruise
to the western Pacific. Joining the 7th Fleet, mobile bul-
wark of American security in the area, she ranged from
Hawaii to the Philippines and Taiwan.
On 31 October 1963 Iwo Jima departed Philippine wa-
ters for special operations along the coast of South Viet-
nam, standing by to protect American nationals during a
period of increased strife. She returned to Subic Bay 12
November. The following months she sailed with Spe-
cial Landing Forces of Marines for rigorous amphibious
assault and landing raids practice off the coasts of Tai-
wan and Okinawa. After unloading ammunition at
Sasebo, Japan, she departed 13 April 1965 for return to
San Diego, arriving 28 April. Following amphibious
training with Marines along the California seaboard, she
overhauled in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. This
work was completed by 7 December 1965 when hvo Jima
began amphibious refresher training ranging to the Ha-
waiian Islands. On 13 March 1965 she departed Pearl
Harbor for San Diego, arriving 6 days later.
Iwo Jima received tons of supplies and scores of Army
helicopters, tanker trucks, and vehicles in her hangar and
flight deck spaces. Nearly a thousand troops were em-
barked for her western transit that began 12 April. She
touched Pearl Harbor a few hours the 17th to off-load 50
Marines and their equipment, then steamed off St. Jacques,
Republic of Vietnam, 1 to 2 May, flying off 77 Army heli-
copters, loaded with troops and combat cargo. From
there she proceeded to Subic Bay in the Philippines,
where troops and equipment were received for amphibious
landing at Chu Lai, Vietnam, 11 May 1965.
Iivo Jima remained off Chu Lai for a month, protecting
Marines and Seabees establishing an air field on the sandy
shore. Besides helicopter support ashore, including de-
fense perimeter patrol, she was a support center for
laundry, showers, fresh provisions, store and mail serv-
ice. She also supervised the continual off-load of ships
over the beach for the entire month, then on 7 June 1965,
landed squadron personnel and helicopters ashore at Hue-
Phu Bai, some 30 miles north of Da Nang. After a few
days rest in Subic Bay she was routed to Sasebo, thence
to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where she embarked Marines
and equipment. This was completed 26 June 1965 when
she sailed for Quinohn, Republic of Vietnam, in com-
pany with Talladega (APA-208) and Point Defiance
(LSD-31) . These ships were designated Task Group 76.5,
that part of the 7th Fleet that carries the Marine Special
Landing Force. On the 30th she arrived at Quinohn,
about 100 miles south of Chu Lai. The following day
Marines landed ashore to take up defensive positions for
256-125 0 - 68 - 32
471
the protection of Army engineers and communications
units.
Iwo Jima remained off Quinohn for defensive support
until 20 July 1965, then steamed for Pratas Reef about 240
miles southwest of Taiwan. Arriving the morning of the
22d her helicopters were immediately pressed into serv-
ice to aid the salvage of destroyer Frank Knox. The
close approach of typhoon “Gilda” pounded the grounded
destroyer so badly that it was impossible for small boats
to get alongside her. Extra men were heli-lifted off the
destroyer while surf rose 12 feet high to break completely
over the stern of Frank Knox. Support given by Iwo
Jima included such items as hot food, clothes, water,
pumps, hose, gasoline, air compressors, welding machines,
damage control equipment and technicians. Feed water
was heli-lifted in special tanks constructed by destroyer
tender Prairie (AD-15) who had faint hope of keeping
the destroyer’s boiler alive. Detached from this duty 1
August 1965, Iwo Jima made a brief call at Hong Kong,
then proceeded to the Philippines.
On 17 August 1965 Iwo Jima steamed out of Subic Bay
for Yung Tau, Republic of Vietnam, to join in Operation
“Starlight,” a 5-day search-and-destroy operation that
eradicated some 600 Viet Cong. The successful Navy-
Marine Corps amphibious operation backed by gunfire
support from cruiser Galveston and two destroyers, came
to a close late on 24 August. Iwo Jima' s evecuation and
surgical teams kept the American casualties down to a
very low percentage. During transit back to Subic Bay
she learned Frank Knox had been refloated, good news
for Iwo Jima’s crew who had put in so many hard and
long hours at Pratas Reef. She landed her Marine Spe-
cial Landing Force at Chu Lai 1 to 2 September, em-
barked 800 Marines of a rotation draft, and sailed for
Buckner Bay.
Iwo Jima landed the rotation troops at Okinawa, then
came off Quinohn, 10 September 1965, to cover the land-
ing of the Army’s 1st Air Cavalry Division. She had
supported three amphibious assault search-and-destroy
raids along the coast by 1 October when she steamed to
southern waters, remaining in stand-by status for possi-
ble evacuation of U.S. nationals in revolt-torn Indonesia.
Eight days later she sailed for Danang for a helicopter
squadron exchange, thence to Subic Bay where she was
relieved by Valley Forge (LPH-8). Following a visit to
Yokosuka, she departed 1 November for return to San
Diego, arriving 17 November 1965. Several months later
she again joined the 7th Fleet Amphibious Ready Group,
a fast moving assault force which had completed more
than 20 search-and-destroy operations along the South
Vietnamese coast between March 1965 and September
1966. One of these missions hit only 3 miles south of the
demilitarized zone to search out and decimate a regiment
of the North Vietnam Army’s 342B Division which had
infiltrated South Vietnam through the neutral zone.
During the first 3 months of 1966, Iwo Jima was at
San Diego for upkeep and improvement changes. From
April through June extensive refresher training occupied
all hands as Iwo Jima prepared for her forthcoming
Western Pacific deployment. On 24 July, steaming with
a task group, she passed the volcanic island whose costly
conquest by stouthearted sailors and marines had in-
spired her name. On board was one of the marine groups
that had landed on Iwo Jima over two decades earlier.
After operations in the Vietnam area, she sailed for
Japan. December 30th once again found Iwo Jima on
the line and underway for special operations in the
Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam in a Navy-ready
group with a two pronged punch. Early in January 1967
the Commanding Officer, Captain Nils W. Boe, was re-
lieved by Captain F. X. Timmes. Upon his departure
Captain Boe said of his crew in a family-gram to mothers
and wives, “I want to thank each of you for letting me
borrow these magnificent young men for a little while.
They have made me feel ten feet tall.” On 1 July 1967
Iwo Jima was reassigned to Amphibious Squadron 3 from
vice Amphibious Squadron 1, with which she continued to
sail with the Pacific Fleet.
Iwo Jima continues her support of simultaneous sea
and air assaults as the nerve-center of an Amphibious
Ready Group that can strike anywhere along the Viet-
namese coast within 48 hours.
Izard
Ralph Izard, born 26 February 1785 at Charleston, S.C.,
was appointed Midshipman 2 October 1799 and promoted
to Lieutenant 27 January 1807. Lt. Izard volunteered
and took part in the expedition under Stephen Decatur,
commanding U.S. ketch Intrepid, which entered the harbor
of Tripoli 16 February 1804 and destroyed the former
U.S. frigate Philadelphia in what Lord Nelson called the
most daring act of the age. He was assigned duty under
Lt. Decatur, with Midshipman John Rowe and 15 men,
to hold the spar deck. He also took part in the attacks
on Tripoli during August and September 1804 as part of
Commodore Edward Preble’s squadron. Lt. Izard died
21 January 1822 at Charleston, S.C.
( DD-589 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; cpl.
273; a. 5 5", 14 40mm., 12 20mm., 10 21" tt„ 4 dct., 6
dcp. ; cl. Fletcher)
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) near Panama 30 October 1962
472
Izard (DD-589) was launched 8 August 1942 by the
Charleston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. Robert E. Lee
III, great-granddaughter of Lt. Ralph Izard ; and com-
missioned 15 May 1943, Comdr. Earl K. Van Swearingen
in command.
After shakedown interrupted by a search for a German
U-boat off the coast of Carolina, Izard departed Norfolk
14 September 1943 and sailed for Pearl Harbor via the
Canal Zone and) San Diego. Arriving Pearl Harbor 4
October she spent the next 6 weeks training and standing
plane guard duty.
As the Pacific Fleet started its mighty sweep across
Micronesia Izard sortied 10 November 1943 from Pearl
Harbor with Rear Admiral Pownall’s Carrier Force
(TF-50) for the Gilbert Islands operations, and for the
next month provided air, surface and antisubmarine pro-
tection for Makin Island.
After taking part in the bombardment of Nauru Island
8 December 1943 Izard retired to Havannah Harbor, Efate.
Here she trained and rehearsed for the fleet’s next tar-
get— the Marshall Islands. Izard sortied from Funafuti
Harbor, Ellice Island, 23 January 1944 with Rear Admiral
Forrest Sherman’s Carrier Task Group to provide air
cover for the assault and capture of Kwajalein. At 0440
29 January the carriers launched their first strikes toward
Kwajalein. By that afternoon the fleet had delivered
many devastating blows on the enemy. By 4 February
Izard had entered Majuro Atoll, recently captured from
the Japanese, and dropped anchor. Here she joined Ad-
miral Spruance’s Truk Striking Force and Admiral Mitsch-
er’s Fast Carrier Task Force 58 for strikes on Truk ( 17-
18 February 1944). The first strike was launched at 0642
17 February and after 2 days the carrier planes had de-
stroyed auxiliary cruisers Aikoku Maru and Kiyosumi
Maru; destroyer Fumizuki; submarine tenders Rio de Ja-
neiro Maru and Hewn Maru; aircraft ferry Fujikawa
Maru, 6 tankers and 17 more marus ; total tonnage about
200,000. Planes from Enterprise also sunk destroyers
Oite and Agano. On the first day of the strikes while
Admiral Mitscher’s planes were at work, Admiral
Spruance’s group, including Izard, conducted a round-the-
atoll search to catch escaping vessels. They sunk light
cruiser Katori, destroyer Maikaze, and sub chaser SC-24-
After 18 February Truk lost its usefulness as a fleet
anchorage or advanced naval base for the Japanese. In
addition, the 250 to 275 planes destroyed or damaged was
a severe blow to the Japanese air force.
Izard screened the carriers launching strikes in the
Tinian-Saipan area 22 February, retiring to Majuro the
26th. From March through August she operated in sup-
port of the 5th Fleet operations in New Guinea and the
Marianas. Izard was part of the screen for Admiral
“Jocko” Clark’s Carrier Task Group during the Battle of
the Philippine Sea (19-20 June 1944) which broke the
enemy’s once mighty naval air arm.
Izard continued in support of fast carriers launching
strike after strike against the enemy. During the first
part of October she joined Admiral McCain’s task group
for strikes on Okinawa and Formosa. During the follow-
ing months she continued to support the Leyte operation
and in February 1945 was assigned duty off Iwo Jima
rendering fire support, screening, and radar picket duty
until 27 March.
Izard steamed for Eniwetok 28 March arriving 2 April.
Joining a convoy she steamed via the Hawaiian Islands,
reaching Seattle 20 April. Izard sailed for Pearl Harbor
30 June and in August joined the Northern Pacific Force
at Adak, Alaska. The last of August Izard sailed for
Honshu, Japan, and after the war continued to operate
in northern Japan, liberating prisoners-of-war and de-
mobilizing Japanese army and navy units until 15
November.
Izard returned to Seattle the last of November and 2
April 1946 steamed to San Diego. Izard decommissioned
there 31 May 1946 and joined the Reserve Fleet where
she remains.
Izard received 10 battle stars for World War II service.
J
J. A. Cummings, see YO-165
J. A. Palmer
A former name retained.
( S P-319 : t. 276 ; 1. 155' ; b. 22' ; dr. 12' ; s. 12 k. ;
a. 2 1-pdrs.)
J. A. Palmer (SP-319), or Palmer, a wooden fishing
vessel, was built in 1912 by Jackson and Sharpe, Wilming-
ton, Del. ; purchased by the Navy from her owners, C. E.
Davis Packing Co., Reedville, Va. ; and commissioned
7 April 1917, Boatswain W. A. Hudgins in command.
J. A. Palmer, assigned to the 5th Naval District, op-
erated on patrol off Cape Henry until February 1918
when she received special cable equipment at Berkeley,
Va. The ship was then loaned to the Coast Guard for
use as a cable ship and steamed along the Atlantic coast
laying and repairing cable. To avoid confusion with
destroyer Palmer, her name was dropped 17 January
1919. SP-319 was subsequently turned over permanently
to the Coast Guard 10 September 1919 for continued use
as a cable ship, and was renamed Pequot by the Treasury
Department.
J. A. Martinolich, see Hornbill (AMC— 13)
J, Alvah Clark
A former name retained.
( SP-1248 : t. 130; 1. 90' ; b. 19' ; dr. 11'6" ; s. 10 k.)
J. Alvah Clark (SP-1248), a steam tug, was built in
1891 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; and acquired in October 1917 from
her owner, the Joseph M. Clark Co. of Norfolk.
J. Alvah Clark, assigned to the 5th Naval District,
performed towing and tug duties in Hampton Roads,
served on net patrol, and transported armed guards to
merchant vessels in the harbor during World War I.
She was returned to her owner 29 July 1919.
J. B. Walker
Former name retained.
(Bar: 2 t., 1,984 ; 1. 247' ; b. 42'2" ; dr. 26'9" ; cpl. 6)
J. B. Walker was launched in 1879 by E. O’Brien of
Thomaston, Maine ; purchased by the Navy from Lucken-
bach S.S. Co. ; and commissioned 8 August 1918. She
immediately began collier operations between Norfolk
and New England. J. B. Walker continued this duty until
27 March 1919, when she was detached and assigned to
the 5th Naval District for operations. She was sold 11
September 1919.
/. C. Breckenridge, General, see General J. C. Brecken-
ridge (AP-176)
J. C. Donnell, see Pasig (AO-89)
J. C. Fitzsimmons, see Marmora (IX-189)
473
J. C. Kuhn
(Bark : t. 888 ; 1. 153' ; b. 35' ; dr. 13'5" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 61 ; a. 4 32-pdrs. )
J. C. Kuhn was a wooden bark of two decks and three
masts built at Portland, Conn., in 1859. She was pur-
chased by the Navy at New York City from J. H. Brower
& Co., 6 July 1861 ; and commissioned at New York Navy
Yard 23 August, Acting Master Robert G. Lee in command.
The supply and coal vessel reported to the Gulf Block-
ading Squadron at Key West, Fla., 11 September bringing
a cargo of coal, lumber, and whaleboats. Six days later
she delivered coal and provisions to Union vessels off
Fort Pickins, Fla., to begin her record of dependable
service carrying fuel, food, lumber, and water to Union
ships in the Gulf of Mexico and the lower Mississippi.
She arrived below Vicksburg 27 June 1862 loaded with
coal for Flag Officer Farragut’s ships the day before they
daringly steamed under the Southern batteries there to
join forces with Flag Officer Davis’s Mississippi Flotilla,
which had been fighting its way South along the river.
She remained below Vicksburg supporting Comdr. Porter’s
Mortar Flotilla while Farragut operated above the Con-
federate stronghold until his ships had again run the
gauntlet to rejoin Porter 15 July.
She then sailed down river with Farragut and resumed
her duty of transporting supplies from Pensacola to ships
stationed along the Gulf Coast. In the spring of 1864,
J. C. Kuhn was ordered to Pensacola for service as ord-
nance and store ship, and she continued this duty until
sailing for New York 20 January 1866. After arriving
New York 14 February and discharging her stores, the
veteran bark received badly needed repairs.
Restored and refurbished, J. C. Kuhn stood down to
the Battery 7 April, and 3 days later was renamed Pur-
veyor. As Purveyor, she supplied the European and South
Atlantic Squadrons and served as a store ship before
being sold at New York to P. H. Fay 7 July 1869.
J. C. W. Beckham, see Raccoon (IX-127)
J. Dimaggio, see YP-383, ex-AMcl45
J. Douglas Blackwood
James Douglas Blackwood was born in Philadelphia
12 November 1881, and enrolled in the Naval Coast De-
fense Reserve as an Assistant Surgeon 14 April 1917.
The doctor served on transports in the Atlantic during
World War I, earning the Navy Cross for attending the
sick and wounded when troop transport President Lincoln
was torpedoed 31 May 1918. He entered the Regular
Navy in 1919, and served in various ships and at Naval
Hospitals here and abroad in the years that followed.
Blackwood served the people of Haiti 1927 to 1930 when
assigned to a Public Health unit on that island. He was
appointed Medical Inspector with the rank of Commander
in 1938, reported to Vincennes (CA--44) 30 September
1940, and was on board during the critical early months
of America’s participation in World War II. During the
Battle of Savo Island 9 August 1942, one of the many
sea fights during the Solomons Campaign, a cruiser-
destroyer force was surprised at night by Japanese cruis-
ers and dealt a crushing blow. Blackwood was killed
when the gallant Vincennes was sunk along with two
other cruisers and a destroyer.
(DE-219 : dp. 1,400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5'' ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1'', 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dep., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. Buckley)
J. Douglas Blackwood (DE-219) was launched 29 May
1943, by Philadelphia Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. J.
Douglas Blackwood, widow of Comdr. Blackwood; and
commissioned 15 December 1943, Comdr. R. V. Randolph
in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, J. Douglas Blackwood
rendezvoused with carrier Hornet (CV-12) off Hampton
Roads 14 February 1944, to escort her to the Panama
Canal. The escort ship then returned to the East Coast
for duty as training ship and coastal escort until depart-
ing Norfolk 18 March for the Pacific. Sailing via the
Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor, J. Douglas Blackwood
arrived Majuro 18 April 1944, to begin vital convoy screen-
ing work between America’s far-flung island bases.
The ship operated mainly in the Solomons and
Admiralties, returning to Pearl Harbor in October 1944
for antisubmarine training.
J. Douglas Blackwood steamed to Eniwetok 2 Novem-
ber, and resumed convoy escort work, this time between
the Solomons and the Philippines. As that great archi-
pelago was liberated, island by island, the escort ship
helped bring supplies and men from advance bases. She
remained on this duty until arriving Pearl Harbor 12
April 1945, and for the remainder of the war operated
in Hawaiian waters training with newly commissioned
carriers and Pacific Fleet submarines.
The war over, J. Douglas Blackwood steamed into Mare
Island Navy Yard 4 September 1945, and after repairs
made the long voyage through the Canal to the East Coast.
She arrived New London 9 January 1946, decommissioned
20 April 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
With the outbreak of fighting in Korea in 1950, the
Navy’s need of fighting ships once again increased.
J. Douglas Blackwood recommissioned 5 February 1951,
Lt. Comdr. J. R. McKee in command. Based at Norfolk,
the ship alternated between duty there and the Fleet
Sonar School at Key West, Fla. She also engaged in at
sea training for midshipmen, cruising to the Caribbean
and Brazil in the summer of 1953. She remained on this
important training duty, not only keeping herself at peak
readiness but also contributing to the development of new
antisubmarine tactics, until arriving at Philadelphia 15
November 1957. There she began her new assignment as
Reserve Training Ship.
J. Douglas Blackwood decommissioned 1 August 1958,
and was placed “in service.” For the next 3 years, she
acted as training ship for naval reservists in the Philadel-
phia area. However, when America’s will was tested once
again in the 1961 Berlin crisis, the ship was again recalled
to active service, commissioning 2 October 1961, Comdr.
J. J. Grebis in command. After refresher training in the
Caribbean, she served on escort and patrol duty in the
Atlantic through the summer of 1962. She decommis-
sioned 1 August 1962, reverted to her “in-service” status,
and resumed reserve training duty at Philadelphia.
J. Douglas Blackwood remained on this important duty
into 1967, always ready to serve the Navy in time of need.
J. Douglas Blackwood received three battle stars for
World War II service.
J. Floyd Massey, Jr., see Monomoy (AG-40)
J. Franklin Bell
An Army name retained. James Franklin Bell was
born at Shelbyville, Ky., and graduated from tbe Military
Academy in 1878. Frontier duty filled most of his years
as a junior officer. During the Philippine Insurrection
near Porac, Luzon, 11 December 1899, he “charged seven
insurgents with his pistol and compelled the surrender of
the captain and two privates under a close fire from the
remaining insurgents concealed in a bamboo thicket.”
His heroism on this occasion won him the Medal of Honor.
Promoted to major general in 1907, Bell served as Chief
of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1906 to 1910. He died in
New York City 8 January 1919.
( AP-34 : dp. 13,529 ; 1. 535'2" ; b. 72' ; dr. 31'6" ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 683; a. 4 3", 8 20mm.)
J. Franklin Bell (AP-34) was laid down in 1918 as an
Army transport by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. of
474
Camden, N.J. ; completed 1 March 1921 as a passenger and
cargo ship named Keystone State; turned over to Pacific
Steamship Co. 28 May and renamed President McKinley
9 June 1922 ; and transferred to Admiral Oriental Line 21
December to operate in the Pacific until laid up in Seattle
in 1938.
The Army purchased her 26 October 1940, renamed her
J. Franklin Bell, and converted her into a military trans-
port. She was transferred to the Navy 26 December 1941 ;
and commissioned in ordinary before commissioning in
full at San Francisco 2 April 1942, Captain H. J. Grassie
in command.
After shakedown, a round-trip voyage to Pearl Harbor,
and over 2 months of amphibious training along the Cali-
fornia coast, J. Franklin Bell, carrying some 1,500 troops
and a full load of cargo, sailed from San Francisco 13 Au-
gust and headed via Kodiak, Alaska, for Adak to
strengthen American defenses in the Aleutians, then
threatened with invasion.
Upon returning San Diego 29 September, J. Franklin
Bell resumed coastal operations and amphibious training
in preparation for taking the offensive in the Aleutians by
recapturing Attu Island. Reclassified APA-16 1 Feb-
ruary 1943, she continued rehearsals until sailing to San
Francisco 16 April to embark troops and their war gear.
She got under way 24 April for Cold Bay, Alaska.
Though hampered by heavy seas, her task force arrived
off Attu 11 May in a dense fog. J. Franklin Bell, now
under Comdr. J. B. McGovern, began landing operations.
Submerged rocks, pea soup weather, and narrow, rocky
beaches permitted only two or three boats to be unloaded
at a time. Two days later she started unloading around
the clock, enabling her to finish the task, embark cas-
ualties, and head for home by 16 May.
After training throughout June, she embarked some
1,750 soldiers and, following 2 weeks of landing rehearsals,
departed San Diego 29 July for Adak. At the end of a
week of weather and terrain conditioning there, she
steamed for Kiska 13 August. She sent her landing boats
ashore through rough surf only to find the enemy had fled.
Unloading operations completed in 2 days, she embarked
600 troops and sailed for San Francisco the 20th.
At San Francisco she discharged the troops and em-
barked naval passengers for Wellington, New Zealand,
where she arrived 30 September. During the ensuing
month of amphibious assault training, Captain O. H.
Ritchie took command 22 October. After embarking 1,800
marines, she sailed 1 November for final landing re-
hearsals before departing 13 November to invade Tarawa.
The first step in a mighty amphibious offensive through
Micronesia, the conquest of the Gilbert Islands was a
major milestone on the watery road to Japan. During
midwatch 20 November, J. Franklin Bell took her assigned
place off Betio, the most formidable Japanese garrison on
Tarawa Atoll. Heavy naval bombardment began at 0515 ;
and the enemy responded with scattered fire at the trans-
ports. Straddled, J. Franklin Bell retired out of range
and, while the deadly battle raged on ashore, awaited
orders to land her troops. The next day she sailed to
Bairiki Island and landed her marines. Finding dead
enemies only, they boarded landing boats and moved from
island to island along the atoll. Meanwhile, after the
Bairiki landings, J. Franklin Bell began sending cargo
ashore. The marines secured Betio on the 23d and the
entire atoll on 27 November, and J. Franklin Bell de-
parted with marines embarked for Pearl Harbor.
After a month of training in Hawaii, the transport em-
barked more than 1,500 soldiers and sailed for Kwajalein
Atoll. Upon arriving 31 January, she found fire support
ships pounding enemy shore installations in preparation
for landings the following day. J. Franklin Bell entered
the lagoon 2 February to unload supplies and to receive
casualties. On the 5th, her landing boats assaulted
Gugegwe Island. Two days later the atoll was secured ;
and the transport departed 8 February for Pearl Harbor
carrying over 2,000 soldiers.
Putting into Pearl 15 February, she made two round
trips to the United States mainland before embarking
soldiers and setting course for the Marianas. J. Franklin
Bell arrived off Saipan 16 June, the day after the initial
landings ; and debarked her troops on the 17th. After un-
loading needed supplies,' she retired some 100 miles north-
east of Saipan to await the outcome of the Battle of the
Philippine Sea 19 to 21 June. Upon learning of the great
American naval victory, she returned to Saipan 25 June;
completed unloading ; embarked casualties ; sailed for Eni-
wetok to load more cargo ; and then headed, via Saipan to
embark marines, for the assault on nearby Tinian.
Departing 24 July, J. Franklin Bell joined in a diver-
sionary demonstration at the southern end of Tinian.
Under cover of a fierce bombardment, the transport
feigned two landings to divert enemy attention while the
real landings were made at the northern end of the island.
Following this successful subterfuge, she sailed to the
actual beachheads ; landed her troops ; embarked cas-
ualties the next afternoon ; and returned to Saipan the
27th. The next day, carrying 438 Japanese prisoners, she
sailed for Pearl Harbor and arrived 10 August.
J. Franklin Bell returned to the Western Pacific, putting
into Manus, Admiralties, 3 October to embark 1,600 as-
sault troops for the invasion of the Philippines. She
headed for Leyte Gulf 14 October and arrived off Dulag,
Leyte, 20 October. After quickly debarking her troops,
she began unloading supplies and receiving casualties.
Defying repeated air attacks, she unloaded supplies into
LCTs throughout the day and night completing the task
shortly after noon the next day. Then she got under way
for Manus, Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Roger Keyes, RN,
on board, and arrived the 27th.
Following a voyage to New Guinea, J. Franklin Bell de-
parted Manus for San Francisco and arrived 27 November.
Heading back to the war zone 28 February 1945, the vet-
eran transport arrived Noumea, New Caledonia, 18 April.
After landing exercises and embarking Seabees and their
equipment, she headed for Okinawa via Eniwetok and
Ulithi. She dropped anchor at Hagushi 17 June to debark
her Seabees. Subjected to frequent air alerts, she com-
pleted her unloading under cover of a smoke screen late
the following afternoon.
The transport then departed on the 22d, carrying 862
casualties to Saipan before proceeding to Espiritu Santo
and Noumea to embark homebound casualties. Departing
Noumea 11 July with over 1,700 passengers, she steamed
for San Francisco and arrived the 27th.
The war ended, J. Franklin Bell sailed 21 September
for the Western Pacific, carrying troops to Eniwetok,
Okinawa, and Leyte. After boarding homebound pas-
sengers at Leyte, she sailed 27 October and reached
Seattle 12 November. She began coastal operations on
the 22d shuttling between Washington and California
ports. She arrived Suisun Bay, Calif., 20 March 1946;
anl decommissioned the same day.
Transferred to the WSA for disposal, J. Franklin Bell
was sold for scrap 3 April 1948, to Boston Metals Co.,
Baltimore, Md.
J. Franklin Bell received six battle stars for World
War II service.
J. Fred Essary, see Sagittarius (AKN-2)
J. Fred Talbott
Joshua Frederick Cockey Talbott was born near Luther-
ville, Md., 29 July 1843. He began to study law in 1862
but joined the Confederate Army in 1864 to serve in the
2d Maryland Cavalry. Following the war, Talbott was
admitted to the bar and began to practice law in Towson,
Md. In 1878, after several years of activity in Democratic
politics and local civic affairs, he was elected to Congress.
Except for the periods 1885 to 1893, during which he served
for a time as Insurance Commissioner for Maryland,
and 1894 to 1902, he served in Congress until his death.
Talbott was a member of the Naval Affairs Committee for
25 years and worked unceasingly for a strong and modern
475
Navy. He died in Lutherville 5 October 1918 after a long
life of distinguished public service.
(DD-156: dp. 1,090; 1. 314'5”; b. 30'6” ; dr. 8'8” ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 101; a. 4 4”, 2 3”; 2 .30 cal., 12 21” tt. ; cl.
Wickes)
J. Fred Talbott (DD-156) was launched 14 December
1918 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia ; sponsored
by Mrs. Robert L. Bates, niece of Representative Talbott ;
and commissioned 30 June 1919, Comdr. T. G. Ellyson in
command.
The new destroyer departed Newport 10 July for the
Mediterranean, where she acted as a station ship at var-
ious ports providing an element of stability in Europe
during the first troubled months of postwar adjustment
and reconstruction. Upon her return to the United States
21 June 1920, the ship took part in patrol duty on the East
Coast and engaged in fleet exercises before decommis-
sioning at Philadelphia 18 January 1923.
J. Fred Talbott recommissioned 1 May 1930, Lt. C. H.
Cobb in command, and immediately began shakedown
training in Delaware Bay. For the 10 years that fol-
lowed, the ship operated along the Atlantic coast and in
the Caribbeafi engaging in antisubmarine training; fleet
operations ; and carrying out the many far-ranging duties
of the United States fleet in preservation of peace, mis-
sions of mercy, maintaining freedom of the seas, and
otherwise protecting the United States’ interests. She also
helped to train reserves and midshipmen, thus developing
not only the equipment and tactics, but the men of the
Navy as well.
With the outbreak of the war in Europe and America’s
initial effort to protect its shipping while remaining neu-
tral, J. Fred Talbott was assigned patrol duties in the
waters off the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal.
Following America’s entry into the war with the surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor, the ship took up convoy escort
duties between New Orleans, Cuba, and the Canal, helping
to protect the sea lanes and to move the vast amounts of
men and materiel needed for victory.
Following an overhaul in Boston in January 1944, J.
Fred Talbott sailed 13 February with her first trans-
atlantic convoy, and, after her safe return from Casa-
blanca, took up escort duties with convoys from Iceland
southward into the Caribbean. Later in the year, after
arrival 15 September, she was converted at New York and
reclassified AG-81 25 September 1944. The ship arrived
Port Everglades, Fla., 1 November to act as a target ship
for torpedo bombers, continuing this important training
service until the war’s end.
J. Fred Talbott arrived Boston 22 April 1946, and de-
commissioned 21 May 1946. She was sold to Boston
Metals Corp., Baltimore, Md., in November 1946 and was
subsequently scrapped.
/. H. McRae, General, see General J. H. McRae (AP-149)
J. Howland Gardner, see Jamestown (AG-166)
/. J. Crittenden
A former name retained.
(Sch)
J. J. Crittenden was a schooner captured by Commodore
Perry and Whitehead in Newbegun Creek, N.C., 10 April
1862. She was immediately sunk as an obstruction, and
was subsequently condemned by the New York prize court
without being sent to that port.
J. J. Keeley, see YOG-38
J. J. Kelly, see YOG-38
J. L. Davis, see James L. Davis
J. M. Guffey
A former name retained.
(Tkr : dp. 5,500 ; 1. 292'2” ; b. 40'2” ; dr. 22' ; s. 11 k.)
J. M. Guffey, a tanker, was launched in 1902 by the New
York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J. ; taken over by the
Navy on a bare boat basis; and commissioned 14 October
1918 at Invergorden, Scotland, Lt. Comdr. O. T. Nelson in
command.
J. M. Guffey operated out of Invergorden replenishing
the oil supplies until 24 January 1919 when she sailed for
the United States. She remained in St. Johns, Newfound-
land, for 6 weeks before arriving Philadelphia 14 April.
She decommissioned there 17 June 1919, and was returned
to her owner, the Gulf Refining Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.
J. M. Woodworth
Former name retained.
( YT-137 : dp. 135 ; 1. 84' ; b. 20' ; dr. 6'9”)
J. M. Woodworth was built in 1903 by Neafie and Levy,
Philadelphia, Pa., and taken over by the Navy from the
Public Health Service 2 November 1937. She was assigned
to the Washington Navy Yard for duty as a service craft.
After limited service in late 1937 and early 1938, she was
declared unfit for naval purposes and struck from the
Navy List 28 December 1938. J. M. Woodworth was
sold 17 April 1939 to Gallagher Bros. Sand & Gravel Corp.
/. R. Brooke, General, see General J. R. Brooke ( AP-132)
J. R. Y. Blakely
John Russell Young Blakely was born 17 July 1872 in
Philadelphia and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1892. After serving in various Navy ships and at many
shore stations, he took his first command, Des Moines, in
1914. As captain of this ship, and later Seattle, Blakely
rendered important service in transporting and escorting
troops and supplies to Europe during the First World
War. For his outstanding contribution he was awarded
the Navy Cross. Following the war Blakely served with
the Chief of Naval Operations, at the Naval War College,
and with the rank of captain he commanded Arizona
(BB-39). After a tour as Assistant to the Chief of the
Bureau of Navigation in 1925, he was promoted to Rear
Admiral and given command of a cruiser division. He
also commanded the 15th Naval District and served on
the important General Board before poor health forced
him to retire 1 June 1932. Rear Admiral Blakely died
28 March 1942 in Denver, Colo.
(DEI-140 : dp. 1,200 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7” ; dr. 8'7” ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3”, 2 40mm., 8 20mmM 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21” tt. ; cl. Edsall)
J. R. Y. Blakely (DEI-140) was launched by Consolidated
Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex., 7 March 1943 ; sponsored
by Miss Mary Young Blakely, niece of Rear Admiral
Blakely ; and commissioned 16 August 1943, Comdr. J. H.
Forshew in command.
J. R. Y. Blakely conducted her shakedown training out
of Bermuda during September 1943, returning to Charles-
ton 22 September to prepare for convoy duty in the At-
lantic. She sailed 4 October from Norfolk with a convoy
for the Mediterranean ; and, after transporting precious
supplies safely to Casablanca, returned to New York 16
November. J. R. Y. Blakely made another round trip
voyage to Casablanca December 1943 through January
1944, and a third during February through March 1944,
as American ships began the great buildup in Europe.
476
After voyage repairs the escort vessel was assigned to
a hunter-killer group built around an escort carrier. She
sailed from New York 30 March 1044 and rendezvoused
with Core (CVE-13) and her escorts in the Atlantic to
search for German submarines. After a vigilant search
and stops at Newfoundland and Casablanca the ship
reached New York 30 May 1944. J. R. Y. Blakely was soon
at sea again, joining the Wake Island (CVE-65) group at
Norfolk 15 June. During June and July the ships intensi-
fied the hunt for U-boats, and covered the all-important
supply convoys in the Atlantic. After a short stay in
Casablanca harbor, the group was sent by Admiral Inger-
soll to search for German weather picket submarines, and
by 2 August the escorts had found U-boat TJ-80 If. In the
engagement which followed, Fiske (DE-143) was tor-
pedoed and sunk. J. R. Y. Blakely made several depth
charge attacks before retiring to protect Wake Island.
She returned to New York 16 August 1044.
The veteran ship conducted training operations in Casco
Bay, Maine, for several weeks, but departed Norfolk 8
September with another hunter-killer group, led by Mis-
sion Bay (CVE-59). On this cruise the escort vessel took
part in her first successful attack, as the Mission Bay
group was sent to break up a suspected meeting between
cargo submarine U-1062 and another submarine. Tripoli’s
(CVE-64) group helped maintain an around the clock
search, and on 30 September Fessenden, Howard and
J. R. Y. Blakely began to search out a contact. Fessenden’s
depth charge attack sank the submarine, U-1062, which
was carrying valuable cargo for Germany. Following this
success the group moved into the South Atlantic, where
because of the great success of allied antisubmarine
tactics, contacts were scarce. After visiting Bahia and
Capetown, J. R. Y. Blakely arrived New York 27 Novem-
ber 1944.
During December the ship conducted additional train-
ing in the Caribbean, after which she sailed 16 January
1945 to participate in tactics out of Mayport, Fla. After
screening carriers and acting as rescue ship, the ship car-
ried out training and escort duties in the Caribbean, ar-
riving New York 9 March 1945.
As German submarines were known to be moving west-
ward for a final effort against the United States, J. R. Y.
Blakely again joined an escort carrier group, and with
Mission Bay and destroyer escorts set up barrier patrol
north of the Azores. The ships departed 27 March, and in
the cruise which followed sank one of the U-boats, com-
bining with other hunter-killer groups to foil the Ger-
man plans. J. R. Y. Blakely returned to New York 14
May, her important work in the Atlantic completed.
Following carrier training operations, the ship sailed
for the Panama Canal, arriving 19 July 1945, and joined
the Pacific Fleet. She reached San Diego 29 July for on-
ward routing to Pearl Harbor, where the ship celebrated
the end of organized hostilities 15 August 1945. J. R. Y.
Blakely departed 27 August, however, to perform escort
duties among the island bases of the western Pacific. The
ship also aided in the occupation of many small islands
before arriving San Diego 23 January 1946.
J. R. Y. Blakely steamed via the Panama Canal to New
Y'ork 15 February, and after pre-inactivation overhaul ar-
rived Green Cove Springs, Fla., 13 March 1946. She de-
commissioned 14 June 1946 and was placed in reserve,
later moving to the Texas Group, where she remains.
/. Reynor & Son
A former name retained.
( SP-869 : t. 29; 1. 64' ; b. 14' ; dr. 4' ; s. 14 k.)
J. Reynor & Son (SP-869), a motor boat, was built in
1916 by W. F. Dunn, Norfolk, Va„ and purchased by the
Navy from her owner, J. Reynor & Son, in January 1918.
She commissioned 11 January 1918, Chief Machinist’s
Mate M. L. Wilson in command.
J. Reynor & Son was assigned to the 5th Naval District,
and turned over to the Treasury Department for use by
the Collector of Customs, Norfolk. On this duty she
cruised Hampton Roads and surrounding waters. The
boat was returned to the Navy and loaned to the Ameri-
can Red Cross 19 August 1919 for use at the National
Soldiers’ Home. Returned once more 16 March 1920, J.
Reynor d Son was turned over to the War Department,
Corps of Engineers, 20 April 1920.
J. Richard Ward
James Richard Ward was born in Springfield, Ohio, 10
September 1921, and enlisted in the Navy at Cincinnati
25 November 1940. After basic training, he reported on
board Oklahoma (BB-37) to lose his life in her during the
attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. The gallant
ship was one of the first to be hit, taking three torpedoes
soon after the attack began. She listed dangerously ; and
it was soon apparent that she would capsize. The order
was given to abandon ship, but Seaman First Class Ward
“remained in a turret holding a flashlight so the re-
mainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby
sacrificing his own life.” For his valor in that dark hour,
Ward was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
(DE-243 : dp. 1,200 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3”, 2 40mm-, 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8dcp. (h.h.) ;
3 21'' tt. ; cl. Edsall)
J. Richard Ward (DE-243) was launched by Brown
Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 6 January 1943; spon-
sored by Miss Marjorie Ward, sister of Seaman First Class
Ward; and commissioned 5 July 1943, Lt. T. S. Dunstan
in command.
Following shakedown training in waters off Bermuda,
J. Richard Ward reached Charleston 1 September 1943
where she joined Atlantic convoy escort forces. Steaming
between Norfolk and Gibraltar in the months that fol-
lowed, the ship made three complete convoy voyages in
support of the Allied effort in Europe. After training in
March 1944, the ship was assigned to a hunter-killer group
built around Tripoli (CVE-64). Departing New York 15
March, the ships patrolled the Atlantic between the Bra-
zilian coast and the Cape Verde Islands. No German
submarines were encountered ; and they returned to New
York 18 June 1944.
J. Richard Ward was assigned school ship duties at Nor-
folk during July 1944, and in August was assigned to
another hunter-killer group. This unit, headed by Core
(CVE-13), a veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic, sailed
8 August. After a short training period off Bermuda,
the ships began scouring the Atlantic for submarines,
making attacks on several sound contacts during August.
After replenishing at Argentia, the task group continued
operations against German submarines, now greatly re-
duced in numbers, before returning to New York 9 October.
American antisubmarine tactics and skill had once again
made the sea-lanes safe.
From October 1944 to January 1945, J. Richard Ward
performed her tactical mission during pilot qualifications.
She sailed again 24 January for antisubmarine patrol in
the heavy weather of the north Atlantic, returning 28
March. She was at sea on her final Atlantic cruise when
the German surrender came, and returned to New York
11 May 1945.
.7. Richard Ward underwent modernization at Boston
Navy Yard preparatory to transfer to the Pacific Fleet.
She sailed 28 June 1945, for refresher training in the
Caribbean, then sailed via the Panama Canal for Hawaii.
En route, she received word of the Japanese surrender.
After her arrival Pearl Harbor 1 September, the ship
screened flight operations with Tripoli.
The veteran destroyer escort returned to San Diego 17
October 1945. After transiting the Canal and stopping
at Norfolk, she arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla., 13 De-
cember 1945. There she decommissioned 13 June 1946,
and entered the Reserve Fleet. She is at present berthed
in Texas.
477
J. S. Cullinan, see Alderamin
J. Vaud
A former name retained.
( SP-3361 : t. 63; 1. 101'; 19'8”; dr. 4'6" ; s. 10 k.)
J. Vaud (SP-3361), a motor boat, was built in 1907 by
Thomas Johnson, Wildwood, N.J., and acquired by the
Navy by purchase from her owner, A. L. Dunn of Govans,
Md., 27 September 1918.
J. Vaud was not commissioned, but towed to Indian
Head Proving Ground, Md-, and used for range construc-
tion work. She was sold 30 June 1919, to Chesapeake
Water Supply Co., Norfolk, Va.
J. W. Wilder
A former name retained.
(Sch)
J. W. Wilder was a British schooner captured about 15
miles east of Mobile Bay entrance 20 January 1862 by
Union screw steadier R. R. Cuyler. She was condemned
and sold to the Navy by the New York prize court 19 May
1863, and used as a tender to ordnance ship Sportsman
by the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.
J. William Ditter
J. William Ditter was born in Philadelphia 5 Septem-
ber 1888. He received a law degree from Temple Univer-
sity Law School in 1913, following which he taught in
the Philadelphia public schools and practiced law. Ditter
was selected to Congress from the 17th District of Penn-
sylvania in 1932, and during his years in Washington
served on the House Committee on Appropriations. He
also was a member of the subcommittee on Navy Depart-
ment appropriation bills, and at the time of his death was
ranking minority member. Congressman Ditter was a
supporter of a strong Navy and vitally interested in its
welfare. He was killed in an airplane crash near Lan-
caster, Pa., 21 November 1943.
( DM-31 : dp. 2,200 ;*1. 376'5" ; b. 14' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 8 20mm., 4 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Robert H.
Smith)
J. William Ditter (DM-31) was launched as DD-751 by
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Staten Island, N.Y., 4 July
1944; sponsored by Mrs. J. William Ditter, widow of
Congressman Ditter ; reclassified DM-31 19 July 1944 ;
and commissioned at New York Navy Yard 28 October
1944, Comdr. R. R. Sampson in command.
J. William Ditter completed her shakedown off Bermuda
in December. She sailed from Norfolk 13 January 1945,
and after transiting the Panama Canal and touching
at San Diego arrived Pearl Harbor 10 February.
As the Navy’s island-hopping thrust toward Japan
reached its climax, J. William Ditter sailed 2 March for
Eniwetok and Ulithi, departing the latter base 19 March
for Okinawa. She arrived 25 March off the critical is-
land, soon to be the scene of the largest amphibious as-
sault of the Pacific war, and began hazardous minesweep-
ing operations. The next day she skillfully dodged a
torpedo during an encounter with a Japanese submarine.
On 29 March she discovered two suicide boats off Okinawa,
and sank one of them with gunfire. By the day of the
invasion, 1 April, J. William Ditter and her sister mine-
craft had swept the channels and laid marker buoys, con-
tributing importantly to the success of the initial landing.
Next day her duties shifted to convoy escort, as the versa-
tile ship protected transports on night retirement away
from Okinawa. On the night of 2 April the ship shot
down two bombers, and she continued to come under air
attack in the days that followed as the Japanese made a
desperate but futile effort to stop the invasion with
kamikaze tactics.
J. William Ditter was assigned radar picket duty 12
April, and, subsequently, became the target of heavy
air attack. She shot down several planes and assisted
with several more until retiring to Kerama Retto 30 April.
The ship was soon back on picket duty, however, and en-
gaged in numerous battles with Japanese aircraft. While
patrolling with Harry F. Bauer and Ellyson 6 June, J.
William Ditter was attacked by a large group of kami-
kazes. The ship’s gun crews downed five of the planes;
but a sixth glanced off her No. 2 stack ; and another
crashed her on the port side near the main deck.
The ship lost all power and suffered many casualties;
but valiant damage control kept her afloat until she could
be towed by tug Ute to Kerama Retto next day. Eventu-
ally she was repaired enough to steam to Saipan 10 July
and begin the long voyage home. She touched at San
Diego and the Canal Zone before arriving New York 12
July 1945. J. William Ditter decommissioned there 28
September 1945 and was scrapped in July 1946.
J. William Ditter received one battle star for World
War II service.
Jacamar
Any of many species of birds of the subfamily Galbu-
Imae, found in tropical forests from Mexico to Brazil.
I
( AMc-47 : dp. 185 ; 1. 97'1" ; b. 22' ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
16 ; a. 2 .50 cal. mg. ; cl. Accentor)
The first Jacamar (AMc-47), a wooden-hulled coastal
minesweeper, was launched by Greenport Basin & Con-
struction Co., Greenport, Long Island, N.Y., 10 March
1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Scrimshaw ; and com-
missioned 25 June 1941, Lt. (j.g. ) S. Yeager in command.
The new minesweeper departed for training at Mine
Warfare School, Yorktown, Va., 30 June 1941 ; and re-
ported for coastal duty with the Atlantic Fleet in July.
America’s entry into the war in December necessitated an
increase in mine protection for vital Atlantic bases, and
Jacamar steamed from Boston 9 December for duty at
Bermuda. She subseauently performed these vital mine
warfare functions at Bermuda and in the Caribbean until
returning to Norfolk for alterations and new sweeping
gear 3 February 1943.
Jacamar returned to Bermuda in March 1943, remain-
ing there during the next crucial year in the Battle of
the Atlantic. She sailed for Norfolk 20 April 1944, and
upon arrival took up duty as a towing ship for aircraft
target practice offshore. Jacamar remained on this duty,
stationed at Hampton Roads, until arriving New London,
Conn., 10 February 1945. Jacamar was at New London
when the Germans surrendered in May, and arrived New
York 6 June 1945. She subsequently engaged in clear-
ing mines in Florida waters before decommissioning at
Charleston 6 December 1945. After being briefly laid up
in the Wando River, she was turned over to the Maritime
Commission and sold in 1947 to O. R. Murphy, Charleston,
S.C.
II
The second Jacamar (AMCU-25) was originally LSIL-
870 (q.v.). She was reclassified and named in 1952; con-
verted and commissioned 12 January 1954.
Jacana
Any of certain wading birds of the family Jacanidae
common to the Western Hemisphere.
(MSC-193 : dp. 290, 1. 44', b. 28', dr. 9', s. 13 k. ; cpl. 39, a.
2 20mm.; cl. Bluebird)
Jacana (MSC-193) was launched as AMS-193 25 Febru-
ary 1954 by Quincy Adams Yacht Yard, Quincy, Mass. ;
478
sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy M. Deehan ; reclassified MSC-
193 on 7 February 1955; and commissioned 10 March
1955, Lt. (j.g.) W. W. Jordan in command.
After shakedown, Jacana arrived Charleston, S.C., her
home port, 28 May 1955 ; and, during the year, engaged
in tactical training and experimental exercises part of
the Navy’s ceaseless activity to maintain a superior readi-
ness capability that incorporates every modern technolog-
ical advance. The motor mine sweeper arrived at her
new home port, Yorktown, Va., 18 January 1957, and
commenced mine warfare exercises in the Chesapeake
Bay.
In addition to participating in mine warfare opera-
tions, Jacana performed important search and rescue
missions for downed aircraft and engaged in amphibious
exercises off Onslow Beach. She continued in this series
of operations until 28 April 1962, when she proceeded to
Port Everglades, Fla., for duty with the Naval Ordnance
Laboratory Test Facility. After her mine evaluating
mission and Caribbean exercises were completed, Jacana
sailed for Halifax late September to participate in joint
American-Canadian maneuvers. The combined exercises
are proof of the free world’s determination to thwart any
Communist thrust toward world conquest. Soon after
this exercise, the Cuban crisis brought a showdown
with communism. Jacana remained on alert through
November.
From 1963 into 1967 Jacana has operated along the At-
lantic coast, engaging in mine exercises, amphibious
training, search and rescue operations, and duty with the
Naval Mine Defense Laboratory in Florida.
Jaccard
Richard Alonzo Jaccard was born 1 July 1918, in Troy,
Mo., and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 29 October 1940.
He later underwent flight training and upon graduation
was commissioned Ensign 27 September 1941. Reporting
to famed carrier Enterprise (CV-6) in April 1942, Ens.
Jaccard took part 4 June 1942 in one of the most im-
portant battles in all naval history, the Battle of Midway.
As American carrier groups moved to meet the Japanese
thrust at Midway, Jaccard, as part of Scouting Squad-
ron 6, attacked enemy carriers during the morning, knock-
ing out Alcagi and Kaga. That afternoon the squadron
carried out another devastating attack, sinking carrier
Hiryu. For his part in a great victory, Jaccard was
awarded the Navy Cross. Following further missions
with Scouting Squadron 6, Jaccard was transferred to
USS Jacana (MS-193) at Hampton Roads, Va., 23 July 1964
479
Bombing Squadron 6 in Wasp (CV-7). While supporting
the Guadalcanal campaign from the carrier, Ens. Jaccard
was killed when Wasp was torpedoed and sunk 15 Sep-
tember 1942.
( DE-355 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 2 5”, 4 40 mm., 10 20mm., 2 det., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h. ) ; cl. John C. Butler)
Jaccard (DE-355) was launched by Consolidated Steel
Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex., 18 March 1944; sponsored by
Mrs. C. R. Jaccard, mother of Ensign Jaccard ; and com-
missioned 26 July 1944, Lt. Comdr. C. R. Hamilton in
command.
Following shakedown training out of Bermuda, the
new destroyer escort sailed to Boston for the installation
of new electronic equipment. She departed 29 September
for Norfolk to join her escort division and after a battle
problem off the Virginia Capes escorted a convoy back
into Hampton Roads. Jaccard then sailed 21 October,
transited the Panama Canal, and touched at many of the
Navy’s south Pacific bases before arriving Hollandia 28
November 1944. After several days of antisubmarine
training, she steamed to Leyte, arriving 21 December,
and there underwent her first air attack. In the months
that followed the destroyer escort operated as a convoy
escort from Hollandia, Manus, and the Palaus to Leyte
as Allied forces pressed forward in the conquest of the
Philippines. Jaccard remained on this duty, escorting a
total of eleven convoys of vitally needed supplies, until
joining a hunter-killer group 18 March 1945, west of the
Philippines. During the next 2 months she also escorted
American submarines to and from Subic Bay.
In May Jaccard returned to escort duty out of Leyte
Gulf, but steamed back to the waters off Manila 22 June
to patrol and escort submarines. She remained on this
duty until after the end of organized fighting, and then
began escort duty between Manila and Okinawa 30 August
1945. Early in 1946 the veteran ship began operating as
escort and mail ship between the Philippines and ports
in China and Korea in support of American troops remain-
ing in these strategic countries to preserve stability. She
sailed 26 April 1946 for the United States, and arrived 16
June. After a period of training operations off the West
Coast, Jaccard decommissioned at Puget Sound Navy Yard
30 September 1946, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet,
Bremerton, Wash., where she remains.
Jaccard received one battle star for World War II
service.
Jack
Any of various fishes — young pike, green pike or pick-
erel, or large California rockfish.
I
( SS-259 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9” ; b. 27'3" ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 60; a. 10 21" tt., 1 3", 2 .50 cal., 2 .30 cal. ; cl.
Gato)
The first Jack (SS-259) was launched by Electric Boat
Co., Groton, Conn., 16 October 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Frances Seely ; and commissioned at New London, Conn.,
6 January 1943, Comdr. T. M. Dykers in command.
Jack underwent shakedown training along the New
England coast, sailing from New London 26 April 1943
for service in the Pacific. Reaching Pearl Harbor 21 May,
the submarine took on supplies and departed on her first
offensive war patrol 5 June 1943. Taking part in a sub-
marine offensive against Japan, she patrolled off Honshu.
Jack came upon a five-ship convoy 26 June and in a
series of five wTell-executed attacks sank 4,000-ton pas-
senger-cargo ship Toyo Maru and 6,000-ton cargo ship
Shozan Maru. In attempting to torpedo a third ship, the
submarine was shaken by an aerial torpedo ; but the alert
crew corrected her dangerous diving angle and effected
repairs. On Independence Day 1943, Jack began to track
smoke on the horizon and soon detected Nikkyo Maru with
an escort. The submarine sent the cargo ship under with
three torpedoes and returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs
19 July 1943.
Jack’s second war patrol (5 September-10 October)
brought no opportunities for attack as engineering diffi-
culties forced her to return prematurely to Pearl Harbor.
On her third war patrol the submarine proceeded west-
ward from Pearl Harbor to the South China Sea 16 Janu-
ary 1944. Prowling the pivotal Singapore-Japan shipping
lanes, she encountered five large oil tankers with three
escorts early 19 February. Jack reached attack position
at about 0440 and fired three torpedoes, scoring one hit.
She then began a long circling maneuver designed to
bring her in front of the remaining four tankers ; and late
in the afternoon of 19 February she was again ready to
attack. Two torpedoes sank two more of the frantically
zigzagging ships; and Jack moved in on the trailing
tanker. Her first spread of torpedoes missed and the
tanker replied with a 5" salvo ; but Jack returned 3 hours
later to sink her with four well-placed torpedoes. In this
remarkable series of attacks the submarine sank four
tankers, all over 5,000 tons — Kokuie Maru, Nanei Maru,
Nichirin Maru, and Ichiyo Maru. After several more
attacks Jack set course for Fremantle, Australia, her new
base, where she arrived 13 March 1944.
Departing Australia 6 April 1944, Jack returned to the
South China Sea for her fourth war patrol. She chased
a long convoy through the afternoon of 25 April, and
shortly after midnight next day attacked, sinking
Yoshido Maru and damaging two others. She also sank
a radio-equipped trawler, Daisun, 27 April with gunfire
before returning to Fremantle 10 May 1944.
Jack steamed out of Fremantle for her fifth war patrol
4 June 1944, again returning to Japan’s important life-
lines in the South China Sea. Early 24 June she made an
approach on a large convoy and fired three torpedoes,
sinking a large tanker, San Pedro Maru, before being
forced to retire by escorting aircraft. Five days later
she came upon another large convoy, and by early 30
June was in a position to attack. Three successive at-
tacks sent cargo ships Matsukawa Maru and Tsukusliima
Maru to the bottom. Jack returned to Fremantle 14 July
1944. For her highly successful and aggressive first,
third, and fifth war patrols, the submarine was awarded
the coveted Presidential Unit Citation.
The submarine turned to the Celebes Sea for her sixth
war patrol, and sailed 6 August 1944. Attacking a con-
voy 28 August, she sank a small minesweeper and started
in pursuit of a cargo ship. After her torpedo missed and
she was raked with gunfire by her adversary, Jack deftly
evaded the attacker and returned later to sink the Jap-
anese ship, Mexico Maru. She arrived Fremantle fol-
lowing this patrol 24 September 1944.
Jack sailed from Fremantle once more 27 October 1944,
bound for the South China Sea. She attacked a coastal
convoy 14 to 15 November, sinking cargo ships Nichiei
Maru and Yuzan Maru before shallow water forced her
to break off the fight. The attrition of Japanese shipping
was beginning to tell ; and the ship found no more oppor-
tunities before ending her patrol at Pearl Harbor 24 De-
cember 1944. From there she returned to San Francisco
for a major overhaul.
The veteran submarine returned to Pearl Harbor 1
April 1945, and departed on her eighth war patrol 26
April. With most Japanese shipping sunk or reluctant to
venture into the sea lanes, her major job was to act as
lifeguard for the massive carrier strikes and bomber mis-
sions on the Japanese mainland. The submarine returned
to Guam for refit 18 June and set out again 12 July for
her ninth and last war patrol. Stationed between Luzon
and Okinawa, she again performed lifeguard duty until
the Japanese surrender 15 August 1945. Her ninth patrol
ended at Midway 29 August.
Jack sailed for the United States 5 September 1945,
steaming via Pearl Harbor and the Canal Zone to New
York 3 October 1945. She decommissioned at New Lon-
don 8 June 1946, and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. She recommissioned briefly 20 December 1957, to
prepare for transfer to the government of Greece and
480
after training operations was loaned to the Royal Hellenic
Navy 21 April 1958. She serves as HHMS Amfitriti
(S-09).
In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, Jack re-
ceived seven battle stars for World War II service. All
patrols, except for her second and ninth, were designated
successful.
II
(SS(N)-605: dp. 3,968 (surf.); 1. 278'; b. 31'7" ; dr.
25'4" ; s. classified ; cpl. 95 ; a. 4 tt. ; cl. Thresher)
The second Jack (SSN-605) was laid down 16 Septem-
ber 1960 by Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H. ; launched
24 April 1963; sponsored by Mrs. Leslie R. Groves, wife
of Lieutenant General Groves, head of the Manhattan
Project ; and commissioned 31 March 1967, Comdr. L. T.
Urbanczyk in command.
She then joined the Atlantic Fleet and operates out of
New London, Conn., as one of the Navy’s fast and versatile
nuclear submarines, a mighty weapon helping to assure
the United States control of the seas.
Jack C. Robinson
Jack C. Robinson was born in Blue Ridge, Ga., 22 Sep-
tember 1922, and enlisted in the Marine Corps 12 Decem-
ber 1941. After basic training, he was assigned to a unit
scheduled to take part in the Guadalcanal campaign,
America’s first amphibious operation of the war. During
the bitter fighting 23 October 1942 in the Matanikau River
area, Pfc. Robinson risked his life to repair damaged com-
munications lines vital to the survival of his unit, earn-
ing the Silver Star for his gallantry. Robinson was
wounded in the action, however, and died 25 October 1942.
( APD-72 : dp. 1,390; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Crosley)
Jack C. Robinson (APD-72) was launched by Dravo
Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., 8 January 1944 as DE-671 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Clem F. Robinson, mother of Pfc. Robinson ;
reclassified APD-72 on 27 June 1944; converted to a high-
speed transport, and commissioned 2 February 1945, at
Orange, Tex., Lt. Comdr. W. W. Bowie in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Jack C. Robinson
departed Norfolk 31 March to join the Pacific Fleet, arriv-
ing San Diego 14 April 1945. Ten days later she arrived
Pearl Harbor to begin a month of intensive training. Ar-
riving Ulithi 21 May, the ship took up duty as an escort
vessel for the massive supply convoys between staging
bases and the forward areas. In June she moved to Oki-
nawa for antisubmarine patrol offshore, departing 17 July
to take up similar duty in the Philippines.
After the end of the Pacific War, Jack C. Robinson en-
gaged in convoy duties supporting the Allied occupation of
Japan and her former empire before returning via the
Panama Canal to Norfolk early in 1946. After exercises
in the Caribbean the ship returned to Brooklyn 24 May
1946 for extensive repairs. She was towed to Green Cove
Springs, Fla., arriving 30 October 1946, and decommis-
sioned 13 December. Jack C. Robinson entered the Re-
serve Fleet at Orange, Tex. Jack C. Robinson was struck
from the Navy List 1 December 1966 and sold to Chile
under the Military Assistance Program.
Jack C. Robinson received one battle star for World
War II service.
Jack Miller
Jack Miller, born in Dallas, Tex., 2 April 1920, served
in the Marine Corps Reserve as a Second Lieutenant from
19 May to 31 October 1941. Commissioned First Lieu-
tenant, USMC, at Quantico, Va., 1 November 1941, he
volunteered for “Carlson’s Raiders” and went to the
Pacific. On 3 December 1942, as commanding officer of a
platoon which had the point at Guadalcanal, he daringly
led a flank attack on a strong enemy combat patrol en-
gaged by his battalion at the summit of the hill. Realiz-
ing the advance of his platoon was being held up by hostile
machine gun fire, he dauntlessly led the assault on the
Japanese gun position, acquiring wounds from which he
died the following day. Lt. Miller was posthumously
awarded the Navy Cross.
(DE-410 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 13'4" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 222 ; a. 2 5”, 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. John C. Butler)
Jack Miller (DE-^10) was launched 10 January 1944,
by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Henry S. Millr, mother of Lt. Miller; and commis-
sioned 13 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. W. Whaley in command.
After shakedown along the East Coast and in the Gulf
of Mexico, Jack Miller sailed from Norfolk 13 June, arriv-
ing Pearl Harbor 12 July via the Canal Zone and San
Diego. After more intensive training out of Pearl Har-
bor, she departed 24 July screening a convoy to Eniwetok,
where she arrived 2 August. The remainder of the month
was spent on patrol and convoy duty. Jack Miller sailed
from Eniwetok 2 September and, after escorting a convoy
to Saipan, took up harbor patrol duty there. Antisub-
marine patrols, convoy screening, and escort duty kept
Jack Miller busy for the next 9 months. During this
period she sank five mines.
In June and July, Jack Miller screened fueling groups in
support of the Okinawa operation. After the war, she
operated out of Japan before returning to San Diego 5
November 1945. Jack Miller remained at San Diego until
decommissioning there 1 June 1946, and joining the Stock-
ton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remains.
Jack Miller received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Jack W. Wilke
Jack Winton Wilke was bom in Covina, Calif., 13 June
1919, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 13 January 1941.
After undergoing flight training, he was commissioned
Ensign 1 November 1941. Wilke was first assigned to a
patrol squadron, but later reported to Torpedo Squadron
8 on board Hornet in the Pacific. In the pivotal Battle
of Midway, 4 and 5 June 1942, he joined his squadron in
attacking the Japanese invasion force without air cover,
and “pressed home his attack in the face of withering fire
from enemy Japanese fighters and antiaircraft batteries.”
All the planes and all the flyers but one, Ens. George H.
Gay, of this gallant squadron were lost ; but their attack
had diverted Japanese fighters from dive bombing attacks
which might have prevented the eventual U.S. Navy vic-
tory. Ens. Wilk received the Navy Cross posthumously
for his heroism.
(DE-800 : dp. 1.400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1", 10 20mm., 2 dct, 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Jack W. Wilke (DE-800) was launched by Consolidated
Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 18 December 1943 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Joe H. Wilke, mother of Ens. Wilke; and com-
missioned 7 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. R. D. Lowther in
command.
After shakedown, Jack W. Wilke spent several months
on vital convoy escort duty from American ports to
Britain, the Mediterranean, and finally to northern
France. In this capacity she helped bring about the
enormous buildup which eventually sealed the fate of the
Axis. From 5 December 1944 to May 1945, the ship
operated with a hunter-killer group in the Newfoundland-
Nova Scotia area ; and, upon the surrender of Germany,
she moved to Norfolk to serve as a weather reporting and
air-sea rescue vessel.
Jack TP. Wilke sailed 4 June 1945 for Miami and oper-
ated as a sonar training ship there until 18 July. In Sep-
tember she underwent overhaul at New York Navy Yard
in x>reparation for her new role as an experimental anti-
submarine ship. Sailing 7 January 1946, Jack TP. Wilke
commenced operations out of Key West. During the
years that followed, she carried out experiments in both
481
tactics and sound equipment off Key West and on occa-
sional cruises to the Caribbean, contributing importantly
to the Navy’s scientifically advanced, antisubmarine-war-
fare capability.
The ship’s schedule of experimental operations was in-
terrupted on New Year’s Day 1959 by the triumph of
Castro’s forces in Cuba; and Jack W. Wilke steamed to
Havana with other ships to help stabilize the situation
and to protect American lives and property. During the
remainder of the year, she operated off Key West and
Norfolk on training operations, and took part in a special
good-will cruise to Panama in October during a Caribbean
training period. Returning to Key West, the ship decom-
missioned 24 May 1960, and entered the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. At present she is berthed at Philadelphia.
Jackal
A wild dog of the Old World, resembling a wolf.
( Sch : t. 47 ; cpl. 31 ; a. 3 guns)
Jackal, sometimes spelled Jackall, was one of eight
schooners which Commodore David Porter purchased at
Baltimore in January 1823 for service in the “Mosquito
Fleet” being established for action against pirates in the
West Indies. Jackal, commanded by Lt. T. H. Stevens,
sailed from Norfolk with sloop of war Peacock, steam
galliot Sea Gull, and other schooners 14 February and
arrived St. Thomas 3 March. Porter’s efforts to secure
the cooperation of the Governor of Puerto Rico were
thwarted when a Spanish battery at San Juan fired on
Fox, killing her commander, as she entered the harbor
carrying a message.
Porter then divided his fleet to scour the coasts of
Hispaniola, Cuba, and part of Yucatan for buccaneers.
In this operation Jackal, Fox, Gallinipper, and Mosquito
were assigned to the northwestern coast of Cuba, where
they searched each bay, inlet, and key and escorted mer-
chantmen through the dangerous waters. The flotilla cap-
tured Pilot, a fast sailing schooner, off Norfolk, which the
pirates had taken only 8 days before. About the same
time they destroyed three pirate schooners and several
of their bases.
In August operations were interrupted by an epidemic
of yellow fever in the fleet which forced Porter to take
most of his vessels north where more healthful conditions
prevailed. When the epidemic had passed, Jackal re-
turned to the West Indies to resume her vigilant patrol-
ling of waters previously infested by pirates but now
comparatively safe and peaceful. The freebooters had
suffered so severely at the hands of Porter’s flotilla that
they had all but abandoned operations at sea for less
dangerous raids upon settlements ashore.
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in USS Jack W. Wilke (DE-800 ) 5 November 1946
482
When yellow fever broke out again in the summer of
1824, Jackal once more sailed north. Back in the West
Indies on patrol off Cuba, Jackal rescued survivors of
Ferret after her sister schooner had capsized in a gale 4
February 1825. Shortly thereafter Jackal, seriously in
need of repair, was sold.
Jackdaw
A common crow-like bird, easy to tame, that is noted for
pilfering small articles.
Y MS-373, commissioned 29 April 1944 ( q.v .), was re-
classified AMS-21 and given the name Jackdaw 17 Febru-
ary 1947.
Jackdaw (AM-368), an Admirable- class minesweeper,
was under construction by Puget Sound & Dredging Co.,
Seattle, Wash., but was cancelled 6 June 1944.
Jackdaw (AM-402), an Admirable- class minesweeper,
was under construction at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay
City, Mich., but was cancelled 12 August 1945.
Jackie Boy , see YP-295
Jackie Joe, see YP-163
Jackie Sue, see Parrakeet ( AMC-34)
Jackson, Nellie, see Nellie Jackson (SP-1459)
Jackson, President, see President Jackson (AP-37)
Jackson, President, see Zeilin
Jacob Bell
(SwStr : t. 229; 1. 141'3'' ; b. 21'; dph. 8'1” ; a. 1 8-inch
D. sb., cpl. 49 ; 1 32-pdr.)
Jacob Bell, a sidewheel steamer built at New York
City in 1842, was purchased at New York from O. T.
Glover and F. R. Anthony 22 August 1861 ; and commis-
sioned the same day, Lt. Edward P. McCrea in command.
Jacob Bell immediately sailed for the Potomac, where
the following day she joined steamer Ice Boat in shelling
a Confederate battery at the mouth of Potomac Creek.
She remained in the Potomac enforcing the blockade of
the Virginia coast, reconnoitering along the shore of the
Potomac and in its tributaries for Confederate fortifica-
tions and shelling any batteries found.
In April 1862 Jacob Bell accompanied five other Union
ships to the Rappahannock River to gather information for
Major General George B. McClellan, who was then
launching his Peninsular Campaign and pondering over
potential advantages of a second beachhead. The Union
ships ascended the Rappahannock to Tappahannock
(Urbana), Va., 50 miles by land from Richmond.
Jacob Bell became even more closely involved in the
affairs of General McClellan’s Army of the Potomac when
she was transferred to the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron for duty on the James River. She arrived
Hampton Roads 28 May and the following day proceeded
with Mahaska to Fort Powhatan. A party which went
ashore 30 May found no evidence that the forts had been
occupied. The next day Aroostook joined the two ships
in ascending the James to a point 3 miles below Drewry’s
Bluff, finding no obstructions or batteries on the passage
but suffering some annoyance from riflemen on the left
bank. The three ships promptly returned to their anchor-
age off Turkey Island.
A message from General McClellan, who was then fight-
ing the Battle of Seven Pines, arrived a few minutes past
midnight 2 June, requesting support from the Navy.
Jacob Bell, accompanied by five other ships stood up
stream at dawn but was prevented from reaching Rich-
mond by carefully-prepared obstructions at Drewry’s
Bluff. Nevertheless, the Navy wisely remained in the
upper James, where its support a month later saved the
Army of the Potomac from destruction at the end of Lee’s
masterful Seven Days Campaign.
Meanwhile, Jacob Bell labored tirelessly in support of
the Union cause, engaging batteries and pickets ashore,
reconnoitering tributaries in hostile territory, and main-
taining communications along the river. She continued
this valuable service until transferred back to the
Potomac Flotilla, departing Fort Monroe for Washington 2
September.
For the remainder of the war, Jacob Bell was primarily
concerned with the defense of Washington — alternately
serving in the Potomac and the Rappahannock according
to the ebb and flow of the titanic struggle between General
Lee and the Army of the Potomac. All the while, her
duties as a blockader were discharged with skill and devo-
tion. She captured C. F. Ward, a metal lifeboat with a
contraband cargo 17 October and destroyed two schooners
4 November while on a reconnaissance mission up Nomini
Creek, Va. On 23 August 1863, she caught schooner
Golden Leaf trying to slip into Rosier’s Creek, Va., with
a cargo of sugar. Two more ships were taken in 1864.
In between prizes, blockade duty was varied by shelling
batteries along the shore and landing boat parties to
destroy Confederate property. Always busy until the
South’s defeat, Jacob Bell decommissioned at Washing-
ton Navy Yard 13 May 1865, and was lost at sea 6 No-
vember while being towed by Banshee toward New York.
Jacob Jones
Jacob Jones was born near Smyrna, Del., in March
1768. Appointed Midshipman 10 April 1799, he served in
United States during the quasi-war with France. In
1803 he sailed in frigate Philadelphia to the Barbary
coast. On 31 October, when Philadelphia ran aground
near Tripoli harbor, Jones was captured by the Tripoli-
tans and held prisoner for 20 months. Upon his return
to the United States, he served in Adams and Argus and
on 4 June 1810 took command of sloop Wasp.
After the outbreak of war with England, Wasp cap-
tured brig Dolphin 13 October 1812 ; and defeated British
ship-of-war Frolic in a bitter struggle off the Delaware
capes on the 18th. Commissioned Captain 3 March 1813,
Jones then commanded Macedonian and later in the war
rendered valuable service to Commodore Chauncey on
Lake Ontario.
Upon the return of peace with England, he again com-
manded Macedonian, joined the Mediterranean Squadron
under Commodore Decatur, and took part in securing
lasting peace with the Barbary powers. Captain Jones
assumed command of the Mediterranean Squadron in
1821 ; and in 1824 he was appointed to the Board of Navy
Commissioners. Two years later he became com-
mander of the U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific. At the
time of his death, 3 August 1850, Commodore Jones was
the commandant of the Naval Asylum in Philadelphia.
I
( DD-61 : dp. 1,150; 1. 315'3” ; b. 30'7" ; dr. 9'9" ; s. 30 k. ;
cpl. 99 ; a. 4 4”, 8 21” tt. ; cl. Tucker)
The first Jacob Jones (DD-61) was laid down 3 August
1914 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
launched 29 May 1915; sponsored by Mrs. Jerome Parker
Crittendon, great-granddaughter of Jacob Jones ; and
483
commissioned 10 February 1916, Lt. Comdr. W. S. Pye in
command.
After shakedown, Jacob Jones began training exercises
off the New England coast until entering the Philadelphia
Navy Yard for repairs. Upon the outbreak of war be-
tween the United States and Germany 6 April 1917, Jacob
Jones patrolled off the Virginia coast before departing
Boston for Europe 7 May.
Arriving Queenstown, Ireland, 17 May, she immediately
began .patrol and convoy escort duty in waters off the
United Kingdom. On 8 July she picked up 44 survivors of
the British steamship Valetta, the victim of a German
U-boat. Two weeks later, while escorting British steam-
ship Daflla, Jacob Jones sighted a periscope; but the
steamship was torpedoed before an attack on the sub-
marine could be launched. Once again a rescue ship,
Jacob Jones took on board 25 survivors of the stricken
Dafila.
Throughout the summer the destroyer escorted supply-
laden convoys and continued rescue operations in sub-
marine-infested waters. On 19 October she picked up 305
survivors of torpedoed British cruiser Orama. After spe-
cial escort duty between Ireland and France, she departed
Brest, France, 6 December on her return run to Queens-
town. At 1621, as she steamed independently in the vicin-
ity of the Isles of Scilly, her watch sighted a torpedo wake
about a thousand yards distant. Although the destroyer
maneuvered to escape, the high-speed torpedo struck her
starboard side, rupturing her fuel oil tank. The crew
worked courageously to save the ship ; but as the stern
sank, her depth charges exploded. Realizing the situation
hopeless, Comdr. Bagley reluctantly ordered the ship
abandoned. Eight minutes after being torpedoed, Jacob
Jones sank with 64 men still on board.
The 38 survivors huddled together on rafts and boats in
frigid Atlantic waters off the southwest coast of England.
Two of her crew were taken prisoner by attacking sub-
marine TJ-53 commanded by Kapitan Hans Rose. In a
humanitarian gesture rare in modern war, Rose radioed
the American base at Queenstown the approximate loca-
tion and drift of the survivors. Throughout the night of
6 to 7 December British sloop-of-war Camellia and British
liner Catalina conducted rescue operations. By 0830 the
following morning HMS Insolent picked up the last sur-
vivors of Jacob Jones.
II
(DD-130 : dp. 1,090; 1. 314'5" ; 31'8” ; dr. 8'8" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 113 ; a. 4 4", 2 3” cal. mg., 12 21” tt. ; cl. Wickes)
The second Jacob Jones (DD-130) was laid down 21
February 1918 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Cam-
den, N.J., 20 November 1918; sponsored by Mrs. Cazenove
Doughton, great-granddaughter of Commodore Jacob
Jones; and commissioned 20 October 1919 at the Phila-
delphia Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. P. H. Bastedo in command.
After fitting out at Philadelphia, Jacob Jones sailed 4
December for shakedown in the Atlantic. She arrived
Pensacola, Fla., 22 December to continue her training and
departed 3 January 1920 for the Pacific. Arriving San
Diego 26 January, she operated along the California coast
on antiaircraft and firing exercises. She entered Mare
Island Navy Yard 17 August for repairs and overhaul and
assumed a reserve status. Returning to duty with De-
stroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, 18 June 1921, she operated out
of San Diego until decommissioning 24 June 1922.
Recommissioned 1 May 1930, Jacob Jones trained in
coastal waters from Alaska to Mexico as a plane guard for
the Navy’s budding aircraft carriers. Following Battle
Fleet maneuvers during August, she entered Mare Island
in November for repairs. The destroyer sailed 4 February
1931 for Panama, where she resumed plane guard duty for
Langley (CV-1). Jacob Jones transited the Panama
Canal 22 March and sailed for maneuvers in the Carib-
bean. She sailed for the United States 1 May and took
part in joint Army-Navy maneuvers in the Chesapeake
Bay 26 to 29 May. During the remainder of the summer,
she operated with Destroyer Division 7 along the New
England coast before retiring to the Boston Navy Yard
2 October for overhaul.
Jacob Jones steamed from Boston 1 December for ma-
neuvers off Haiti. On 13 February 1932 she departed the
Caribbean to begin 13 months of plane guard duty and
torpedo practice along California. She returned to Guan-
tanamo, Cuba, 1 May 1933 for general drill and battle
problem exercises, and on the 26th she sailed for Norfolk
to undergo self-upkeep on rotating reserve.
Following 2 months of overhaul at Charleston, Jacob
Jones returned to Guantanamo 29 November for scouting
and firing exercises. She interrupted her maneuvers 29
June 1934 and sailed for Port au Prince, Haiti, where
she served as an escort during President Roosevelt’s
“Good Neighbor” visit to Haiti. She resumed Caribbean
operations in July and participated in landing force exer-
cises at Guantanamo during September. She retired
from the Caribbean late in November and entered Norfolk
Navy Yard 3 December 1934 for several months of upkeep.
In May 1935 Jacob Jones embarked midshipmen from
the Naval Academy for an Atlantic training cruise. She
returned to Norfolk 7 June for 3 months of coastal patrols
and maneuvers. She steamed to New York in September
to participate in destroyer maneuvers and operated out
of New York until entering Brooklyn Navy Yard January
1936 for upkeep and inspection.
On 15 June 1936, Jacob Jones departed New York with
reserve officers on board for training cruises in the Carib-
bean which continued through September. In October
she participated in joint Army-Navy coastal maneuvers ;
and, following her annual inspection at Norfolk, she par-
ticipated in minesweeping training during February 1937.
In March she trained officers of the 5th Fleet Reserve
and in June she resumed training cruises for midshipmen.
She continued to operate as a practice ship for reserve
officers until 15 January 1938 when she departed Norfolk
for fleet landing exercises and battle maneuvers in waters
off Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Jacob Jones
returned to Norfolk 13 March for overhaul. In June she
resumed operations out of Norfolk, serving as a carrier
plane guard and conducting torpedo and gunnery
practice.
After attending the Presidential Regatta in September,
Jacob Jones prepared to sail for Europe to join Squadron
40-T in the Mediterranean. Organized in September 1936
to protect and evacuate Americans from Spain during
the civil war, the squadron remained in the western
Mediterranean cultivating friendly relations .with Euro-
pean nations while protecting American interests. De-
parting Norfolk 26 October, Jacob Jones reached Gibraltar
6 November, and arrived Villefrariche 17 November. She
operated out of that Flench Mediterranean port on patrol
until 20 March 1939. She visited Algiers 24 to 25 March
1939 and, during the next 7 months, steamed to various
Atlantic European ports from Rotterdam to Lisbon. De-
parting Lisbon 4 October, she sailed for the United States
and anchored at Norfolk the 14th.
Resuming her coastal operations, Jacob Jones conducted
plane screening patrols from Norfolk to Newport, and
in December she escorted Seadragon (SS-194) during
the new submarine’s Caribbean shakedown.
After 2 months of upkeep and inspection at Norfolk,
Jacob Jones sailed for Charleston 4 April 1940 to join
the Neutrality Patrol. Organized in September 1939 as
a response to the war in Europe, the Neutrality Patrol
was ordered to track and report the movements of any
warlike operations of belligerents in the waters of the
Western Hemisphere. The basic purpose of the patrol
“was to emphasize the readiness of the United States
Navy to defend the Western Hemisphere.” In June, after
2 months of duty with the Neutrality Patrol, Jacob Jones
returned to training midshipmen.
In September, Jacob Jones departed Norfolk for New
London, Conn., where her crew underwent intensive ASW
sound school training. Returning briefly to Norfolk 6
December, she sailed to Key West for further ASW train-
ing. She resumed her operations with the Neutrality
Patrol in March 1941, patrolling the waters from Key
484
West to Yucatan Channel. In May she joined the ships
which guarded the waters of Vichy-controlled islands,
Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles.
Jacob Jones maintained her Caribbean operations
throughout the summer.
On 30 September 1941 she departed Guantanamo with
Destroyer Division 54 to prepare for escort duty in the
North Atlantic. Jacob Jones received 2 months of upkeep
and inspection at Norfolk and on 1 December 1941 de-
parted for convoy escort training along the New England
coast. Clearing Boston Harbor 12 December, she sailed
to Argentia, Newfoundland, to begin her escort duty.
On 16 December she escorted Mackerel (SS-204) and
S-33 (SS-138) through heavy seas to Boston and re-
turned to Argentia the 24th. Jacob Jones once again
departed Argentia 4 January 1942 escorting Albatross
(AM-71) and Linnet (AM-76). While steaming to join
Convoy SC-63, bound for the British Isles, Jacob Jones
made an underwater contact and commenced a depth
charge attack. Losing contact with the submarine, she
escorted her ships to the convoy and returned to Argentia
5 January.
Sailing from Argentia 14 January 1942, Jacob Jones
joined Convoy HX-169, which was headed for Iceland.
The convoy encountered a violent storm ; heavy seas and
winds of force 9 acattered its ships’ convoy. Separated
from the convoy, Jacob Jones steamed independently for
Hvalfjordur, Iceland. Though hampered by a shortage
of fuel, an inoperable gyro compass, an erratic magnetic
compass, and the continuous pounding of the storm, Jacob
Jones arrived on the 19th. Five days later, she escorted
three merchant ships to Argentia. Once again heavy
seas and fierce winds separated the ships; and Jacob
Jones continued toward Argentia with one Norwegian
merchantman. She detected and attacked another sub-
marine 2 February 1942, but her depth charges yielded
no visible results.
Arriving Argentia the 3d, she departed the following
day and rejoined Convoy ON-59, bound for Boston.
Reaching Boston 8 February, Jacob Jones received a week
of repairs. She sailed on the 15th for Norfolk and 3
days later steamed from Norfolk to New York.
In an effort to stem the losses to Allied merchant ship-
ping along the Atlantic coast, Vice Admiral Adolphus
Andrews, Commander of the Eastern Sea Frontier, estab-
lished a roving ASW patrol. Jacob Jones , Lt. Comdr.
Hugh P. Black in command, departed New York 22 Feb-
ruary for this duty. While passing the swept channel
off Ambrose Light Ship, Jacob Jones made a possible
submarine contact and attacked immediately. For 5
hours Jacob Jones ran 12 attack patterns, dropping some
57 depth charges. Oil slicks appeared during the last
six attacks but no other debris was detected. Having
expended all her charges, Jacob Jones returned to New
York to rearm. Subsequent investigation failed to reveal
any conclusive' evidence of a sunken submarine.
On the morning of 27 February, Jacob Jones departed
New York harbor and steamed southward along the New
Jersey coast to patrol and search the area between Bar-
negate Light and Five Fathom Bank. Shortly after her
departure, she received orders to concentrate her patrol
activity in waters off Cape May and the Delaware Capes.
At 1530 she spotted the burning wreckage of tanker R. P.
Resor, torpedoed the previous day east of Barnegat Light ;
Jacob Jones circled the ship for 2 hours searching for
survivors before resuming her southward course. Cruis-
ing at a steady 15 knots through calm seas, she last
reported her position at 2000 and then commenced radio
silence. A full moon lit the night sky and visibility was
good ; throughout the night the ship, completely darkened
without running or navigation lights showing, kept her
southward course.
At the first light of dawn 28 February 1942, undetected
German submarine U—578 fired a spread of torpedoes at
the unsuspecting destroyer. The deadly “fish” sped un-
sighted and two “or possibly three” struck the destroyer’s
port side in rapid succession.
According to her survivors, the first torpedo struck just
aft of the bridge and caused almost unbelievable damage.
Apparently, it exploded the ship’s magazine ; the resulting
blast sheered off everything forward of the point of im-
pact, destroying completely the bridge, the chart room,
and the officers’ and petty officers’ quarters. As she
stopped dead in the water, unable to signal a distress
message, a second torpedo struck about 40 feet forward
of the fantail and carried away the after part of the
ship above the keel plates and shafts and destroyed the
after crew’s quarters. Only the midships section was
left intact.
All but 25 or 30 officers and men, including Lt. Comdr.
Black, were killed by the explosions. The survivors, in-
cluding a badly wounded, “practically incoherent” signal
officer, went for the lifeboats. Oily decks, fouled lines
and rigging, and the clutter of the ship’s strewn twisted
wreckage hampered their efforts to launch the boats.
Jacob Jones remained afloat for about 45 minutes, allow-
ing her survivors to clear the stricken ship in four or five
rafts. Within an hour of the initial explosion Jacob Jones
plunged bow first into the cold Atlantic; as her shat-
tered stern disappeared, her depth charges exploded, kill-
ing several survivors on a nearby raft.
At 0810 an Army observation plane sighted the life rafts
and reported their position to Eagle 56 of the Inshore
Patrol. By 1100, when strong winds and rising seas
forced her to abandon her search, she had rescued 12
survivors, one of whom died en route to Cape May. The
search for the other survivors of Jacob Jones continued
by plane and ship for the next 2 days ; but none were
ever found.
Ill
( DE-130 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306'; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7” ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 6 40mm. AA, 10 20mm. AA, 3 21” tt-,
2 dct., 9 dcp. ; cl. Edsall)
The third Jacob Jones (DE-130) was laid down 26
June 1942 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange,
Tex. ; launched 1 November 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. L. W.
Hesselman ; and commissioned 29 April 1943, Lt. Comdr.
Walton B. Hinds, in command.
After fitting out, Jacob Jones sailed 13 May for shake-
down in Bermuda waters and arrived Charleston 7 July.
On the 18th she steamed to Newport to prepare for convoy
duty. A week later she sailed with a convoy of Coast
Guard cutters and Navy ships, which steamed to North
Africa to support Allied operations in the Mediterranean.
While escorting this convoy, Jacob Jones made her first
antisubmarine attack 7 August firing 13 depth charges in
two attacks. She arrived Casablanca, French Morocco, 13
August; a week later she departed with Task Force 64
escorting a convoy bound back to the United States.
Arriving New York 5 September, Jacob Jones underwent
inspection and on the 16th departed for ASW convoy
training with Hammann (DE-131) and Robert E. Peary
(DE-132) at Casco, Maine. She sailed for Norfolk 21
September and on the 25th joined Convoy UGS-19 headed
for North African waters off Casablanca. Arriving 12
October, Jacob Jones conducted ASW patrols before de-
parting for Gibraltar to join a westbound convoy the 19th.
She arrived Norfolk 6 November with the southern sec-
tion of the convoy, then departed for 10 days of repairs at
Brooklyn Navy Yard. On the 23d she joined a 64-ship
Norfolk-to-Casablanca convoy. Upon her arrival 10 De-
cember, she patrolled waters off the coast of Africa for
a week before returning to the United States with Convoy
GUS-24.
Following repairs at New York and refresher training
at Casco, Jacob Jones joined Card (CVE-11) off Cape
Henry 24 January 1944. At that time the escort carrier
was busy carrying troops and aircraft to Europe as part
of the mighty Allied buildup for the forthcoming invasion
of Normandy. Returning to Norfolk 1 March, she re-
sumed duty escorting convoys to England.
Jacob Jones departed New York 28 March 1944 and
joined five other DEs escorting a convoy bound for Mo-
ville. Northern Ireland. Arriving 7 April, she departed
Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 6 days later as one of
485
several escorts for a 28-ship, westbound convoy that
reached New York 23 April. After repairs and training,
she made rendezvous 13 May with 44 merchant ships and
17 escorts for the 10-day passage to Northern Ireland
and returned to New York 8 June with a westbound
convoy.
For the next 12 months, Jacob Jones continued her es-
cort duty for North Atlantic Convoys. Departing from
either New York or Boston, she sailed as convoy escort
to such ports as Londonderry and Moville, North Ireland ;
Liverpool, Southampton and Plymouth, England ; and
Le Havre and Cherbourg, France. When in the United
States awaiting her next convoy, she maintained her op-
erational readiness by training exercises in waters off
Maine or Long Island. When in Europe, she operated on
coastal and harbor ASW patrols. In all Jacob Jones
crossed the Atlantic 20 times, providing protection for
merchant and troop convoys in the North Atlantic.
Three weeks and a day after Germany’s unconditional
surrender, Jacob Jones departed Southampton, England,
and steamed in convoy for the United States. She put
into New York 8 June 1945 and entered the Brooklyn Navy
Yard for overdue repairs and overhaul. On the 30th she
departed for Guantanamo, Cuba, for 2 weeks of ASW
and shore bombardment exercises. Steaming independ-
ently from Guantanamo 19 July, she transited the Panama
Canal 3 days later, and sailed into San Diego harbor the
31st.
As the Japanese Empire prepared to surrender, Jacob
Jones departed the Destroyer Base, San Diego, 9 August
1945 for Pearl Harbor. She reached Pearl 16 August and
commenced ASW exercises before embarking 108 passen-
gers 4 September, they sailed for the West Coast. She
arrived San Pedro, Calif., and discharged her passengers
10 September. Departing for the Canal Zone 2 days later,
she transited the Canal on the 20th and arrived Charleston
25 September. She steamed from Charleston 24 October
and 2 days later sailed up the St. John’s River, Fla., to
Green Cove Springs. Jacob Jones decommissioned 26
July 1946 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. At
present she is berthed at Orange, Tex.
Jacona
A former name retained.
( YFP-1 : t. 4,843 ; 1. 379'4" ; b. 53'1" ; b. 23'8")
Jacona (YFP-1) was built in 1919 for the US SB by
Todd Drydock & Construction Corp., Tacoma, Wash. She
operated as a freighter until 1930 when she was converted
to a non-self-propelled power barge by Newport News
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va. Sub-
sequently, the ship was owned by the New England Public
Service Co., at Augusta, Maine, and the Public Service
Co. of New Hampshire, and moored at Manchester. She
USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) transiting the Panama Canal 1934
486
was transferred to the Maritime Commission 17 March
1945, at Portsmouth, N.H., for use by the Army.
Jacona came under Navy jurisdiction in 1947 and was
classified VFP-1, 31 December 1947. The craft was towed
to the Pacific, and used at various advance bases and at
Korean ports as an auxiliary power supply. She is ca-
pable of producing 20,000 kilowatts of power. Jacona has
been on loan to the Army in the Pacific since 1947, con-
tinuing this service into 1967.
Jacques Phillipe Villere, see Basilan (ARG-12)
Jade
A tough, compact, green gem cut from jadeite or
nephrite.
(PY-17 : t. 582 ; 1. 171' ; b. 27'6" ; dr. 13' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl. 26 ;
a. 1 3", 4.30 cal. mg., 2 dct.)
Jade (PY-17), a diesel powered yacht, was built as
Athero II in 1926 by Geo. Lawley & Son, Neponset, Mass. ;
later named Caroline, and purchased by the Navy as
Doctor Brinkley in December 1940 from Dr. J. R. Brink-
ley, of Del Rio, Tex. Overhauled and converted for Navy
use at Charleston Navy Yard, she was renamed Jade and
commissioned at Jacksonville, Fla., 16 March 1941, Lt.
Comdr. George L. Hoffman in command.
Assigned to the 6th Naval District, Jade performed
inshore patrol work until departing Charleston for the
Canal Zone 5 May 1941. There she performed patrol
duties for Panama Sea Frontier until 11 February 1943
when she arrived Salinas, Ecuador, for transfer to that
country under lend lease. After a training period for
her new crew, Jade was turned over to Ecuador 24 May
1943.
The ship was returned to U.S. custody in exchange lor
Turquoise (PY-18) 29 January 1944. Arriving San
Francisco, she decommissioned and was placed in service
6 April 1944 for use as a hulk at the Dry Dock Training
Center, Tiburon. She was eventually placed out of serv-
ice 30 December 1944, and returned to the Maritime
Commission 12 January 1946.
Jadnan, see Crow (AMC-20)
Jaguar
A large leopard-like mammal of wooded regions, typical-
ly yellowish brown marked with dark spots.
( IX-120 : dp. 3,665 ; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s. 11
k. ; cpl. 79 ; a. 1 5", 1 3", 8 20mm. ; T. 2-ET1-S-C3)
Jaguar (IX-120) was launched as Charles T. Yerkcs
under Maritime Commission contract by the California
Shipbuilding Corp., San Pedro, Calif., 20 November 1943 ;
renamed Jaguar 27 October; acquired by the Navy 15
December 1943 ; and commissioned that day, Lt. Comdr.
T. E. Hammond in command.
After shakedown out of San Pedro, Jaguar departed
19 January 1944 for duty as a floating storage ship in the
Pacific islands. She arrived New Caledonia 21 February
via Wellington, New Zealand, and from there she trans-
ported vital diesel oil, aviation gasoline, and minesweep-
ing gear to the New Hebrides and Solomons Islands.
Jaguar remained on station in the Pacific, sometimes
servicing islands remote but important in our push for
Japan. Jaguar returned to the West Coast early in 1946
and arrived Norfolk via the Panama Canal 20 April. She
decommissioned there 10 June 1946, and was turned over
to the Maritime Commission. After serving as a tanker
with various American lines under the name of Harry
Peer in 1948 and Tini in 1949, the ship was transferred to
Panamanian flag in February 1951.
Jallao
A pearl-white haemulonid food fish of the Gulf of
Mexico.
( SS-368 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9"; b. 27'3'' ; dr. 15'3'' ; s.
20 k. ; cpl. 66; a. 1 5", 1 40mm., 1 20mm., 2 .50 cal..
10 21" tt. ; cl. Perch)
Jallao (SS-368) was launched by Manitowoc Shipbuild-
ing Co., Manitowoc, Wis., 12 March 1944 ; sponsored by
Mrs. Oliver G. Kirk; and commissioned 8 July 1944, Lt.
Comdr. J. B. Icenhower in command.
After spending most of July in training operations,
Jallao departed Manitowoc 26 July for Chicago, where she
was loaded into a floating dry dock for the long trip down
the Mississippi to New Orleans. She subsequently de-
parted New Orleans 6 August 1944, and steamed through
the Panama Canal to the Pacific and arrived Pearl Harbor
22 September 1944.
Following additional training the submarine sailed 9
October for her first war patrol, operating with Pintado
and Atule in a coordinated attack group known as
“Clarey’s Crushers.” At first the submarines proceeded
toward Luzon Strait; but, during the Battle for Leyte
Gulf late in October, they were directed to take up scout-
ing positions between the Philippines and Japan to cut off
Japanese cripples struggling home after their devestat-
ing defeat at the Battle of Cape Engano. On the evening
of 25 October Jallao contacted damaged light cruiser
Tama and moved to attack. She fired seven torpedoes ;
three hit and sent the Japanese warship to the bottom.
After this notable success on her maiden patrol, Jallao
continued her search until 28 November, returning to
Majuro 10 December.
Jallao sailed for the Yellow Sea for her second war
patrol 6 January 1945. The decimated Japanese merchant
marine offered few targets. However, she flushed a convoy
5 March. During the attack she had a close call when an
enemy escort trying to ram her damaged her periscope.
Two days later she sailed for Midway, arriving 26 March.
After repairs, the submarine departed Midway 20 April
1945 for her third war patrol, and was assigned aircraft
lifeguard duty off Marcus Island. Responding to reports
of flyers in the water north of the island 9 May, Jallao
braved shore batteries to move in and pick up five men in
a raft, delivering them safely to Saipan 12 May 1945. She
then departed for the coast of Japan and more lifeguard
duty as American heavy bombers stepped up their attacks
on the home islands. She arrived Pearl Harbor 13 June
1945.
After advanced training in the Marianas, Jallao de-
parted Guam 31 July to patrol the Sea of Japan. On this,
her fourth and final patrol, the submarine sank 6,000-ton
freighter Timoko Maru 11 August 1945. Four days later
hostilities ended ; and the ship sailed via Guam to San
Francisco, where she arrived 28 September 1945. She
decommissioned at Mare Island 30 September 1946, and
entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Jallao' s home port was changed to New London in .Tuly
conversion in which she was streamlined and equipped
with snorkeling gear and new electric equipment. She
recommissioned 4 December 1953, Lt. Comdr. J. W. Mercer
in command. After shakedown in the San Diego area, the
submarine departed 12 April for the East Coast, steaming
via the Panama Canal to Norfolk. Joining Submarine
Squadron 6, Jallao operated out of Halifax during 1954
training with Canadian and American antisubmarine
units. In January and February 1955, she took part in
fleet exercises in the Caribbean, returning to Norfolk 4
March.
Jallao' s home port was changed to New London in July
1955 and she got underway with British submarine HMS
Alderney 7 August to take part in Joint Exercise “New
Broom IV.” Following this operation, Jallao was deployed
to the 6th Fleet and departed for the Mediterranean 9
November 1955. In the months that followed, she helped
train Italian Navy ships and took part in fleet exercises,
256-125 0 - 68 - 33
487
beginning the long voyage home in mid-January 1956. The
ship steamed through the Suez Canal, visited several coun-
tries of eastern and southern Africa, and crossed the
South Atlantic to take part in exercises with Uraguayan
and Brazilian destroyers. The veteran submarine re-
turned to New London 16 April.
After having installed the latest in electronic gear,
Jallao resumed operations in January 1957. Combined
fleet exercises in the Caribbean occupied her through
February ; and, after coastal antisubmarine operations,
she arrived Boston late in July for a short midshipman
training cruise. September and October were spent in the
North Atlantic on a NATO exercise as the submarine
helped strengthen the armed forces of the Atlantic Allies.
She returned to New London 24 October 1957.
Jallao spent most of 1958 on training exercises off the
Atlantic Coast, taking part in a combined antisubmarine
exercise in the North Atlantic in September. The year
1959 was spent largely in equipment development work
and training with the Submarine School at New London.
The ship got underway 20 January 1960 for exercises in
the Caribbean, returning 19 February. The latter part
of the year was spent in training out of Bermuda. From
9 January to 24 March 1961, the veteran submarine car-
ried out special training operations off Scotland, and
operated with Canadian ships off Halifax during that
summer. The remainder of the year was spent in the
New London area.
Jallao began 1962 with her second Mediterranean cruise,
sailing 2 January and exercising with the vital 6th Fleet
in the troubled area until 7 May. The last 4 months of
the year were spent in extensive modernization and
repairs at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Through 1963
and 1964, the ship took part in training cruises to the
Caribbean, served in submarine school training, and par-
ticipated in equipment evaluation work. On 3 January
1965, she departed for a 4-month 6th Fleet deployment.
She returned 1 May for submarine warfare tactics and
submarine school operations out of New London. Jallao
operated along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean into
1967.
Jallao received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Jamaica
A bay on the southwestern coast of Long Island, N.Y.
(CVE-43: dp. 7,800; 1. 495'8" ; b. 69'6" ; ew. 111'6" • dr
26' ; s. 18 k. ; cpl. 890 ; a. 2 5”, 20 40mm. ; cl. Bogue)
Jamaica (CVE— 43), originally ACV-43, was launched
under Maritime Commission contract by Seattle-Tacoma
Shipbuilding Corp. (later Todd-Pacific), Tacoma, Wash.,
21 April 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. C. T. Simard ; reclassified
CVE-43 on 15 July 1943 ; acquired by the Navy, and
transferred to Great Britain under lend-lease 27 Septem-
ber 1943.
One of a large group of escort carriers transferred to
the Royal Navy for antisubmarine work in the Atlantic,
Jamaica was renamed Shah. She took an active part in
the war, heading the hunter-killer group which sank
U-198 in the Indian Ocean 12 August 1944, and taking
part in the Burma campaign in 1945. She was returned
to the United States 6 December 1945, and sold 20 June
1947.
Jamaica, see Ariel (AF-22)
Jamaica, see YFB-Jil
James, Reuben, see Reuben James (DD4245)
James, Reuben, see Reuben James (DE-153)
James, W. T.,see W. T. James (No. 429)
James Adger
A former name retained.
( ScStr : t. 1,152; 1. 215'; b. 33 '6" ; dph. 21'3"; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 120; a. 8 32-pdrs., 1 20-pdr. P.r.)
James Adger, a side wheel steamer built at New York
City in 1851, was purchased at New York from Spofiford,
488
USS Jallao (SS-368)
Tileston & Co., 26 July 1861 ; and commissioned at New
York Navy Yard 20 September 1861, Comdr. John B.
Marehand in command.
James Adger departed New York 16 October 1861 in
pursuit of Nashville, a Confederate cruiser reported to
have escaped from Charleston with the South’s ministers
to England and France, James M. Mason and John Slidell.
She arrived Queenstown, Ireland, after an extremely
stormy passage 30 October and spent November crusing
in quest of her elusive quarry.
James Adger arrived Hampton Roads, Va., 2 December
and 3 days later was ordered to Port Royal for duty in
the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Rear Admiral
DuPont ordered Comdr. Marehand to sail in James Adger
to Georgetown, S.C., and assume command of the blockade
there. She arrived off Georgetown, S.C., 24 December and
served with such efficiency that on 7 March 1862, Comdr.
Marehand was ordered to Charleston to command the
blockade at that critical port.
At Charleston smooth teamwork was the key to success ;
and James Adger was unusually adept in cooperating with
other ships in the area to assure the effectiveness of the
blockade. As senior ship, she usually remained on station
while others chased blockade runners ; but, from time to
time, she took part in a capture herself. On 18 March
1862 she joined four other Union ships in capturing Emily
St. Pierre attempting to slip into Charleston with a cargo
of 2,173 bales of gunny cloth sorely needed for baling cot-
ton, the South’s main export and source of foreign credit.
She helped Kcirstonc State 29 May 1862 in capturing
Elizabeth, a 250-ton steamer trying to enter Charleston
with a cargo of muntions. She assisted Keystone State
and Flag in driving off and pursuing her old adversary
Nashville, now a blockade runner named Thomas L.
Wragg trying to slip into Charleston.
James Adger sailed for Baltimore 19 September for re-
pairs and departed for the South 31 December touching at
Hampton Roads 2 January 1863 to take monitor Montauk
in tow before proceeding to Beaufort and Port Royal in
preparation for an attack on Charleston. Arriving Port
Royal 19 January, the ships learned that Nashville, now
a privateer called Rattlesnake, was in the Ogeechee River.
James Adger stood out of Port Royal, monitor Montauk
in tow, 22 January and steamed to Ossabaw Sound, where
she arrived two days later. Montauk ascended the Ogee-
chee independently to begin operations which resulted in
the destruction of Rattlesnake 28 February. Meanwhile
James Adger, her vital towing service completed, returned
to Port Royal 29 January.
On 2 April the veteran ship became flagship for Rear
Admiral DuPont while he supervised final preparations
for his powerful monitor attack upon Charleston. After
the tough ironclads were driven back by incredibily in-
tense fire from Confederate batteries, James Adger towed
crippled monitors to Port Royal and on 29 April sailed
from Port Royal towing Passaic north for repairs, arriv-
ing New York 4 May.
Back in Port Royal 16 May, James Adger was assigned
blockade duty off Charleston. A month later she was re-
called to Port Royal to embark prisoners captured with
Atlanta for passage to Fort Monroe, whence she steamed
to Philadelphia for repairs. She arrived Philadelphia
25 June but immediately after coaling sailed in pursuit of
Confederate commerce railer Tacony, then operating
against Union merchantmen far up the East Coast. She
arrived New York 3 July.
Four days later James Adger, not yet repaired, re-
ceived orders to Wilmington for duty with the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Arriving Wilmington 27
July, she was stationed off New Inlet, where 5 days later
she assisted Iroquois and Mount Vernon in taking Con-
federate steamer Kate. On 8 November with the assist-
ance of Niphon she captured Cornubia, an iron side
wheeler bringing in a valuable cargo of arms, ammuni-
tion, and chemicals. Moreover, a package of documents
thrown overboard before the capture, when plucked out
of the sea, divulged information so important to the South
that Cornubia's captain lamented, “though the Cornubia is
a small vessel the Confederate Government could better
have afforded to lose almost any other . . .” The next
morning James Adger took Confederate steamer Robert E.
Lee coming into Wilmington from Bermuda with a cargo
of arms and Army clothing sorely needed by Lee’s soldiers.
Schooner Ella, approaching Wilmington with a cargo of
salt and yard goods from Nassau, was James Adger' s next
victim, surrendering 26 November.
Without the normal overhaul periods due ships and
men, service was taking a daily toll in wear and tear.
When the ship’s long postponed repairs could be delayed
no longer, James Adger sailed north and decommissioned
at Philadelphia 28 December for the necessary yard work.
After recommissioning 17 June 1864, James Adger
served in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron until
the end of the war. On 21 April 1865, Secretary Welles
ordered her to Mariguana Passage (now Mayaguana Pas-
sage) in the Bahamas to escort a convoy of California-
bound ships. Following a visit to New York, she cruised
in the Caribbean off Panama and Colombia from August
1865 to February 1866. Back in New York, she assisted
British steamer European after she exploded in New York
Harbor 3 April 1866.
James Adger decommissioned at New York Navy Yard
2 May and was sold at New York to James B. Campbell 9
October 1866.
James Baines, see Algol (AK-54)
James C. Ousens
James C. Owens, Jr., born 5 December 1910 in Batavia,
N.Y., was appointed Naval Aviation Cadet, USNR, 3 Sep-
tember 1935. Following flight training at Pensacola, Fla.,
he served on board Lexington (CV— 2) ; and on 1 September
1941, he joined Torpedo Squadron 8 on board Hornet
(CV-8). Appointed Lieutenant 6 January 1942, Owens
was with this squadron when it pressed home a courageous
and determined attack against Japanese carriers 4 June
during the Battle of Midway. Without the protection of
fighters or accompanying dive bombers, the gallant pilots
exposed themselves to overwhelming firepower ; and every
plane of the squadron was shot down. By forcing the
enemy ships to maneuver radically and eliminating Japa-
nese air cover, the “stark courage and relentless drive” of
the torpedo pilots, such as Lieutenant Owens, made pos-
sible the American victory that followed. For extraordi-
nary heroism in the face of overwhelming danger, Lt.
Owens received the Navy Cross and the Presidential Unit
Citation posthumously.
(DD-776: dp. 2,220; 1. 376'6" ; b. 41 '2" ; dr. 15'8" ; s.
34 k. cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
James C. Oivens (DD-776) was laid down 9 April 1944,
by the Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif. ; launched 1
October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. James C. Owens, Jr.,
widow of Lt. Owens ; and commissioned 17 February 1945,
Comdr. R. H. Blair in command.
After shakedown off southern California, James C.
Owens departed San Pedro 10 May escorting California
(BB-44) to Pearl Harbor, arriving 16 May. She cleared
Pearl Harbor 24 May and sailed as convoy escort via
Eniwetok and Ulithi to Okinawa. Arriving 17 June,
she continued to Kerama Retto to join DesRon 24, which
steamed 24 June for Leyte, where it joined a cruiser-
destroyer striking force. Sailing 13 July via Okinawa,
the force entered the East China Sea 22 July to conduct
antishipping sweeps. James C. Owens operated with the
striking force for a month and then operated out of Oki-
nawa until departing 20 September for Japan as part of
the Wakayama Occupation Group. Arriving 22 Septem-
ber, she supported occupation landings, patrolled off
southern Japanese islands, and served as courier and
escort ship. Steaming from Japan 5 December, she
489
reached San Diego the 22d, departed for the East Coast 3
January 1946, and arrived New York 15 January.
For more than 16 months, James C. Oicens operated
along the Atlantic Coast from New England to Texas.
She conducted ASW training out of Newport, R.I. ; par-
ticipated in destroyer maneuvers off the Florida coast ;
and served as escort and plane guard for Saipan (CVL-
48) in the Gulf of Mexico. Following operations out of
Norfolk, Va., she departed Quonset Point, R.I., 30 July
1947, with DesRon 2 for deployment with the 6th Fleet.
She cruised the Mediterranean from Algeria to Italy and
supported U.S. efforts to settle the unstable situation in
Trieste before returning to the United States 21 December.
She returned to the Mediterranean in June 1948 and sup-
ported U.N. efforts to establish peace between Israeli and
Arab forces. During this deployment, she patrolled the
coast of Palestine, supported the evacuation of the U.N.
Mediation Team in July, and helped to prevent the spread
of conflict in the Middle East. Returning home early in
October, she operated along the Atlantic coast until she
decommissioned at Charleston, S.C., 3 April 1950.
With Communist aggression in Korea and increased
tension in Europe and the Middle East, James G. Owens
recommissioned 20 September 1950, Comdr. R. B. Erly in
command ; and commenced readiness and antisubmarine
training operations. Departing for the Far East 22 Janu-
ary 1952, she arrived in the Western Pacific 27 February
for blockade and interdiction patrols along the Korean
coast. While operating off Songjin 7 May, she engaged
enemy shore batteries and silenced several of them, but
sustained six direct hits. Departing Korea 22 June, she
steamed via the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean to
Norfolk, Va., arriving 19 August. She returned to Korean
waters 10 November 1953, and patrolled coastal waters to
prevent violations of the armistice signed 27 July. She
remained on this important peace-keeping duty in the
Far East until she departed Yokosuka, Japan, 11 March
1954. Steaming via Midway, the West Coast and the
Panama Canal, she arrived Norfolk 1 May.
For almost 2 years James C. Owens operated out of
Norfolk and Guantanamo Bay on ASW and destroyer di-
vision maneuvers. While in the Caribbean during Sep-
tember 1955, she provided search and rescue assistance to
the citizens of Puerto Rico after a destructive hurricane.
In April 1956 she sailed with DesDiv 221 via Northern
Europe for the Middle East to operate in the Mediterran-
ean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf. During the Suez crisis
she transited the Canal to demonstrate American interest
in a peaceful solution of the crisis. Returning to Norfolk
in October, she again deployed to the Mediterranean 28
February 1957 to support the 6tli Fleet as guardian of
peace in the Middle East ; then she returned to Norfolk 7
May. On 3 September she sailed to the North Atlantic
for the NATO Operation “Strikeback” ; after coastal
operations for 8 months, she deployed 6 June 1958, on a
midshipman cruise to northern Europe. Following fleet
and NATO operations, she returned to Norfolk 4 August.
James C. Owens deployed on her fifth cruise to the Medi-
terranean and Middle East 7 August 1959. She ranged
the Mediterranean from Italy to Lebanon and transited
Suez 14 October for 2 months of patrol and convoy escort
exercises in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Returning to
the Mediterranean 15 December, she operated with the 6th
Fleet for 2 months ; then sailed for Norfolk, arriving 3
March 1960. During September she joined NATO forces
in the North Atlantic for Operation “Swordthrust,” which
stressed both offensive and defensive naval tactics of
atomic warfare. In November she steamed to the Carib-
bean and patrolled the coasts of Nicaragua and Guata-
mala to intercept Cuban arms bound for Castro-oriented
rebels. Retiring to Norfolk 20 December, she departed
for the Mediterranean 2 February 1961. Before return-
ing to Norfolk 20 Augxist, she operated with the 6th Fleet
from Spain to Greece.
After joining the ASW Defense Force 25 September,
James C. Owens steamed to Charleston 11 January 1962,
for an 8-month FRAM II overhaul that readied her for a
new and vital role in the modern Navy. She resumed
operations on 19 December with surveillance patrols off the
Cuban coast, then returned to Charleston 4 January 1963,
for fleet exercises. Departing 6 August with DesDiv 42
for the Mediterranean again she conducted ASW opera-
tions with the 6th Fleet from France to Cyprus. Return-
ing to the United States 23 December, she recived DASH
facilities at Norfolk during February 1964. She continued
her ASW operations during a midshipman cruise to the
Mediterranean 11 June-3 September. During the re-
mainder of 1964, James C. Owens maintained her peak
efficiency and readiness in coastal operations with nuclear
submarines.
The ship departed Charleston, S.C., 17 February 1965
for a Mediterranean cruise, and carried out advanced
antisubmarine operations during her deployment.
After her returning to Charleston 12 July, she was
designated a recovery ship for the Gemini V orbital space
mission. With the mission successfully completed, the
ship returned to her home port 13 September. On 2 No-
vember she entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for
extended overhaul.
In March 1966 James C. Owens was back on the line at
Guantanamo Bay. While there she rendered assistance
to burning cruise ship, Viking Princess. After returning
to Charleston for a brief visit, James C. Owens embarked
midshipmen for their annual at-sea training. In late
August she was assigned as the close-in recovery ship for
the second in a series of Apollo unmanned space launches.
In September the destroyer was deployed with the 6th
Fleet ; and, while operating in the Aegean Sea, she was
ordered to the scene of sinking Greek ferry Heraklion,
where she helped rescue the crew. James C. Owens re-
turned to Charleston 31 January 1967. She remains a
very active part of the Atlantic Fleet.
James C. Owens received two battle stars for World
War II service and two for the Korean conflict.
James D. Blackwood, see J. Douglas Blackwood, (DE— 219)
James E. Craig
James Edwin Craig, born Jacksonville, Fla., 29 October
1901, was appointed to the Naval Academy 3 July 1918.
After graduation in 1922, he saw almost continuous sea
duty until early 1929 when he received aviation training
at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. As an aviator, he
served at Coco Solo, C.Z., and on board Wright, Arizona,
and Yorktown. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Com-
mander in 1937 and commanded Torpedo Squadron 5 in
1938. In March 1939 he assumed command of Conyngliam.
Two years later he became Damage Control Officer and
First Lieutenant aboard Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Com-
mander Craig was killed in action during the Japanese
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941.
( DE-201 : dp. 1.400; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" : s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 3 21" tt, 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.), 2 dct. ; cl. Buckley)
James E. Craig (DE-201) was launched 22 July 1943, by
Charleston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Craig,
widow of Lieutenant Commander Craig; and commis-
sioned 1 November 1943, Lt. Comdr. Hampton M. Ericson
in command.
The new destroyer escort departed Charleston 23 No-
vember for shakedown off Bermuda and returned to
Charleston 25 December for alterations. She sailed 4
January 1944 for Panama via the Windward Passage. In
the Caribbean she joined Lovelace (DE-198) and Samuel
S. Miles (DE-183) 7 January to escort two troop trans-
ports. She transited the Panama Canal 8 January.
In company with other DE’s, James E. Craig steamed
from Balboa, C.Z., 14 January escorting SS Azalea City
to Noumea, New Caledonia. Stopping at Bora Bora 27
January, James E. Craig and Azalea City departed the
28th and 2 days later encountered a typhoon which
pounded the ships with 50-foot waves. They passed
490
through a second typhoon 4 February with winds of 80
knots. On 5 February they were ordered to Espiritu
Santo, and arrived the following day.
James E. Craig departed Espiritu Santo 13 February
with three other escorts and seven merchant ships bound
for Guadalcanal. Upon arrival the 16th, she began anti-
submarine patrol off Lunga Point. She departed for
Espiritu Santo 23 February escorting two merchant ships
and continued her escort duty between Guadalcanal and
Espiritu Santo for several weeks. On 15 March she es-
corted Cacapon (AO-52) from Espiritu Santo to a fueling
rendezvous with Task Force 36, which was engaged in
operations against Kavieng, New Ireland, and Emirau
Island, “the last link in the ring around Rabaul.” Refuel-
ing completed on the 25th, James E. Craig and Cacapon
joined other escorts and tankers and returned to Espiritu
Santo.
On 31 March James E. Craig departed Espiritu Santo
in company with Escort Division 37, including Lovelace
(DE-198), Manning (DE-199), Neuendorf (DD-200) and
Eichenberger (DD-202). Stopping at Tulagi in the Solo-
mons 2 to 4 April, they sailed the 5th for New Guinea,
where James E. Craig was to see action for 5 months.
On 26 April James E. Craig joined a convoy of escorts
and transports bound from Cape Sudest to Humboldt Bay
to support the invasion of Hollandia, underway since the
22d. The convoy arrived 3 May ; and after discharging
the transports, the escorts returned to Cape Sudest the
5th. James E. Craig, now under command of Lt. Comdr.
Edward F. Andrews, steamed 13 May on escort duty to
Humboldt Bay via Aitape Roads, arrived the 17th, and
immediately joined an attack convoy bound for Wakde-
Sarmi, west of Hollandia. She returned the same day to
Humboldt Bay, where she continued her patrols and escort
duty. She bombarded enemy troop concentrations at
Wakde-Sarmi on the 27th and returned to Cape Cretin via
Humboldt Bay on the 31st.
James E. Craig returned to Humboldt Bay 6 June to
prepare for the bitter conquest of Biak Island. With six
other escorts she accompanied the convoy and supported
the landing operations 12 June. Departing the same day,
the convoy returned to Humboldt Bay the 14th ; and James
E. Craig continued as escort to Cape Cretin, where she
arrived 3 days later.
During the remainder of June and through July James
E. Craig continued escort and antisubmarine duties along
the northern coast of New Guinea. While on ASW opera-
tions off Wakde, she conducted prolonged, successful
bombardments of enemy supply depots at Sawar 11-12
July, expending some 3,300 rounds of 3” and 1.1" shell-
fire. A week later she arrived at Noemfoor Island, south-
west of Biak, and escorted convoys 18 to 23 July on a
triangular route from Noemfoor to Humboldt Bay via
Biak. Arriving Madang Harbor, Astrolabe Bay, 23 July
for overhaul, James E. Craig returned to Humboldt Bay
to resume her escort and ASW operations.
During August she plied the coastal waters off New
Guinea from Cape Cretin to Wakde ; then devoted the next
6 weeks to escort and antisubmarine patrols between Cape
Cretin, Manus Island, and Humboldt Bay. On 11 Octo-
ber she joined a convoy at Ulithi, then sailed for the Palaus
on the 18th and arrived Peleliu 2 days later for ASW op-
erations. She returned to Manus the 25th for repairs.
Back at Humboldt Bay on 14 November, she joined a
large convoy of transports, amphibious craft, and escorts
underway on the 17th for the Philippine Islands to sup-
port the vital, Allied foothold on Leyte, established some
4 weeks earlier. The convoy of 75 ships and 9 escorts
steamed northwestward and by dusk of the 23d ap-
proached Leyte Gulf.
James E. Craig, returning from radar picket patrol to
her assigned ASW station, made radar contact with six
low-flying unidentified planes approaching from the south
at approximately 190 knots. Soon her spotters observed
“Jill” torpedo planes 7 miles out, closing at high speed.
As the enemy planes broke into three groups in an at-
tempt to “box the target,” James E. Craig turned left full
rudder to meet the attackers ; and all guns which could
bear commenced firing at the planes, still more than 2
miles out. Four of the attackers began a run and
launched their torpedoes at a range of 1,000-1,500 yards
to port ; as the ship turned, three torpedoes passed “close
aboard to port” and almost parallel to her. Meanwhile,
two planes commenced a run from the starboard side.
Approaching almost directly from out of the sunset, one
plane dropped a torpedo within a thousand yards which
broached once before settling down on its run. As James
E. Craig turned hard to starboard, the torpedo passed
within 5 yards astern. One of the attackers passed within
200 yards of the ship, was hit by starboard 20mm. gun-
fire, and splashed after passing over El Paso (PF^l).
The convoy stood into, San Pedro Bay, Leyte, the fol-
lowing day, and remained at battle stations a greater part
of the day to repel enemy aircraft which attempted to
bomb the convoy. That night the convoy and escorts re-
formed and departed for Humboldt Bay via the Palaus.
Upon arrival, James E. Craig received general mainte-
nance and overhaul from Dobbin (AL-3) through 10 De-
cember. She spent the remainder of the month escorting
fleet tankers and practicing antiaircraft and night torpedo
firing drills at Padaido, Dutch East Indies, and Humboldt
Bay. On 28 December Escort Division 37 departed Hum-
boldt Bay with a convoy of tankers and merchant ships
bound for Leyte, where they arrived 1 January 1945.
The following day, James E. Craig stood out for Min-
doro Island to join Task Group 77.2, ordered to support
landing operations on northern Luzon. Enemy recon-
naissance planes maintained close surveillaee; and late
afternoon 4 January an enemy suicide plane penetrated
defenses and struck Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), causing
her to burst into flame. After the conflagration got out
of hand, the escort carrier’s commander ordered abandon
ship. James E. Craig assisted in rescue operations and
later that evening proceeded with other escorts and tank-
ers to Mindoro.
Standing into Mangarin Bay the following morning,
James E. Craig commenced picket and ASW operations,
which continued through the day and into the night, as
the convoy departed Mangarin to maneuver off Mindoro
during darkness. Designed to prevent enemy attack at
night, the night maneuvers continued until the 10th, when
the convoy remained at Mangarin Bay through the night.
James E. Craig resumed ASW operations at the harbor
entrance for several days until troublesome submarine
detection equipment forced her to retire to Mangarin Har-
bor 14 January. She commenced antiaircraft patrol for
ships in anchorage and on 5 February returned to San
Pedro Bay, Leyte, for repairs, thence to Humboldt Bay,
New Guinea, arriving 2 March.
Getting underway the following day, she returned to
San Pedro Bay via Kossol Roads, Palaus. Upon arriving
Leyte 10 March, James E. Craig prepared for continued
escort duties between San Pedro Bay and Manila, Manus
Humboldt Bay, and Kossol Roads. From 14 March to 21
May, she operated almost continuously on escort duty, and
on the 21st she departed Leyte for Lingayen Gulf. Stand-
ing into San Fernando Harbor 4 days later, she com-
menced antisubmarine and escort patrols along the coast
of Luzon that continued to 13 August when she departed
for Manila. Once at Manila she resumed ASW opera-
tions to the 27th ; then, as escort in company with Eichen-
berger (DE-202), she convoyed tugs and tows en route
Okinawa. An impending typhoon disrupted the convoy
1 September ; high seas and 70-knot winds scattered the
ships and separated tugs from their tows. As the storm
abated 2 September, James E. Craig began search and
rescue operations which continued to the 9th. Further
typhoon warnings caused the ships to return to Subic
Bay, Luzon, where the convoy anchored the following day.
James E. Craig remained at Subic Bay until 1 October,
when she steamed for the United States via Eniwetok
and Pearl Harbor. She arrived San Diego 5 November
and decommissioned there 2 July 1946. As a unit of the
Pacific Reserve Fleet, she presently is berthed at San
Diego, Calif.
491
James E. Craig received four battle stars for World
War II service.
James E. Kyes
James Ellsworth Kyes, born in Everett, Wash., 16 April
1906, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1930. As
commanding officer of Leary (DD-158), Comdr. Kyes was
awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for “extraordinary
heroism” during action against enemy submarines in the
North Atlantic 23 December 1943. After his ship had
received three torpedo hits and was sinking, he gave the
order to abandon ship. As he prepared to leave Leary,
he checked to see that none of his men remained on board
and spied one whose life jacket was torn and useless.
Comdr. Kyes removed his own and handed it to the sailor.
He then calmly climbed over the side and was swallowed
up by the waters of the cold Atlantic, gallantly sacrificing
his own life to protect a member of his crew.
(DD-787: dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 40'11" ; dr. 18'6" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 8 20mm., 5 21" tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
James E. Kyes (DD-787) was laid down 27 December
1945 by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash. ;
launched 4 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. James E.
Kyes ; and commissioned 8 February 1946, Comdr. K. E.
Shook in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, James E. Kyes
steamed from Seattle 12 June for Pearl Harbor to em-
bark troops for transportation to the United States. Ar-
riving San Diego 12 July, she operated along the Cali-
fornia coast until departing 9 November for the western
Pacific. Joining the 7th Fleet at Shanghai 30 Novem-
ber, she operated along the Chinese Coast supporting
Chiang Kai-shek’s struggle with the Chinese Communists
for control of the mainland.
Departing Tsingtao, China, 28 January 1947, she
steamed to Japan for 4 months of operations off south-
eastern Japan, in the Tsushima Strait, and along the
Korean coast. She cleared Yokosuka 8 June for home
and arrived San Diego 22 June.
Following operations out of San Diego and San Fran-
cisco, Calif., and Bremerton, Wash., she departed San
Pedro, Calif., 2 September 1948 for duty in the Far East.
Arriving Yokosuka, Japan, 30 September, she conducted
surveillance patrols in the East China Sea and the
Tsushima Strait. She steamed to Inchon, Korea, 20 Jan-
uary 1949 as tensions mounted on that peninsula. Return-
ing to Japan 28 January, she resumed sea patrols until
departing Yokosuka 3 April for San Diego.
After arrival 24 April, James E. Kyes operated out of
San Diego until sailing for the western Pacific 23 June
1950, 2 days before Communist North Korean troops
crossed the 38th parallel to sweep down through South
Korea. Ordered by President Truman to give South
Korean troops “cover and support,” the Navy placed the
7th Fleet on alert from Formosa to Japan. Standing off
Pohang-dong, Korea, 18 July, James E. Kyes provided
valuable fire support during landing operations which
reinforced U.N. positions at the southern end of the
peninsula. She joined Doyle (DMS-34) on 2 August
escorting Sicily (CVE-118) while that carrier’s planes
struck enemy troop and supply concentrations along
Korea’s southern and western coasts. Sailing into the
Sea of Japan 11 August, she screened Badoeng Strait
(CVE-116), Valley Forge (CV-45), and Philippine Sea
(CV-47) ; and then steamed to Sasebo 27 August to pre-
pare for Operation “Chromite.”
As a flanking counterstroke to halt the North Korean
advance, General MacArtbur ordered an amphibious as-
sault against Inchon, the “strategic solar plexus of
Korea,” to be carried out 15 September. James E. Kyes
arrived off Inchon the 15th to guard Boxer (CV-21) as
her planes conducted preinvasion strikes. Remaining
off Inchon to 3 October, the versatile destroyer sailed via
Sasebo to Korea’s east coast for patrol duty.
Late in November she sailed for the United States ; but,
ordered to reverse course on the 29th, she steamed back
to the fight. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese Com-
munist troops had crossed the Yalu River into North
Korea to attack advancing U.N. forces. Hordes of
Chinese cut off and surrounded the 5th and 7th Marine
Regiments with a human wall at Chosin Reservoir 27
November. The breaching of this wall and releasing of
our troops depended upon air cover and fire power from
planes of carriers stationed off the eastern coast. James
E. Kyes joined the task force 1 December and provided
ASW support while planes made hundreds of sorties
supporting the embattled marines. Under a protective
canopy of naval air cover, the leathernecks broke through
10 December at Chinhung-ni and moved to Hungnam for
evacuation. James E. Kyes remained on guard as the
Navy completed the Hungnam withdrawal of 24 Decem-
ber after embarking 105,000 troops, 91,000 refugees and
vast quantities of military cargo. She remained along
the eastern coast, supporting the southward movement
of American forces. Sailing for home 19 January 1951,
she arrived San Diego 8 February.
James E. Kyes departed San Diego 27 August and
joined Boxer (CV-21) and Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)
on 20 September in patrolling the Sea of Japan. Sailing
to Formosa 17 December, she joined the Formosa Strait
surveillance patrols before resuming carrier guard duty
off Korea 22 January 1952. James E. Kyes joined the
U.N. Blockading and Escort Force 19 February and sailed
to the Wonsan area to conduct “harassing and interdic-
tion fl ,’e at predesignated targets and targets of oppor-
tunity.” Designed to prevent or hinder enemy troop
and supply movements, her patrol concentrated on enemy
shore batteries, coastal roads, and railroad installations
before sailing for home 25 March.
Departing San Francisco 12 November, James E. Kyes
resumed Korean blockade and bombardment duty 5 De-
cember and joined the Formosa Patrol during February
1953. She returned to Korea 14 March to engage the
enemy at every opportunity. Blockade and bombardment
patrols were often unspectacular, but therein lay the ef-
fectiveness of the naval blockade. As Rear Admiral Sir
W. G. Andrewes, RN, observed, “The absence of the
spectacular is a measure of the complete success
achieved.” Patrolling Korea’s eastern coast for almost 3
months, James E. Kyes engaged enemy batteries, covered
amphibious landings, and supported carrier air strikes.
Ordered home 9 June via Yokosuka and Midway, she
arrived Long Beach 29 June.
From 9 February 1954 to 12 March 1962, James E.
Kyes deployed to the Far East on seven occasions. While
operating with the mighty 7th Fleet, the sea sentinel of
peace-through-strength in the Pacific, she ranged the
Orient from Japan and Korea to Southeast Asia and
Australia and engaged in a variety of activities.
She patrolled the coasts of Korea, where an uneasy
truce had brought an end to hostilities in July 1953. On
several occasions she joined the Formosa Patrol to insure
freedom and protect the Chinese Nationalists from Com-
munist invasions. In 1955 she sailed to Southeast Asia
while the Navy carried thousands of refugees from North
to South Vietnam during Operation “Passage to Free-
dom.” Cruising the Indochinese coast from Vietnam to
Thailand, she served as a symbol of America’s determina-
tion to safeguard Southeast Asia from the spread of
communism.
While serving in the Pacific, James E. Kyes conducted
several air-sea rescue missions. During the Marshall
Islands’ nuclear tests of 1956, she acted as a life guard
ship ; and, in May 1959, she steamed from duty in the
Formosa Strait to assist and guard SS President Hayes,
grounded in the Paracel Islands off Vienam. She also
served as plane guard during carrier flight operations,
and on four occasions during 1960 and 1961 she effected
or assisted in successful rescues of downed pilots and
flight crews.
The ability of the 7th Fleet to serve as an instrument
492
of peace and to maintain a constant vigil depends in large
part upon repeated training and continued readiness.
While deployed with the Fleet, James E. Eyes engaged
in numerous operations designed to test and improve
her performance as a fighting ship. In December 1961,
during her longest deployment to the Far East, she par-
ticipated in a combined ASW readiness exercise with
units of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which
“greatly advanced the mutual understanding between the
two forces.”
After returning to the West Coast 12 March 1962, James
E. Eyes assumed an “in-commission-in-reserve” status
16 April and underwent FRAM I conversion at Bremer-
ton, Wash., to prepare for her role in the new Navy.
Returning to full commission 18 December, she partici-
pated in fleet exercises held off the California coast 27
to 28 May 1963 in honor of President Kennedy.
James E. Eyes deployed to the Far East 10 October.
Following readiness evaluation exercises off the Hawai-
ian Islands, she arrived Yokosuka Japan 22 November
and commenced Fleet operations that continued to the
end of the year. In the spring of 1964 she participated
in Operation “Back Packs,” a combined Chinese Na-
tionalist and U.S. amphibious exercise on Taiwan. She
was in the hunter-killer group which provided ASW pro-
tection for the operation. During the deployment, she
supplied water to Hong Kong helping to relieve suffering
caused by a severe drought which afflicted the city.
The destroyer returned to Long Beach 2 April 1964
and operated out of homeport for the rest of the year.
She celebrated Columbus Day by saving a wayward
DASH helicopter from hitting Ever sole (DD-789). She
sailed for the Far East 24 March 1965 and reached Yoko-
suka 30 April. In May she participated in SEATO Exer-
cise “Seahorse” with ships of Thailand, the United King-
dom, and Australia. At the end of this exercise in the
South China sea, she visited Bangkok, Thailand. After
upkeep in Subic Bay and a run to Hong Kong, James E.
Eyes got underway for Exercise “Cross Tee II” in the
Sea of Japan with ships of the Japanese Maritime
Self-Defense Force.
Following a visit to Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan, and
ASW exercises with nuclear-powered submarine Snook
(SSN-592), James E. Eyes departed Yokosuka 20 July,
crossed the South China Sea to the coast of South Viet-
nam for surveillance duty. She screened Bennington
(CVS-20) took ASW and surface surveillance picket
station at the southern end of the Gulf of Tonkin ; and
assisted a South Vietnamese construction battalion
stranded on Drummond Island in the Paracel Group.
From 30 August to 5 September she bombarded targets
ashore in the Quang Ngai area. She departed the war
zone 10 September ; arrived in Long Beach 7 October ;
and entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard 10 December
for overhaul to return her to top fighting trim for future
operation in behalf of peace and freedom. Completing
overhaul and post — repair shakedown in 1966, James E.
Eyes returned to the Far East. There her gunfire again
pounded the Viet Cong, and her dedicated men safeguard
the peace and freedom of the world and the future of the
American way of life.
James E. Eyes received six battle stars for Korean
service.
James Guthrie
A Revenue Cutter Service name.
(RC)
James Guthrie, a cutter built in 1881 by H. A. Ramsey
of Baltimore, Md., and used by the Revenue Cutter Serv-
ice in the Baltimore area, was ordered to cooperate with
the Navy during the Spanish-American War. Not needed
by the Navy, she operated under military authorities
guarding Baltimore Harbor from 9 May to 20 July when
she resumed her former duty.
She was transferred to the Navy when the United
States entered World War I and guarded Philadelphia,
Pa., until returned to the Treasury Department 28 August
1919.
James H. Clark
A former name retained.
( SP-759 : t. 45; 1. 60'8" ; b. 17'3" ; dr. 8"; s. 9 k. ; a.
1 3-pdr.)
James H. Clark ( SP-759) , a steam tug built at Buffalo,
N. Y., in 1900 was taken over by the Navy from Tampa
Towing & Lighterage Co., Tampa, Fla., in July 1917 ; and
commissioned 21 August 1917, Chief Boatswain’s Mate
O. Hind in command.
James H. Clark was assigned to the 7th Naval District
and based at Key West, Fla. She performed towing and
other miscellaneous duties in the harbor and at Naval
Station, Key West, during World War I and after. She
decommissioned in April 1920 and was sold to A. C.
Tuxbury Lumber Co., Charleston, S.C., 16 May 1921.
James H. McClintock, see Eenmore (AP-162)
James K. Paulding
James Kirke Paulding, son of a Revolutionary War
patriot, was born 27 August 1718 in Nine Partners, Dutch-
ess County, N.Y. As a young man he became widely
known as a man of letters and as in intimate friend of
Washington Irving. He served as Secretary of the first
Board of Navy Commissioners consisting of Commodores
Hull, Porter, and Rodgers. After filling the office of Navy
Agent at the port of New York for 12 years, Paulding en-
tered President Martin Van Buren’s cabinet as Secretary
of the Navy 1 July 1838. While in office he opposed the
introduction of steam propelled warships declaring that
he would “never consent to let our old ships perish, and
transform our Navy into a fleet of (steam) sea monsters.”
Upon his retirement from office he purchased an estate at
Hyde Park, where he remained until his death 5 April
1860.
( DD-238 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 101; a. 4 4”, 1 3", 2 .30 cal., 12 21" tt.; cl.
Clemson)
James E. Paulding (DD-238) was laid down 31 July
1918 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
launched 20 April 1920 ; sponsored by Miss Mary Hubbard
Paulding, great granddaughter of James K. Paulding; and
commissioned 29 November 1920, Lt. H. W. Jackson in
command.
After shakedown James E. Paulding was assigned to the
Atlantic Fleet, and commenced tactical exercises with
destroyer squadrons along the coast. She arrived New-
port, R.I., 31 May 1921 for summer maneuvers and reserve
training. Later that year she cruised to Charleston, S.C.,
for squadron exercises, and continued operations there
until late winter 1922.
James E. Paulding joined the scouting fleet January
1923 and throughout the year engaged in tactical war prob-
lems designed to maintain the fleet in superior fighting
condition. She continued these operations in addition to
reserve training until she sailed in February 1925 to San
Diego for war problems in the Pacific. Upon her return
to Newport 31 August, she resumed her duties with the
scouting fleet. While engaging in gunnery exercises in
Caribbean waters November 1926, James E. Paulding
sailed to Nicaragua to protect American interests in the
wake of political turmoil in that country. During March
and April 1927 she remained off Nicaragua to prevent any
smuggling of arms to rebel forces.
For the remainder of her career James E. Paulding con-
tinued reserve training and tactical exercises in the At-
lantic and Caribbean. Her service with the Navy was
distinguished and her versatility in peacekeeping, reserve
training, and fleet problems all helped to maintain the
493
position of the United States as a great seapower. Even
more important, however, the service of James K. Paulding
and her sister ships was a base upon which an even more
powerful naval force was built. The destroyer arrived
Philadelphia Navy Yard 31 October 1930, and decommis-
sioned there 10 February 1931. She was reduced to a
hulk 28 December 1936 in accordance with the provisions
of the London treaty for the limitation and reduction of
naval armament, scrapped, and struck from the Navy List
25 January 1937.
James K. Polk
James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States, was
born 2 November 1795, in Mecklenburg County, N.C. A
leading Jacksonian Democrat in the Tennessee State Leg-
islature, he was not yet 50 years old when inaugurated
President of the United States 4 March 1845. He ably
conducted the Mexican War following the annexation of
Texas. The “Four Great Measures” he announced for his
administration were all achieved : the reduction of tariff;
the reestablishment of the Independent Treasury System ;
the settlement of the Oregon dispute with Great Britain ;
and the acquisition of California. More territory was
added to the United States under Polk than any other
President except Jefferson. Few presidents worked
harder. His arduous and conscientious labor during his
term so undermined his health that he died 15 June 1894,
some 3 months after he left the White House.
(SSB(N)-645 ; dp. 7,250 (surf.) ; 8,250 (subm.) ; 1. 425' ; b.
33' ; dr. 31'5" ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 140 ; a. 16 Pol. mis. ;
cl. Lafayette)
James K. Polk (SSB(N)-645) was launched 22 May
1965 by the Electric Boat Div., General Dynamics Corp.,
Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs. Horacio Rivero, Jr.,
wife of Admiral Rivero, the Vice Chief of Naval Opera-
tions; and commissioned 16 April 1966, Comdr. R. M.
Douglass (blue crew) and Comdr. F. D. McMullen, Jr.
( gold crew ) , in command.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she roams the seas, a
silent and unseen deterent against aggression.
James L. Davis
A former name retained.
(Bark : t. 461 ; 1. 133' ; b. 30'7" ; dr. 12' ; cpl. 75 ; a. 4 8”)
James L. Davis (also called J. L. Davis), a wooden sail-
ing vessel, was purchased at Philadelphia 29 September
1861 ; and commissioned 30 December, Acting Volunteer
Lieutenant Joseph Winn in command.
James L. Davis departed Philadelphia 2 January 1862
for the Gulf of Mexico. She joined Flag Officer Far-
ragut’s West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Pass a 1’Outre
5 February but was soon transferred to the East Gulf
Blockading Squadron in exchange for Preble.
James L. Davis arrived Cedar Keys, Fla., 2 March and
8 days later captured schooner Florida attempting to slip
in through the blockade with a cargo of coffee, soda ash,
and other supplies already in short supply in the South.
After 6 months of blockade duty on the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts of Florida, the bark took English schooner Isabel
attempting to dash out of St. Mark’s, Fla., with a cargo of
cotton in late September.
On 2 October James L. Davis interrupted her blockade
duty to serve as a supply ship, carrying stores and provi-
sions to other vessels of the squadron. The bark con-
tinued this essential work until ordered to relieve Ethan
Allen at St. Joseph’s Bay, Fla., in March 1863. She re-
mained at this station until ordered to Key West for re-
pairs 15 November.
At the beginning of 1864 James L. Davis was ordered to
Tampa Bay where she served until fall. On 4 May 1864
she joined Sunflower and Honduras in landing Army
troops at Tampa and in providing men for a naval landing
party which helped to capture the town 6 May. During
the operation the three ships cooperated in capturing
blockade-running sloop Neptune with a cargo of cotton.
In July and August, James L. Davis participated in a se-
ries of successful boat expeditions which destroyed salt
works, a large saw and grist mill, and a sugar mill belong-
ing to Jefferson Davis.
James L. Davis was ordered to St. Joseph’s Bay 1 Sep-
tember and served there until ordered to Key West for
repairs 1 April 1865. The war ended while the bark was
at Key West. She was ordered to Philadelphia 21 April
where she was sold at public auction 20 June 1865.
James M, Gilliss
James Melville Gilliss, born 6 September 1811 in George-
town, D.C., entered the Navy as Midshipman at the age of
15. From the beginning of his service, he was active in
scientific work and in improving the quality of navigation
in the Navy. He was placed in charge of the Depot of
Charts and Instruments at Washington, D.C., in 1837, and
in the 1840’s was instrumental in establishing the famed
Naval Observatory there. In 1846 he published Astro-
nomical Observations, a pioneer work in the field ; and,
from 1849 to 1852, he led an astronomical observation ex-
pedition to South America where he established an ob-
servatory at Santiago, Chile. Continuing his important
astronomical and meteorological work, Captain Gilliss
replaced Matthew Fontaine Maury as head of the Naval
Observatory at the beginning of the Civil War. During
the war he equipped Naval vessels with charts and instru-
ments and directed important scientific work at the ob-
servatory. Captain Gilliss died 8 February 1865.
I
(YMS-262 : dp. 265; 1. 136' ; b. 23'4'' ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 14.1 k. ;
cpl. 60; a. 1 3", 2 20mm., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. YMS-1)
YMS-262 was laid down by the South Coast Co., New-
port Beach, Calif., 6 September 1942; launched 24 De-
cember 1942 ; and commissioned 15 September 1943, Lt.
Thomas W. Burns in command.
After shakedown off the coast of California, YMS-262
conducted minesweeping exercises out of San Pedro,
Calif., during the remainder of the year. Departing San
Diego 5 January 1944, she reached Nawiliwili Harbor,
Hawaii, 17 January and there joined units of Rear Ad-
miral R. L. Conolly’s Northern Attack Force staging for
the invasion of Kwajalein, Marshalls. She sailed the
19th and closed the enemy-held atoll 31 January. Prior
to initial landings off Roi-Namur, she swept a path for
amphibious ships into the lagoon ; then she screened
LST’s during afternoon landings. From 1 to 9 February
she operated off Roi-Namur, sweeping for mines, and car-
rying out hydrographic and pilotage duties.
Steaming to Kwajalein Island 12 February, YMS-262
joined Rear Admiral H. W. Hill’s Eniwetok Expedition-
ary Group and sortied from Kwajalein Lagoon 15 Feb-
ruary for the invasion of that strategic atoll. The assault
force approached Eniwetok 17 February, and YMS-262
swept the Wide Passage and lagoon for mines as the force
prepared for initial landings on the northern islets off
Engebi. During the remainder of the month she per-
formed minesweeping, screening, and control duties as
powerful American naval and ground forces wiped out
Japanese resistance on Engebi, Eniwetok, and Parry
Islands.
YMS-262 served at Eniwetok during mop-up operations
in the Marshalls ; and she remained in the Marshalls
until December when she returned to the United States.
From January to April 1945 she was converted to a sur-
veying ship at California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington,
Calif. On 23 March she was named James M. Gilliss
and reclassified AGS-13. She steamed to Pearl Harbor
in April and sailed for the Marianas the following month.
Arriving Guam early in June, she underwent survey
training before sailing for Okinawa late in July. She
494
steamed via Saipan and reached Okinawa as Japanese
forces in the Pacific surrendered.
James M. Gilliss served at Okinawa until November ;
and, following destructive typhoons in September and
October, she provided important survey work off the bat-
tered island. She sailed for Japan 1 November and for the
next month supported occupation operations out of Na-
goya. Departing Nagoya 4 December, she reached Pearl
Harbor 6 January 1946. After overhaul, she sailed for
the Marshalls in March to support Operation “Cross-
roads,” the atomic bomb tests. Arriving Bikini Atoll 16
March, for the next 5 months she operated between Bikini
and Eniwetok while conducting hydrographic, oceano-
graphic, and other scientific surveys.
Reclassified AGSC-13 on 29 July, James M. Gilliss
departed Bikini 19 August. Steaming via Pearl Harbor,
she reached San Francisco 30 September. Assigned to
duty with the Atlantic Fleet, she departed San Francisco
23 November and arrived Norfolk, Va., 23 December.
From March 1947 to May 1950 she operated from the
North Atlantic to the Caribbean, and she participated
in coastal surveys off Newfoundland, Mexico, Cuba, and
Trinidad. Arriving New York 12 May 1950, she decom-
missioned 22 September and entered the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet.
Converted to a minehunter, James M. Gilliss reclassified
AMCU-13 on 18 August 1951 and recommissioned 5 Sep-
tember 1951, Lt. (j.g. ) Kenneth E. Carter in command.
Assigned to the Atlantic Mine Fleet 18 February 1952,
she operated out of New York until 20 March 1953 when
she was assigned to the Mine Hunting Unit at Little
Creek, Va. From 1953 to 1958 she operated primarily in
Chesapeake Bay, conducting training exercises and test-
ing and evaluating precise navigation equipment. In ad-
dition she operated along the Atlantic Coast from Massa-
chusetts to North Carolina, and during November and
December 1956 she trained in the Caribbean out of Guan-
tanamo Bay, Cuba. Reclassified MHC-13 on 1 February
1955, she operated out of Little Creek until June 1958
when she steamed to Green Cove Springs, Fla. She de-
commissioned there 6 August 1958 and entered the At-
lantic Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Navy List
1 January 1960, and sold to Marlene Blouse Corp. by
17 June.
YMS-262 received one battle star for World War II
service.
II
(T-AGOR^ : dp. 1,200 (lt.) ; 1. 209' ; b. 40' ; dr. 16' ; s. 13
k. ; cpl. 26; cl. Robert D. Conrad)
The second James M. Gilliss (T-AGOR-4) was laid
down by Christy Corp., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 31 May 1961 ;
launched 19 May 1962; sponsored by Mrs. Hubert H.
Humphrey, wife of the Senator from Minnesota ; deliv-
ered to the Navy 5 October 1962 ; and turned over to
MSTS 5 November 1962, Captain Torston Johnson in
command.
Manned by a civilian crew and carrying 15 scientists
from the Naval Oceanographic Office, James M. Gilliss
was the first of a new class of oceanographic ships to be
operated by MSTS. In addition to the latest in ocean-
ographic and meteorological equipment, she also possesses
unusual design features, including special antiroll tanks
for stability and a retractable bow propulsion propellor.
As a mobile, floating research laboratory, she is capable of
carrying out experiments in sound transmission, under-
water life, and ocean floor characteristics, thus enabling
her to help continue the Navy’s lead in the exploration
and understanding of “inner space.”
Departing Sturgeon Bay 8 November, she arrived New
York 19 November for sea trials and shakedown. On
12 April 1963 she departed New York to take part in the
massive search for sunken submarine Thresher (SSN-
593). Operating out of Boston, she lent her “know-how”
to this vital and difficult operation for 5 months before
arriving Washington, D.C., 22 September. After return-
ing to New London, Conn., for additional equipment tests,
she departed 1 November for oceanographic research op-
erations off Bermuda.
During the next 4 months she operated in the Atlantic
from the Bahamas to the New England coast. In March
1964 she steamed to the Caribbean for surveying and sci-
entific work out of San Juan, P.R. Arriving Key West.
Fla., 28 March, she operated from the Strait of Florida to
the Bahamas and Bermuda for more than a year. De-
parting Key West 23 May 1965, she arrived New York
27 May and prepared for deployment to waters off the
British Isles. She sailed 14 June ; arrived Belfast, North-
ern Ireland, 27 June ; and began 3 months of research and
survey operations from the British Isles and France to
Newfoundland. Departing Belfast 15 September, she re-
turned to New London 6 October and resumed research
operations off the East Coast, which have continued into
1967. At present she operates in the Atlantic from New
England to the Bahamas while supporting important sur-
veys and scientific experiments of the Naval Ocean-
ographic Office.
495
James Madison
James Madison was born at Port Conway, Va., 16 March
1751, and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton) in 1771. He was a member of the Virginia
Council of State, and in 1780 became a member of the Con-
tinental Congress. An early advocate of increased Fed-
eral power under the Articles of Confederation, Madison
served in the Virginia House of Delegates 1784-86 and
was instrumental in securing passage of Jefferson’s re-
ligious freedom bill. He played an influential role in the
movement which led to the Constitutional Convention,
drafted the “Virginia Plan” which became the core of that
document, and worked tirelessly for its adoption. A first-
rate thinker and writer on political theory and practice,
he was the author of 29 of the famous Federalist Papers.
Madison served in the House 1780-97 and proposed the
first 10 amendments to the Constitution which became
the Bill of Rights. Later, as leader of the Jeffersonian
Republicans, he drew up the Virginia Resolves and con-
demned the Alien and Sedition Acts.
After being Secretary of State under Jefferson 1801-09,
he was elected President. His first term was marred by
the unpopular War of 1812 and his administration was
marked by a trend toward nationalism. President James
Madison, died 28 June 1836, but continues in fame as one
of the Nation’s most important thinkers and statesmen.
I
(RC)
The first James Madison, a Revenue Cutter built at
Baltimore, Md., in 1807 to enforce Jefferson’s embargo,
was placed under Navy orders 18 June 1812 for service at
Savannah, Ga., during the War of 1812. In July the
cutter, commanded by Captain George Brooks, USRCS,
captured British Shamrock, a six-gun brig laden with
small arms and ammunition. Later that month she
brought into Amelia Island, Fla., Bahamian schooner
Wade carrying $20,000 in gold.
James Madison was captured by the British Navy 24
November 1812, and her officers and crew were imprisoned
in New York.
II
(SSB(N)-627 : dp. 7,250; L 425' ; b. 33' ; dr. 31'5'' ; s. over
20 k. ; cpl. 140 ; a. 16 Pol. mis. ; cl. Lafayette)
The second James Madison (SSB(N)-627) was launched
15 March 1963 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry
Dock Co., Newport News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. A. S.
“Mike” Monroney, wife of U.S. Senator Monroney of Okla-
homa; and commissioned 24 July 1964, Comdr. Joseph
L. Skoog, Jr. (blue crew), and Comdr. John C. Lewis
(gold crew), in command.
The two crews, in turn, conducted shakedown operations
at sea. Completely successful launches of A-3 missiles
climaxed the cruise of each team. After post-shakedown
repairs and modification in November and December of
1964, James Madison sailed for her first patrol 17 January
1965.
Reliability, accuracy, undetected mobility, and instant
readiness are the words which characterize Polaris ships
and their crews. By the end of 1966, James Madison had
completed her 10th patrol and she continued to serve in
the European area helping to prevent war. Her men may
be proud that James Madison — by providing a seagoing
platform for weapons, the traditional function of a war-
ship— is an instrument of diplomacy and a keeper of the
peace.
James Monroe
Born in Westmoreland County, Va., 28 April 1758,
James Monroe interrupted his education at William and
Mary College in 1776 to join the Continental Army. He
saw extensive action during the Revolutionary War re-
ceiving a wound at the battle of Trenton. In 1780 he be-
gan the study of law under Thomas Jefferson, then gov-
ernor of Virginia, and 2 years later was elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates to begin a legislative career
which took him to the Confederation Congress and the
United States Senate.
He served the executive branch as Minister to France,
Spain, and Great Britain. He joined Robert R. Living-
ston in negotiations with the French government leading
to the Louisiana Purchase. President Madison appointed
him Secretary of State in 1811 and added the War-Depart-
ment portfolio to his duties during the closing months of
the War of 1812.
Elected fifth President of the United States in 1816,
Monroe led the country during a period remembered as
“The Era of Good Feeling.” His administration wit-
nessed the settlement of several long standing disputes
with Great Britain, the acquisition of Florida, the Mis-
souri Compromise, and the promulgation of the Monroe
Doctrine.
At the end of his second term Monroe retired to his
estate, “Oak Hill” and died 4 July 1831 while on a visit to
New York.
(SSB(N)-622: dp. 7,250 (surf.), 8,250 (subm.) ; 1. 425';
b. 33' ; dr. 31'5" ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 140; a. 16 Pol. mis.,
4 21'' tt. ; cl. Lafayette)
James Monroe (SSB(N)-622) was launched 4 August
1962 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., New-
port News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. Roswell L. Gilpatric,
wife of the deputy secretary of defense; and commis-
sioned 7 December 1963, Comdr. William H. Sandford in
command.
Following shakedown off Cape Kennedy, Fla., James
Monroe spent the early months of 1964 in ballistic missile
tests. She departed for her first patrol in June 1964,
emphasizing the expanded peacekeeping role of Polaris
submarines.
It is fitting that a submarine named for President Mon-
roe belong to a modern United States peacekeeping force
since his famous Monroe Doctrine is one of the corner-
stones of American freedom. “The American continents
. . .” he warned, “are henceforth not to be considered as
subjects for future colonization by any European power.”
During the subsequent years James Monroe continued
her patrols and stands ready as a powerful deterrent
against Communist aggression.
On 17 January 1967 James Monroe completed her 12th
deterrent patrol. She has operated from both of the Euro-
pean Polaris replenishment anchorages, maintaining her
creed and motto of “Watchful Waiting.” Her ability to
remain on patrol station is limited only by the amount of
food carried and the mental and physical endurance of
her crew.
James O'Hara
James O’Hara, born in Ireland in 1752, came to Phila-
delphia, Pa., from England in 1772. The following year
he moved to Pittsburgh and served as a frontier trader
and government agent with the Indians in western Penn-
sylvania and western Virginia. After the start of the
Revolutionary War, he enlisted as a private in a company
of volunteers and was later elected captain. He journeyed
west with a force under George Rogers Clark and par-
ticipated in the struggle for control of the West. From
1781 to 1783 he served as assistant quartermaster for
General Nathaniel Greene. After the war, he returned
to Pittsburgh and became a successful businessman.
President Washington appointed him Quartermaster Gen-
eral of the Army 19 April 1792. O’Hara resigned his ap-
pointment 1 May 1796. From 1796 to 1802 he filled many
important government contracts as a businessman. Later
he became a prominent manufacturer of glass, and he
helped pioneer the cotton trade between the United States
and England. In addition, he became a successful banker
and an enterprising land speculator. O’Hara died 16 De-
cember 1819 in Pittsburgh.
496
USS James Madison (SSBN-627) ready for launch with Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze at the podium flanked
by Admirals Galantin (left) and Grenfell (right) on 15 March 1963.
497
USS Janies Madison ( SSBN-627) on sea trials near Hampton Roads 2 July 1964
( APA-90 : dp. 8,600; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'6" ; s. 19 k. ;
cpl. 538; trp. 2,200; a. 1 5”, 2 3", 8 1.1”, 16 20mm.;
T. C3-S-A1)
James O'Hara (APA-90) was laid down for the Army
under Maritime Commission contract by Seattle-Tacoma
Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma, Wash., 16 June 1941 ;
launched 30 December 1941 ; sponsored by Miss Anne
B. Denny ; and delivered to the Army 30 November 1942.
During the next 4 months she served as an Army trans-
port, steaming from the West Coast to Australia, thence
via the Panama Canal to New York. Arriving New York
early in April 1943. she was acquired by the Navy 15
April and commissioned 26 April, Comdr. Charles Allen
in command.
After shakedown, James O'Hara departed Norfolk early
in June for duty with the 8th Fleet in the Mediterranean.
Arriving Oran, Algeria, 22 June, she prepared for the
forthcoming invasion of Sicily. Carrying troops of the
45th Infantry Division, she departed 5 July for Opera-
tion “Husky” ; and, as part of CENT Force under Rear
Admiral A. G. Kirk, she closed the Sicilian shore off
Scoglitti 10 July. Despite heavy seas and an enemy air
attack, she debarked her troops as Allied forces sought
to wrestle the strategic island from Axis control.
During almost the next 2 months James O'Hara shut-
tled troops from North Africa to Sicily ; then she prepared
to take part in the invasion of Italy. Assigned to Rear
Admiral J. L. Hall’s Southern Attack Force, she departed
Oran 5 September and approached the Gulf of Salerno
late 8 September as the Allies announced the armistice
with Italy. During mid-watch, 9 September, she de-
barked assault troops in landing boats, and later began
unloading cargo. Her boats assisted HMS Abercrombie,
damaged by a German mine. Undaunted by German air
498
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President James Monroe — message to Congress 2 December 1823, later becoming the “Monroe Doctrine”
attacks, the veteran transport discharged cargo at the
Paestrum beaches before departing for Oran 11 September.
As Allied forces secured Salerno, entered Naples, and
began the hard-fought drive up the boot of Italy, she con-
tinued to transport reinforcements and cargo from North
Africa to Italy. On 30 November she departed Oran in
convoy for the United Kingdom ; and, with almost 2,000
troops embarked, she arrived Belfast, Northern Ireland,
9 December. Departing for the United States 20 Decem-
ber, she reached New York 31 December.
Sailing for Norfolk 15 February 1944, James O'Hara
embarked marines and loaded cargo before departing
for the Pacific 26 February. She arrived Pearl Harbor
16 March and during the next 2 months practiced for the
forthcoming invasion of the Marianas. As part of Vice
Admiral R. K. Turner’s Northern Attack Force, she de-
parted Pearl Harbor 29 May ; touched at Eniwetok ; and,
carrying troops of the 4th Marine Division, arrived off
Saipan in the early hours of 15 June. She debarked her
troops in the initial assault waves, then discharged cargo
as bitter fighting raged on shore. After embarking casual-
ties and enemy prisoners, she departed 17 June and
cruised northeast of Saipan while Vice Admiral Marc
Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Task Force defeated Admiral
Ozawa’s Mobile Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea,
the greatest carrier battle of the war. Following the re-
499
sounding American victory, James O'Hara returned to
Saipan 23 June ; completed unloading cargo ; and departed
24 June for Eniwetolc and Pearl Harbor.
Following additional amphibious training, James
O'Hara departed in convoy 12 August and reached
Guadalcanal the 24th. On 8 September she sailed for
the Palau invasion, aimed at securing air bases prior to
the scheduled invasion of the Philippines. She closed the
Palaus 15 September, and 2 days later, debarked troops
during the amphibious assault against Anguar Island.
She remained off the Palaus until 23 September when she
sailed for the Admiralties, arriving Manus 27 September.
There, James O'Hara embarked troops of the 1st Cav-
alry Division and departed in convoy 12 October for the
invasion of Leyte. Assigned to the Northern Attack
Force, she entered Leyte Gulf 20 October ; closed about 7
miles off San Ricardo ; and debarked five waves of assault
troops. After unloading 476 tons of combat cargo, she
sailed that evening for the Palaus and arrived Kossol
Passage the 23d. She embarked survivors of escort car-
riers Gambler Bay and St. Lo, sunk while gallantly de-
fending the Leyte beachhead in the Battle off Samar, and
from 28 to 31 'October carried them to Guam. After re-
turning to Manus 15 November, between 17 and 29 Novem-
ber she transported reinforcements to Leyte and sailed
to Hollandia, New Guinea, to prepare for the invasion of
Luzon.
As part of Vice Admiral D. E. Barbey’s San Fabian
Attack Force, James O'Hara departed Sansapor, New
Guinea, 30 December with troops of the 6th Infantry Divi-
sion embarked. Steaming via Leyte Gulf and Surigao
and Mindoro Straits, she entered Lingayen Gulf 9 January
1945 and boated assault troops and cargo during amphib-
ious landings which spearheaded the liberation of Luzon.
Departing the same day, she steamed via Leyte and Ulithi
to Guam where she arrived 6 February to stage for the
amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima.
Carrying men of the 3d Marine Division, the attack
transport departed Guam 17 February and arrived off
Iwo Jima the 19th. Until 27 February she operated in
the retirement area ; then during the next week she de-
barked reinforcements, unloaded cargo, and embarked
casualties. On 5 March she sailed for Guam where she
arrived 8 March to debark more than 400 casualties of the
bitter fighting on Iwo Jima.
From 9 to 27 March, James O'Hara sailed via the Solo-
mons and the New Hebrides to New Caledonia where,
during the next month, she practiced amphibious attacks.
Between 3 May and 15 July she transported men and sup-
plies from New Caledonia and New Guinea to the Philip-
pines. After loading cargo at Guiuan, Samar, she sailed
for the United States 18 July and reached San Francisco
4 August.
After the cessation of hostilities, the veteran transport
departed 25 August and carried troops via Eniwetok to
the Philippines. Arriving Manila Bay, Luzon, 17 Septem-
ber, she operated along the Luzon coast until 1 October
when she departed Lingayen Gulf for Japan. Steaming
in convoy, she reached Wakayama, Honshu, 7 October and
debarked occupation troops. She departed Nagoya, Hon-
shu, 28 October ; embarked returning veterans at Tinian
3 November; and sailed for San Francisco 5 November.
After arriving 17 November, between 22 December and
4 February 1946 she made another “Magic-Carpet” run
to Saipan and back to the West Coast.
James O'Hara decommissioned at San Francisco 5 April
1946 and was transferred to the Army the same day.
During the next 4 years she served out of Seattle, Wash.,
as a transport under the Army Transportation Corps.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, she was reclassi-
fied T-AP-179 on 28 April and assigned to MSTS.
During the struggle to repulse Communist aggression
in South Korea, James O'Hara transported troops and
supplies from the West Coast to the Far East. Operating
primarily out of Seattle, between October 1950 and
July 1954 she made 18 deployments to ports in Japan
and South Korea. In addition she supplied American
bases in the Marshalls and the Marianas, and she made
numerous troop training and rotation runs to bases in
Alaska. She continued this pattern of deployment and
readiness operations until 30 November 1959 when she
arrived Seattle for inactivation. She entered the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet in Puget Sound 14 January
1960. Transferred to the Maritime Administration in
November, her name was struck from the Navy List 1 July
1961. At present she is berthed at Olympia, Wash.
James O'Hara received seven battle stars for World
War II service and one battle star for Korean service.
James R. Ward, see J. Richard Ward (DE-243)
James River
A river in Virginia.
( SP-861 ; 1. 58' ; b. 11'6" dr. 2'9" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 5 ; a. 2 1-
pdrs. )
James River (SP-861), a motor boat built by C. Crock-
ett of Pocomoke City, Md., was acquired by the Navy in
May 1917 from the Virginia State Fish and Oyster Com-
mission. Her first commanding officer was B. W. Parker,
Chief Master-at-Arms.
James River served as a patrol boat in the 5th Naval
District, and was assigned to Pocomoke Sound, the James
and Elizabeth Rivers, and other parts of Chesapeake Bay.
She was returned to her owners 22 October 1918.
II
(LSMR-510 : dp. 790; 1. 206'3" ; b. 34'6" ; dr. 7'2" ; s.
13 k. ; cpl. 138; a. 1 5”, 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2" m., 10
rkt. ; cl. LSMR-JfOl)
LSMR-510 was laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co.,
Houston, Tex., 7 April 1945; launched 5 May 1945; and
commissioned 1 July 1945, Lt. Werner E. Cederberg in
command.
Departing Galveston, Tex., 10 July, LSMR-510 steamed
to Charleston, S.C., where she arrived 15 July. From
3 to 5 August she sailed to Little Creek, Va., for training
in Chesapeake Bay and along the Virginia coast. As-
signed to LSMR Squadron 4, she departed Little Creek
4 October for the Great Lakes. Steaming via the St.
Lawrence River, she arrived Rochester, N.Y., 16 October,
and for the next few weeks cruised to Detroit, Mich.,
and Milwaukee, Wis. She departed Milwaukee 29 Oc-
tober and returned to Little Creek 15 November.
During the next 2 months. LSMR-510 continued train-
ing and readiness operations out of Little Creek. She
departed 29 January 1946 for squadron exercises in the
Caribbean; and, after reaching San Juan, P.R., 3 Feb-
ruary, she operated off Culebra Island. Between 12 and
14 February she sailed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where
she participated in tactical exercises. Departing 15 March
for the United States, she touched at Bermuda 19 March
and reached Little Creek the 24th.
Following duty out of Norfolk and Baltimore, LSMRr-
510 departed Little Creek for the West Coast 18 October.
Steaming via Corpus Christi, Tex., and the Panama
Canal, she arrived San Diego 20 November. Assigned
to LSMR Squadron 3, she operated out of San Diego;
decommissioned there 5 February 1947 ; and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed at San Diego, she
was named James River 1 October 1955. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 1 February 1960, and she was
sold to Miami Terminal Transport Co. of New York City
12 April 1961.
James Roman, see Allioth (AK-109)
James S. Chambers
(Sch.: t. 401; 1. 124'6" ; b. 29'3" ; dph. 12'2" ; cpl. 62;
a. 4 32-pdrs.)
500
James 8. Chambers was a three-masted schooner pur-
chased by the Navy at Philadelphia 4 September 1861 ;
and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 16 Decem-
ber, Lt. Dennis Condry in command.
The schooner sailed from Philadelphia 6 days later and
joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron at Ship Island,
Miss., 23 January 1862. Her diligent service in the Gulf
of Mexico and off the Florida coast was first rewarded
on 23 August when she captured blockade-running
schooner Corelia with a cargo of supplies badly needed by
the South. Two days later she took Confederate steamer
Union attempting to escape with a cargo of 350 bales of
cotton.
James 8. Chambers scored again on 4 March 1863 — the
second anniversary of President Lincoln’s inauguration —
when men from her whaleboats boarded and took Span-
ish sloop Relampago with a cargo of coffee, liquors, and
soldiers shoes. The triumph was capped late that after-
noon when a sail was sighted to the south standing in
for land. The unidentified ship ignored a shot across her
bow and continued to race for the beach without showing
any colors. The Union schooner continued the chase
firing at her quarry until she ran aground. The following
morning men from James S. Chambers boarded the wreck,
a schooner of pilot boat-build, and identified her as Ida.
They removed several boatloads of cargo before setting
her afire. A final prize came on 18 June 1863 when the
vigilant blockader captured schooner Rebekah.
A period of almost a year’s blockading duty stationed
at West Pass, St. George’s Sound, Fla., ensued. On 12
May 1864 boats from James S. Chambers and Somerset
drove off a body of Confederate sailors embarking on a
boat expedition ordered to capture the Union’s side-wheel
steamer Adela.
In August 1864 James 8. Chambers encountered a new
enemy — yellow fever. The epidemic forced her to return
to Philadelphia after taking the lives of 13 bluejackets
and 3 officers. Only two or three members of her crew
escaped the disease.
On New Year’s Day 1865 the indomitable ship was back
in action with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
stationed at Bull’s Bay, S.C. She was in the joint ex-
peditionary force which attacked the rear of Charleston
12 February. A fortnight later her boat crews raided
and destroyed extensive Confederate salt works and stock-
piles at Palmetto Point, S.C.
Toward the end of the war James S. Chambers served
as a quarantine vessel at Port Royal, S.C. She sailed for
the North 27 July and decommissioned 31 August. James
S. Chambers was sold at public auction in New York
City to Mr. Rhinehart 27 September 1865.
James S. Hogg, see Pavo (AK-109)
James Screven, see Shaula ( AK-118)
James Stewart Co. Barge, see YC-1275
James Thompson
James Thompson, a side wheel steamer, was renamed
Manitou 2 June 1863 and then Fort Hindman (q.v.) 5
November.
James W. ISye, see Ganymede (AK-104)
James I Wilson, see Sterope (AK-96)
James Wooley
Former name retained.
(YT-45: 1. 80'9" ; b. 21'; dr. 8'7" ; cpl. 10)
James Wooley was built in 1899 by Lockwood Manufac-
turing Co., East Boston, Mass. She was purchased in
1918 from Commercial Towboat Co., and assigned to the
1st Naval District as a service craft. James Wooley op-
erated in this area for the duration of her service. She
decommissioned 11 April 1932, and was struck from the
Navy Register 22 July 1936.
Jamestown
Jamestown, Va., is the earliest permanent settlement
established by Englishmen in North America.
I
(Sip: t. 1,150; 1. 163'6” ; b. 32'2”; dph. 17'3" ; cpl. 186;
a. 4 8", 18 32-pdrs.)
The first Jamestown was launched in 1844 by the Navy
Yard, Gosport, Ya. ; and commissioned there 12 December,
Comdr. Robert B. Cunningham in command.
She departed Hampton Roads 25 June 1845 as flagship
of Commodore Charles W. Skinner in command of United
States naval vessels operating off the western coast of
Africa to suppress the slave trade. At the end of her
first deployment the sloop arrived Boston 6 August 1846.
While she was moored at the Boston Navy Yard word
reached the United States that for the second consecu-
tive year blight had ruined the potato crop of Ireland,
depriving the people of that country of their chief means
of subsistence. A joint resolution of Congress approved 3
March 1847 authorized the Secretary of the Navy to place
Jamestown and Macedonian at the disposal of Captains
Robert B. Forbes and George C. DeKay to carry food to
the starving poor of Ireland. Jamestown sailed from
Boston 28 March and arrived Cork, Ireland, 12 April.
After unloading her life-saving cargo, the sloop returned
to Boston 17 May.
As flagship of Commodore W. C. Bolton, Jamestown
again stood out of Boston 22 July to operate on the west
coast of Africa. A year later she was transferred to the
Mediterranean Squadron to assist in protecting American
citizens and interests during the epidemic of revolutions
which convulsed Europe in 1848. After political condi-
tions became more stable, Jamestown returned to Norfolk
4 May 1850.
After a year at home, she was assigned to the Brazil
Squadron departing Norfolk 1 June 1851 to begin opera-
tions off South America lasting until her return to Phila-
delphia Navy Yard 2 May 1854. She decommissioned
there 9 days later.
Recommissioning 22 February 1855, Jamestown sailed
as flagship of the African Squadron under Commodore
Crabbe, departing Key West 9 June and returning to
Philadelphia 2 June 1857 and decommissioning. She re-
commissioned 16 December and cruised the West Indies
with the Home Squadron until decommissioning at Phila-
delphia 14 February 1860.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, Jamestown re-
commissioned 5 June 1861 and was assigned to the Atlantic
Blockading Squadron, where she compiled a record of out-
standing efficiency. The sloop chased bark Alvorado
ashore off Femandina, Fla. and set her on fire 5 August
and captured schooner Aigburtli off the coast of Florida
31 August 1861. Four days later she captured, dis-
mantled, and scuttled schooner Col. Long. Next she cap-
tured schooner Havelock 15 December. Her final prize
was brig Intended, taken off Wilmington 1 May 1862.
Jamestown departed for the Pacific 12 October to pro-
tect American commerce from Confederate privateers;
and she remained on that duty until after the end of the
war, decommissioning at Mare Island 17 September 1865.
Having been converted to a transport and store ship,
she recommissioned 3 September 1866 to serve at Panama
as a store and hospital ship. Because of fever on board,
Jamestown was ordered north 2 April 1867 and was dis-
infected at San Francisco. Joining the North Pacific
Squadron, she served as guard and storeship at Sitka,
501
Alaska, from 11 September 1867 until 30 May 1868.
Jamestown was present at the hoisting of the U.S. Flag at
Sitka 18 October 1867 after Alaska was purchased from
Russia — one of the significant steps in the growth of the
United States to world leadership.
Jamestown arrived at Mare Island 23 July 1868 ; de-
commissioned there 13 August ; and recommissioned 25
January 1869, following repairs. For almost 3 years,
Jamestown cruised the Pacific on the west coasts of North
and South America, and as far west as Tahiti and the Fiji
and Hawaiian Islands.
Decommissioning 7 October 1871, Jamestown was placed
in ordinary at Mare Island until 16 March 1876 when she
recommissioned for use as a State Public Marine School.
She operated at the Hawaiian Islands in this capacity un-
til she was returned to the Navy Department and de-
commissioned 3 March 1879.
She recommissioned 8 May and sailed for Sitka, Alaska,
where she surveyed the harbor and protected American
interests. In 1881, she sailed the Pacific until decom-
missioning at San Francisco 21 September.
Having been fitted out as an apprentice training ship,
Jamestown recommissioned 14 February 1882 and pro-
ceeded to the Atlantic coast via Cape Horn. In her new
capacity, she sailed the Atlantic Ocean, voyaging to the
West Indies, Spain, and as far north as the State of
Maine. On 31 August 1888, she decommissioned at
Norfolk.
Recommissioning 13 April 1889, Jamestown cruised to
France and to the West Indies with apprentices, and de-
commissioned again 6 September 1892 at Norfolk.
On 9 September she was transferred to the Treasury
Department for Marine Hospital Service for quarantine
purposes in Hampton Roads. She was destroyed by fire
at the Norfolk Navy Yard, 3 January 1913, after being
returned to the Navy Department.
II
(PG-55: dp. 1,780; 1. 294' ; b. 38'2" ; dr. 16' ; s. 15 k. ; cpl.
259 ; a. 2 3'' )
The second Jamestown was built as Savarona in 1928
by Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, Del., for Mrs.
Thomas S. Cadwallader of Philadelphia. While Mrs. Cad-
wallader operated her, Savarona was said to be the largest
and most luxurious yacht in the world. Colonel William
Boyce Thompson purchased the palatial vessel in 1929
and renamed her Alder.
Alder was acquired by the Navy at New York 6 Decem-
ber 1940; converted into a gunboat in the Fletcher Divi-
sion Shipyard of Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Hoboken,
N.J. ; renamed Jamestown and designated PG-55; and
commissioned at New York Navy Yard 26 May 1941,
Comdr. A. P. Lawton in command.
Jamestown’s first summer in the Navy was devoted to
training Naval Academy midshipmpn. She sailed to An-
napolis 1 June to embark her first detachment of 100 third-
USS Jamestown, a Sloop of War built in 1844
502
class men and 3 instructors for a 2-week training cruise
to Norfolk.
At the end of the summer, after completing a number of
similar cruises, Jamestown steamed to New York to be
fitted out as a motor-torpedo-boat tender. When final con-
version was completed, she sailed to Melville, R.I., to
assist in establishing the Motor Torpedo Boat Training
Center and to serve as training ship and tender for the
boats of Squadron 4 while she readied herself for combat.
In June she returned to New York to receive new equip-
ment before departing for the South Pacific. Eager for
action, the tender stood out of New York Harbor 1 August.
While she steamed toward the New Hebrides Islands via
the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor, the Navy daringly
launched its first offensive thrust against Japan by landing
the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
The Navy’s resources available for Operation “Watch-
tower,” meager at the outset of the fighting 7 August,
were dangerously weakened by combat losses in ensuing
weeks of desperate fighting against heavy odds. In Sep-
tember, when Jamestown arrived in Espiritu Santo, the
marines on Guadalcanal were suffering from a critical
shortage of supplies. While awaiting the arrival of the
PT boats of Squadron 3, the tender busied herself escort-
ing resupply convoys between the New Hebrides and
Tulagi towing a barge carrying 2,000 barrels of gasoline
and 500 quarter-ton bombs.
Jamestown was at Noumea, New Caledonia, 19 Septem-
ber when boats of the 1st Division of Squadron 3 arrived.
Cargo ship Bellatrix assisted her in towing them to Espi-
ritu Santo, where Jamestown entrusted them to two fast
minesweepers for the final passage to Tulagi and resumed
her efforts to keep vital supplies flowing through the
enemy infested waters to the Marines on Guadalcanal.
Finally she reported to Tulagi 22 October and there, in the
center of the bitter struggle subject to constant air attack,
began servicing the PT boats of Squadron 3. For the
next 4 months these fearless little ships patrolled “Iron-
bottom Sound” nightly, frequently challenging Japanese
destroyers, cruisers, and even battleships of “the Tokyo
Express”. During the day Jamestoxon worked feverishly
to ready the worn and battered boats for the next patrol.
Besides ministering to the PT boats, the tender assisted
with preliminary repairs to battle-damaged American
cruisers and sent parties ashore to construct pipelines to
water holes.
Jamestown and the PT boats of Squadron 3 were ex-
plicitly included in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded
the 1st Marine Division for taking and holding strongly
defended Japanese positions on Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanam-
bogo, Florida, and Guadalcanal.
The tender was redesignated AGP-3 on 13 January
1943, and commenced operating under Commander Motor
Torpedo Boat Squadron, Pacific Fleet. She departed
Tulagi 18 February 1943 on one of countless trips made
during the following year from that port to the New
Hebrides or Rendova for supplies for the PT boats or
acting as escort between island groups. After 12 months of
this valuable service, Jamestown departed Tulagi 9 Febru-
ary 1944 for a well-earned and badly-needed overhaul at
San Pedro, Calif.
Back in tip-top shape she sailed from San Pedro 17
July and arrived Espiritu Santo 5 August. By this time
the Solomons and the Bismarck Archipelago were secure ;
and the PT boats were needed in the Southwest Pacific,
where General MacArthur was fighting for New Guinea.
Jamestown found herself shuttling supplies, equipment,
and supporting troops from the Solomons to bases in New
Guinea. Her former role as a tender was now filled by
larger ships designed specifically for the task. James-
town proudly proved her worth as a utility ship maintain-
ing communications between PT boat bases. For ex-
ample, she departed Treasury Island 6 September 1944 to
rendezvous at Bougainville with a troop transport which
she escorted to Milne Bay, Dutch New Guinea, returning
to Treasury Island a week later ready for a similar voyage
escorting merchantmen to Finsehhafen, Dutch New
Guinea.
Ordered to the Philippines 5 February 1945, Jamestown
arrived Leyte 12 February to mess and berth men of Motor
Torpedo Squadron 24 until 18 March. Convoy duty be-
tween Samar and Woendi, Schouten Islands was followed
by voyages to Borneo and various ports in the Philippines
occupying the tender until after Japan surrendered.
Jamestown departed Samar for the United States 20
October 1945 and arrived San Francisco 24 November.
She decommissioned there 6 March 1946 ending her busy
and useful sendee and was transferred to the Maritime
Commission for disposal 4 September 1946. She was sold
to Balfour Gutrie and Co., Ltd., 16 December 1946.
Ill
(AG-166: dp. 11,375 (f.) ; 1. 441 '6' ' ; b. 56'11"; dr. 22';
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 313 ; cl. Oxford; T. Z-EC2-S-C5)
The third Jamestown (AG-166), a converted Liberty
ship, was launched as J. Howland Gardner under Mari-
time Commission contract by New England Shipbuilding
Corp., South Portland, Maine, 10 July 1945 ; and sponsored
by Mrs. George W. Elkins of Newport, R.I.
The liberty ship was completed 14 August and chartered
under general agency agreement by Waterman Steamship
Co., until 17 June 1946 when she went into the Maritime
Reserve Fleet. She was chartered by U.S. Navigation Co.,
3 February 1947, and by South Atlantic Steamship Lines,
20 October 1948.
J. Howland Gardner returned to Maritime Reserve Fleet
at Beaumont, Tex. She was acquired there by the Navy
10 August 1962 ; renamed Jamestown and designated AG-
166 on 6 March 1963; and commissioned 13 December at
Norfolk Navy Yard, Comdr. Alan J. Kaplan in command.
The research ship was assigned to Service Squadron 8,
Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, with Norfolk her home port.
Her mission is “to conduct technical research operations
in support of U.S. Navy electronic research projects, which
include electromagnetic propagation studies and advanced
communications systems such as satellite communica-
tions.”
After fitting out at Norfolk, Jamestoicn departed 20
January 1964 for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where she un-
derwent 2 weeks of intensive shakedown training. She
was there when Cuban Fidel Castro shut off all fresh
water to that base, and stood by ready to evacuate Ameri-
can families. Upon completion of shakedown training,
she made brief visits to Kingston, Jamaica, and Key West
before returning to Norfolk 27 February.
Jamestown was redesignated AGTR-3 on 1 April and
8 days later departed on her first deployment visiting
Gibraltar ; Valletta, Malta ; Aden ; Capetown ; and Free-
town, Sierra Leone, before returning Norfolk 17 August.
The ensuing weeks were devoted to preparation for deploy-
ment off the African coast. She stood out of Norfolk 2
November for Dakar, Senegal, Capetown, South Africa,
and further service acquiring new knowledge in the vital
field of electronic communications. Jamestown then re-
turned to Norfolk 6 February 1965. After operation in
the Caribbean in the spring, she transited the Panama
Canal for a cruise along the Pacific Coast of South Amer-
ica reaching Valparaiso, Chile, 9 June. She celebrated
the Fourth of July at Callao. Peru, and then transited the
Panama Canal, returning to Norfolk 23 July.
Exactly 3 months later Jamestown got underway for
the Far East and reached Subic Bay in the Philippines
29 December. She operated in the South China Sea
gathering valuable information for the Navy’s ships fight-
ing to protect the independence of South Vietnam while
adding to the long Navy tradition of serving the field of
scientific research. She continued operating in the Far
East, often operating in the Vietnam war zone, through
mid-1967.
Jamestown, see Mariveles (IX-197)
Jan, see YTM-1,61
256-125 0 - 68 - 34
503
Jan Van Nassau
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 7,560; 1. 361 '6" ; b. 44'3" ; dr. 32'11" ; s. 12 k.;
a. none)
Jan Van Nassau, a depot collier, was built in 1913 by
W. Hamilton Company, Ltd., of Point Glasgow, Scotland,
and operated as a freighter under Dutch registry. Seized
by Presidential Proclamation and taken over by the Navy
20 March 1918, she commissioned the same day, Lt. (j.g.)
Joseph Anson in command.
She sailed from San Juan, P.R., 3 April bound for the
Canal Zone and arrived Cristobal, C.Z., 8 April, where she
discharged her cargo of coal. On the 10th she sailed for
Iquiqu, Chile, arriving 13 April to load 4,500 tons of nitrate
vitally needed for the manufacture of Allied explosives.
She returned to Balboa, C.Z., 3 May and the next day
steamed for New York, arriving the 13th.
Jan Van Nassau decommissioned and was turned over
to USSB 17 May for return to her former owner.
Jane II
A former name retained.
( SP-1188 ; t. 5; 1. 35' ; b. 5'6" ; dr. 3' ; s. 15 k. ; a. 1 mg.)
Jane II (SP-1188), a wooden motor boat, was built in
1914 by A. Appel, of Trenton, N.J., and acquired by the
Navy from her owner, George Gumphert of Philadelphia,
in August 1917. She commissioned soon afterward, and
was first commanded by A. Aspling, Coxwain, USNRF.
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Jane II operated as
a dispatch boat and patrol craft at the section base, Cape
May, N.J. She was returned to her owner 25 November
1918.
Janirve, see TP-231
Janssen
Ralph Wille Janssen was born in Chicago Heights, 111.,
28 January 1915, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 12
October 1940. He was later appointed Midshipman, un-
dergoing training on board Arkansas and at the Naval
Reserve Midshipman’s School 1940-41. Upon commission-
ing, Janssen reported to destroyer Porter 2 August 1941,
and served on her during the critical first months of the
Pacific war. Promoted to Lieutenant (j.g.) 15 June 1942,
he was killed 26 October 1942 when Porter was torpedoed
by an enemy submarine during the Battle of the Santa
Cruz Islands.
( DE-396 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7'' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 3 21" tt., 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8
dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Edsall)
Janssen (DE-396) was laid down by Brown Shipbuild-
ing Co., Houston, Tex., 4 August 1943 ; launched 10 Octo-
ber 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Alfred Janssen, stepmother of
Lieutenant (j.g.) Janssen ; and commissioned 18 December
1943, Lt. Comdr. H. E. Cross in command.
Janssen departed 11 January 1944 from Galveston to
conduct shakedown training out of Bermuda. Upon com-
pletion she rendezvoused 27 February with escort carrier
Bogue and her escorts to form a submarine hunter-killer
group. In the months that followed, Janssen and her
sister ships attacked numerous submarine contacts while
cruising between the United States and the Azores ; and,
after a brief rest in North African ports, they returned to
Norfolk 2 May.
Janssen and the Bogue group were soon underway again
cruising the convoy routes of the North Atlantic. Hunter-
killer groups such as this one became a prime weapon
against the U-boat and contributed importantly to the
important work of keeping the supply lines to Europe and
the Mediterranean open. Janssen arrived New York 24
September 1944 for training exercises, and in December
took part in an emergency patrol off the coast of Maine,
where increased U-boat activity was anticipated.
Early 1945 found Janssen training antisubmarine teams
in Casco Bay and the Bermuda area. She got underway
on offensive operations once more 28 March and con-
ducted 2 weeks of Atlantic barrier patrol. Joining the
Bogue group again 16 April, the ship steamed into the
North Atlantic for her last patrol. Several attacks were
made on U-boats. Frederick C. Davis was torpedoed and
sunk with great loss of life 24 April. Then upon making
sonar contact, Janssen, aided by other escorts, closed in
on the enemy firing over 40 depth charges, in three sepa-
rate attacks. Finally, stricken U-5^6 came to the surface
where she was destroyed.
The veteran destroyer escort arrived New York 11
May, after the war against Germany had officially ended.
She sailed to Norfolk for the installation of additional
aintiaircraft mounts in preparation for more action, this
time against Japan. Janssen conducted training in the
Caribbean in June, and arrived Pearl Harbor via the
Panama Canal and California 21 August. Too late to take
active part in the war against Japan, the ship embarked
100 returning veterans at Pearl Harbor and brought them
to San Pedro 9 September.
Janssen again transited the Panama Canal, arriving
Charleston 25 September. Designated for deactivation, she
departed 24 October for Green Cove Springs, Fla., where
she decommissioned 12 April 1946. Janssen then joined
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and, at present, is berthed at
Philadelphia, Pa.
Janssen received one battle star for World War II serv-
ice and shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded
to the various ships of the Bogue task groups for out-
standing antisubmarine work in the Atlantic during 1943-
44.
Jarvis
James C. Jarvis, bom in 1787, was appointed midship-
man from the state of New York in 1799. Midshipman
Jarvis was killed at the age of 13 during the historic
engagement between the famed frigate Constellation and
the French frigate La Vengeance 2 February 1800. Sent
aloft in command of the topmen to secure Constellation's
unsupported mainmast, he refused to come down when
warned that the mast might topple : “My post is here. I
can’t leave it until ordered.” As the mast crashed, Jarvis
was swept over the side with the falling rigging. Honor-
ing Jarvis for his bravery and devotion to duty, the Sixth
Congress by Joint Resolution 29 March 1800 deemed his
conduct “deserving of the highest praise” and his loss “a
subject of national regret.”
I
(DD-38: dp. 787; 1. 293'11" ; b. 27'; dr. 8'4" ; s. 30 k. ;
cpl. 83; a. 5 3", 6 18" tt. ; cl. Monaghan)
The first Jarvis (DD-38) was laid down by the New
York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J., 1 July 1911 ;
launched 4 April 1912 ; sponsored by Mrs. Jean King ; and
commissioned 22 October 1912, Lt. Comdr. D. P. Mannix
in command.
Following shakedown off Cuba, Jarvis spent a year
operating out of Norfolk in the Caribbean. She departed
Pensacola, Fla. 20 April 1914 for patrols off Tampico and
Vera Cruz,* Mexico, during the Vera Cruz Occupation.
Returning to Norfolk 16 June, she operated in the Atlantic
until departing New York 26 May 1917 to join U.S. Naval
Forces which operated in European waters under Vice
Admiral W. S. Sims.
Arriving Queenstown, Ireland, via St. Nazaire, France,
11 June, she commenced patrol and escort duty along the
Irish and English coasts. The operations of destroyers
such as Jarvis were of immense value to the Allies in
overcoming the German submarine menace. While not
credited with sinking any U-boats, on two occasions Jarvis
rescued crews of ships torpedoed by enemy submarines.
On 19 June she rescued 41 survivors of SS Batoum off the
504
Irish coast, and she pulled 22 survivors of the British
merchantman Parley from the North Sea 25 July. After
recovering Batoum’s survivors, she braved a possible
torpedo attack and positioned herself between SS Mech-
anician and a U-boat to protect the merchant ship from
enemy torpedoes.
Jarvis operated out of Queenstown until 15 February
1918 when she sailed to Brest, France, to guard Allied
shipping along the French coast. She patrolled out of
Brest until 28 December; then she sailed for the United
States. Arriving Philadelphia 12 January 1919, she
resumed operations along the Atlantic Coast. Jarvis re-
turned to Philadelphia 21 July and decommissioned 2G
November. Under the terms of the London Treaty of
1930, which limited naval armament, she was scrapped
and her materials sold 23 April 1935.
II
( DD-393 : dp. 1,850; 1. 341 '4” ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 10'4'' ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 158; a. 4 5", 4 .50 cal. mg., 16 21” tt., 2 dct. ;
cl. Gridlcy)
The second Jarvis (DD-393) was laid down by Puget
Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., 21 August 1935 ;
launched 6 May 1937 ; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas T.
Craven, wife of Vice Admiral Craven ; and commissioned
27 October 1937, Lt. Comdr. R. R. Ferguson in command.
Clearing Puget Sound 4 January 1938, Jarvis operated
along the California coast and in the Caribbean until 1
April 1940 when” she departed San Diego for fleet exercises
off the Hawaiian Islands. She arrived Pearl Harbor 26
April, cruised the Pacific to Midway and Johnston Islands,
and steamed to San Francisco 8 February 1941 for over-
haul. Returning to Pearl Harbor 17 April to commence
more than seven months of intensive maneuvers, she put
into Pearl Harbor 4 December following exercises off
Maui Island.
Three days later the Japanese executed the carefully
planned, devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. As the first
wave of enemy bombers raked Battleship Row with
torpedoes and bombs, Ens. W. F. Greene laconically ap-
praised the situation with the following entry in Jarvis’
Deck Log : “0758 Hostilities with Japan commenced with
air raid on Pearl Harbor. Went to General Quarters.”
Moored next to Mugford (DD-389) at the Navy Yard,
Jarvis opened fire with 5-inch guns and machine guns and
made preparations to get underway within minutes of the
initial attack Her 5-inch guns were among the first to
challenge the enemy raiders, and her gunners proudly
claimed four planes.
Emerging from the attack with no loss of crew and only
superficial damage, Jarvis sortied that morning with
several cruisers and destroyers to conduct surveillance
and ASW patrols. On the 16th she cleared Pearl Harbor
with Saratoga (CV-3) and joined Task Force 14, steam-
ing to relieve the beleaguered defenders on Wake Atoll.
Recalled to Pearl Harbor 23 December, after the rescue
mission aborted, Jarvis returned the 29th to resume ASW
patrols. While operating with Lexington (CV-2) and her
screening cruisers, Jarvis rescued 182 survivors of the
stricken fleet oiler Nechcs (AO-5) 6 hours after she was
torpedoed during mid-watch 23 January 1942,
Jarvis departed Pearl Harbor 5 February to escort a
convoy to Brisbane, Australia. Following her return 27
March, she sailed 8 April for San Francisco to undergo
alterations. She returned to Pearl 18 May escorting 13
ships and proceeded 5 days later via Fiji to Sidney,
Australia. Arriving 18 June, she commenced convoy
escort and ASW patrols from Australia to New Caledonia,
continuing this duty until called to participate in the in-
vasion of Guadalcanal.
Steaming from Sidney 14 July, Jarvis arrived Welling-
ton, New Zealand, the 19th to join Task Force 62, which
sailed 22 July for the Solomons. After conducting re-
hearsal landings in the Fiji Islands 28-30 July, the in-
vasion force of 84 ships and 20,000 marines steamed for
Guadalcanal 31 July. Protected from Japanese search
planes by rain and heavy mists, the force arrived off the
landing beaches at dawn 7 August.
Following naval and air bombardment of enemy
defenses, the first amphibious operation of the war com-
menced at 0650. Jarvis patrolled watchfully as part of
the protective screen while Marines established a beach-
head. As landing operations progressed, Americans ex-
pected the Japanese to strike vigorously at the transports
with land-based planes. However, during two attacks
which occurred that afternoon the Americans sustained
only minor damage on Mugford (DD-389) while splash-
ing 14 enemy planes.
Following night patrol off the southern end of Savo
Island, Jarvis returned to Lunga Point to screen the un-
loading transports. Warning of an impending air attack
suspeded these operations ; and the transports and their
protective screen of destroyers and cruisers deployed in
the body of water between Guadalcanal and Florida
Island, soon to be called “Ironbottom Sound.” When
enemy torpedo bombers appeared about noon 8 August,
they met a lethal stream of antiaircraft fire. Only 9 of the
26 planes breached the deadly defense of flaming lead,
but they set George F. Elliot (AP-13) ablaze and
torpedoed Jarvis.
With 5-inch shells and machine gun fire pouring out at
the attackers, Jarvis maneuvered between Vincennes (CA-
64) and one of the planes during the thick of the fight.
As antiaircraft fire consumed the plane, its torpedo ex-
ploded against Jarvis' starboard side near the forward
fireroom, stopping her dead in the water. Her valiant
crew jettisoned the port torpedoes and quickly brought
under control the fires that followed the explosion.
Dewey (DD-349) towed her to shallow anchorage off
Lunga Point ; and, after the attack, she crossed “Iron-
bottom Sound” to Tulagi, where she transferred her
wounded and commenced emergency repairs.
Despite a 50-foot gash in her side, she was considered
seaworthy and ordered to proceed under cover of darkness
to Efate, New Hebrides. Apparently unaware of the
order, her capable skipper, Lt. Comdr. W. W. Graham,
decided to steam to Sidney, Australia, for immediate re-
pairs from Dobbin (AD-3). Unnoticed by her own ships,
Jarvis departed Tulagi at midnight 9 August and moved
slowly westward through “Ironbottom Sound” and between
Savo Island and Cape Esperance. At 0134 she passed 3,000
yards northward of Rear Admiral Mikawa’s cruisers,
steaming to meet the Americans at the costly Battle of
Savo Island. Mistaking her for a cruiser of the New
Zealand Achilles-c\ass. they fired torpedoes, and destroyer
Yunagi later engaged her briefly, all without effect.
The gallant destroyer, continuing to retire westward,
had little speed, no radio communications, and few
operative guns; but she refused aid from Blue (DD-378)
upon being sighted at 0325. After daybreak, a Saratoga.
scout plane sighted her 40 miles off Guadalcanal, trailing
fuel oil and down by the bow. That was the last time
Americans saw her.
The Japanese, however, still mistaking Jarvis for an
escaping cruiser, dispatched 31 planes from Rabaul to
search out and destroy her. Once discovered, the de-
termined, but badly damaged, destroyer was no match
for bombers raking the ship with bullets and torpedoes.
According to Japanese records, Jarvis “split and sank”
at 1300 on 9 August.
Although she went down with all hands, her sacrifice
served a noble purpose. Had not the enemy planes lo-
cated her, no doubt they would have maintained course
for Guadalcanal and pounded the battle-weary American
ships as they prepared to depart for Noumea, New
Caledonia.
Jarvis received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Ill
( DD-799 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6” ; b. 39'8” dr. 17'9” ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 320; a. 5 5”, 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21” tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
The third Jarvis (DD-799) was laid down by the
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Wash. ; 7
June 1943 ; launched 14 February 1944 ; sponsored by
505
USS Jarvis (DD-393) in Puget Sound 2 May 1938
Mrs. Harold Burkit, daughter of the Honorable R. C.
Holman, U.S. Senator from Oregon ; and commissioned 3
June 1944, Comdr. E. B. Ellsworth in command.
After shakedown off the California coast, Jarvis de-
parted Seattle 25 August for Pearl Harbor as escort for
South Dakota (BB-57). Arriving 31 August, she pro-
ceeded independently 3 September to Adak, Alaska, to
join the North Pacific Force, engaged in operations
against the Kurile Islands. Operating out of Adak and
Attu, Alaska, Jarvis battled stormy seas and prolonged
bad weather to conduct eight raids on shipping and shore
installations from Paramushiru to Matsuwa. After re-
turning to Adak 15 August 1945 from her last raid, she
steamed to Aomori, Honshu, to support occupation opera-
tions. Arriving Aomori 8 September, she plied the Sea
of Japan, assisting occupation landings and destroying
military installations on Honshu and Hokkaido. Jarvis
departed Yokosuka, Honshu, 19 November for the United
States. Arriving Pearl Harbor 29 November, she joined
the “Magic-Carpet” fleet and sailed 1 December for the
East Coast via San Diego and the Panama Canal, re-
turning veterans of the Pacific War. She reached
Charleston, S.C., 22 December; deactivated as a unit of
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet 11 April 1946; and decom-
missioned 29 June.
With the development and enlargement of the Korean
crisis, Jarvis recommissioned 8 February 1951, Comdr.
E. F. Rye in command. She operated in the Atlantic out
of Charleston and Norfolk for more than a year before
departing Norfolk 15 May 1952 for deployment to Korea.
Steaming via Panama, the West Coast, and Japan, she
arrived off Korea’s eastern coast 23 June and began block-
ade and interdiction patrols. Under her skipper, Comdr.
C. D. McCall, she ranged the coast from Songjin to
Chongjin, conducting operations with the 7th Fleet until
returning to Yokosuka, Japan, 18 August. Following op-
erations in Japanese waters, she joined the Formosa
Patrol from 26 September to 10 October. After complet-
ing this important duty, she proceeded to the Philippine
Islands ; and on the 18th she departed Subic Bay for the
United States via Ceylon, Suez, and Gibraltar, arriving
Norfolk 12 December.
Jarvis resumed operations with the Atlantic Fleet and
on 4 May 1954 deployed to the Mediterranean, arriving
Naples, Italy, 18 May. Before returning to Norfolk 9
July, she operated with the mighty 6th Fleet, America’s
deterrent to Communist aggression in the Middle East.
Clearing Norfolk 5 January 1955, Jarvis sailed to the
West Coast, arriving Long Beach 26 January. After
training off the California Coast, she departed 21 April
on the first of five post-Korean war deployments to the
Far East. As a unit of the powerful and versatile 7th
Fleet, she ranged the Western Pacific from Japan to the
Philippines, ever alert to insure peace in the unsettled Far
East. While on her 1955 deployment to the Far East, she
supported the evacuation of thousands of refugees from
North to South Vietnam during Operation “Passage to
Freedom.” During all her deployments she conducted
patrols in the Formosa Strait to help stabilize the Na-
tionalist-Communist struggle and prevent the invasion of
Formosa from the mainland. In 1958 she provided valu-
able assistance for the Chinese Nationalists during the
threatened Communist invasion of Quemoy and Matsu.
Jarvis returned to Long Beach from her fifth deploy-
ment 4 March 1960 and resumed coastal operations until
24 September when she sailed for the East Coast. Ar-
riving Philadelphia 16 October, Jarvis decommissioned 24
October and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 3
November she was turned over to Spain on a 5-year re-
newable loan under terms of the Military Assistance Pro-
gram. She serves the Spanish Navy as Alcala Galiano
(D-24).
Jarvis received one battle star for World War II serv-
ice and one battle star for Korean service.
Jasmine
A genus of shrubs of the olive family noted for their
fragrant blossoms ; the State flower of South Carolina.
(ScStr : t. 120; 1. 79'; b. 18'3" ; dr. 7'6" ; cpl. 19; a.
1 20-pdr. P.r., 1 12-pdr. how.)
Jasmine, a wooden tug, was purchased at New York
under the name Peter B. Van Houten from Palmer,
Crary, & John Reid, 29 May 1863 ; and commissioned at
New York Navy Yard 17 June, Acting Master A. L. B.
Zerega in command.
Jasmine was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading
Squadron and sailed for the Gulf of Mexico 21 June. On
14 July she captured sloop Relampago with an assorted
cargo, including supplies of critical copper boiler tubing,
and towed her to Key West. For the remainder of the
war the tireless tug served as a supply and dispatch
vessel maintaining communications between the various
ships of the squadron. The end of the war found her in
Pensacola, where she remained providing varied services
while the squadron demobilized and the Navy resumed
peacetime operations.
Jasmine sailed north early in 1866 and decommissioned
at New York 12 May. She was sold to the Treasury De-
partment 13 June 1866.
506
Jason
In Greek mythology, the son of Aeson, King of Iolcus
in Thessaly, who commanded ship Argo on the famous
voyage in quest of the Golden Fleece.
Monitor Sangamon (q.v.) formerly Conestoga, was re-
named Jason 15 June 1869.
I
(AC-12 : dp. 19,250 ; 1. 536' ; b. 65' ; dr. 27'8" ; s. 14.32 k. ;
cpl. 82; a. 4 4")
The first Jason (AC-12) was laid down 26 March 1912 ;
launched 16 November 1912 by Maryland Steel Co., Spar-
rows Point, Md. ; and commissioned 26 June 1913, Captain
A. M. Whitton in command.
During Woodrow Wilson’s first administration, Mexico
was torn by revolution and several factions struggled
to attain undisputed control of the land. Jason sailed for
the troubled area 4 September 1913 to fuel American ships
stationed there. She returned to Norfolk 13 October to
prepare for fueling operations in the Mediterranean.
Jason departed Norfolk 25 October, fueled ships off
Italy and France, and returned to Hampton Roads, Va.,
18 December. Following further fueling duties during
winter maneuvers in the Caribbean and Mexican waters
in early 1914, she embarked refugees from Tuxpan,
Mexico, in April and transported them to Louisiana.
Later that year, Jason was once again involved in a hu-
manitarian gesture as she sailed from New York 14
November, bearing Christmas gifts for the Mediterranean
fleet and the people of Europe. The “Christmas Ship,”
as she was called, returned to Norfolk 15 March 1915.
For the next 2 years Jason continued fueling operations,
including one cruise to the West Coast March-June 1915.
During the early months of the war she operated with the
Atlantic Train, transporting coal, stores, and freight along
the eastern United States. She continued these duties
until 16 April 1918 when she arrived New York to load
aviation materials for transportation to Inverness, Scot-
land. Upon her return to Hampton Roads 5 July, Jason
was assigned to NOTS to transport coal along the East
Coast.
After the war the fuel ship made two cruises to Europe
with coal and general cargo before being detached from
NOTS 22 July 1919. Jason sailed from Norfolk 31 July
to join the Pacific Train. Six months later she returned
to the East Coast and 21 September 1920 sailed with
coal and stores for the ships in European waters. Upon
returning to the United States, she loaded airplanes and
artillery equipment and departed Philadelphia 24 January
1921 for Guam.
Jason operated in the Pacific for 2 years performing
fueling operations along the coast. During 1923 she
cruised to Nicaragua, embarked marines stationed there,
and returned them to Norfolk. She arrived San Diego 5
May and resumed transport and fueling services until
1925.
Jason departed Pearl Harbor 2 May 1925 for service
with the air squadron in the Far East. After arriving
in the Phillipines 25 May, she carried marines to China
to protect American interests. From 1925 to 1932 Jason
operated in the Far East, engaging in transport duties
supporting the air squadron. Peace in China was con-
stantly jeopardized by warlike factions within and ag-
gression from without. Jason and the other members of
the Asiatic Fleet kept the situation in hand by making the
presence of America’s naval strength felt. Jason was
reclassified AV-2 on 21 January 1930.
She returned to San Diego 13 May 1932, and decommis-
sioned at Bremerton Navy Yard 30 June 1932. Jason
was struck from the Navy List 19 May 1936 and sold 29
July of that year.
II
( ARH-1 : dp. 16,200; 1. 530'; b. 73'4" ; dr. 23'4''; s. 19.2
k. ; cpl. 1,158 ; a. 4 5'', 8 40mm. )
The second Jason (ARH-1) was launched 3 April 1943
by Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Los Angeles,
Calif. ; sponsored by Mrs. Aubrey AY. Fitch ; commissioned
19 June 1944, Captain A. O. R. Bergesen in command.
Jason was commissioned as the United States acceler-
ated its drive to push the Japanese back to their home
islands. After brief shakedown and fitting out, the repair
ship arrived Pearl Harbor 6 July 1944 on the first leg of
her journey to the Pacific battle area. She arrived Purvis
Bay in the Solomon Islands 17 August to commence opera-
tions with Service Squadron 10. Two months later she
arrived Ulithi, where she was to spend the greater part
of the war, performing the vital task of keeping the Navy’s
ships at peak strength and operating efficiency.
For 7 months at Ulithi, as American forces captured
island after island from the Japanese, Jason, many times
under enemy attack, repaired broken hulls, buckled decks
and twisted bulkheads of every type of ship in the Navy.
This floating shipyard turned seemingly hopeless battle
wrecks into rejuvenated fighting ships again able to stand
out gallantly in the final victorious months. As the action
crept closer to Japan, Jason sailed for Leyte arriving there
28 May 1945. She remained there for the duration of the
war continuing to service ships of the Pacific Fleet.
After the Japanese surrender, she joined a convoy of
units from the 7th Fleet and arrived Jinsen, Korea, S
September with the first occupation troops. She operated
out of Jinsen, Korea, and Tsingtao, China until mid-
February 1946, performing repair services and assisting in
the evacuation of Japanese nationals. Jason returned
Terminal Island, Calif., 9 March for overhaul. Her rest
was a brief one, however, as she sailed once again in
May for the Far East. For the next 4 years she serviced
the Pacific fleet, alternating between Japan and California.
As the Communist menace grew bolder, and their puppet
USS Jason (AC-12), later converted to AV-2
507
regime in North Korea staged an overt act of aggres-
sion on South Korea, the United States responded to the
challenge. American forces were dispatched to the area,
and naval power played an important role in the conflict.
With an increased number of ships in the Far East, Jason
departed Oakland, Calif., 22 July 1950 for Sasebo and
immediately began service duties upon her arrival in
August. Throughout the war she remained at Sasebo for
extended periods performing the vital repair tasks at
hand, with only brief overhaul periods in the United
States.
Following the cessation of hostilities in Korea, Jason
returned San Diego 6 November 1953. Six months later
she sailed for another WestPac deployment which in-
cluded a goodwill tour to Chin Hae, Korea. It was during
this cruise, that the Chinese Communists began to harrass
the Nationalist-held Tachen Island. The powerful 7th
Fleet, which Jason helped maintain, sent units into the
area to make certain the peace was not violated. She
returned to San Diego 13 February 1955 and commenced
repair services off the West Coast.
Her next Far Eastern tour began January 1956, and
she operated^ in Japan, Okinawa, and Formosa before
returning to San Diego late October. While on still
another deployment to Sasebo she was redesignated AR-8
on 9 September 1957. As Jason was about to return home,
a near crisis flared in Indonesia, and the 7th Fleet kept
watch on the potential trouble spot. Following her return
to San Diego 14 February 1958, she operated there
throughout the year, giving valuable service to the Pacific
Fleet.
Jason was dispatched to the Far East 6 January 1959
and operated there until returning to San Diego 18 Au-
gust. Her departure occurred prior to the deployment of
a carrier task group in the area of Laos, as Communist
insurgency once again threatened the peace. During
Jason’s 1960 deployment, the Communists renewed their
drive to undermine the neutral government of Laos, and
the mighty 7th Fleet was again called to peace-keeping
duties.
Following her return to San Diego 7 March 1961, Jason
operated along the West Coast providing repair services
through 1962. Another deployment with Westpac began
3 January 1963, as the Communists turned their atten-
tion on Vietnam. The 7th Fleet became a main cog
in our determination to prevent Southeast Asia from fall-
ing into the hands of Communist-inspired despots. In
the years since World War II, Jason was an important
factor in keeping this force at maximum operating condi-
tion. She returned to San Diego 7 July 1963 and serviced
the Pacific Fleet along the West Coast through 1964.
Jason departed San Diego 4 January 1965 and arrived
Yokosuka on the 25th. After operations in Japan and at
Okinawa, she reached Subic Bay 6 March and served
ships of the 7th Fleet until heading home 31 August. The
repair ship operated in ports of southern California until
entering the Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash., for
overhaul 4 March 1966.
Back in top trim 6 June, Jason resumed West Coast
operations until sailing for the Orient 9 January 1967.
She served the ships of the 7th Fleet at Sasebo, Japan,
and in Subic Bay until returning to San Diego 19 August.
Jason received a Korean Service Medal for Korean
service.
Jasper
An opaque and impure variety of quartz, usually red in
color, used as a gem. PC-486 was named for towns in
Alabama, Indiana, and Texas.
I
(PYc-13 : t. 230 ; 1. 135' ; b. 22'8" ; dr. 16'6" ; s. 13 k. ; a.
none)
The first Jasper (PYc-13), a diesel-powered yacht, was
built as Stranger by Lake Union Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash., in 1938; purchased 1 July 1941 from her owner,
Fred E. Lewis; renamed Jasper; and placed in service at
San Diego 8 July 1941.
After the installation of experimental sound and elec-
tronic equipment, Jasper was assigned to the 11th Naval
District to perform research work at the Naval Sound
Laboratory, San Diego. She continued this important
scientific work throughout the war taking part in experi-
ments with radio and sound waves in cooperation with
the University of California, Division of War Research.
Echo-ranging equipment on board Jasper was used in
1946 to discover a deep 300-mile-wide oceanic layer off
the coast of California.
The ship was placed out of service 14 August 1947 at
San Diego and turned over to the Maritime Commission
for disposal in June 1948.
II
( PC-486 : dp. 295 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 58 ;
a. 1 3'', 1 40mm.', 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct., ; cl.
PG~Jt51 )
PC-Jf86 was laid down by Consolidated Shipbuilding
Corp., Morris Heights, N.Y., 25 October 1941 ; launched
25 January 1942; sponsored by Mrs. A. B. Miller; and
commissioned 14 May 1942, Lt. (j.g. ) Drayton Cochran in
command.
After shakedown PC-486 was assigned to the Northwest-
ern Sea Frontier ; operating out of Alaska and the Aleu-
tians, during the war, she patrolled the vital shipping lanes
in the North Pacific and escorted convoys from San Fran-
cisco and Seattle to Alaska.
Following World War II, the subchaser was assigned
to ASW duty in the Canal Zone. From 1946 to 1959 she
operated out of the Canal Zone on ASW patrol and air-
sea rescue missions. On 5 February 1952, PC-486 rescued
18 people adrift for 6 days on disabled Columbian
schooner Gloria. Three years later she rescued 10 people
from a sunken U.S. tuna boat Toni B in the Caribbean, 90
miles off the Panama coast.
PC-tf86 was named Jasper 15 February 1956, and con-
tinued services in the Canal Zone until she decommis-
sioned 30 April 1959. Jasper was struck from the Navy
List 1 May 1959 and sold in October 1960 to Venezuela,
serving at present as Mejillon (P-1).
BAM-29, an A«fc-class minesweeper, was launched by
Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle, Wash., 20 June 1943 ;
completed and turned over the United Kingdom under
lend-lease 12 August 1944 ; and served in the Royal Navy
as Jasper. She was returned to the U.S. Navy 24 Decem-
ber 1946 in England, and eventually sold to Greece, where
she was apparently not used as a warship.
Java
Early in the War of 1812, Constitution captured British
frigate Java in a bitter fight off the coast of Brazil 29
December 1812. However, Java’s shattered condition and
the long distance from home prompted Commodore Bain-
bridge to burn his prize. American frigate Java was
named for this American victory, and, later in the Civil
War, the screw sloop of war under construction at the
New York Navy Yard.
(Fr : t. 1,511 ; 1. 175' b.p. ; b. 44'6" dph. 13'8” ; cpl. 400; a.
33 long 32-pdrs., 20 42-pdr. car. )
Java was a 44-gun frigate built at Baltimore in 1814 and
1815 by Flannigan & Parsons. Not completed until after
the end of the War of 1812, Java, Captain Oliver Hazard
Perry in command, got underway from Baltimore 5 August
1815, picked up spare rigging at Hampton Roads and New
York, and sailed to Newport, R.I., to fill out her crew.
Ordered to the Mediterranean, the new frigate stood out
from Newport 22 January 1816 in the face of a bitter gale.
At sea one of her masts snapped with 10 men upon the
yards, killing 5.
508
Java was off Algiers in April where Perry went ashore
under a flag of truce and persuaded the dey of Algiers
to honor the treaty which he had signed the previous sum-
mer but had been ignoring. Next she visited Tripoli with
Constellation, Ontario, and Erie to show the strength of
the United States. Then, after a cruise in the Mediter-
ranean stopping at Syracuse, Messina, Palermo, Tunis
Gibraltar, and Naples, the frigate returned to Newport
early in 1817. and was laid up at Boston.
Java returned to active service in 1827 under Captain
William M. Crane for a second deployment in the Mediter-
ranean. There she protected American citizens and com-
merce and performed diplomatic duties. Toward the end
of the cruise she served as flagship of Commodore James
Biddle.
After returning to the United States in 1831, Java be-
came receiving ship at Norfolk, where she was broken up
in 1842.
Java was the name assigned to a screw sloop begun by
the New York Navy Yard in 1963 but never completed.
Her hulk was broken up in 1884.
Jaicfish
SS-856, a Perch-class submarine, was named Fanegal
23 August 1942, and renamed Jaw fish 24 September 1942.
Construction by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn., was can-
celed 29 July 1944.
Jaydee III
Former name retained.
(SP-692 : 1. 45' ; b. 10' ; dr. 3' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 5; a. 1 l-pdr„
1 mg.)
Jaydee III (SP-692), was built by the Matthews Boat
Co., in 1916, and acquired by the Navy from her owners,
R. Talbot, J. C. Wright, Howard Wilson, and Irving
Chapin, of Lincoln, Nebr., in June 1917. She commis-
sioned soon thereafter, at Detroit, Mich., Ens. P. Springer
in command.
The motor boat was assigned to the 9th, 10th, and 11th
Naval Districts, based at Detroit. She served as a patrol
craft and traffic regulator on the Detroit River until being
returned to her owner 7 March 1910.
Jean
A former name retained.
(NOTS : t. 3,125 ; 1. 328' ; b. 42'6'' ; dr. 21' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
84; a. 2 3'')
Jean, a depot collier, was built in 1909 by the Newport
News Shipbuilding & Drydoek Co., Newport News, Va.,
and taken over by the Army at Newport News, in Septem-
ber 1917 under charter from her owner, A. H. Bull Steam-
ship Co., of New York. On 30 August 1918 the USSB
assumed control under Army account. She was com-
missioned by the Navy the same day Lt. Comdr. Daniel A.
Sullivan, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Jean operated on
bare boat charter. She took aboard 2,181 tons of general
cargo at Norfolk and departed 30 September for Sydney,
Nova Scotia, to join an Atlantic convey of American and
British ships which departed 7 October for Bordeaux,
France. Diverted to Brest, France, she arrived 21 October
with precious supplies for war-ravaged Europe. Steaming
from Brest the 22d, Jean visited the ports of La Pallice,
Bordeaux, and Verdon. She sailed out of Verdon harbor
3 November and arrived Newport News the 24.
She refueled, loaded 3,164 tons of cargo, and sailed 30
December for Rio de Janeiro via Barbados. She arrived
27 January 1919, exchanged her cargo of coal for coffee
beans, and departed for New York via Santos, Brazil.
She arrived New York 20 March and discharged her cargo.
Jean decommissioned 15 April at Hoboken, N.J., and was
returned to her original owner through the USSB.
Jean III, see YP-606
Jean Lafitte, see Warren (APA-53), ex-AP 98
Jean Lykes, see Libra (AK-53)
Jean Sands
A former name retained.
(ScStr : t. 139; 1. 102' ; b. 22'8" ; dph. 6'2" ; a. none)
Jean Sands was built at Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1863 and was
purchased by the Navy at New York from T. F. Rowland
18 October 1864. She was stationed at the Norfolk Navy
Yard where she served as a tug and salvage vessel. She
was sold 16 May 1892.
Jeannette
(StBark : 1. 142'; b. 25'; dr. 13'; a. none)
Jeannette was originally a gunboat in the Royal Navy
and was purchased by Sir Allan Young for his arctic voy-
ages. The ship was purchased under the name Pandora in
1878 by James Gordon Bennett, owner of the New York
Herald; and renamed Jeannette. Bennett was an arctic
enthusiast, and he obtained the cooperation and assistance
of the government in fitting out an expedition to the Pole
through Bering Strait In March Congress authorized the
detailing of Naval officers on the voyage, and Lt. George
W. DeLong, a veteran arctic explorer, accompanied Ben-
nett to Europe to select a ship. When Jeannette was
chosen and named, DeLong sailed her from Havre to San
Francisco during the summer and fall of 1878.
At Mare Island Navy Yard Jeannette was fitted with
the latest equipment and was considerably strengthened
for northern service. She was to sail under the orders of
the Navy and subject to naval laws and discipline, even
though privately owned. The crew consisted of 28 officers
and men and 3 civilians. The ship contained the latest
in scientific equipment; and, in addition to reaching the
Pole through Bering Strait, scientific observation ranked
high among the expedition’s list of goals.
Jeannette departed San Francisco 8 July 1879, the Sec-
retary of the Navy having added to her original instruc-
tions the task of searching for another polar expedition
long overdue in Vega. She pushed northward to Alaska’s
Norton Sound and sent her last communication to Wash-
ington before starting north from St. Lawrence Bay,
Siberia, 27 August. The ship sighted Herald Island 4
September and soon afterward was caught fast in the
ice pack. For the next 21 months the sturdy Jeannette
drifted to the northwest, ever-closer to DeLong’s goal, the
North Pole itself. He described in his journal the im-
portant scientific records kept by the party : “A full
meteorological record is kept, soundings are taken, astro-
nomical observations made and positions computed, dip
and declination of the needle observed and recorded . . .
everything we can do is done as faithfully, as strictly, as
mathematically as if we were at the Pole itself, or the
lives of millions depended on our adherence to routine.”
In May 1881 two islands were discovered and named
Jeannette and Henrietta. On the night of 12 June the pres-
sure of the ice finally began to crush Jeannette. DeLong
and his men unloaded provisions and equipment onto the
ice pack and the ship sank the following morning.
The expedition now faced a long trek to the Siberian
coast, with little hope even then of rescue. Nonetheless
they started off for the Lena Delta hauling their boats and
supplies. After reaching several small islands in the
509
Siberian group and gaining some food and rest, they took
to their boats 12 September in hope of reaching the main-
land. As a violent storm blew up, one of the boats capsized
and sank. The other two, commanded by DeLong and
Chief Engineer George W. Melville, survived the severe
weather but landed at widely separated points on the
delta.
The party headed by DeLong began the long march in-
land over the marshy, half-frozen delta to hoped-for native
settlements, and one by one the men died from starvation
and exposure. Finally DeLong sent the two strongest
ahead for help ; and, though they eventually found a settle-
ment, DeLong and his companions died on the Siberian
tundra.
In the meantime, the intrepid Melville and his party
had found a native village on the other side of the delta
and were rescued. Melville then started for Belun, a Rus-
sian outpost, where he found the two survivors of De-
Long’s boat and induced a group of natives to go with
him in search of his commander. He succeeded in finding
their landing place on the Lena and recovered Jeannette' s
log and other important records, but returned to Belun
27 November without locating DeLong. Keeping only two
of his party, Melville then turned northward once more,
and finally found the bodies of DeLong and his two com-
panions 23 March 1882. He built a large cairn over the
grave of his friends, a monument which has been
reproduced in granite and marble at the United States
Naval Academy.
Before leaving Siberia, Melville made an attempt to find
the remains of Jeannette's third boat, even though the
chance of survivors was slim. He returned disappointed
to Irkutsk, the capital of Siberia, 5 July 1882, almost 3
years since his departure from San Francisco in Jean-
nette. The results of the expedition, both meteorological
and geographic, were important. Melville was rightly
honored for his courage and tenacity, and the name of
George Washington DeLong is enshrined forever among
the ranks of the Navy’s explorer heroes.
II
( S P-149 : t. 17 ; 1. 49' ; b. 13' ; dr. 4' ; s. 9 k. ; a. 2 mg.)
Jeannette (SP-149), or Jeanette, was built by B. C.
Huffstetler, Miami, Fla., in 1905 ; acquired by the Navy
from her owner, R. A. Long, of Beaufort, S.C., and commis-
sioned 14 May 1917.
Jeannette served as a patrol craft at Port Royal and
Beaufort, S.C., with occasional duties at Pensacola and
the Gulf of Mexico until decommissioned 7 February 1919.
She was used for a time at the Marine Corps" Base,
Parris Island, S.C., and was sold 16 January 1920 to the
E. O. Hall boat yard, Charleston.
Jeannette Skinner
Former name retained.
(Str: t. 4,384; 1. 423'9'' ; b. 54'; dr. 24'2" ; s. 10 lc. ; cpl.
32 ; a. 1 6'', 1 6-pdr.)
Jeannette Skinner, a cargo ship, was launched in 1917 by
Skinner & Eddy Corp., Seattle, Wash.; taken over by the
Navy from the USSB; and commissioned 12 April 1918.
Lt. Comdr. C. A. Nickerson, USNRF, in command.
Steam Bark Jeanette at Havre, France, just prior to departure for San Francisco in 1878
510
Jeanette crew members dragging their boats over the ice after the loss of their ship
Jeannette Skinner was assigned to NOTS to transport
cargo from the United States to France. After loading
general supplies, she departed New York 3 May and ar-
rived Brest, France 2 weeks later. After four round-trip
cruises to replenish supplies in war-depleted Europe, Jean-
nette Skinner arrived Baltimore 2 June 1919. She decom-
missioned 10 June and was returned to the USSB for
return to her owners.
Jeff Davis
A former name retained.
(Sip)
Jeff Davis was apparently a prize captured by Union
vessels off the North Carolina Sounds when they took New
Bern, N.C., 14 March 1862. She was purchased from
Illinois Prize Court and used as a coal hulk.
Jeffers
William Nicholon Jeffers, born in Gloucester County,
N.J., 6 October 1824, was appointed Midshipman 23 Sep-
tember 1840. His early service was in frigates Congress
and United States, and during the Mexican War he took
part in the attack on Alvarado, the capture of Tobasco,
and the bombardment of Vera Cruz. In the 1850’s he was
engaged in numerous expeditions to Central America, and
was responsible for a preliminary survey of the isthmus of
Honduras. During the early months of the Civil War,
Jeffers commanded Philadelphia in the Potomac and
served in frigate Roanoke off Charleston and Hatteras
Inlet. In December 1861 he took command of Underwriter
and soon afterward took part in the capture of Roanoke
Island and the destruction of the Confederate squadron at
Elizabeth City. After the wounding of Captain Worden
of Monitor during her historic engagement with Virginia,
Jeffers commanded her, taking part mainly in shore bom-
bardment in the James River. For the remainder of the
war he was on ordnance duty in Philadelphia and Wash-
ington. Jeffers commanded Swatara in the Mediterranean
and in African waters, and in 1873 was made Chief of the
Bureau of Ordnance. Commodore Jeffers served in this
capacity for 8 years and contributed much to the science
and literature of naval ordnance. He died at Washington
23 July 1883.
( DD-621 : dp. 1,630 ; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'5" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 270 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 5 20mm., 5 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Oleaves. )
Jeffers (DD-621) was laid down by Federal Shipbuild-
ing & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 25 March 1042 ; launched
26 August 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lucie Jeffers Lyons,
great-granddaughter of Commodore Jeffers ; and commis-
sioned 5 November 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. G. McGarry in
command.
After shakedown and training in Casco Bay, Maine,
Jeffers operated briefly on the East Coast until departing
Norfolk 18 February 1943 on her first transatlantic voyage
escorting a convoy to Casablanca and returning 14 April.
The ship patrolled off Argentia, Newfoundland, for a week
before steaming to Norfolk to prepare for the coming in-
vasion of Sicily.
Jeffers sailed from Norfolk 8 June with Task Force 65
and arrived Oran, Algeria, 22 June. While preparing for
the giant assault, she patrolled off other African ports,
shooting down a German bomber during 6 July Luftwaffe
raid on Bizerte. Jeffers sailed 2 days later with Rear
Admiral Hall’s force for Gela ; and, upon arrival 9 June,
she guarded the transports. Early next day the great
assault began, with Jeffers assigned the task of shooting
out shore searchlights and providing fire support. As the
landing proceeded with great success in the following days,
the ship fired support missions and served on antisub-
marine patrol. She sailed to Bizerte 18 July, but was
back at Palermo 31 July with cargo ships. Jeffers sailed
to Oran the next day, and from that port continued to
New York, arriving 22 August.
511
After repairs at New York, the destroyer was assigned
to convoy duty between East Coast ports and Scotland.
As the Allies began the great buildup of men and materiel
in Britian for the landings in northern France, Jeffers
made five voyages between 5 September 1943 and 22 April
1944. On her second convoy crossing to Scotland, 21 Oc-
tober the ship picked up survivors from Murphy, after that
destroyer had been cut in two by a tanker. She also took
part in salvage operations which saved the stern of the
stricken vessel.
After training operations, Jeffers sailed from New York
5 May 1944 for the United Kingdom, where she prepared
for the invasion of Normandy in June. She departed
Belfast 3 June for Utah Beach, where she patrolled and
provided lire support as troops stormed ashore on D-day.
The veteran destroyer remained off the beach until 29
June, driving off several enemy planes and assisting
damaged ships. For the next two weeks she convoyed
transports from Belfast to Utah Beach as more troops
and supplies were poured in to the beachead, finally
departing for the Mediterranean 16 July.
Next on the Allied timetable for the defeat of Germany
was another invasion of France, this one in the south.
Assigned to screen escort carriers covering the operation,
Jeffers departed Malta 12 August to join her task group.
Three days later, as troops landed between Cannes and
Toulon, the ship remained with supporting carriers, con-
tinuing to cruise off shore until 28 September. She then
sailed for New York, arriving 7 October to prepare for
duty in the far Pacific.
Jeffers was converted to a destroyer-minesweeper at
New York, and was reclassified DMS-27 on 15 November,
She sailed 3 January 1945 for the Panama Canal and Cali-
fornia, arriving San Diego for training 17 January. In
February she moved on to Pearl Harbor and from there
to the great advance base at Ulithi to prepare for the
Okinawa invasion, last and largest amphibious operation
of the war against Japan. As part of the preliminary
minesweeping group, Jeffers arrived Okinawa 24 March,
1 week before the landings, and began clearing mines and
marking boat lanes. During the assault 1 April the ship
moved to antisubmarine screening and air defense. Dur-
ing the great Japanese air attack of 6 April she downed
a twin-engine bomber. Six days later, while on radar
picket station, she again was under heavy air attack. She
downed at least one of the attackers and was nearly hit
by one of the deadly Baka bombs as the attack was re-
pulsed. Jeffers then assisted survivors of sunken Marv-
nert T. Ahele.
The veteran ship steamed into Kerama Retto to repair
battle damage later that afternoon, emerging 16 April to
join a carrier group operating off Okinawa in support of
ground forces. She then sailed to Guam 3 May for
further repairs. Departing again 26 June, Jeffers sailed
via Siapan and Ulithi to Kerama Retto, and spent the next
6 weeks on minesweeping operations north of Okinawa.
She was at anchor off Okinawa when the news of the Japa-
nese acceptance of terms was received 15 August 1945.
Jeffers steamed into Tokyo Bay 29 August with occupa-
tion forces, and was present for the surrender ceremonies
2 September. She then joined a minesweeping group for
vital sweeping operations around Japan, including hazard-
ous operations in Tsushima Strait. Operating out of
Sasebo, she continued to sweep in the Yellow Sea during
November, getting underway 5 December for the United
States.
J effers arrived San Diego 23 December and steamed via
the Panama Canal to Norfolk, where she arrived 9 Janu-
ary 1946. The ship then began her peacetime duty, arriv-
ing Charleston 12 June. She remained there for the
rest of 1946 except for a short training cruise to Casco
Bay. 1947 was spent on maneuvers in the Caribbean
during April and May, followed by exercises on the East
Coast of the United States ; and 1948 was spent entirely
at various East Coast ports on training duty.
After making a short cruise to the Caribbean in early
1949, Jeffers sailed 6 September from Charleston for her
first Mediterranean cruise. This was the period of unrest
in Greece and Israel, and the ship took part in maneuvers
around Malta until October, as America showed her might
in the cause of peace and stability. She returned to
Charleston 13 October.
The next year was spent at Charleston, except for a
training cruise to Guantanamo Bay in March. She got
underway again, however, 9 January 1951 for another
cruise to the troubled Mediterranean. She visited Oran,
Palermo, Athens, and Naples during this deployment,
again taking part in 6th Fleet’s important peace-keeping
operations. Arriving Charleston 17 May 1951, Jeffers
engaged in minesweeping and antisubmarine exercises
until her next scheduled Mediterranean cruise, 5 June
1952. She operated with 6th Fleet carriers and destroyers
until returning to her home port 13 October.
Jeffers spent the first half of 1953 in training off the
Virginia Capes, departing Norfolk 16 September for op-
erations with carrier Bennington and units of the Royal
Canadian Navy in the Mediterranean. She returned to
Charleston 3 February 1954. Operations from New York
to Key West and Havana occupied the veteran destroyer-
minesweeper until she decommissioned at Charleston 23
May 1955. She entered the Charleston Group, Atlantic
Reserve Fleet as DD-621, having been reclassified 15
January 1955. Jeffers is at present berthed at Orange, Tex.
Jeffers received seven battle stars for World War II
service.
Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was born at Shadwell, Albemarle
County, Va., 13 April 1743 and graduated from William
and Mary College in 1762. He was admitted to the bar
5 years later. In 1769 he was elected to the Virginia
House of Burgesses where he soon became a leader of the
patriot faction and helped form the Virginia Committee of
Correspondence. He maintained that the colonies were
not subject to Parliament but were bound to England only
by allegiance to the Crown.
Jefferson was sent to the Continental Congress in
June 1775, and a year later he was entrusted with writing
the Declaration of Independence. He returned to the
Virginia legislature in October 1776 where he labored to
reform the new state on democratic principles. He suc-
ceeded Patrick Henry as governor in 1779 and held that
office until 1781.
Jefferson succeeded Franklin as Minister to France in
1785 and, after his return in 1789, became the Nation’s
first Secretary of State.- Growing differences with
Alexander Hamilton prompted him to resign from Wash-
ington’s cabinet 31 December 1793, and he subsequently
led growing opposition to the Federalist party. From
1797 to 1801 he was Vice President and he defeated John
Adams in the presidential election of 1800. Upon en-
tering the White House, Jefferson introduced a more
democratic tone to public life, and his two terms as Chief
Executive were marked by careful administration and
rare frugality. Highlights of his presidency included the
Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and
the Navy’s victory over the Barbary pirates. Their
valiant and skillful fighting in the struggle with the North
African corsairs gave American seamen some of their
most colorful and cherished memories while strengthen-
ing the new nation’s position as a power worthy of respect.
In retirement Jefferson exerted great political and in-
tellectual influence as he worked to establish the Univer-
sity of Virginia. His brilliant career was brought to a
fitting close when he died 4 July 1826, the 50th anniversary
of his immortal Declaration of Independence.
Perhaps Jefferson’s place in American history was best
measured by President Kennedy while entertaining the
Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere.
“. . . I think,” the President told his distinguished guests,
“this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of
human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together
at the White House, with the possible exception of when
Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
512
I
(Sch)
The first Jefferson was a schooner purchased in 1802 by
the United States Revenue Cutter Service and stationed
at Norfolk, Va., where at the beginning of the War of
1812, she was placed under Navy orders, Captain William
Ham, USRCS, in command.
She captured a British brig bound for Halifax from the
West Indies in June 1812 and later in the summer she
took British schooner Patriot. She captured three Eng-
lish barges in the James River 11 April 1813 and freed
the crew of American schooner Flight, seized only a few
hours before by the barges.
In the summer of 1817, she captured Spanish brig
Providentia, the unlawful prize of Buenos Aires privateer
Mangero. Inconclusive evidence indicates that about this
time Jefferson may have taken a second Spanish ship,
also a prize of Mangero. Later in the year Jefferson was
sold.
II
(Brig : t. 509 ; 1. 117'11" ; cpl. 160 ; a. 16 42-pdr. car., 4 long
24-pdrs. )
The second Jefferson was build at Sackett’s Harbor,
N.Y., for service in Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s fleet
on Lake Ontario and launched 7 April 1814. She was
manned by a crew from sloop of war Erie which had
been laid up at Baltimore because of the British blockade
of Chesapeake Bay. Comdr. Charles G. Ridgely was her
captain.
Most of the guns for the new American ships had not
reached Sackett’s Harbor by 19 May when the British
fleet arrived off the American base and began a strict
blockade. Jefferson finally sailed with Chauncey’s fleet
31 July and arrived off Niagara 5 August. With Sylph
and Oneida she blockaded several English vessels inside
the river while Chauncey with the rest of the fleet sailed
on to Kingston to challenge the main English squadron.
After remaining on blockade duty off Niagara for over a
month, Jefferson sailed for Kingston to rejoin Chauncey.
During the passage a severe storm arose 12 September
and, before abating 3 days later, almost swamped the
brig. Ten of her guns were thrown overboard in the
struggle to save the ship.
Jefferson rejoined her fleet 17 September and operated
with it during the remainder of the navigation season
attempting to draw Sir James Yeo’s ships into a decisive
contest. Toward the end of November she was laid up
for the winter. Peace obviated Jefferson's planned re-
turn to commission in the spring. She apparently re-
mained in ordinary until sold 30 April 1825.
Ill
The third Jefferson, a schooner built for the United
States Revenue Cutter Service in 1833, was placed under
orders of the Secretary of the Navy 6 January 1836 for
service against the Seminole Indians in Florida, Captain
John Jackson, USRCS in command. She sailed from
Charleston 19 February and arrived Pensacola 30 April.
From that time until 18 October 1837 she was active in the
Gulf of Mexico visiting ports on the coast of Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Mexico. From time to
time her duties took her to the West Indies. Returning
to the Treasury Department 18 October, Jefferson re-
sumed her duties as a revenue cutter at Mobile, Ala. Her
name was changed to Crawford in April 1839. As Craw-
ford she was lost at Gardiner’s Point, Long Island Sound,
15 December 1847.
Jefferson, Thomas, see Thomas Jefferson (APA-30)
Jefferson County
Counties in 26 states.
( LST-845 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 14'1''; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 226; a 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-542)
LST-845 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 23 October 1944 ; launched 7 December 1944 ;
sponsored by Mrs. B. F. Fairless ; and commissioned at
New Orleans, La., 1 January 1945, Lt. C. E. Lowe in
command.
After shakedown off the Florida coast, LST-845 de-
parted New Orleans for the West Coast 7 February.
Steaming via the Panama Canal, she loaded cargo at San
Diego and San Francisco, then sailed 15 March for the
Hawaiian Islands. She touched at Maui 24 March to
unload cargo ; reached Pearl Harbor the 26th ; and re-
turned to Maui 4 April for amphibious training opera-
tions. While beached 6 April, she broached in heavy
surf and sustained heavy damage to her hull. Towed out
to sea 9 April, she underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor
from 10 April to 27 July before resuming amphibious
training.
Carrying troops and cargo, LST-845 departed Pearl
Harbor in convoy for Japan 29 August. She arrived
Sasebo 22 September and supported occupation landings
before sailing for the Philippines 3 days later. Steaming
via Subic Bay, she reached Lingayen Gulf 7 October to em-
bark more occupation troops for transportation to Japan.
Between 12 and 19 October she sailed to Sasebo ; and,
during the next month, she supported occupation opera-
tions along the western coast of Kyushu Island. Depart-
ing Sasebo late in November, she steamed via the Marl-
anas to Pearl Harbor where she arrived 20 January 1946.
LST-845 operated out of Pearl Harbor until 29 April
when she sailed for the Far East. Sailing via Okinawa,
she arrived off Shanghai, China, 30 May. During the next
2 months, she operated from Nanking to Hankow in the
Yangtze River, carrying men and military cargo and sup-
porting Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalist troops dur-
ing their struggle with the Chinese Communist forces for
control of the Chinese mainland. She departed Shanghai
24 July ; and, after steaming on cargo runs to the Philip-
pines and Okinawa, she returned to Tsingtao, China, 3
September, loaded with military cargo. Then, from 9 to
28 September, she sailed to Pearl Harbor. Departing 4
December for the West Coast, she touched at San Fran-
cisco the 15th and reached San Diego 20 December.
During the next 2 years she took part in amphibious
training operations out of San Diego. Between 10 Jan-
uary and 4 March 1949 she transported cargo to Juneau
and Kodiak, Alaska. Departing San Diego 16 May, LST-
845 made a cargo run to the mid-Paeific, carrying military
supplies to bases in the Marshalls and the Marianas. After
returning to San Diego 17 July, she operated off southern
California during the next 12 months.
In response to the invasion of South Korea by North
Korean troops 25 June 1950, LST-845 departed San Diego
10 August and sailed to the Far East to bolster the Amer-
ican effort to repel this Communist aggression. Arriving
Kobe, Japan, 6 September, she embarked combat troops
and departed 10 September for amphibious landings at
Inchon, Korea, which were designed to thwart the Com-
munist advance through South Korea and spearhead an
Allied offensive northward. Standing off Inchon, she
boated troops for the assault ; and. following the success-
ful landings, she remained off Inchon during the next
month to unload military cargo. She departed Inchon 15
October and steamed to the eastern coast of Korea to carry
cargo from Pusan to Wonsan and Hungnam. Following
the entrance of Communist China into the Korean conflict.
LST-845 supported the evacuation of Hungnam and made
three runs south to Pusan. On 24 December she helped
evacuate the remaining military forces before sailing via
Pusan to Japan where she arrived Yokosuka 31 December.
During the next few months LST-845 continued to carry
cargo between Japan and ports in South Korea. She de-
parted Yokosuka 25 April 1951, sailed via Pearl Harbor,
and reached San Diego 23 May.
LST-845 took part in amphibious training operations
for the better part of a year ; and, after overhaul, she de-
513
parted San Diego 26 May 1952 to again support U.N. forces
in Korea. Arriving Sasebo, Japan, 10 July, she spent more
than 6 months in Japanese and Korean waters bolstering
the naval supply line to South Korea. She departed the
Far East 4 February 1953, arrived San Diego 5 March,
and operated off southern California during the remainder
of 1953.
Departing San Diego 25 January 1954, LST-845 steamed
on her third deployment with the mighty 7th Fleet in the
Far East. She reached Yokosuka 25 February ; and dur-
ing the next 5 months cargo runs and amphibious exercises
sent her from Japan to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Inchon.
On 14 August she departed Yokosuka for Haiphong, North
Vietnam, to provide support for Operation “Passage to
Freedom.” She reached Haiphong 27 August and made
four runs to Tourane, South Vietnam, during the several
weeks. In addition to transporting military cargo, she
carried civilian refugees seeking to escape from Com-
munist domination in North Vietnam. After returning to
Yokosuka 20 October, LST-845 sailed for the United
States 7 November and arrived San Diego 12 December.
While operating out of San Diego, LST-845 was named
Jefferson County 1 July 1955. She trained along the
California coast until 13 August 1957 when she again de-
parted for the western Pacific. She arrived Yokosuka
13 September and resumed cargo runs and amphibious
exercises which carried her along the Japanese coast to
Okinawa, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Departing
Dingalan Bay, Luzon, 1 March, she arrived San Diego
1 April.
Jefferson County sailed for the Marshall Islands 9
October ; and, after arriving Kwajalein 2 November, she
operated during the next 3 months supporting the estab-
lishment of Air Force stations in the Marshalls. She re-
turned to San Diego 4 March 1959. Following amphibious
training out of San Diego, she departed for the Far East 1
October. She reached Yokosuka 3 November and resumed
training and readiness exercises along the coast of Japan.
Sailing for the United States 12 April 1960, she arrived
San Diego 5 May. She decommissioned there 28 Novem-
ber 1960 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 1 February 1961. She
was sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc., 22 August 1961.
LST-845 received five battle stars for Korean service.
Jeffery, Irit. see Ira Jeffery (DE-63)
Jeka, see YT-352
Jekyl
An island off the coast of Georgia.
(AG-135 : dp. 520 ; 1. 177' ; b. 33' ; dr. 10' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl. 26 ;
cl. Camano )
Jekyl (AG-135) was built in 1944 by Wheeler Ship-
building Corp., Long Island, N.Y., for the Army and served
as FS-282 until being transferred to the Navy at Guam
22 February 1947. She was converted to Navy use and
commissioned at Guam 2 May 1947, Lt. F. E. Richards in
command.
One of a group of small Army cargo ships transferred
to the Navy for use among the Pacific Islands, Jekyl car-
ried ammunition, food, and supplies to various island
bases and outposts. She operated mainly from Kwajalein
Atoll, and steamed through the Marianas and Carolines
to Pearl Harbor in support of occupation forces. The ship
also transported officials of the civil governments and
helped carry native products as America began to restore
normal life to the ravaged Pacific. On 31 March 1949 she
was reclassified AKL-6.
The ship was relieved of her duties in December 1949
and arrived Pearl Harbor on the 15th. From there she
steamed to Seattle, where she decommissioned 12 April
1950, and was placed in reserve at Astoria, Oreg. Jekyl
was sold 18 May 1960 and scrapped.
Jenkins
Thortan A. Jenkins was born at Orange Court House.
Va., 11 December 1811. He entered the Navy as a mid-
shipman 1 November 1828 and served first in the West
Indies in an expedition against pirates and slavers. Ex-
amined for a commission as Lieutenant, he placed first
among 82 candidates.
Prior to the Mexican War, Jenkins served with the
Coast Survey and with the Brazilian and Mediterranean
Squadrons. During the war with Mexico, as executive offi-
cer of Germantown, he led landing parties from his ship
at Tuxpan and Tabasco. Later, he commanded hospital
ship Relief and the Supply Station at Salmedena Island.
In the interval between the wars, he served in the receiv-
ing ship at Baltimore, returned to the Coast Survey, and
was Secretary of the Lighthouse Board.
His Civil War record was distinguished. Serving
primarily in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron of David
Farragut, he commanded Oneida. He served as chief of
staff to Farragut, and was later wounded while command-
ing a convoy escort group. As Senior Officer Present, in
command of Richmond, he received the surrender of Port
Hudson 9 July 1863. He later commanded a division of
the Squadron.
Jenkins was Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, from
1865 to 1869, and he commanded the Asiatic Station from
1870 until his retirement in 1873. Rear Admiral Jenkins
was President of the Naval Institute from 1883 to 1885,
and died 9 August 1893.
I
(DD^i2: dp. 787; 1. 293'11'' ; b. 27'; dr. 8'4'' ; s. 29 k. ;
cpl. 83 ; a. 5 3", 6 18" tt. ; cl. Monaghan)
Jenkins (DD-42) was laid down 24 March 1911 by Bath
Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; launched 29 April 1912 ; spon-
sored by Miss Alice Jenkins, daughter of Rear Admiral
Jenkins ; and commissioned 15 June 1912, Lt. Comdr. E. H.
Delany in command.
In the years that preceded World War I Jenkins, based
at Newport, R.I., trained with the Atlantic Fleet, sailing
to the Caribbean for winter maneuvers operating along
tbe East Coast in summer. In addition, she sailed to
Tampico, Mexico, in mid-April 1914 to support the Ameri-
can occupation of Vera Cruz.
As the war raged in Europe, Jenkins continued patrol
operations along the North American coast in search of
possible German U-boats. The patrols and maneuvers
sharpened her war-readiness, so that, true to Navy tradi-
tion, she was ready for any eventuality when she sailed
for Europe 26 May 1917.
Based at Queenstown, Ireland, Jenkins and her sister
destroyers patrolled the eastern Atlantic, escorting con-
voys and rescuing survivors of sunken merchantmen. She
continued escort and patrol duty for the duration of the
War. Though she made several submarine contacts no
results were determined. Following the signing of the
Armistice 11 November 1918, Jenkins sailed for home, ar-
riving Boston 3 January 1919.
The destroyer operated along the Atlantic coast until
arriving at Philadelphia 20 July. She remained there
until decommissioning 31 October 1919. Jenkins was
scrapped in 1935 in accordance with the Treaty of
London.
II
(DD-447 : dp. 2,100; 1. 376'4" ; b. 39'5" ; dr. 13'; s. 35.5
k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt. ; 2
dct., 6 dcp. ; cl. Fletcher)
Jenkins (DD— 147) was laid down by Federal Shipbuild-
ing & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 27 November 1941 ;
launched 21 June 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Marion Parker
Embry ; and commissioned 31 July 1942, Lt. Comdr. H. F.
Miller in command.
After a training period during the summer of 1942,
Jenkins departed Casco Bay, Maine, 24 October as escort
to a convoy headed for the North African campaign.
She screened heavy ships during the shore bombardment,
514
as the attack force arrived off Casablanca 8 November.
Following the successful assault, the destroyer returned
to New York 19 November to prepare for action in the
Pacific.
Arriving at Noumea, New Caldonia 4 January 1943, she
i immediately began escort and patrol duty among the
Solomon Islands and in the Coral Sea. Her first Pacific-
landing operation began 29 June, when she joined other
units in supporting the invasion of New Georgia Island,
i Jenkins splashed several enemy planes, as the Japanese
fought back with considerable air strength.
Assigned to Rear Adm. W. L. Ainsworth’s Task Group
36.1, Jenkins departed Tulagi 5 July and steamed up the
Slot to intercept a Japanese destroyer and transport force
carrying reinforcements to Kolombangara. Radar
detected the enemy during mid-watch ; and during the
Battle of Kula Gulf 6 July, American gunfire sank one
destroyer and drove another ashore. Enemy torpedoes
sank Helena.
Following this operation, Jenkins was dispatched 18
July to a position 100 miles south of Santa Cruz Island to
assist damaged seaplane tender Ghincotcague. Although
under attack from enemy bombers, the destroyer escorted
Chincotcague back to Espiritu Santo.
During the next 4 months Jenkins engaged in escort
duty, training exercises, and preparations for the Gilbert
Islands campaign. She joined the screen of Rear Adm.
IV. A. Radford’s Northern Carrier Group which bombed
Makin and Tarawa during the landings 15 November.
Then the destroyer sailed with the carrier force to attack
Kwajalein and Wotje in the Marshalls on 4 December.
During these raids the carrier Lexington was hit by a
torpedo, and Jenkins was assigned to escort her back to
Pearl Harbor where she arrived 9 December.
Jenkins departed Hawaii 25 January 1944 with a tanker
unit to fuel fast carriers and ships covering the Marshall
Islands campaign. She operated with the refueling group
through February, and conducted shore bombardment on
Bougainville during March. She departed Seeadler
Harbor 20 April to rendezvous with Task Force 77 for
amphibious operations at Hollandia and Aitape. The
landings took place 22 April, and their successful conclu-
sion gave American Pacific forces another base from
which to unleash further attacks on remaining enemy held
islands. After escort duty and ASW patrols, Jenkins made
a search in early June to thwart any attempt by the
Japanese to reinforce their Biak garrison. She then
covered and provided shore bombardment for the in-
vasions of Noemfoor, Sansapor, and Morotai, as well as
patrolling and escorting reinforcements for these opera-
tions throughout the summer.
Jenkins once again departed Manus, Admiralties, 12
October for the Leyte invasion scheduled 20 October.
Upon arrival, the destroyer was assigned to radar picket
duty, from which she performed fighter director duties.
As other units of the fleet were decisively defeating the
enemy fleet in the historic Battle for Leyte Gulf, Jenkins
continued her services on the picket station until 27
November.
On 28 December Jenkins sortied from Aitape to provide
close cover for the Luzon Attack Force. After receiving
some damage from the enemy shore battery, the destroyer
returned to Leyte 12 January 1945. Ten days later she
departed to assist in hunter-killer operations in the Linga-
yen Gulf area. She remained on ASW patrol until pro-
ceeding to cover minesweeping and shore bombardment
on Corregidor 13 February. She continued to support the
landings in the islands, giving valuable fire support and
ASW assistance until late April.
She departed Subic Bay 24 April. to cover minesweeping
and amphibious operations in the Celebes Sea off Borneo.
Jenkins struck a mine off Takaran Island 30 April and
sailed into Subic Bay for repairs. On 18 June she sailed
for the United States to complete repairs, arriving San
Pedro 8 July. She remained on the West Coast through
the duration of the war. ff'he battle-scarred destroyer
decommissioned at San Diego 1 May 1946.
The outbreak of the Korean conflict necessitated addi-
tional naval strength to maintain America’s worldwide
commitments. Jenkins recommissioned as DDE^147 on
2 November 1951 under the command of Comdr. C. F.
McGivern. She departed San Diego 25 February 1952 for
a training period at Pearl Harbor. Upon completion of
training, she arrived Japan 12 June; and during the sum-
mer she operated with Task Force 77 which furnished air
support for the ground forces in Korea. She also engaged
in patrol duties off Korea and Formosa before returning
to her home port Pearl Harbor 5 December.
She operated out of Pearl until 10 November 1953 when
she sailed for another Far Eastern tour. This cruise was
highlighted by Korean and Formosan patrols before re-
turning to Pearl Harbor 15 June. From 1954 through
1963, Jenkins sailed annually to the Far East for peace-
keeping operations with the 7th Fleet. In her 1958 deploy-
ment the 7th Fleet was on ready alert, as the Chinese
Communists commenced harassment of the Chinese Na-
tionalist islands of Quemoy and Matsu.
During the sixties the 7th Fleet deployments were of
greater importance because of the Communist insurgency
in Laos and Vietnam. For the greater part of 1964 and
1965, Jenkins operated out of Pearl Harbor.
Jenkins sailed for the Far East 9 February 1966 and on
the 21st was assigned to gunfire support duty and effec-
tively shelled enemy troop concentrations to assist Marine
fighting in Vietnam. But for breathers in the Philippines
and Japan, she continued this duty until returning to
Pearl Harbor 22 July.
Jenkins operated in Hawaiian waters until entering U.S.
Naval Shipyard at Pearl Harbor 11 September for a
major overhaul which was completed early in 1967. The
destroyer then prepared for another deployment in the
war zone.
Jenkins received 14 battle stars for World War II serv-
ice and 1 star for Korean War service.
Jenks
Henry Pease Jenks was born in Chicago, 111., 31 May
1914 and enlisted in the Navy 8 October 1940. After
undergoing Reserve Officer training, he was appointed
Ensign 6 June 1941 and reported to criuser Atlanta , soon
to be commissioned. In June 1942, Jenks served in At-
lanta during the epochal Battle of Midway and later dur-
ing the landings on Guadalcanal, first American amphibi-
ous operation of the war. In the great Naval Battle of
Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942, in which the Japanese
move on the island was frustrated, Atlanta was torpedoed
in the early stages of the action and damaged severely by
enemy gunfire. She survived the night, but was scuttled
next day off Lunga Point. Lieutenant (j.g.) Jenks was
killed in the battle, for which his gallant ship received
the Presidential Unit Citation.
( DE-665 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306', b. 36'10'' ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 3 21" tt., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp.,
1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Buckley)
Jenks (DE-665) was laid down by Dravo Corp., Pitts-
burgh, Pa., 12 May 1943; launched 11 September 1943;
sponsored by Mrs. M. L. Jenks, mother of Lieutenant
(j.g.) Jenks; and commissioned at New Orleans 19 Janu-
ary 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. F. AVay in Command.
Following shakedown training out of Bermuda in Febru-
ary, the ship moved to the all-important Atlantic convoy
lanes to act as an escort ship during the great buildup of
men and supplies in Europe. She arrived New York 21
April after one such voyage to the United Kingdom in
April. Following training exercises, she steamed to Nor-
folk 10 May and joined escort carrier Guadalcanal and
her hunter-killer group under Captain Daniel V. Gallery.
The ships sortied 15 May bound for the Atlantic shipping
lanes in quest of German submarines. After 2 weeks of
searching, the group was headed toward Casablanca when
on 4 June it detected U-505 and closed for the attack.
An accurate depth charge attack by Chatelain brought
the submarine to the surface, where her crew abandoned
515
ship. Immediately, a well-planned boarding action com-
menced ; and, despite the danger from damage and German
booby traps, intrepid salvage parties succeeded in saving
the submarine. Jenks picked up survivors from the
U-boat, and her boat went alongside to take off valuable
bridge publications. Through skillful damage control
work the captured submarine, a major intelligence find,
was gotten safely and secretly to Bermuda.
Jenks returned from this history-making cruise 16 June
and arrived New London 28 June to serve as a training
ship. She remained on this duty until late July, and de-
parted Norfolk the 31st with another convoy to the Medi-
terranean. In the months that followed the ship made
four escort voyages to African ports, helping to protect the
vital flow of supplies and men. Between assignments she
engaged in training out of Casco Bay, Maine.
Jenks reached Boston on her final convoy voyage 19 May
1945, the war against the European foe then over. The
ship underwent much-needed voyage repairs at Boston
Navy Yard and then sailed to Miami, arriving 8 June to
serve as school ship for the Naval Training Center. In
August she took part in training exercises in the Carib-
bean. Jenks continued peacetime operations out of
Charlestown and Key West until arriving Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 2 May 1946. She decommissioned 26 June
1946, entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, and was later
moved to the Texas Group, where she remained until she
was struck from the Navy List 1 February 1966 and
scrapped.
Jenks received two battle stars for World War II serv-
ice, in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation for tak-
ing part in the capture of U-505.
Jennings, Jonathan, see Talita (AKS— 8)
Jennings, Walter, see Vandalia (IX-191)
Jennings County
A county in Indiana.
( LST-846 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-542)
LST-846 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Am-
bridge, Pa., 27 October 1944 ; launched 12 December ; spon-
sored by Mrs. L. P. Quill ; and commissioned 9 January
1945.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-846 loaded cargo at
New Orleans, then sailed for the Pacific in mid-February.
Steaming via the Panama Canal and San Francisco, she
reached Pearl Harbor 27 March. For the next 6 weeks,
the landing ship operated in the Hawaiian Islands before
departing for Seattle 12 May.
Following repairs, LST-846 received oil, gasoline, and
mechanized equipment for transport to the western Pa-
cific. On 9 June she was underway, arriving Guam 11
July. For the rest of the war she supported American
forces in the Marshalls and Okinawa. After the Japan-
ese acceptance of Allied peace terms, LST-846 transported
occupation forces and equipment between Japan and the
Marianas. She sailed for the United States 3 November,
arriving Seattle in early December.
Returning to the Far East 5 months later, she arrived
Shanghai, China 28 May 1946 and commenced cargo runs
among Chinese ports. From 1946 to 1949, LST-846 con-
tinued these operations and in addition shuttled cargo
between China and the Marianas. After the Communist
takeover of Mainland China, the veteran landing ship re-
turned to the United States, arriving San Diego 17 June
1949. LST-846 decommissioned at Astoria, Oregon 14
October 1949.
When Communist aggression in Korea shattered the
stability and peace of Asia, the United States acted to
halt the advance. To aid in the movement of men and
equipment, LST-846 recommissioned 3 November 1950, Lt.
Marion Y. Reeder in command. After amphibious train-
ing along the West Coast she departed San Diego, 16 April
1951 for duty in the Western Pacific. Arriving Yokosuka
early June, the landing ship operated out of Japan per-
forming cargo runs and amphibious training until 6 Sep-
tember when she sailed for the east coast of Korea. After
two cruises from Japan to Korea, LST-846 sailed 5 No-
vember for a stateside overhaul.
She was back in the Far East 5 June 1952, then resumed
cargo operations in Japan for the remainder of the year.
Returning San Diego 29 March 1953, LST-846 served off
the West Coast until 27 January 1954 when she sailed for
another Westpac tour. During the late summer LST-846
transported French troops and vehicles along the Indo-
china coast, following the end of the Indochinese War.
She also performed station ship duties during the “Pas-
sage to Freedom” Operation, as naval units transported
thousands of Vietnamese who chose a free form of gov-
ernment during the partition of their country.
Departing Yokosuka 12 October, the veteran landing
ship arriving San Diego 4 weeks later. Following am-
phibious exercises along the West Coast, she steamed to
Astoria, Oreg., arriving 9 April 1955 for overhaul. LST-
846 was named Jennings County 1 July and decommis-
sioned at San Diego 7 December 1955.
After 10 years with the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Jennings
County recommissioned 11 June 1966, to support U.S.
forces giving assistance to South Vietnam in their strug-
gle against Communist aggression.
Jennings County departed San Diego 11 September,
arriving Chu Lai, Vietnam 11 November. For the re-
mainder of 1966 she conducted river patrols and in 1967
she continued her patrols supporting “Game Warden”
operations.
TjST-846 received one battle star for the Korean
conflict.
Jerauld
A country in south-central South Dakota.
( APA-174 : dp. 6,873 ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 17 k. ; cpl.
536; a. 1 5", 12 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl. Haskell; T.
VC2-S-AP5)
Jerauld (APA-174) was launched under Maritime Com-
mission contract by Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Portland,
Oreg., 3 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Gloria Dahl-
berg; acquired and commissioned at Astoria, Oreg., 28
November 1944, Comdr R. E. Perry in command.
After undergoing shakedown off California, Jerauld
sailed from Seattle 5 February 1945 carrying Army fly-
ers and civilian workers to Pearl Harbor. She arrived
16 February and began 4 weeks of amphibious exercises in
the Hawaiian Islands.
The new attack transport sailed from Pearl Harbor
15 March with marines destined for Okinawa. En route
she touched at the great American bases at Eniwetok and
Ulithi, arriving Okinawa 17 April. She remained off the
bitterly-contested island for 5 days debarking a Marine
antiaircraft battalion and undergoing frequent air attacks
before sailing for Saipan 22 April.
Jerauld next steamed to Guadalcanal ; and, after her
arrival 10 May, she embarked troop units for redeploy-
ment to Guam and Saipan. The ship departed Saipan 23
June for her second voyage to Okinawa, this time with
Army Engineers needed for the construction of all-im-
portant airfields on the island. She remained off Okinawa
from 27 June until 6 July when she sailed with more than
250 battle casualties destined for hospitals on Saipan.
Jerauld then proceeded to San Francisco, where she ar-
rived 26 July.
The battle-tried transport remained in the United States
until after Japan’s surrender, Sailing 16 August for the
Philippines, she arrived Manila 6 September and em-
barked occupation troops. After stopping at Lingayen
Gulf for additional units she steamed to Wakayama 7
October to land occupation soldiers. The ship visited
516
several Japanese ports in support of the operation and
made another voyage to the Philippines for troops. She
sailed from Nagoya 26 October, embarked returnees in the
Philippines, and steamed by way of Pearl Harbor for San
Diego.
Jerauld made one additional voyage to the Philippines
as part of Operation “Magic-Carpet”, bringing many com-
bat troops back to the United States. She then sailed
from San Francisco 20 February 1946 via the Canal Zone
for Norfolk. Arriving 11 March, she decommissioned 6
May, was returned to the Maritime Commission, and was
placed in the Maritime Commission’s National Defense
Reserve Fleet in the James River, where she remains.
Jerauld received one battle star for World War II
service.
Jericho Victory, see Pvt. Joseph F. Merrell (AKV-4)
Jerome County
A county in Idaho.
(LST-848: dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 266; a. 8 40mm.; 12 20mm.; cl. LST-51/2)
LST-81/8 was laid down by the American Bridge Co.,
Ambridge, Pa. 6 November 1944 ; launched 21 December
sponsored by Mrs. F. D. Porter; and commissioned 20
January 1945, Lt. R. P. Bentley in command.
Following shakedown off Florida, LST-848 departed
New Orleans 24 February for the Pacific. After touching
Balboa, C.Z., and West Coast ports, she proceeded to
Hawaii, arriving Kalua Harbor 9 April. For the next 6
weeks, she engaged in amphibious exercises in the Ha-
waiian Islands before sailing to the Marianas.
Arriving Guam 11 June, LST-848 shuttled troops and
equipment from the Marianas to Okinawa for the duration
of World War II. When Japan accepted Allied peace
terms, thereby ending the war, the landing ship was as-
signed to transport occupation forces in the Far East.
Operating between the Philippines and Japan, LST-848
carried troops, vehicles, and cargo to support American
forces in the Pacific.
She departed Japan in early December and, after stays
at Saipan and Pearl Harbor, arrived San Francisco 11
February 1946. Following operations along the West
Coast, she sailed to Astoria, Oreg., early in April and de-
commissioned at Vancouver, Wash., 10 August 1946.
While berthed with the Columbia River group, Pacific
Reserve Fleet, LST-848 was named Jerome County 1 July
1955.
Jerome County recommissioned 7 December 1959, Lt.
Kenneth H. Ruecker in command ; then completed a shake-
down along the Pacific coast. On 14 May 1960 she de-
parted San Pedro for mid-Pacific missile operations out
of Midway Island. After 5 months in support of the
U.S. missile program, she returned San Diego late
October.
During 1961, Jerome County participated in amphibious
training exercises along the California coast; then on 12
January 1962 she sailed for the mid-Pacific. Assigned to
Operation “Dominic,” she performed weather studies,
charting, and communications during the U.S. nuclear
tests of that year. The veteran LST returned San Diego
18 August to resume amphibious training exercises.
From August 1962 until August 1965, Jerome County
usually operated along the West Coast in addition to two
mid-Pacific deployments. Following the increased Ameri-
can commitment to assist the South Vietnamese govern-
ment in their struggle against Communist aggression,
Jerome County sailed for Southeast Asia 10 August 1965.
Arriving Chu Lai, South Vietnam, 11 September, she sup-
ported U.S. operations in Asia for the next 3 months. The
landing ship returned San Diego 22 December.
Jerome County sailed again for the Far East 3 March
1966 and arrived Da Nang, South Vietnam, 8 April. She
unloaded her cargo and continued shuttling supplies,
ammunition, and equipment in and out of the war zone
until departing Subic Bay 1 September for borne. She
arrived San Diego 13 October and operated along the
West Coast for the remainder of the year and into 1967
preparing for future action.
Jerry Briggs
A former name retained.
(t. 2; 1. 25' ; b. 7' ; cpl. 2)
Jerry Briggs, formerly Rosalinda, was a motor launch
free-leased to the Navy and commissioned 17 August 1918.
She operated out of St. Helena oil station in the South
Atlantic until 3 April 1919 when she decommissioned and
was returned to her owner, Mrs. Myra Briggs.
Jersey
Abridgement of New Jersey, one of the 13 Original
States.
(Gon : 1. 53'4'' ; b. 15'6" ; dph. 3'10" ; cpl. 45 ; a. 1 12-pdr„
2 6-pdrs.)
Jersey, a gondola, was built at Skenesborough, N.Y., in
the summer of 1776 for service with the Continental Army
on Lake Champlain. Commanded by Captain Grimes, she
joined Brigadier General Benedict Arnold’s fleet 6 Sep-
tember and fought in the Battle of Valeour Island 11
through 13 October. During the battle she was abandoned
at Schuyler’s Island, recovered by the British, and taken
into their fleet.
This fleet action delayed the British advance from Cana-
da and gained for the United States invaluable time to
strengthen their forces before the Battle of Saratoga a
year later. The momentous American victory at Saratoga
has been called the turning point of the war since it
prompted France to enter the contest bringing her power-
ful fleet which made possible Washington’s ultimate tri-
umph at Yorktown.
Jessamine
Former name retained.
I
(Tender: dp. 257; 1. 156'; b. 24'; dr. 7'3" ; cpl. 22)
The first Jessamine, an iron lighthouse tender, entered
the service 24 September 1881 and came under Naval juris-
diction with the entire Lighthouse Service 11 April 1917,
R. A. Brooks, Master. Throughout the war she continued
her regular duties servicing lighthouses and navigational
aids of other types out of her home port of Baltimore. She
was returned to the Commerce Department 1 July 1919.
II
( Sp-438 : t. 57; 1. 90'3" ; b. 14'; dr. 5'; s. 13 k.)
The second Jessamine (Sp-438), a yacht, was built in
1907 by J. M. Bayles & Son, Port Jefferson, N.Y., and pur-
chased by the Navy from her owner, S. O. Richardson, of
Toledo, Ohio, in June 1917. She commissioned 19 June
1917, Ens. C. H. Hull, USNRF, in command.
Jessamine was based at Detroit during her naval serv-
ice. She patrolled the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and
Detroit harbor, guarding channels and regulating traffic.
She was transferred to the Coast Guard 2 December 1919.
Jesse Rutherford
Jesse Rutherford, Jr., was born 12 January 1922 in
Salmon, Idaho, and enlisted in the Marine Corps 14 July
1941. After undergoing basic training at San Diego, he
517
reported to carrier Lexington 8 November 1941. Private
Rutherford was on board during the pivotal Battle of the
Coral Sea, in which the Navy turned back the Japanese
thrust toward Port Moresby and Australia. In this first
great carrier action, during which neither force cited the
other, American planes sank one Japanese carrier and
damaged another; but, near the end of the battle, 8 May,
Lexington was hit by two bombs and two torpedoes.
Rutherford, a fuse setter in a gun mount, was seriously
injured in the attack ; but he remained at his post. In the
language of his citation, “although mortally wounded by
the fragments of a bursting bomb, he displayed outstand-
ing courage and a loyal determination to keep his gun in
action despite his injured condition, and valiantly re-
mained at his station setting fuses until he collapsed on
the deck.” The stricken “Lady Lex” was finally sunk by
friendly ships, and Private Rutherford was posthumously
awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism.
( DE-347 : dp. 1,350 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 32 11" tt., 2 dct.,
8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h. ), 3 21" tt. ; cl. John C. Butler)
Jesse Rutherford (DE-347) was laid down by Consoli-
dated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 22 November 1943 ;
launched 29 January 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Mary Ruth-
erford, mother of Private Rutherford ; and commissioned
31 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. B. M. Henry in command.
Jesse Rutherford departed Galveston 7 July for shake-
down training in waters off Bermuda, after which she
arrived Boston 13 August to prepare for arduous Atlantic
convoy duty. She engaged in more underway training
off the East Coast, however, before sailing from Norfolk
20 September with her first convoy. The transports ar-
rived Naples 4 October, and Jesse Rutherford returned to
New York 24 October.
At New York the destroyer escort received the newest
in equipment and armament in preparation fo-r the Pacific
war, then about to enter its final stages. She sailed 10
November with Escort Division 76, bound for the Panama
Canal, the Galapagos Islands, and eventually the Society
Islands. Jesse Rutherford arrived Bora Bora 5 December
and departed the next day for the great American staging
base on Manus Island. From there the ship was assigned
to escort convoys from Hollandia to Leyte Gulf in support
of the Allied campaign to recapture the Philippines. In
the months that followed Jesse Rutherford made nine
voyages to Leyte, and in March 1945 she steamed to
Lingayen Gulf as well. Arriving Biak after another
escort voyage 30 May, she formed a group of LST’s into
a convoy and departed for Manila. Off Mindoro, how-
ever, the destroyer escort encountered a merchantman in
distress and drifting onto the beach. Displaying skillful
seamanship, Jesse Rutherford took the freighter in tow
and held her off the beach until a tug could relieve her
next day. She arrived Subic Bay 8 June.
Additional convoy duty in the Philippines occupied
Jesse Rutherford until July. She departed Morotai 12
July with amphibious craft to reinforce the allied landing
at Balikpapan, Borneo, remaining there until 22 July.
The ship then sailed back to Leyte in convoy, and pa-
trolled San Bernadino Strait until war’s end. Jesse
Rutherford escorted a group of LCT’s to Okinawa, arriv-
ing 15 September, after which she returned to the
Philippines for patrol duty.
The veteran destroyer escort embarked returning vet-
erans at Samar 28 November and sailed that afternoon
for San Diego, where she decommissioned 21 June 1946.
Jesse RxUherford was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
at Bremerton, Washington, where she remains.
Jesse Rutherford received one battle star for World
War II service.
Jet
That which spurts out ; a gushing flow.
(PYc-20: dp. 386; 1. 160' ; b. 24'6" ; s. 15 k. ; a. 1 3")
Jet (PYc-20), formerly Thalia, was launched in 1930
by the Defoe Boat & Motor Works, Bay City, Mich. ;
acquired by the Navy 27 January 1942 and converted to
a coastal patrol yacht ; and commissioned 4 April 1942,
Lt. D. C. Paul in command.
After fitting out, Jet departed Miami 17 April for duty
with the Pacific Fleet, arriving San Diego 9 May. After
repairs at San Diego, she arrived Pearl Harbor 29 June
for patrol duty. Jet continued her patrol duties until 3
June 1943 when she began a series of escort voyages
between Hawaii and Midway Island. During January
1944 she served as a weather station ship before resuming
patrol and escort duties. She arrived Midway Island 6
January 1945 and remained on station until 7 May when
she returned to Pearl Harbor. Jet participated with
Thresher (SS-200) in a submarine exercise in late May
and then commenced local operations out of Hawaii.
She departed Pearl Harbor 11 July, arriving San Fran- 1
cisco the 25th, and decommissioned there 27 August 1945.
She was returned to the Maritime Commission 20
September 1947.
J etc ell
An island in Casco Bay, Maine.
( YFB-22 : 1. 65' ; b. 13' ; dr. 4' )
Jewell (YFB-22), a steel ferry -launch, was launched
11 May 1942 by Shain Manufacturing Co., Seattle, Wash.,
and delivered to the Navy at Puget Sound Shipyard 18
August 1942. Assigned to the 13th Naval District, she
was taken to Section Base, Kodiak, Alaska, and placed
in service there 4 September 1942.
Jewell served as a ferry at Kodiak until sometime in
1943, when she returned to Puget Sound and was con-
verted to an ammunition carrier. In 1946 the craft was
assigned to the 13th Naval District in an “Out-of-Service,
in Reserve” status, and was finally sold to a private
purchaser 5 May 1950.
Jicarilla
A group of the Apache tribe found in the southwestern
United States.
(ATF-104 : dp. 1,240 ; 1. 205' ; b. 38'6" ; dr. 15'4" ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3", 2 40mm. ; cl. Cherokee)
Jicarilla (ATF-104) was laid down as AF-104 by
Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Charleston, S.C.,
25 August 1943 ; launched 25 February 1944 ; sponsored
by Mrs. R. L. Harley ; reclassified ATF-104 on 15 May
1944 ; and commissioned at Charleston Navy Yard 26
June 1944. Lt. Comdr. W. B. Coats in command.
Following shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay,
Jicarilla departed New York towing barges 9 August
1944, bound for San Francisco via the Panama Canal.
She arrived 22 September, but sailed again seven days
later towing ARB-2 7 to Pearl Harbor. The tug remained
in Hawaiian waters until November doing salvage and
towing work, including the difficult task of pulling SS
Antigua off a reef 14—21 October. Departing Pearl
Harbor 7 November, she towed barges of supplies to
advance bases at Eniwetok and Ulithi, arriving the latter
island 3 December.
With the campaign to recapture the Philippines well
underway, Jicarilla sailed 10 December as part of the
refueling group for Task Force 38, the fast carrier group
then supporting the Philippines operation. Refueling
began early 17 December but had to be broken off as
weather worsened. Anxious to top off his destroyers and
support the Mindoro operation, Admiral Halsey continued
attempts to refuel until the next morning, when Jicarilla
and the rest of the fueling group turned south. The
fleet tug rode out the typhoon and returned to Ulithi 22
December, but the great storm sank three gallant de-
stroyers, two of them from Jicarilla’ s group. Undaunted,
the fast carrier force resumed its punishing attacks on
the Philippines.
518
Jicarilla arrived Leyte 7 January to support the next
amphibious operation at Lingayen Gulf. She sailed 9
January with a convoy of LCI’s and LST’s ; despite
numerous air attacks by the Japanese, she arrived Man-
garin Bay 2 days later. The tug remained there until
22 January performing salvage and firefighting duties on
the many damaged and beached landing craft. She ar-
rived Ulithi 27 January. After towing voyages between
Ulithi and the Marianas, Jicarilla sailed from Ulithi 9
April pulling a much-needed floating drydock to Okinawa.
The veteran tug arrived Kerama Retto, repair base
for the Okinawa operation, 16 April, and remained there
to perform salvage work on ships damaged in the des-
perate kamikaze attacks. She sailed 20 April with Idaho,
arrived Guam 25 April, and from there returned to Ulithi
30 April. After towing work at the advance base, she
sailed for Leyte 19 May and arrived Okinawa again 13
June. As the struggle for the island continued, she
worked directly off the Hagushi beaches, towing landing
craft and performing salvage work. Thus, she contrib-
uted importantly to the eventual victory by helping to
keep the massive fleet afloat and operating.
Jicarilla remained at Okinawa until departing for
Wakayama, Japan, 21 September. Four days later she
arrived, and performed towing duties in connection with
the occupation operations until returning to Okinawa 14
October. After a voyage to Guam, the ship steamed to
Iwo Jima 4 December to salvage ARL-32. In the months
that followed, she was engaged in towing and salvage in
the Marshalls and Carolines, arriving Pearl Harbor 24
April 1946.
Jicarilla spent the summer of 1946 in the Marshall
Islands in support of Operation Crossroads, the history-
making atomic test series in the Pacific. Returning to
the United States 14 September, she performed towing
duties on the West Coast and at the Canal Zone until
23 January 1947, when she sailed again for the Far East
from Bremerton, Wash. The ship operated out of Pearl
Harbor until May, sailing on the 14th to Guam. Jicarilla
arrived Tsingtao, China, 17 June for towing and salvage
work in connection with the American marines ashore.
In the months that followed, she continued to steam
between American Pacific bases and China. After a
month at Pearl Harbor, she returned to Long Beach 18
February 1948.
The ocean tug conducted operations on the Pacific
coast and out of Pearl Harbor until arriving Yokosuka
25 January 1949. She again supported the American
effort to bring peace and security to China and the Far
East, before returning to Long Beach 19 August 1949.
After additional towing on the West Coast, she decom-
missioned at San Diego 14 June 1950 and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet. In August 1962 she was trans-
ferred to the Maritime Administration, and at present is
berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun
Bay, Calif.
Jicarilla received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Jimetta
A former name retained.
(SP-878 : t. 32; 1. 65' ; b. 14' ; dr. 4' ; s. 10 k. ; a. 1 3-pdr. ;
1 1-pdr.)
Jimetta (SP-878), formerly Frances II, a motor yacht,
was built in 1915 by New York Yacht, Launch, & Engine
Co., and acquired by the Navy 16 July 1917 from her
owner, Clement Studebaker, Jr., of South Bend, Ind.
She commissioned at the New York Navy Yard 11 Septem-
ber 1917, Chief Boatswain’s Mate H. A. Holland, USNRF,
in command.
Jimetta was assigned to the 3d Naval District, and
performed patrol and dispatch work in Long Island Sound
during her naval service. She decommissioned and was
returned to her owner 11 December 1918.
Jinia III, see YP-541
JMP-70. see YMP-1
Joanna
A former name retained.
( SP-1963 : dp. 5 ; 1. 40' ; b. 8'6" ; dr. 3' ; s. 30 k. )
Joanna (SP-1963), a motor boat, was built in 1917 by
Albany Boat Corp., Watervliet, N.Y., and purchased by
the Navy from her owner, Martin A. Metzner. Taken
over 9 December 1917, the boat served in the 3d Naval
District during World War I and was stricken from the
Navy List in 1920.
Jobb
Richard Patrick Jobb, born in McCormick, Wash., 17
March 1920, enlisted in the Navy 28 February 1942. He
was at Guadalcanal for America’s first amphibious opera-
tion of the Pacific War. Hearing a call of a patrol sub-
jected to enemy fire near the Namara River 26 January
1943, Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Jobb rushed for-
ward 150 yards through intense enemy fire to aid the
wounded. He continued to dress casualties under fire
until he was himself hit and killed. For his courageous
devotion to duty Jobb was posthumously awarded the
Silver Star.
(DE-707 : dp. 1,450; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'8'' ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct.,
8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Rudderow)
Jobb (DE-707) was laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding
Co., Bay City, Mich., 20 December 1943 ; launched 4 March
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. S. L. Jobb, mother of Phar-
macist’s Mate Third Class Jobb ; and commissioned at
New Orleans 4 July 1944, Lt. Comdr. Herbert M. Jones
in command.
Following her shakedown training off Bermuda, Jobb
was assigned to a hunter-killer patrol group in the At-
lantic. A hurricane forced her back to Norfolk 13-15
September, after which she steamed to New York to pre-
pare for Pacific service. Jobb sailed 23 October and
proceeded via the Panama Canal and Bora Bora to Hum-
boldt Bay, New Guinea 21 November. With the invasion
of the Philippines then underway, Jobb escorted a convoy
to Leyte Gulf 28 November. She remained at Leyte until
12 December, when she screened a slow tow convoy for
Mindoro. Next day Japanese snooper aircraft appeared,
followed by bombers. In the raids of the next few days,
Jobb’ s gunners shot down at least two of the attackers.
After seeing the tows safely to Mindoro, she next sailed
via Leyte to New Guinea, where she arrived Hollandia 28
December.
The ship joined a convoy for newly assaulted Lingayen
Gulf 8 January 1945; but, after striking a reef in the
Philippines 16 January, she returned to Leyte Gulf for
repairs. Following further work on her propellers at
Manus, Jobb returned to the Philippines in February to
escort convoys carrying troops and supplies. During
these critical months, she protected support convoys to
Palawan, Mindoro, and Mindanao as the conquest of the
Philippines proceeded apace.
Jobb departed Morotai 4 June to take part in the land-
ings at Brunei Bay, Borneo. She patrolled as troops
went ashore 10 June and captured the strategic Bay with-
out opposition. Later in the month, she screened a re-
supply convoy from Morotai. She arrived Leyte 8 July
for repairs before conducting antisubmarine patrol be-
tween the Philippines and Ulithi until the close of
hostilities.
The veteran ship steamed to Okinawa 23 August and
in the months that followed operated between the various
island bases in support of the occupation and reorganiza-
tion of the Pacific area. Jobb arrived Pearl Harbor 31
December and reached San Francisco 9 January 1946.
She later moved to San Diego, decommissioned 13 May
256-125 0-68-35
519
1946, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. At present
she is berthed at Stockton, Calif.
Johh received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Jodaro, see Y P-611
John A. Bole
John Archibald Bole, Jr., was born in Elmhurst, N.Y.,
28 March 1906 and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1928. After serving in Tennessee , he underwent subma-
rine training. Bole subsequently served in a succession
of submarines, taking command of 8-21 in June 1940.
Appointed Lieutenant Commander 2 January 1942, he be-
came the commanding officer of Amherjack (SS-219)
upon her commissioning in July 1942. After two offen-
sive patrols in the Solomons, the submarine departed
Brisbane 26 January 1943 to prowl the shipping lanes
around Rabaul. She sank a freighter 4 February and was
last heard from 10 days later. Japanese records indicate
Amherjack was probably sunk in an attack 16 February
1943. Lt. Comdr. Bole was awarded the Navy Cross for
his outstanding performance as her commander.
John. A. Bole (DD-783) was renamed Gurke (q.v.) 15
June 1944 prior to being launched 15 February 1945.
I
( DD-755 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'5'' ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 15'8" ; s.
34 k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 11 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
John A. Bole (DD-755), a name originally assigned to
DD-783, was laid down 20 May 1944 by Bethlehem Steel
Co., Staten Island, N.Y. ; launched 1 November 1944;
sponsored by Mrs. John A. Bole, Jr., widow of Lt. Comdr.
Bole ; and commissioned 3 March 1945, Comdr. E. B.
Billingsley in command.
Following shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, John A. Bole escorted damaged carrier Franklin
(CV-13) north to New York, arriving 24 April 1945.
After moving to Boston to join Saint Paul (CA-73), she
sailed 15 May for the Pacific during the final push in the
war against Japan. Steaming via the Panama Canal, she
arrived Pearl Harbor 7 June 1945. The ship joined a
carrier group in Hawaiian waters ; took part in the air
strike on Wake Island 20 June ; and escorted a carrier
to Eniwetok, arriving 21 June.
John A. Bole arrived Okinawa 29 June for picket and
patrol duty ; and, although ground fighting had virtually
ceased, weeks of intermittent air raids and dangerous
picket duty were still in store for the fleet. The ship re-
mained off Okinawa until the Japanese acceptance of sur-
render terms 15 August, then departed for the East China
and Yellow Seas to support the occupation and to take
part in minesweeping operations. John A. Bole joined a
cruiser-destroyer force 8 September off Jinsen, Korea, to
cover the landings of troops at that important port. She
remained until 25 September, and arrived 3 days later at
Saishu To, south of the Korean Peninsula, to accept the
surrender of the island and demilitarize it.
The veteran destroyer remained in the Far East after
the end of the war to carry mail and passengers between
Japan, Korea, and Chinese ports, supporting the efforts of
American marines to protect Allied lives and stabilize the
Chinese situation. While at Tsingtao 20 February 1946,
upon receiving a distress signal from a sinking merchant-
men, she succeeded in rescuing 13 survivors. John A.
Bole departed 5 March for San Francisco and, after stop-
ping at Guam and Pearl Harbor, arrived 27 March 1946.
Following a long repair period to prepare her for peace-
time service, the destroyer arrived San Diego 10 April
1947 to begin a regular schedule of training maneuvers
and cruises for Naval Reservists. She continued to op-
erate on the West Coast, with occasional visits to Hawaii,
through 1949.
With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950,
John A. Bole began intensive preparations for combat
service. Sailing from San Diego 30 September, she
steamed via Japan to join Task Force 77 off the Korean
coast. With the brilliant amphibious assault on Inchon
15 September, an end run made possible by control of the
sea, the tide of the ground war rapidly reversed. The
nearly victorious enemy armies far to the south collapsed.
John A. Bole, exemplifying the flexibility of seapower
promptly shifted from amphibious attack to fire support
of our advancing troops. She then screened carriers dur-
ing the vital air operations, helping to support both battle-
line air strikes and interdiction of northern supply lines.
John A. Bole also steamed with support convoys into In-
chon before returning to San Diego in mid-June 1951.
The veteran ship was underway again for Korea 3
January 1952. Upon arrival she helped maintain the
pressure on Communist troops in the stalemated land war
by screening carriers during air attacks. John A. Bole
also took part in shore bombardment along both the east
and west coasts of North Korea, operating with British
and Dutch ships. The ship moved to the Formosa Straits
for patrol duty designed to deter Chinese Communist ag-
gression there, finally returning to San Diego 11 July
1952.
Following a yard period in which she added 3-inch
rapid fire guns to her armament. John A. Bole departed
21 February 1953 for her third Korean tour. During
March she operated off the coast with cruiser Saint Paul,
and sailed 10 April for the Formosa Straits to resume
patrol duty. Then after returning to Korean waters, the
destroyer sailed 1 June to Wonsan harbor for 6 days duel-
ing with shore batteries while protecting the Allied-held
offshore islands. She then screened battleship Few Jer-
sey (BB-62) before the Korean armistice 27 July 1953,
after which she returned to Japan. Escort duty with
Princeton (CV-23) closed her cruise, and John A. Bole
arrived San Diego 22 September 1953.
The veteran ship returned to the Far East again in
1954, taking part in the continuing Formosa Patrol and
in amphibious training exercises. She sailed from San
Diego 20 April and returned 17 October, adding carrier
operations in the South China Sea and antisubmarine
warfare exercises off Okinawa to her busy schedule. In
1955 and again in 1956 she spent 6 month periods in these
familiar waters, training and showing graphically the
value of seapower to the security of the United States
and her allies.
John A. Bole sailed 29 July 1957 for the Western Pa-
cific, this time visiting Pago Pago ; Aukland, New Zealand :
and Manus en route to Japan. She took part in carrier
operations with Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) and in De-
cember again steamed Formosa Strait. The ship re-
turned to San Diego 8 January 1958 and took part in ex-
ercises off California until July. John A. Bole again
sailed westward 23 August 1958, this time amid mount-
ing chaos from revolt in Indonesia and growing trouble
in southeast Asia. She operated in the Philippines and
on Formosa Patrol, helping to stabilize affairs in this
strategic region, returning to San Diego 16 February 1959.
The destroyer made still another cruise to the Far
East 1959-60, sailing 30 October. She operated with the
7th Fleet’s hunter-killer force off Okinawa during Novem-
ber and December, arriving Formosa 4 January 1960 for
patrol duty. She returned to San Diego 12 March 1960.
In June John A. Bole served as a air-sea rescue station
ship for President Eisenhower’s flight across the Pacific,
and during the summer she embarked NROTC Midship-
man for training. In October she was assigned to a hun-
ter-killer group built around veteran carrier Kearsargc
(CV-33) ; and, after training, departed 4 March 1961 for
the Far East. The ships carried out further training,
this time with Canadian ships out of Pearl Harbor, but.
with a worsening of the Laos situation, steamed to Subic
Bay to bolster Navy strength and deter more serious
trouble. Hunter-killer operations continued until Septem-
ber, and John A. Bole returned to California via the north-
520
ern great-circle route to help gather hydrographic data,
arriving her home port 18 September.
John A. Bole entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard in
late 1961 to undergo a major Fleet-Rebabilitation-and-
Modernization overhaul, designed to equip her with the
latest equipment and lengthen her active service life sev-
eral years. Emerging in July 1962, she took part in train-
ing operations for the remainder of the year, interrupted
by several weeks of alert at sea during the Cuban Missile
Crisis in October. During the first few months of 1963,
she operated out of San Diego, sailing 1 April 1963 for
Pearl Harbor and the Western Pacific. This cruise helped
to maintain the vital American presence in the Far East,
and she returned to San Diego 3 December 1963. In the
first half of 1964 she was engaged in antisubmarine opera-
tions, including tests of her new DASH. John A. Bole
sailed 23 October 1964 for the Western Pacific with a
group composed of Yorktoicn (CV-10) and other destroy-
ers. After maneuvers in Hawaiian waters, she reported
to Commander 7th Fleet 2 January 1965 to resume peace-
keeping operations in the troubled region. During the
deployment John A. Bole operated with a carrier task
group and an ASW hunter-killer group, then patrolled
Taiwan Straits. From 9 to 25 February she operated off
Vietnam.
Returning to San Diego 24 May, the destroyer entered
Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard late in June for overhaul
and stayed there through the remaining summer. She
operated out of San Diego until sailing 22 March 1966 for
the Far East. On 18 April she began naval gunfire sup-
port duties off Vietnam which continued until she began
plane guard patrol at Yankee Station 4 May. On the 8th
the destroyer sailed to Japan for repairs but was back at
Yankee Station on the 25th. But for brief runs to Hong
Kong and Subic, John A. Bole remained in the war zone
until 27 July when she headed for Taiwan. She visited
Malasia before heading home via Subic Bay, Guam, and
Pearl Harbor, arriving San Diego 24 September. She
operated out of home port for the remainder of the year
and in 1967 prepared for future action.
John A. Bole received one battle star for World War II
service and seven for Korean service.
John A. Logan, see Alnitah (AK-127)
John Adams
John Adams, born in Braintree, Mass., 19 October 1735,
graduated from Harvard in 1755. He studied law while
teaching school for the next 3 years and was admitted to
the bar in 1758. His opposition to the Stamp Act in 1765
established Adams as a political leader. After moving to
Boston he served in the Massachusetts House of Repre-
sentatives and later in the Provincial Congress.
In 1774 Adams was selected as one of the delegates from
Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress where he
became a champion of American rights and liberties and
later a leader in the independence movement. He sec-
onded Richard Henry Lee’s motion for a resolution of
independence 7 June 1776, and he served on the committee
which drafted the Declaration of Independence which was
adopted 4 July.
On 5 October 1775, Congress created the first of a series
of committees to study naval matters. From that time
onward throughout his career Adams championed the es-
tablishment and strengthening of an American Navy. He
was so active and effective in forwarding the nation’s
naval interests that he is often called the father of the
Navy.
Adams succeeded Silas Deane as commissioner to France
in 1777 to begin a decade of diplomatic service in Europe
only briefly interrupted in 1779 when he returned to
Massachusetts to play a leading role in the state constitu-
tional convention.
John Adams was the first Vice President of the United
States serving under Washington from 1789 to 1797 when
he became the second President. Difficulties with France
during his administration prompted him to push vigor-
ously for construction of the Navy which had been neg-
lected after the treaty of Paris.
Defeated for reelection in 1800, John Adams retired
from public life to Quincy, Mass., where he died 4 July
1826, coineidently both the 50th anniversary of the adop-
tion of the Declaration of Independence and the day of
Thomas Jefferson’s death.
John Quincy Adams, the eldest son of President John
Adams, was born 1 July 1767 at Quincy, Mass. His travel
in Europe accompanying his father on diplomatic mis-
sions gave him a broad knowledge of diplomacy. Wash-
ington appointed him Minister to the Netherlands in 1794,
and his father sent him to Prussia, where he represented
the United States from 1797 to 1801. He served in the
U.S. Senate from 1803 to 1808, and the following year he
became Minister to Russia. In 1814 he was one of the
American diplomats whose negotiations with the English
led to the Treaty of Ghent, which settled the War of 1812.
Service after the war as Minister to England rounded
out his diplomatic training.
James Monroe appointed him Secretary of State, and he
won enduring fame in the post. The Monroe Doctrine
was the crowning achievement of the 8 years of skillful
service in the office establishing the position of the United
States as a power capable of dealing with other nations
as equals.
In 1824, after an inconclusive general election, the
House of Representatives elected him sixth President of
the United States. After serving one term, his try for
reelection was defeated by Andrew Jackson. Two years
after his return to Quincy, he was elected to Congress,
where he enjoyed widespread respect for his great knowl-
edge and his high-minded opposition to any extension of
slavery. While on the floor of the House, he was seized
by a stroke 21 February 1848 and died shortly afterwards.
The first John Adams was named for the second Presi-
dent of the United States while the second John Adams
(SSB(N)-625) was named for both him and his son, John
Quincy Adams.
I
(Fr: t. 544; 1. 139' (b.p.) ; b. 32' ; dph. 16'4" ; cpl. 220; a.
24 12-pdrs., 6 24-pdrs.)
The first John Adams was built for the United States by
the people of Charleston, S.C., under contract to Paul
Prichard and launched in the latter’s shipyard some 3
miles from Charleston 5 June 1799. The new frigate,
Captain George Cross in command, sailed on or about 1
October for Cayenne, French Guiana, to operate against
French privateers based at that port. Before she arrived
Cayenne, the British had captured Surinam making the
French base in Guiana unsafe for privateers and prompt-
ing Captain Cross to sail on to Guadeloupe to join her
squadron.
Early in January 1800, she began her effective opera-
tions against the French taking an unidentified lugger off
San Juan, P.R., and recapturing brig Dolphin. She retook
brigs Hannibal 22 March and Atlantic the next day, both
prizes of French privateer Le President Tout. French
privateer schooner La Jason surrendered to her 3 April,
and in May she retook schooners Dispatch and William.
Sometime in the late spring or summer she recaptured
American brig Olive, and on 13 June she took French
schooner Decade.
These victories punctuated and highlighted the invalu-
able, but less glamorous, day-to-day duty of patrolling the
West Indies and protecting American shipping continued
through the late summer and fall.
John Adams was dispatched to the United States 5
December escorting a convoy. She was placed in ordinary
in Charleston in mid-January 1801, and in late June she
sailed to Washington where she was laid up. The re-
markable success of the frigate was representative of the
new Navy which her namesake, President John Adams, had
called into being to protect the growing and vital com-
merce of the young nation.
521
As the “quasi-war” with France drew to a close, Presi-
dent Adams could report on the Navy to Congress with
pride: “The present Navy of the United States, called
suddenly into existence by a great national emergency,
has raised us in our own esteem ; and by the protection
afforded to our commerce has effected to the extent of our
expectations the objects for which it was created.”
Peace with France freed the Navy for operations
against Barbary corsairs who had been preying on Amer-
ican shipping in the Mediterranean. A small squadron
under Commodore Dale, sent out in 1801 for operations
against Tripoli, was followed in 1802 by a much stronger
force under Commodore Richard Y. Morris. John Adams
commanded by Captain John Rodgers, sailed from Hamp-
ton Roads 22 October to join Commodore Morris. After
escort duty from Gibraltar to Malaga and Minorca, she
finally caught up with Commodore Morris at Malta 5
January 1803. She operated with the squadron until 3
May when she received orders to cruise independently
off Tripoli. Upon arriving off Tripoli, John Adams boldly
attacked the forts and the gunboats anchored under
their protection. Several days later she captured 20-gun
Tripolitan cruiser Meshouda. Reinforced by New York,
and Enterprise, she engaged a flotilla of enemy gunboats
off Tripoli 22 May sending them scurrying back into the
harbor to safety. Five days later — with the added sup-
port of Adams, a sister frigate also named for President
John Adams — the squadron again bested a group of pirate
gunboats.
One of the most important victories of the war came 21
June when John Adams and Enterprise captured a 22-gun
vessel belonging to Tripoli thus weakening that state
sufficiently to allow the squadron to turn its attention to
Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco, which were threatening U.S.
commerce in the Western Mediterranean. Throughout
the summer and early fall John Adams operated in that
quarter before returning home with New York.
Meanwhile, Commodore Edward Preble, who had led a
powerful fleet to the Mediterranean, vigorously pressed
the fight. In August and September 1804 he made a series
of major attacks on Tripoli. As the second of these blows
was being delivered 7 August, John Adams, now under
Captain Isaac Chauncey, arrived on the scene deeply
laden with stores. Her boats participated in a recon-
naissance patrol on the night of 18 August, and 6 days
later she slipped in close to the city for an intensive 4-hour
bombardment. Two nights later during a similar at-
tack, an enemy shot sank one of John Adams' boats,
killing three men and wounding a fourth, as the American
Squadron severely punished Tripoli with over 700 well-di-
rected rounds which took effect within the city. After a
fifth attack had been successfully completed 3 Septem-
ber, bad weather interrupted operat'ons and John Adams
sailed to Syracuse with other ships of the squadron.
Three months later she sailed for New York with Com-
modore Preble, arriving 26 February 1805. After a third
Mediterranean cruise from May to November, she was
laid up in ordinary.
The outbreak of the War of 1812 found her undergoing
repairs at Boston whence she was hurried to New York
to have the work completed. There the British blockade
and a critical shortage of seamen kept her in a laid-up
status until early 1814. She finally sailed under a flag of
truce carrying peace commissioners Henry Clay and
Jonathan Russell to Europe and arrived Wargo Island,
Norway, 14 April. She returned to the United States 5
September bringing dispatches from the American com-
missioners at Ghent.
Meanwhile, the Barbary pirates, taking advantage of
the American Navy’s preoccupation with the British fleet
during the War of 1812, had resumed operations against
American merchantmen in the Mediterranean. For-
tunately the treaty of peace signed on Christmas Eve
1814 freed United States men-of-war for renewed atten-
tion to this chronic trouble spot. In the autumn of 1815
John Adams arrived in the Mediterranean to assist frig-
ates United States and Constellation and sloops Eric and
Ontario in maintaining peace and order in the area after
strong squadrons under Commodores Decatur and Bain-
bridge had induced the Barbary princes to honor their
treaty commitments. Early in 1816 she returned home
with dispatches.
Pirates were also active in the West Indies at this time.
Taking advantage of the chaos attendant upon the dis-
solution of Spain’s American empire, lawless vessels from
many nations preyed on neutral as well as Spanish com-
merce in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and along the
storied Spanish Main. For the next few years John
Adams was busy fighting buccaneers. On 22 December
1817 she demanded and received the surrender of Amelia
Island, off the east coast of Florida, the base from which
corsairs of Commodore Aury pounced upon merchantmen
of all nations.
Diplomacy also had an important role in this struggle
to make the sea safe for American shipping. In the
spring of 1819 Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson
selected Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry for the delicate
mission of establishing friendly relations with the govern-
ment of newly independent Venezuela and negotiating to
obtain restitution for United States vessels which had
been illegally captured during the revolution under the
guise of patriotism. Perry boarded his flagship John
Adams at Annapolis and sailed in company with schooner
Nonsuch 7 June. A month later he reached the mouth of
the Orinoco, which he ascended to Angostura in Nonsuch
while John Adams sailed on to Trinidad to await his re-
turn at Port-of-Spain. After protracted negotiation, the
government of Venezuela granted all the demands of the
United States 11 August ; but, during the passage down
the river, Perry was stricken with yellow fever and died
before he returned to his flagship. Commodore Charles
Morris succeeded Perry in command of the squadron,
and John Adams accompanied his flagship Constellation
on a voyage to the Plata River to continue the negotia-
tions inaugurated by Perry to establish friendly rela-
tions with the new Latin American republics and to pro-
tect American commerce from South American privateers.
After visiting Montevideo and Buenos Aires, both ships
returned to the United States, arriving Hampton Roads
24 April 1820.
In spite of these successes, piracy remained rampant in
the West Indies, and John Adams was part of a strong
West Ind;a Squadron created in 1822 to cope with the prob-
lem. Biddle’s ships labored with indefatigable zeal ; but
the task, entailing careful searches by small-boat expedi-
tions of innumerable bays, lagoons, and inlets, seemed
endless. Yellow fever took a much heavier toll than the
enemy necessitating reinforcements which arrived 3
March 1823 when Commodore Porter’s “Mosquito Fleet”
anchored off Saint Thomas. Porter, the squadron’s new
commander, selected John Adams as his flagship. When
Porter was recalled, his successor, Commodore Lewis
Warrington retained John Adams as his flagship until
1826. From time to time, thereafter, the proud frigate
returned to the West Indies for operations against pirates
until 1829 when she was laid up and almost entirely re-
built at the Navy Yard. Gosport, Va.
Completely rejuvenated, she joined the Mediterranean
Squadron in 1831. One of her first duties was to take
her former commander, ex-Commodore Porter, to Con-
stantinople where he became the U.S.’s first charge
d'affaires. The ship was granted the rare privilege of
passing through the Dardanelles with guns mounted.
Thereafter. John Adams convoyed ships in the Mediter-
ranean and in 1833 visited Liberia, being colonized with
American Negroes.
After extensive repairs in the United States, she sailed
from Hampton Roads 6 May 1838 on a crui=e around the
world accompanied by Columbia. Particular stress was
placed unon showing the flag in the East Indies where
the United States enjoyed a prosperous and growing
trade. Both ships arrived Rio de Janeiro 10 July but de-
parted separately, John Adams sailing 25 July. She
stopped at Zanzibar en route to Bombay, where she re-
joined Columbia before pushing on to Goa and Colombo.
Ceylon.
522
At the latter port the ships learned that natives at
Soo-Soo, Sumatra, had attacked American ship Eclipse.
The squadron immediately sailed to the scene of the inci-
dent, and bombarded the forts at Quallah Battoo to in-
duce the Rajahs of Sumatra to agree to offer assistance
and protection to American vessels. Before returning to
Rio de Janeiro 23 April 1840, the squadron called at
Singapore, Macao, Honolulu, Valparaiso, and Cape Horn.
John Adams finally arrived Boston about the middle of
June where she was laid up until 1842. After duty on the
Brazil station, she went into ordinary where she re-
mained until recomniissioned at the beginning of the
Mexican War. She was anchored off the bar at Santiago 8
May 1846 during the Battle of Palo Alto and she main-
tained a blockading station off the east coast of Mexico
for the remainder of the war.
John Adams returned to Boston in September 1848 and
received extensive repairs before joining the Africa sta-
tion for action with the English Navy against the slave
trade. She returned from this difficult duty in July 1853.
Thereafter, with the exception of periods at home for re-
pairs, John Adams operated in the Pacific and the Far
East until after the outbreak of the Civil War. She sailed
for home from Siam 6 July 1861 and reached New York
11 January 1862, bringing a box containing two royal
letters from the King of Siam to the President along with
a sword and a pair of elephant tusks.
John Adams was sent to Newport, R.I., the wartime lo-
cation of the Naval Academy, to act as training ship for
midshipmen. In the summer of 1863 she joined the South
Atlantic Blockading Squadron and took station off Morris
Island inside Charleston Bar, where she served as flag-
ship of the inner blockade until she sailed into the harbor
after the evacuation of Charleston in February 1865.
Late that summer she sailed to Boston where she de-
comissioned in September and was sold 5 October 1867.
II
(SSB(N)-625: dp. 7,250; 1. 425'; b. 33'; dr. 31'5" ; s.
over 20 k. ; cpl. 136 ; a. 16 Pol. mis. ; cl. Lafayette)
The second John Adams (SSB(N)-625) was laid down
by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H.,
19 May 1961; launched 12 January 1963; sponsored by
Mrs. Abigail Adams Manny, great, great, great grand-
daughter of John Quincy Adams ; and commissioned
12 May 1964, Oomdr. Paul Lando W. Zech, Jr. (blue crew)
and Comdr. Paul J. Early (gold crew) in command.
After shakedown and training on the Atlantic Missile
Range, John Adams departed Charleston, S.C., 3 Novem-
ber 1964 for duty with Submarine Squadron 14. Based
at Holy Loch, Scotland, she began Polaris missile pa-
trols. At present she continues classified patrols and
serves as a unit of the mighty undersea deterrent force.
Capable of unleashing a lethal attack against any poten-
tial enemy, she also' serves the continuing task of “keep-
ing the peace.”
John Alexander
A former name retained.
(Sch : a. None)
John Alexander, a wooden schooner was purchased at
Baltimore 13 August 1861 for use in the “Stone Fleet”.
She was later sunk to obstruct Southern ports.
John B., see YP-268
John B. Caddell, see Y 0-11)0
John B. Hinton
A former name retained.
( S P-485 : t. 309; 1. 160'; b. 23'9” ; dr. 14'; s. 12 k.;
a. 2 3", 2 mg.)
John B. Hinton (SP-485), a steam fishing vessel, was
butlit in 1912 by E. J. Tull, Pocomoke City, Md. ; acquired
from her owners. Seaboard Oil & Guano Co., Reedsville,
Va., and commissioned 10 August 1917.
John B. Hinton sailed to France soon after commis-
sioning and served as a minesweeper during and after
World War I. She decommissioned 8 September 1919 at
Brest, France, and was sold to the Union d’Entreprisen
Marocaine, Casablanca, French Morocco.
John Blish
John Blish was born in Seymour, Ind., 8 September
1860 and was appointed Cadet Midshipman 18 September
1875. From 1879 to 1901 he served the Navy both on the
high seas and on various shore duty. On 5 October 1901
he was commissioned Lieutenant Commander ; then served
until he retired 6 July 1905.
John Blish was appointed Commander on the retired
list 13 April 1911. During World War I he served in
the 1st Naval District as assistant to the Commandant,
and commanded the Naval Air Station at Squantum, Mass.
Comdr. Blish was detached 29 October 1919. In addition
to his exemplary naval career, he invented the “Blish
sounding tube” and the Thompson submachine gun. John
Blish died 22 December 1921.
(PCS-1457 : dp. 245 ; 1. 136' ; b. 23'4'' ; dr. 8'7'' ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 58: a. 1 3'', 1 40mm., 4 20mm., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
PC 8-1376.)
PCS-H57 was laid down by Ballard Marine Railway
Co., Seattle, Wash., 23 May 1943 : launched 6 September ;
sponsored by Miss Patricia McQuire; and commissioned
26 February 1944.
After shakedown and training PC8-H)57 sailed to the
war zone during the spring of 1944. Throughout the
summer she provided support for U.S. operations in the
Marianas, assisting in the major offensives on the
strategic bases of Guam and Tinian. During November
the subchaser performed hydrographic duties in the
Pacific.
Her next major operation occurred in February 1945
when U.S. forces landed on Iwo Jima. PCS-H57 pro-
vided hydrographic information for the massive fleet
which appeared off this tiny volcanic island 19 February.
She played an important role in the capture of this im-
portant air strip, then prepared for the assault on
Okinawa.
PCS-lli57 was reclassified AGS-10 on 20 March and
3 days later was named John Blish. Throughout the
remaining months of World War II, John Blish supported
Allied efforts in the Pacific and actively participated in
the invasion of Okinawa. After the war she operated
as a coastal survey ship and was reclassified AGSc-10
on 27 July 1946. For the next 2 years she remained off
the West Coast performing hydrographic services. Sail-
ing to New York during 1948, John Blish decommissioned
there 26 August 1949. She was sold for scrapping to
Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md., 10 February 1950.
PCS-llt57 received four battle stars for World War
II service.
John C. Butler
John Clarence Butler was born at Liberty, Ariz., 2
February 1921, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 19
February 1941. He was appointed Aviation Cadet 3
April ; and, after flight training, he reported to Bombing
Squadron 3 on board carrier Yorktoxcn. In the epochal
Battle of Midway 4 June 1942, Butler and his squadron
attacked a Japanese carrier group and despite heavy op-
position succeeded in sinking three of the vital enemy
flattops. His plane, however, did not return. For his
part in this gallant attack, which did much to turn the
tide of the Pacific war, Ens. Butler was awarded the Navy
Cross posthumously. In part the citation noted : “His
gallant intrepidity and loyal devotion to the accomplish-
523
ment of a vastly important objective contributed in large
measure to the success achieved by our forces and were
in keeping with the highest traditions of the United
States Naval Service.”
( DE-339 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8
dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. John C. Butler)
John C. Butler (DE-339) was laid down by Consoli-
dated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex., 5 October 1943 ;
launched 12 November 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Walter
C. Butler, mother of Ensign Butler ; and commissioned
31 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. E. Pace, in command.
The new destroyer escort conducted shakedown train-
ing off Bermuda before departing Hampton Roads 5 June
1944 for the Pacific. Sailing via the Panama Canal, she
arrived Pearl Harbor 26 June and engaged in convoy and
training operations during July. John C. Butler then de-
parted Pearl Harbor 9 August screening transports bound
for the invasion of the Palaus. After seeing them safely
to Tulagi, the ship operated with escort carriers out of
Manus on preinvasion strikes. Two islands wanted as
advance bases for the long-awaited move into the Philip-
pines, Morotai and Peliliu, were stormed 15 September ;
and John C. Butler provided antisubmarine and antiair-
craft protection for the supporting carriers. Returning
to Manus 30 September, she replenished in preparation for
the Leyte operation in October.
The escort vessel sailed with Rear Admiral Oftsie’s
escort carrier group 12 October to provide air cover for
the massive movement of transports into Leyte Gulf.
After the initial landings, the three carrier groups, soon
to become famous by their radio code names, “Taffy 1,”
“Taffy 2,” and “Taffy 3,” took station east of the Philip-
pines to lend close air support.
The Japanese fleet was closing the Philippines in a
last attempt to annihilate the invasion force, with heavy
ships designated to break into Leyte Gulf from north and
south, and a diversionary fleet of carriers to draw Halsey
off to the North. In the first two actions of the massive
Battle for Leyte Gulf which ensued, the Battles of Sibu-
yan Sea and Surigao Strait, the Japanese were badly
mauled. But Admiral Kurita’s Center Force still tran-
sited San Bernardino Strait the night of 24-25 October
and just after sunrise bore down on the relatively unpro-
tected “Taffy 3,” including John C. Butler.
The 2-hour battle off Samar which followed has taken a
rightful place among the most memorable actions in naval
history. The slow escort carriers launched all planes to
attack the Japanese cruisers and battleships, and John C.
Butler and her sisters laid heavy smoke to confuse enemy
batteries. A rain squall provided cover for a turn to the
south, and just after 0730 the destroyers began their
gallant torpedo attacks against great odds. Johnston ,
Hoel, Heermann, and escort Samuel B. Roberts made close-
in attacks on cruisers and battleships, forcing them to
zig-zag, while aircraft made continuous attacks. Soon
after this first attack, John C. Butler turned from the
carriers to launch her remaining torpedoes, then ex-
changed gunfire with a heavy cruiser. The destroyer es-
cort continued to fire and dodge lieavy-caliber fire until
dangerously low on ammunition, then returned to the
carrier formation to provide smoke coverage. Admiral
C. A. F. Sprague, commander of Taffy 3, later described
the next surprising development : “At 0925 my mind was
occupied with dodging torpedoes when near the bridge
I heard one of the signalmen yell, ‘. . . dammit, boys,
they’re getting away !’ I could not believe my eyes, but
it looked as if the whole Japanese fleet was indeed retir-
ing. ... At best, I had expected to be swimming by
this time.” The Japanese, damaged and fearing heavier
air attack, had indeed reversed course. Though the es-
cort carriers lost two of their number and three escorts,
their valiant fight had stopped the Japanese from attack-
ing the transports in Leyte Gulf.
After rescuing survivors from St. Lo, John C. Butler
escorted the surviving carriers of “Taffy 3” via Manus
to Pearl Harbor, then returned to Manus 17 December.
Departing with escort carriers 31 December, she protected
amphibious transports steaming to the invasion of Luzon.
During the voyage through the South China Sea, the
ships encountered and drove off determined kamikaze
attacks. On the evening of 8 January 1945, John C. Butler
and other escorts splashed several kamikazes. She op-
erated off Lingayen Gulf from 9 to 17 January and
screened carriers during massive strikes in support of
ground operations. Departing the Luzon coast, she ar-
rived Ulithi 23 January to prepare for the next important
amphibious landing — Iwo .Tima.
The veteran destroyer escort took part in rehearsals in
the Marianas, and arrived off Iwo 19 February with an
escort carrier group. She again fought off a severe air
attack 21 February. She remained on duty off Iwo Jima
until 9 March 1945, when she sailed for Ulithi, having
helped to win another important island air base for the
eventual attack on Japan.
Okinawa was to be the site of the last and largest of
the Pacific amphibious assaults. John C. Butler sailed
26 March with transports ; and, as the troops stormed
ashore 1 April, she resumed her now-familiar screening
duties with carrier groups. As the Japanese launched
fruitless suicide attacks, the ship escorted carriers into
Kerama Retto, rescued downed pilots, and ferried men
and material. Transferred to dangerous outer picket
duty north of Ie Shima 20 May, she was attacked by six
kamikazes just before sunset. Skillful gunnery accounted
for five of the attackers, and John C. Butler sustained
damage only to her mast and antennas. She sailed 27
May for repairs in the Philippines.
The ship returned to Okinawa with a convoy 4 July
and spent the last month of the long war on convoy duty
between that island and the Pacific advance bases. She
returned to San Pedro 23 November and decommissioned
26 June 1946, joining the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San
Diego.
With the outbreak of the Korean conflict in June 1950,
John C. Butler recommissioned 27 Lecember 1950. Fol-
lowing shakedown, she was assigned to 11th Naval Dis-
trict for the important job of training naval reservists on
short sea cruises. Thus, she helped maintain highly
trained officers and men to meet the Navy’s cold war
commitments. In addition to reserve cruises, she took
part in the training program of Fleet Sonar School, San
Diego. She decommissioned 18 December 1957 and re-
entered the Reserve Fleet, San Diego, where she remains.
John C. Butler received five battle stars for World War
II service, and was awarded the Presidential Unit Cita-
tion for her part in the Battle off Samar.
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was born 18 March 1782 in
Abbeville District, S.C., educated at Yale, and admitted
to the South Carolina Bar in 1807. Following a term in
the state legislature from 1808 to 1809 Calhoun entered
the House in 1811, where he quickly became a leader of
the “War Hawks” and supported nationalistic legislation
after the War of 1812. He served as Secretary of War
under Monroe ; was a candidate for President in 1824 ;
but was elected Vice-President, serving under Adams and
Jackson between 1825 and 1832. Breaking with Jackson
largely over nullification, Calhoun served in the Senate
from 1832 until 1844 and became a leading exponent of
state’s rights and philosopher of nullification. After a
year as Tyler’s Secretary of State, in which he secured
the annexation of Texas, he returned to the Senate. A
brilliant thinker and dynamic statesman, Calhoun was
too ill to deliver his last speech, on the Compromise of
1850; and it was read instead by Senator Mason, of
Virginia, 4 March 1850. Calhoun died in Washington
30 March 1850, to stand as America’s greatest state’s
rights theoretician and one of its most distinguished
legislators.
524
(SSB(N)-630: dp. 7,250; 1. 425'; b. 33'; dr. 31'5" ;
s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 136; a. 16 Pol. mis. ; cl. Lafayette)
John C. Calhoun (SSB(N)-630) was laid down by
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport
News, Va., 4 June 1962; launched 22 June 1963; spon-
sored by Miss Rosalie J. Calhoun, great great grand-
daughter of John C. Calhoun ; and commissioned 15
September 1964, Comdr. Dean L. Axene (blue crew) and
Comdr. Frank Thurtell (gold crew) in command.
After shakedown and training along the Atlantic coast,
John C. Calhoun began operational patrols 22 March 1965.
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 18, she deployed on clas-
sified undersea patrols to bolster the continuing “keeping
the peace” efforts of the Navy Armed with deadly, far-
ranging Polaris missiles, this nuclear-powered submarine
helps maintain the freedom of the seas by guarding them
from beneath the waves. Moreover, the lethal might of
her ballistic weapons makes her a powerful deterrent
against any potential aggressor ; no matter how far from
global waters the threat to world peace might be, John C.
Calhoun stands ready to meet the challenge. At present
she continues her patrols as part of the mighty undersea
deterrent force.
John Clay
Former name retained.
(Tr: dp. 443; 1. 127'; b. 21'6" ; dr. 14'4" ; s. 9.5 k.)
John Clay, a British civilian trawler, was leased by
the Navy and commissioned 15 May 1919 for minesweep-
ing operations in the North Atlantic. She assisted many
ships in United Kingdom waters engaged in the difficult
task of destroying the countless mines remaining after
the war. John Clay decommissioned 12 August 1919 and
was returned to her owners.
John Collins
Former name retained.
(Tr: dp. 500; 1. 135' ; b. 22' ; dr. 14'6" ; s. 9 k.)
John Collins, a British civilian trawler, was leased by
the Navy and commissioned 28 May 1919. She immedi-
ately commenced minesweeping operations out of Kirk-
wall, Scotland, clearing the western half of the Northern
Mine Barrage which had been laid down during World
War I to protect the harbors of the United Kingdom.
John Collins continued this task until she decommissioned
6 August and was returned to her owners.
John D. Edwards
John D. Edwards, born in Isle of Wight County, Va.
2 August 1885, was appointed Machinist in the U.S. Navy
31 December 1908. During World War I Lt. Edwards
was assigned to destroyer Shaw in British waters. While
escorting troopship HMS Aquitania into Southampton,
England, Shaw collided with Aquitania. Lt. Edwards, as
one of 12 men who lost their lives, was posthumously
awarded the Navy Cross.
( DD-216 : dp. 1,215 ; 1. 314'4" ; b. 31' ; dr. 9'4" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 124 ; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson)
John D. Edwards (DD-216) was laid down 21 May 1919
by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. ; launched
18 October 1919; sponsored by Mrs. May Marshall Ed-
wards, widow of Lt. Edwards ; and commissioned 6 April
1920, Comdr. Alexander Sharp in command.
After shakedown, John D. Edicards departed Philadel-
phia 14 May 1920 to protect American lives and interests
in Turkish waters. With the Near East in turmoil, the
destroyer evacuated refugees and furnished communica-
tion facilities for that area. She remained in Turkish
waters until she sailed 2 May 1921 for duty with the
Asiatic Squadron.
Upon arrival at Cavite, P.I., 29 June, John D. Edicards
immediately began patrols to protect American interests
in the Far East. She was to remain there for 4 years
operating out of the Philippines in the winter and China
during the summer. Continuing the Navy’s long and dis-
tinguished record of missions of mercy, she gave vital
aid to victims of the Japanese earthquake in 1923 and
carried food and rescue workers to Yokohama. As the
Chinese Civil War flared in 1924, the destroyer was on
station to protect the rights of the foreigners in China.
She departed the Far East 18 May 1925, arriving New
York 13 July.
For the next 3 years she operated out of Norfolk making
periodic training cruises along the coast and in the Carib-
bean. Following a Mediterranean cruise in late 1927,
John D. Edwards transited the Panama Canal and ar-
rived San Pedro, Calif., for service in the Pacific. She
operated along the West Coast until 1 August 1929 when
she sailed for the Far East, arriving Yokohama 26 August.
Subsequent to 1929, John D. Edwards became a perma-
nent and important unit of the Asiatic Fleet. Operating
out of the Philippines along the Chinese Coast and off
Japan, she maintained American strength and prestige
in that key area of the world and guarded our interests
during the Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930’s. She
constantly trained in maneuvers and battle practice and,
in addition, operated with the Yangtze, South China Sea,
and Neutrality Patrols.
As Japan became more aggressive in the Far East, John
D. Edwards increased operations with submarines in vari-
ous training exercises. Upon the commencement of hos-
tilities with Japan 7 December 1941, she departed Balik-
papan, Borneo, to search for survivors of HMS Prince of
Wales. For the next 2 months she engaged in patrol,
escort, and ASW operations in an attempt to halt the
southward advance of powerful Japanese forces from the
Philippines into the Netherlands East Indies. Assigned to
Destroyer Squadron 29. she departed Bunda Roads.
Madura Island. 4 February 1942. As part of a cruiser-
destroyer striking force, she sailed for Makassar Strait
to intercept a reinforced Japanese convoy heading for the
Java Sea. That morning enemy bombers attacked the
ships as the striking force steamed north of Bali. Despite
antiaircraft fire, the Japanese planes carried out several
attacks which heavily damaged Marblehead (CL-12) and
Houston (CA-30). Following the attack. John D. Ed-
icards escorted the damaged cruisers via Lombok Strait
to Tjilatjap on the southern coast of Java.
Despite the heroic defense by the combined Allied forces,
the Japanese continued their push southward during the
month of February. In mid-February John D. Edwards
took part in the unsuccessful attempt to intercept a Jap-
anese invasion convoy off Banka Strait in Palembang,
Sumatra. Following this action, she steamed to the east-
ern coast of Bali to attack an enemy destroyer-transport
force in Badoeng Strait. During the early hours of 20
February, John D. Edwards, accompanied by three other
destroyers, engaged Japanese destroyers in a spirited tor-
pedo and gunfire battle that severely damaged the enemy
destroyer Michisliio. The American destroyers returned
to Surabaya, Java, later that day.
As part of the Combined Striking Force under Rear
Admiral Doorman, RN, John D. Edwards engaged the
Japanese Java Invasion Force 27 February in the Battle
of the Java Sea. The gallent Allied ships courageously
attempted to thwart the invasion of Java, and for 7 hours
they fought the enemy against great odds. Japanese might
prevailed and five Allied ships were lost. After expend-
ing all torpedoes during the battle, John D. Edwards re-
turned to Surabaya to refuel. Accompanied by three other
four-pipers, she departed for Australia after dark 28 Feb-
ruary. While transiting Bali Strait during midwatch
1 March, the destroyers fought a brief duel with patrolling
enemy ships. Lacking torpedoes and low on ammunition,
the American ships opened range and steamed southward
for Fremantle where they arrived early in March.
For the next 2 months John D. Edwards escorted con-
voys out of Australia before arriving Pearl Harbor 1 June.
525
She escorted convoys from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco
until 15 June 1943 when she arrived at Brooklyn to com-
mence escort duty in the Atlantic. The destroyer cruised
along the coast and to North Africa escorting supply ships
during the next 9 months.
For the duration of the war, John D. Edwards escorted
convoys in the Atlantic and trained submarines off the
Canal Zone. Following the end of the conflict in Europe
the destroyer arrived Philadelphia 15 June 1945 and de-
commissioned there 28 July 1945. John D. Edwards was
sold to Boston Metal Oo., Baltimore, Md., January 1946.
John-D. E dioar ds received three battle stars for World
War II service.
John D. Ford
John Donaldson Ford, born 19 May 1840 in Baltimore,
Md., entered the Navy as third assistant engineer 30 July
1862. Assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron
1862-65, he participated in engagements on the Mississippi
River and the Battle of Mobile Bay. He was attached to
the sloop-of-war Sacramento when she was wrecked off
the coast of India in June 1867. During the next three
decades he held various sea and shore assignments ; and,
while attached to the Maryland Agricultural and Me-
chanical College 1894-96, he started a course in mechani-
cal engineering. As fleet engineer of the Pacific Station
in 1898, he served in Baltimore (C-3) during the Battle
of Manila Bay 1 May. For his “eminent and conspicuous
conduct in battle” in operations at Cavite, Sangley Point,
and Corregidor, he was advanced three numbers. Pro-
moted to Rear Admiral upon retirement 19 May 1902,
Ford remained on active duty as Inspector of Machinery
and Ordnance at Sparrow’s Point, Baltimore, until Decem-
ber 1908. Rear Admiral Ford died in Baltimore 17 April
1918.
( DD-228 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31'9” ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 101 ; a. 4 4", 1 3", 2 .30 cal. mg., 12 21” tt. ; cl.
Clemson)
John D. Ford (DD-228) was laid down by William
Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co., Philadelphia,
Pa., 11 November 1919; launched 2 September 1920; spon-
sored by Miss F. Faith Ford, daughter of Rear Admiral
Ford ; and commissioned as Ford 30 December 1920, Lt.
( j.g.) L. T. Forbes in temporary command.
After acceptance trials off New England, Ford received
Lt. Comdr. C. A. Pownall as commanding officer 16 July
1921. On 17 November, while operating along the eastern
seaboard, her name was changed to John D. Ford. After
training in the Caribbean, she departed Newport, R.I.,
20 June 1922 for permanent duty with the Asiatic Fleet.
Sailing via the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and the
Indian Ocean, she arrived Cavite, Manila Bay, 21 August
to begin almost two decades of service in the Far East.
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, John D. Ford
operated out of Manila, cruising Asiatic waters from
southern China to northern Japan. During April and
May 1924, she helped establish temporary air bases on the
Japanese Kurile and Hokaido Islands in support of the
pioneer, global flight between 9 April and 28 September
by the U.S. Air Service. On 6 June she deployed to
Shanghai, China, to protect American lives and interests,
which were threatened by Chinese civil strife. After
renewal of the Chinese Civil War in May 1926, she
patrolled the Chinese coast to protect convoys from roving
bands of bandits. On 24 March 1927 she Supported the
evacuation of American and foreign nationals, who were
fleeing from mob violence at Nanking.
The ascendancy of the reformed Nationalist govern-
ment under Chiang Kai-Shek in 1928 quieted civil strife.
However, Sino- Japanese relations deteriorated, requiring
John D. Ford to remain in China. Following Japanese
aggression in northern China during July 1937, she
evacuated Americans from Peiping as Japanese ships pre-
pared to blockade the Chinese coast. Steaming to Manila
21 November, she operated between the Philippines and
southern China on fleet maneuvers. And after war broke
out in Europe in September 1939, she increased training
off the Philippines and commenced neutrality patrols in
the Philippine and South China Seas.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December
1941, John D. Ford readied for action at Cavite as a unit
of DesDiv 59. Undamaged by the destructive Japanese
air raid on Manila Bay 10 December, she sailed southward
the same day to patrol the Sulu Sea and Makassar Strait
with Task Force 6. She remained in Makassar Strait
until 23 December, then she steamed from Balikpapan,
Borneo, to Surabaya, Java, arriving the 24th.
As the Japanese pressed southward through the Philip-
pines and into Indonesia, the Allies could hardly hope to
contain the enemy’s offensive in the East Indies. With too
few ships and practically no air support they strove to
harass the enemy, to delay his advance, and to prevent
the invasion of Australia. Anxious to strike back at the
Japanese, John D. Ford departed Surabaya 11 January
1942 for Kupang, Timor, where she arrived the 18th to
join a destroyer striking force. Two days later the force
sailed for Balikpapan to conduct a surprise torpedo
attack on Japanese shipping. Arriving off Balikpapan
during mid watch 24 January, the four destroyers
launched a sweeping raid through the Japanese transports
while Japanese destroyers steamed about Makassar Strait
in search of reported American submarines. For over an
hour the four-stackers fired torpedoes and shells at the
astonished enemy. Before retiring from the first surface
action in the Pacific war, they sank four enemy ships, one
a victim of John D. Ford’s torpedoes. The victorious
striking force arrived Surabaya 25 January.
The Japanese pincer offensive through the Dutch East
Indies continued despite Allied harassment. On 3 Febru-
ary the enemy began air raids on Surabaya, and John D.
Ford retired in convoy to Tjilatjap on the southern coast
of Java. During mid-February the Japanese tightened
their control of islands east and west of Java, and on 18
February they landed troops on Bali, adjacent to the
eastern end of the Java. In response John D. Ford, Pope
( DD-225 ) , and other American and Dutch ships steamed
to Badoeng Strait in two waves to engage an enemy
destroyer-transport force during the night of 19-20 Febru-
ary. A unit of the first wave, John D. Ford conducted a
running engagement with two Japanese destroyers with-
out results ; while the Japanese retired northward after
the second wave, their landings on Bali were successful.
Moreover, they sank the Dutch destroyer Piet Hein while
suffering extensive damage to only one ship.
Returning to Tjilatjap 21 February for fuel, John D.
Ford and Pope immediately sailed to Christmas Island to
pick up the last reserve of 17 to 18 torpedoes from Black
Hawk (AD-9). Then they steamed to Surabaya, arriving
the 24th to join the dwindling ABDC Striking Force.
Hampered by shortages of fuel, ammunition, and
torpodoes and reduced in strength by sinkings, battle
damage, and repair needs, the Allies indeed faced a “criti-
cal situation.” Only four U.S. destroyers remained opera-
tional in the Striking Force.
Late on the 25th, John D. Ford sortied with the Striking
Force from Surabaya in search of a large enemy amphibi-
ous force in the Java Sea. Returning to port the follow-
ing day, the force was joined by five British ships ; once
more the Striking Force steamed to intercept the enemy.
Following an unsuccessful strike by enemy planes the
morning of the 27th, the Allied force steamed for Sura-
baya. While steaming through the mine field, the ships
reversed course and deployed to meet the enemy off the
northern coast of Java.
The Battle of Java Sea commenced at 1616 and con-
tinued for over 7 hours. The Allied ships, 5 cruisers and 9
destroyers, engaged the enemy force, 4 cruisers and 13
destroyers, in a furious running battle marked by inter-
mittent gun and torpedo duels. John D. Ford emerged
from the battle undamaged ; but in the valiant attempt to
prevent the invasion of Java, five Allied ships were sunk.
Retiring to Surabaya, John D. Ford and three other
destroyers of DesDiv 58 departed after dark 28 February
for Australia. Steaming undetected through the nar-
526
rows of Bali Strait during midwatch 1 March, the gallant
old four-pipers encountered three enemy destroyers guard-
ing the southern end of the strait. Out of torpedoes and
low on ammunition, the destroyers outdistanced the
Japanese patrol and steamed for Freemantle. Lt. Comdr.
J. E. Cooper, who had skippered John D. Ford since before
the outbreak of the war, brought her safely to Australia
4 March.
After 2 months of convoy escort duty along the
Australian coast, John D. Ford departed Brisbane !) May
for Pearl Harbor. Arriving 2 June, she sailed in convoy
3 days later for San Francisco and arrived 12 June. She
cleared San Francisco for Pearl Harbor 23 June, and
during the next 11 months escorted nine convoys between
San Francisco and Pearl. Returning to the West Coast
20 May 1943, she departed San Francisco 24 May for con-
voy and ASW patrols in the Atlantic.
Assigned to the 10th Fleet, John D. Ford transited the
Canal 4 June and joined a Trinidad-bound convoy the 6th.
For the next 6 months she ranged the North and South
Atlantic from New York and Charleston, S.C., to Casa-
blanca, French Morocco, and Recife, Brazil, protecting
supply convoys from German U-boats. After ASW train-
ing late in December, she joined Guadalcanal (CVE-60)
out of Norfolk 5 January 1944 for hunter-killer ASW
operations in the Atlantic. The versatile destroyer sup-
ported the destruction of German submarine XJ-55 //, sur-
prised and depth charged while refueling west of the
Azores 16 January.
After returning to the East Coast 16 February, John D.
Ford cleared Norfolk 14 March for a convoy run to the
Mediterranean. While at Gilbraltar 29 March, she was
damaged in a collision with a British tanker. Following
repairs, she returned to Norfolk, arriving 1 May. Depart-
ing Norfolk 24 May for convoy duty to the Canal Zone,
John D. Ford continued convoy patrols for almost a year
from eastern seaboard ports to Recife, Reykjavik, and
Casablanca.
From 24 May 1945 to 27 June she acted as escort and
plane guard for Boxer ( CV-21) during the carrier’s shake-
down in the Caribbean, then she returned to Norfolk.
She sailed 8 July for Boston Navy Yard where she arrived
9 July for conversion to miscellaneous auxilliary AG-119.
After conversion, she returned to Norfolk 9 September
and decommissioned 2 November. Subsequently, she was
sold for scrap 5 October 1947 to Northern Metal Co.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
John D. Ford received four battle stars for World War
II service.
John D. Henley
John Dandridge Henley was born 25 February 1781
at Williamsburg, Va., and was commissioned Midshipman
14 October 1799. During offensive operations against
Tripoli in 1804, he served in Gunboat No. 6, commanded
by Lt. John Trippe. In a stirring attack 3 August against
a larger enemy warship, the two officers with only nine
other men boarded and took the enemy ship in hand-to-
hand fighting, although out-numbered three to one. Mid-
shipman Henley also took part in several other attacks
in the months that followed as Commodore Preble’s squad-
ron carried out aggressive and successful operations
against the Tripolitan pirates that made them ready to
end their aggression. Later in his career, during the war
of 1812, Henley commanded schooner Carolina during the
Battle of New Orleans. After the gallant delaying action
by Lt. Jones at Lake Borgne, Carolina and other ships
harrassed the British with naval gunfire while protecting
Jackson’s flank on the Mississippi. Henley contributed
importantly to the large role the small squadron played
in this last great victory of the war. Rising to the rank
of Captain 5 March 1817, John D. Henley continued to
serve with distinction until 23 May 1835 when he died
on board Vandalia at Havana, Cuba.
( DD-553 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5”, 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6
dcp. 2 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
John D. Henley (DD-553) was laid down 21 July 1941
by Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chackasaw, Ala., launched 15
November 1942; sponsored by Miss Shelah Keith Kane,
great-great-great-granddaughter of Captain Henley ; and
commissioned 2 February 1944, Comdr. C. H. Smith in
command.
Following exhaustive shakedown training out of
Bermuda, the new destroyer arrived Norfolk 28 March
1944. Sailing for the Pacific via the Panama Canal, she
arrived Pearl Harbor 23 April 1944. After operational
training, John D. Henley escorted fleet oilers to Majuro
and returned 17 May. She departed 27 May for Majuro
once more and there became flagship of a refueling task
group. Departing 6 June 1944, the ships moved to the
Marianas to refuel the fleet during the capture and oc-
cupation of Saipan and Tinian. During this long at-sea
period the ships came under air attack 17 and 18 June.
They returned to Eniwetok 14 August.
As the Navy’s mobile amphibious forces prepared to
move into the Palaus, John D. Henley joined Task Group
30.8 and departed Manus 1 September as flagship of the
refueling group during strikes on Peleliu and its eventual
capture. The oilers and their escorts continued to operate
out of Ulithi well into November, supporting the vast car-
rier task forces striking the Philippines. This unit,
headed by Captain J. T. Acuff, had much to do with the
great success of the wide-ranging carrier forces.
In December the destroyer moved to Guam for independ-
ent operation as an escort and patrol ship in the Mar-
shalls and Marianas. She then steamed to Ulithi, where
she arrived 31 January 1945 to undergo operational train-
ing in covering Underwater Demolition Teams. She
sailed 14 February for the next major landing on the
island road to Japan, Iwo Jima. Arriving 2 days later,
she took part in the pre-invasion bombardment and, after
the assault 19 February, performed yeoman fire support,
screening, and radar picket duties during the bitter flight-
ing ashore. She returned to Ulithi 5 March to prepare for
the Okinawa invasion.
John D. Henley got underway 21 March for the last
and largest of the Pacific amphibious operations, Oki-
nawa. Her assignment consisted of screening the light
carriers as their planes provided vital air support to
ground troops. Undergoing periodic air attacks, she
continued to screen her carrier group, with occasional
logistics stops at Kerama Retto until 24 June. She ar-
rived Leyte Gulf 27 June 1945.
The veteran ship returned to waters north of Okinawa
I July to cover minesweeping operations. John D. Henley
returned to Buckner Bay 7 August and was there at war’s
end 15 August. She took air-sea rescue station off Japan
24 August; then departed 2 September, the day of Japan’s
formal surrender, for the long voyage to California, ar-
riving in San Francisco 24 September. She was over-
hauled and decommissioned at San Diego 30 April 1946,
entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet, and is at present
berthed at Bremerton, Wash.
John D. Henley received six battle stars for World War
II service.
John D. Whidden, see Aquarius (AK-263)
John Day River
A river in northern Oregon which is tributary of the
Columbia River.
(LSMR-511 ; dp. 790; 1. 206'3" ; b. 34'6" ; dr. 7'2" ; s.
13 k. ; cpl. 138; a. 1 5", 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2", 10
rkt. ; cl. LSMR-J/01)
LSMR-511 was laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co.,
Houston, Tex., 7 April 1945; launched 5 May 1945; and
commissioned 3 July 1945, Lt. Ralph L. Clifford in
command.
After shakedown along the Texas coast, LSMR-511 de-
parted Galveston 10 July and arrived Charleston, S.C.,
527
15 July. From 5 to 7 August she sailed to Little Creek,
Va., for training in Chesapeake Bay and along the Vir-
ginia coast. Assigned to LSMR Squadron 4, she departed
Little Creek for New Orleans, La., 20 September and ar-
rived on the 27th. She departed Algiers, La., 2 October
and for the next few weeks cruised the Mississippi River
to St. Louis, Mo., and St. Paul, Minn. Departing St. Paul
30 October, she reached New Orleans 13 November and
Little Creek 15 December.
After additional training and readiness operations out
of Little Creek, LS MR-5 11 sailed 30 January 1946 for
squadron exercises in the Caribbean. She reached San
Juan, P.R., 5 February and operated off Culebra Island
until sailing for Guantanamo Bay 12 February. She ar-
rived 14 February and during the next month participated
in tactical exercises off the southern coast of Cuba. Sail-
ing for the United States 15 March, she touched at Ber-
muda 19 March and reached Little Creek the 25th.
During the remainder of the year L8MR-511 operated
in Chesapeake Bay out of Norfolk and Baltimore. Be-
tween 22 and 24 January 1947 she sailed from Little
Creek to Charleston and entered Charleston Naval Ship-
yard. Departing Charleston 12 May, she arrived Green
Cove Springs, Fla., 13 May ; decommissioned there 21 May
1947 ; and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While
berthed at Green Cover Springs, she was named John Day
River 1 October 1955. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 February 1960. She was sold to Atlas Iron &
Metal Corp., 5 July 1960.
John Dunkin
Former name retained.
(Tr: dp. 443; 1. 127'; b. 21'6'' ; dr. 14'4" ; s. 10 k. ; cl.
Strath)
John Dunkin , a British trawler, was leased by the Navy
and commissioned 30 May 1919, Lt. (j.g.) J. G. Doerscburg
in command. She operated out of Kirkwall, Orkney
Islands, Scotland, with the mine-sweeping detail in the
North Sea. Ships stationed at Kirkwall cleared the west-
ern half of the mine barrage laid down during World
War I to protect British Harbors. After completing this
task, John Dunkin decommissioned 12 August 1919 and
was returned to her owners.
John E. Matton, see Tamaque (YNT-20)
John E. Murley, see YP-380, ex-AMb-22
John F. Goucher, see Culebra Island (ARG-7)
John F. Hartley
(RC)
John F. Hartley , a cutter built at San Francisco by the
Risdon Iron Works in 1874, was used on the West Coast
by the Revenue Cutter Service until transferred to the
Navy 6 April 1917. After the end of World War I, she
was sold 1 August 1919 to W. T. Cleverdon of San
Francisco.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the
United States, was born 29 May 1917 in Brookline, Mass.
He graduated from Harvard with honors to be commis-
sioned Ensign in the Naval Reserve in 1942 ; then pro-
moted to Lieutenant (j.g.) 10 October 1942 and Lieutenant
1 October 1943. On the night of 1 August 1942, Kennedy
won the Navy and Marine Corps Medal while commanding
PT 109. When his motor torpedo boat was rammed
in two dhring patrol by a Japanese destroyer, his “out-
standing courage, endurance, and leadership contributed
to the saving of several lives.” He towed the injured
men of his crew to safety and, after succeeding in getting
his crew ashore, swam many hours to secure aid and food.
Nine days later he brought them through Japanese lines to
safety despite injuries received in action.
Before and immediately following World War II, he
was a correspondent for the Chicago Herald American and
the International News Service. Elected to Congress in
1946, he represented the 11th Congressional District of
Massachusetts in the House until he entered the Senate
in 1953. He was reelected in 1958 with an overwhelming
majority.
John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United
States 8 November 1960. In his inaugural address of 20
January 1961, he advocated that “the word go forth from
this time and place to friend and foe alike, that the torch
has passed to a new generation of Americans — born in this
century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter
peace, proud of our ancient heritage.” As President he
prepared legislation and mobilized the strength of the
Federal Government to insure minorities the benefits of
American society. He also sought sweeping reforms in
fields of economic welfare, health, and education : “ . . .
every American has the right to a decent life for himself
and a better life for his children.”
In the interest of peace, he wisely used seapower to meet
global crises, including a quarantine of Cuba in 1962
which choked off the flow of military supplies to that is-
land and persuaded the Soviet Union to remove its offen-
sive missiles. Speaking from the flight deck of Kitty Hawk
(CVA-63) 6 June 1963, he recalled the role of American
sea power during that confrontation : “Events of October
1962 indicated, as they had all through history, that con-
trol of the sea means security. Control of the seas can
mean peace. The United States must control the seas if it
is to protect your security and those countries which
stretch thousands of miles away that look to you on this
ship and the sister ships of the United States Navy.”
He was dedicated to his belief “that all the world — in
Eastern Europe as well as Western, in Southern Africa as
well as Northern, in old nations as well as new — that
people must be free to choose their own future, without
discrimination or dictation, without coercion or subver-
sion.”
As Soviet threats to Berlin flared anew in the summer
of 1963, he visited West Berlin to declare : “Freedom is
indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not
free.”
One of his achievements was the 1963 treaty outlawing
nuclear tests in the atmosphere of outer space or under-
water as “the first concrete limitation on the nuclear arms
race since the bomb was invented.”
On 22 November 1963, as his motorcade traveled through
downtown Dallas, Tex., President Kennedy was shot by
an assassin. He was pronounced dead at the Parkland
Hospital in Dallas a short time later and interred 25
November 1963 in the Arlington National Cemetery.
(CVA-67 : dp. 75,000; 1. 1,046'; b. 129'4'' ; ew. 249'; dr.
35'7'' ; s. 30 k. ; cpl. 3,297; cl. Kitty Hawk)
John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) was laid down 22 October
1964 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; launched 27 May 1967; and
sponsored by Miss Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late
president. Commissioning of the carrier is scheduled for
the fall of 1968.
John Fitzgerald
A former name retained.
(Tr : dp. 443 ; 1. 127' ; b. 21'6" ; dr. 14'4" ; s. 10 k.)
John Fitzgerald, a British trawler, was leased by the
Navy and commissioned 30 May 1919. She immediately
commenced minesweeping operations off Kirkwall Bay,
Orkney Islands, Scotland. The Kirkwall minesweepers
528
225 Remarks Aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hau>\.
June 6, 1963
Admiral and gentlemen:
On behalf of all of us who visited with
you today I want to express our warm
appreciation. I think all of us have been
impressed by how vigorously and successfully
the United States Navy has applied all of
the modern advances in science and tech-
nology to this age-old struggle of mainte-
nance and control of the seas.
Just as Admiral Mahan said more than 50
years ago, any country which wishes to pro-
tect its security and the security of those allied
with it must maintain its position on the sea.
And if there is any lesson of the 20th century,
and especially of the past few years, it is that
in spite of the advances in space and in the
air, strategic air, this country must still move
easily and safely across the seas of the world.
Events of October 1962 indicated, as they
had all through history, that control of the
sea means security. Control of the seas can
mean peace. Control of the seas can mean
victory. The United States must control the
seas if it is to protect your security and those
countries which stretch thousands of miles
away that look to you on this ship and the
sister ships of the United States Navy.
I want to express our appreciation to all
of you. The sea is a friend and an enemy.
Those of you who sail it, know it; those of
you who sail it carry with you our warmest
appreciation and our best hopes for the
future.
Thank you, gentlemen.
note: The President spoke from the flight deck of
the carrier Kitty Hawk., after inspecting a new com-
puter system aboard the carrier Oriskany during a
comprehensive demonstration of weapons and tactics
by ships and aircraft of Task Force 10 of the Pacific
Fleet. His opening word “Admiral” referred to
Adm. George W. Anderson, Chief of Naval Opera-
tions.
President John F. Kennedy
were responsible for clearing the western half of the
Northern Mine Barrage, laid down in the north during the
World War I to protect the harbors of the United King-
dom. After sighting and sinking numerous mines, John
Fitzgerald decommissioned 12 August 1919 and was re-
turned to her owners.
John Francis Burnes
John Francis Burnes, born 1883 in Binghamton, N.Y.,
joined the U.S. Marine Corps 1904. Shortly before the
war, he was appointed machine gunner, and commissioned
June 1917. He was sent to France, where his gallant serv-
ice in battle won him the Distinguished Service Cross.
“In the attack on the Bois de Belleau 12 June 1918 he was
badly wounded but completed disposition of his platoon
under violent fire. The injuries which he sustained in the
performance of this self-sacrificing duty later caused his
death.”
( DD-299 : dp. 1,100; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8”; dr. 9'3”; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 95 ; a. 4 4", 1 3”, 12 21” tt. ; cl. Clemson)
John Francis Burnes (DD-299), formerly Swasey, was
laid down 4 July 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Corp., San Francisco, Calif. ; launched 10 November 1918 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Julius Kahn ; and commissioned 1 May
1920, Comdr. Frank N. Eklund in command.
Following shakedown and training exercises during
the summer of 1920, John Francis Burnes engaged in fleet
maneuvers during October. These exercises were designed
to maintain the superior navy demanded by America’s
position as a world power. For the next 2 years she con-
tinued tactical exercises along the California coast, oper-
ating out of San Diego, her home port. Sfie sailed 6
February 1923 for exercises off Mexico and the Canal Zone.
Following her return in April, John Francis Burnes
operated out of California for 2 years with the exception
of fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean in early 1924. One
year later she participated in joint Army-Navy maneuvers
out of San Francisco before joining fleet operations in
Hawaii 27 April 1925. The destroyer then cruised with
a large force in the Pacific, visiting Samoa, Australia, and
New Zealand before returning to San Diego in September.
For the next 3 years she engaged in training operations
and fleet maneuvers along the West Coast, developing
the techniques of modern naval warfare which the Navy
used so effectively in World War II. During the sum-
mers of 1928 and 1929, John Francis Burnes again helped
to shape the Navy’s future as she engaged in reserve train-
ing cruises to develop skilled reserves against the un-
known day of need ahead. John Francis Burnes arrived
San Diego 28 August 1929 and remained there until she
decommissioned 25 February 1930. She was sold as
scrap metal 10 June 1931 in accordance with the London
Treaty for the limitation of naval armaments.
John G. Nicolay, see Albireo ( AK-90)
John G. Olsen
A former name retained.
( SP-2377 : t. 61 ; 1. 76' ; b. 19' ; dr. 8' ; s. 10 k.)
John G. Olsen (SP-2377), a steam tug. was built in 1916
by Hawley Miller, New Baltimore, N.Y., and acquired
529
Caroline Kennedy christens USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67). In the background, from left to right — President Lyndon
B. Johnson; John F. Kennedy, Jr., Mrs. John F. Kennedy; and Mr. D. A. Holden, President of Newport News
Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. World Wide Photos
from her owners, Olsen Water & Towing Co., of New York,
16 April 1918. Her first commanding officer was Ens. G.
Montague, USNRF.
Assigned duty in the 5th Naval District, John G. Olsen
steamed from New York to Norfolk, arriving 23 April via
the inland route. There she took up duty as a tug and
general purpose harbor ship in Hampton Roads for Naval
Overseas Transportation Service, a vital organization in
the transport of men and material to France. After the
Armistice, she served at Indian Head, Md., before being
returned to her owners 28 August 1919.
John Gehm (USCG) , see Menemslia (AG-39)
John Graham
A former name retained.
(Tr: dp. 500; 1. 135; b. 22'; dr. 14'5" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 15;
a. none; cl. Castle )
John Graham, a British trawler, was leased by the Navy
and commissioned 30 May 1919 at Grimsby, England, Lt.
L. H. Ackerman, USNRF, in command. The following
day she departed for Kirkwall, Orkney Island, Scotland,
to join the minesweeping force responsible for clearing the
Northern Mine Barrage, which had been laid down in the
North Sea to protect Allied shipping. John Graham sailed
from Kirkwall 8 June and commenced minesweeping op-
erations with William Darnold throughout the western
half of the mine fields. She was responsible for destroy-
ing and sinking scores of mines ; on 9 July, alone, she ex-
ploded 32 mines. John Graham departed Kirkwall 9 Au-
gust and steamed to Brightingsea, England, where she
decommissioned 12 August and was returned to her owners.
John Griffith
A former name retained.
(Sch: t. 240; 1. 113' 8" ; dph. 8'4'' ; cpl. 39; a. 1 13" M„
2 32-pdrs., 2 12-pdr. how.)
John Griffith was purchased by the Navy at New York
from B. F. Woolsey 16 September 1861 ; and commissioned
at New York Navy Yard 20 January 1862, Lt. K. Randolph
Breese in command.
The schooner was ordered to Key West, Fla., to join the
Mortar Flotilla being organized by Comdr. David D.
Porter for the decisive attack up the Mississippi River.
The flotilla sailed from Key West 6 March and on 11
March anchored at Ship Island, Miss., the staging area for
Flag Officer Farragut’s New Orleans campaign. A week
530
later John Griffith was towed across the bar at Pass a
l’Outre with Porter’s other mortar schooners. For the
next month, while Farragut labored to move his deep-
draft, sea-going ships across the bar and into the Missis-
sippi, Porter’s vessels drilled and prepared for the fight
awaiting them.
The mortar boats moved into terminal position 18 April
and opened fire on Forts Jackson and St. Philip. John
Griffith , now under Acting Master Henry Brown, was in
the 3rd Division commanded by her old skiper, Lt. Breese,
who placed his schooners along the western bank of the
river just below the lower limit of Fort Jackson’s fire.
John Griffith pressed the attack with great vigor, leading
the ships of her division on 4 days of the weeklong bom-
bardment which continued until Farragut had succeeded in
fighting his mighty fleet past the forts to capture New
Orleans in one of the war’s most daring and strategically
significant operations. This bold stroke deprived the
South of her largest and wealthiest city, tightened the
Union blockade, and gave promise of restoring the entire
Mississippi Valley to the Union. When he was barely
beyond the forts, Farragut paused to bury his dead, repair
his ships, and dash off a note of thanks to Porter for the
help of the mortars: “You supported us most nobly.”
John Griffith’s next major operation came on Farragut’s
second passage up the Mississippi. The mortars rained
their 8-inch shells on the Confederate batteries at Vicks-
burg while the heavy ships steamed by the forts to meet
Flag Officer Davis and his Mississippi Flotilla. The
schooners then waited for Farragut below Vicksburg, oc-
casionally enlivening their vigil by hurling a few shells
at the forts. On 15 July they resumed the bombardment
in earnest when the sound of heavy firing announced
Farragut’s approach.
John Griffith continued to serve the West Gulf Blockad-
ing Squadron until ordered north 18 May 1864. The
schooner decommissioned for repairs 1 June and she re-
commissioned 23 August 1864. The following day she re-
ceived orders to sail to Port Royal for service in the
South Atlantic Blockading Sqadron. She arrived Port
Royal 8 September and served on blockade duty and at the
mouth of the Altamaha River, Ga., until ordered 12 Decem-
ber to the Savannah River, where General Sherman had
just emerged at the end of his famous march to the sea.
Five days later John Griffith shelled Fort Beaulieu, the
Confederate fortress defending the mouths of the Vernon
and Burnside Rivers. With Sonoma she maintained her
steady and deliberate fire until the defenders finally evac-
uated 21 December.
Thereafter John Griffith remained on blockade duty
until after the end of the war. She decommissioned 21
August 1865 and was sold at public auction at Boston
Navy Yard to C. Foster 8 September 1865.
'John Hancock
John Hancock, born Braintree, Mass., 12 January 1737,
graduated from Harvard in 1754. Ten years later he be-
came Boston’s wealthiest merchant through inheriting his
uncle’s flourishing business. His outspoken criticism of
the Stamp Act in 1765 incurred the displeasure of sympa-
thizers of the Crown but enabled him to be elected to the
General Court and to win several terms as selectman from
Boston.
His sloop Liberty, seized for allegedly smuggling wine
10 June 1768, was condemned and converted into a coast
guard. A band of patriots burned the ship at Newport,
R.I., in an act of direct defiance of Royal authority.
Hancock was president of the Massachusetts Provincial
Congress and was elected to the First and Second Conti-
nental Congresses. He presided over the latter body from
24 May 1775 through 29 October 1777, thereby becoming
the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
He remained in Congress until he became Governor of
Massachusetts after presiding over the State’s Constitu-
tional Convention in 1780. With the exception of a term
in the Confederation Congress, 1785 to 1786, he served as
Governor continuously until his death 8 October 1793.
His last great service was rendered in 1788 when he pre-
sided over the Massachusetts convention which ratified
the Constitution of the United States.
(ScStr : t. 230; 1. 113' ; b. 22' ; dr. 10'6'' ; s. 7 k. ; cpl. 20;
a. 1 6-pdr.)
John Hancock was launched by Boston Navy Yard 26
October 1850 for service as a steam tug and water tank
in that yard. However, she was soon manned by a tem-
porary crew and dispatched to New Bedford, Mass., to
aid in quelling riots. When order had been restored, she
returned to Boston, where she served until summer 1851
when she steamed to Annapolis, Md., for duty as a prac-
tice ship at the Naval Academy. At the end of the sum-
mer’s midshipmen cruises, she sailed to New York, where
she commissioned 6 September, Lt. J. W. Livingston in
command.
Three days later, John Hanconk departed New York for
Havana, Cuba, to assist in suppressing the last filibuster-
ing expedition led by Narciso Lopez which had been
launched from the United States in violation of American
neutrality laws. She arrived Havana 29 September, but
her duty there terminated 4 days later when extremely
stormy weather damaged the vessel causing her to return
to Boston via Charleston and New York.
She was placed in ordinary at the Boston Navy Yard
and rebuilt almost entirely. The vessel received a new
bow and stern increasing her length to 165'6'' and her
weight to 382 tons but not affecting her beam or draft.
John Hancock was relaunched 24 February 1853 and com-
missioned 19 March 1853, Lt. John Rodgers in command.
She stood out of New York Harbor 3 May and joined
Comdr. Cadwalader Ringgold’s Northern Pacific Survey
Expedition at Hampton Roads 3 days later. Secretary
of the Navy James C. Dobbin visited the ship at Norfolk
2 June, 9 days before the squadron sailed for the Pacific.
After stopping at Funchal, Madeira Islands ; Porto Praya ;
and Simonstown, False Bay ; the expedition arrived
Batavia, Java, 12 December.
Five months were now devoted to surveying the waters
surrounding the large islands off the coast of Southeast
Asia. Early in May 1854, John Hancock departed for
Hong Kong, where she arrived 24 May. The squadron
operated from that port as its base throughout the sum-
mer, surveying nearby coast, islands, and rivers. At this
time China was plagued by rebellion and pirates endan-
gering foreigners and threatening their property. The
American ships were a source of stability and order pro-
tecting American citizens and interests. While steaming
up the Canton River, two armed boats from John Hancock
were fired upon by rebel batteries which their own cannon
promptly silenced.
Serious illness compelled Comdr. Ringgold to relinquish
command of the expedition leaving Lt. Rodgers in charge
11 August. Lt. Henry K. Stevens then took command of
John Hancock. She departed Hong Kong 9 September
sailing north along the coast of China surveying as she
went. She arrived Shanghai 27 November and remained
there under repair until 28 January when she resumed
surveying operations which took her north along the east-
ern coast of Asia to the Bering Sea before turning south
along the western coast of North America. Besides
greatly increasing knowledge of the western and northern
Pacific, stimulating commerce, and easing navigation in
previously unknown seas, the operations helped to estab-
lish friendly relations between the United States and sev-
eral nations of the Orient.
John Hancock arrived San Francisco 19 October. After
repairs at Mare Island Navy Yard, she stood out of San
Francisco Bay 20 March 1856 for Puget Sound to help
suppress Indian uprisings which threatened to wipe out
white settlements and Army outposts established in the
early 1850’s. She arrived Seattle 28 March and operated
from that port as a base until 4 August when she stood
down the sound. She arrived San Francisco 17 August.
John Hancock decommissioned at Mare Island Navy
531
Yard 23 August and remained there in ordinary until sold
at auction 17 August 1865.
John Hancock, see Hancock
John Hood
John Hood was born in Florence, Ala., 3 December
1859. He was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1875,
and graduated from the Naval Academy, second in his
class. His first cruise after graduation took him to the
South Atlantic in Shenandoah, and he later sailed in
Wachusetts, Brooklyn, Vandalia, Moliician, Jamestown,
Constellation, Bancroft and Kearsarpe. Hood was
wrecked with Kearsarpe 21 February 1894 on Roncador
Reef off Central America in the Pacific, and was a lieu-
tenant in Maine when she was blown up at Havana 15
February 1898.
Hood commanded Hawk during the Spanish American
War, carried information of the arrival of the Spanish
Squadron off Santiago to the commander of the Flying
Squadron at' Cienfuegos, and delivered orders for him
to proceed to Santiago 23 May 1898. He also served in
Nero during the Spanish War. Hood surveyed the Pacific
in 1899-1900 to prepare data and charts by which the
Pacific cable was laid.
He commanded Elcano in Chinese waters during the
Russo-Japanese War from 1903 to 1905 and Tacoma from
1907 to 1909, during Haitian and Central American revo-
lutions and elections. He was in charge of the ships at
the Naval Academy in 1909 and 1910. He commanded
Rhode Island of the Atlantic Fleet in 1910-11. Under him
in 1911-12, Delaware won the battle efficiency pennant.
From 1912 to 1915 he was a member of the General Board
of the Navy. In 1915-16 he commanded Texas which won
the “Red E” for excellence in engineering efficiency.
He was promoted to Rear Admiral August 29, 1916 and
retired 18 March 1918. Admiral Hood died at the Naval
Hospital, Annapolis, Md., February 11, 1919.
( DD-665 : dp. 2,050 ; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s. 37
k. ; cpl. 319; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 6 dcp., 2 dot.,
10 21" tt. ; cl. Fletcher)
John Hood (DD-665) was laid down 12 October 1942
by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Ala. ; launched 25
October 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Amelia O’Neal ; and
commissioned 7 June 1944, Comdr. Thomas J. Thronhill in
command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, the new destroyer
departed for the Pacific 21 August 1944, arriving Mare
Island 6 September. She sailed on to the Aleutian Islands
for duty with the North Pacific Forces, arriving Adak
18 September. John Hood joined Destroyer Squadron 57
of Rear Admiral J. L. McCrea’s Task Force 92 and served
her entire war career in the stormy waters of the North
Pacific guarding our vital northern “back door.” The
principal offensive missions were to harass and threaten
the enemy outposts in the Kurile Islands, more than 600
miles westward of Attu. In carrying out this mission, the
Task Force made nine sorties against the Kuriles and
five offensive sweeps in the Sea of Okhotsk, hampered by
bad weather, and well beyond the range of friendly air
cover. John Hood was the only ship of the task force
which participated in every sortie from reporting through
the end of the war.
In November she engaged in the bombardment of the
Japanese base on Matasuwa, causing considerable damage
to the installation. She continued sorties and patrol
operations in the Kuriles through the winter and spring
of 1945. While patrolling in the Sea of Okhotsk 25 June
1945, John Hood encountered an enemy convoy attempt-
ing last minute reinforcements to the badly battered
Japanese garrisons. The destroyer assisted in sinking
ope cargo ship and probable sinking of another. On 11
August her task group conducted one of the final naval
operations of the war by destroying another enemy convoy.
Following the cessation of hostilities, she steamed to
Adak to prepare for occupation duties. John Hood de-
parted Adak 31 August with a large force headed for
Northern Japan. The battle tested destroyer remained
in Northern Japanese waters with the occupations forces
until she turned homeward 18 November. She arrived
Charleston, S.C., 22 December and remained there until
she decommissioned 3 July 1946 and entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet.
John Hood recommissioned 3 August 1951, Comdr. S. P.
Gantz in command. Following commissioning she re-
ceived major modifications to enable her to assume a
place in the modern fleet.
John Hood departed Norfolk 29 June for an around-
world cruise, including peace-keeping patrols with the 7th
Fleet off the coast of Korea. She returned to Norfolk 6
February 1954 for repairs and coastal training operations
before sailing 5 November 1955 for Mediterranean duty
with the 6th Fleet. Upon returning to Norfolk 26 Febru-
ary 1956, the destroyer received repairs to her storm dam-
aged mast and then trained midshipmen in the summer.
During the tense Suez crisis in the fall she sailed with
Task Force 26 to Lisbon to be ready for action if needed
and returned to the Virginia Capes in December.
Following training exercises along the Atlantic coast,
and another 6th Fleet cruise 1957 in the still turbulent
Mideastern waters, John Hood commenced training
cruises in early 1958. She operated with Fleet Sonar
School and engaged in ASW exercises before being trans-
ferred to the Reserve Destroyer Squadron at New York
1 October 1959. She continued training reservists until 1
August 1961, when President Kennedy ordered a callup
of reservists to bolster the nation’s military strength dur-
ing the Berlin crisis. The American answer to the com-
munist challenge prevented a major conflict ; and, as the
crisis subsided, John Hood resumed duties as a reserve
training destroyer at New York in August 1962. She
continued this service into 1967.
John Hood received one battle star for World War II
service.
John J. Murley, see Canary (AMC-25)
John J. Powers
John James Powers, born in New York City 3 July 1912,
graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935. After serv-
ing at sea for 5 years, he underwent flight training, re-
porting 21 January 1941 to Bombing Squadron 5, attached
to famed Yorktown (CV-5). As the fleet moved to pre-
vent further Japanese expansion in the Solomons on 1942,
Powers took part in the important raid on Tulagi 4 May,
flying without fighter cover to score two hits on Japanese
ships. As the main Battle of the Coral Sea developed 7
May, Lt. Powers and his companions discovered carrier
Shoho and, bombing at extremely low altitudes, sank her
in 10 minutes. Next morning while the great carrier
battle continued, he joined the attack on Shokaku, scoring
an important bomb hit. His intrepid, low-bombing run,
however, brought Powers into heavy antiaircraft fire ;
and his plane plunged into the sea. Lt. Powers was de-
clared dead ; but, for his indomitable spirit in this series
of attacks, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthum-
ously. According to the citation: “. . . completely disre-
garding the safety altitude and without fear or concern
for his own safety, he courageously pressed home his
attack, almost to the very deck of an enemy carrier and
did not release his bomb until he was sure of a direct
hit.”
( DE-258 ; dp. 1,140: 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1" ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21
k. ; cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 4 1.1" ; 9 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.) cl. Evarts)
John J. Powers (DE-528) was laid down 25 September
1943 by Boston Navy Yard; launched 2 November 1943;
sponsored by Mrs. John J. Powers, mother of Lt. Pow-
532
ers; and commissioned 29 February 1944, Lt. Comdr. E.
W. Loew in command.
After shakedown training off Bermuda, John J. Powers
returned to Boston 19 April for antisubmarine exercises.
She then steamed to New York to join a convoy for north-
ern Europe, departing 2 May. The ship returned with
another convoy 28 May 1944. With American troops and
equipment building up in England for the cross-channel
invasion, John J. Powers made a second convoy voyage,
arriving Boston 2 August 1944. She then engaged in
training followed by a coastal run from New York to
Halifax and back.
The escort vessel got underway for Atlantic convoy duty
again 19 September 1944, escorting a convoy of tankers
and barges to England. Seven days later the alert ship
rescued four crewmen from capsized Army tuge ST-119.
John J. Powers returned to New York 20 November and in
December conducted special depth charge tests for the
Bureau of Ordnance off New York and in Chesapeake
Bay. In the months that followed, the ship made three
more escort voyages to Casablanca, departing Mers-el-
Kebir 7 May 1945, the day of the German surrender.
John J. Powers returned to New York 23 May 1945 and,
after maneuvers in Casco Bay, Maine, arrived Miami 21
July for duty as a training ship. During August she
provided tactical training for student officers in the
Straits of Florida. The war over, John J. Powers sailed
8 September 1945 for Charleston, where she decommis-
sioned 16 October 1945.
The ship was scrapped by Charleston Navy Yard in
February 1946.
John J. Van Buren
John James Van Buren, born in Mukwonago, Wis., 20
July 1915, enlisted in the Navy 24 March 1938 and was
appointed Aviation Cadet in the Naval Reserve 3 August
1938. Upon completion of fleet training, he was commis-
sioned Ensign 1 September 1939 and assigned to Bombing
Squadron 6 on board Enterprise (CV-6). He was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross 11 March 1942
for heroic conduct in aerial combat during the operations
against the Marshall Islands when the formation he was
flying in was attacked by enemy fighters. Through skill-
ful handling of his plane and excellent markmanship, he
shot down one of the attacking planes. Upon again being
attacked by an enemy fighter, he maneuvered his plane
to permit his rear seat gunner to shoot down this attacker
before landing his bullet-riddled plane on Enterprise.
During the Battle of Midway 4 June 1942, Van Buren
defied extreme danger from concentrated antiaircraft fire
and fierce fighter opposition to take part in the initial
dive-bombing assault against Japanese naval units. Van
Buren’s plane did not return from this action. He was
presumed dead. Lt. (j.g.) Van Buren received the Navy
Cross for his bravery upon this occasion.
John J. Van Buren (DE— 753) was laid down by West-
ern Pipe & Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif., 31 August 1943 ;
launched 16 J anuary 1944 ; and sponsored by Mrs. J. J.
Van Buren, widow of Lt. (j.g.) Van Buren. Construction
of the uncompleted destroyer escort was cancelled 1
September 1944.
John James Audubon, see Crater (AK-70)
John King
John King, born in Ireland 7 February 1865, enlisted
in the Navy as a coal passer in Vermont 20 July 1893. He
served on board Massachusetts in the Caribbean during
the Spanish-American War, and in 1900 was transferred
to Vicksburg for service during the Philippine Insurrec-
tion. King received the Medal of Honor while in Vicks-
burg “for extraordinary heroism in the line of his pro-
fession at the time of the accident to the boilers . . .
29 May 1901.” Eight years later, while a water tender in
Salem, King received a second Medal of Honor during
another boiler explosion 13 September 1909. Advanced
to Chief Water Tender 1 October 1909, he continued to
serve at sea until discharged in 1916. The beginning of
World War I, however, brought Chief King back on active
duty ; he served at New York until 20 August 1919. He
lived in retirement until his death 20 May 1938.
(DDG-3 : dp. 3,370 ; 1. 437' ; b. 47' ; dr. 22' ; s. over 30 k. ;
cpl. 354; a. Tartar missiles, 2 5”, ASROC, 2 21" tt. ;
cl. Charles F. Adams)
John King (DDG-3) was laid down by Bath Iron
Works Corp., Bath, Maine, 25 August 1958; launched 30
January 1960; sponsored by Mrs. Paul J. Kilday, wife
of Representative Kilday of Texas; and commissioned
4 February 1961 at Boston, Comdr. A. M. Sackett in
command.
Following shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, John King carried out weapons tests on the East
Coast before arriving Norfolk 7 September 1961 for regu-
lar duty. One of a new class of guided missile destroy-
ers, she featured latest hull design with all-aluminum
superstructure and mounted the very latest in modern
armament and electronic equipment. Departing 27 No-
vember 1961, the ship cruised to England and Northern
Europe until 1 January 1962, when she sailed from Dublin
for the Mediterranean. There, John King joined the 6th
Fleet in its constant role of peacekeeping in this troubled
region. After her return to Norfolk in April, the ship
conducted missile firing exercises and training in the
Caribbean. She arrived Washington 10 July 1962 for
a 4 day stay, entertaining a group of Senators and Con-
gressmen as well as Secretary of the Navy Korth.
Following additional exercises, John King entered Nor-
folk Navy Yard 11 October. Soon afterward, the intro-
duction of offensive missiles into Cuba precipitated a
crisis; and, as Navy ships placed a quarantine around
the island, the ship quickly finished her repairs and joined
the blockade 6 November. After the crisis eased, the
ship remained in the Caribbean operating with the Navy’s
newest and biggest carrier, the nuclear-powered Enter-
prise. She returned to Norfolk 8 December.
John King departed for her second Mediterranean
cruise 6 February 1963. After visiting various ports on
6th Fleet maneuvers, she steamed to Kiel, Germany,
23 June, then returned to Norfolk 17 July. The next
twelve months were spent on training and readiness exer-
cises off the Virginia Capes and in the Caribbean, includ-
ing a week at the Antisubmarine Warfare School, Key
West, in April.
The destroyer sailed for the Mediterranean once more
3 August and joined the 6th Fleet 16 August near the
strife-tom island of Cyprus. She remained in the Medi-
terranean until the end of 1964.
John King returned to Norfolk 29 January and operated
along the Blast Coast until sailing for the “Med” 14 October.
Following 4 months of operations with the 6th Fleet, she
returned to Norfolk 7 March 1966. In the summer she
visited the Mediterranean and recrossed the Atlantic on
NATO Exercise “Straight Laced.” Back at homeport in
the fall she operated out of Norfolk until sailing for
another 6th Fleet deployment 10 January 1967. Her
movements were concentrated in the Western Mediter-
ranean until she sailed for home 11 May. Arriving Nor-
folk on the 19th, John King entered the Norfolk Naval
Shipyard 27 June for an overhaul to prepare for future
service.
John L. Lawrence
A former name retained.
(SP-838 : 1. 150 ; 1. 157'8" ; b. 21 '2" ; dr. 10' ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 23 ; a. 2 1-pdrs. )
John L. Lawrence, built in 1877 at New London, Conn.,
was taken over by the Navy from Medhaden Products
533
prior to 8 June 1917. She commissioned 29 June 1917 for
duty as a section minesweeper, operated with the mine
force of the 2d Naval District, and engaged in coastal
patrol duties. John L. Lawrence remained in the 2d
Naval District until 16 March 1919 when she arrived for
duty at Key West, Fla. She was assigned to the 3d Sub-
marine Division where she engaged in exercises and tor-
pedo drills with growing submarine force.
During 1920 her classification was changed to YT-38,
and she arrived Philadelphia 10 August of that year to
commence operations with the submarine repair division.
John L. Lawrence remained in Philadelphia for ten months
before she decommissioned 22 June 1921, and was sold 3
October of that year.
John L. Lockwood
A former name retained.
( SwStr : t. 180 ; 1. 114' ; b. 24' ; dr. 6'6" ; s. 11 k. ; cpl- 30 ;
a. 1 80-pdr. rifle, 1 12-pdr. rifle; 1 12-pdr.sb)
John L. Lockwood built at Athens, N.Y., in 1854 ; was
purchased at New York City 1 September 1861 ; and com-
missioned at Washington 21 September, Acting Master
William F. North in command.
John L. Lockwood was assigned to the North Atlantic
Blockading Squadron 25 September with whom she stead-
fastly served throughout the war. She took station off the
New York River 30 September and remained there on
blockade duty until ordered to Hampton Roads to guard
Congress and Cumberland. With Shawsheen she shelled
Virginia infantry on Yorktown Road a few miles above
Camp Butler 23 November.
The following day John L. Lockwood departed Hampton
Roads for repairs at Baltimore, and she decommissioned
upon arrival 25 November. Back in fighting trim, she
recommissioned 6 December and returned to Hampton
Roads. Assisted by Morse, she engaged three Confederate
batteries on Sewell’s Point 29 December.
John L. Lockwood was ordered to Hatteras Inlet 2 Feb-
ruary 1862 to take part in combined operations which
struck the Confederacy with heavy and costly blows
wherever water reached within the North Carolina
Sounds. She was with Flag Officer Goldsborough during
operations against Roanoke Island 7 February bombard-
ing Confederate positions with deadly effective fire. The
next day with eight other ships she cut the chain connect-
ing two vessels which obstructed the channel, thus clearing
a passage for the Union ships into Albemarle Sound. This
victory and the follow-up operations in the sounds sev-
ered Norfolk’s main supply lines, secured the North
Carolina coast, diverted important strength from the
main Confederate Armies, and weakened the South’s abil-
ity to resist at sea. At the end of the fighting, Captain
Alex Murray who commanded Goldborough’s second col-
umn praised John L. Lockwood for being “conspicuously
in the foreground throughout the bombardment.”
With Roanoak Island secure, the fleet moved on to
Elizabeth City, N.C., to destroy Confederate gunboats and
interrupt the South’s canal communications to the north of
Albermarle Sound. The next major amphibious opera-
tion, the attack on Confederate batteries on the Neuse
River 13 March, resulted in Union occupation of New
Bern, N.C., on the 14th. On 23 April, with Whitehead and
Putnam, John L. Lockwood blocked the mouth of the
Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal near Elizabeth City,
N.C., sinking a schooner and other obstructions inside the
waterway.
She remained in North Carolina’s inland waters patrol-
ling the innumerable inlets and streams and assisting
Army units ashore until sailing from Hatteras Inlet for
repairs at Hampton Roads 3 September 1863. Refitting
completed, John L. Lockwood departed Norfolk Navy Yard
8 January 1864 and arrived New Bern 14 January to
resume duty in the sounds. She captured sloop Twilight
at Elizabeth City, N.C. During most of her further service
she was stationed at New Bern where after the war she
decommissioned 23 May 1865. She was towed to Baltimore
late in May and thence taken to Washington 27 July.
John L. Lockwood was sold at Washington to Mr. Crosset
of New York 15 September 1865 and redocumented Henry
Smith 3 April 1866. The Army purchased and renamed
her Chester A. Arthur 30 June 1876.
John L. Manson, see BAK—3
John L. Sullivan, see Y AG-37
John L. Williamson
John Leon Williamson was born 5 November 1921 in
Ash, N.C., and enlisted in the Navy at Raleigh 11 July
1940. After recruit training, he was assigned to cruiser
San Francisco. Williamson was on board the fighting
cruiser during the attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December
1941 and the initial American amphibious assault of the
war on Guadalcanal. He also took part in the American
victory at the night Battle of Cape Esperance in October.
On 12 November 1942 one of the many Japanese attempts
to bombard American positions in the Solomons and to
reinforce their own garrisons there resulted another great
battle, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Before the main
engagement, San Francisco (CA-38) and other ships were
attacked by torpedo bombers off Guadalcanal. William-
son, an antiaircraft gunner fired at an approaching tor-
pedo plane, remaining at his station with cool determin-
ation as the enemy aircraft crashed directly at his gun
mount. For his great courage in the face of this attack,
Seaman First Class Williamson was awarded the Navy
cross posthumously.
(DE-370: dp. 1,350; 1. 306'; b. 36'8'' ; dr. 9'5''; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5'', 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1
dep., (h.h.), 3 21" tt ; cl .John C. Butler)
John L. Williamson (DE-370) was laid down 22 May
1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; launched
29 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Sherman Register,
sister of Seaman First Class Williamson ; and commis-
sioned 31 October 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. E. Allen in command.
Following shakedown training in waters off Bermuda,
the new escort vessel arrived Boston 21 December 1945.
Early in 1945 she received orders to join the Pacific Fleet,
and got underway 3 January to steam via the Panama
Canal to San Diego. There she arrived 19 January, and
moved on to Pearl Harbor 28 January for training exer-
cises. As Allied amphibious assaults struck ever-closer
to Japan, John L. Williamson sailed 2 March with a con-
voy for Iwo Jima, arriving 20 March after a stop at Eni-
wetok. She took up antisubmarine patrol around the is-
land for 4 days and anchored again at Eniwetok 28 March
1945.
After serving on a brief antisubmarine patrol off Eni-
wetok, the ship steamed to Majuro 5 April and for the next
3 weeks operated in the Marshall Islands. Air strikes and
shore bombardments combined with surrender demands
over loudspeakers were used to induce Japanese holdouts
to give themselves up. John L. Williamson fired at shore
batteries and emplacements at Mili, Alu, and other islands,
taking off scores of prisoners and natives from these by-
passed islands. She sailed from Majuro 24 April, and
arrived Ulithi 5 days later for picket duty.
John L. Williamson remained on patrol duty around
Ulithi with an occasional escort voyage to Eniwetok with
troop transports until departing 15 July with a large con-
voy for Okinawa. She arrived Okinawa 21 July during
the final stages of this, the last great island fight of the
war, and after 2 days patrolling off the transport area
returned to Ulithi 27 July. The ship made one more es-
cort voyage to Okinawa in August, and was at anchor at
Ulithi when the Japanese accepted surrender terms 15
August.
The destroyer escort sailed 22 August for Okinawa and
Japan, arriving Wakayama 14 September to escort ships
534
through the swept channel and aid in occupation opera-
tions. After screening flight operations off Japan, she
carried out courier duties between Wakayama and Yo-
kosuka until she sailed for the United States 2 January
1946.
John L. Williamson arrived San Francisco 22 January
1946 and decommissioned 14 June 1946 at San Diego. She
entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet there and in January
1947 was transferred to Stockton, Calif., where she
remains.
John Land
A Maritime Commission name retained.
( AP-167 : dp. 6,556; 1. 459'2" ; b. 63' ; dr. 23' ; s. 17 k. ; cpl.
276 ; a. 1 5” ; 4 3" 12 20mm. ; cl. La Salle; T. C2-S-B1)
John Land (AP-167) was launched under Maritime
Commission contract by Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland,
Calif., 22 January 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Mary K. Tyler ;
delivered in August 1943 for conversion at United Engi-
neering Co., San Francisco ; accepted by the Navy and
simultaneously commissioned at San Francisco 8 April
1944, Captain F. A. Graf in command.
One of the many Maritime Commission ships used by
the Navy under Bareboat Charter in World War II, John
Land departed San Francisco 25 April with marines and
sailors for the Pacific campaigns, arriving 2 May at Pearl
Harbor for rehearsals preliminary to the invasion of the
Marianas. She sailed for Eniwetok, the staging base,
with Admiral Turner’s Northern Force, arriving 8 June
1944. John Land was off Saipan early on D-day, 15 June,
and conducted a feint landing off Garapau. Then, as the
main landing progressed, the ship remained in the trans-
port area, ready to land her troops as reinforcements.
After debarking 16 and 17 June, John Land steamed off
the island until returning to unload supplies 23 June.
In the next 2 days, she received many casualties and
departed for Eniwetok 26 June. The ship arrived 30
June, transferred the wounded to hospitals, and returned
to Saipan 19 July to embark troops for the Tinian inva-
sion, the next objective of Kelly Turner’s amphibious
team. John Land brought troops to Tinian from nearby
Saipan 24 June to take part in another diversionary land-
ing, this time off the town of Tinian ; then, after re-em-
barking her landing units, John Land moved to the main
landing area, after which she spent 2 days at Saipan
embarking casualties.
John Land returned to Eniwetok 1 August, but 2 days
later was underway for the Solomons and rehearsals
leading up to the Palau landings. Her task group sortied
from Guadalcanal 8 September, arriving off Peleliu 15
September and discharging troops. For the next week,
the ship spent days in the transport area and nights in
retirement off the island, as marines struggled to cap-
ture the strategic airfield needed for the coming assault
on the Philippines. After loading casualties 22 Septem-
ber, John Land steamed to Humboldt Bay 25 September
to prepare for the next giant step en route to Japan.
For the Leyte landings the transport was assigned to
Admiral Barbey’s Palo Attack Group ; and, after practice
landings in early October, John Land sailed 13 October.
She was honored to carry President Osmena of the Philip-
pines and his Cabinet, returning them to their homeland
after almost 3 years of exile during the Japanese occupa-
tion. The transport entered Leyte Gulf 20 October, an-
chored in the transport area, and smoothly debarked her
troops. At 1320, General MacArthur’s boat came along-
side for President Osmena and his party, carrying them to
the beaches for their historic radio broadcast to the
Philippine people. That afternoon John Land transferred
her distinguished guests to Blue Ridge and departed for
Hollandia, where she arrived 25 October. As she was
anchoring, the guns of ships and planes were blazing in
the final phase of the giant Battle for Leyte Gulf, spelling
a virtual end to Japanese sea power.
After helping to repel an air attack 13 November, John
Land returned on the 14th bringing reinforcements. The
ship then sailed to Manus in preparation for the Luzon
landings. Again assigned to Admiral Barbey’s assault
force, the ship took part in rehearsals in New Guinea
before departing for Leyte 28 December. Rendezvousing
with other units of the massive task force, she proceeded
through the Philippines under almost constant air attack
and arrived off the San Fabian beaches 9 January 1945.
There, while fighting off further air attacks, she debarked
her soldiers and returned next day to Leyte. Through the
rest of January and early February, John Land brought
troops from New Guinea to Leyte and Mindoro, as the
Philippines campaign pressed onward. She departed for
Ulithi 15 February, arriving 3 days later for sorely needed
rest and replenishment.
The veteran transport sailed 5 March for Iwo Jima,
then nearly secured ; and, after her arrival 9 March, she
loaded troops and cargo. Departing 27 March, she pro-
ceeded via Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor, where she debarked
troops, and thence to San Francisco, where she arrived
22 April. After repairs, she took on troops and sailed
again for the western Pacific, touching at various Pacific
bases before arriving Manila 26 July to unload cargo and
debark troops. John Land was en route back to Pearl
Harbor when word came of the end of the war 15 August.
She arrived 2 days later to take on occupation troops and
sailed 7 September via Saipan for Wakayama, Japan.
These troops were disembarked 27 September, and the
ship was assigned new duties with Operation “Magic
Carpet,” the giant task of returning the thousands of
Pacific veterans to the United States. She arrived San
Pedro with returnees 21 October, then sailed again 7
days later with Seabees and logistics personnel for the
rebuilding of the Pacific Islands. Arriving Guam 12 No-
vember, she took on more veterans and arrived San Fran-
cisco 29 November.
John Land made three more “Magic-Carpet” voyages
before arriving Seattle 5 July 1946. She decommissioned
5 August and was returned to the Maritime Commission
next day. Originally sold to Waterman Steamship Co.,
the ship underwent various changes of name and owner-
ship before being sold 23 May 1963 to Liberty Navigation
6 Trading Co., Inc., and renamed Norberto Capay.
John Land received five battle stars for World War II
service.
John M. Bermingham
John Michael Bermingham was born in New York City
5 July 1905 and graduated from the Naval Academy in
1929. During the 1930’s he served in many ships, includ-
ing Wyoming , Utah, and Augusta, and at various shore
stations. In 1940 he was assigned as Executive Officer of
destroyer Stewart and at the outbreak of the war in the
Pacific was second in command of the four-piper Peary.
During the first Japanese attack on Cavite 10 December,
Peary's commanding officer was wounded and Lt. Comdr.
Bermingham took command. The ship was assigned to
offshore patrol and came under heavy air attack many
times in the days to come. Only brilliant seamanship dur-
ing bombing and torpedo attacks 26 and 27 December saved
her from destruction- Despite the Japanese air superior-
ity, Bermingham succeeded in bringing his ship to Darwin,
Australia, to operate with allied forces attempting to hold
Malay Barrier. Peary operated with cruiser Houston in
February, and was anchored at Darwin when the Japan-
ese attacked with bombers 19 February 1942. Berming-
ham got his ship underway and attempted to maneuver
in the restricted waters ; but, despite valiant antiaircraft
fire, his ship was hit with five bombs. Lt. Comdr. Berm-
ingham and about 80 of his crew went down with the ship.
He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his
courage and leadership while commanding Peary during
this crucial early period of the war.
( DE-530 : dp. 1,140; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1'' ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21
k. ; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1", 9 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (h.h.) ;
cl. Evarts)
John M. Bermingham (DE-530) was laid down by
Boston Navy Yard 14 October 1943 ; launched 17 Novem-
256-125 0 - 68 - 36
535
ber 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. M. Bermingham, widow of
Lt. Comdr. Bermingham ; and commissioned 8 April 1944,
Lt. M. Beerman in command.
The new destroyed escort conducted shakedown off Ber-
muda and arrived Charleston 9 June to begin her vital
convoy escort duty. Departing 14 June, she escorted the
ships to the English Channel ; and, after steaming to Bel-
fast 23 July, she returned to Boston 2 August 1944. She
then underwent further training in Casco Bay before ar-
riving New York 28 August to join an unusual convoy.
Bermingham sailed 19 September with other escort ves-
sels to convoy a large group of Army tugs and barges for
use in the important captured ports of northern France.
During the arduous crossing, rough weather claimed sev-
eral tugs and many of the vitally-needed harbor barges.
Only a heroic effort on the part of escorting ships brought
the remainder of the convoy to safety at Plymouth 20
October. After a week of searching for straggling barges,
the ship joined a return convoy and arrived New York
21 November.
After trainnig, John M. Bermingham was assigned to
regular convoy runs between American ports and Oran,
Algeria, in support of the giant land offensive underway
in Europe. She made three voyages to Oran in the months
that followed, arriving New York 29 May 1945. Her mis-
sion in Europe completed with the fall of the Axis, the
ship arrived Miami, Fla., 20 July for duty as a school
ship at the Naval Training Center.
John M. Bermingham sailed to Charleston after V-J
Day, arrived 9 September, and decommissioned 12 Oc-
tober. She was scrapped in March 1946.
John M. Clayton, see Harcourt (IX-225)
John M. Connelly
Former name retained.
( AK : dp. 10,150 ; 1. 380' ; b. 50'9" ; dr. 24'5" ; s. 11 k. ; a.
1 6”, 1 6-pdr. )
John M. Connelly was launched 9 November 1917 by
Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Co., Gloucester, N.J. ; delivered
to the Navy 5 May 1918 ; and commissioned 9 May 1918,
Lt. Comdr. E. W. Sundstrom, USNRF, in command.
John M. Connelly departed Philadelphia 14 May in a
convoy steaming toward Gilbraltar, to replenish depleted
supplies in the Mediterranean. After returning to Phila-
delphia in mid-July, the tanker made three additional
cruises to English ports, transporting much-needed gaso-
line and oil. She returned to Philadelphia from her final
passage 27 December, and decommissioned there 18 Jan-
uary 1919. John M. Connelly was returned to the USSB
the same day.
John M. Howard
John Martin Howard was born 20 August 1917 in
Chester, Pa., and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 22 June
1935. After training duty 1940-41 at the Naval Reserve
Midshipman’s School, Howard was appointed Ensign 28
February 1941. After serving at Washington Navy Yard
and at the Bureau of Ordnance, Howard was assigned tem-
porary duty at the American Embassy, London. He was
killed 11 June 1942 as a result of an accidental mine
explosion.
( IX-75 : dp. 94 ; 1. 87' ; b. 20' ; s. 9 k. )
John M. Howard (IX-75) was built in Camden, N.J.,
in 1934 as Elsie Fenimore, and purchased from her owner,
E. R. Fenimore Johnson, 2 July 1942. She was placed in
service at Philadelphia 29 July. Taken to Washington,
D.C., and renamed John M. Hoivard 17 August 1942, she
commissioned there 1 September 1942.
During the war the ship was used for ordnance experi-
ments, operating out of Naval Ordnance Laboratory,
Washington, D.C., to Chesapeake Bay and various Atlantic
coast ports. She decommissioned 9 May 1945 at the Wash-
ington Navy Yard and was placed in service until 16 No-
vember 1945. She was returned to the Maritime Commis-
sion for disposal 24 January 1946.
John M. Palmer, see Draco ( AK— 79)
John M. Stewart, see YT-2^0
John Marshall
John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States and
principal founder of American constitutional law, was
born 24 September 1775 at Germantown (now Midland)
in Fauquier County, Va. A member of the Culpeper
minutemen early in the Revolution, he entered the 3d
Virgina Continental Regiment 30 July 1776 and served ably
in a number of important campaigns, rising to Captain.
He became a lawyer after the war, serving his state as a
leader in the Assembly and in the new Federalist Party.
He attracted attention from national leaders, and was
offered several diplomatic posts, but preferred to remain
in Virginia. In 1797, however, he accepted an appoint-
ment on a three man commission to negotiate with France.
After French leaders demanded personal bribes in return
for engaging in the negotiations, Marshall answered for
his colleagues in a brilliant memorial which rejected this
extortion and upheld the honor and dignity of the new
county.
Elected to Congress in 1799, Marshall became Secretary
of State 6 June 1800. Here he strongly opposed violations
of American rights on the high seas and adopted'a policy
which necessitated a strong navy to give force to our dip-
lomatic protests.
Appointed Chief Justice 20 January 1801, Marshall
continued to serve as Secreary of State until the end of
Adams’ administration 4 March 1801. In the Supreme
Court, Marshall made his greatest contributions to the
development of American government. In a series of
historic decisions, he established the judiciary as an in-
dependent and influential branch of the government equal
to Congress and the Presidency. Perhaps the most sig-
nificant of these cases was that of Marburg v. Madison,
in which the principle of judicial review was simply
stated by Marshall : “A legislative act contrary to the Con-
stitution is not law.” Then, as the young nation was en-
dangered by regional and local interests which often
threatened to tear it to shreds, Marshall again and again
interpreted the Constitution broadly so that the Federal
Government had the power to become a respected and
creative force guiding and encouraging the nation’s
growth. For practical purposes, the Constitution in its
most important aspects today is the Constitution as John
Marshall interpreted it. As Chief Justice he embodied the
majesty of the Judicial Branch of the government as fully
as the President stood for the power of the Executive
Branch. He died 6 July 1835, having served as Chief Jus-
tice for nearly 35 years.
(SSB(N)-611: dp. 6,900 ( surf. ), 7,900 (subm.) ; 1. 410'5" ;
b. 33' ; dr. 30'9" ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 112; a. 16 A-2 Pol.
mis. ; cl. Ethan Allen )
John Marshall (SSB(N)-611) was laid down 4 April
1960 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., New-
port News, Va. ; launched 15 July 1961 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Robert F. Kennedy, wife of the Attorney General of the
United States ; and commissioned 21 May 1962, Comdr.
Robert W. Stecher (blue crew) and Comdr. Robert D.
Donavan ( gold crew ) in command.
John Marshall sailed 31 May 1962 for shakedown cruise
off the East Coast. Following post-shakedown alterations
in her builder’s yard, she proceeded to her homeport,
Charlestown, S.C., arriving 15 December 1962. The ninth
operational Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine, she de-
parted Charleston 31 December 1962 for her first Polaris
536
patrol in the Atlantic which terminated upon her arrival
at her base at Holy Loch, Scotland, 8 March 1963. Based
there, she completed her ninth patrol 15 January 1963
and immediately began preparations to sail again to de-
fend her nation and the free world.
In the following years John Marshall made 17 success-
ful Polaris patrols before beginning her first major over-
haul at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., 13
December 1966 to prepare for resuming her vigils late
the following year.
John McHale
A former name retained.
(CIBt: t. 122; a. none)
John McHale, a wooden canal boat, was purchased at
Philadelphia 19 July 1864 and sent to Commodore T. L.
Dornin at Baltimore. There a group of vessels, includ-
ing John McHale, was collected for sinking on the bar
at Trent’s Reach in the James River to secure General
Grant’s army against attack by water.
John Mitchell
A former name retained.
(CIBt: t. 114, a. none)
John Mitchell, a wooden canal boat, was purchased at
Philadelphia 19 July 1864 to be sunk as an obstruction at
Trent’s Reach in the James River to secure General
Grant’s army against attack by water. She was appar-
ently sunk with seven similar boats 26 July.
John P. Gray
John Porter Gray was born in Kansas City, Mo., 22
December 1914, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 12 Oc-
tober 1939. He was appointed Aviation Cadet in 1940
and underwent flight training. After commissioning,
Gray served at several air stations, reporting to Torpedo
Squadron 2 in October 1940. Later transferred for tem-
porary duty to Torpedo Squadron 8 in Hornet, he took
part in the pivotal Battle of Midway 4-6 June 1942. Gray
and his companions gallantly attacked the Japanese ships
without fighter cover and in the face of withering anti-
aircraft fire. Though all were shot down, they succeeded
in diverting enemy air cover and preventing further
launches, thus contributing mightily to America’s victory
in the battle. Lt. (j.g.) Gray was killed 4 June during
the attack. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthum-
ously for his heroism, and shared in the Presidential Unit
Citation awarded to Torpedo Squadron Eight for the
Battle of Midway-
( APD-74 : dp. 1,390 ; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
204 ; a. 1 5”, 6 40mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Crosley)
John P. Gray (APD-74) was laid down as DE-673 by
Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., 18 December 1943 ; launched
18 March 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Roy C. Gray, mother of
USS John Marshall (SSB(N)-611) departing Newport News
537
Lt. (j.g.) Gray; towed down the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers to be completed at Consolidated Shipbuilding Co.,
Orange, Tex. ; and reclassified APD-74 on 27 June 1944-
She commissioned there 15 March 1945, Lt. Comdr. W. E.
Sims in command.
Following shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
during April and May, the ship arrived New London,
Conn., 1 June, to escort Italian submarine Ris Mameli to
Guantanamo Bay. From there Jo/m P. Gray proceeded via
the Canal Zone to San Diego, arriving 19 June. She
steamed to Pearl Harbor 2 days later, and spent July
training underwater demolition teams on the island of
Maui. In August she returned briefly to California to em-
bark a UDT unit for duty ; and, after a stopover in
Hawaii, she arrived Eniwetok 30 August.
The war over, John P. Gray arrived Jinsen, Korea, 8
September to take part in occupation operations. De-
parting 14 September, the ship steamed via Guam and
Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor, and was attached to “Magic
Carpet,” the giant operation undertaken to return to the
United States the thousands of Pacific veterans. She made
two voyages between Hawaii and San Diego, then de-
parted 30 November for Norfolk. John P. Gray arrived
Hampton Roads 13 December, and moved to Green Cove
Springs, Fla., 25 January 1946. She decommissioned 29
April 1946 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. The
ship berthed with the Texas group until struck from the
Navy List 1 March 1967.
John P. Jackson
A former name retained.
( SwStr : t. 750; 1. 192; b. 36'6" ; dph. 12'; cpl. 99; a.
4 32-pdrs., 1 9" D.sb., 1 6" S.r.)
John P. Jackson was built at Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1860
and purchased by the Navy at Newark, N.J., from Jersey
City Ferry Co. 6 November 1861. She commissioned at
New York Navy Yard 14 February 1862, Lt. Selim E.
Woodworth in command.
John P. Jackson was ordered to Key West 10 February
to serve as one of the steamers in Comdr. David D. Port-
er’s mother flotilla. On 30 March she arrived Ship Is-
land from Key West as Flag Officer Farragut assembled
vessels for his campaign against New Orleans. While Far-
ragut labored to mpve his deep-draft, sea-going ships
across the bar into the Mississippi, John P. Jackson was
part of the task force which secured Pass Christian, Miss.,
4 April. During the operation she joined New London and
Hatteras in driving off Confederate steamers Carondelet,
Pamlico, and Oregon as they attempted to prevent the
Union landing which wrested the area around Biloxi,
Miss., from the South. The same day John P. Jackson
captured steamer P. C. Wallis with a cargo of naval stores.
She next escorted General Butler’s occupation troop
ships to the Mississippi passes while towing Army trans-
port Great Republic. Leaving the Army vessels at the
mouth of the Mississippi to await the outcome of the im-
pending naval effort against New Orleans, John P. Jack-
son joined the mortar boats for the intense bombardment
of Forts Philip and Jackson. The canonade began 18 April
and lasted until Farragut’s ships had safely passed the
Confederate batteries 6 days later dooming the South-
ern riverside strongholds and the metropolis which they
had fought to protect.
John P. Jackson again supported Farragut when he
ran the gauntlet at Vicksburg almost 2 months later to
meet Flag Officer Davis, who had battled south along
the Mississippi valley. Braving the fire of skillfully used
Vicksburg cannons, Porter’s flotilla peppered the South-
ern emplacements with shell, grape, and shrapnel through-
out the daring dash. During the fray John P. Jackson
was hit twice by 7-inch rifle projectiles, leaving her with-
out power and causing other serious damage. Moments
later Clifton, coming to her aid with a towline, was
struck in her starboard boiler ; seven men were killed
by scalding steam. John P. Jackson quickly lowered her
boats to save a number of other men who had been
forced overboard by the steam.
After repairs at New Orleans, John P. Jackson was or-
dered to Mississippi Sound 30 September for reconnais-
sance work ; and she served there throughout the re-
mainder of the war. Fire broke out in her engineering
spaces 8 October, but efficient and courageous damage con-
trol action extinguished the blaze and saved the ship. She
captured sloop Young Gustave in Mississippi Sound 21
October, and diligently performed blockade duty in the
months that followed. On 12 September 1863 she co-
operated with Genesses and Calhoun in chasing steamer
Fanny ashore where she was burned to prevent her falling
into Union hands. The next day the same team engaged
Confederate steamer Jeff Davis, forcing her to withdraw
to the shelter of batteries at Grant’s Pass. The Union
vessels then silenced the Grant’s Pass guns. John P. Jack-
son overhauled and took schooner Syrena bound from
Biloxi to Pascagoula 21 October.
Admiral Farragut’s next major objective was Mobile
Bay. John P. Jackson was on hand at the outset of the
campaign 16 February 1864 when she towed three schoon-
ers into position for the bombardment of Fort Powell and
then joined in the cannonade. For the next 6 months she
operated from New Orleans supporting the operations
which culminated 5 August in Admiral Farragut’s stir-
ring victory.
John P. Jackson captured schooner Medora in Mis-
sissippi Sound 8 December 1864, and continued to serve
in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron until after the
end of the war. She departed Pensacola Navy Yard 26
July 1865 and 2 days later arrived New Orleans, where
she decommissioned 5 September. She was sold at public
auction in New Orleans to Marcy, Maury & Co. 27 Sep-
tember 1865. She was redocumented J. P. Jackson 3 Octo-
ber 1865 and was later abandoned in 1871.
John P. Kennedy
John Pendleton Kennedy, bora in Baltimore 25 Octo-
ber 1795, graduated from Baltimore College in 1812 and
fought in the Battles of Bladensburg and North Point in
the War of 1812. Although admitted to the bar in 1816.
he was much more interested in literature and politics
than law. He published “Swallow Bam” in 1832 and
“Horseshoe Robinson” in 1835 to win a permanent place
of respect in the history of American fiction. He was
an active Whig winning a seat in the Maryland House of
Delegates in 1820. In 1838 he succeeded Isaac McKim in
the House of Representatives but was defeated in his bid
for reelection in November of that year. He was re-
elected to Congress in 1840 and 1842 ; but, because of his
strong opposition to the annexation of Texas, he was de-
feated in 1844. His influence in Congress was largely
responsible for the appropriation of $30,000 to test Samuel
Morse’s telegraph.
President Fillmore appointed Kennedy Secretary of the
Navy in July 1852. While he held the office, four im-
portant naval expeditions were organized including that
which sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to Japan.
Kennedy retired from public life in March 1853 when
President Fillmore left office, but he retained an active
interest in politics and forcefully supported the Union.
At the end of the Civil War he advocated amnesty for
the South. He died at Newport, R.I., 18 August 1870.
( Sail : t. 350 ; cpl. 45 ; a. 1 24-pdr. how., 2 12-pdr. how. )
John P. Kennedy, the former wooden sailing ship Sea
Nymph, was purchased at New York in 1853 to participate
in an expendition to the North Pacific Ocean to explore for
commercial and naval purposes waters in the area of the
Bering Straits and the China Seas, which were “fre-
quented by American whaleships and trading vessels in
their routes between the United States and China.” The
expedition, under Comdr. Cadwalader Ringgold, besides
supply ship John P. Kennedy, consisted of sloop-of-war
538
Vincennes (flagship), brig Porpoise, schooner Fcnimorc
Cooper, and bark John Hancock.
John P. Kennedy departed New York 21 June 1853 and
arrived Cape of Good Hope 10 September. She departed
Cape of Good Hope 9 November with the expedition and
arrived Batavia, Java, the day after Christmas. She took
active part in surveying operations in Indonesian waters
until putting in at Singapore 4 April 1854 en route to Hong
Kong where she arrived 25 May for repairs. In August
the high cost of placing her in good condition prompted
Lt. John Rodgers, who had succeeded Commander Ring-
gold in command, to turn John P. Kennedy over to the
East Indies Squadron to become a guard ship at the
American Factory, Canton, China. The ship stood out
of Hong Kong 20 August and arrived at her new station 2
days later.
After a violent storm 23 July 1855, John P. Kennedy
assisted American ship Isabella Catana in getting afloat ;
and she aided survivors of a Chinese man-of-war after the
ship caught fire and blew up 6 September. She departed
Canton 20 October in tow of Powhatan, arriving Hong
Kong the next day. She decommissioned there 31 October
and was sold in November 1855.
John Paul Jones
John Paul was born at Arbigland, Kirkbean, Kirkcud-
bright, Scotland, 6 July 1747. Apprenticed to a merchant
at age 13, the lad went to sea in brig Friendship to learn
the art of seamanship. At 21 he received his first com-
mand, brig John. After several successful years as a
merchant skipper in the West Indies trade, John Paul
emigrated to the Continental British colonies and there
added Jones to his name. In the summer of 1775, the
Continental Congress commissioned him Lieutenant in the
first American Navy. As First Lieutenant of Alfred,
John Paul Jones was the first man to hoist the Grand
Union flag on a continental warship, 3 December 1775.
During the early part of 1776, he participated in the at-
tack on New Providence, Nassau. Later that year, as
Captain of Providence and Alfred, he made daring cruises
between Bermuda and Nova Scotia, inflicting much dam-
age on British shipping.
On 1 November 1777, he sailed for France in Ranger,
carrying dispatches for the American commissioner and
word of Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga. Admiral La
Motte Piquet returned Jones’ salute at Quiberon Bay,
France, 14 February 1778 — the first time the new “stars
and stripes” were recognized by a foreign power. Ranger
subsequently raided the British coast and, in a notable
engagement off Belfast, Ireland captured British sloop-of-
war Drake.
Early in 1779, the French King gave Jones the ancient
East Indiaman Due de “Duras , which he refitted and re-
named Bon Homme Richard, as a compliment to Benjamin
Franklin. Commanding four other ships and two French
privateers he sailed 14 August 1779 to raid English
shipping.
On 23 September 1779, his ship accompanied by Pallas
engaged British Scrapis and Countess of Scarborough off
Famborough Head, Yorkshire. During this bloody and
desperate battle, Captain Pearson of the Scrapis, seeing
the shambles on the deck of the Bon Homme Richard,
asked if the American ship had surrendered. Jones’s im-
mortal reply “I have not yet begun to fight,” served as a
rallying cry to the crew of the badly-shattered Richard;
and they went on to capture Scrapis. Jones was forced to
transfer to Serapis when his gallant Bon Homme Richard
sank the next day. For this extraordinary victory, not
only did Congress pass a resolution thanking him, but
Louis XVI presented him with a sword.
After the war, Commodore Jones was active in Paris
negotiating prize money claims. In 1788, he entered the
service of Empress Catherine of Russia with the rank of
Rear Admiral, but still retained his American citizenship.
Although he successfully commanded the Black Sea
Squadron, court intrigues forced Jones to leave Russia.
He returned to Paris in 1790 where he died 18 July 1792.
The site of his burial was long forgotten ; but American
Ambassador Horace Porter began a systematic search for
it in 1899. His body was eventually discovered, and in
1905 a special squadron of U.S. Navy ships brought it to
America to be interred at the Chapel of the Navy Academy.
Brilliant seaman, leader, and man of great courage, John
Paul Jones was one of the true founders of the Navy’s
great traditions.
( DD-932 : dp. 3907 fl. ; 1. 418' 5” ; b. 45'2" ; dr. 14' ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 324 ; a. 3 5", 4 3'', 4 21" tt., 1 dct. ; cl. Forrest
Sherman)
John Paul Jones (DD-932) was laid down 18 January
1954 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; launched
7 May 1955 ; sponsored by Mrs. Robert B. Carney, wife of
Admiral Carney ; and commissioned at Boston 5 April
1956, Comdr. R. W. Hayler, Jr., in command.
John Paul Jones, second of the initial class destroyers of
post-war design, conducted exhaustive shakedown training
out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after which she departed
for a cruise to Northern Europe and the British Isles.
During this voyage Commander Hayler and members of
the crew visited the birthplace of John Paul and presented
the ship’s emblem to the people of Kirkcudbright. She re-
turned to her home port, Newport, 8 October 1956.
The new destroyer departed for her first cruise with
Sixth Fleet 25 March 1957. In May she took part in a
graphic illustration of the power of that naval force,
swiftly projected where needed, as leftist attempts to over-
throw King Hussein of Jordan were foiled by American
warships offshore. After helping to avert this crisis, John
Paul Jones sailed for Newport once more, arriving 6 June
1957. NATO maneuvers in the North Atlantic followed in
October. After another brief cruise to the Mediterranean,
she arrived Fall River 27 November, and in January 1958
she took part in fleet exercises in the Caribbean.
In the spring of 1958 John Paul Jones operated with
Canadian ships on training maneuvers in the Atlantic.
After further training off the East Coast and in the Carib-
bean. she sailed again for the Mediterranean 17 March
1959. This tour with the vital 6th Fleet on its peace-keep-
ing mission ended 24 July when the ship arrived Boston.
The year 1960 began with 2d Fleet operations out of
Newport, and in June the destroyer embarked midshipmen
for a training cruise. She then departed 22 August for a
cruise to South America. As part of Operation “Unitas,”
she circumnavigated the continent, visiting many of
America’s southern allies and taking part in joint exer-
cises with their navies. After transiting the Straits of
Magellan and the Panama Canal, John Paul Jones returned
to Newport 13 December 1960. During 1961 and 1962 the
ship carried out antisubmarine exercises in the Caribbean
and out of Newport. In April 1962 she took part in a fleet
review and weapons demonstration for President Ken-
nedy, and in July she again embarked midshipmen for
training. In October 1962 the ship was on station with the
Atlantic Recovery Forces during the orbital flight of Com-
mander Schirra, and soon afterward moved off the coast
of Cuba during the Cuban Crisis. As American naval
power in the form of a quarantine forced the removal of
offensive missiles from the island, the decisive role of the
country’s modern navy was again emphasized.
The following year saw the veteran ship embark on
another Mediterranean cruise 6 February to 1 July; the
remainder of 1963 was spent on antisubmarine exercises
in the Atlantic.
Operations along the Atlantic Coast continued until
John Paul Jones began another 6th Fleet deployment 20
June 1964. She operated primarily in the western Medi-
terranean, on ASW assignments until returning home
3 September 1964. Early in 1965 she participated in
Operation “Spring board” in the Caribbean. In March the
destroyer received a Gemini-recovery crane and on the
19th sailed for her recovery station some 200 miles south
of Bermuda. She was to pick up astronauts Major Vir-
gil Grissom and Lt. Cmdr. John Young and their space
craft in the event that they ended their flight after two
539
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John Paul Jones writes to John Ross, a Scotsman sympathetic to the American cause.
TV DELEGATES of the U NIT ED &
Rbcdt ljlani , CoH*t8uut, Nev-Ttri, Afflr,
fJtrtb-Canh^B, South-Cmrokn* , ami Georgia, TO
Jell* <jhua, ^r-*,
WE, repofing cfpecial Tnift and Confidence « your PfctHotHm, Valour, ConduflLaod
DO, by thefe Prefenu, conflitute and appoint you to be &
<**anxmnt udkdfle. « tbe faft the Ui
Slates of North- America, fitted out for the Defence of American Liberty, and lor rtpeJltog every hoftile
Invafion thereof. You are therefore carefully and diligently to difcharge the Duty of -fr-jf/ittn '
by doing and performing all manner of Thing* thereunto belonging. And we do toiftly chi
and require all Officer*, Marines and Seamen under ydbr Command, to be obedient to your Order*
( pyttou'n ’ And you are to obfenre and follow fuch Orders and DucAioni from Time to
Time as you (hall receive from this or a future Congrefo of the United States, or Committee of Congreb
for that Purpofe appointed, or Commander in Chief for the 'Hme being of the Navy of the Uaitad
States, or any other yonr fuperior Officer, according to the Rules and Difciphne of War, the lAge oP
the Sea, and the Inftruttiom herewith given you, in Purfuance of the Trull repofed in yon Thia
' om million to continue in Force until revoked by this or a future Congrefs.
Dated at to1 Iff
By Order #/ the Con etnas.
A TT EJS T y
John Paul Jones’ appointment to Captain
rather than the three scheduled orbits. However, all went
well so she returned to Norfolk 27 March without
headlines.
John Paul Jones headed back to the Mediterranean 18
June for NATO exercises with units of the French. Greek
and British navies. She returned to Norfolk 6 November,
sailed to Philadelphia 2 December, and entered the Naval
Shipyard and decommissioned 20 December for conver-
sion to a guided missile destroyer. Reclassified DDG-32,
she recommissioned in the fall of 1967.
John Penn
John Penn was born in Virginia 6 May 1740. He was
admitted to the bar in 1761 ; and, after practicing in Vir-
ginia, moved in 1774 to Granville County, N.C. There
Penn became active in public affairs, served for a brief
time in the Provincial Congress, and was elected to the
Continental Congress in 1775. Serving in Congress until
1780, he voted for and signed the Declaration of Independ-
ence. Penn became a member of the North Carolina
Board of War in 1780 and returned to the practice of
law in 1781. He died 14 September 1788.
( AP-51 : dp. 9,360; 1. 475'4" ; b. 62' ; dr. 26' ; s. 16 k. ; a.
15", 4 3'', 8 20mm.)
John Penn (AP-51), formerly Excamhion, was launched
in 1931 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.,
for American Export Lines ; acquired by the Navy 8 Jan-
uary 1942 ; and commissioned 6 April 1942, Captain Harry
W. Need in command.
After fitting out and training, John Penn began prep-
arations for what was to be one of the largest overseas
expeditions ever undertaken ; the North African Invasion.
From 4 to 16 October 1942, John Penn loaded Army equip-
ment, cargo, and troops, then topped off with fuel. She
sortied from Hampton Roads 23 October with Admiral
Hewitt’s Western Naval Task Force. As a unit of Rear
Admiral Monroe Kelly’s Northern Attack Group, she ar-
rived 8 November in the transport area off Mehdia, West-
ern Morocco, where she began landing troops and putting
cargo ashore. Although hampered by heavy surf and
fire from enemy shore batteries, she unloaded with effi-
ciency and dispatch. At 1053 an enemy aircraft attacked
John Penn, but her after batteries quickly splashed the
intruder. On 15 November she departed for Casablanca,
arrived that same day, and unloaded the remainder of her
cargo. She sailed for Norfolk 17 November, arriving the
30th.
John Penn departed Norfolk 17 December for deploy-
ment to the Pacific, arriving New Caledonia via the Canal
Zone 18 January 1943. She departed New Caledonia 24
January; and touching at Espiritu Santo 3 days later,
got underway to pick up survivors from Chicago, sunk off
Guadalcanal 29 January. In all, she received 1,003 men
and 63 officers, including Captain R. C. Davis, the lost
cruiser’s commanding officer. After debarking her grate-
ful passengers at Noumea, New Caledonia, she spent the
next 6 months delivering supplies, equipment, and troops
541
USS John Paul Jones (DD-932) — “Give Me a Fast Ship for I Intend To Go In Harms Way.”
JOHN G. M. STONE
2U KINO OEOROE STREET
ANNAPOLIS. MARYLAND
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542
to Guadalcanal from the New Hebrides, the Fiji Islands,
and New Zealand. Reclassified APA-23 on 1 February
1943, she continued to bring supplies and troops into this
bitterly contested island.
On 13 August John Penn had just finished unloading a
cargo of 155-mm. ammunition off Lunga Point, Guadal-
canal. At 2120 she came under attack by enemy torpedo
planes. Three minutes later, when the transport took
one of the planes under fire, it burst into flames and
crashed into her mainmast. About that same instant a
torpedo hit from another plane hit the ship. Although
vigorous efforts were made to save her, John Penn went
down stern first at 2150.
In her naval service, the transport had played a key
role in the assault and occupation of French Morocco and
contributed greatly to the struggle for Guadalcanal. In
war there are always losses, but John Penn’s crew, re-
assigned to other ships, took part in later decisive naval
victories.
John Penn received one battle star for World War II
service.
John Pope, General, see General John Pope (AP-10)
John Q. Roberts
John Quincy Roberts was born in Boaz, Ala., 2 Septem-
ber 1914 and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 14 October
1940. After undergoing flight training, he was commis-
sioned Ensign 27 September 1941 and reported to Scouting
Squadron 6. Roberts was serving with the squadron on
famed Enterprise (CV-6) during the pivotal Battle of
Midway, 4 through 6 June 1942, in which the Japanese
lost all four of their carriers in a crushing defeat. Rob-
erts pressed home the attack on the carriers despite for-
midable opposition, contributing importantly to the suc-
cess of the squadron and the entire task force. He was
declared missing in action 5 June 1942, and presumed
dead. For his heroism in this critical battle, Ens. Roberts
was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
( APD-94 : dp. 1,390; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5'', 6 40mm. ; cl. Crosley )
John Q. Roberts (APD-94) was laid down 15 November
1943 as DE-235 by Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston,
S.C. ; launched 11 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Deany Roberts Garner, mother of Ens. Roberts ; reclassi-
fied APD-94 on 17 June 1944 ; and commissioned 8 March
1945, Lt. Comdr. R. N. Bavier, Jr., in command.
Following shakedown training in the Caribbean, John
Q. Roberts underwent amphibious training in Hampton
Roads during April. She then got underway from Nor-
folk to join the Pacific Fleet, sailing 7 May. The ship
arrived Pearl Harbor 31 May and trained with under-
water demolition team units until proceeding to Leyte
Gulf 13 June.
In the weeks that followed, the ship escorted convoys
and took part in fleet maneuvers in the Philippines prepar-
atory to the anticipated invasion of the Japanese home-
islands.
The war over, John Q. Roberts departed Leyte 20 Au-
gust to escort a convoy to Okinawa. From there she was
engaged in escort duties between that island and Ja-
pan. The ship was at Yokosuka during the historic sur-
render ceremonies in Tokyo Bay 2 September, and re-
mained in Japan transporting troops and administrative
personnel carrying out occupation duties. After em-
barking returnees, she departed Nagoya 17 December
1945 and steamed via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor for San
Pedro, where she arrived 6 January 1946.
John Q. Roberts sailed 25 January for Norfolk, and
from there to Green Cove Springs, Florida, where she
arrived 17 March 1946. She decommissioned 30 May
1946 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet ; she sold for
scrap 29 December 1960 to B. F. Diamond Construction
Co., Inc., Savannah, Ga.
John R. Craig
John Rich Craig, born 13 September 1906 in Jackson-
ville, Fla., graduated from the Naval Academy in 1930 and
received flight training the following year. During 1935
and 1936 he underwent submarine training. Prior to the
outbreak of World War II, he commanded R-11 (SS-94).
He took command of Grampus (SS-207) 16 September
1942, and during the next 6 months he led the submarine
on daring attacks against Japanese shipping. She sank
two enemy transports and a cargo ship and damaged
three enemy destroyers. While on her sixth war patrol,
Grampus was lost in the Southwest Pacific with all hands
22 March 1943. Lt. Comdr. Craig was awarded the Navy
Cross posthumously for his extraordinary heroism.
( (DD-885) : dp. 2,425; 1. 376'6'' ; h. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s.
34.5 k. ; cpl. 367 ; a. 6 5'', 16 40mm., 20 20mm., 5 21" tt. ;
6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
John R. Craig (DD-885) was laid down by Consolidated
Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 17 November 1944 ; launched 14
April 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lilian Hyde Craig, widow
of Lt. Comdr. Craig ; and commissioned 20 August 1945,
Comdr. L. G. Cornwell in command.
After shakedown in Caribbean John R. Craig, departed
Charleston 19 January 1946 for San Diego arriving 1 Feb-
ruary. She departed 7 February to join the 7th Fleet
and assist in repatriating Japanese soldiers from North
China. The destroyer returned San Diego 31 January
1947. In the years prior to the Korean conflict John P.
Craig alternated Far Eastern deployments with periods
of intensive training off the California coast.
As the conflict in Korea intensified, John R. Craig ar-
rived in the combat zone 19 February 1951. She imme-
diately commenced operations with Task Force 77,
screening carrier strikes on enemy shore positions.
During the Chinese Communist spring offensive the
destroyer performed shore bombardment in the Wonsan
area, knocking out enemy installations and disrupting
transportation.
But for two brief periods in San Diego, she continued
operations off Korea during the remainder of the conflict.
Following the cessation of hostilities, John R. Craig con-
tinued patrol operations south of the 38th parallel to
insure peace in Asia. From 1954 to 1962 the destroyer
engaged in exercises off the West Coast with annual de-
ployments to the Far East.
During her 1955 cruise she took an active part in the
evacuation of Chinese nationalists from the Tachen
Islands. Subsequent cruises consisted of exercises with
the Japanese Self Defense Force in 1957, ASW exercises,
Formosa Patrol and maneuvers with the Chinese Na-
tionalist Navy during the 1961 cruise. She arrived San
Diego 6 March 1962 for a FRAM overhaul and received
helicopter facilities. John R. Craig completed the over-
haul 15 March 1963 and once again joined the Pacific
Fleet. Following training exercises, the destroyer sailed
17 October for duty with the 7th Fleet. She immediately
commenced patrol duty in the Formosa Straits to deter
Communist aggression. She patrolled the Formosa
Straits and visited Hong Kong ; Subic Bay ; Sasebo ; Tai-
wan ; and Okinawa before returning to San Francisco 19
May 1964.
John R. Craig operated along the West Coast until head-
ing back to the Far East 6 March 1965. She left Sasebo
8 April to screen Midtvay during strikes against enemy
targets in South Vietnam. But for a brief run to Subic
Bay, she remained on this duty until 2 July. After a
visit to Hong Kong she was designated flagship for a new
naval gunfire support group. During the next 20 days
he guns were rarely silent as she pounded enemy targets
ashore. On 11 August she headed home and arrived
San Diego exactly a month later. Her sendee during the
year won her the Battle Efficiency “E” for DesRon 1.
After operations off Southern California, she entered
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard 1 December for overhaul.
Ready for action at the end of March 1966, she trained
out of San Diego until sailing for the Far East 28 July.
543
On 13 September she entered the Gulf of Tonkin for plane
guard duty. Ten days later she provided naval gunfire
support for Operation “Golden Fleece” in Quang Nga ;
Province. Next came Operations “Sea Dragon” and “Traf-
fic Cop”, interdiction of supply from the North to the
Demilitarized Zone. During this duty she engaged enemy
shore batteries and shelled North Vietnamese radar sites.
The destroyer departed the Gulf of Tonkin 4 December
and returned home early in 1967 to prepare for future
action.
John R. Craig received four battle stars for Korean
war service.
John R. Pierce
John Reeves Pierce, born in Cristobal, Canal Zone, 3
November 1906, graduated from the Naval Academy in
1928. Following flight training and submarine instruc-
tion, he served in Submarine S-29 and studied marine engi-
neering at the University of California. After serving in
Nautilus (SS-168) and Narwhal (SS-167), he assumed
command of 8-23 (SS-128) 15 February 1941. Appointed
Lieutenant Commander 2 January 1942, Pierce on 22 June
took command of Argonaut (SM-1), a transport subma-
rine, which participated with Nautilus in carrying out the
famed, diversionary Makin Island Raid from 17 to 19
August. On her third war patrol in the Southwest Pa-
cific, Argonaut sighted an enemy convoy protected by
planes and destroyers. Built as our first large minelaying
submarine, she lacked proper submerged maneuverability
during combat operations. When detected, she came un-
der a vicious enemy attack. The gallant Argonaut sur-
faced and pressed home an aggressive counter attack,
severely damaging a Japanese destroyer before succumb-
ing to heavy enemy fire 10 January 1943. For his demon-
stration of courageous leadership and unyielding devotion
to duty Lt. Comdr. Pierce was posthumously awarded
the Navy Cross.
(DD-753 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'5" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 15'8" ; s.
34 k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21" tt.,
6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Sumner)
John R. Pierce (DD-753) was laid down by the Bethle-
hem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y., 24 March 1944 ;
launched 1 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Mary
Taylor Pierce, widow of Lt. Comdr. Pierce; and commis-
sioned 30 December 1944 at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Comdr.
C. R. Simmers in command.
Following shakedown off Bermuda, John R. Pierce op-
erated out of Norfolk during the spring of 1945, training
destroyer crews and conducting ASW patrols along the
eastern seaboard. She sailed 17 June for duty in the
Pacific, arrived Pearl Harbor 6 July. Departing 12 Au-
gust as escort for a carrier-cruiser striking force sent to
attack Wake Island, she was ordered to cease offensive
operations on the 15th. She then proceeded via Eniwetok
to Japan and arrived Wakayama, Honshu, 15 September
as escort for a convoy of occupation troops.
For the next 3 months she operated in the Japanese
Inland Sea, covering occupation landings and assisting
in the liberation of Allied POWs. She sailed 21 Decem-
ber from Kure, Honshu, to Shanghai, China, to support
the Chinese Nationalists in their struggle with the Com-
munists for control of the mainland. She also conducted
the “North China Omnibus Courier Run” between China
and Korea until 6 March 1946, when she departed Tsing-
tao, China, for the United States.
Arriving San Francisco 27 March, she deactivated 16
September. John R. Pierce then sailed for San Diego 17
January 1947, decommissioned 24 January and entered
the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, 1 May.
John R. Pierce recommissioned 11 April 1949, Comdr.
O. W. Goepner in command. Assigned to the Atlantic
Fleet, she departed 11 July for Norfolk. Arriving 5
August, she commenced 12 months of Atlantic operations
that extended from Greenland to the Canal Zone. Under
the command of Cmdr. J. R. Wadleigh she cleared Nor-
folk 8 August 1950 for duty with the 6th Fleet. Before
returning to the United States 23 January 1951, she op-
erated in the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Crete and
along the western coast of Europe from England to
Norway.
For more than 15 months John R. Pierce operated out
of Norfolk along the Atlantic coast ; then she departed
15 May 1952 for duty in the Far East. Sailing via the
Panama Canal, San Diego and Pearl Harbor, she ar-
rived Yokosuka, Japan, 18 June. With Comdr. O. C. Foote,
Jr., in command she sailed on the 20th for blockade and
bombardment operations against Communist forces along
the east coast of Korea. From Chongjin to Songjin she
conducted interdiction firing and “anti-mine, anti-junk
and anti-fishing” patrols. While engaging enemy shore
batteries at Songjin 6 August, she sustained three hits
from enemy fire but continued interdiction patrols until
11 October. She then departed for the United States via
the Indian Ocean, Suez and Gibraltar, arriving Norfolk
12 December.
From 5 January 1954 to 1 April 1962 John R. Pierce de-
ployed to the Mediterranean on six cruises of varying
duration. When not conducting operations with the 6th
Fleet, she operated out of her home port on training ex-
ercises and readiness operations in the Atlantic and the
Caribbean. When in the Mediterranean, fleet operations
carried her the length and breadth of the sea, and deploy-
ments in 1954 and 1956 sent her, in addition, to the coast
of Western Europe.
Engaged primarily in conducting ASW barrier patrols
and screening carrier flight operations, John R. Pierce
responded quickly to international crises that threatened
world peace. When the Communist-controlled Syrian
Army threatened King Hussein’s pro-Western government
of Jordan during August and September 1957, destroyers,
including John R. Pierce, patrolled the ancient sea lanes
of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea to guard
against possible intervention by Nasser’s Egypt. She re-
turned to the same area in December 1958 to bolster the
security of Lebanon, recently threatened by the Soviet-
backed United Arab Republic. And following the as-
sassination of General Trujillo 27 May 1961, this versatile
destroyer patrolled off the Dominican Republic, thus
helping to stabilize .a potentially explosive situation.
Returning to Norfolk 1 April 1962 from her seventh
Mediterranean cruise, she sailed 15 May to participate in
Project Mercury Recovery Operations following Comdr.
M. Scott Carpenter’s scheduled three orbital flight in
“Aurora 7.” On the 24th she steamed 206 miles at flank
speed from her designated position in the Atlantic Re-
covery Area east of Puerto Rico and recovered the floating
space capsule. After delivering it safely at Roosevelt
Roads, Puerto Rico, the next day, she returned to Norfolk
28 May before resuming duty in the Caribbean.
Navy pilots discovered Russian offensive missile bases
in Cuba 14 October. Deeming this Soviet capability a
threat to our national security, President Kennedy or-
dered on the 22d an immediate sea and air blockade to
prevent all offensive weapons from entering the island.
In response to the President’s call for a “quarantine of
Cuba,” the Navy deployed 90 ships into waters off Cuba
to prevent further military buildup and to enforce Ameri-
can demands that the Russians withdraw their missile
threat.
Under the command of Comdr. J. W. Foust, John R.
Pierce departed Norfolk 22 October ; joined the quaran-
tine force on the 24th ; and, during the next 5 days, in-
vestigated 13 ships. On 28 October the Soviets agreed to
the American demands, thus alleviating a tense and cru-
cial crisis. John R. Pierce departed from her assigned
position the following day, but she continued a Caribbean
sea-vigil from Jamaica to the Canal Zone until returning
to Norfolk 14 December.
She departed home port 29 March 1963 for the Medi-
terranean and the Middle East. After 2 weeks of ma-
neuvers with the 6th Fleet, she transited the Suez Canal
30 April and commenced an 11-week cruise through the
Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Re-
turning to the Mediterranean 16 July, she resumed fleet
544
operations. On 14 August she rescued three survivors of
a plane that splashed off her starboard bow while at-
tempting an emergency landing on Enterprise (CVAN-65).
Departing Palma, Mallorca, 24 August, she arrived Nor-
folk 4 September.
John R. Pierce spent the next year operating out of
Norfolk ; and during off-shore surveillance patrols in Jan-
uary 1964 she escorted five Cuban boats, which were il-
legally fishing in U.S. territorial waters, to Key West
for internment. Once again she departed Norfolk for the
Mediterranean 8 October. Reaching Naples late in the
month, she joined the 6th Fleet and through the remain-
der of the year operated along the western coast of Italy.
John R. Pierce returned to Norfolk 27 February 1965.
She reported to Commandant of the 3d Naval District
in Brooklyn, N.Y., for duty as a reserve training ship and
began a schedule of 2-week training cruises for naval re-
servists. She continued this duty into 1967.
John R. Pierce received one battle star for service dur-
ing the Korean War.
John R. Perry
John R. Perry was born 24 May 1899 in AVaeo, Tex. He
enlisted in the Navy for service in World War I, then
entered the Naval Academy and was commissioned Ensign
8 June 1923. After serving in Marcus (DD-321), he
earned a master’s degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. He then served in the Bureau of
Yards and Docks ; in Cuba, the Great Lakes region,
Florida, and the Philippines. He returned to the Bureau
of Yards and Docks in 1938 and in 1941 became Director
of Administration and Personnel. In this post he per-
formed with such proficiency that he was awarded the
Legion of Merit for remarkable initiative and excellent
judgment in recruiting, organizing, training, equipping
and distributing to outlying bases, the Navy’s construction
battalions. In the course of 1 year he made available for
service in the field some 70,000 men who formed a vital
component part of our military organization in AVorld
AVar II.
In 1944 Perry became Officer in Charge of the 2d Naval
Construction Brigade with additional duty on the staff
of Commander Service Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. The
following year, he additionally became Commander, Con-
struction Troops of the 7th Fleet. He was awarded a
second Legion of Merit for the development of the Leyte-
Samar area into a large naval base and assisting in the
planning and construction of an air station, air strips, a
fleet hospital, the Navy Receiving Station at Tubabao, a
Navy Supply Depot, an ammunition depot and a ship
repair base at Manicani. Through his engineering in-
genuity, he greatly improved transportation facilities,
sanitary installations and water supply lines, lines of
communication, housing accommodations, storehouses and
dumps, docking facilities and dredging operations.
At the close of AVorld War II, Perry became Public
AVorks Officer at the Naval Academy until 1948. He
then was designated Assistant Chief for Operations in the
Bureau of Yards and Docks. In July 1951 he assumed
command of the Naval Construction Battalion Center,
Port Hueneme, Calif. From June to October 1953, he
served as Director of the Pacific and Alaskan Division,
Bureau of Yards and Docks, with headquarters at San
Francisco. He then became Chief of Civil Engineers of
the Navy and Chief of- the Bureau of Yards and Docks,
Navy Department, serving until he died of a heart attack
25 September 1955. Rear Admiral John R. Perry is
buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Md.
( DE-1034 : dp. 1,750; 1. 310'; b. 37'; dr. 18'; s. class.;
cpl. 167 ; a. 2 3" ; 6 21" tt. ; 1 dct. ; cl. Claud Jones)
John R. Perry (DE-1034) was laid down 4 January
1956 by Avondale Marine AVays, Avondale, La. ; launched
29 July 1958; sponsored by Mrs. John R. Perry, widow of
Rear Admiral Perry ; and commissioned 5 May 1959, Lt.
Comdr. W. L. Atkinson in command.
John R. Perry made a shakedown cruise to Northern
Europe and Scandinavian countries, thence sailed to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She then became a school ship
for the Fleet Sonar School, basing at Key AVest, Fla., for
antisubmarine warfare operations that took her to princi-
pal Caribbean and Gulf ports, sailing as far east as the
Azores, and up the eastern seaboard to Norfolk. She was
one of the Atlantic Fleet’s warships responding to the
President’s call for a quarantine of Cuba (24 October-
20 November 1962), which was being developed as a Soviet
offensive base. She patrolled off the island to help choke
off the flow of military supplies to Cuba and enforce
American demands for the withdrawal of Soviet missiles.
After American demands were substantially complied
with, the persuasive tentacles of force were withdrawn.
John R. Perry resumed sonar schoolship duties out of
Key West which continued through 1965. This principal
service was interrupted by overhauls in the Charleston
Navy Yard, special antisubmarine warfare tactics in the
Caribbean and along the eastern seaboard with Task
Force Alpha, and joint operations with units of the Vene-
zuelan Navy (2-8 February 1964). During these years
John R. Perry has helped train the men of the Navy in
the latest ASW techniques and has steadily perfected her
own ability to defend the Nation against the threat
of a growing Soviet submarine force.
John R. Perry was transferred to the Pacific Fleet
1 May 1966. She departed Key AVest on the 16th, transited
the Panama Canal 3 days later, and arrived Pearl Harbor
4 June to operate in the Hawaiian area through mid-1967.
John Rodgers
John Rodgers, bora near present Havre de Grace, Md.,
11 July 1772, entered the Navy as Second Lieutenant 8
March 1798 and was assigned to Constellation. He helped
capture French frigate L'Insurgente 9 February 1799 and
took command of her as prize master. He was promoted
to Captain 5 March 1799 and 3 months later took com-
mand of Maryland. In March 1801 he transported the
ratified French-American Peace Treaty to France.
Placed in command of John Adams the following year,
he sailed for the Mediterranean to attack Barbary forts
and gunboats at Tripoli. His brilliant record fighting the
corsairs won him appointment as Compiodore of the
Mediterranean Squadron in May 1805.
A year later he returned to the United States to take
command of the New York Flotilla. After the Embargo
Act was passed at the close of 1807, Rodgers commanded
operations along the Atlantic coast enforcing its provi-
sions.
In the spring of 1811, upon word that a British ship was
impressing American seaman off Sandy Hook, N.J., Com-
modore Rodgers, in President, was ordered to investigate.
On 16 May he defeated British corvette Little Belt in a
spirited engagement which foreshadowed his brilliant
success in the forecoming war with England.
On the sixth day of the War of 1812, still in President,
Rodgers drove off British frigate Beividcra and chased
her for 8 hours before she escaped. During the remainder
of the war he captured 23 prizes and on land rendered
valuable service defending Baltimore during the attack on
Fort Henry.
Following the war, Rodgers headed the Board of Navy
Commissioners until retiring in May 1837. Commodore
Rodgers died in Philadelphia 1 August 1838.
John Rodgers, son of Commodore John Rodgers, was
born near Havre de Grace, Md., 8 August 1812. He
entered the Navy as a midshipman 18 April 1828. Service
in the Mediterranean on board Constellation and Concord
opened his long career of distinguished service. In the
mid-1850’s he succeeded Comdr. Ringgold in command of
the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition,
which added greatly to our knowledge of far eastern
and northern waters.
In the early months of the Civil AVar, Rodgers organized
the Mississippi Flotilla and supervised construction of
545
the first ironclad gunboats on the western rivers. He
took command of ironclad Galena in April 1862 and
operated with distinction in the James River while sup-
porting General McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign. He
was promoted to Captain 16 July 1862 and transferred
to monitor Weehawken. In her he distinguished himself
during the attack on Fort Sumter and in capturing Con-
federate ram Atlanta. The latter service won him the
thanks of Congress and promotion to Commodore.
After the war, Rodgers commanded the Boston Naval
Station until 1869. He was elevated to Rear Admiral in
December 1869 and given command of the Asiatic Squad-
ron. In this post he ably handled diplomatic duties in
addition to his naval responsibilities. Back in the United
States he commanded Mare Island Naval Station and the
Naval Observatory. He died in Washington 5 May 1882.
John Rodgers, great grandson of Commodore Rodgers,
was born in Washington 15 January 1881 and graduated
from the Naval Academy in 1903. His early naval career
included service on ships of various types before studying
flying in 1911 and becoming the second American naval
officer to receive a pilot’s license.
He commanded Division 1, Submarine Force, Atlantic
Fleet in 1916 ; and, after the United States entered World
War I, he commanded the Submarine Base at New London,
Conn.
Following the war, he served in European waters and
received the Distinguished Service Medal for outstand-
ing work on minesweeping operations in the North Sea.
After several important assignments during the next 5
years, he commanded Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet,
in Langley in 1925. That year he made the first attempt
at a non-stop flight from California to Hawaii. In com-
mand of seaplane PN-9, he departed San Pedro 31 August,
but a fuel shortage forced his plane to land short of her
destination 1 September. While ships searched for the
plane, Comdr. Rodgers led his crew in improvising sails
from the plane’s wing material to continue the trip afloat.
Finally, 9 days later, after sailing the plane to within 15
miles of Nawiliwili Bay, Kauai, Rodgers hailed Sub-
marine R-4 and was towed into port.
After this experience, he served as Assistant Chief of
the Bureau of Aeronautics until killed in an airplane
crash 27 August 1926.
I
( Str : dp. 455 ; 1. 160' ; b. 27' ; dr. 6'6'' ; cpl. 22 ; a. 3 3-pdrs.,
1 1-pdr.)
The first John Rodgers, a lighthouse tender, was built
in Newburgh, N.Y., and taken over by the Navy at the
beginning of World War I under Executive Order of 11
April 1917 which placed the Lighthouse Service under
Navy control. She was assigned to the 3rd Naval District
and operated there until the Lighthouse Service was re-
turned to the Department of Commerce 1 July 1919.
II
(DD-574 : dp. 2,050 ; 1. 376'5" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 13' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 273 ; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21'' tt., 2 dct.,
6 dcp. ; cl. Fletcher)
The second John Rodgers (DD-574) was laid down by
Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 25 July 1941 ;
launched 7 May 1942 ; sponsored by Miss Helen Perry
Rodgers, daughter, great grandniece, and great grand-
daughter of the ship’s namesakes ; and commissioned 9
February 1943, Comdr. H. O. Parrish in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, John Rodgers de-
parted Norfolk 13 May escorting a convoy through the
Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor. Following a short train-
ing period there, the destroyer joined the screen of a
fast carrier task force in August during damaging raids
on Marcus Island, Tarawa, and Wake Island which also
gathered invaluable information for future landings.
Then, in a joint cruiser-destroyer force, she sailed for
Empress-Augusta Bay to support landings on Bougain-
ville 1 November. While screening the transports there
a week later, she assisted Sa/nta Fe in splashing a Japa-
nese torpedo plane.
From this action she joined the destroyer screen of the
Southern Attack Force for the invasion of the Gilbert
Islands. She protected the transports during the land-
ings on Betio Island 20 November and remained in the
area supporting the brave marines ashore until Tarawa
Atoll was secure.
Late in December the destroyers sailed to Pearl Harbor
to prepare for the next major offensive. John Rodgers
departed Pearl Harbor 22 January 1944 headed for the
Marshall Islands. Profiting from experience gained in
previous engagements, the Navy launched a well-coordi-
nated attack on Kwajalein Atoll 31 January. In addition
to providing antiaircraft and antisubmarine protection,
John Rodgers supported the landing forces with gunfire
which knocked out enemy troop concentrations and pill
boxes. After the last resistance disappeared 7 February,
the destroyer patrolled the Marshall Island area until late
March.
During April she acted as escort for ships bringing men
and weapons as American forces surprised the enemy at
Hollandia. Naval fire support helped ground troops to
secure airfields giving the United States a closer base for
future attacks on the remaining Japanese held islands.
In May John Rodgers operated out of Guadalcanal
screening convoys and bombarding enemy positions.
Early in June she sailed to the Marshall Islands to pre-
pare for the Marianas Campaign and departed Eniwetok
17 July with the Guam invasion force. Beginning 21 July,
John Rodgers fired more than 3,600 rounds at targets
on Guam helping to knock out enemy troop concentrations
and defensive works. The destroyer remained in the
Marianas until 4 August and provided antisubmarine
screen for transports bringing reinforcements.
In August John Rodgers began preparations for the
Morotai Invasion and departed Humbolt Bay 14 Septem-
ber to support and screen the landings there. After this
operation, which provided the only Allied base from which
to stage short-range fighters and bombers to Leyte, she
remained on patrol duty in the area.
John Rodgers returned to Hollandia 2 October to pre-
pare for the long-awaited invasion of the Philippines.
She got under way for Leyte 13 October and arrived to
support landings 7 days later. Now commanded by
Comdr. J. G. Franklin, she screened the ships carrying
General MacArthur and his troops back to the Philip-
pines. As American fighting men moved inland and took
two important airfields, the destroyer provided fire sup-
port and patrolled the area.
Meanwhile, risking all to save the Philippines, Japan
committed her entire remaining naval force to battle.
The U.S. Navy met this challenge by routing the Japanese
in the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf, and reducing their
once powerful navy to a mere shadow of its former
strength.
Following this historic action, John Rodgers departed
the Philippines 30 October for Mare Island, Calif., and a
badly needed overhaul. Rejuvenated by early January
1945, the destroyer sailed west to join Admiral Spruance’s
Task Force 58 on 7 February for final offensive operations
against the enemy. Carrier strikes on the Japanese
homeland began 16 February and, in 2 days of relentless
air attacks, destroyed nearly 800 enemy planes.
Then John Rodgers turned toward the Bonin Islands
to screen a fast carrier task force covering the invasion
of Iwo Jima 19 February. Although air raids and heavy
guns knocked out many enemy defensive works, the is-
land was well enough fortified to make the Navy pay
a high price in lives and weapons for this vital stopover
for B-29 bombers raiding Tokyo.
Following Iwo Jima, John Rodgers resumed duty with
the fast carrier task force raiding Japan while awaiting
the invasion of Okinawa, last and greatest amphibious
operation of the Pacific war. John Rodgers operated with
the carriers as they continued to bomb both Japan and
Okinawa. She began screening operations as the first as-
546
sault wave hit the beach 1 April. She stood by protecting
the carriers and splashed two kamikazes as they dived
toward the flattops. She remained in the area supporting
operations until Okinawa was finally secure 21 June.
As the war closed, John Rodgers screened the 3d Fleet
during almost continuous raids on Japan. Late in July
she operated with Destroyer Division 25 on the Suruga
Wan antishipping sweep and penetrated to within 1 %
miles of the Japanese shoreline, probably the closest ap-
proach made by surface ships during the entire war.
Admiral Halsey congratulated the division commander
who had led the sweep on board John Rodgers: “Loud
applause to you and your boys for a well planned sweep
conducted in the best destroyer tradition. You have been
enrolled on the emperor’s blacklist.”
Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Naga-
saki and the subsequent collapse of Japan, the indefat-
igable destroyer screened transports carrying occupation
troops into Tokyo Bay 6 September. The trimphant entry
into Tokyo was a fitting and well-deserved climax for
John Rodgers who had fought in almost every major of-
fensive campaign of the Pacific war without losing a
single man.
Her stay was brief, however, as she sailed for home and
arrived Boston 17 October. She moved to Charleston,
S.C., 3 November, decommissioned there 25 May 1946, and
entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Moved to Philadel-
phia in 1954, at present she is berthed in Texas where she
remains ready to answer any future call to duty.
John Rodgers received 12 battle stars for World War II
service.
John S. Darrel, see Shabonee
John S. McCain
John Sidney McCain was born in Teoc, Miss. 9 August
1884 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1906.
His first assignments were ships of the Asiatic Squadron.
During the American occupation of Yera Cruz in the
Mexican revolution he served in San Diego, and remained
on the ship during 1918 while she performed Atlantic
escort duty.
In the years between the World Wars, McCain served
in many ships, including Maryland, New Mexico, and
Nitro. His first command was Sirius. In 1936, at the
age of 51, he was designated a Naval Aviator, and from
1937 to 1939 he commanded carrier Ranger, contributing
much to the development of carrier tactics for the war to
come. For the first year of World War II he served as
Commander of Air Forces for Western Sea Frontier and
the South Pacific Force. In October 1942 McCain be-
came Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and in August
1943 rose to the rank of Vice Admiral as Deputy Chief of
Naval Operations (Air).
In 1944 he returned to the Pacific Theatre to command
a fast carrier task force which for over a year operated
almost continuously in support of the great amphibious
operations. His exceedingly skillful tactics protecting
Canberra (CA-70) and Houston (CA-81) in October 1944
earned him the Navy Cross, and the daring forays of his
mobile force had much to do with the eventual victory.
Vice Admiral McCain died 6 September 1945, just after
arriving back in the United States, and was later ap-
pointed Admiral effective that date. For his outstanding
performance as an air planner and carrier task force com-
mander he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
USS John Rodgers (DD-574) at Charleston, S.C., 29 April 1943
/9-
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with two Gold Stars, Secretary Forrestal commented :
“He was a fighting man all the way through.”
(DL-3 : dp. 3,675 ; 1. 493' ; b. 50 ; dr. 13'10" ; s. over 30 k ;
cpl. 403; a. 2 5”, 4 3", 4 21” tt., 1 ASROC, 1 dct. ;
cl. Mit seller)
John 8. McCain (DL-3), originally designated DD-928
but reclassified in 1951, was launched by Bath Iron Works
Corp., Bath, Maine, 12 July 1952; sponsored by Mrs. John
S. McCain, Jr., daughter-in-law of Admiral McCain; and
commissioned 12 October 1953 at Boston Naval Shipyard,
Comdr. E. R. King in command.
John S. McCain spent the first year of her commissioned
service undergoing sea trials and shakedown training in
the Atlantic and Caribbean. One of the new Mitscher
class of large and fast destroyer leaders, she carried the
latest in armament and embodied new ideas in hull design
and construction. The ship arrived Norfolk 19 May 1955
to begin service with the Operational Development Force
in testing new equipment and tactics. She operated out
of Norfolk until 5 November 1956, when she steamed from
Hampton Roads bound for the Panama Canal and San
Diego. After her arrival 4 December 1956 she spent 5
months on maneuvers in California waters.
The frigate sailed for her first Far East cruise 11 April
1957, and after a visit to Australia joined the Formosa
Patrol, helping to prevent a military clash between Na-
tionalist and Communist Chinese forces. She returned
from this important duty to San Diego 29 September
1957.
John 8. McCain steamed to a new homeport, Pearl
Harbor, in early 1958, and took part in fleet maneuvers
and antisubmarine training for the next 8 months. In
early September the ship deployed to the Formosa-South
China Sea area to help the 7th Fleet deter a possible
Communist invasion of Quemoy and Matsu Islands. She
remained in this critical region until returning to Pearl
Harbor 1 March 1959, having again demonstrated the
power of the 7th Fleet to defend United States and her
allies.
The veteran ship made her third deployment to the Far
East in the fall of 1959, departing 8 September and moving
directly to the coast of troubled Laos. Here again the
presence of American ships helped to stabilize the situa-
tion. During October she was off Calcutta, India, carry-
ing antibiotics and donating food and money to flood
victims. In January 1960 the versatile ship rescued the
entire 41-man crew of Japanese freighter Shinwa Maru
during a storm in the South China Sea. Returning to
Pearl Harbor 25 February, she began a well-earned period
of overhaul and shipboard training.
John 8. McCain departed 7 March 1961 for another de-
ployment with 7th Fleet, spending 6 months off Laos and
Vietnam helping to thwart Communist designs on the
strategic area. She resumed operations in Hawaiian
waters after her return to Pearl Harbor 25 September
1961. With the resumption of atmospheric nuclear test-
ing by Russia some months later, the United States went
ahead with plans for her own series of Pacific tests, and
John S. McCain steamed to Johnston Island 27 April 1962
to take part in the experiments. For the next 6 months
she operated between Hawaii and Johnston Island, de-
parting for her next cruise to the Far East 28 November
1962. There she returned to patrol duties in the South
China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin, buttressing the South
Vietnamese government in its fight against the Viet Cong.
She also took part in Formosa Patrol in the Straits before
returning to Pearl Harbor 16 June 1963. Antisubmarine
warfare exercises followed, and the ship got underway
again 23 March 1964 for operations with a hunter-killer
group in Japanese and Philippine waters. During this
cruise she took part in exercises with ships from other
SEATO nations as well as units of the 7th Fleet. John
S. McCain returned to Pearl Harbor 11 August. She op-
erated in Hawaiian waters until the spring of 1965. She
was reclassified DDG-36, 15 April and returned to the
West Coast. In August the frigate returned to Pearl
Harbor, and then sailed on a 6-month deployment in the
western Pacific. In the fall, John 8. McCain steamed off
South Vietnam. On 24 November she shelled Viet Cong
positions. Two days later she sailed to Hong Kong and
ended the year in Japan preparing for further action
in the cause of peace and freedom.
After further operations in the Orient early in 1966,
John 8. McCain returned to the East Coast and in June
decommissioned for conversion into a guided missile de-
stroyer, DDG-36, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
Philadelphia, where she remained into 1967.
John Sealey
( StTug : t. 113; 1. 88'10” ; b. 20'6” ; dr. 9'9” ; s. 10 k. ; a.
2 1-pdrs.)
John Sealey, a steam tug built in 1910 at West Lake,
La., was acquired from D. M. Picton 25 April 1917 ; used
briefly as a mine sweeper ; and returned to her owner early
in 1918.
John W. Crittenden
(SlvBar: dp. 726; 1. 128'2” ; b. 27'; dr. 10'6” ; a. none)
John W. Crittenden (No. 3224) was a wooden-hulled
sailing salvage barge built in 1900 by A. C. Brown, Totten-
ville, N.Y. ; purchased 11 September 1918 from Meritt &
Chapman Dredge & Wrecking Co., N.Y., for service to the
3d Naval District. She was sold to her previous owner 15
May 1919.
John W. Draper, see Gratia (AKS-11)
USS John S. McCain (DL-3) near Boston 26 January 1954
550
John W. Motion (YN-52), see Tamaque (YNT-20)
John W. Thomason
John William Thomason, Jr., was born 28 February
1893 in Huntsville, Tex. He studied art and was a writer
in the editorial department of the Houston Chronicle at
the beginning of World War I. Appointed Second Lieu-
tenant in the Marine Corps in April 1917, he sailed to
France with the AEF in 1918. When a German machine
gun nest held up a Marine advance at Soissons 18 July
1918, Thomason and one of his men fearlessly advanced
on the position and killed 13 of the enemy. For his heroism
he received the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. He like-
wise became noted for his stirring self-illustrated ac-
counts of marines in battle. Following the First World
War he served at many posts of the Corps ashore and
afloat and in 1941 made an extensive air survey of South
and Central America, for which he received the Air Medal.
He served briefly on the staff of Admiral Nimitz in the
Pacific and as an instructor in amphibious technique.
Promoted to Colonel 30 May 1942, he died at San Diego
Naval Hospital 12 March 1944. During his entire career,
John William Thomason, Jr., continued to be active as a
writer and illustrator, publishing numerous books about
marines and on western subjects.
(DD-760 : dp. 2,200 ; 1. 376'5” ; b. 41' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 16 40mm., 20 20 mm., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 5
21” tt. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner )
John TF. Thomason (DD-760) was launched by Bethle-
hem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif., 30 September 1944 ;
sponsored by Mrs. John W. Thomason, widow of Colonel
Thomason ; and commissioned 11 October 1945, Comdr.
W. L. Tagg in command.
The new destroyer conducted shakedown training out of
San Diego, followed by a series of Naval Reserve training
cruises from Seattle and San Francisco. From November
1947 to December 1948 the ship carried out training
maneuvers. She sailed 5 December 1948 for her first de-
ployment to the Far East, arriving Tsingtao 1 January
1949 for operations supporting the marines ashore in
China. Departing 24 May 1949, John TF. Thompson re-
turned via Okinawa to San Diego 23 June 1949 and spent
the remainder of the year training.
The ship returned to the Far East in early 1950, arriv-
ing Yokosuka 29 January. During this critical post-war
period, she operated with British ships on training
maneuvers off the coast of Indochina and Korea, returning
to San Diego 25 April 1950. Two months later, North
Korean aggression plunged the United States and the
United Nations into the Korean conflict. John W. Thoma-
son sailed 30 September to join the 7th Fleet, operating in
the screen of carrier task groups pounding Communist
positions and supply lines. She arrived Wonsan 9 Novem-
ber to patrol and bombard during the campaign against
that port. Antisubmarine exercises took her to Pearl Har-
bor January-March 1951, but John TF. Thomason arrived
off Korea again 26 March to operate with Boxer (CV-21)
and Princeton (CV-37) during air strikes. Two weeks in
April were spent on the important Formosa Patrol, after
which she returned to the carrier task force. With battle-
ship New Jersey and another destroyer, she moved close
in 24 May 1951 for gun bombardment of Yang Yang. The
veteran ship returned to San Diego from this deplovment
2 July 1951.
John TF. Thomason sailed again for Korea 4 January
1952 and resumed operations with Task Force 77 off the
coast of North Korea. She fired at railway targets 21
February in the Songjin area. During this period of stale-
mate on land, Navy strikes made up the bulk of offensive
operations. The destroyer returned to Formosa Patrol
duty in April. Back at Songjin and Wonsan 26 April, the
ship screened larger units, took part in shore bombard-
ment, and patrolled offshore. She was relieved by a British
destroyer 21 June and returned to San Diego 11 July 1952.
The destroyer operated off the California coast for the
remainder of 1952, then sailed once more for Korea 21
February 1953. Formosa Patrol duty alternated with
carrier task force operations off North Korea. John W.
Thomason arrived Wonsan harbor 2 July; while firing at
shore targets five days later, she received numerous
shrapnel hits in a duel with enemy batteries. Maneuver-
ing in the restricted waters, Commander Ratliff skillfully
returned the fire until three batteries had been silenced.
She continued to operate off Wonsan until the armistice
27 July, and after a brief stay in Japan arrived San Diego
22 September 1953.
In 1954, 1955, and 1956 John IF. Thomason returned to
the now-familiar waters off Korea and in the explosive
Formosa Strait, serving with 7th Fleet to keep the peace
and protect American interest in the strategic area. The
first half of 1957 was spent in readiness exercises off San
Diego. John TF. Thomason then sailed 29 July for a cruise
which took her to Pago Pago, Aukland, and Manus. Upon
arrival Yokosuka 7 September 1957 she resumed opera-
tions in the Formosa Straits and antisubmarine exercises
with 7th Fleet ships. The ship returned to San Diego 8
January 1958, and conducted manuevers off California and
Hawaii.
In March 1959, John TF. Thomason entered Long Beach
Naval Shipyard as prototype ship for the new FRAM
(Fleet Rehabilitation And Modernization) program.
During this extensive repair and modernization period
she received a helicopter deck and hanger aft, variable
depth sonar, the latest electronic equipment, and many
improvements in living and working spaces. The con-
version was followed by extensive trials and local train-
ing operations. As new flagship of Destroyer Division 72,
she sailed 8 March 1961 for 7th Fleet duty. She sailed
to the coast of Laos 27 April to help stabilize that volatile
Southwest Asian country, patrolling for 21 days in a
graphic demonstration of America’s determination to
prevent a Communist take-over. After further operation
John TF. Thomason sailed to San Diego, arriving 18 Sep-
tember 1961.
Extensive conversion and installation of new sonar
equipment at Long Beach occupied the ship until July
1962. In December she took part in a massive antiair-
craft exercise with units of the 1st Fleet off California.
She sailed again for the Far East, a part of the ready-
hunter-killer group. En route, however, she took part in
recovery operations for Major Cooper’s Mercury Space
shot as part of a task unit built around veteran carrier
Kearsarge. During the cruise which followed, the ship
perfected her antisubmarine warfare tactics and became
familiar with her new equipment in operations with 7th
Fleet and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
John TF. Thomason returned to San Diego 3 December
1963.
Most of 1964 was spent in ASW exercises in the Eastern
Pacific. On 23 October, she sailed with Destroyer Divi-
sion 213 for redeployment exercises in Hawaii. Exactly a
month later, with four other destroyers, she got under
way for the western Pacific screening Yorktoicn (CVS-
10), arrived Yokosuka, Japan, 4 December and joined
the 7th Fleet in its unrelenting effort to preserve freedom
in the Far West. In the spring she earned her first battle
star for operating in the troubled waters off the coast of
Indochina from 21 March to 28 April 1965.
After returning to the West Coast, she departed San
Diego for the Far East 22 March 1966 and reached Danang
19 April and the same day took station a few miles south
of Chu Lai. At the end of April she supported Operation
“Osage,” and landed north of Danang. On 13 May she
sailed for Sasebo and upkeep. Back in the war zone 6
June, she provided gunfire support and supported Opera-
tion “Deckhouse I” from 17 to 23 June. That day she re-
tired toward Hong Kong. The destroyer returned to gun-
fire support duties off South Vietnam 16 August. From
the 18th to the 23d she supported the amphibious Ready
Group and Special Landing Force in Operation “Deck-
house III.” After visiting Guam and Japan, John W.
Thomason headed home 9 September, reached San Diego
on the 24th and operated off the West Coast until the
256-125 0 - 68 - 37
551
end of the year and into 1967 preparing for further action
in the defense of freedom.
John TV. Thomason received seven battle stars for Ko-
rean service and three for Vietnam service.
John W. Weeks
John Wingate Weeks, bom near Lancaster, N.H., 11
April 1860, was appointed to the Naval Academy 27 June
1877 and graduated 10 June 1881. After serving on
Powhatan and Richmond, he returned to civilian life 30
June 1883 and distinguished himself as a civil engineer,
financier, and political leader. From 1890 to 1900 he
served in the Massachusetts Naval Brigade.
When War with Spain broke out, Weeks returned to the
Navy as a Lieutenant, 23 April 1898. He was attached to
Minnesota and served as Assistant to the Chief of Auxili-
ary Naval Force. After the end of the war, Weeks was
discharged 28 October 1898. He was placed on the Mas-
sachusetts Volunteer Militia retired list as Rear Admiral
10 April 1900.
In 1904 Weeks was elected to the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives where he served until entering the Senate in
1913. In the 1916 Convertion of the Republican Party
Weeks received 105 votes for the presidential nomination.
He became Secretary of War 4 March 1921 and held that
post until illness forced him to resign 13 October 1925. He
died at Lancaster, N.H., 12 July 1926.
( DD-701 : dp. 2,200; 1. 376'6" ; b. 40' ; dr. 15'8" ; s. 34 k. ;
cpl. 336; a. 6 5”, 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 2 det., 6 dcp.,
10 21" tt. ; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
John W. Weeks (DD-701) was laid down 17 January
1944 by Federal Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Kearny,
N.J. ; launched 21 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. John W.
Davidge, daughter of Secretary Weeks ; and commissioned
21 July 1944, Comdr. Robert A. Theobald. Jr., in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda and tests en route
to Argentina. Newfoundland, the new destrover departed
New York 10 November 1944 escorting battleships Mis-
souri (BB-63), Texas (BB-35), and Arkansas (BB-33)
and escort carriers Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) and Wake
Island (CVE-65) to the Pacific. She transited the Pan-
ama Canal and touched San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, and
Eniwetok before joining the 3d fleet at Ulithi 27 December.
Early in January 1945, John TV. Weeks sortied from that
busy lagoon with Vice Admiral John S. McCain Fast Car-
rier Task Force TF 38 and headed toward the Philippines
in the screen of Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan’s task
group. Meanwhile, the mighty Luzon Attack Force as-
sembled in Leyte Gulf on New Year’s Day, passed through
Surigao Strait, and set course for Lingayen Gulf. On
the 9th, as General MacArthur’s troops stormed ashore on
the beaches at Lingayen, planes from McCain’s carriers
hit Japanese airstrips on Formosa and the Pescadores to
neutralize air opposition to the Luzon invasion. That
night McCain’s ships slipped through Luzon Strait into
the South China Sea where they could be on call to sup-
port the Allied beachheads while striking strategic enemy
positions along the southeastern coast of Asia and search-
ing for the Imperial Fleet. In the next 10 days they
lashed out at Hong Kong, Hainan, and the Indochinese
coast causing much damage ashore and sinking 44 ships
totaling 132,700 tons. At the end of this sweep into enemy
waters Admiral Halsey reported, “the outer defenses of
the Japanese Empire no longer include Burma and the
Netherlands East Indies ; those countries are now isolated
outposts, and their products are no longer available to the
Japanese war machine . . .” John TV. Weeks, proud of
her role in this daring incursion into the South China
Sea, returned with her carriers to Ulithi on the 28th.
The destroyer again sailed with the carriers 11 Febru-
ary, and conducted strikes on Tokyo 16 and 17 February
in preinvasion support of the Allied attack on Iwo Jima.
After inflicting considerable damage to Japanese air
power, John TV. Weeks steamed toward Iwo Jima to give
direct support to marines fighting for the island. Later
that month the carriers renewed their attacks on the
enemy’s home islands. Heavy raids during March con-
tinued to cripple the enemy’s power and the destroyer re-
ceived credit for two assists as five enemy planes were
splashed while attempting a raid on the Task Force.
When D-day for the Okinawa invasion neared, John
TV. Weeks in company with other units shelled the shores
in preinvasion bombardment. The assault forces landed
in 1 April and the destroyer stood by to offer support. On
7 April a Japanese surface force was located, and strikes
were launched to intercept the enemy, resulting in the
sinking of the battleship Tamato. During these operations
the carrier Hancock (CV-19) was hit by a kamikaze and
the destroyer rescued 23 survivors in a heroic rescue
mission.
For the remainder of the war, John TV. TVeefcs partici-
pated in the final assault on the Empire Islands, engaging
in radar picket duty, shore bombardment, rescue missions
and the antishipping sweep off Tokyo Bay. Following the
cessation of hostilities, she steamed into Tokyo Bay 8
September to begin escort operations with the occupation
forces. She continued escort duty until 30 December when
she sailed for home, arriving San Francisco 20 January
1946. The destroyer arrived Norfolk 19 February and
following repairs she was inactivated 26 April.
One year later, 17 May 1947, she sailed once again and
commenced Naval Reserve training cruises until mid
1949. On 6 September of that year she sailed for Europe
returning 8 February 1950. John TV. Weeks decommis-
sioned 31 May 1950.
When the North Korean Communists invaded South
Korea, President Truman ordered American forces into
action to take up the challenge. John TV. Weeks recom-
missioned 24 October 1950 and commenced training
cruises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. During her Euro-
pean Cruise January 1952, she participated in the attempt
to save ill-fated Flying Enterprise which foundered and
sank in a 90-mile gale 10 January 1952. The destroyer
returned to Norfolk 6 February to engage in coastal oper-
ations and a midshipmen European cruise.
John TV. Weeks sailed on an around the world cruise 3
November 1953, and while in the Far East she operated
with units of the 7th Fleet off the coast of Korea. She
completed the cruise when she returned via the Mediter-
ranean arriving Norfolk 4 June 1954. From 1954 to 1963
the destroyer operated with the Atlantic Fleet and during
this period made five Mediterranean cruises and two NATO
exercises.
John TV. Weeks was operating with the 6th Fleet during
1956 when a crisis erupted in the Mid East over the Suez
Canal. The destroyer remained on patrol — a concrete
symbol of American interest in a peaceful outcome. One
year later on another Near Eastern deployment, John TV.
Weeks and other units stood by to prevent subversion of
Jordan. The Mediterranean cruise of 1958 included patrol
duty and exercises with navies of Bagdad-Pact countries.
The destroyer was also active in U.S. waters, busy with
midshipmen at-sea training and antisubmarine exercises.
During 1959 she participated in Operation “Inland Seas”
during the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. John TV.
Weeks was the first Navy destroyer to enter each of the
Great Lakes. During this cruise she escorted HMY
Britannia, with the Queen of England aboard, from Chi-
cago to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
On 9 March 1960, the destroyer, in company with Ault
< DD-698 ) , transited the Bosporus; and the two became
the first U.S. warships to enter the Black Sea since 1945.
On the same cruise she rendezvoused with Triton at the
end of the nuclear-powered submarine’s cruise round the
world.
After returning to Norfolk, the destroyer visited the
Caribbean and the New England Coast on midshipman
training at sea. In the fall she deployed to the Mediter-
ranean and returned to Norfolk 3 March 1962. Midship-
man training in the summer and exercise out of Norfolk
kept the ship in fighting trim and ready for action.
In October the presence of Soviet offensive missiles in
Cuba prompted President Kennedy to order a quaran-
552
tine of the island. John W. Weeks escorted replenishment
ships to the quarantine area. When this display of na-
tional strength and determination forced the Kremlin
to withdraw the missiles, John TV. Weeks returned via
San Juan, P.R., to Norfolk.
Early in 1963, while preparing for another Mediter-
ranean deployment from February to April, the destroyer
received the Battle Efficiency “E” for outstanding serv-
ice. She headed for the Mediterranean 29 November.
The end of the year found her patrolling off troubled
Cyprus, standing by ready to evacuate, if necessary,
Americans from that strife-torn island. On New Year’s
Day en route to the Red Sea to join that U.S. Middle East
Force, she was the first ship to transit the Suez Canal
during 1964. She visited Jidda, Saudi Arabia ; Berbera,
Somali Republic, Aden, Aden Protectorate ; Djibouti,
French Somaliland ; Massawa,- Ethiopia ; and Karachi,
Pakistan. She headed west from Karachi 6 February ;
refueled at Aden ; then turned south for patrol along the
Zanzibar coast during the revolution there, and off Kenya
and Tanganyika during unrest in those countries. She
departed Mombasa, Kenya, 24 February and transited the
Suez Canal 6 March. After patrolling the Mediterranean,
John W. Weeks departed Pollenea Bay, Majorca, for home
12 May and reached Norfolk on the 23d.
After overhaul in Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the destroyer
departed Hampton Roads 9 November for Guantanamo
Bay and refresher training. She returned to Norfolk
early in January 1965 to prepare for another Meditera-
nean cruise. She got underway 18 February and arrived
Valencia, Spain, 5 March. She stopped at Naples for a
fortnight en route to the Suez Canal and 2 months of
duty in the Red Sea. Back in the Mediteranean 2 June,
the destroyer headed for home 30 June and returned to
Norfolk 12 July.
Late in the summer, the destroyer was on the Gemini 5
recovery team. For the remainder of the year, she oper-
ated out of Norfolk in the Caribbean and along the Atlan-
tic Coast. She continued ASW exercises in the Carib-
bean until returning to Norfolk 3 February 1966. After
serving as sonar school ship at Key West during March
and April, the veteran destroyer departed Norfolk 16 May
for European waters.
Steaming with DesRon 2, John TV. Weeks during the
next 3 months cruised the western coast of Europe from
Norway to France. She took part in ASW exercises, and
during Operation “Straight Laced,” a simulated invasion
of the Norwegian coast, she operated with British and
West German ships. While carrying out ASW duty dur-
ing this exercise, she made the only simulated submarine
kill in the operation 19 August. Departing Londonderry,
Northern Ireland, 24 August, she returned to Norfolk 2
September. During the remainder of the year she served
as school ship at Key West and joined in ASW exercises
along the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean.
John W. Weeks continued this duty until early in July
1967 when she departed Norfolk for deployment in the
South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Steamjng via San
Juan, Puerto Rico, and Recife, Brazil, she touched at
African ports on the east and west coasts of that continent
and ranged Africa from the Gulf of Guinea to the Red
Sea while cruising in the interest of peace and freedom.
John W. Weeks received four battle stars for World
War II service.
John W. Weeks, see Dupage (APB-51)
John White, see Menkar (AK-123)
John Whiteaker, see Situla (AK-140)
John Willis
John Harlan Willis was born ID June 1921 in Colum-
bia, Tenn. Upon graduation from high school in 1940 he
entered the Navy and received training as a hospital
eorpsman. He served at naval hospitals at Paris Island,
S.C., Jacksonville, Fla., and Norfolk, Va. In 1943 he joined
the Field Medical School Battalion and the following year
reported for duty at the Fleet Marine Force, Oceanside,
Calif. In December 1944 he departed with the invasion
force bound for Iwo Jima as Platoon Corpsman for the
3d Battalion, 27th Regiment, 5th Marine Division. While
administering first aid to wounded Marines, engaged in
“furious close-in fighting” at Hill 362 on 28 February
1945, Willis was struck by shrapnel and ordered to retire
to a battle aid station. Returning shortly to his company,
he advanced to the “extreme front lines under mortar and
sniper fire” during a “savage hand-to-hand enemy coun-
terattack.” While administering blood plasma to a
wounded Marine, Willis hurled back at the enemy eight
grenades which landed near his patient. The ninth one
exploded in his hand and killed him instantly. “By his
great personal valor in saving others at the sacrifice of
his own life, he inspired his companions, although ter-
rifically outnumbered, to launch a fiercely determined at-
tack and repulse the enemy force.” “For conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty,” Pharmacist’s Mate First
Class John Harlan Willis was awarded the Medal of
Honor posthumously.
(DE-1027 : dp. 1,270; 1. 314'6”; b. 36'9" ; dr. 9'1" ; s. 25
k. ; cpl. 170; a. 6 3”, 1 dct., 6 dcp., 1 ASW rkt. ; cl.
Dealey)
John Willis (DE-1027) was launched by the New York
Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, N.J., 4 February 1956; spon-
sored by Mrs. Winfrey M. Duke, widow of John Willis;
and commissioned at Philadelphia Naval Yard 21 Febru-
ary 1957, Lt. Comdr. H. O. Anson, Jr., in command.
John Willis reported to Newport, R.I., 7 April for duty
with the Atlantic Fleet. Following 2 months of shake-
down along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean, she
departed Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 7 June for a 5-week
cruise to Northern Europe that carried her to Dutch, Ger-
man, and Danish ports on the North and Baltic Seas.
Upon her return to Newport 14 July, she commenced 10
months of ASW exercises along the Atlantic coast in prep-
aration for deployment with the 6th Fleet in the
Mediterranean.
She steamed from Newport 12 May 1958 for the Mediter-
ranean ; and following her arrival at Gibraltar 21 May,
she sailed with units of the 6th Fleet to participate in
joint NATO antisubmarine exercises in the Eastern Med-
iterranean. The pro-Western government of Iraq fell to
Arab nationalists 14 July, and on the 15th President
Chamoun of Lebanon requested U.S. aid to thwart the pos-
sible overthrow of his government. In response President
Eisenhower dispatched the 6th Fleet to Lebanon and or-
dered Marines to land at Beirut to protect “Lebanon’s ter-
ritorial integrity and independence.” John Willis joined
the Lebanon Patrol 18 July and for the next 2 months
remained on intermittent patrol. As the Middle East
crisis eased in September, John Willis departed the East-
ern Mediterranean 14 September and sailed for the United
States, putting into Newport 7 October.
On 29 November she entered the New York Shipyard to
receive an experimental model of the Variable Depth
Sonar (VDS) and thus became the first of the destroyer
escorts to employ this latest development in ASW equip-
ment. Resuming her operations 4 February 1959, she
spent the remainder of 1959 and the early part of 1960
testing and evaluating the new equipment and conducting
ASW exercises along the Atlantic coast from Newfound-
land to Key West. Following a demonstration of the VDS
for the Second Inter-American Naval Conference at Key
West in late May, John Willis joined the Atlantic Fleet for
4 months of American and NATO Operations “Sea Spray”
and “Sword Thrust,” in the North Atlantic. She retired
553
to Plymouth, England, 2 October but on the 10th rejoined
the NATO forces for Exercise “Pipe Down.”
John Willis returned to Newport 20 October and re-
sumed coastal operations. On 8 May 1961 she sailed to
Guantanamo Bay for patrol duty along the Windward
Passage of the Caribbean. Following the assassination of
Dominican Dictator Trujillo 27 May, she conducted pa-
trols along the coast of the Dominican Republic. She
departed the Caribbean 25 June and sailed via Key West
for homeport. She returned to the Caribbean 2 December
after participating in the recovery of the Project Mercury
MA-5 spacecraft, which on 29 November twice orbited the
earth with a chimpanzee, Enos, on board.
In response to a request for aid by President Balaguer,
who feared that supporters of slain Dictator Trujillo
would topple the democratic government in the Dominican
Republic, President Kennedy ordered units of the Atlantic
Fleet into the area to illustrate America’s support for the
established government. John Willis sailed to the Domin-
ican Republic 2 December and commenced 7 days of patrol
duty after which she returned to Newport to prepare for
another cruise to Northern Europe.
She sailed for Portsmouth, England, 8 January 1962 and
reached the English coast 19 January. While sailing the
North Sea on the 23d enroute to Horton, Norway, she
assisted units of the British Navy during search and
rescue operations for stricken Norwegian ship, Ey stein.
Jolm Willis put into Horton 24 January and for 3 weeks
sailed to several Norwegian ports while officers and engi-
neers of the Norwegian Navy studied the construction de-
tails and operational characteristics of this Dealey class
DE, which had been selected as the prototype for five new
Norwegian warships. Upon completion of her Norwegian
cruise, she sailed 15 February for the United States and
arrived Newport 3 March.
John Willis resumed ASW and convoy escort exercises
out of Newport and during August received additional
ASW equipment. Following 4 months of extensive over-
haul, she steamed to the Caribbean 1 March 1963 for an
operational readiness inspection. After returning to New-
port 8 April, she commenced operations 15 April with a
NATO force of 30 ships, engaged in ASW Exercise, “New
Broom Eleven,” in the North Atlantic. After her return
to Newport 25 April, she began 6 months of intermittent
training in preparation for an Atlantic Fleet amphibious
Exercise, “Phibaswex,” scheduled for December. During
this training period she conducted convoy escort and ASW
maneuvers from Narragansett Bay to Guantanamo Bay ;
she attended the ASW Tactical School at Norfolk ; and
she served as a training ship at the Fleet Sonar School
at Key West. While engaging in maneuvers designed to
detect and destroy nuclear submarines, John Willis pro-
vided search and rescue assistance 23 September for a
MATS plane, which was lost in the North Atlantic on a
flight from Dover, Del., to the Azores.
John Willis steamed from Newport 2 December with
Escort Squadron 10 and joined Task Force 180 for
amphibious exercise at Vieques in the West Indies.
During this exercise she conducted barrier patrols and
practiced the latest ASW techniques against nuclear and
conventional submarines. On the 17th she was released
from the completed exercise and she returned to Newport.
For the next 3 years John Willis continued to operate
along the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean while tak-
ing part in squadron exercises and serving as school ship
at Key West. During the latter half of 1964 and 1965 she
participated in UNITAS V and UNITAS VI and made two
cruises along the coasts of South America as part of the
U.S. sponsored “People-to-People” Program. Between
January and June 1966 she underwent extensive overhaul
at Boston where she received DASH capabilities and com-
munications alterations ; thence she resumed refresher
and readiness training out of Newport. Assigned to Es-
cort Squadron 8, she deployed to European water 29 May
1967. After arriving off the Norwegian coast early in
June, she operated along the coast of Western Europe dur-
ing the next month before sailing to join the ever ready
and powerful ships of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.
Johnnie Hutchins
Johnnie David Hutchins was born in Weimer, Tex., 4
August 1922 and enlisted in the Naval Reserve at Houston
17 November 1942. He underwent landing craft training
and in April 1943 was assigned to LST-^73. During the
assaut on Lae, New Guinea, 4 September 1943, the LST’s
were under heavy air attack. As the ship approached
the beach, a torpedo was spotted heading directly for it.
Just then a bomb struck the pilot house, disloging the
helmsman before he had a chance to turn away. In the
words of his posthumous citation : “. . . Hutchins, al-
though mortally wounded by the shattering explosion,
quickly grasped the wheel and exhausted the last of his
strength in maneuvering the vessel clear of the advancing
torpedo. Still clinging to the helm, he eventually suc-
cumbed to his injuries, his final thoughts concerned only
with the safety of his ship . . . .” For his extraordinary
gallantry Seaman First Class Hutchins was posthumously
awarded the Medal of Honor.
( DE-360 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' : b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. :
cpl. 186; a. 2 5"r 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dep., 1
dcp. (h.h.), 3 21" tt. ; cl. John C. Butler)
Johnnie Hutchins (DE-360) was laid down 6 March
1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex. ;
launched 2 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Johnnie M.
Hutchins, mother of Seaman First Class Hutchins; and
commissioned 28 August 1944, Comdr. H. M. Godsey in
command.
The new escort vessel sailed for shakedown training
out of Bermuda 11 September 1944, and 5 days later en-
countered the survivors of destroyer Warrington, sunk
in a hurricane off the East Coast. Johnnie Hutchins
rescued 34 officers and men and, after transporting them
to Norfolk, continued to Bermuda. The ship completed
exhaustive shakedown exercises and arrived Boston 25
October 1944 for brief coastal convoy duties between that
port and Norfolk.
Johnnie Hutchins got underway for the Pacific 30 No-
vember from Norfolk, steaming by way of the Panama
Canal, Bora Bora, and Manus, and arriving Hollandia
21 January 1945. Five days later she steamed from Hum-
boldt Bay to Leyte on her first Pacific escort assignment,
arriving Leyte Gulf 31 January. During the months that
followed the ship acted as an escort for resupply and
reinforcement convoys from advance bases to Lingayen
and Leyte, thus contributing importantly to the imminent
defeat of Japan.
The destroyer escort arrived Subic Bay, Philippines,
22 May 1945 to join a hunter-killer group. In June and
July she trained with American and British submarines
and carried out antisubmarine searches in preparation
for the eventual invasion of Japan. While operating with
a task group in the shipping lanes between Luzon and
Okinawa 9 August 1945, Johnnie Hutchins encountered
a surfaced midget submarine, and was taken under fire.
As the ship’s accurate gunnery succeeded in sinking the
Japanese sub, another fired a torpedo at her. Captain
Godsey skillfully avoided the “fish” and with a well-placed
series of depth charges sank the second submarine. A
third was probably damaged by depth charges the same
day.
After the end of the war against Japan, Johnnie
Hutchins spent 2 months escorting ships through swept
channels and acting as air-sea rescue ship off Okinawa.
She also steamed off Japan and Korea during the occupa-
tion. In early October the ship arrived Shanghai for
duty with U.S. Marines attempting to stabilize the turbu-
lent Chinese situation. She escorted vessels to and from
various occupied ports until 22 November 1945 when she
weighed anchor in the Yangtze River and headed east-
ward to Pearl Harbor. Johnnie Hutchins arrived San
Pedro 15 December 1945.
Following decommissioning at San Diego 14 May 1946,
Johnnie Hutchins made two month-long Naval Reserve
training cruises to the Hawaiian Islands, one in the
summer of 1948 and one in 1949. In early 1950 the ship
554
steamed through the Panama Canal to Boston, where she
was assigned permanent duty as Naval Reserve Training
Ship for the 1st Naval District. Johnnie Hutchins was
placed in commission “in reserve” 23 June 1950, and in
commission 22 November 1950, Lt. Comdr. B. H. Patek in
command. With a skeleton crew supplemented by Naval
Reservists, the destroyer escort made regular training
cruises during the next few years, visiting Montreal,
Quebec, and many Caribbean ports. AVith a ta^k group
of other training ships she made a voyage to Europe in
June-July 1955. Johnnie Hutchins continued her vital
task of keeping at a high level the skills and readiness of
our reserve officers and men until decommissioning 25
February 1958 at Bayonne, N.J. She entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet and at present is berthed at Philadelphia.
Johnnie Hutchins received the Navy Unit Commenda-
tion for her battle with midget submarines 9 August
1945.
Johnson, Catherine, see Catherine Johnson (SP-390)
Johnson, Earl V., see Earl V. Johnson (DE-702)
Johnson, George A., see Oeorge A. Johnson (DE-583)
Johnson, Pvt. Eldon H., see Pvt. Eldon H. Johnson
( AP-184 )
Johnson County
Counties in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas,
and Wyoming.
( LST-849 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-542)
LST-849 was laid down by the American Bridge Co.,
Ambridge, Pa., 10 November 1944 ; launched 20 Decem-
ber ; sponsored by Mrs. William B. Hetzel ; and com-
missioned at New Orleans 25 January 1945, Lt. Emil C.
Hetzel in command.
Following shakedown off Florida. LST-849 loaded con-
struction material and departed New Orleans for the
Pacific 2 March. After stops at the Canal Zone, Pearl
Harbor, and Eniwetok, the landing ship reached Guam 6
May. There she unloaded her cargo before sailing to
Saipan 17 May to prepare to support operations at
Okinawa.
Joining a convoy of LST’s, she proceeded to that stra-
tegic island which lay at the gateway to the Japanese
homeland. Arriving 26 May, she engaged the enemy 3
days later when a “Nate” was sighted off starboard. As
the Japanese plane went into her dive, LST-849 opened
fire, splashing the raider before he found his mark. De-
spite other air attacks, she remained at Okinawa, dis-
charging cargo and shuttling supplies until the island was
secured.
For the duration of the war, LST-849 supported fleet
operations between Okinawa and the Philippines. After
Japan agreed to Allied peace terms, the battle-tested
landing ship was assigned to transport occupation forces
in the Far East. Sailing from the Philippines and Oki-
nawa during September and October 1945, she shuttled
cargo and troops to the Yokohama-Tokyo area.
LST-489 departed Tokyo 28 October ; embarked U.S.-
bound veterans at Guam ; and on 7 November was en
route to Pearl Harbor. After discharging her troops in
Hawaii, she arrived San Diego 15 December. In mid-
January 1946 she steamed to Astoria, Oreg. ; decommis-
sioned at Vancouver, Wash., 13 June; and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed in the Columbia
River, she was named Johnson County 1 July 1955. She
was transferred to Korea in January 1959, and serves the
Korean navy as Wi Bong (LST-812) .
LST-849 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Johnston
John Vincent Johnston of Cincinnati, Ohio, entered the
Navy in September 1861 as First Master in gunboat St.
Louis. He assisted in the Union gunboat attacks that
captured strategic Fort Henry on the Tennessee River 6
February 1862. The night of 1 April 1862 he was the
Navy commander of a combined Army-Navy boat expedi-
tion from St. Louis which landed and spiked the guns of
Fort No. 1 above the Confederate stronghold, Island No.
10. He was promoted to Acting A'olunteer Lieutenant
for gallantry in this expedition. After joining in the
bombardments of Vicksburg, he took command of For-
rest Rose to patrol the Mississippi and its tributaries.
On 15 February 1864 his gunboat repelled the attack of
confederate raiders, saving the town of Waterproof, La.,
and its federal garrison. Lt. Johnston resigned from
the naval service 23 June 1864 and died 23 April 1912
at St. Louis, Mo.
I
(DD-557 : dp. 2,700 n. ; 1. 376'6'' ; b. 39'8” ; dr. 17'9" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5.5'', 10 40mm. 7 20mm., 10 21” tt; 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl Fletcher)
The first Johnston (DD-557) was laid down 6 May
1942 by the Seattle Tacoma Shipbuilding Co., Seattle,
Wash. ; launched 25 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Marie S. Klinger, great-niece of Lt. John Johnston ; and
commissioned 27 October 1943, Comdr. Ernest E. Evans
in command.
The day Johnston commissioned, Comdr. Evans made a
speech to the crew : “This is going to be a fighting ship. I
intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want
to go along had better get off right now.” During the
Marshall Islands campaign 3 months later, Johnston
bombarded the beaches at Kwajalein 1 February 1944,
and made a 5-day bombardment of Eniwetok 17 to 22
February. She gave direct support to invasion troops
there, destroying several pillboxes and taking revetments
along the beach under fire. En route to patrol duty in
the Solomons 28 March 1944, she bombarded Kapinga-
marangi Atoll in the Carolines. An observation tower,
several blockhouses, pillboxes and du<routs along the
beach were shelled. Two days later she came into the
mouth of the Maririca River, southeast of Empress Au-
gusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands. After laying
a heavy barrage into that area, she took up antisubmarine
patrol off Bougainville. During this duty 15 May 1944,
she depth charged and sank Japanese submarine 1-176.
After 3 months of patrol in the Solomons, Johnston
sailed to the Marshalls to prepare for the invasion and
capture of Guam in the Marianas. On 21 July 1944 she
teamed up with that Pearl Harbor “ghost”, Pennsylvania
(BB-38), to bombard Guam. The destroyer had sent in
more than 4,000 rounds of shells by 29 July. Her ac-
curate gunfire shattered the enemy 4-inch battery instal-
lations, numerous pillboxes and buildings Johnston next
helped protect escort aircraft carriers providing air sup-
port for the invasion and capture of the Palau Islands.
Now the time had come for General MacArthur’s long
awaited return to the Philippines. Following replenish-
ment at Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands, she
sailed 12 October 1944 to help protect the escort carriers
maintaining air supremacy over eastern Leyte and the
Gulf, sweeping the enemy off local airfields, giving troops
direct support on the landing beaches from 20 October,
and even destroying vehicle transport and supply convoys
on the roads of Leyte itself. Johnston was operating with
“Taffy 3” (Escort Carrier Task Unit 77.4.3) comprising
Rear Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague’s flagship Fanshaw
Bay (CVE-70), five other escort carriers, three destroyers
including herself, and four destroyer-escorts. “Taffy 3”
555
was one of the three units of Rear Admiral Thomas L.
Sprague’s Escort Carrier Task Group 77.4 known by their
voice calls as “Taffy 1,” “Taffy 2,” and “Taffy 3.”
The morning of 23 October 1944 American submarines
detected and attacked units of the Japanese fleet coming
in from the South China Sea toward the precarious Leyte
Beachhead. The battleship-cruiser-destroyer Southern
Force was decimated as it attempted to enter Leyte
Gulf via Surigao Strait the night of 24-25 October 1944.
The more powerful battleship-cruiser-destroyer Center
Force had been pounded by Admiral Halsey’s attack car-
rier planes and presumably turned back from San Ber-
nardino Straits. Admiral Halsey then raced north with
his attack carriers and heavy battleships to engage a
Japanese carrier-battleship task force off Cape Engano.
This left Johnston and her small escort carrier task unit
lonely sentinels in north Leyte Gulf, east of Samar and
off San Bernadino Strait.
As enemy ships fled the Battle of Surigao Strait at day-
break of 25 October 1944, the powerful Japanese Center
Force slipped through San Bernadino Strait and into
Leyte Gulf. It steamed along the coast of Samar di-
rectly for Johnston’s little ta^k unit and the American
invasion beachhead at Leyte, hoping to destroy amphib-
ious shipping and American troops on shore.
One of the pilots flying patrol after dawn alert of 25
October 1944 reported the approach of Japanese Center
Force. Steaming straight for “Taffy 3” were 4 battleships,
7 cruisers, and at least 12 destroyers. Johnston’s gunnery
officer later reported “We felt like little David without
a slingshot.” In less than a minute Johnston was zig-
zagging between the six little escort carriers and the
Japanese fleet and putting out a smoke screen over a
2,500-yard front to conceal the carriers from the enemy
gunners : “Even as we began laying smoke, the Japanese
started lobbing shells at us and the Johnston had to zig-
zag between the splashes. ... We were the first destroyer
to make smoke, the first to start firing, the first to launch
a torpedo attack . . . .”
For the first 20 minutes, Johnston was helpless as the
enemy cruisers and battleships had her in range. But
the destroyer’s 5-inch guns could not yet reach them. She
charged onward to close the enemy — first a line of seven
destroyers ; next, one light and three heavy cruisers, then
the four battleships. To the east appeared three other
cruisers and several destroyers.
As soon as range closed, Johnston opened her 5-inch
battery on the nearest cruiser, scoring damaging hits.
About this time an 8-inch shell landed right off her bow,
its red dye splashing the face of Johnston’s gunnery offi-
cer, Lt. Robert C. Hagen. He mopped the dye from his
eyes while remarking : “Looks like somebody’s mad at
us!” In 5 furious minutes Johnston pumped 200 rounds
at the enemy, then Comdr. Evans ordered, “Fire tor-
pedoes !” The destroyer got off 10 torpedoes then whipped
around to retire behind a heavy smoke screen. When she
came out of the smoke a minute later, Japanese cruiser
Kumano could be seen burning furiously from torpedo
hits. Kumano later sank. But Johnston took three 14-
inch shell hits from a battleship followed closely by three
6-inch shells from a light cruiser: “It was like a puppy
being smacked by a truck. The hits resulted in the loss
of all power to the steering engine, all power to the three
5-inch guns in the after part of the ship, and rendered our
gyro compass useless.” Through “sheer providence” a
rainstorm came up; and Johnston “ducked into it” for a
few minutes of rapid repairs and salvage work.
At 7 :50 a.m., Admiral Sprague ordered destroyers to
make a torpedo attack. But Johnston had already ex-
pended torpedoes. With one engine, she couldn’t keep up
with the others : “But that wasn’t Comdr. Evans’ way
of fighting : ‘We’ll go in with the destroyers and provide
fire support,’ he boomed.” Johnston went in, dodging
salvos and blasting back. As she charged out of blinding
smoke, pointed straight at the bridge of gallant Heerman
(DD-532), “All engines back full!” bellowed Comdr.
Evans. That meant one engine for Johnston who could
hardly do more than slow down. But Heerman’ s two
engines backed her barely out of the collision course —
Johnston missed her by less than 10 feet. Now there was
so much smoke that Evans ordered no firing unless the gun-
nery officer could see the ship. “At 8 :20, there suddenly
appeared out of the smoke a 30,000-ton Kongo-clnss battle-
ship, only 7,000 yards off our port beam. I took one look
at the unmistakable pagoda mast, muttered, ‘I sure as hell
can see that!” and opened fire. In 40 seconds we got off
30 rounds, at least 15 of which hit the pagoda superstruc-
ture. . . . The BB belched a few 14-inchers at us, but,
thank God, registered only clean misses.”
Johnston soon observed Gambler Bay (CVE-73) under
tire from a cruiser : “Comdr. Evans then gave me the most
courageous order I’ve ever heard : ‘Commence firing on
that cruiser, draw her fire on us and away from Gambler
Bay'.” Johnston scored four hits in a deliberate slugging
match with a heavy cruiser, then broke off the futile
battle as the Japanese destroyer squadron was seen clos-
ing rapidly on the American escort carriers. Johnston out-
fought the entire Japanese destroyer squadron, concen-
trating on the lead ship until the enemy quit cold, then
concentrated on the second destroyer until the remaining
enemy units broke off to get out of effective gun range
before launching torpedoes, all of which went wild.
Johnston took a hit which knocked out one forward gun,
damaged another, and her bridge was rendered untenable
by fires and explosions resulting from a hit in her 40mm.
ready ammunition locker. Evans shifted his command to
Johnston’s fantail, yelling orders through an open hatch
to men turning her rudder by hand. At one of her bat-
teries a Texan kept calling “More shells ! More shells !”
Still the destroyer battled desperately to keep the Japa-
nese destroyers and cruisers from reaching the five sur-
viving American carriers : “We were now in a position
where all the gallantry and guts in the world couldn’t
save us, but we figured that help for the carrier must
be on the way, and every minute’s delay might count. . . .
By 9 :30 we were going dead in the water ; even the Japa-
nese couldn’t miss us. They made a sort of running semi-
circle around our ship, shooting at us like a bunch of
Indians attacking a prairie schooner. Our lone engine
and fire room was knocked out ; we lost all power, and
even the indomitable skipper knew we were finished. At
9:45 he gave the saddest order a captain can give:
‘Abandon Ship.’ ... At 10:10 Johnston rolled over and
began to sink. A Japanese destroyer came up to 1,000
yards and pumped a final shot into her to make sure she
went down. A survivor saw the Japanese captain salute
her as she went down. That was the end of Johnston.”
From Johnston’s complement of 327, only 141 were
saved. Of 186 lost, about 50 were killed by enemy action,
45 died on rafts from battle injuries ; and 92, including
Comdr. Evans, were alive in the water after Johnston
sank, but were never heard from again.
Hoel (DD-533) and Samuel B. Roberts (DE-113) also
sacrificed themselves to save the escort carriers and to
protect the landings at Leyte. Two of four Japanese heavy
cruisers were sunk by combined surface and air attacks ;
and Rear Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague was soon amazed
by the sight of the retirement of Kurita’s entire fleet.
By this time planes of “Taffy 2” and Taffy 1” and every
available unit of the Fleet were headed to assisting the
fighting “Taffy 3.” But Johnston and her little escort
carrier task unit had stopped Admiral Kurita’s powerful
Center Force in the Battle off Samar, inflicting a greater
loss than they suffered.
Johnston’s supreme courage and daring in the Battle
off Samar won her the Presidential Unit Citation as a unit
of “Taffy 3” (Task Unit 77.4.3). Comdr. Ernest E. Evans
was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor : “The skipper was a fighting man from the soles
of his broad feet to the ends of his straight black hair.
He was an Oklahoman and proud of the Indian blood he
had in him. We called him — though not to his face — the
Chief. The Johnston was a fighting ship, but he was
the heart and soul of her.”
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Johnston
received six battle stars for service in World War II.
556
II
( DD-821 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 367; a. 6 5”, 12 40mm„ 8 20 mm., 5 21" tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct ; cl. Gearing )
The second Johnston (DD-821) was laid down 26 March
1945 hy Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; launched
10 October 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Marie S. Klinger ;
grandniece of Lt. J. V. Johnston; and commissioned 23
August 1946, Comdr. E. C. Long in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Johnston reported
to Newport, R.I., 16 May 1947 for duty with the Atlantic
Fleet. Operating out of Newport, her home port, she
sailed 9 February 1948 for Northern Europe where she
visited ports in Great Britain, France, and Scandinavia
before returning to Newport 26 June. For 14 months she
operated along the Atlantic coast, then sailed 23 August
1949 for the Mediterranean. From then until 4 October
1961 she deployed with the mightly 6th Fleet on eight
occasions and supported peace-keeping efforts in the
Middle East.
While on her first Mediterranean deployment, she
helped to stabilize the Adriatic Sea during the Trieste
crisis ; and she patrolled the coast of Greece to bolster her
freedom and national security against threatened Com-
munist domination. Johnston returned to Newport 26
January 1950. She operated out of Newport from Canada
to the Caribbean until 4 June 1951 when she departed
with Midshipman at sea training off Northern Europe.
Following her return to Newport 28 July, she cleared the
East Coast for the Mediterranean 3 September and joined
the 6th Fleet in operations that carried her from French
Morocco to Turkey ; she then returned to home port 4
February 1952.
Johnston departed Newport 7 January 1953 for NATO
operations in the North Atlantic. Before sailing for duty
in the Mediterranean 16 March Johnston aided the Dutch
after storms in the North Sea had caused extensive flood-
ing in the Netherlands ; her crew donated bundles of warm
clothing and more than $1,200 for the storm victims.
She operated in the Mediterranean until 8 May when she
steamed for Newport, arriving 18 May.
After a 4-month deployment in the Mediterranean dur-
ing early 1954, Johnston operated for more than 17 months
along the Atlantic coast from New England to Cuba. On
5 November 1955 she steamed for maneuvers off Northern
Europe, followed by another tour of duty in the Mediter-
ranean. While operating in the eastern Mediterranean
during February 1956, she patrolled off Israel and Egypt
as the Middle East rumbled over the developing Suez
Canal crisis. Returning to Newport 5 March, she em-
barked midshipmen 5 June for 2 months of at-sea training
off Northern Europe, after which she resumed operations
out of Newport.
Johnston sailed once again 6 May 1967 for peace-keeping
operations with the 6th Fleet. Before returning to the
United States 1 August she ranged the Mediterranean
from Spain to Sicily on ASW barrier patrols. While at
Marseilles, France, 3 July, she helped fight a destructive
blaze on board Lake Champlain (CVS-39). Steaming
from Newport 3 September, she joined the mighty Atlantic
Fleet for the NATO Exercise “Strike Back’’ in the North
Atlantic. She returned to Newport 22 October, then re-
sumed operations that sent her into the Caribbean and
the Gulf of Mexico.
Returning to the North Atlantic 6 June 1959 for further
NATO maneuvers, Johnston steamed to Charleston, S.C.,
25 July and joined DesRon 4 for deployment to the Medi-
terranean. Departing Charleston 21 September, she con-
ducted Fleet operations in the western Mediterranean ; on
18 December she joined naval units from France, Italy and
Spain along the French coast for a review in honor of
President Eisenhower. Following patrols along the Greek
coast, she departed Athens for the United States 24 March
1960, arriving Charleston 10 April.
Before deploying again to the Mediterranean, Johnston
joined in NATO Exercise “Sword Thrust” during the fall
of 1960; then she departed Charleston 8 March 1961 to
bolster the 6th Fleet’s continuing efforts to maintain peace
in the Middle East. After returning to the United States
4 October, she steamed 19 November for patrol duty off
the Dominican Republic. During this brief but important
duty her presence did much to stabilize a situation “which
had threatened to plunge the country into bitter fighting
and a return of the Trujillo dictatorship.”
Johnston returned to Charleston 26 November; and fol-
lowing coastal operations, she steamed to Boston where
she underwent FRAM I overhaul from 4 January to 31
October 1962. During this time she received the latest
equipment, including ASROC system and DASH facilities,
to prepare her for new assignment in the modern Navy.
Departing Boston 2 November, she arrived Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, via Charleston 10 December for Caribbean
operations. While steaming near Mona Island 1 Febru-
ary 1963, she rescued sinking Honduran freighter Kirco
and towed her to Mayaguez, P.R. Continuing her Atlantic
operations, she supported Polaris missile firing tests. As
Thomas Jefferson (SSB(N)-618) fired two underwater
missiles off the Florida coast 14 March, Johnston became
the first destroyer to serve as “primary support ship for
an underwater firing of a Polaris missile.”
After more than 4 months of ASW tactical operations,
Johnston departed Charleston 6 August for her ninth de-
ployment to the Mediterranean. While operating with
the ever-vigilant 6th Fleet, she steamed the length and
breadth of the Mediterranean and entered the Black Sea
27 September. During the cruise to Turkish Black Sea
ports she served as a symbol of America’s determination to
safeguard peace on land through strength on the sea.
Following 2 months of ASW operations, Johnston departed
Cannes, France, for the United States 7 December and
arrived Charleston 23 December for coastal operations
through 1964.
The veteran destroyer departed Charleston 6 January
1965 for the Mediterranean to resume peace-keeping op-
erations with forces of other NATO countries. She re-
turned to Charleston 7 June, and devoted the rest of the
year to operations with Polaris submarines, amphibious
exercises, and overhaul to prepare for future service.
Johnston began New Year 1966 as sonar school training
ship at Key West, Fla. During this period of training
she visited Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for refresher train-
ing ; and in February while Johnston’s crew was spending
weekend liberty at Kingston, Jamaica, her sailors swiftly
answered a call for help on the 27th. The famous Myrtle
Bank Hotel had caught fire and threatened the whole water
front. Johnston sailors rushed to the fire and averted
disaster.
Johnston operated off the East Coast until departing
Charleston 29 September for Mediterranean and Middle
East deployment. After operating on the far side of the
Suez Canal, she again transited the Suez Canal to rejoin
the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. There her exercises
with this powerful deterrent force helped to stabilize the
area while bringing her to peak readiness for any emer-
gency which might threaten the peace. She returned to
Charleston 9 February 1967 and operated on the East
Coast through mid-year.
Johnstown
Cities in Colorado, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Johnstown (T-AGM-20) was renamed Redstone (q.v.),
on 1 September 1965.
Johren, see Kenwood (IX-179)
Jolly Roger
A former name retained.
(SP-1031 : 1. 55'2" ; b. 9'9" ; dr. 3' ; s. 26 k. ; a. 1 1-pdr.,
1 mg.)
557
Jolly Roger (SP-1031), a wooden motor boat, was built
in 1917 by W. T. Ruddock, New York City, and was taken
over at Newport from her owner, J. S. Van Allen, New
York City, on 16 December 1917.
Jolly Roger was assigned to the Torpedo Station, New-
port, and performed valuable work ranging torpedoes, as
well as aiding in experimental work on mines and depth
charges. The boat also engaged in general dispatch and
supply work in the harbor area. While being loaded on
board Kanawha 6 November 1918, Jolly Roger was dam-
aged beyond repair and was struck from the Navy List
4 April 1919.
Jonas Ingram
Jonas Howard Ingram, born in Jeffersonville, Ind., 15
October 1886, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1907.
Before World War I he served in several cruisers, destroy-
ers, and battleships. As turret officer of Arkansas (BB-33) ,
he established a world’s record for firing 12-inch guns. On
22 April 1914 he landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico with the
Arkansas battalion and was awarded the Medal of Honor
for “skillful and efficient handling of the artillery and
machine guns and for distinguished conduct in battle.”
Ingram served at the Naval Academy from 1915 to 1917.
During World War I he was on the staff of the Commander,
Division 9, Atlantic Fleet, and received the Navy Cross
for distinguished service.
Between the wars outstanding performance in a variety
of important assignments won him promotion to Rear
Admiral 10 January 1941. In February 1942 he received
a third star upon assuming command of Cruiser Division
2. Seven months later he took command of the 4th Fleet
and was responsible for protecting vital Allied shipping
in the U-boat infested South Atlantic. He received the Dis-
tinguished Service Medal for excellent work in this post
and on 15 November 1944 became Commander in Chief,
U.S. Atlantic Fleet with the rank of Admiral. This post
won him a gold star in lieu of a second Distinguished
Service Medal for taking “a major part in the flow of
United States troops across the Atlantic . . . and in the
successful combating of the German submarine menace.”
Retiring from active duty 1 April 1947, Admiral Ingram
died 9 September 1952 at San Diego.
( DD-938 : dp. 3,807 ; 1. 418'5" ; b. 45'1" ; dr. 14'6'' ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 311; a. 3 5”, 5 3”, 4 tt., 2 ASW, 1 dct. ; cl.
Forrest Sherman)
Jonas Ingram (DD-938) was laid down 15 June 1955
by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. ; launched 7
August 1956; sponsored by Mrs. Lawrence Hays, Jr.,
daughter of Admiral Ingram ; and commissioned 19 July
1957 at Boston Naval Shipyard, Comdr. G. L. Rawlings
in command.
Following shakedown in the Caribbean and along the
western coast of South America, Jonas Ingram departed
Boston 26 February 1958 for patrols in the West Indies.
She sailed from Newport, R.I., 2 September for the
Mediterranean to join the 6th Fleet and participate in
NATO exercises.
She returned to Newport 12 March 1959 and sailed 16
June for Mayport, Fla., her new homeport. She acted as
recovery ship for an experimental Project Mercury nose-
cone which splashed off the Florida coast 25 June.
The destroyer, as flagship for Rear Admiral E. C.
Stephen, Commander South Atlantic Forces, sailed for
the South Atlantic 24 August and conducted joint exercises
with the French and South African navies visiting nine
African countries from Tanganyika before returning May-
port 15 November.
Highlights of the next 16 months of operations out of
Mayport were duty providing air-sea rescue cover for
President Eisenhower’s flights to and from the abortive
Paris Summit Conference in May 1960 and a role in an-
other Project Mercury space test late in the year. The
hardy destroyer departed 15 March 1961 for the African
coast to support United Nations peace-keeping efforts in
the Congo.
Returning home 8 September, she sailed 18 October for
NATO exercises in Northern European waters and re-
turned 21 December. For the next 2 years Jonas Ingram
alternated Mediterranean deployments with operations
out of Mayport. On 21 September 1964 she was one of our
representatives at Malta during ceremonies at which
Great Britain granted independence to the island. During
this cruise she embarked four Turkish naval officers for
a 4-week visit under the NATO exchange program. She
returned from the Mediterranean in time to serve as one
of the recovery ships for the unmanned Gemini space shot
GT-2 in December. Atlantic Fleet ASW exercises in the
North Atlantic during February 1965 were followed by
Operation “Springboard” in the Caribbean in March. In
the summer Jonas Ingram got underway on a people-to-
people cruise in Middle Eastern waters and visited such
parts as Djibouti, French Somaliland ; Berbera, Somalia ;
Aden ; Karachi, Pakistan ; and Beirut, Lebanon.
The destroyer returned to Mayport in the fall to become
a recovery ship for Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford’s
Gemini 6 spacecraft in December. After operations in the
Atlantic and Caribbean early in 1966 Jonas Ingram re-
turned to the Mediterranean for service with the 6th Fleet.
In September 1966 she accompanied Stribling (DD-867)
to Port Said, the first U.S. warships to visit Egypt in
almost 15 years.
Janas Ingram returned home 20 October where she pre-
pared for Exercise “Lantflex 66-2.” The fleet exercise
took the destroyer to the Caribbean late in November and
lasted through mid-December. Jonas Ingram operated out
of Mayport until sailing for the Mediterranean 17 July
1967. She reach Gibraltar 29 July and steamed with the
6th Fleet into the fall.
Jonathan Jennings, see Talita (AKS-8)
Jones
(Brig: t. 509; 1. 117'11" ; cpl. 160; a. 16 42-pdr. car., 4
long 24-pdrs.)
Jones was built at Sackett’s Harbor, N.Y., for service in
Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s fleet on Lake Ontario and
was launched 10 April 1814.
Most of the cannon for the new American ships had not
reached Sackett’s Harbor 19 May when the British fleet
arrived off the American base and established a strict
blockade which temporarily bottled up the heavily out-
gunned American squadron. After the British com-
mander, Sir James Yeo, raised the blockade 6 June, an
epidemic struck the American fleet causing further delay.
Jones sailed with Chauncey’s vessels 31 July and ar-
rived off Niagara 5 August. As the American ships ap-
proached that port, now in British hands, they intercepted
enemy brig Charwell and chased her ashore where her
crew set her ablaze. Chauncey then sailed to Kingston
via York arriving 9 August. The next day Jones and
schooner Conquest were ordered to cruise between Oswego
and Sackett’s Harbor protecting American communica-
tions.
Jones rejoined the fleet 17 September and operated with
it during the remainder of the navigation season attempt-
ing to draw Sir James Yeo’s ships into a decisive contest.
Toward the end of November she returned to Sackett’s
Harbor, where she served as a receiving ship for several
years after the end of the war. She was sold and broken
up in 1821.
Jones „ Bessie, see Bessie Jones (No. 1476)
Jones, Elmer W., see Colington (YFB-43)
Jones, H. B., see YTL-489
558
Jones, Herbert C., see Herbert C. Jones (DE-137)
Jones, Hilary P., see Hilary P. Jones (DD-427)
Jones , Jacob, see Jacob Jones (DD-61)
Jones, Jacob, see Jacob Jones (DD-130)
Jones, Paul, see Paul Jones (Destroyer No. 10)
Jones, Paul, see Paul Jones (DD-230)
Jones, Stephen R., see Stephen R. Jones
Jones, William, see William Jones (DD-308)
Jonquil
(ScStr : t. 90; 1. 69'4” ; b. 17'6” ; dph. 6'7” ; s. 8 k. ; cpl.
15 ; a. 2 12-pdr. r.)
Jonquil was purchased at Philadelphia from S. F. Baker
under the name J. K. Kirkman 21 October 1863 ; and
commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 October, Act-
ing Ens. I. T. Halstead in command.
A week later Jonquil joined the South Atlantic Block-
ading Squadron and took station off Charleston. Except
for brief periods of repair and 3 months in the sounds of
Georgia during the fall of 1864, she served for the re-
mainder of the war in Charleston waters. She took her
first prize 25 February 1865 when she captured an un-
identified sloop in Deer Creek about 18 miles upstream
from Charleston. She repeated the feat only 2 days
later with a second sloop in Silver Creek.
Perhaps Jonquil's, most valuable service was early in
March when she labored to clear Charleston waters of
torpedoes after the city has surrendered. While she was
so engaged, a torpedo exploded close aboard her, knock-
ing nine men overboard and wounding three others.
Prompt and effective repairs enabled the ship to be back
at her task of sweeping the harbor the next day.
Jonquil returned north at the end of July and decom-
missioned 2 August 1865. She was sold at public auction
21 October 1865.
Jordan
Julian Bethune Jordan was born 11 April 1904, and
graduated from the Naval Academy in 1925. He served
in Chester, in Dobbin , and at various shore stations be-
fore reporting to Oklahoma (BB-37) 4 August 1938.
While serving as assistant engineering officer on board
that battleship, he was one of the valiant men who were
lost in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December
1941.
(DE-204 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3”, 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 9 dcp. ; cl.
Buckley)
Jordan (DE-204) was laid down 5 June 1943 by the
Charleston Navy Yard; launched 23 August 1943; spon-
sored by Mrs. Lucy H. Jordan, widow of Lt. Jordan ; com-
missioned 17 December 1943, Lt. Comdr. F. C. Billing in
command.
After shakedown Jordan arrived New York in mid-
March 1944 for duty as convoy escort. She sailed 17 April
with a convoy bound for Gibraltar, arriving there 1 May
with transports carrying vital cargo for the operations in
the Mediterranean area. She returned to New York later
that month and made one more European voyage in June
before beginning duty as a training ship. During July and
August she engaged in training exercises at Quonset
Point, R.I., and arrived Port Everglades, Fla., 17 Sep-
tember to commence experimental exercises in that area.
After a yard period at Charleston, Jordan resumed
sound experiments out of Port Everglades in early 1945.
During May she was deployed on another cruise to the
Mediterranean as convoy escort, returning to New York
10 June. She engaged in submarine operations out of
New London, Conn., and training exercises in Cuba,
throughout the summer. It was through these experi-
ments that new technological advancements in antisub-
marine warfare were adopted, leading to a more power-
ful navy and a shorter war.
While on a training mission 18 September Jordan col-
lided with a merchant vessel SS John Sherman, necessitat-
ing immediate repairs. She arrived Charleston 4 October
and remained there until she decommissioned 19 Decem-
ber 1945. The ship was scrapped in 1947.
Jorkay, see Tappahannock (A0^3)
Joseph Cudahy
Former name retained.
(Str: dp. 7,045; 1. 293'; b. 47'2” ; dr. 22'11” ; s. 10.5 k. ;
cpl. 61; a. 2 3”)
Joseph Cudahy, a tanker, was launched 1917 by Balti-
more Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Md., for
Sinclair Gulf Corp. ; chartered by the Army Transport
Service, she carried general cargo between New York and
European posts during 1917-18. In mid-August 1918, she
was steaming from France to New York to be commis-
sioned in the Navy for service with NOTS when she was
torpedoed by German submarine U-90 some 700 miles
from the English coast. Before Joseph Cudahy went
under at 1830 on 17 August 1918 all but one of the crew
managed to find safety on lifeboats.
Joseph E. Campbell
Joseph Eugene Campbell was bom 23 July 1919 in Vigo
County, Ind. He enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve 29
March 1941 at St. Louis, Mo. After preliminary flight
training at Robertson, Mo., he was transferred to Pensa-
cola for further flight training. Appointed Naval Aviator
17 December 1941, he was commissioned Ensign 21 Janu-
ary 1942. Assigned to Cruiser Scouting Squadron 6 in the
Pacific, Ens. Campbell was killed in action while engaging
the enemy 9 August 1942.
(DE-70 : dp. 1,400; 1. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'5”; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1”, 8 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
(h.h.) , 3 21” tt. ; cl. Buckley)
Joseph E. Campbell (DE-70) was laid down 29 March
1943 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Hingham, Mass. ;
launched 26 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Marie S. Camp-
bell, mother of Ens. Campbell ; and commissioned 23 Sep-
tember 1943, Lt. Comdr. J. F. Bowling, in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, Joseph E. Campbell de-
parted Boston 11 October; and, after escorting a convoy
to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, returned to New York
16 December. Between 31 December 1943 and 8 October
1944 the destroyer escort made three convoy escort voy-
ages to French North Africa.
Returning to New’ York from the last voyage 8 October,
conversion to a high speed transport began and Joseph E.
Campbell was reclassified APD-49 on 24 November 1944.
After exercises and training along the East Coast, the
high speed transport departed Key West 8 March 1945,
arriving Pearl Harbor 8 April via the Panama Canal and
San Diego. Departing Pearl Harbor the 29th, she steamed
to Eniwetok, wffiere she rendezvoused w'ith two merchant
ships and escorted them to Leyte. For the next 3 months
Joseph E. Campbell served as antisubmarine screen for
559
LST groups in and out of Okinawa. On 1 September she
departed Cebu, P.I., as part of the screen for occupation
forces for Japan, where she arrived 8 days later. Joseph
E. Campbell continued her escort duties between Japan
and the Philippines until returning to the East Coast in
December. After visiting Philadelphia and Norfolk she
steamed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and San Juan, P.R.,
where she embarked passengers and returned to More-
head City, N.C., 31 March 1946.
After visits to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Hampton
Roads, Joseph E. Campbell arrived Charleston, S.C., 22
May for inactivation. Secured for preservation, she was
towed to Green Cove Springs, Fla., where she decommis-
sioned 15 November 1946, and joined the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet at Orange, Tex. Joseph E. Campbell was struck
from the Navy List 1 December 1966 after being sold to
Chile in November 1966.
Joseph E. Campbell received one battle star for World
War II service.
Joseph E. Connolly
Joseph Edward Connolly was born 1 June 1904 in New
York City. He served in the Navy 1927 to 1930 before en-
listing in the Marine Corps 9 March 1936. Connolly at-
tained the grade of Corporal by 1942 and took part in the
assault on Guadalcanal, first American amphibious oper-
ation of the war. During the bitter fight for the island,
Connolly and his men bore the brunt of a heavy Japanese
assault along the Matanikau River 9 October 1942. For
his extraordinary bravery in this action Corporal Connolly
received the Navy Cross posthumously. Describing his
gallantry, his citation reads in part : “Fighting desperately
in hand-to-hand combat against the overwhelming hostile
forces, Corporal Connolly refused to be dislodged from his
position, and after exacting a tremendous toll of the
enemy, heroically died at his post.”
(DE-450 : dp. 1350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 10 40mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 9 dcp. ;
cl. John C. Butler)
Joseph E. Connolly (DE-450) was laid down 6 April
1944 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newark,
N.J. ; launched 6 August 1944; sponsored by Miss Cecilia
C. Connolly, sister of Corporal Connolly ; and commis-
sioned 28 February 1945, Lt. Comdr. M. C. Walley in
command.
Following shakedown training in the Caribbean Joseph
B. Connolly departed Norfolk 10 May 1945 for assignment
to the Pacific Fleet. She transited the Panama Canal and
steamed by way of San Diego to Pearl Harbor, where she
arrived 6 June for additional intensive training. The
ship then steamed to Eoiwetok in early July to act as an
escort ship during the final days of the Pacific war. Jo-
seph E. Connolly served as screen ship to logistic-support
units of the 3d Fleet during the final strikes on the Japa-
nese mainland.
The escort vessel returned to Ulithi after war’s end, ar-
riving 31 August, and joined the screening unit for logistic
support ships. She arrived Tokyo Bay 13 September and
steamed to Jinsen, Korea, 22 September to assist in the
occupation of Korea and North China, then the subject
of critical contention between Communist and Nationalist
factions in China. Joseph E. Connolly spent 27 to 31
October at Shanghai in support of the Marines ashore,
after which she joined a service squadron in supplying
fuel and supplies to various Pacific island bases.
After patrol off Saipan in December, the ship sailed for
the United States 4 January 1946, arriving Boston 17
February via San Diego and the Canal Zone. She later
steamed to Green Cove Springs, Fla., where she decom-
missioned 20 June 1946 and entered the Reserve Fleet.
Joseph E. Connolly is at present berthed with the Texas
Group, Atlantic Reserve Meet.
Joseph E. Connolly received one battle star for World
War II service.
Joseph F. Bellows
A former name retained.
( S P-323 : t. 315 ; 1. 162' ; b. 24' ; dr. 14' ; s. 13 k. ; a. 1
6-pdr. )
Joseph F. Bellows (SP-323), a fishing steamer built in
1912 by E. J. Tull, Pocomoke City, Md., was acquired by
the Navy from Bellows and Squires, Inc., Ocran, Va., in
May 1917. She commissioned 18 May 1917, Ens. T. C.
Christopher, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Joseph
F. Bellows operated as a mine sweeper off Cape Henry
and in the convoy channel to Hampton Roads. After the
armistice she acted as a lightship tender and a supply
ship until being sold 2 July 1919 to NcNeal Dodson Co.,
Inc., Reedville, Va.
Joseph H. Kibbey, see Phobos (AK-129)
Joseph Hewes
Joseph Hewes was born in Kingston, N.J., in 1730, and
was educated at what is now Princeton. After engaging
in business in Philadelphia, he moved to Edenton, N.C. in
1763 where he became a prosperous and influential mer-
chant skipper. He was elected to the Continental Con-
gress in 1774, and in 1775 became a member of the Ma-
rine Committee. In this capacity Hewes played a major
part in the procurement and outfitting of Continental ves-
sels, and had the distinction of securing a commission in
the Continental Navy in December 1775 for one of the
sea’s greatest heroes-to-be, John Paul Jones. Hewes con-
tinued to take an active part in the movement for inde-
pendence in North Carolina. He also took part in the
discussions leading to the Declaration of Independence
and signed the historic document. He died 29 October
1779 shortly after his return to the Continental Congress.
(AP-50: dp. 14,100; 1. 450' (w.l.) ; b. 61 '6" ; dr. 26'4" ;
cpl. 358; a. 1 5", 4 3", 8 20mm.)
Joseph Hewes (AP-50), formerly Excalibur, was built
in 1930 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J. ;
acquired by the Navy 8 January 1942 ; and commissioned
I May 1942, Captain Robert McL. Smith in command.
After conversion and fitting out, Joseph Hewes sortied
from Hampton Roads 24 October with the Center Attack
Group of Admiral Hewitt’s Western Naval Task Force
en route to French Morocco. She was carrying 80 officers
and 1,074 men of the reinforced 3d Division, U.S. Army,
plus vehicles and supplies. The transport arrived off
Fedhala 8 November, by 0705 landed all troops, and then
commenced unloading ammunition and supplies. By 11
November Joseph Hewes had completed unloading and
had received 30 casualties from the beach. At 1950 she
took a torpedo hit in No. 2 hold from U-173. The
transport settled by the bow and began filling rapidly with
water. Captain Smith endeavored to pick up anchor or
slip chain but, as the entire forecastle was under water,
this was not possible. He then attempted to beach the
ship by backing engines but her propeller was out of the
water, so the order was given to abandon ship. Joseph
Hewes went down at 2032, taking Captain Smith and sev-
eral seamen with her. By his coolness, calmness, and his
devotion to duty in placing the safety of the crew and ship
before his own, he instilled confidence in every officer and
member of the crew. The 11-113 paid heavily for her vic-
tory, for she was sunk 5 days later off Casablanca by
American destroyers.
Joseph Hewes received one battle star for World War
II service.
Joseph Holland, see Hannibal (AG— 1)
560
Joseph Holt
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 10,500; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 27'9" ; s. 11
k. ; epl. 72 ; a. 1 4”, 10 20mm. ; T. EC2-S-C1)
Joseph Holt, a dry-cargo merchant ship, was launched
by Kaiser Richmond Yard #2, Richmond, Calif., 20 No-
vember 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Louise C. Hotting; and
delivered under General Agency Agreement 28 November
to the Prudential Steamship Co., San Francisco, Calif.
She was acquired by the Navy at Buckner Bay, Okinawa,
in late October 1945 and placed “in service,” Lt. Comdr.
E. R. Rifenburgh in command.
Joseph Holt departed Okinawa 7 November for southern
Japan. Arriving Hiro Wan 10 November, she joined other
“guinea-pig” ships especially outfitted for minesweeping
operations in the Japanese Inland Sea. She cleared ship-
ping channels of pressure mines laid down during the
war by B-29's. She concluded these operations 1 January
1946 and sailed for the United States. Arriving San
Francisco early in February, she was placed “out of serv-
ice” and turned over to the Maritime Commission. She
then joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun
Bay, Calif., where she remained until she was sold for
scrap in 1960.
Joseph K. Taussig
Joseph K. Taussig, born 30 August 1877 in Dresden,
Germany, entered the Naval Academy in 1895. As a
midshipman, he served on the flagship New York during
the Battle of Santiago in the Spanish- American War.
Following his graduation, in 1899 he was assigned to
Newark and participated in the Allied Peking Relief
Expedition during the Boxer Rebellion. After 2 years
as a naval cadet, he was commissioned Ensign 28 January
1901 to begin a series of promotions and distinctions that
would underscore his illustrious service to the Navy.
In July 1916, after serving in battleships, cruisers, de-
stroyers, and on staffs afloat, he took command of Division
8, Destroyer Force, the first group of American destroyers
sent abroad during World War I. After crossing the
storm and gale filled Atlantic, Comdr. Taussig was asked
by the Commander in Chief of the Coasts of Ireland when
he would be ready for sea. Taussig replied in the now
famous words; “We are ready now, Sir.” He received
the Distinguished Service Medal for World War I service.
After the war he continued to serve the Navy at home
and abroad. In 1922 his ship, Cleveland, rendered assist-
ance to the victims of an earthquake and tidal wave in
Chile. He served at the Naval War College, from 1923
to 1926. He also saw duty in the Bureau of Navigation,
as Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, and as Com-
mandant, 5th Naval District, in addition to commanding
a battleship division and cruiser scouting force. Vice
Admiral Taussig retired in 1941 but was recalled to active
duty in 1943 to serve in the office of the Secretary of the
Navy until 1 June 1947, only a few months before his death
29 October 1947.
(DE-1030: dp. 1,450; 1. 314'6", b. 36'9" ; dr. 9'1” ; s. 25
k. ; cpl. 170; a. 3 3”, 1 dct., 6 dcp., 1 rkt. ; cl. Evans)
Joseph K. Taussig (DE-1030) was laid down 3 January
1956 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
launched 9 March 1957 ; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph K.
Taussig, widow of Vice Admiral Taussig, and commis-
sioned 10 September 1957, Lt. Comdr. R. S. Moore in
command.
Following a Caribbean shakedown Joseph K. Taussig
reported to Newport, R.I., 22 December for duty with the
Atlantic Fleet. She departed Newport 12 May 1958 for
Mediterranean service with the 6th Fleet. During this
tour that a crisis erupted in Lebanon, and the 6th Fleet
was dispatched to the area to prevent a Communist take-
over. Joseph K. Taussig was at the scene, giving credibil-
ity to her namesake’s words ; “We are ready now.” The
destroyer escort remained on patrol until the crisis sub-
sided, and then returned to Newport 7 October.
She was assigned to an antisubmarine warfare group
and continued these operations until 6 February 1959 when
she made a goodwill cruise to South America. Upon
completion of an overhaul at Boston Naval Shipyard,
Joseph K. Taussig operated out of Newport prior to Carib-
bean exercises during January 1960. She returned to
Newport 14 February and resumed operations along the
Atlantic coast.
The destroyer escort steamed toward the North Atlantic
6 September for NATO exercises, designed to show the
enemies of freedom, that peace-loving nations would join
forces to thwart any efforts to undermine that freedom.
Joseph K. Taussig resumed coastal operations upon her
return to Newport 20 October.
During January and February 1961, Joseph E. Taussig
once again participated in annual exercises in the Carib-
bean and in April engaged in joint American-Canadian
exercises off Nova Scotia. For the remainder of the year
she operated in a state of readiness along the Atlantic
coast and in mid February 1962 commenced 6 months of
extensive ASW exercises.
During October, intelligence reports revealed evidence
of Russian missile installations in Cuba. President Ken-
nedy responded to this Communist challenge, by establish-
ing a naval quarantine around the island. Joseph K.
Taussig was ordered off Jacksonville, Fla., in November
to provide a second line of defense in the crisis.
With the easing of tensions, she began preparations for
a goodwill cruise to Africa, and departed Newport 15
February 1963. After visiting 9 African and 3 Mediter-
ranean ports, she returned Newport 25 May for summer
convoy escort exercises and Cuban patrol duty. From
August to December, Joseph K. Taussig engaged in coastal
training operations.
Between January and May 1965 Joseph K. Taussig
received DASH installation at Boston Naval Shipyard ;
and, after completing training in the Caribbean, she parti-
cipated in the massive amphibious exercise, Operation
“Steel Pike I,” in October. During the remainder of 1965
and throughout 1966, she trained along the Atlantic Coast
and in the Caribbean and, in addition, served as sonar
school ship at Key West. Early in 1966 she began 6
months of duty as an E-4 training ship to train seamen as
petty officers in response to the growing commitment of
the Navy in the troubled waters of Southeast Asia. She
resumed squadron training exercises in July. During the
next 12 months she operated from New England waters to
the Caribbean maintaining her high degree of readiness
for defense of the nation and the free world.
Joseph M. Auman
Private Joseph Martin Auman was born at Chicago, 111.,
4 January 1922. He enlisted in the Marine Corps 27
August 1940 at Chicago. After duty at San Diego, Private
Auman served at Guadalcanal where he was killed in
action 12 November 1942. When his company was forced
to make a temporary withdrawal, Private Auman with
utter disregard for his own personal safety, manned a
machine gun and covered the retirement. Steadfastly
remaining at his exposed position, he continued to fire his
gun until killed by the enemy. For his gallant devotion
to duty for his country, Private Auman was posthumously
awarded the Navy Cross.
( APD-117 : dp. 1,390 ; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Crosley)
Joseph M. Auman ( APD-117) was laid down 8 Novem-
ber 1943 as DE-674 by Consolidated Steel Co., Orange,
Tex. ; launched 5 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs.
Bernard Tommey, aunt of Private Auman ; reclassified
APD-117 on 17 July 1944; and commissioned 25 April
1915, Lt. Comdr. H. A. Steinbaeh in command.
Following shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
Joseph M. Auman departed Norfolk 9 July 1945, reaching
561
San Diego 24 July via the Canal Zone. She conducted
more intensive training with the San Diego Shakedown
Group, then embarked Underwater Demolition Team No.
7 and carried them to Yoriage Beach, Shiogama, Japan
for reconnaissance of landing beaches. After completing
the mission, she returned the demolition group to San
Diego 13 October.
Joseph M. Auman departed San Diego 20 October and
steamed to Manila Bay, P.I., where she embarked 100
Navy passengers and carried them to Samar. From Samar
the fast transport loaded cargo and delivered it to
Shanghai, China, 4 December. Joseph M. Auman con-
tinued to carry cargo and passengers in the Pacific until
she returned to the United States and decommissioned at
Green Cove Springs, Fla. 10 July 1946, joining the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet. She remained in the Reserve Fleet until
struck from the Navy List 12 December 1963 and sold
to the government of Mexico. She now serves the Mexican
Navy as Tehuantepec (B-5).
Joseph M. Clark
A former name retained.
( SP-1244 : t. 93; 1. 86'2” ; b. 20'7" ; dr. 11'; s. 11 k. ; a.
2 3-pdrs. )
Joseph M. Clark, a steam tug, built in 1899 by the R.
W. Spedden Co., Baltimore, Md., was leased by the Navy
from Joseph M. Clark & Co. of Norfolk, Va. 26 October
1917, and commissioned the same day, Boatswain Mer-
riken, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Joseph M.
Clark served as a harbor tug and section patrol sweeper
out of Norfolk, operating along the lower reaches of the
James and Elizabeth Rivers. She decommissioned 12
November and was returned to her owner.
Joseph Meseck (YN-51), see Metacom (YNT-19)
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr., older brother of President
John F. Kennedy, was born in Nantasket, Mass., 25 July
1915. He attended Harvard College and Harvard Law
School, enlisting in the Naval Reserve 24 June 1941. After
flight training, Kennedy was commissioned Ensign 5 May
1942. He served with Patrol Squadron 203 and Bombing
Squadron 110 before joining a special air unit in Britain
in 1944. He was appointed Lieutenant 1 July 1944. Lt.
Kennedy took part in a secret project to destroy German
V-2 rocket launching sites by the use of radio controlled
drone aircraft loaded with explosives. The plane could
not take off by radio control, however, and Kennedy vol-
unteered to take her into the air where guidance systems
would take over. After exhaustive preparations he and
another brave flyer, Lt. W. J. Willy, took off from Win-
farthing 12 August 1944. However, the drone exploded
with two enormous blasts, killing both officers. Lt. Ken-
nedy was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for this
dangerous mission in the drone Liberator bomber. His
citation testifies : “Intrepid and daring in his tactics
and with unwavering confidence in the vital importance of
his task, he willingly risked his life in the supreme meas-
ure of service, and, by his great personal valor and forti-
tude in carrying out a perilous undertaking, sustained
and enhanced the finest traditions of the United States
Naval Service.”
( DD-850 : dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6” ; b. 41'4" ; dr. 18'6” ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 367; a. 6 5", 12 40mm„ 10 20mm., 10 21” tt.,
6 dep., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing )
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD-850) was launched by
Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., 26 July 1945 ; spon-
sored by Miss Jean Kennedy, sister of Lt. Kennedy ; and
commissioned at Boston 15 December 1945, Comdr. H. G.
Moore in command.
The new destroyer sailed 4 February 1946 for shake-
down training in the Caribbean. She returned to her
homeport, Newport, in April, and was occupied for the
next few months in Naval Reserve Training. Arriving
Norfolk 8 October, the ship joined Admiral Leahy’s flag-
ship Wisconsin BB-64, and other units for a cruise to
Chile and Venezuela. She transited the Canal twice on
this voyage, and was reviewed by the President of
Venezuela 25 November 1946. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.,
returned to her home port 14 December 1946.
During 1947 the destroyer operated on the East Coast
and in the Caribbean. She sailed for fleet maneuvers off
Puerto Rico 9 February and upon completion steamed
eastward to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Dur-
ing this period of great unrest in Europe, the fleet carried
out the important role of peacekeeper and stabilizer.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. visited various Mediterranean
ports before arriving Newport 26 June 1948. The re-
mainder of the year was spent in antisubmarine exercises,
and the first half of 1949 saw her make two training
cruises to the Caribbean.
The ship sailed 23 August 1949 for 6th Fleet duty as
flagship of Destroyer Squadron 18, returning 27 January
1950. With the advent of war in Korea she carried out
reserve training during July 1950, followed by bombard-
ment and convoy exercises to prepare for action defend-
ing South Korea from Communist aggression. Joseph
P. Kennedy, Jr., sailed for Japan 3 January 1951 by way
of the Panama Canal, Pearl Harbor, and Midway. At
Sasebo she loaded ammunition and, exactly 1 month after
departure from Newport, joined Task Force 77 off Korea.
From February to April she screened the attack carriers
as they pounded enemy positions and supply lines. She
departed 8 April for the Formosa Patrol, helping to pre-
vent further hostilities across the volatile Straits. Joseph
P. Kennedy, Jr., then returned to Korea arriving off Won-
san 20 May to take up bombardment station in support
of the Allied siege and occupation of harbor islands.
This duty continued until 13 June, a period of almost con-
stant bombardment of great importance to the operation,
after which the ship steamed to Sasebo.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., did not return to the West
Coast immediately upon the termination of this combat
duty, but instead steamed westward to complete a circuit
of the globe. With other units of Destroyer Squadron 8,
she visited Singapore, Bahrein, Port Said, Naples, and
Gibraltar before returning to Newport 9 August 1951.
Until January 1953 she conducted battle practice and
served as school ship for the Fleet Training School at
Newport that serves well to keep the fleet abreast of the
latest developments. She sailed 7 January for another 6th
Fleet cruise, returning to Newport 18 May 1953. Anti-
submarine training exercises and another Mediterranean
cruise January-May 1954 comprised her duty through
most of 1955, and she sailed 5 November for Arctic ma-
neuvers off northern Europe. The ship visited Oslo,
Norway, and Bremerhaven, carrying out tactical exer-
cises with units of the 6th Fleet before returning to New-
port 5 March 1956.
In June 1956 the veteran ship arrived Annapolis with
Iowa (BB-61) and New Jersey (BB-62) to embark Naval
Academy midshipmen for a practice cruise. Upon return-
ing from Northern Europe 1 August, the ship took part
in training operations until 6 May 1957, when she sailed
once more for 6th Fleet duty. The Jordanian crisis had
just passed with the strong support of the fleet, and
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., took part in carrier operations
until September, when she steamed to the coast of Nor-
way for NATO joint maneuvers. She returned to New-
port 22 October 1957. Again in 1958 the ship sailed to the
Mediterranean, and on this cruise spent April in the
Persian Gulf with the Middle East Force that helps sta-
bilize that critical area before arriving Newport 1 July
1958.
After a needed period of overhaul at Boston, Joseph P.
Kennedy, Jr., arrived Annapolis once more 3 June 1959
for midshipman training. Along with other ships of
the task group, she entered the St. Lawrence and repre-
562
sented the Navy at the opening of the Seaway 26 June
1959. Following the ceremonies, in which both President
Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II took part, the de-
stroyer entered the Seaway and steamed to Chicago 2
July. The ship visited various ports before returning to
the Atlantic 6 August. In 1960 she returned to the Med-
iterranean with Forrestal (CVH-59) and Franklin D.
Roosevelt (CVB-42), returning to Newport 15 October,
In January 1961 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., steamed to
Washington for the inauguration of John F. Kennedy,
brother of her namesake. During February and April
of that year she took part in space shots in the Project
Mercury series. She then arrived New York 1 July 1961
for a FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization)
overhaul in the Naval Shipyard. During this period she
received the latest in antisubmarine gear, a new helicopter
flight deck and hangar aft, and numerous other modifi-
cations designed to increase greatly her useful life. After
emerging in her new dress in late May 1962, she underwent
exhaustive shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
returning 26 August 1962.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., with other ships of the fleet,
reacted quickly to the threat of offensive missiles in Cuba,
and President Kennedy’s quarantine order. Sailing 22
October, the ship took an active part in the blockade which
forced an easing of the crisis, and boarded Greek freighter
Marucla 26 October. After participating in this graphic
demonstration of the power and mobility of the modern
Navy, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., remained on patrol in the
Caribbean until returning to Newport 7 December 1962.
During 1963 the veteran destroyer carried out training
operations off the Virginia Capes and Nova Scotia. She
departed Newport 29 April 1964 for another Med cruise
until 26 August, and in October was underway for Opera-
tion “Steel Pike I”, one of the very largest amphibious
operations since World War II. During the passage of
the task force to the Spanish coast, she acted as anti-
submarine screening ship. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. re-
turned to Newport 19 November 1964.
Late in January of 1965, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., put to
sea for Port Canaveral, Fla., where she helped qualify
two newly constructed Polaris submarines for patrol over
seas. There followed a regular 3-month overhaul in the
Boston Naval Shipyard.
Comdr. J. W. Hayes took over command of Joseph P.
Kennedy, Jr., from Capt. J. V. Peters on July 14 ; the next
day, a 2-month period of refresher training commenced
as the ship set sail for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The U.S. Man In Space Program was one of Joseph P.
Kennedy, Jr.’s most recent commitments; leaving New-
port on November 27, 1965, the ship took station 1,200
miles southeast of Bermuda as part of the afloat recovery
team for Gemini 6 and 7 on a 14-day orbital and rendezvous
mission in space. The shots a success and her duty done,
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. returned to Newport 21 December
to prepare for another deployment in the Mediterranean.
Assigned to DesRon 10, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr departed
Newport 15 February 1966 for duty with the 6th Fleet.
After arriving Gibraltar 24 February, she participated
during the next 4 months in AAW and ASW operations
and ranged the Mediterranean from the North African
coast to Turkey. She completed her peace-keeping patrols
late in June and returned to Newport 8 July.
During the remainder of the year she conducted de-
stroyer exercises and carrier screening operations off the
eastern seaboard. In mid-November she participated in
USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD-850)
563
U. S. S JOSEPH P. KENNEDY. JR. (DD-850)
CARE OF FLEET POST OFFICE
NEW YORK. NEW YORK
DD850 :KCR :rns
3000
Ser: 021
27 OCT 1962
From: Commanding Officer, USS JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, JP.. (DD 850)
TO: Commander U.S. SECOND FLEET
Via: Commander Destroyer Division 102
Subj : Visit and Search of SS MARUCLA on 26 October 1962 ; report of
Enel: (1) Boarding officer's report with enclosures thereto
1. USS JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, JR. (DD S50) was directed to intercept the SS MARUCLA
by Comnander Task Force I36. A rendezvous was effected with USS JOHN R. PIERCE
(DD 753) and the KARUCLA was intercepted at first light on 26 October 1962. The
vessel was visited, searched, and subsequently cleared to proceed. Paragraph (2)
below outlines a chronological sequence of events. Enclosure (1) is the Boarding
Officer's report and recounts in detail the actual activities of the Visit and
Search Party on board.
2. SS MARUCLA, Beirut, Lebanon enroute Havana, Cuba via Providence Channel and
Straits of Florida:
0600
0610
0615
0630
0632
0635
0642
0647
0651
0654
0900
0910
0915
0925
1015
1030
1235
KENNEDY broke flaghoist signal: CODE OSCAR NOVEMBER
KENNEDY sent by flashing light; REQUEST YOU STOP
KENNEDY sent by flashing light; I INTEND TO BOARD YOU, REQUEST YOU
ADVISE WHEN YOUR SEA LADDER IS READY
SS MARUCLA sent: WE ARE READY TO RECEIVE YOU
KENNEDY Visit and Search Party left for USS PIERCE
SS MARUCLA flying: CODE ANSWERING SIGNAL
KENNEDY hauled down: CODE OSCAR NOVEMBER
LCEP. D.G. OSBORNE, Executive Officer from USS PIERCE boarded KENNEDY'S
whaleboat as member of Boarding Party - whaleboat proceeding to SS
MARUCLA
Whaleboat commenced circling the SS MARUCLA
Visit and Search Party commenced boarding SS MARUCLA - portside
Whaleboat departed SS MARUCLA - standing off
Boarding Officer briefs COMEESDIV 102 and Commanding Officer, USS
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, JR. over portable radio and recormends vessel
clearance to proceed
SS MARUCLA cleared to proceed however, surveillance maintained pending
further instructions from Task Force Conmander
Boarding Party departing S3 MARUCLA
Boarding Party returned on board KENNEDY for debriefing
Executive Officer PIERCE departs ship via whaleboat
Whaleboat returns to ship
Surveillance terminated as directed by Task Force Commander
KENNEDY returning to assigned station
3. Visit and Search Party was not armed nor were ary small arms in the whale-
boat. The USS JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, JR. was close aboard on the SS MARUCLA's
port quarter during the visit and was at general quarters. The USS PIERCE was
on the merchant ship's starboard quarter. The ship was in continuous communi-
cations with the Visit and Search Party via portable radio.
4.
The
entire operation went smoothly and without any undesirable incidents.
Nicholas MIKEAIEVSKY
recovery operations following the successful 4-day flight
of Gemini 12. On 1 March 1967 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
again sailed for duty with the mighty 6th Fleet. She
cruised the Mediterranean until late April, thence transit-
ed the Suez Canal for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Late in June she departed the Gulf of Aden for the United
States. Steaming via the Cape of Good Hope and South
America, she arrived Newport the following month.
There she resumed readiness training in preparation for
any duty in the interest of the nation and the free world.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. received two battle stars for
Korean service.
Joseph R. Parrott, see Salem (CM-11)
Joseph Strauss
Joseph Strauss was born 16 November 1861 in Mount
Morris, N.Y. He was commissioned Ensign 1 July 1887
and began a distinguished career as specialist in ordnance
in June 1893 when he reported to the Bureau of Ordnance
in Washington, D.C. During the Spanish-American War
he served in Lancaster blockading the Cuban coast, then
returned to the Bureau of Ordnance. He established the
Naval Proving Ground, Indian Head, Md., 1900 to 1902 ;
served on a Special Board of Naval Ordnance in 1906 ;
and was a member of the Joint Army-Navy Board on
Smokeless Powders the following year. He conducted
experimental work with torpedoes while commanding
cruiser Montgomery 1909 to 1911 ; commanded Ohio
(BB-12) in 1912; then became Chief of Bureau of Ord-
nance 21 October 1913.
Strauss assumed command of Nevada (BB-36) 30 De-
cember 1916 and remained in command as the United
States entered World War I. Detached from the battle-
ship in February 1918, he was designated Commander,
Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet. He was awarded the Dis-
tinguished Service Medal both for directing the laying
of the North Sea Mine Barrage and for the hazardous
task of clearing it after peace came. In October 1919 he
returned to the Navy Department to serve as a member
of the General Board until March 1921 when he became
Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet with the rank
of Admiral. He resumed duty with the General Board
in October 1922. The following year he also worked with
Congress on the budget and appropriations. He trans-
ferred to the Retired List 16 November 1925 but returned
briefly to active duty 8 October 1937 to 8 February 1938
to serve the Advisory Board on Battleship Plans.
Admiral Strauss was a founder of the Naval Historical
Society and a long time financial adviser of the Navy
Relief Society. Among his inventions were the super-
imposed system of mounting guns ; the first spring recoil
gun mount, the first disappearing mount for deck guns of
submarines, and the 12-inch gun, the fore-runner of the
mighty guns for capital ships’ main batteries. He re-
ceived a special letter of appreciation from Secretary of
the Navy Charles F. Adams in 1929 for his work on safety
devices of submarines and the salvaging of sunken sub-
marines. He died 30 December 1948 and was buried in
the Arlington National Cemetery.
(DDG-16: dp. 4,500 t. ; 1. 437' ; b. 47' ; dr. 21 '10" ; s. over
30 k. ; cpl. 334; a. Tar. mis., 2 5", 6 21" tt., ASROC ;
cl. Charles F. Adams )
Joseph Strauss (DDG-16) was laid down 27 December
1960 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
launched 9 December 1961 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lawrence
Haines Coburn, granddaughter of Admiral Joseph
Strauss; and commissioned in the Philadelphia Naval
Shipyard 20 April 1963, Cdr. William M. A. Greene in
command.
Joseph Strauss departed Philadelphia 6 June 1963 for
a brief cruise to Puerto Rico and Willemstad, Cracao,
and then transited the Panama Canal to join the Pacific
Fleet on the western seaboard. She arrived in the Long
Beach Naval Shipyard 13 July 1963 for alterations, fol-
lowed by tactics out of San Diego north to Seattle, Wash.
The flagship of Destroyer Squadron 3, Joseph Strauss
sailed from Long Beach 30 June 1964. After calling at
Pearl Harbor and Midway Atoll, she arrived in Yokosuka,
Japan, 18 July. She departed 3 August 1964 to rendezvous
off Okinawa 6 August with Constellation (CVA-65). She
then patrolled off the Vietnam coast and the South China
Sea with task forces built around Constellation, Kearsarge
(OVS-33) and Ticonderoga (CVA-14). Brief sweeps were
made to the Philippines and ports of Japan. She arrived
in Yokosuka 15 December 1964 for upkeep, again sailing
21 January 1965 to support U.S. Forces in Vietnam until
1 March. During this period, she operated with Ranger
(CVA-61), Hancock (CVA-19), Coral Sea (CVA-43), and
Yorktown (CVS-10).
Following upkeep in Subic Bay (1-10 March), Joseph
Strauss sailed with ships of the Royal Thai Navy for
exercises in the Gulf of Thailand. She was briefly flag-
ship of the 7th Fleet (22-26 March) during the official
visit of Vice Admiral Paul B. Blackburn, Jr., to Bangkok,
Thailand. She departed Yokosuka, 19 April for opera-
tions that brought recognition and honor to both the ship
and her crew.
Commencing 24 April 1965, Joseph Strauss, together with
Ernest O. Small (DDR-838), was part of the first ad-
vanced SAR/AAW picket team in the Gulf of Tonkin to
support U.S. air strike operations against North Vietnam.
From 16 through 21 May, she observed operations of a
Russian task unit. She returned to Yokosuka (23 May^4
June), then again sailed for the Gulf of Tonkin. Her en-
suing 27 days as flagship of the AAW/SAR picket unit
were highly successful, establishing operational proce-
dures and capabilities which remain destroyer standards.
On 17 June 1965, two F4B Phantom’s from Midway
(CVA-41), under Joseph Strauss’ advisory control, shot
down two MIG-17’s, accounting for the first two hostile
aircraft downed by U.S. Forces in aerial combat since
1953. Three days later, two propeller-driven Skyraiders,
also from Midway and under Joseph Strauss’ Combat In-
formation Center team were decorated by the Secretary of
the Navy.
Joseph Strauss arrived in Hong Kong 6 July 1965, put-
ting out to sea 14 to 16 July to avoid Typhoon Freda, and
again 18 to 19 July to carry the 7th Fleet Salvage Officer
to Pratus Reef to assist in refloating Frank Knox ( DDR-
742). She departed Hong Kong 21 July for Yokosuka.
The following day she took a disabled Nationalist Chinese
fishing boat in tow and delivered it safely to Keelung the
23d, thence sailed to Yokosuka, arriving 25 July for up-
keep.
On 3 September 1965, she successfully fired two im-
proved Tartar missiles off Okinawa. After a 1-day stop at
Sasebo, Joseph Strauss proceeded south in the screen of
Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31). Upon arrival in the
South China Sea, she was detached for picket patrol in the
Gulf of Tonkin during the last 3 weeks of September
She spent the first 2 weeks of October supporting opera-
tions off Vietnam in the screen of Bon Homme Richard
and Oriskany (CVA-34). She then returned to Subic Bay
for naval gunfire support training which continued off Da-
nang, South Vietnam. On 28 October 1965, she fired her
first shots in anger, expending 217 5-inch shells in support
of a combined ARVN-Marine Corps search-and-destroy op-
eration against the Viet Cong. Throughout November she
formed an advanced SAR/AAW picket team with Tucker
(DD-875) in the Gulf of Tonkin. She returned to
Yokosuka 7 December 1965 for unkeep and preparations
to resume operations off South Vietnam. Joseph Strauss
returned to the Gulf of Tonkin 10 February 1966 and re-
mained active in the war zone until heading for Hong
Kong exactly one month later. Back in the fighting 26
April, she remained in the war zone until returning to
Yokosuka 15 June. That day her home port was changed
to Pearl Harbor which she reached 26 July.
Joseph Strauss operated in the Hawiian area until
heading back for the Western Pacific 14 January 1967.
She remained in the Far East supporting the struggle
565
against Communist aggression until returning to Pearl
Harbor 17 June. There she prepared for future action.
Joseph T. Bickman
An army name retained.
( A P-26 : dp. 21,900; 1. 535'2" ; b- 72'4" ; dr. 31'3" ;
s. 17 k. ;cpl. 693; a. 4 3")
Joseph T. Dickman ( AP-26) was built as Peninsula
State for the U.S.S.B. by New York Shipbuilding Co.,
Camden, N.J., in 1921 and 1922. She began transatlantic
service for United States Lines in 1922, and soon after-
ward in May was renamed President Pierce. In August
1922 the ship was renamed President Roosevelt, a name
she carried during her many years of passenger service.
Taken over by the War Department in October 1940, she
was named Joseph T. Dickman and converted to a troop-
ship by Atlantic Basin Iron Works of Brooklyn. The
ship was subsequently transferred to the Navy 27 May
1941 and further converted to Navy use at New York
Navy Yard. She commissioned at the Navy Yard 10
June 1941, Lt. Comdr. C. W. Harwood, USCG, in command.
The new transport got underway 26 June 1941 for
Hampton Roads, and until August she took part in
amphibious training exercises off Onslow Beach, N.C.
After these important landings, which helped develop the
tactics and equipment to be used later with such great
success, Joseph T. Dickman returned to New York 14
August. She then moved to Boston for further conver-
sion, remaining there until 1 October. Stores were loaded
at Norfolk in October, after which the transport proceeded
to Halifax to load British troops. With five other troop
ships she departed 10 November 1941 on the long voyage
to India. While the ship carried these British reinforce-
ments, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the
United States into the war 7 December 1941. Joseph T.
Dickman arrived Bombay via Trinidad and Capetown 27
December 1941 and debarked troops. Departing 10 Jan-
uary, she retraced her steps to New York, arriving 28 Feb-
ruary 1942 for the installation of new boats and lowering
equipment.
After leaving the yard in April the ship underwent tests
in Hampton Roads before departing 11 May for transport,
duties in the Caribbean. She stopped at San Juan and
Bermuda to debark troops before returning to Norfolk
27 May 1942. Joseph T. Dickman carried further rein-
forcements to Caribbean bases in June, and spent July
on amphibious exercises in Chesapeake Bay. Training
and additional conversion to increase her boat capacity
continued into October, when the ship prepared for Oper-
ation “Torch”, the invasion of North Africa.
As part of the Western Naval Task Force, Joseph T.
Dickman got underway from Norfolk 24 October to take
part in the first amphibious invasion ever launched across
an entire ocean. Arriving in the transport area of Fed-
hala early 8 November, she began the debarkation. She
remained off shore until German submarine attacks forced
her seaward 12 November. As the successful invasion was
consolidated, however, Joseph T. Diclcman entered Casa-
blanca harbor 15 November and completed unloading.
Two days later she was underway for Norfolk, arriving
30 November 1942.
After embarking troops and taking on cargo, Joseph T.
Dickman departed 27 December 1942 for the Pacific via
the Panama Canal. She stopped at Noumea and Bris-
bane before sailing for Norfolk again, where she ar-
rived 10 March 1943. During this voyage, on 1 February
1943, the ship was reclassified APA-13.
The veteran troopship departed 10 May 1943 for North
Africa, in preparation for the invasion of Sicily. She
arrived Mers el Kebir 23 May and, after landing rehear-
sals, got underway with the invasion fleet from Algiers
6 July. As a part of Rear Admiral Hall’s Gela landing
force, she arrived off the beaches 10 July and began the
long process of debarkation. Next day she suffered minor
damage fighting off German bombing attacks, damaging
at least three of the attackers with her accurate gunfire.
With the invasion quickly successful, the ship was under-
way for Algiers 12 July for more exercises.
The next major amphibious operation in the campaign
to regain Italy was slated for Salerno: and, after train-
ing, Joseph T. Dickman arrived off the beaches with Hall’s
Southern Attack Force 9 September. Rockets from an
LCS attached to the ship helped clear the way for the
first wave of boats, and, after receiving near misses from
shore batteries, the transport debarked her troops and
returned to Mers el Kebir. As the battle to consolidate
the beachhead began, Joseph T. Dickman returned with
reinforcements to Salerno 6 October. She made two other
follow-up voyages from Africa to Italy, the final one with
over 1,006 French troops.
The ship sailed 30 November 1943 for Norfolk by way of
Scotland. Upon her arrival 1 January 1944, the ship
underwent battle repairs ; and, after embarking troops,
sailed 11 February 1944 for Glasgow. During the next
few months the ship was engaged in intensive training
for the giant Normandy invasion, scheduled for June.
Sailing from England 5 June, she arrived off Utah Beach
early the next day and landed her troops without a mis-
hap. On the afternoon of D-day, she steamed to Portland
with casualties, later making a shuttle voyage to the
beaches 14 June as troops moved inland to liberate France.
Upon arriving Mers el Kebir 10 July 1944, Joseph T.
Dickman began preparations for still another landing,
this time in southern France. After exacting training
operations, she sailed from Sicily 13 August 1944, arriv-
ing off the Delta Force beaches next day to debark her
troops. After smooth and skillful unloading, she steamed
to Naples, arriving 17 August. In the weeks that fol-
lowed, Joseph T. Dickman made five follow-up voyages
to southern France from Mediterranean staging points
as the Allies pressed northward. The veteran ship sailed
from Mers el Kebir 25 October for the United States,
arriving Boston 8 November.
Joseph T. Dickman, after taking part in every major
amphibious operation in the European-African theater,
now turned her attention to the Pacific. She sailed 24
January 1945 with troops for Guadalcanal, arriving via
Espiritu Santo 12 February. There she began training
operations for the invasion of Okinawa. From 21-27
March the transports made final preparations at Ulithi,
sailing the latter date for the last and greatest of the
Pacific invasions. The troops stormed ashore 1 April, but
the transport remained off the beaches helping to ward
off air attacks while unloading cargo until 9 April. She
then sailed to Saipan, and continued to Pearl Harbor,
where she anchored 25 April 1945. Joseph T. Dickman
arrived at San Francisco with veterans 30 May.
After two troop voyages to Pearl Harbor, the ship re-
mained at the Navy Yard there for conversion to a cas-
ualty evacuation ship for the projected invasion of Japan.
Emerging 10 August, she was en route to San Francisco
when the fighting ended 14 August 1945. Joseph T. Dick-
man then sailed for the Philippines 24 August ; and, upon
arrival in Manila 17 September, took on American and
Allied soldiers who had been prisoners of the Japanese
for transportation to the United States. Ironically, four
British enlisted men came on board, who after 3% years
in a prison camp were returning to the United States on
the same ship which had carried them from Halifax to
Bombay in 1941. The ship reached San Francisco 16
October.
Assigned to Operation “Magic-Carpet,” Joseph T. Dick-
man made a voyage to Pearl Harbor, returning to Seattle
2 December 1945. She moved south to San Francisco 13
January 1946. The ship steamed to Suisun Bay in March,
decommissioned 7 March, and was returned to the Mari-
time Commission. She was scrapped in 1948.
Joseph T. Dickman received six battle stars for World
War II service.
Josephine, see Vixen (PY-4)
566
Josephine
Former names retained.
I
( SP-913 : 1. 60' ; b. 13'6" ; dr. 3'3" ; a. 1 3-pdr., 1 mg.)
The first Josephine (SP-913), a motor boat, was built in
1916 by New York Yacht, Launch, & Engine Co., Morris
Heights, N.Y., and acquired from her owner, L. A.
Lehmaier, 9 August 1917. She commissioned 20 Septem-
ber 1917 at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Boatswain J. D. Cremin,
USNRF, in command.
Josephine was attached to the 3d Naval District and
performed patrol duty in the New York area, including
Long Island Sound. She was returned to her owner 20
December 1918.
II
(SP-1243: t. 32; 1. 82'; b. 12'10" ; dr. 4'6" ; s. 12 k. ;
a. 1 3-pdr„ 1 1-pdr.)
The second Josephine (SP-1243), a motor yacht, was
built in 1905 by Peter Grutti Shipyards, New Orleans, and
acquired by the Navy from her owners, Lee H. Tate, et al.,
of St. Louis, 27 October 1917 at New Orleans. She com-
missioned 5 November 1917, Ens. J. S. Waterman, Jr.,
USNRF, in command.
Attached to the 8th Naval District, Josephine patrolled
the southwest pass of the Mississippi River and the Gulf
of Mexico, based at Burrwood, La. She decommissioned
6 December 1918 and was returned to her owners.
III
( SP-3295 : 1. 48' ; b. 8'6'' ; dr. 4' ; s. 12 k.)
The third Josephine (SP-3295), a motor boat, was built
in 1913 by Jacob Shipyard, City Island, N.Y., and acquired
by the Navy 30 October 1918 from her owner, Frank S.
Sample.
Josephine operated as a patrol and harbor craft in the
3d Naval District until being returned to her owner
3 January 1919.
Josephine H. II
A former name retained.
( SP-245 : 1. 65' ; b. 12'6" ; dr. 4'8" ; s. 12 k. ; a. none)
Josephine H. II (SP-245), a wooden motor boat, was
built in 1912 by Bosserdet Yacht & Engine Co., and ac-
quired by the Navy in July 1917 from her owners, John
R. Shuman et al. She commissioned 3 August 1917, Chief
Boatswain’s Mate G. F. Noyes in command.
Josephine II. II was assigned to the 9th, 10th, and 11th
Naval Districts for patrol duty based at Detroit. She
performed guard duty and regulated traffic on the Detroit
River and in Lake St. Clair until decommissioning 29 No-
vember 1918. She was returned to her owners 11 March
1919.
Josephus
A former name retained.
(t. 1,340; 1. 229' ; b. 39'2" ; dr. 20'8" ; cpl. 7)
Josephus was built in 1876 by E. Haggett, of Newcastle,
Maine, and purchased by the Navy from Luckenbach
Steamship Co., 18 October 1917. She commissioned 8
November 1917 and immediately began collier duties in
the 3d Naval District. She was assigned to NOTS 8
August 1918 and operated with the coastwise collier serv-
ice from Norfolk to New England ports.
Josephus was detached from NOTS 27 March 1919 to
take up peacetime collier duties in the 5th Naval District.
She was stricken from the Navy List 13 June 1919 and
sold to the Neptune Line 11 September 1919.
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels was born 18 May 1862 in Washington,
N.C. As editor and publisher of the Raleigh, N.C., News
and Observer, he became a major editorial voice in the
South. He was appointed Secretary of the Navy by Presi-
dent Wilson in 1913. A number of his naval reforms in-
cluded abolishing the officer’s wine mess, the introduction
of women into the service, and establishment of service
schools on board ships and stations. He evinced great
interest in the common man, favoring promotion from the
ranks and inaugurating the practice of making 100 sailors
from the fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy
annually. Under his leadership, the Navy expanded
greatly and fought effectively in World War I. He
resigned as head of the Navy Department in 1921, return-
ing to his job as editor and publisher of the News and
Observer until his appointment as Ambassador to Mexico
from 1933 to 1942. After furthering President Roosevelt’s
“Good Neighbor” policy with Mexico, be devoted the re-
mainder of his life to editing and the writing of a number
of books, including Our Navy at War and Life of
Woodrow Wilson. He died at Raleigh 15 January 1948.
( DLG-27 : dp. 7,930; 1. 547'; b. 55'; dr. 28'10'' ; s. over
20 k. ; cpl. 418; a. Ter. mg., 1 5", 2 3", 2 21V tt. ; cl.
Belknap)
Josephus Daniels was laid down 23 April 1962 by Bath
Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine ; launched 2 December
1963; sponsored by Mrs. Robert M. Woronoff and Mrs.
Clyde R. Rich Jr., granddaughters of Josephus Daniels ;
and commissioned 8 May 1965, Captain Harry A. Cum-
mings in command.
The guided missile frigate, based at Norfolk, Va., cruises
as a unit of Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Josephus Daniels operated off the East Coast until depart-
ing the Virginia Capes 9 December for the Mediterranean.
She operated with the 6th Fleet, a force of peace and sta-
bility in the volatile Middle East, until returning home in
the spring of 1967.
Josiah D. Whitney, see Livingston (AK-222)
Josiah Paul, see Nashira ( AK-85)
Josiah Willard Gibbs
San Carlos (AVP-51) (q.v.) was renamed Josiah
Willard Gibbs and reclassified AGOR-1 on 15 December
1958.
Jouett
James Edward Jouett was born near Lexington, Ky., 7
February 1826 and was appointed Midshipman 10 Septem-
ber 1841. He served on the African coast in Decatur with
Mathew C. Perry and in John Adams during the Mexican
War.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Jouett was captured
by Confederates at Pensacola but was soon parolled. He
then joined the blockading forces off Galveston, distin-
guishing himself during the night of 7 to 8 November 1861
in the capture and destruction of Confederate schooner
Royal Yacht. Jouett later commanded Montgomery and
R. R. Cuyler on blockading duty and in September 1863
took command of Metacomet. In the Battle of Mobile
Bay, 5 August 1864, his ship was lashed to Admiral Far-
ragut’s flagship Hartford as the gallant ships entered the
bay. Monitor Tecumseh was sunk by an underwater
“torpedo”, but the ships steamed boldly on, inspired by
Farragut’s famous command : “Damn the torpedoes, full
speed ahead.” Metacomet was sent after two Confederate
gunboats, and in a short chase Jouett riddled Gaines and
captured Selma.
Jouett had various commands ashore and afloat after
the Civil War, taking command of the North Atlantic
256-125 0 - 68 - 38
567
USS Josephus Daniels (DLG-27) on sea trials near Bath, Maine
568
Squadron in 1884. In 1889 he commanded a naval force
which forced the opening of the isthmus of Panama,
threatened by insurrection. Rear Admiral Jouett retired
in 1890 and lived for most of his remaining years at “The
Anchorage,” near Sandy Springs, Md. He died 30 Septem-
ber 1902.
(DD— 41 : dp. 787 (n.) ; 1. 293’11" ; b. 27' ; dr. 8'4" ; s. 30 k. ;
cpl. 83 ; a. 5 3", 6 18” tt. ; cl. Monaghan)
The first Jouett (DD-41) was laid down 7 March 1911
by Bath Iron Works, Ltd., Bath, Maine ; launched 15
April 1912 ; sponsored by Miss Marylee Nally ; and com-
missioned at Boston 24 May 1912, Lt. Comdr. W. P.
Cronan in command.
Jouett joined the Atlantic Fleet Torpedo Flotilla and
operated off the East Coast until early 1914, when events
in Mexico threatened American interests and officials at
Tampico arrested American sailors without cause. Jouett
supported the landing of Marines at Vera Cruz 21 April
1914. Returning to the East Coast after this operation,
the destroyer continued to carry out training manuevers
until the United States entered World War I in April
1917.
The ship was assigned patrol in Delaware Bay in April
1917 and remained on that duty until sailing from New
York 8 August 1917 as an escort for five troopships bound
for France. After returning from Europe, Jouett resumed
patrolling until she arrived New London, Conn., 15 Janu-
ary 1918 for experimentation with antisubmarine detec-
tion devices. Completing this duty 4 June 1918, the ship
operated until the armistice with a special antisubmarine
group along the East Coast of the United States.
Following the war Jouett conducted training exercises
and fleet maneuvers until entering Philadelphia Navy
Yard 20 July 1919. She decommissioned 24 November
1919 and remained inactive until being loaned to the Coast
Guard 23 April 1924 for use as a cutter. Returned to the
Navy 22 May 1931 she was sold for scrap to Michael Flynn
Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.
II
( DD-396 : dp. 1,850; 1. 390'11” ; b. 36'11” ; dr. 11'4” ; s.
38 k. ; cpl. 235 ; a. 8 5” ; 2 1.1” ; 9 21” tt. ; cl. Somers)
The second Jouett (DD-396) was laid down 26 March
1936 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine ; launched
24 September 1938 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. R. Todd ; and
commissioned at Boston 25 January 1939, Comdr. G. W.
Clark in command.
Following shakedown training which took Jouett to
England and Ireland, the ship returned to Norfolk 29
April 1939 and began operating on neutrality patrol along
the East and Gulf Coasts. She stood out of Pensacola
Bay 15 February 1940 as one of the escorts for Tuscaloosa
( CA-37 ) , carrying President Roosevelt on a cruise through
the Gulf of Panama, returning to Pensacola 1 March
1940. Jouett then set course for the Panama Canal and
the Pacific, arriving Pearl Harbor for duty 10 April 1940.
The destroyer remained in Hawaiian waters during the
next year exercising with America’s vital carriers and
perfecting tactics. Sailing 18 April 1941, Jouett accom-
panied Yorktown (CV-5) through the canal to Cuba,
proceeding from there to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, 19 May.
The ship then joined a cruiser and destroyer force under
Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram charged with guarding
against German surface or submarine attacks on Ameri-
can shipping. Jouett was at Port of Spain 7 December
1941 when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought
America into the war. The ship then began offensive anti-
submarine patrols between Brazil and Africa, helping to
keep the all-important ocean supply lines open. She
accompanied Army engineers to lonely Ascension Island
30 March 1942 where an airfield was carved from the bleak
landscape. Jouett convoyed the precious oil tankers from
Trinidad south during the months that followed, often
attacking submarines with depth charges. In December
1942, the ship returned to Charleston for repairs, but
by 21 January 1943 she was back in Natal harbor, Brazil.
Jouett received President Vargas of Brazil 27 January
1943, providing quarters for him and his party during im-
portant conferences on board Humboldt (AG-121) with
President Roosevelt. Following the talks, which cemented
relations between the countries and provided for closer
naval cooperation, President Vargas departed Jouett 29
January.
The veteran destroyer resumed her escort duties in
February, and 14 May joined in the search for U-128 off
Bahia, Brazil. Aircraft dropped depth charges on the
sub and brought her to the surface where gunfire from
Jouett and Moffett (DD-362) sent her to the bottom.
The destroyer continued to serve with Admiral Ingram’s
crack antisubmarine force, now 4th Fleet, through the
rest of 1943. On New Year’s Day 1944 she joined Omaha
(CL-4) for ocean patrol; and the ships intercepted Ger-
man blockade runner SS Rio Grande, with a vital cargo
of crude rubber. After the crew abandoned ship, Omaha
and Jouett sank the German ship. This effective closing
of the South Atlantic to German blockade runners was
demonstrated even more forcefully 5 January when patrol
planes reported a strange ship identifying herself as Flo-
ridian. Intelligence identified her, however, as block-
ade runner Burgenlund. Before aerial attacks could
begin Omaha and Jouett picked her up on radar and closed
in. Scuttling charges and the cruiser’s gunfire sank her
just after 1730.
Jouett returned to Charleston once more in March 1944
and engaged in training operations in Casco Bay, Maine,
before sailing for England in convoy 16 May 1944. There
she joined a Reserve Fire Support Group for the long-
awaited invasion of France. Jouett arrived off Omaha
beach 8 June, escorting coastal steamers with support
troops embarked. She repelled an air attack that day, and
until 21 June screened British heavies during shore bom-
bardment and provided antisubmarine screen for the
Omaha Beach transport area. The second front estab-
lished, Jouett escorted convoys to and from the Firth of
Clyde until 12 July 1944 when she sailed with a convoy
for Algeria.
The destroyer arrived at Oran 21 July to prepare for
the next major European operation, the invasion of south-
ern France. Departing Naples 14 August, Jouett arrived
off the Delta assault area next day and. as troops landed,
acted as command ship of the Convoy Control Group
charged with the smooth routing and unloading of support
troops. This duty continued until 3 September, after
which the ship operated on patrol out of Toulon. In early
October Jouett steamed off Cape Ferrat, giving gunfire
support to American troops in the bitter fighting ashore.
She also destroyed mines off San Remo 9 October, de-
stroyed bridges, and covered Allied minesweeping opera-
tions in the area.
Jouett sailed from Oran 31 December 1944 for repairs
at Charleston. After refresher training in Casco Bay in
April, the battle-tested ship made convoy voyages to Eng-
land and Cuba before the end of the war 15 August
1945. She decommissioned at Philadelphia Naval Ship-
yard 1 November 1945 and was scrapped there in 1946.
Jouett received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Ill
(DLG-29: dp. 7,900 (f.) ; 1. 547'; b. 54'9” ; dr. 14'9” ;
s. over 30 k. ; cpl. 418 ; a. Ter. mis., ASROC, 1 5”, DASH ;
cl. Belknap)
The third Jouett (DLG-29) was laid down 25 September
1962 by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton. Wash. ;
launched 30 June 1964 ; sponsored by Mrs. S. J. Ervin,
Jr., wife of the Senator from North Carolina; and com-
missioned 3 December 1966, Captain Robert S. Hayes in
command.
Carrying the most modem antisubmarine detection and
missile warfare gear, Jouett joins the fleet as a ready de-
fender of freedom. Her motto, “Eternal Vigilance,” serves
as a reminder of the ship’s mission in war and peace.
569
Upon completion of fitting out in February of 1967
Jouett was assigned to Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U.S.
Pacific Fleet, and operated out of her home port, San
Diego.
Joy
A former name retained.
( S P-643 ) : t. 41 ; 1. 93' ; b. 11' ; dr. 4' ; s. 23 k. ; cpl. 12 ;
a. 1 mg.)
Joy (SP-643), ex-Dodger, was built by B. F. Wood,
City Island, N.Y. in 1905, and acquired by the Navy in
June 1917 from her owners, T. M. Jones, and P. C. Kauff-
man of Newport, R.I.
The motor yacht was assigned to the 2d Naval District,
Newport, R.I., and was used on patrol only a short time
before being declared unserviceable. She was finally re-
turned to her owners 6 May 1919.
Joy (DD-951) was renamed Turner Joy (q.v.) 26 July
1957 prior to being launched 5 May 1958.
Joy, Daniel A., see Daniel A. Joy (DE-585)
Joyance
A former name retained.
( SP-72 : t. 119; 1. 134'8" ; b. 16'; dr. 5'6" ; s. 14 k. ; a.
. 1 3-pdr. )
Joyance (SP-72), a steam yacht built in 1907 by Robert
Jacobs, City Island, N.Y., was purchased by the Navy
from William H. Childs of New York City in May 1917 ;
and commissioned 20 July 1917, Boatswain Martin Grady,
USNRF, in command.
Joyance was assigned to the 3d Naval District as a har-
bor patrol boat, and operated in New York harbor and
Long Island Sound. She decommissioned 6 May 1919 and
was sold 5 August 1919 to Reinhard Hall at Brooklyn.
Joyce
Philip Michael Joyce was born 23 October 1920 in St.
Louis, Mo., and enlisted in the Navy 11 July 1940. Se-
lected for an appointment as a midshipman during his
preliminary training, he was commissioned Ensign 28
February 1941. He served on Langley (CV-1) until 10
August when he reported to Peary (DD-226) for duty in
the Pacific. Following the outbreak of war between the
USS Jouett (DLG-29) in 1966
570
United States and Japan, Peary suffered heavy damage
during an enemy air attack while moored at Cavite,
Philippines 10 December. Despite this and two subse-
quent attacks, Peary reached Darwin, Australia, effected
repairs and commenced antisubmarine patrols. While
anchored in Darwin harbor 19 February 1942 she was
destroyed by five bombs which struck her during a
devastating, enemy raid. Though fighting to the end,
Peary went down ; and Ens. Joyce perished in a holo-
caust that only 1 officer and 30 men survived.
(DE-317 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7” ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3”, 2 40mm„ 8 20mm„ 3 21” tt., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.), 2 dct. ; cl. Edsall)
Joyce (DE-317) was laid down 8 March 1943 by the
Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; launched 26 May
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harold T. Joyce, mother of Ensign
Joyce; and commissioned 30 September 1943, Lt. Comdr.
R. Wilcox, USCG, in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, Joyce joined Escort
Division 22 for trans-Atlantic convoy escort duty. Sailing
from Norfolk 4 December 1943, she helped escort a 100-
ship convoy to North Africa. She returned to New York
from Casablanca 31 January 1944, then departed 1 March
as part of the escort for a fast convoy bound for London-
derry, Northern Ireland. While steaming 400 miles south
of Iceland on the night of 9 March Joyce braved two at-
tacks from a German U-boat to rescue 28 survivors from
the stricken Leopold (DE-319), which was torpedoed
while investigating a radar contact. Joyce steamed at
top speed for Londonderry and arriving 11 March, trans-
ferred Leopold's wounded. A week later she departed for
New York in company with a westbound convoy, which
reached the East Coast 28 March.
Joyce departed New York 15 April for her second escort
run to Northern Ireland. While screening for a straggler
the following morning she was ordered to direct rescue
operations for the gasoline tanker SS Pan Pennsylvania,
which was torpedoed and set aflame while taking station
in the convoy. After picking up 31 survivors, including
the tanker’s captain, Joyce detected a submarine by sonar
at 0950 and pressed home an attack. She dropped a
deadly pattern of 13 depth charges which forced TJ-550 to
the surface, bow first, some 2,000 yards to her stern. A
screening escort, Gandy (DE-764), opened fire and
rammed the after section of the U-boat. Joyce, Gandy,
and Peterson (DE-152) shelled the submarine, silenced
her deck guns and forced the hapless TJ-550 to surrender.
Joyce ordered the Germans to abandon ship, but before a
boarding party could seize the captured prize, the Ger-
mans scuttled her. Only 40 minutes after Joyce had
detected her, she plunged stern first beneath the waves.
Joyce rescued and took prisoner 13 survivors, including
the U-boat’s skipper, escorted the convoy safely to Lon-
donderry 26 April, and returned in convoy to the United
States where she arrived New York 12 May. During
the next year Joyce conducted eight more escort voyages
for convoys bound from New York to Great Britain ; she
returned to New York from her last convoy run 13 May
1945.
Joyce departed New York 4 June and steamed for ASW
and gunnery training with units of Escort Division 22 in
the Caribbean. Sailing from Guantanamo Bay 20 June,
she transited the Panama Canal the 23d and steamed via
San Diego for Pearl Harbor where she arrived 11 July
for duty with the Paeifiic Fleet. She conducted ASW
exercises in the Hawaiian operating area until 28 August
when she sailed for Saipan Island and Sasebo, Japan, as
escort for a convoy of amphibious landing ships. Upon
her arrival at Sasebo 22 September, she escorted a con-
voy of LSTs to the Philippine Islands 3 days later, ar-
riving Leyte Gulf 2 October. She remained in the Philip-
pines on escort duty throughout October and sailed from
Guinan, Samar, 4 November with 29 returning veterans
for Pearl Harbor. Arriving the 15th. she continued to
San Diego 17 November ; upon her arrival the 23d she de-
barked her passengers and received orders to report for
duty with the Atlantic Fleet. Sailing from San Diego the
25th, she passed through the Canal 3 December and put
into New York harbor on the 10th.
Joyce remained at New York for an inactivation over-
haul until 21 January 1946 when she departed for a 3-
day voyage to Green Cove Springs, Fla. She remained
there and decommissioned 1 May to become a unit of the
Florida Group, Atlantic Inactive Reserve Fleet.
With the outbreak in June 1950 of Communist aggres-
sion in South Korea Joyce was recalled to active duty;
taken to Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.,
where she converted to a radar picket escort (DER-317) ;
and recommissioned 28 February 1951, Lt. Comdr. J. P.
McGrady, in command.
Following shakedown along the California coast, she
departed 12 May for duty with the Atlantic Fleet; arriv-
ing Newport, R.I., 21 June, she joined Escort Squadron 10
and commenced picket duty. She participated in air de-
fense exercises along the New England coast and during
the next 8 months made three barrier picket patrols along
the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Puerto Rico.
She steamed from Newport 19 February 1952 in company
with Escort Squadron 10 bound for practice barrier pat-
rols in the Caribbean. Cruising the Caribbean from Pan-
ama to Trinidad, she returned to Newport 20 March and
Joined Escort Squadron 16.
After conducting ASW tactics with Cobbler (SS-344)
in the Virginia Capes Operating Area, she departed New-
port 30 June, joined the Eastern Air Defense Force, and
commenced radar barrier station patrols to protect North
America from surprise attack. Interrupted only by over-
hauls and refresher training, these picket patrols contin-
ued for 5 years; Joyce ranged the Atlantic from Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland to the Virginia Capes and the
West Indies.
Departing Newport 17 July 1957, Joyce sailed with her
squadron for duty in the Pacific and, via the Dominican
Republic, Panama, and San Diego, arrived Pearl Harbor
18 August. Following 6 weeks of training, she com-
menced radar picket and ASW patrols from Pearl Harbor
to Midway Atoll and the Marshall Islands. She departed
Pearl 13 May 1958 and sailed for Eniwetok Atoll where
she conducted search and rescue operations at the
Eniwetok Proving Grounds Area. Returning to Pearl
Harbor 17 June, she resumed her picket patrols until 16
March 1960 when she set sail for the West Coast. Ar-
riving Long Beach 22 March, she entered the Naval Ship-
yard for inactivation overhaul. Joyce decommissioned
17 June 1960 and was assigned to the Long Beach Group,
U.S. Pacific Fleet Reserve. Joyce later transferred to
the San Diego, Calif., Group, where she remains.
Joyce received one battle star for World War II service.
Joyita, see TP-108
Juan Baptista de Anza, see Lynx (AK-100)
Juan de Fuca, see Araner (IX-226)
Juanita, see TP-S03
Jubilant
Shouting with joy ; exulting.
(AM-255: dp. 530; 1. 184'6” ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9” ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 105; a. 1 3”, 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dcp., 2 dct.; cl.
Admirable)
Jubilant (AM-255) was lunched 20 February 1943 by
American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio ; sponsored by
Mrs. C. D. Bishop; and commissioned 27 August, Lt. (j.g. )
W. P. Sprunt in command.
Jubilant departed Lorain 13 September and steamed via
571
Quebec and Argentia, Newfoundland for Little Creek,
Va. While sailing along the Atlantic coast, she made a
submarine contact, 23 October and launched a depth
charge and hedgehog attack which resulted in a probable
hit. Arriving Little Creek the 23d, she commenced 4
months of minesweeping and escort training, then departed
1 March 1944 for convoy escort duty in the South Atlantic.
She arrived Trinidad, British West Indies 12 March
and departed the next day as escort for a convoy bound
for Recife, Brazil. Arriving 26 March, she proceeded to
Rio de Janerio and Bahia, Brazil before returning to Trin-
idad 30 May. Jubilant made several escort voyages be-
tween Trinidad and Brazilian ports and engaged in coast-
al minesweeping operations before departing Trinidad 23
March 1945 for the United States. Reaching Norfolk, Va.,
29 March, she conducted minesweeping operations in the
Chesapeake Bay until departing 30 April for convoy duty
along the eastern seaboard. On 17 May she returned to
Norfolk and resumed minesweeping operations. Serv-
ing as a minesweeping training ship, she continued her
duty out of Norfolk until 4 March 1946; then she departed
for Orange, Tex. Arriving 11 March, Jubilant decommis-
sioned 18 May and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
In order to bolster the fleet during the Korean conflict,
Jubilant recommissioned 11 May 1951. Departing 24
May, she steamed to Charleston, S.C., to join Mine
Squadron 8, Atlantic Fleet, 29 May. For more than 2
years Jubilant operated out of Charleston along the At-
lantic coast up to the Chesapeake Bay. She cleared
Charleston 19 February 1954 and returned to Orange the
28th. Jubilant decommissioned 27 April and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was redesignated MSF-255
on 7 February 1955. Subsequently, Jubilant was stricken
from the Navy List 1 May 1962. At present she serves
the Mexican Navy as DM-01 (D-l) .
Jubilee
A former name retained.
(Bark: t. 233; a. none)
Jubilee was purchased at Portland, Maine, 28 Novem-
ber 1861 for service as an obstruction in the second stone
fleet which was sunk in the Maffltt’s Channel approach to
Charleston 26 January 1862.
Judah Touro, see Mink (IX-123)
Judge Torrence
A former name retained.
( SwStr ; t. 700; 1. 179'1" ; b. 45'6" ; dr. 9’ ; s. 6 k. ; a. 2
24-pdr. how. sb.)
Judge Torrence was a steamer purchased by the War
Department 10 February 1862 for use as an ordnance
ship in the Western Gunboat Flotilla organized by the
Army on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers soon after the
outbreak of the Civil War. She was transferred to the
Navy 30 September 1862 and commissioned at Cairo, 111.,
25 December, Comdr. Le Roy Fitch in command.
Judge Torrence departed Cairo 14 March 1862 to supply
the flotilla with ammunition during operations against
Island No. 10. She continued to support Union mortars
and gunboats throughout the operations which wrested
control of the Mississippi and her tributaries from the
South, cutting the Confederacy in two. After the Con-
federate surrender of Vicksburg Rear Admiral Porter
praised Judge Torrence and sister ordnance ship Great
Western for “unremitting attention to their duties during
the siege, supplying without delay every requisition made
on them by Army and Navy.” Judge Torrence continued
to provide efficient and vital service throughout the war,
decommissioning at Cairo 1 August 1865. She was sold
at public auction at Mound City to John A. Williamson
et al. 17 August 1865. Redocumented as Amazon 2 Jan-
uary 1866, she served American commerce until she sank
after striking a snag off Ozark Island, Ark., 19 February
1868.
Judy, see YP-592
Julia
Former names retained.
I
(Sch: t. 53; cpl. 40; a. 2 guns)
In September 1812, Lt. M. T. Woolsey purchased
schooner Julia for the Navy on Lake Ontario. Julia,
Sailing Master James Trant in command, sailed from
Sackett’s Harbor 8 November 1812 with Commodore
Chauncey’s flotilla. That afternoon lookouts on the
American ships spotted HMS Royal George, the largest
warship yet constructed on the Great Lakes, off False
Ducks Island and sent her scurrying into the Bay of
Quinte where she escaped in the rapidly falling night.
The next morning they again sighted her and resumed
the chase. When the British ship reached the shelter
of the Canadian batteries at Kingston, Chauncey decided
to follow her in to test the strength of the defenses and,
if possible, to capture the warship. Led by Conquest and
Julia, Chauncey’s daring little vessels, defying the fire
from ship and shore, stood toward the harbor entrance.
Approaching nightfall and threatening weather inter-
rupted the raid by forcing Chauncey to haul off to deeper
water where he anchored hoping to resume the action
with the sunrise.
However, heavy weather on the morning of the 10th
ruled out a renewal of the attack and dictated a return
to the American base at Sackett’s Harbor. As the little
flotilla retired, their lookouts spied HMS Simcoe and
chased her into shoal water. Although fire from Julia,
Thompkins, and Hamilton damaged the British ship con-
siderably, Simcoe managed to cross a reef to safety. The
audacious attack on Kingston was excellent tonic for the
spirit of the flotilla giving Chauncey confidence in the
fighting ability of his officers and men and inspiring the
crews with respect and admiration for their leaders. At
this point a bitter winter interrupted operations until
spring.
With the return of good weather, Chauncey’s ships
sortied from Sackett’s Harbor 25 April 1813 for a raid on
York (now Toronto), Canada. Two days later, after
landing some 1,700 men under General Dearborn, Julia
and her sister ships supported the American troops with
grape at rapid fire, enabling them to beat off counter-
attacks by Indians and British sharpshooters while taking
York. The American loot included large amounts of naval
and military stores and British brig Duke of Gloucester.
Moreover, a 24-gun ship nearing completion was burned
at York.
On 8 May, bad weather, which had detained Chauncey
at York, cleared enabling his ships to get under way
beginning a fortnight’s duty transporting and convoying
troops and supplies for General Dearborn. On the 27th,
Julia and Growler led the flotilla into the Niagara River
to open an attack on Fort George by shelling a British
battery dug in near the lighthouse. The other American
ships took preassigned positions where they shelled tar-
gets ashore. Meawhile Captain Oliver Hazzard Perry
directed the disembarkation of troops. In 3 hours, the
carefully coordinated attack drove the defenders from
the field.
With Fort George in American hands, the British gave
up their forts on the Niagara frontier leaving Chauncey
and Dearborn in control of the entire Niagara River.
On the night of 7 and 8 August, Julia rescued a number
of survivors of Scourge after that schooner had capsized
and sunk in a heavy gale. During the next 3 days, the
American flotilla and the British squadron maneuvered
572
seeking to move into an advantageous position for a gen-
eral engagement. On the 10th Julia and Growler were cut
off from their sister ships and captured. The British re-
named the schooners Con fiance and Hamilton and used
them as troop transports until Chauncey recaptured them
near False Ducks Islands, 5 October. However, the schoon-
ers, having proven unstable in heavy seas, were soon
retired from service.
II
(Sip: t. 10; cpl. 7)
The second Julia was an English sloop operating out of
Nassau captured by Union gunboat Sagamore 8 January
1863. When taken some 10 miles north of Jupiter Inlet,
Fla., she was attempting to slip through the Union block-
ade laden with salt badly needed by the Confederacy. She
was taken to Key West where she was condemned by a
prize court and sold to the U.S. Navy.
She was place in service 15 February, Acting Master’s
Mate L. C. Coggeshall in charge, and used as a tender
to Northern blockaders along the coast. Tahoma, Pursuit,
and Eugenie were among the ships she assisted during the
war. On 20 February, she shared in the capture of bark
Stonewall. She was broken up and sold at Key West in
1865.
Julia Eleanor, see Egret (AMc-24)
Julia Hamilton
A former name retained.
(Sch : 1. 55' ; b. 16' ; 4'6'' ; cpl. 3 ; a. none)
Julia Hamilton, a wooden schooner, was acquired by the
Navy from the Maryland Conservation Commission and
enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve 17 August
1917. Assigned to the 5th Naval District, she served in
Cheasapeake Bay out of Norfolk, Va. She was returned
to her owner 28 March 1918.
Julia Luckenbach
Former name retained.
(Str: dp. 16,533; 1. 456'6" ; b. 57'2" ; dr. 31'6" ; s. 14 k ;
cpl. 70; a. 1 4'', 1 3")
Julia Luckenbach, a cargo ship, was built 1917 by Fore
River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass, for the Luckenbach
S.S. Co. ; she was taken over by the Navy 7 August 1918,
and commissioned 15 August, Lt. Cmdr. George C. Benner,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Julia Luckenbach sailed from New
York 10 September with vital cargo for the European
forces, arriving Marseilles 2 weeks later. After the
Armstice was signed 11 November 1918, she continued
transporting cargo to France while returning to the United
States with troops, patients, and other veterans who had
fought well to make “the world safe for democracy.”
Julia Luckenbach arrived in New York from her final
cruise in July 1919 and remained there until she decom-
missioned 9 September 1919. She was returned to her
owners the same day.
Juliet
A former name retained.
( StwStr ; t. 157; 1. 155'6" ; b. 30'2'' ; dr. 5' ; s. 4 mph. ;
a. 6 24-pdr. how. )
Juliet was built at Brownsville, Pa., in 1862 and pur-
chased by the Navy at Cincinnati 1 November 1862. After
receiving armorplate protection, she commissioned 14
December, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Edward Shaw
in command.
Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron and ordered to
the vicinity of Vicksburg, Juliet helped clear the Yazoo
River of torpedoes 23 December in prepration for General
Sherman’s valiant but unsuccessful attack on the Chicka-
saw Bluffs, which protected Vicksburg. She remained
in the Yazoo until 2 January 1863 when she followed the
transports and other gunboats downstream, covering their
withdrawal to the Mississippi.
On 6 January Rear Admiral Porter assigned Juliet to
1st Division of Light Draft Gunboats where she served
the Mississippi Squadron as an escort vessel maintaining
communications along the river and protecting the vital
flow of shipping which sustained military and naval
strength throughout the campaigns and cut the Confed-
eracy in two with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.
The most dangerous service during the faithful tin-
clads career came during the Red River expedition.
Admiral Porter’s gunboats, in cooperation with General
Banks, had ascended the Red River in an effort to replant
the United States flag on Texas soil as a check against
French interference in Mexico and to encourage the re-
establishment of loyal state governments in Louisiana and
Arkansas. While the Union ships were at Springfield
Landing making preparations to clear away the sunken
hulk of an old steamer which had stopped their progress
toward Shereveport, La., a messenger arrived with word
that General Banks had suffered a severe defeat near
Mansfield and was falling back to Grand Ecore. Reluct-
antly Porter ordered the gunboats to reverse course. Dur-
ing the passage down, the Northern gunboats were
severely punished by fire from Confederate shore batteries.
On 26 and 27 April Juliet again and again fought off can-
non and musketry, suffering 16 casualties including 2
killed and heavy damage to the ship. Skillful repair work
under the most trying conditions kept the vessel afloat
and finally enabled her to pass the batteries.
After repairs at Cairo, Juliet recommissioned 6 Sep-
tember and returned to duty with the Mississippi squad-
ron, serving as an escort and patrol vessel. After the
end of the war, Juliet decommissioned at Mound City 30
June 1865, and was sold at public auction there to Philip
Wallach 17 August 1865. Redocumented Goldina that
day, she was stranded 31 December and abandoned.
Juliette W. Murray
Former name retained.
Juliette TV. Murray, a tug, was acquired by the Navy
5 March 1918 and commissioned 1 June 1918. She op-
erated in the 5th Naval District on a full ship basis until
she decommissioned and subsequently returned to her
owners 30 November 1918.
Julius A. Purer
Julius Augustus Furer, naval constructor, inventor,
administrator, and author, was born 9 October 1880 at
Mosel, Wis. Appointed to the Naval Academy in 1897,
he graduated at the head of his class in 1901. After sea
duty in Indiana and Shubrick, he acquired a Master of
Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology in 1905.
In the era of great naval expansion after the Spanish-
American War, Furer established a reputation for pro-
fessional competence in his remarkably expeditious
outfitting of the Navy Base at Charleston, S.C., which at
that time lacked a physical plant, natural resources, and a
skilled shipbuilding labor force.
While serving in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1911,
he applied new theories of scientific management. His
advanced thinking and methods of procurement brought
him the added task of purchasing all tools, machinery,
and dock facilities for the Navy’s new base for the Pa-
cific Fleet — Pearl Harbor. Furer installed the equip-
ment in 18 months, but delayed his departure when F -4
( SS-23 ) sank in 50 fathoms off Honolulu. He insisted
on salvaging her, and invented a submersible pontoon
which raised the boat and enabled her to be moved to
drydock. An investigation of her hull revealed a design
error which was corrected to avoid similar accidents.
573
Furer returned to Washington late in 1915 and took
charge of the Supply Division, Bureau of Construction and
Repair. Against some opposition by advocates of smaller
vessels, he proposed the construction of 110-foot submarine
chasers to meet the threat of the German U-boat. Furer’s
arguments persuaded the Navy’s General Board to order
450 vessels constructed on Furer’s basic design. These
contributions to the American war effort earned Furer the
Navy Cross.
Following the war, he reported to the staff of the Com-
mander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, and tirelessly devoted his
talent to the improvement of damage control, ship design,
and crew comfort. From December 1922 to April 1927, he
was a member of the U.S. Naval Mission to Brazil. Furer
next was assigned to the Asiatic Station, where he de-
veloped extensively the aircraft facilities at Cavite,
Philippine Islands.
In 1928, he became Manager of the Industrial Depart-
ment of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and supervised the
modernization of battleships Pennsylvania and Ne tv Mex-
ico. Under his management, the yard set records for low
costs and speed of construction.
Between July 1935 and December 1937, Furer was Naval
Attache at embassies in London, Paris, Berlin, and Rome.
His technical advice aided the American delegation to the
London Naval Conference in 1936.
A Rear Admiral at the outbreak of World War II, he
became the Coordinator of Research and Development,
and the senior member of the National Research and De-
velopment Board. He coordinated widespread research
that speeded development of modern weapons systems for
the Navy. These services won Furer the Legion of Merit
30 June 1945.
Julius Furer retired from active service in 1945, but was
recalled to duty 'in the Navy’s History Division in 1951.
During a second retirement, he wrote the widely acclaimed
study, Administration of the Navy Department in World
War II, published in 1960.
USS Julius A. Furer (DEG-6) Bath Iron Works Corp. 22 July 1966
574
Rear Admiral Julius A. Furer died 6 June 1963 and is
buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
( DEG-6 : dp. 3,426 t. ; 1. 414'6" ; b. 44'1" ; dr. 24'6" ;
s. 27.2 k. ; cpl. 248; a. 1 5", 1 Tar. mis., 1 DASH;
cl. Brooke)
Julius A. Furer was launched 22 July 1966 by the Bath
Iron Works, Bath, Maine ; and sponsored by Mrs. Julius A.
Furer, widow of Rear Admiral Julius A. Furer. Com-
missioned 11 November 1967.
Julius A. Raven
Julius Arthur Raven was born in New York City 6 Janu-
ary 1918. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve
as Seaman Second Class 5 June 1939 at New York. He
was discharged and accepted an appointment as Aviation
Cadet 5 September 1939. After preliminary flight train-
ing at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base, Floyd Bennett
Field, Brooklyn, he was assigned advanced training at
Pensacola, Fla. After flight school Raven was assigned to
a patrol squadron in the Pacific. He was awarded the Air
Medal for meritorious achievement and extreme courage
while effecting a rescue at sea 25 June 1942. While return-
ing from a combat mission and flying over enemy con-
trolled waters, he sighted grounded S-27 (SS-132). Dis-
regarding the danger to his life, Lt. (j.g. ) Raven skillfully
and coolly landed in a rough sea, embarked 13 of the sub-
marine’s crew, and took off — all without damage to his
plane — ‘to safely return them to Dutch Harbor. All of the
men of S-27 were later rescued due to the intelligence
provided by Lt. (j.g.) Raven. He posthumously received
the Distinguished Flying Cross for action against enemy
forces during the Aleutian Islands Campaign, conducting
dangerous reconnaissance and bombing runs on Kiska
Island until being lost at sea while on a mission 9 August
1942.
(APD-110 : dp. 1,650: 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 12'7" ; s. 23 k. ;
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5'', 6 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Crosley)
Julius A. Raven (APD-110) was laid down as DE-600
on 26 January 1944 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham,
Mass. ; launched 3 March 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Irene E.
Raven, widow of Lt. (j.g.) Raven; reclassified APD-110,
17 July 1944; and commissioned 28 June 1945, Comdr.
William J. Barney, Jr., USNR, in command.
After shakedown training in the Caribbean, Julius A.
Raven served as a training ship at Miami for student
officers until she decommissioned 31 May 1946 at Green
Cove Springs, Fla., joining the Reserve Fleet. In July
1959 she joined the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet,
where she remained until struck from the Navy List 15
January 1966 after transfer on loan as Ung Po (APD-83)
to the Republic of Korea 13 January 1966 under the
Military Assistance Program.
Junaluska
Junaluska, Chief of the Cherokee Indians in North
Carolina, led his warriors in support of General Andrew
Jackson during the Creek Indian War of 1813. For this
service Junaluska was granted United States citizenship.
( YT-176 : dp. 206; 1. 102'; b. 25'; dr. 10'; s. 12 k. ; a. 2
30 cal. mg.)
Junaluska (YT-176) was built by the Gulfport Boiler
& Welding Co., Port Arthur, Tex., in 1941 as Gulfport Hull
189 ; acquired by the Navy from the General Motors Corp.
4 June 1941 ; and commissioned at Port Arthur, Tex., 23
October, Ens. D. A. Tufts in command.
Junaluska, sailing from Port Arthur 3 November for the
Atlantic coast and via Key West arrived Hampton Roads,
Va., 23 November, and reported for duty with the Atlantic
Fleet. Three days later she departed for the Naval Oper-
ating Base, Argentia, Newfoundland. Steaming via Bos-
ton, she arrived Argentia 16 December. She immediately
commenced duty as a yard tug, assisting destroyers, es-
cort ships, and merchantmen to and from the harbor as
they departed or returned from the busy North Atlantic
convoy routes. She towed targets during air and naval
gunnery practice and tended the ASW defense nets that
protected Placentia Bay.
Except for a visit to Portsmouth, N.H., and Boston
for repairs from 21 October to 10 December 1942, she
served at Argentia throughout World War II. She was
reclassified as YTB-176 on 15 May 1944. After the ces-
sation of hostilities, Junaluska subsequently returned to
Boston where she decommissioned 30 September 1947 and
was placed in service assisting ships of the Navy to and
from Boston Harbor. Reclassified YTM-176 on 1 Febru-
ary 1962, the tug continues to perform this necessary duty
into 1967.
Juneau
Capital city of Alaska named after the American pio-
neer Joe Juneau, who, with his partner Dick Harris,
founded a miners camp in 1880 where the city, Juneau,
now stands.
I
( CL-52 : dp. 6,000 ; 1. 541'6'' ; b. 53'2'' ; dr. 16'4'' ; s. 32 k. ;
cpl. 623; a. 16 5", 16 1.1'', 8 20mm., 6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Atlanta)
Juneau (CL-52) was laid down by Federal Shipbuild-
ing Co., Kearny, N.J., 27 May 1940; launched 25 October
1941 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harry I. Lucas, wife of the Mayor
of the city of Juneau ; and commissioned 14 February
1942, Captain Lyman K. Swenson in command.
Following a hurried shakedown cruise along the At-
lantic coast in the spring of 1942, Juneau assumed block-
ade patrol in early May off Martinique and Guadaloupe
Islands to prevent the escape of Vichy French Naval units.
She returned to New York to complete alterations and
operated in the North Atlantic and Caribbean from 1
June to 12 August on patrol and escort duties. The
cruiser departed for the Pacific Theater 22 August.
After stopping briefly at the Tonga Islands and New
Caledonia, she rendezvoused 10 September with Task
Force 18 under the command of Rear Admiral Leigh
Noyes, flying his flag in Wasp (CV-7). The following
day Task Force 17, which included Hornet (CV-8), com-
bined with Admiral Noyes’ unit to form Task Force 61
whose mission was to ferry fighters to Guadalcanal. On
15 September Wasp took three torpedo hits from the
Japanese submarine 1-19, and, with fires raging out of
control, was sunk at 2100 by Lansdowne (DD-486).
Juneau and screen destroyers rescued 1,910 survivors of
Wasp and returned them to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides,
16 September. The next day the fast cruiser rejoined
Task Force 17. Operating with the Hornet group, she
supported three actions that repulsed enemy thrusts at
Guadalcanal : the Buin-Fasi-Tonolai Raid ; the Battle of
Santa Cruz Island ; and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
(Third Savo).
The ship’s first major action was the Battle of Santa
Cruz Island 26 October. On 24 October Hornet's task
force had combined with the Enterprise (CV-6) group to
reform Task Force 61 under the command of Rear Ad-
miral Thomas C. Kinkaid. This force positioned itself
north of the Santa Cruz Islands in order to intercept
enemy units that might attempt to close Guadalcanal.
Meanwhile, on Guadalcanal, the Japanese achieved a tem-
porary breakthrough along Lunga Ridge on the night
of 25 October. That short-lived success evidently was a
signal for enemy surface units to approach the island.
Early in the morning 26 October, U.S. carrier planes
uncovered the enemy force and immediately attacked it,
damaging two Japanese carriers, one battleship, and three
cruisers. But while our aircraft were locating and en-
gaging the enemy, American ships were also under fire.
Shortly after 1000 some 27 enemy aircraft attacked Hornet.
Though Juneau and other screen ships threw up an effec-
tive AA barrage which splashed about 20 of the attackers,
575
Hornet was badly damaged and sank the next day. ast
before noon Juneau left Hornet's escort for the belea-
guered Enterprise group several miles away. Adding her
firepower, Juneau assisted in repulsing four enemy at-
tacks on this force and splashing 18 Japanese planes.
That evening the American forces retired to the south-
east. Although the battle had been costly, it, combined
with the Marine victory on Guadalcanal, turned back the
attempted Japanese parry in the Solomons. Furthermore,
the damaging of two Japanese carriers sharply curtailed
the air cover available to the enemy in the subsequent
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
On 8 November Juneau departed Noumea, New Cale-
donia, as a unit of Task Force 67 under the command of
Rear Admiral R. K. Turner to escort reinforcements to
Guadalcanal. The force arrived there early morning
12 November, and Juneau took up her station in the pro-
tective screen around the transports and cargo vessels.
Unloading proceeded unmolested until 1405 when 30 Jap-
anese planes attacked the alerted United States group.
The AA fire was devastating, and Juneau alone accounted
for six enemy torpedo planes shot down. The few remain-
ing attackers were pounced on by American fighters ; only
one bomber escaped. Later in the day an American attack
group of cruisers and destroyers cleared Guadalcanal on
reports that a large enemy surface force was headed for
the island. At 0148 on 13 November Rear Admiral D. J.
Callaghan’s relatively small Landing Support Group en-
gaged the enemy. The Japanese force of 18 to 20 ships,
including 2 battleships, far outnumbered and outgunned
his force, but did not outfight it.
American gunnery scored effectively almost immediately
sinking an enemy destroyer. Juneau teamed with Atlanta
(CL-51) to destroy another as the two forces slugged it
out at close range. During the exchange Juneau was
struck on the port side by a torpedo causing a severe
list and necessitating withdrawal. Before noon 13 No-
vember, the battered American force began retirement.
Juneau was steaming on one screw, keeping station 800
yards on the starboard quarter of the likewise severely
damaged San Francisco (CA-38). She was down 12 feet
by the bow, but able to maintain 13 knots. A few minutes
after 1100 three torpedoes were launched from the Japa-
nese submarine 1-26. Juneau successfully avoided two,
but the third struck her at the same point which had been
damaged during the surface action. There was a ter-
rific explosion ; Juneau broke in two and disappeared in
20 seconds. The gallant ship with Captain Swanson and
most of her crew, including the five Sullivan brothers, was
lost. Only 10 members of the crew survived the tragedy.
Juneau received four battle stars for World War II
service.
II
(CL-119: dp. 6,000; 1. 541 '6' to. 53'2" ; dr. 16'4" ; s. 32 k.;
cpl. 623 ; a. 12 5", 2 3-pdrs., 24 40mm., 4 20mm ; cl. Juneau)
The second Juneau (CL-119) was laid down by Federal
Shipbuilding Co., Kearny, N.J., 15 September 1944 ;
launched 15 July 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. E. L. Bartlett ;
and commissioned 15 February 1946, Captain Rufus E.
Rose in command.
Juneau spent her first year of commissioned service in
operations along the Atlantic seaboard and Caribbean.
Prior to the Korean War, she deployed three times in
the Mediterranean. The ship cleared New York 16 April
1947, and joined the 6th Fleet at Trieste 2 May where
she aided in stabilizing the unresolved question of terri-
torial ownership between Italy and Yugoslavia. During
an extended tour of Greece, she provided ample warning
to the communists that aggression would not go unchal-
lenged. The ship returned to Norfolk 15 November for
training, and was back on duty with the 6th Fleet from
14 June to 3 October 1948 and again from 3 May to 26
September 1949. As on her first cruise, she ranged the
Mediterranean to assure Europeans and Africans of our
intention to guard world peace and freedom.
Having been reclassified CLSS-119 on 18 March 1949,
Juneau departed Norfolk 29 November for the Pacific.
She arrived Bremerton, Wash., 15 January 1950 and took
part in operations along the Pacific coast. On 22 April
she became flagship for Rear Admiral J. M. Higgins, Com-
mander CruDiv 5, and reported for duty in Yokosuka,
Japan, 1 June where she began surveillance patrols in
the Tsushima Straits. When the Korean War broke out
on 25 June, Juneau was one of the few ships immediately
available to Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, Commander
of Naval Forces, Far East. She patrolled south of the
38th parallel to prevent enemy landings, conducted the
first shore bombardments 29 June at Bokuko Ko, de-
stroyed enemy shore installations, engaged in the first
naval action 2 July when she sank three enemy torpedo
boats near Chumonchin Chan, and supported raiding
parties along the coast. On 18 July Juneau's force, which
included British units, laid down a deadly barrage on
enemy troop concentrations near Yongdok which slowed
down the North Korean advance southward.
The ship departed Sasebo Harbor 28 July and made a
sweep through Formosa Straits before reporting for duty
with the 7th Fleet at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 2 August.
She became flagship of the Formosa Patrol Force 4 August,
remaining until 29 October when she joined the Fast
Carrier Task Force operating off the east coast of Korea.
The ship conducted daily plane guard for the attack
carriers, and returned to Long Beach, Calif., 1 May 1951
for overhaul and a period of operations off the Pacific
coast and in Hawaii. She returned to Yokosuka 19 April
1952 and conducted strikes along the Korean coast in
coordination with carrier planes until returning to Long
Beach 5 November.
Juneau engaged in training maneuvers and operations
until 7 April 1953 when she arrived Norfolk to rejoin
the Atlantic Fleet. On 13 May the cruiser departed for
USS Juneau (CL-52)
576
duty with the 6th Fleet once again, and returned home
23 October. She operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean
until 18 November 1954, then returned to the Mediterra-
nean for her last tour of duty. After her return to the
East Coast 23 February 1955. she was placed in reserve
at Philadelphia 23 March 1956, and remained inactive
until decommissioned 23 July 1956. The ship was then
attached to the Philadelphia Group of the Atlantic Re-
serve Fleet until 1 November 1959 when she was struck
from the Navy List. Juneau was sold for scrapping to
Union Metals & Alloys Corp., New York, in 1962.
Juneau received five battle stars for Korean War
service.
Ill
( LPD-10 : dp. 16,900; 1. 569'9" ; b. 84' ; dr. 21'6" ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 493, trp. 930; a. 8 3" ; cl. Cleveland )
The third Juneau (LPD-10) was laid down by Lockheed
Shipbuilding & Construction Co., Seattle, Wash., 23 Jan-
uary 1965 ; launched 12 February 1966 ; sponsored by Mrs.
William A. Egan, wife of the Governor of Alaska ; and
scheduled to be commissioned early in 1969.
Junemma, see YP-130
Juniata
A river in Pennsylvania emptying into the Susquehanna.
I
(ScSlp : t. 1,240; dr. 15'3y2"; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 160; a. 1 100-
pdr. P.r, 1 11" D.sb., 4 30-pdr. P.r., 1 12-pdr., 4 24-pdr.
how.)
The first Juniata was a steam sloop of war launched at
Philadelphia Navy Yard 20 March 1862 ; sponsored by
Miss Angela Turner ; and commissioned there 4 December,
Comdr. John M. B. Clitz in command.
Scheduled for service in the West Indies, Juniata was
temporarily assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron and stationed at Norfolk, where her guns could
help defend the area while machinery defects were cor-
rected at the Navy Yard. She departed Hampton Roads
for the West Indies 26 April 1863 and 4 days later cap-
tured schooner Harvest bound for Nassau, New Provi-
dence, with a cargo of cotton. She joined the West
Indies Squadron at Havana 5 May. She captured English
steamer Victor about 8 miles off Morro Castle, Cuba, 28
May and took schooner Fashion 13 June loaded with
chemicals critically needed by the Confederacy. The next
day she captured English schooner Elizabeth, and Don
Jose 2 July.
Juniata continued to cruise in the West Indies convoy-
ing California-bound ships to safe waters and alertly
watching for signs of Confederate cruisers and blockade
runners until she sail for New York 24 November, arriv-
ing there 2 December. Under repairs at Philadelphia dur-
ing the first half of 1864, Juniata departed 12 August in
search of Confederate cruiser Tallahassee reported off
Sandy Hook, N.J. Five days later she anchored in Hamp-
ton Roads and joined the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron. She operated out of Hampton Roads until
steaming to Wilmington early in December in preparation
for forthcoming offensive operations against that powerful
stronghold and blockade running center. She was in the
thick of the fighting during the first attack on Fort Fisher,
closing Southern batteries to get in position for effective
bombardment. Her daring upon this occasion, which cost
her 2 officers and 3 men killed and 11 men wounded, was
again displayed during the second attack on Fort Fisher
between 13 and 15 January 1865. Five more of her men
were killed and 10 wounded in this assault which wrestled
Wilmington from Southern hands, sealing off the Con-
federacy from effective foreign aid.
Juniata was transferred to the South Atlantic Blockad-
ing Squadron 18 January and arrived Charleston Roads
the next day. After a brief visit to Port Royal, S.C.. to
repair some of the damage sustained in the furious action
at Fort Fisher, she participated in the expedition to Bull’s
Bay in support of General Sherman’s drive north through
17 February.
Juniata received orders 23 February to cruise along the
coast of Brazil as far south as Buenos Aires protecting
American citizens and interests. After extensive repairs
she departed Port Royal on this assignment 17 June and
arrived Bahia, Brazil, 8 August bringing that city its new
United States consul. With the exception of a cruise to
the coast of Africa from 12 June to 30 September 1866,
she remained in South .A merican waters until 30 April
1867 when she sailed from Rio de Janeiro for home, ar-
riving Philadelphia 24 June.
Juniata decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 29
June and remained there until recommissioned 19 July
1869 and departed for Europe. She served, in European
waters until 18 June 1872 when she sailed for the United
States arriving Boston Navy Yard 29 June. She decom-
missioned 10 July.
Juniata recommissioned 10 February 1873 serving on
the northeast coast until 26 June when she got underway
for St. John’s, New Foundland en route to the west coast
of Greenland to assist Tigress in her quest for survivors
of Polaris which had come to grief exploring the Arctic.
Juniata steamed as far north as Upernavik some 250 miles
above Godhaven, Greenland, where she supplied Tigress.
She returned to New York 1 November 1873.
After a cruise to the Caribbean, Juniata sailed for the
European Station 6 May 1874 and remained on duty
there until she returned to the United States, arriving
Baltimore 6 February 1876. She decommissioned at Nor-
folk 1 September.
Juniata recommissioned at New York Navy Yard 30
October 1882, Comdr. George Dewey in command, and
departed on a voyage which took her around the World
through the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, to Bom-
bay, Batavia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, among her
many ports of call. She returned to New York 10 De-
cember 1885 and operated from that port until she sailed
for the Pacific 16 August 1886. She again returned to
New York 4 February 1889 and decommissioned 28 Feb-
ruary. Juniata was sold at Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.,
25 March 1891 to Herbert H. Ives.
II
( SP-602 : t. 142 ; 1. 139'6" ; b. 17' ; dr. 6' ; s. 17 k. ; 1 3-pdr„
1 1-pdr., 2 mg.)
The second Juniata (SP-602), a motor yacht, was built
in 1911 by Robert Jacobs, City Island, N.Y., and acquired
by the Navy 1 June 1917 from her owner, G. W. Elkins,
of Philadelphia. She commissioned at Philadelphia Navy
Yard 1 June, Lt. (j.g.) W. G. Morse, USNRF, in
command.
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Juniata was based
at Lewes, Del. She performed patrol duties in Delaware
Bay until decommissioning 13 July 1918 and was re-
turned to her owner 25 July 1918.
III
( IX-77 : t. 242; 1. 134'; b. 28'2" ; dr. 17'5" ; s. 11 k.)
The third Juniata, formerly Vega , was built in 1930 by
Krupp, of Kiel, Germany, and purchased by the Navy from
her owner, H. W. Rohl, of Los Angeles, in 1942. Delivered
20 July, she was placed in service 11 August 1942.
Juniata was assigned to the Western Sea Frontier and
was based at San Francisco. She alternated with other
ships on patrol on the great circle route to Hawaii, steam-
ing to and from her station some 500 miles west of Eu-
reka, Calif. Juniata was placed out of service at Treasure
Island, San Francisco. 1 January 1945, returned to the
Maritime Commission, and sold to a private owner in
June 1945.
577
USS Juniata — dual propulsion by sail and steam
Juniata County
A county in south-central Pennsylvania.
( LST-850 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 14'1" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 226 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-5J/2)
LST-850 was laid down by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.,
Seneca, 111., 15 August 1944 ; launched 3 November 1944 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Mildred Margaret Tegge Honig ; and
commissioned at New Orleans, La., 27 November 1944, Lt.
Perry B. Hazard in command.
After shakedown off the coast of Florida, LST-850
loaded military cargo at Gulfport, Miss., and departed
New Orleans for the Pacific 31 December. Steaming via
the Panama Canal and San Diego, she reached Pearl
Harbor 1 February 1945. On 20 February she sailed with
five other landing ships for the Solomons, arriving Gua-
dalcanal 7 March. After loading a cargo of LVT’s, she de-
parted 19 March, touched at Eniwetok 25 March, and
reached Guam the 31st. There she unloaded her cargo be-
fore steaming to Saipan 3 April to prepare to support
operations at Okinawa.
Between 12 and 14 April LST-850 embarked Seabees
and loaded construction and combat equipment ; then
she departed 20 April for that strategic island, which lay
at the gateway to the heart of the Japanese Empire. Ar-
riving 27 April, she discharged troops and cargo despite
intermittent enemy air attacks. From 7 to 13 May she
returned to Saipan where she embarked 371 officers and
men of the 2d Marine Division and loaded a cargo of
LTV’s. Sailing 24 May, she arrived Okinawa 30 May.
On 3 June, and again on 9 June, she carried these seasoned
veterans of the Pacific fighting for amphibious assaults
against Iheya Shima and Aguni Shima. Departing in con-
voy 18 June, she reached Saipan the 24th ; and, after em-
barking Seabees at Guam, she returned to Okinawa 28
July. Sailing once more for the Marianas 8 August, she
arrived Saipan 14 August as Japan accepted Allied peace
terms and agreed to surrender.
Assigned to transport occupation forces to Japan, LST-
850 steamed via Leyte to Manila Bay, Luzon, where she
embarked Army troops and departed in convoy for Japan.
She entered Tokyo Bay 11 September and discharged her
troops. Departing Tokyo early in October, during the next
month she returned to Luzon, embarked additional troops,
and carried them to Yokohama where she arrived 4 No-
vember. After supporting occupation landings along the
coast of Honshu, she sailed in mid-November for the
United States. She sailed via Saipan and Pearl Harbor
and arrived Astoria, Oreg., 30 December.
LST-850 operated out of Astoria during the next 10
months and then was placed in commission in reserve
17 May 1946. She transferred to Portland in October, de-
commissioned 18 January 1947, and entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet. While berthed in the Columbia River, she
was named Juniata County 1 July 1955. She was recom-
mended for use as a target to destruction 20 October 1958.
Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 November
1958.
LST-850 received one battle star for World War II
service.
Juniper
A genus of evergreen shrubs and trees.
I
( ScStr : t. 116 ; 1. 79'6" ; b. 18'4" ; dr. 9' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 26 ;
a. 1 20-pdr. P.r., 1 12-pdr. heavy r.)
The first Juniper was purchased at New York from
Solomon Thomas 7 June 1864; and commissioned at New
York Navy Yard 11 July 1864.
Juniper sailed for Washington via Hampton Roads ar-
riving at the Washington Navy Yard 17 July 1864. Two
days later she was attached to the Potomac Flotilla where
she served during the remainder of the war performing
varied duties as a tug, dispatch vessel, and patrol ship.
She sailed from the lower Potomac 5 May 1865 for the
Washington Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 26
May. Juniper was sold to the Treasury Department for
service under the Lighthouse Board 29 June 1865.
II
(ScStr: 1. 90'; b. 18'; a. none)
The second Juniper was a lighthouse tender built in
Baltimore in 1903. She was transferred to the Navy with
the entire Lighthouse Service by Executive order 11 April
1917 and served the Navy as a patrol vessel. She was
returned to the custody of the Department of Commerce
1 July 1919.
578
Laid down 2 October 1940, Juniper (YN-15) was re-
named Elder ( q.v .) 16 October.
Jupiter
The largest planet in the solar system.
I
Navy collier Jupiter (AC-3) was converted into the
Navy’s first aircraft carrier and renamed Langley, (q.v.)
21 April 1920.
II
(AK-43 : dp. 4,350; 1. 459'2", b. 63'1 dr. 25'10" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 245; a. 14", 13", 4 20 mm.; cl. Aldebaran)
Jupiter (AK-43) was built in 1939 as Flying Cloud by
Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N. J. ; she
was later renamed Santa Catalina. She was acquired
by the Navy 19 June 1941 ; the next day renamed Jupiter;
and commissioned 22 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. D. S. Baker
in command.
Jupiter departed San Diego 1 September for operations
in the Pacific as the American campaign in the Solomon
Islands was getting under way. From September through
December she carried supplies and troops to staging areas
for the Navy’s first great offensive in the Pacific. She
continued to discharge cargo in the Solomon Islands
through the early part of 1943, bringing invaluable sup-
port to the closing phases of the Guadalcanal campaign.
Jupiter departed Espiritu Santo 1 February, com-
mencing a series of three cruises to San Francisco for
supplies and personnel. On the first of these voyages
she returned captured Japanese equipment, including a
“Betty” bomber, a “Tony” fighter, and several “long
lance” torpedoes.
The cargo ship returned to battle during the Gilbert
Islands invasion late November, landing equipment to aid
in the successful assault on Tarawa. Jupiter then con-
tinued cargo operations until she was assigned to the 5th
Amphibious Forces in April 1944 for the Marianas cam-
paign. She departed Pearl Harbor 30 May and arrived
in the Saipan assault area 15 June. She discharged her
cargo despite constant enemy air attack and 10 days later
proceeded toward Eniwetok.
Following a summer of amphibious rehearsals, Jupiter,
under Comdr. J. M. Bristol, departed Guadalcanal 8 Sep-
tember to support the invasion of the Palau Islands. She
unloaded her cargo without incident and returned to
Manus to prepare for the important Philippine invasion.
Departing Hollandia 16 October, she arrived at Leyte
and commenced unloading cargo 22 October. As other
units of the fleet were engaging the Japanese in the famed
“Battle of Leyte Gulf”, Jupiter returned to the Marianas
to pick up additional material. She continued reinforc-
ing units in the Philippines until she steamed into Ulithi
23 January 1945 to prepare for the next Campaign.
When continued progress along the “road to Japan” re-
quired a stop-over base for B-29 raids on Tokyo, Iwo
Jima was selected. Jupiter got underway 16 February
with cargo and units of the 3d Marine Division to secure
this fortified atoll. After unloading her cargo under most
difficult conditions, she remained in the area until Japa-
nese resistance had ceased 16 March.
After repairs at Pearl Harbor, Jupiter departed Hawaii
1 May with supplies for American troops fighting for
Okinawa. She returned to San Francisco 27 July for
conversion to an aviation supply ship and was redesig-
nated AVS-8, 31 July 1945. Following replenishment-at-
sea exercises the following year, she supported outlying
bases and ships until decommissioning at San Diego 23
May 1947 and joining the reserve fleet.
In June 1950 a new threat to world peace exploded in
Asia-Communist aggression in South Korea. The United
States answered this challenge by dispatching troops and
supplies to the war-torn peninsula. Jupiter recommis-
sioned 10 October 1950, Comdr. H. R. McKibben in com-
mand, and sailed for Yokosuka, Japan, 8 January 1951.
Arriving 29 January, she operated out of Japan, replen-
ishing units fighting ashore until returning to San Fran-
cisco 11 August 1952. After operations along the West
Coast, the supply ship returned to the war zone in March
1953 to supply troops and replenish carriers engaged in
air strikes on the Korean peninsula. Following the ces-
sation of hostilities, Jupiter returned to the West Coast
3 October.
This active ship was again deployed to the Pacific in
1954 to replenish ships in the tense Formosa area. The
7th Fleet prevented any major crisis from developing,
and Jupiter steamed into San Francisco 20 October 1954.
She resumed her operations in the Far East March 1955 ;
this time for an extended period. For the next 9 years
(1955-63) she operated out of Yokosuka, replenishing
units of the 7th Fleet, as it took on greater roles in “keep-
ing the peace”. During Jupiter's service in the Far Pa-
cific, the 7th Fleet averted major crises in Formosa, Indo-
nesia, and Laos ; and played an important part in the Viet-
nam struggle. She continued to carry vital supplies to the
Far East until struck from the Navy List 1 August 1965.
Jupiter was then transferred to the Maritime Adminis-
tration and joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet at
Olympia, Wash., where she remains.
Jupiter received six battle stars for World War II and
seven battle stars for Korean conflict service.
Jupiter, see Elder (AN-20)
USS Jupiter (AC-3) at Mare Island 16 October 1913 — Jupiter was later converted into the first aircraft carrier, USS
Langley (CV-1).
579
USS Jupiter (AVS-8) on 28 July 1963
Justice
A British name retained.
(ATR-20: dp. 1,360; 1. 165'5" ; b. 33'6" ; dr. 15'10” ; s.
12 k. ; cpl. 32; a. 1 3", 2 20mm. ; cl. ATRr-1)
ATR-20 was laid down by Camden Ship Building &
Marine Railway Co., Camden, Maine, 20 January 1943;
launched 18 October 1943; sponsored by Miss Joy D.
Creyk ; transferred to the United Kingdom under lend-
lease 24 April 1944 ; and commissioned as H.M.S. Justice
at Boston, Mass., the same day, Lt. J. S. Allison, RNR, in
command.
During the remainder of World War II, Justice served
as a rescue tug in the Royal Navy. She was returned to
the U.S. Navy 20 March 1946. Her name was struck from
the Navy List 3 July 1946, and she was sold 3 October
1947.
Justin
The first Justin retained a former name, and the second
Justin was named after the first.
I
(Sch : dp. 1,419, t. ; 1. 287'6" ; b. 39 ; dr. 19'8" ; s. 10 k. ; cp.
35 ; a. 2 6-pdrs. )
The first Justin, a schooner, was launched in 1891 by R.
Dixon & Co., Middlesbrough, England; purchased from
Bowring & Archibald; and commissioned 27 April 1898,
Comdr. George E. Ide in command.
Justin performed collier service in the Chesapeake Bay
area until sailing for Guantanamo Bay 2 June for coaling
duties during the Spanish-American War. Returning to
Virginia, Justin operated along the East Coast and in New
England, then departed Norfolk 11 October. After visit-
ing Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Mexico, she arrived San Fran-
cisco 3 February 1899 and decommissioned there 17 Feb-
ruary.
Recommissioned at Mare Island 19 September 1900,
Justin sailed 1 October for duty in the Far East. For
the next 7 years she provided fuel and supplies to the
Asiatic Fleet during a period of intense and growing
American activity in the Orient. She returned to San
Francisco 23 November 1907 via Guam and Honolulu.
From 1907 to 1915 Justin carried coal to units of the Pacific
Fleet stationed at widely scattered points from the West
Coast to South America. She decommissioned at Mare
Island 20 December 1915.
II
( IX-228 : dp. 3,381; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 27'11" ; s.
11 k. ; cpl. 210 ; a. 1 3”, 1 5”, 3 20mm. ; T. EC2-S-C1)
The second Justin (IX-228), formerly liberty ship Gus
W. Darnell, was built by Todd-Houston Shipbuilding Corp.,
Houston, Tex., in 1944; operated as a cargo ship in the
Pacific ; was acquired by the Navy 2 September 1945 ; and
commissioned at Guiuan Roadstead, Philippine Islands
4 September 1945, Lt. William T. Hamilton in command.
Justin departed for Shanghai, China, 20 October where
she embarked naval passengers for transport to the United
States. She picked up a cargo of 3,000 bags of mail at
Guam before arriving San Francisco 23 December 1945.
Justin decommissioned at San Francisco 23 January 1946
and was turned over to the WSA. She was placed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif.,
until being sold 25 May 1954 to Boston Metals Corp. and
scrapped.
K
K-l
I
( SS-32 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153'7" ; b. 16'8" ;
dr. 13'1" ; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 28; a.
4 18" tt. ; cl. K)
On 17 November 1911 while under construction Haddock
(SS-32) was renamed K-l and launched 3 September 1913
by the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Albert Ware Marshall and commissioned
17 March 1914, Lt. (j.g.) E. F. Cutts in command.
Upon completion of 6 months training, K-l joined the
4th Division Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla, Newport, R.I., 9
October 1914. The submarine departed New York 19 Jan-
uary for underwater development training out of Key
West. She continued operations along the East Coast
for almost 3 years, aiding in the development of subma-
rine-warfare tactics. The techniques learned from these
experiments were soon put into practice when German
U-boats interfered with Allied shipping bound for Europe.
K-l departed New London 12 October 1917, arriving
Ponta Delgada 15 days later to conduct patrol cruises off
the Azores. For the duration of the war she conducted
patrol cruises off the Azores and searched for the enemy
U-boats, and protected shipping from surface attack.
580
Upon cessation of hostilities 11 November 1918, the sub-
marine arrived Philadelphia 13 December to resume
coastal operations.
From 1919 to 1923 K-l cruised along the Atlantic coast
from New England to Florida conducting experimental
exercises. The development of submarines was greatly
accelerated through the technology learned from these
experiments. New listening devices, storage batteries,
and torpedoes were tested ; and their later adoption con-
tributed greatly to continued American strength on the
seas. K-l arrived Hampton Roads 1 November 1922 and
remained until she decommissioned 7 March 1923. She
was sold as scrap 25 June 1931.
The second K-l was renamed Barracuda ( q.v .) 15 De-
cember 1955.
K-2
I
(SS-33 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153 ’ 7" ; b.
16'8" ; dr. 13'1"; s 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl.
28; a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. K-l)
During construction Cachalot (SS-33) was renamed
K-2 17 November 1911 and launched 4 October 1913 by
Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Ruth Chamberlain McEntee ; and commissioned
31 January 1914, Ens. R. Moses in command.
After trials and exercises in New England waters
throughout the spring and summer of 1914, K-2 joined the
4th Division Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla, Newport, R.I., 9
October. She commenced operations immediately and
for almost 3 years operated along the American coast
from New England to Florida conducting experiments
to develop the techniques of submarine warfare.
As World War I raged in Europe, guarding the vital
shipping lanes across the Atlantic became imperative.
K-2 departed New London, Conn., 12 October 1917 and
arrived in the Azores for patrol duty 27 October. She
was among the first U.S. submarines to engage in patrol
duty duriDg the war, and cruised in these waters search-
ing for enemy U-boats. K-2 continued these vital patrols
until 20 October 1918 when she sailed for North America,
arriving Philadelphia 10 November to resume coastal
operations.
From 1919 to 1923 she cruised along the East Coast
engaging in submarine development experiments. These
early exercises coupled with the great strides made in
naval technology greatly contributed to the excellence
of the U.S. submarine force in later years. After her
arrival at Hampton Roads 15 November 1922, K-2 re-
mained there until she decommissioned 9 March 1923.
She was sold as scrap 3 June 1931.
The second K-2 (SSK-2) was renamed Bass (q.v.) 15
December 1955.
K-3
I
(SS-34 ; dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153'7" ; b. 16'8" ;
dr. 13’1" ; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 28;
a. 4 18" tt.; cl. K-3)
During construction Orca (SS-34) was renamed K-3
17 November 1911 and launched 14 March 1914 by Union
Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif., sponsored by Mrs.
Clarence Meigs Oddie and commissioned 30 October 1914,
Lt. F. T. Chew in command.
K-3 joined the 3d Submarine Division, Pacific Torpedo
Flotilla 11, December 1914 and operated along the Cali-
fornia coast developing underwater warfare tactics and
coordinating the use of underseas craft with the fleet.
She arrived in Hawaiian waters 14 October 1915 to
perform similar exercises in the light of increasing em-
phasis on submarine warfare.
America’s entry into World War I placed a greater
urgency on the need for experienced submariners, and
K-3 was dispatched to Key West, arriving 8 January
1918. For the remainder of the war she conducted
patrols along the Florida coast while training men in
underwater techniques. K-3 continued operations along
the East Coast after the war, testing new devices such as
listening gear, storage batteries and torpedoes. On 7
November 1922, the submarine arrived Hampton Roads
and decommissioned there 20 February 1923. She was
scrapped 3 June 1931.
The second K-3 (SSK-3) was renamed Bonita (q.v.)
15 December 1955.
K-4
( SS-35 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153'7" ; b. 16'8" ;
dr. 13'; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.); cpl. 28;
a. 4 18" tt.; cl. K-3)
K-lf (SS-35), originally named Walrus, was renamed
17 November 1911 ; launched 19 March 1914 by the Moran
Co., Seattle, Wash. ; sponsored by Mrs. James P. Olding,
wife of the commanding officer ; and commissioned 24
October 1914, Lt. J. P. Olding in command.
Joining the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla, K-4 operated
along the coast of California, conducting constant exer-
cises and experiments to develop the techniques of sub-
marine warfare. From 14 October 1915 to 31 October
1917 she carried out similar operations in the Hawaiian
Islands. When America’s involvement in World War I
called for increased naval activity, K-4 departed Hawaii
for service out of Key West, arriving 9 January 1918.
For the rest of the war she remained at Key West, where
she patrolled the Florida peninsula. After the Armistice
of 11 November 1918, K~4 operated along the East Coast
training officers and men for duty in submarines. She
continued these duties for 4 years before arriving at
Hampton Road«. Va., 24 March 1923. K-4 decommissioned
there 19 May 1923 and was sold as scrap 3 June 1931.
K-5
(SS-36 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153'7" ; b. 16'8" ;
dr. 13'1"; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 28;
a. 4 18" tt.; cl. K-l)
K-5 (SS-36) was launched 17 March 1914, by the Fore
River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass., under a subcon-
tract from the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Warren G. Child ; and commissioned 22
August, Lt. (j.g.) H. Gibson in command.
K-5 departed Boston 16 November for Newport, R.I.,
where she joined the 4th Division, Atlantic Torpedo Flo-
tilla, for experiments and exercises to develop the tech-
niques of submarine warfare. She operated for almost
3 years along the Atlantic coast from New England to
the Gulf of Mexico conducting underwater maneuvers,
undergoing diving and torpedo firing practice, and train-
ing submariners.
She departed New London, Conn., 12 October 1917, for
duty in the Atlantic. Steaming via Halifax, N.S., with
K-l, K-2, and K-6 she arrived Ponta Delgada, Azores,
27 October for patrol duty. As the first U.S. submarine
to cruise European waters during the war, they operated
out of the Azores searching for enemy U-boats and sur-
face raiders. K-5 continued this important duty until
18 April 1918, when she headed home via Bermuda and
Hampton Roads, Va., arriving Philadelphia 16 May. Pro-
ceding to New London 27 September, she departed for
Key West, Fla., 7 January 1919, to resume development
operations.
K-5 operated in the Gulf of Mexico out of Key West
and New Orleans. After cruising the Mississippi River
581
to St. Louis, Mo., she sailed from New Orleans 27 July
1919, for operations between Key West, Fla., and Havana,
Cuba. K-5 departed Key West for Philadelphia 12 June
1920, arriving the 17th for overhaul.
Repairs completed, she sailed to Hampton Roads, Va.,
5 March 1921 to continue coastal operations. For almost
2 years she ranged the eastern seaboard from Cape Cod
to the Florida Keys, participating in numerous experi-
ments and maneuvers to improve the operational and
tactical abilities of the submarine. Following diving
trials off Cape Cod, K-5 arrived Hampton Roads 7 Sep-
tember 1922. She continued operations in the Chesapeake
Bay, then decommissioned at Hampton Roads 20 Feb-
ruary 1923. Taken in tow to Philadelphia 13 November
1924, she was struck from the Navy List 18 December
1930. She was sold for scrapping 3 June 1931.
K-6
(SS-37 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153'7" ; b. 16'8" ;
dr. 13'1" ; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 28;
a. 4 18" tt. ; cl. K-l)
K-6 (SS-37) was launched 26 March 1914, by the Fore
River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass., under a subcon-
tract from the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Thomas Gaines Roberts ; and commissioned
9 September at Boston, Lt. J. O. Fisher in command.
Steaming to Newport, R.I., 16 November, K-6 joined
the 4th Division, Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla, for shakedown
and training. For almost 3 years she conducted experi-
mental and development operations along the Atlantic
coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. She underwent diving
tests off Cape Cod and Long Island ; practiced firing tor-
pedoes in Chesapeake Bay ; and participated in tactical
submarine exercises out of New London, Key West, and
Pensacola. Following overhaul at Philadelphia, she de-
parted New London 12 October 1917, and steamed via
Halifax, N.S., for patrol duty in the Azores.
K-6 arrived Ponta Delgada, Azores, 27 October in com-
pany with three other K-class submarines. For more
than a year they patrolled the surrounding ocean, search-
ing for German submarines and surface raiders and pre-
venting them from using the islands as a haven. After
the surrender of Germany, K-6 sailed for the United
States 21 November arriving Philadelphia via Bermuda
13 December. After overhaul K-6 proceded to New Lon-
don 28 May 1919, to resume development and tactical op-
erations along the New England coast.
During the 4 years- of service that followed, K-6 ranged
the Atlantic from New England to the Caribbean. Op-
erating primarily out of New London, Hampton Roads,
and Key West, she trained prospective submariners, con-
ducted experimental dives and underwater maneuvers,
and proved the value of submarines as an effective part
of the mighty Navy. Arriving Hampton Roads from New
London 21 March 1923, K-6 decommissioned 21 May.
Subsequently, she was towed to Philadelphia 13 November
1924. Her name was struck from the Navy List 18 De-
cember 1930. She was broken up and sold for scrapping
3 June 1931.
K-7
( SS-38 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153’7" ; b. 16'8" ;
dr. 13'1" ; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 28; a. 4
18" tt. ; cl. K-3)
K-7 (SS-38) was launched 20 June 1914 by the Union
Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif., under a subcontract
from Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Katie-Bel McGregor, daughter of the President of Union
Iron Works ; and commissioned at Mare Island 1 De-
cember, Lt. J. V. Ogan in command.
As a unit of the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla, K-7 sailed for
San Diego 26 December, arriving the 28th to commence
shakedown and training along the California coast. She
returned to San Francisco 4 June 1915, then departed 3
October for experimental duty in the Hawaiian Islands.
Arriving Pearl Harbor 14 October, she conducted torpedo
and diving tests and participated in operations developing
the tactics of submarine warfare. K-7 departed Pearl
Harbor 31 October 1917, and sailed via the West Coast and
the Panama Canal for antisubmarine patrol duty in the
Gulf of Mexico.
Arriving Key West, Fla., 8 January 1918, K-7 patrolled
the shipping lanes of the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida
Keys to Galveston Bay. She returned to Key West from
Galveston, Tex., 27 November and resumed training and
development operations until departing for Philadelphia
Navy Yard 14 April 1919. She received an overhaul from
21 April to 10 November, then resumed operations out of
Key West in the Caribbean. Following additional over-
haul during the latter half of 1921, K-7 resumed her train-
ing and development operations at the Naval Academy
19 January 1921. For more than 2 years she ranged the
eastern seaboard from Hampton Roads, Va., to Province-
town, Mass., training submariners, conducting diving ex-
periments, and practicing underwater warfare tactics.
During April and May 1921 she visited the service acad-
emies at Annapolis and West Point. After conducting al-
most 7 months of submarine instructions at New London,
Conn, she arrived Hampton Roads, 7 September 1922, for
USS K-5 ( SS-36) , the first submarine to navigate the Mississippi River, arriving St. Louis 14 June 1919
582
submarine flotilla operations in Chesapeake Bay. Subse-
quently, K-7 decommissioned at Hampton Roads 12 Feb-
ruary 1923. She was towed to Philadelphia 23 August
1924 ; struck from the Navy List 18 December 1930 ; and
sold for scrap 3 June 1931.
K-8
(SS-39 : dp. 392 (surf.), 521 (subm.) ; 1. 153'7” ; b. 16'8” ;
dr. 13'1"; s. 14 k. (surf.), 10.5 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 28; a. 4
18” tt.; cl. K-8 )
K-8 (SS-39) was launched 11 July 1914, by the Union
Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif., under subcontract from
Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs. John
W. Lewis, wife of the first commanding officer ; and com-
missioned 1 December at Mare Island, Lt. John W. Lewis
in command.
K-8 departed San Francisco 26 December with K-7 for
training operations along the coast of southern California.
Returning to Mare Island 4 June 1915, she sailed 3 Octo-
ber for duty in the Hawaiian Islands, arriving Pearl Har-
bor 14 October. For more than 2 years she operated with
K-3, K->t, and K-7, developing and perfecting submarine
techniques in diving, torpedo firing, and underwater tac-
tics. Ordered to return to West Coast 31 October 1917,
she arrived San Pedro 12 November and proceeded 27 No-
vember for patrol duty out of Key West.
Arriving Key West 8 January 1918, she conducted pa-
trols from Key West to Galveston, Tex., during the re-
maining months of World War I. Departing Galveston
21 November, she returned to Key West to continue ex-
perimental operations along the Florida coast until she
sailed for Philadelphia 14 April 1919. Arriving 21 April,
K-8 underwent overhaul before sailing 10 November for
Key West. Upon arrival 3 December she began 7 months
of operations in the Caribbean. After returning to Phila-
delphia 8 June 1920, she proceeded to Annapolis, Md.,
19 January 1921, for training operations at the Naval
Academy. Steaming to Hampton Roads, Va., 15 February,
s?ie continued development operations along the Atlantic
coast from Norfolk to Cape Cod, returning to Annapolis
4 through 14 April and visiting West Point 24 through 30
May. She conducted experimental maneuvers in the
Chesapeake Bay from 4 December to 16 May 1922 ; trained
students out of New London, Conn., from 20 May to 5 Sep-
tember ; and returned Hampton Roads 7 September to
resume operations in the lower Chesapeake Bay. K-8 de-
commissioned at Norfolk 24 February 1923. Towed to
the Philadelphia Navy Yard 2 September 1924, she was
sold for scrapping 25 June 1931.
K. 1. Luckenbach
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 16,000; 1. 468'3” ; b. 56' ; dr. 30'6” ; s. 15 k. ; cpl.
99; a. 1 6”, 1 3”)
K. I. Luckenbach was launched 27 October 1917 by the
Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass., for the
Luckenbach Steamship Co. of New York ; acquired by the
Navy at New York 8 August 1918 ; and commissioned
9 August, Lt. Comdr. James A. McDonald, USNRF, in
command.
K. I. Luckenbach served as a cargo transport supplying
the AEF in France. From 12 August to 22 December she
made two round-trip voyages carrying general Army cargo
to France. She was detached from NOTS 24 December
and assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force to assist
in returning American troops from France. She made
three round-trip voyages before debarking her last soldiers
in New York 14 September 1919. Two days later she ar-
rived Norfolk, decommissioned 5 October, and returned
to her owner.
K. T. 9, see YHB-27
Kabout
An Indian word meaning canoe.
( YTB-221 : dp. 415; 1. 110' ; b. 27' ; dr. 11'4” ; a. 2 .50 cal.
a.a. ; cl. Cahto)
Kabout was laid down as YT-221 ; launched December
1943 by the Elizabeth City Shipyard, Elizabeth City, N.C. ;
sponsored by Mrs. J. C. Fegan ; and reclassified YTB-221
on 15 May 1944 prior to being placed in service 3 July
for duty in the 5th Naval District. She remained in op-
eration there until 1 May 1959 when she was struck from
the Navy List. She was sold to Ships, Inc., Norfolk, Va.,
7 August 1959.
Kadashan Bay
A bay in Alaska.
(CVE-76: dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3” ; b. 65'; ew. 108'1”; dr.
22'6” ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860 ; a. 1 5”, 16 40mm., 20 20mm. ;
cl. Casablanca)
Kadashan Bay (AVG-76) was reclassified ACV-76
20 August 1942 ; reclassified CVE-76 15 July 1943 and
launched 11 December 1943 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Van-
couver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract;
sponsored by Miss Audrey Ackerman and commissioned
18 January 1944, Captain R. N. Hunter in command.
After shakedown Kadashan Bay departed San Diego
6 March 1944 on the first of two cruises to Espiritu Santo.
She transported a total of 154 aircraft on these assign-
ments before returning San Diego 13 May. Following
repairs and training, the escort carrier sailed 10 July to
join a carrier division at Pearl Harbor. One month
later she sailed for Tulagi and final preparations for
the September assault on the Palaus.
Kadashan Bay departed Tulagi 6 September and six
days later her air group launched a preinvasion air attack
against enemy positions on Peleliu. Ground forces landed
15 September to gain control of the island as an air base
to support the Philippine operation. After preparations
were concluded at Manus, the escort carrier steamed to-
ward Leyte Gulf 14 October.
Arriving there 21 October she immediately commenced
raids and strikes in supnort of troops ashore. Four days
later one of her patrol planes, piloted by Ens. Hans L. Jen-
sen, sighted the Central Force of the Japanese fleet off
Samar. After reporting his sighting he launched an un-
supported attack against the leading cruiser, beginning
the famous battle off Samar. The carrier’s air group
launched three fighter and three torpedo strikes against
Kurita’s force. The flyers’ courage and gallantry con-
tributed greatly to the sound defeat from which the Jap-
anese never recovered. Upon completion of this mis-
sion, Kadashan Bay steamed toward Manus, arriving 3
November.
As the action in the Philippines continued, Kadashan
Bay's air group accounted for 11 planes in encounters with
the enemy during mid-December. Preparations were now
underway for the Luzon landings and the escort carrier
rendezvoused with the main force 3 January 1945. She
arrived off Luzon 5 days later and commenced an early
morning air attack. That same morning a kamikaze
aimed his death dive at Kadashan Bay. Despite repeated
hits the enemy plane plunged into the ship amidships di-
rectly below the bridge. After an hour and a half of
feverish damage control effort, fires and flooding were
checked, and the escort carrier returned to Leyte 12 Jan-
uary for temporary repairs before returning San Fran-
cisco 13 February for complete overhaul.
Kadashan Bay sailed for Pearl Harbor 8 April, arriving
14 April. She then commenced ferrying aircraft and pas-
sengers among the Pacific islands. During July the escort
carrier was assigned as a replenishment carrier for the
3d Fleet and was on her wrny from Pearl Harbor to begin
her new duty when news of Japan’s collapse came.
Kadashan Bay joined the “Magic-Carpet” fleet at Guam
583
256-125 0 - 68 - 39
in September and arrived San Francisco 26 September
with her first group of veterans. For the next 3 months
the escort carrier made runs from Pearl Harbor, Guam,
Okinawa, and China to return battle-weary Americans
home. She arrived San Pedro 22 December from her last
Pacific cruise, and departed San Diego 10 January 1946
for Boston. Kadashan Bay arrived Boston 29 January,
decommissioned 14 June 1946, and was placed in the At-
lantic Reserve Fleet there. She was reclassified CVU-76
on 12 June 1956 and scrapped 13 August 1959.
Kadashan Bay received two battle stars for World War
II service.
Kailua
A bay off the coast of Hawaii.
( IX-71 : dp. 1,411; 1. 189'9'' ; b. 30’ ; dr. 15'9" ; s. 9.8 k;
cpl. 61 ; a. 1 3", 4 .50 cal. mg., 2 dct)
Kailua (IX-71), formerly Dickenson, was launched in
1923 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester,
Pa. ; acquired by the Navy 19 May 1942 on a bare-boat
basis and commissioned 5 May 1943, Lt. C. R. Bower in
command.
Kailua departed Pearl Harbor 15 May 1943 to join the
Service Force of the 7th Fleet. Upon her arrival at Pago
Pago, Samoa, 25 May, she immediately commenced opera-
tions as an auxiliary in the Pacific islands. During June
she arrived Milne Bay, New Guinea, and for the next
year remained there laying cables, ASW nets, and buoys.
Kailua arrived Pearl Harbor 4 July 1944 and performed
similar services there for the rest of the war. Kailua
decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 29 October 1945 and
was later sunk intentionally.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II was seized by the United States in
1917 ; acquired by the Navy 22 May 1917 ; and renamed
Agamemnon ( q.v .) on 5 September 1917.
Kaiserin Auguste Victoria
Former name retained.
(Str: dp. 22,000; 1. 677'6" ; b. 77'4" ; dr. 28'; s. 17.5.)
Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, formerly a German ship,
was built in 1905 by Vulcan at Stettin ; taken over by the
Navy after the Armistice; and commissioned at Paullac,
France, 15 February 1919, Captain Frank Evans in com-
mand.
Kaiserin Auguste Victoria was assigned to NOTS for
duty as a troop transport. She departed Brest, France, 8
April with her first contingent of American troops who
fought so valiantly to make the world safe for democracy.
The transport made a total of five cruises from France
to the United States, arriving New York from her final
cruise 21 August. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria remained at
New York for 4 months before decommissioning 23 De-
cember 1919. She was returned to the USSB the same
day. Sold to the Cunard S.S. Co., Ltd., in 1920, Kaiserin
Auguste Victoria was subsequently sold to the Canadian
Pacific Line and renamed Empress of Scotland.
Kaita Bay
Prior to launch, escort aircraft carrier Kaita Bay
(CVE-78) was renamed Savo Island (CVE-78) (q.v.) 6
November 1943.
Kajeruna
A former name retained.
( SP-389 : t. 147; 1. 153'; b. 14'6" ; dr. 7'9'' ; s. 14 k. ;
a. 2 6-pdrs., 1 mg.)
Kajeruna (SP-398), a steel-hulled steam yacht, was
built in 1902 by John N. Robinton & Son, Erie Basin,
N.Y., and was acquired from her owner, A. W. Gieske of
Baltimore, in May 1917 and commissioned, Lt. J. R.
Hudgins, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District based at Norfolk,
Kajeruna acted as flagship for Patrol Squadron 3. She
operated in Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay until
being returned to her owner 16 January 1919.
Kalae, see YT-322
Kalamazoo
A river in Michigan.
( ScStr : t. 6,160; 1. 354'5'' ; b. 56'8" ; dr. 17'6" ; s. 19 k. ;
a. none)
Kalamazoo, a double turreted monitor, was laid down
in 1863 at New York Navy Yard. Work on the monitor
was suspended 27 November 1865 and was never resumed.
The unfinished ship was renamed Colossus 15 June 1869;
without seeing any service she was broken up in 1884.
I
( AOG-30 : dp. 845 ; 1. 220'6'' ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'11" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 62. a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 3 20mm. ; cl. Mettawee; T.
T1-M-A2 )
Kalamazoo (AOG-30) was laid down 7 July 1944 by
East Coast Shipyards, Inc., Bayonne, N.J., under a Mari-
time Commission contract ; launched 30 August 1944 ;
sponsored by Miss Harriett Savage ; acquired by the Navy
7 October ; and commissioned 14 October at New York
Navy Yard, Lt. W. Pierson, Jr., USCGR, in command.
Following shakedown in the Caribbean, Kalamazoo
cleared Norfolk, Va., 7 December for Aruba, Dutch West
Indies, to load fuel oil. She departed Aruba 21 Decem-
ber for duty in the Southwest Pacific. After fueling
operations in the Solomons, Admiralties, and Humboldt
Bay, New Guinea, she arrived Leyte Gulf, P.I., 4 March
1945 as a unit of the Service Force, 7th Fleet. She
operated as a gasoline tanker out of San Pedro Bay until
15 April when she sailed for fueling operations off the
southern Philippines. Arriving Polloc Harbor, Mindanao,"'’
20 April, she served for more than 7 months in the Celebes
Sea, transporting cargo and fuel from Borneo and Morotai
to ports in Mindanao.
Departing Zamboanga, Mindanao, 1 December, Kala-
mazoo steamed via Manila to Subic Bay, Luzon, where
she remained until sailing for the United States 11 Jan-
uary 1946. She reached San Francisco 12 March and
cleared port on the 22d for passage to the Gulf Coast.
On 1 April while en route to the Panama Canal Zone her
main engine failed. Kennahago (AO-81) assisted her to
Balboa where she arrived 10 April. Under tow from
rescue tug ATRS5, she departed Cristobol, C.Z., 26 April
for Mobile, Ala., where she arrived 3 May. Kalamazoo
decommissioned 18 May and subsequently was turned over
to the Maritime Commission for disposal. She trans-
ferred to Colombia 26 November 1947 and was renamed
Bals de Lezo (BT-62).
Kalinin Bay
A bay on the northern shore of Kruzof Island in the
Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska.
( CVE-68 : dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3''; b. 65'; ew. lOl'l" ; dr.
22' 6'' ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860; a. 1 5", 16 40mm., 20 20mm.,
28 ac. ; cl. Casablanca; T. S4-S2-BB3)
Kalinin Bay, originally designated an AVG, was classi-
fied ACV-68 on 20 August 1942 ; laid down under a Mari-
time Commission contract 26 April 1943 by the Kaiser
584
Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash. ; reclassified
CVE-68 on 15 July 1943 ; launched 15 October 1943 ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Anna Mary Updegraff ; and commissioned
27 November at Astoria, Oregon, Captain C. R. Brown in
command.
After shakedown along the Pacific Coast, Kalinin Bay
departed San Diego 3 January 1944 for replenishment
duty in the Pacific. Laden with troops and a cargo of
planes, she steamed via Pearl Harbor for the Gilbert
Islands, arriving off Tarawa Atoll 24 January to supply
5th Fleet carriers then engaged in the conquest of the
Marshalls. For more than 2 weeks she provided logistic
support from Tarawa to Majuro Atoll before returning to
Alameda, Calif., 24 February.
With Composite Squadron 3 embarked 9 April, Kalinin
Bay reached Majuro, Marshalls, 23 April ; conducted
ASW air patrols off Mili Atoll ; and proceeded to Pearl
Harbor 1 May to prepare for the Marianas operation.
She departed Pearl Harbor 30 May ; and, while en route to
Saipan, she successfully evaded a Japanese torpedo that
crossed her bow close aboard. Touching at Eniwetok 9
June, Kalinin Bay reached the eastern coast of Saipan 15
June and commenced air operations in support of the in-
vasion. After repelling an enemy air attack at dusk on
the 17th, she sailed 19 June to ferry planes to and from
Eniwetok. Returning to Saipan 24 June, she resumed
effective air strikes against enemy positions on the em-
battled island until 9 July when she steamed via Eniwetok
for similar duty at Guam. Arriving 20 July, she launched
direct support and ASW sorties until 2 August, then re-
turned to Eniwetok to prepare for operations in the
Palau Islands.
Kalinin Bay cleared Eniwetok 18 August and proceeded
via Tulagi, Florida Island, to the Southern Palaus where
she arrived 14 September with units of the 3d Fleet.
Ordered to furnish air support for the capture, occupa-
tion, and defense of Peleliu, Angaur, and Ngesebus, she
launched air strikes to support landing operations. For
2 weeks her planes, flying almost 400 sorties, inflicted
heavy damage on enemy ground installations and ship-
ping. On 25 September, alone, they sank or destroyed
three cargo transports and six landing barges.
She departed the Palaus 30 September ; and, upon ar-
riving Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island, 3 October, she re-
ceived a new commanding officer, Captain T. B. William-
son. Kalinin Bay departed Manus 12 October en route to
the Philippine Islands. Ordered to provide air coverage
and close air support during the bombardment and am-
phibious landings on Leyte Island, she arrived off Leyte
17 October. After furnishing air support during landings
by Ranger units on Dinagat and Homonhon Islands in the
eastern approaches to Leyte Gulf, she launched air strikes
in support of invasion operations at Tacloban on the
northeast coast of Leyte. Operating with Rear Admiral
C. A. F. Sprague’s “Taffy 3” (TU-77.4.3), which consisted
of 6 escort carriers and a screen of 3 destroyers and 4
destroyer escorts, Kalinin Bay sailed to the east of Leyte
and Samar as her planes, flying 244 sorties from 18 to 24
October, struck and destroyed enemy installations and
airfields on Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Negros, and Panay
Islands.
Steaming about 60 miles east of Samar before dawn 25
October, “Taffy 3” prepared to launch the day’s initial
air strikes. At 0647 Rear Admiral Sprague received word
that a sizable Japanese fleet was approaching from the
northwest. Comprised of 4 battleships, 8 cruisers, and 12
destroyers, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita’s Center Force
steadily closed and at 0658 opened fire on “Taffy 3.”
So began the Battle off Samar — one of the most mem-
orable engagements in U.S. naval history. Outnumbered
and outgunned, the slower “Taffy 3” seemed fated for
disaster; but the American ships defied the odds and
gamely accepted the enemy’s challenge.
Kalinin Bay accelerated to flank speed ; and, despite
fire from three enemy cruisers, she launched her planes,
ordering the pilots “to attack the Japanese task force
and proceed to Tacloban airstrip, Leyte, to rearm and re-
gas.” As salvos fell “with disconcerting rapidity” in-
creasingly nearer Kalinin Bay, her planes, striking the
enemy force with bombs, rockets, and gunfire, inflicted
heavy damage on the closing ships.
As the trailing ship in the escort carrier van, Kalinin
Bay came under intense enemy fire. Though partially
protected by chemical smoke, by a timely rain squall, and
by valiant counterattacks of screening destroyers and de-
stroyer escorts, she took the first of 15 direct hits at
0750. Fired from an enemy battleship, the large caliber
shell (14-inch or 16-inch) struck the starboard side of
the hangar deck just abaft the forward elevator.
By 0800 the enemy cruisers, which were steaming off her
port quarter, closed to within 18,000 yards. Kalinin Bay
gamely responded to their straddling salvos with rapid
fire from her single 5-inch gun, which only intensified the
enemy fire. Three 8-inch, armor-piercing projectiles
struck her within minutes of each other. At 0825 the
spirited carrier’s barking 5-incher scored a direct hit from
16,000 yards on the No. 2 turret of a Nachi-class heavy
cruiser, and a second hit shortly thereafter forced the
enemy ship to withdraw temporarily from formation.
At 0830 five enemy destroyers steamed over the horizon
off her starboard quarter. The closing ships opened fire
from about 14,500 yards ; and, as screening ships engaged
the cruisers and laid down concealing smoke, Kalinin
Bay shifted her fire and for the next hour traded shots
with the guns of Japan’s Destroyer Squadron 10. Many
salvos exploded close aboard or passed directly overhead ;
and, though no destroyer fire hit Kalinin Bay directly, she
took ten more 8-inch hits from the now obscured cruisers.
One shell passed through the flight deck and into the
communications area, where it destroyed all radar and
radio equipment.
Under heavy attack from the air and harassed by in-
cessant fire from American destroyers and destroyer es-
corts, the enemy cruisers broke off action and turned
northward at 0920. At 0915 the enemy destroyers, which
were kept at bay by the daring and almost singlehanded
exploits of Johnston (DD-557), launched a premature
torpedo attack from 10,500 yards. As the torpedoes ap-
proached the escort carriers, they slowed down. An
Avenger torpedo-bomber from doomed St. Lo (CVE-63)
strafed and exploded two torpedoes in Kalinin Bay’s wake
about 100 yards astern, and a shell from the latter’s 5-
inch gun deflected a third from a collision course with her
stern.
At about 0930, as the enemy ships fired parting salvos
and reversed course northward, Kalinin Bay scored a
direct hit amidships on a retreating destroyer. Five min-
utes later she ceased fire and retired southward with the
surviving ships of “Taffy 3.” At 1050 the task unit came
under a concentrated air attack ; and, and during the 40-
minute battle with enemy suicide planes, all escort car-
riers but Fansliaw Bay (CVE-70) were damaged. One
plane crashed through St. Lo’ s flight deck and exploded
her torpedo and bomb magazine, mortally wounding the
gallant carrier- Four diving planes attacked Kalinin
Bay from astern and the starboard quarter. Intense fire
splashed two close aboard ; but a third plane crashed into
the port side of the flight deck, damaging it badly. The
fourth hit destroyed the aft port stack.
As one of the fearless ships of “Taffy 3,” Kalinin Bay
had prevented a Japanese penetration into Leyte Gulf and
saved General MacArthur’s beachhead in the Philippines.
At a cost of five gallant ships and hundreds of brave men
“Taffy 3,” aided by her own planes and those of “Taffy
2,” sank three enemy cruisers, seriously damaged several
other ships, and turned back the “most powerful surface
fleet which Japan had sent to sea since the Battle of Mid-
way.” Domination of the skies, superior seamanship, and
prudent, timely maneuvers helped to nullify the over-
whelming odds. In the highest tradition of naval service,
the finest qualities of the American sailor became common-
place during the heroic fight. Devotion to duty, daring
courage, uncommon bravery, and an indomitable spirit
were part and parcel of this victory.
Despite the battle damage, “Taffy 3” cleared the air
of attacking planes ; and at noon the escort carriers
585
retired southeastward while their escort searched for
survivors from St. Lo. Though Kalinin Bay suffered ex-
tensive structural damage during the morning’s furious
action, she counted only 5 dead among her 60 casualties.
Weary and battle scarred, Kalinin Bay was awarded the
Presidential Unit Citation for heroic conduct as a unit
of “Taffy 3”. She steamed via Woendi, Schouten Is-
lands, to Manus, arriving 1 November for emergency
repairs. Getting under way for the United States 7 No-
vember, the escort carrier reached San Diego 27 Novem-
ber for permanent repairs and alterations.
Repairs completed 18 January 1945, the veteran escort
carrier departed San Diego 20 January to ferry planes
and men to Pearl Harbor and Guam. For more than 8
months she served as a replenishment carrier in the
Pacific Carrier Transport Squadron ; and, during six
cruises between the West Coast and Pearl Harbor, Eni-
wetok, and Guam, she transported more than 600 planes.
Departing San Diego 2 September, she steamed to the
Philippines, arriving Samar 28 September for “Magic-
Carpet” duty. With 1,048 men embarked, she departed
Samar 1 October and arrived San Francisco 19 October.
After conducting two more voyages between California
and Pearl Harbor, Kalinin Bay departed San Diego 8
December for the Far East. On 25 December while she
steamed to Yokosuka, Japan, an intense storm heavily
damaged her flight deck. Arriving the 27th, she received
emergency repairs, then sailed 3 January 1946 for the
West Coast and arrived San Diego 17 January. On 13
February she proceeded to the eastern seaboard, reach-
ing Boston 9 March. Kalinin Bay decommissioned 15
May, and she was sold for scrapping 8 December to Pa-
tapsco Steel Co., Baltimore, Md.
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Kalinin
Bay received five battle stars for World War II service.
Kalispell
A city in Flathead County, Mont. The city is named
for a tribe of Indians.
( YTB-784 : dp. 283 ; 1. 109' ; b. 31' ; dr. 14' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl. 12 ;
cl. Natick)
Kalispell (YTB-784) was laid down by Marinette Ma-
rine Corp., Marinette, Wis., 14 September 1965; launched
13 December ; and placed in service 3 May 1966.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Kalispell at present per-
forms towing operations and harbor duties in the 5th
Naval District, Norfolk, Va.
Kalk
Stanton Frederick Kalk, bom 14 October 1894, in Ala.,
graduated from the Naval Academy in 1916. After
serving in Florida (BB-t30), he was assigned to Jacob
Jones (DD-61) 10 September 1917. While steaming on
patrol duty from Brest, France, to Queenstown, Ireland,
Jacob Jones was attacked 16 December by German sub-
marine U-53. Although Kalk, officer-of-the-deck during
the attack, “took correct and especially prompt meas-
ures in maneuvering to avoid the torpedo,” the destroyer
could not turn in time to escape. She sank stem first
in 8 minutes. Though stunned by the explosion and
weakened by his action after the ship went down, Kalk
swam from one raft to another in an attempt to equalize
weight on them. Displaying “extraordinary heroism,”
he disregarded his own condition while endeavoring to
save the lives of his men. Game to the last, Kalk over-
taxed his own strength ; he died from exposure and ex-
haustion. For his “splendid self-sacrifice” Lt. (j.g.)
Kalk was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Serv-
ice Medal.
I
(DD-170: dp. 1,060; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'2" ; s. 35
k. ; cpl. 101 ; a. 4 4", 2 1-pdrs., 12 21" tt. ; cl. Wickes)
Kalk (DD-170), laid down as Rodgers 4 March 1917,
was launched 21 December 1918, by the Fore River Ship-
building Corp., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored by Mrs. Flora
Stanton Kalk, mother of Lt. Kalk. ; renamed Kalk 23
December 1918; and commissioned at Boston 29 March
1919, Lt. Comdr. N. R. Van der Veer in command.
After shakedown off Newport, Kalk departed Boston
3 May for Newfoundland. Arriving Trespassey 5 May,
she sailed 3 days later for the mid-Atlantic to provide
rescue cover during the pioneer flight of Navy seaplane
NC-4 from Newfoundland to the Azores 16 to 17 May.
After returning to Boston 20 May, she sailed for Europe
10 July, arriving Brest, France, 21 July. Proceeding
via England to Hamburg, Germany, she arrived 27 July
to begin a 3-week cruise through the Baltic Sea, visiting
Baltic and Scandinavian countries on American Relief
Administration operations. She returned to Brest 23
August to serve as a dispatch and escort ship until de-
parting for the United States 25 January 1920.
Arriving Boston 12 February, she trained reserves of
the 1st Naval District and operated with DesRon 3 along
the Atlantic Coast from Cape Cod to Charleston. As a
result of the Five Power Naval Treaty, which was signed
at the Washington Conference 6 February 1922, Kalk de-
parted Boston 10 May for Philadelphia, where she de-
commissioned 10 July and was placed in reserve.
When war in Europe threatened the security of the
entire world, Kalk recommissioned 17 June 1940, Lt. T.
P. Elliott in command. Departing Philadelphia 26 July,
she arrived Charleston the 31st for duty with the Neu-
trality Patrol in the Atlantic. Kalk was one of 50 overage
4-pipers turned over to Britain in exchange for strategic
bases in the Atlantic under terms of the “Destroyers for
Bases Agreement” of 2 September. She cleared Charles-
ton 7 September and steamed via Hampton Roads and
Newport to Halifax, N.S., arriving 18 September.
Kalk decommissioned 23 September and was turned over
to the British the same day.
Commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Hamilton,
she collided with HMS Georgetown (formerly Maddox,
DD-168) at St. John’s Newfoundland, 1 October while
en route to England. Proceeding to St. John, New
Brunswick, for repairs, she went aground and suffered
extensive damage. Because of a British manpower short-
age, she was manned by Canadians during and after re-
pair operations ; late in June 1941 she commissioned in
the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Hamilton.
Throughout her active service, she remained in North
American waters, protecting convoys from St. John’s
to New York. On 2 August 1942, she sighted and attacked
a German U-boat and, by forcing it to submerge, pre-
vented an attack on the convoy. Declared unfit for
operations 11 August 1943, she became a tender to HMCS
Cornwallis at Annapolis, Nova Scotia. Declared sur-
plus 1 April 1945, she decommissioned 8 June at Sydney,
Nova Scotia. HMCS Hamilton departed Sydney 6 July
under tow for Baltimore, Md., where she was scrapped
by the Boston Iron & Metal Co.
Kalk (DD-254) was renamed Rodgers (DD-254) (q.v.)
23 December 1918.
II
(DD-611 : dp. 1,620; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36’1" ; dr. 11'9" ; cpl.
258; s. 37.5 k. ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 7 20mm., 5 21" tt., 6
dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Benson)
The second Kalk (DD-611) was laid down 30 June 1941
by the Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif. ;
launched 18 July 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Flora Stanton
Kalk, mother of Lieutenant Kalk ; and commissioned 17
October, Lt. Comdr. C. T. Singleton, Jr., in command.
Following shakedown along the California coast, Kalk
departed San Francisco 28 December for patrol and escort
duty in the Aleutians. Steaming via Dutch Harbor, she
arrived Adak 9 January and patrolled from Adak to Am-
chitka Island. On the 16th she embarked 185 survivors
586
of SS Arthur Middleton and Worden (DD-352) which
had foundered in an Arctic storm. She transported them
to Adak, then continued intermittent patrols until she
sailed 26 February for home, arriving San Francisco 4
March.
After repairs, Kalk steamed from San Francisco 7 April
and proceeded via the Panama Canal to New York, where
she arrived a fortnight later for Atlantic convoy escort
duty. She cleared New York 28 April and the next day
joined a 35-ship convoy, UGF-8, headed for Oran, Algeria.
Arriving 12 May, she searched for a suspected U-boat.
The destroyer departed Casablanca, French Morocco, 19
May escorting a westbound convoy. Arriving New York
31 May, she sailed 13 June via Casco Bay, Maine, and
Argentia, Newfoundland, to Norfolk for further convoy-
escort duty. From 27 June to 6 December she escorted
three convoys between the United States and North Africa.
After overhaul at New York and Boston, she arrived Nor-
folk 29 December and then sailed 2 January 1944 for the
Pacific.
She departed Balboa, Canal Zone, 8 January with
DesDiv 38, escorting battleships New Jersey (BB-62) and
Iowa (BB-61). Reaching Funafuti, Ellice Islands 27
January. Kalk searched for downed fighter planes before
sailing for New Guinea 31 January to join the 7th Fleet
at Milne Bay 7 February. She operated in the New
Guinea area, primarily on patrol and convoy escort duty,
until 12 June. During the protracted struggle for New
Guinea, she also covered amphibious invasions, bombard-
ing Manus, Pityilu, Los Negros, and Rambutye Islands,
Admiralties : Tanahmerah Bay and Wakde-Sarmi, New
Guinea ; and Biak and Owi, Schouten Islands.
After providing fire support during the invasion of Biak
Island 27 May, Kalk continued escort and picket duty
between Biak and Humboldt Bay. While on patrol 12
June off the southern coast of Biak, an enemy plane dived
out of the sun and released a bomb which struck abaft
her forward stack at the base of her starboard torpedo
tubes. As Kalk's 20mm. gunfire splashed the attacker,
the bomb exploded the air flasks of her torpedoes, de-
stroying several 20mm. guns, showering her crew with
shrapnel, and damaging her superstructure amidships.
Though suffering 70 casualties, her heroic crew rallied to
save the destroyer. Skillful firefighters extinguished each
blaze; and, while other hands tended the wounded, vol-
unteers detached the warheads from torpedoes scattered
about the deck. Every man knew what to do and did it.
The only Allied ship seriously damaged in more than 2
weeks of repeated air attacks at and near Biak, Kalk re-
tired to Hollandia, New Guinea, for emergency repairs
and sailed 20 June via the Admiralties and Pearl Harbor
for the United States. Reaching San Francisco 31 July,
she received complete repairs and underwent alteration
at Mare Island.
Then the gallant destroyer departed 26 October for
Pearl Harbor, arriving 1 November. On 12 November she
headed via Eniwetok to Ulithi, Western Carolines, where
she arrived 26 November to resume her duty in the west-
ern Pacific.
For more than 8 months Kalk operated out of Ulithi on
ASW patrols screening sea logistics forces during offen-
sive operations from Luzon to Okinawa. From 16 to 23
December she patrolled northeast of Luzon during re-
plenishment of the 3d Fleet. Sailing from Ulithi 29 De-
cember, she screened supply units which supported TF 38
during the crucial Lingayen Gulf operations on western
Luzon. She continued this important duty until return-
ing to Ulithi 27 January 1945.
As a unit of DesDiv 38, Kalk rendezvoused with TG
50.8 on 18 February for refueling and replenishment op-
erations of TF 58 during the savage campaign on Iwo
Jima. Returning to Ulithi 6 March, she sailed north-
ward 13 March with TG 50.8 to screen logistic support for
the 5th Fleet which was then clearing Ryukyu waters of
enemy shipping and aircraft in preparation for the in-
vasion of Okinawa 1 April. From then to the end of the
war, Kalk operated with the 5th and 3d Fleets off the
Ryukyus as escort, plane guard, and ASW screen. Con-
cerned primarily with screening supply ships between
Ulithi and Okinawa, she destroyed numberous Japanese
mines during patrols. While steaming for Okinawa 5
June with logistic support group TG 30.8, she passed
through a raging typhoon with destructive winds of more
than 90 knots. Suffering only minor damage, Kalk con-
tinued screening patrols. When the war ended 15 August,
she was steaming from Okinawa to Ulithi.
Departing Ultithi 20 August, Kalk sailed via Saipan
and Okinawa to Japan, arriving Tokyo Bay 1 September
escorting Detroit (CL-8). Present at the formal Jap-
anese surrender 2 September, she departed the 3d on an
escort run to Eniwetok. After returning to Tokyo Bay 16
September, she departed for the United States 12 October
via the Philippines, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor. Reach-
ing San Diego 17 November, she proceeded on the 17th
for the East Coast, arriving Boston 11 December. After
overhaul, she departed Boston 18 January 1946 and ar-
rived Charleston, S.C., on the 20th. Kalk decommissioned
at Charleston 3 May, entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet,
and is currently berthed at Orange, Tex.
Kalk received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Kalkay, see Mattaponi (AO--41)
Kalmia
A genus of North American shrubs of the heath family
with evergreen leaves and umbellate clusters of rose, pur-
ple, or white flowers.
I
(ScStr : t. 112 ; 1. 85' ; b. 19'6" ; dr. 8' ; s. 12 k. ; a. 2 guns)
The first Kalmia, a screw steamer, was built as Inncs
at Philadelphia in 1863 and purchased for the Navy by
Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding 5 October from her owner,
Arron Innes, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Renamed Kalmia 24
April 1864, the Naval Register of 1865 lists her as as-
signed to the North Atlantic Squadron as a fourth-rate
tug. No further record of her other naval service has
been found.
Kalmia was sold at public auction in New York, N.Y.,
25 October 1865. She was redocumented as F. B. Thur-
ber 12 December; renamed James Hughes 8 November
1898 ; and destroyed by fire 15 June 1905 at Bartlett’s
Point, N.Y.
II
( AT-23 : dp. 1,000; 1. 158'6" ; b. 30'; dr. 14'7"; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 44 ; a. 1 mg. ; cl. Bagaduce)
The second Kalmia (AT-23) was laid down 23 August
1918 ; launched 26 August 1919 by Ferguson Steel & Iron
Co., Buffalo, N.Y. ; sponsored by Mrs. E. D. Bishop ; and
commissioned 18 November, Lt. (j.g.) W. S. Burns in
command
Steaming to Montreal 21 November, Kalmia joined the
St. Lawrence Division of Eagle Boats for towing and
ice-breaking duty between Montreal and Quebec. She
departed Quebec 24 May 1920 for the eastern seaboard;
sailing via Portsmouth, N.H., she arrived Philadelphia
18 June. Attached to the 4th Naval District, she op-
erated out of Philadelphia as a tow for barges and yard
craft. On 10 January 1934 she joined the Special Serv-
ice Squadron to assist in transporting armament to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Assigned to Train Squadron 1,
Base Force, 1 May, she sailed to Norfolk 24 May and
on 13 October departed for the West Coast. Steaming
via the Panama Canal, she established her base at San
Diego 22 November and commenced target towing op-
erations along the California coast.
On 30 June 1941 Kalmia sailed for the Atlantic, arriv-
ing Norfolk 10 August. She proceeded to Portland,
Maine, 10 October and arrived on the 13th to join the
Service Force, Atlantic Fleet. For the next 3 years she
towed gun targets in Casco Bay. From 8 to 11 Sep-
tember 1942 she assisted in salvage and rescue operations
587
of auxiliary-transport Wakefield (AP-21), gutted by fire
while off Halifax, Nova Scotia. Redesignated ATO-23
on 15 May 1944, she returned to Norfolk 24 October for
target-towing duty in the Chesapeake Bay.
Departing Norfolk 14 December, Kalmia sailed for the
West Coast arriving Seattle, Wash., 14 February 1945
with floating dry dock AFDL-33 in tow. Following two
towing runs from San Diego and San Francisco to Seattle,
she arrived San Diego 30 May to resume bomb and gun
target towing operations off Santa Catalina and Santa
Cruz Islands. Steaming to San Pedro 29 March 1946,
Kalmia decommissioned 15 May. She was struck from
the Navy List 3 July 1946, and sold to Bay Cities Trans-
portation Co., San Francisco, Calif., 21 January 1947.
Ill
( ATA-184 : dp. 835 ; 1. 143' ; b. 33'10'' ; dr. 13'2" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 45 ; a. 1 3", 2 20mm. ; cl. Maricopa)
The third Kalmia (AT-184) was laid down as ATR-
111 on 27 July 1944 ; redesignated ATA-184 15 May 1944 ;
launched 29 August by Levingston Shipbuilding Co.,
Orange, Tex. ; and commissioned 6 November as ATA-184,
Lt. (j.g.) W. E. Hummel in command.
Following shakedown, ATA-184 departed New Orleans,
La., 10 December for the Southwest Pacific with APL-9
in tow. Transiting the Panama Canal 27 December,
she added ATR-64 to her towlines 2 January 1945, sailed
via the Galapagos and Society Islands, and arrived Flor-
ida Island, Solomons, 16 February to deliver ATR-64 for
duty. The next day, as a unit of Service Squadron 3,
ATA-184 sailed for Manus Island, Admiralties, arriving
the 22d with APL-9. After towing and salvage duty at
Manus and Hollandia, New Guinea, she steamed for the
Philippines 27 March with YRDH-3 and YRDM-3 in tan-
dem tow. Arriving Subic Bay, Luzon, 14 April, she com-
menced towing and salvage operations throughout the
Philippines that ranged from northern Luzon to southern
Palawan and Mindanao. Following a towing run to
Brunei Bay, Borneo, ATA-184 cleared Guiuan Roadstead,
Samar, 22 June and returned to Manus the 29th.
ATA-184 proceeded to Russell Islands, Solomons, 4 July.
While the tug was operating off Hui Island 12 July, a
large quantity, estimated between 9 and 26 tons, of de-
teriorated and condemned dynamite exploded on the island
causing minor damage to the tug. She departed the Rus-
sells 17 July for Guiuan, Samar, with five pontoon barges
in tow. Arriving 6 August, she resumed towing duty in
Leyte Gulf until she sailed 18 August for Manus Island
to tow two pontoon drydocks to Luzon. ATA-184 reached
Subic Bay 11 September and commenced towing runs be-
tween Subic Bay and Guiuan. From 2 to 7 October she
operated in the typhoon area northeast of Luzon and re-
covered harbor tugs YTB-377 and YF-572 adrift at sea.
During November and December she operated out of San
Fernando, Luzon, on typhoon salvage and rescue patrols
off northern Luzon, rescuing four men 26 December from
a drifting Army barge.
ATA-184 continued towing and salvage operations off
western Luzon until she departed Subic Bay 30 April 1946
with APL-19 in tow. Steaming via Guam and Bikini
Atoll, she arrived Pearl Harbor 7 June and continued 11
June with APL-21 in tow for the West Coast. Arriving
Astoria, Oreg., 23 June, ATA-184 decommissioned 24 June
and entered the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve
Fleet. On 16 July 1948 she was named Kalmia (ATA-
184). Placed in service 1 April 1952, she departed As-
toria 24 April for San Diego, where she recommissioned
5 May, Lt. T. P. Dorr in command.
Attached to the 11th Naval District since recommis-
sioning, Kalmia has operated out of San Diego, providing
valuable service for the Underway Training Command
during training and readiness operations of the Navy’s
combat ships. As an integral link in training the Navy’s
fighting ships, especially destroyers, in gunnery, she has
towed target sleds in the Southern California Operating
Area. Equipped with a hydraulic launching catapult on
her bow, she serves as one of the smallest “aircraft car-
riers” in the Navy by launching, controlling, and retriev-
ing drone target aircraft during antiaircraft and aerial
gunnery exercises. She also tows and services bomb tar-
gets and retrieves practice torpedoes and mines. When
not at sea, she provides a variety of important services
in' San Diego and Long Beach harbors, towing ships in
reserve to and from overhaul, assisting disabled or
grounded ships, and moving a multitude of yard craft and
a vast quantity of varied equipment. A floating work-
horse, Kalmia continues to provide essential service to
the 11th Naval District and the Pacific Fleet through 1967.
Kalolah , see YP-340
Kaloli
A point on the western coast of Hawaii.
( AOG-13) : dp. 3,610; 1. 258'; b. 43'; dr. 14'10" ; s. 9.5
k. ; cpl. 63; a. 1 3'', 4 20mm.)
Kaloli (AOG-13) was launched in 1941 as Flying A by
the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Charleston,
S.C. ; owned by Tidewater Associated Oil Co., San Fran-
cisco, Calif. ; and acquired and commissioned by the Navy
at Honolulu, Hawaii, 29 April 1942, Lt. Comdr. G. H. Chap-
man, Jr., in command.
Taken over on time charter through the Maritime Com-
mission, Kaloli served as a unit of Service Squadron 8,
supplying forward island depots in the Pacific with mili-
tary supplies and material. Operating out of Pearl Har-
bor, she ranged the Central Pacific and provided logistic
support for bases at Midway, Johnston, Canton, Christ-
mas, and Palmyra Islands. She conducted over 40 fueling
missions to these islands between 28 May 1942 and 3 July
1945, carrying over 20 million gallons of aviation gasoline
as well as lesser quantities of commercial gasoline and
diesel fuel. Though she was never in combat, her service
to combat ships of the Navy was both efficient and val-
uable.
Kaloli shuttled fuel among various tank farms in the
Hawaiian Islands from July to October 1945. On 11 Oc-
tober she cleared Pearl Harbor for the West Coast, ar-
riving San Diego 23 October. She departed the 29th for
the eastern seaboard, and, after transiting the Panama
Canal 12 November, she arrived New York 25 November.
Kaloli decommissioned 7 December and transferred to the
Maritime Commission for return to her former owner.
She was struck from the Navy List 3 January 1946.
Kamehameha
Kamehameha, a Hawaiian king and warrior whose
name means “the lonely one,” was born at Kohala, Hawaii,
in 1758. In 1782 he conquered three petty kingdoms to be-
gin a campaign to take all the Hawaiian Islands. The
conquest was completed with the defeat of Kalanikupule
on Oahu in 1795. He acquired the islands of Kauai and
Niihau without a fight.
At the end of these terrible and devastating civil wars,
Kamehameha worked to establish a stable government and
to restore the island’s shattered economy. An excellent
judge of men, he inspired great loyalty. Though ruthless
in war, he was kind and forgiving after the fighting. He
encouraged trade by insisting upon protection and justice
for foreigners. He welcomed new ideas, and tried to
apply them to help his people. By the time of his death,
Kamehameha had consolidated the islands under one gov-
ernment, ending the feudal wars and anarchy which had
ravaged the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.
(SSB(N)-642 : dp. 7,250 (surf.), 8,250 (subm.) ; 1. 425';
b. 33' ; dr. 31 '5" ; s. over 20 k. ; cpl. 140 ; a. 16 Pol. mis.,
4 21" tt. ; cl. Lafayette)
Kamehameha (SSB(N)-642) was laid down 2 May 1963
by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard ; launched 16 January
588
/
1965 ; sponsored by Mrs. Samuel Wilder King, widow of
Captain King, who was governor of Hawaii from 1953 to
1957 ; and commissioned 10 December 1965, Comdr. Roth
S. Leddick (blue crew) and Comdr. Robert W. Diekieson
(gold crew) in command.
After shakedown o ft the Florida Coast, early in 1966, the
new Polaris submarine joined the Pacific Fleet and began
her first patrol 6 August, silently and invisibily roving
the seas as a mighty deterrent against aggression, pre-
serving peace and protecting freedom.
Kamehameha returned from a successful patrol in No-
vember, switched crews, and was soon underway again.
She continued this pattern of duty in defense of the free
world in 1967.
Kamesit
A former name retained.
(Str : dp. 12,614; 1. 416'6” ; b. 53' ; dr. 26'5" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
81; a. 2 5”, 2 4")
Kamesit, a cargo ship, was built by Moore Ship Co.,
Oakland Calif., in 1918 for the USSB; delivered to the
Navy in January 1919; and commissioned 29 January at
Mare Island, Calif., Lt. Comdr. A. J. Shrader, USNRF, in
command.
Departing Mare Island 1 February, Kamesit loaded with
barley at Porta Costa, Calif., and sailed 13 February for
New York via the Panama Canal. She transited the canal
USS Kamehameha (SSB(N)-642) launching at Mare Island 16 January 1965
589
28 February and diverted to Newport News, arriving 8
March. After receiving repairs and fuel, Kamesit sailed
the 18th for Hull, England, where she arrived 6 April to
discharge her cargo. Loaded with ballast, she departed
for New York the 18th and returned to Hull the same day
for repair of a disabled steering gear. Underway 26
April, she received orders 8 May to proceed to Philadel-
phia and arrived 18 May. Kamesit decommissioned 23
May and was delivered to USSB the same day. She re-
mained in custody of USSB until abandoned in 1930.
Kamishak
A bay off the coast of Alaska.
The Navy’s contract with Lake Washington Shipyard,
Houghton, Wash., for the construction of Kamishak ( AVP-
44) , a Barnegat-class, small seaplane tender, was cancelled
22 April 1943 before her keel was laid.
Kanak, see Mikanopy (YT-329)
Kanalku Bay
A bay in Alaska.
Kanalku (CVE-77) was laid down under Maritime Com-
mission contract 15 September 1943, by Kaiser Co., Inc.,
Vancouver, Wash., and was renamed Marcus Island ( q.v .)
6 November 1943.
Kanawha
A river in southwest West Virginia formed by the con-
fluence of the New and Gauley Rivers at Gauley Bridge,
W.Va. The Kanawha empties into the Ohio River at Point
Pleasant, W. Va.
I
( ScGbt : t. 507 ; 1. 158' ; b. 28' ; dr. 7'8'' ; cpl. 87 ; a. 6 24-pdr.
how.)
The first Kanawha was launched 21 October 1861 by
G. E. & W. H. Goodspeed, East Hadden, Conn. ; and com-
missioned at New York Navy Yard 21 January 1862, Lt.
John C. Febiger in command.
Assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron, the new gun-
boat arrived off Pass a l’Outre, La., 13 February and a week
later was ordered to take station off Mobile, Ala., where
she soon distinguished herself for vigilance.
She drew first blood with a vengeance 10 April captur-
ing four blockade-running schooners in a single day :
Southern Independence, Victoria, Charlotte, and Cuba.
The first three had attempted to slip to sea laden with cot-
ton and naval stores while the latter had tried to run into
Mobile with supplies badly needed by the South.
Thereafter, her kills were frequent. She caught schoon-
er R. C. Files carrying cotton out of Mobile 21 April and
took British sloop Annie on the 29th between Ship Island
and Mobile headed for Cuba. On 17 November near Mobile
she and Kennebec chased an unidentified schooner ashore
where she was set afire by her crew. Then the guns of
the Union ships assured her complete destruction by pre-
venting Confederate coast guards from boarding her to
extinguish the flames.
On 25 March 1863 Kanawha, then commanded by Lt.
Comdr. William K. Mayo, took schooner Clara attempting
to run the blockade at Mobile. Schooner Dart attempted
to slip into Mobile from Havana 1 May but fell prey to this
vigilant blockader. A fortnight later the same fate befell
British brig Comet some 20 miles east of Fort Morgan, Ala.
On 17 May Kanawha snared schooner Hunter, laden with
cotton for Havana, running out of Mobile. The next day
she caught schooner Ripple attempting the same feat.
Dawn of 12 October disclosed steamer Alice aground
under the guns of Fort Morgan and an unidentified Con-
federate tug attempting to pull her free. Kanawha, ac-
companied by tender Eugenie, steamed boldly toward the
strongly defended Confederate shore to destroy the South-
ern vessels ; but Fort Morgan’s batteries, outranging the
guns of the Union ships, hulled Kanawha, forcing the
Union ships to retire. Lackawanna and Genessee then
headed in to finish the task with their 150-pounders ; but,
before they got in range, the daring tug managed to refloat
Alice and escaped with her into Mobile Bay.
On 29 November Kanawha took schooner Albert, also
called Wenona, attempting to carry cotton, naval stores,
and tobacco out of Mobile. The toll collected by relentless
Northern blockaders like Kanawha in capturing Southern
blockade runners steadily drained away the life blood of
the Confederacy. The loss of ships carrying the products
of Southern fields and forests to foreign markets under-
mined the South’s financial structure and increased her
difficulty in purchasing war material abroad. The loss of
incoming ships deprived Southern armies of a growing pro-
portion of the shrinking supplies and equipment persua-
sive Confederate agents did manage to procure.
In the spring of 1864 Kanawha was transferred to the
Texas coast. On 8 July, now under Lt. Comdr. Bushrod
B. Taylor, she forced steamer Matagorda aground near
Galveston. On 9 September, after Union troops had been
withdrawn from the area, Kanawha reinstituted the block-
ade of Brownsville, Tex., which had been lifted by Presi-
dential proclamation in mid-February. On 28 December
she forced an unidentified sloop ashore near Caney Creek,
Tex., and destroyed her. She captured Mary Ellen of
Montreal 3 January 1865 as the schooner tried to run into
Velasco, Tex. She remained on blockade duty until after
the end of the war and was ordered north 27 May. Kan-
awha decommissioned 5 July and was sold at New York
13 June 1866.
II
( ScStr : t. 175 ; 1. 114' ; b. 18' ; dr. 7' ; s. 14 k. ; a. 1 3-pdr„
3 1-pdrs., 2 mg.)
The second Kanawha was built in 1896 by Charles L.
Seabury & Co., Nyack on Hudson, N.Y. ; purchased early
in the Spanish-American War by the Navy from John P.
Duncan 7 June 1898 ; and commissioned at New York Navy
Yard 26 July, Lt. Frank F. Fletcher in command.
Kanawha steamed out of New York Harbor 5 August
and touched Port Royal, S.C., and Key West, Fla., before
arriving Gibara, Cuba, on the 21st. She operated in Cuban
waters supporting occupation forces until departing
Gibara 12 September. After calling at Port Royal,
Charleston, and Hampton Roads, she returned New York
29 September. She decommissioned 8 October and was
loaned to the Rhode Island Naval Militia 12 December.
Kanawha was returned to the Navy 12 August 1899 and
transferred to the War Department.
Kanawha (SP-169) was purchased by the Navy from
H. C. Baxter of Brunswick, Maine 27 April 1917. She was
found defective during fitting out and returned to her
owner.
III
(AO-1 : dp. 4,990; 1. 475'7" ; b. 56' ; dr. 10' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl.
150 ; a. 4 4" ; cl. Kanawha)
The third Kanawha (AO-1) was laid down 8 December
1913 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, San Francisco, Calif. ;
launched 11 July 1914 ; sponsored by Miss Dorothy Ben-
nett ; and commissioned 5 June 1915, Lt. Comdr. Richard
Werner, USNRF, in command.
Kanawha cleared San Diego 9 June 1915 and arrived
Newport, R.I., for service with the Atlantic Fleet. During
the following year the oiler made seven trips to Port
Arthur, Tex., for fuel oil and gasoline. On 11 October 1916
Kanawha was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Then, in
addition to her fueling duties, she participated in tactical
exercises, carried mail, and towed targets.
590
USS Kanawha, a Steam Gunboat
After America entered World War I, the oiler was as-
signed to Commander, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet,
as an escort for the first A.E.F. sent to France. Kanawha
cleared New York 17 June 1917 and crossed the subma-
rine-infested Atlantic, arriving St. Mazarie 2 July. She
returned to New York 10 August for repairs before sailing
again 23 September. The oiler cruised in Atlantic waters
until 1 November supplying fuel oil to the cruiser force and
escorting convoys to Europe. Kanawha returned to Phila-
delphia for repairs, then joined NOTS 8 January 1918.
For the rest of the war, the oiler, ignoring torpedo warn-
ings, carried fuel oil from Halifax to United Kingdom
and French ports. Kanawha arrived New York 1 May 1919
from her final cruise ; she was detached from NOTS 12
May for reassignment to the Atlantic Fleet.
The oiler departed Port Arthur, Tex., 24 July and ar-
rived San Pedro 9 August. From 1919 to 1929, Kanawha,
with the exception of three cruises to Port Arthur to sup-
ply units and ports along the Atlantic coast, operated in
the Pacific. In addition to servicing ships, the oiler partici-
pated in the Army-Navy maneuvers in Hawaii during
April 1925. • She then accompanied the Battle Fleet on a
goodwill cruise to Australia and New Zealand before
resuming coastal fueling operations 25 September 1925.
Kanawha decommissioned at Puget Sound Yard 18 Decem-
ber 1929.
She recommissioned 5 June 1934 and cleared Bremerton
21 June for her base at San Pedro. For the following 6
years she cruised along the West Coast supplying oil and
gasoline to ports in the Canal Zone, the Caribbean, and
Hawaii. In 1941 Kanawha widened her operations, sail-
ing east to Midway and Wake Islands and as far north as
Alaska. The oiler was at Mare Island undergoing over-
haul at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Kanawha departed San Pedro 21 March 1942 with a
convoy loaded with supplies for Hawaii. She continued
convoy runs from California to Pearl Harbor until 18
May when she arrived Tongatabu for fueling operations
in the South Pacific. Throughout the summer she cruised
to New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo, and Efate, providing
fuel for destroyers and transports en route to the Pacific
campaigns. The oiler departed Pago Pago 12 October and
put into San Franciso 29 October for repairs and overhaul.
Kanawha resumed fueling operations upon her return
to Pago Pago 13 February 1943. For the next 2 months she
serviced ships engaged in the struggle in the Solomon
Islands.
On 7 April a group of enemy “Vais” slipped through
fighter defenses and zeroed in on Kanawha as she awaited
an escort in Tulagi Harbor. At 1502, shortly after clearing
the harbor, the slow and vulnerable oiler came under bomb
attack. The first five planes hit an oil tank under the
bridge, causing fires to spread rapidly along the deck. Lt.
Comdr. Bock ordered the ship abandoned to minimize
danger to his crew from burning oil on the surface. After
rescue operations were underway, volunteers returned on
board and extinguished fires amidst exploding ammuni-
tion. The tug Rail towed Kanawha on the west side of
Tulagi where she was beached shortly before midnight.
However, she slid off into deep water and sank before
daybreak 8 April. Nineteen of her crew were lost.
Kanawha received one battle star for World War II
service.
IV
( AOG-31 : dp. 2,270; 1. 220’6" ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'1" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 62; a. 1 3”, 2 40mm., 3 20mm. ; cl. Sequatchie ; T.
T1-M-A2 )
The fourth Kanawha (AOG-31) was laid down 30 Aug-
ust 1944 by the East Coast Shipyard, Inc., Bayonne, N.J.,
under a Maritime Commission contract ; launched 18 Octo-
ber 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. May T. Norton ; transferred
to the Navy 13 November ; and commissioned 23 November
1944, Lt. C. J. Byrne, USCGR, in command.
Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Kanawha
cleared Norfolk 15 January 1945 to load oil at Aruba,
Netherlands West Indies, and arrived San Pedro 13 Feb-
ruary. She arrived Pearl Harbor 20 March and departed
6 April with a cargo of lube oil, arriving Eniwetok 2
weeks later. Kanawha continued fueling services in the
Marshalls and Marianas until she departed Ulithi 7 June
with a cargo of lube oil for the Philippines and arrived
Leyte 11 June. The tanker operated in the Philippines
for the rest of the war and began similar duties at
Okinawa 6 October. Kanaicha sailed for America 14
November and arrived Mare Island 14 December via Pearl
591
Harbor. She decommissioned 23 March 1946 and was
transferred to the WSA August 1946. She entered the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif., 4
September. She was sold for scrapping 2 March 1964.
Kanawha II
Kanawha II (SP-130) was renamed Piqua (q.v.)
1 March 1918.
Kane
Elisha Kent Kane, bom in Philadelphia 28 February
1820, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania
Medical School in 1842. He became Assistant Surgeon in
the Navy 14 September 1843 to serve in the China Com-
mercial Treaty mission under Caleb Cushing, in the
Africa Squadron, and in the Marines during the Mexican
War.
He became senior medical officer of the unsuccessful
Arctic expedition searching for explorer Sir John
Franklin in 1850 and 1851. Kane organized and headed
a second rescue expedition which sailed from New York
31 May 1853, and wintered in Rensselaer Bay. Though
at times near death, and scurvy-ridden he resolutely
pushed on and chartered the coasts of Smith Sound (now
called Kane Basin) and penetrated farther north than
any other explorer had done up to that time. At Cape
Constitution he discovered the ice-free Kennedy Channel,
later followed by Hayes, Hall, Greely, and Robert E. Peary
in turn as they drove toward the North Pole.
Kane finally abandoned the icebound brig Advance 20
May 1855 and escaped the clutches of the frozen north by
an 83-day march of indomitable courage to Upernavik.
The party, carrying the invalids, lost only one man in
the retreat to stand in the annals of Arctic exploration
as the archetype of victory over defeat. Kane returned
to New York 11 October 1855 and the following year
published his two-volume “Arctic Explorations.” After
visiting England, he sailed to Havana, Cuba, where he
died 16 February 1857
I
( DD-235 : dp. 1,215 1. ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8" ; dr. 9'4" ; s. 35 k.
cpl. 101 ; a. 4 5", 1 3" ; 2 .30 cal., 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson)
The first Kane (DD-235) laid was down 3 July 1918 by
the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; launched
12 August 1919, sponsored by Miss Florence Kane, cousin
of Elisha Kent Kane ; and commioned 11 June 1920,
Comdr. William Hall in command.
Kane departed Newport 20 August 1920 for her shake-
down cruise to Gibralter, Brest, Copenhagen. Danzig, and
the Gulf of Riga. She was just outside the Gulf in the
Baltic Sea 1 October 1920 and supposedly well-clear of
the minefields laid in World War I when a mine exploded,
bending her port engine shafts and port propeller stmts.
After repair at Landskrone, Sweden, and overhaul at
Chatham, England, she sailed 21 May 1921 for the Medi-
terranean.
On 22 June 1921 Kane rescued an Italian torpedo boat
drifting upon the rocks off Cape Spartivento. On 3 July
she reached Constantinople for relief work in Turkish
waters. She returned to Newport 23 August. She sailed
2 October with Destroyer Squadron 14 to evacuate refu-
gees and perform other relief work in Asia Minor. She
arrived in Constantinople 22 October, and was constantly
used to carry supplies, medical aid, refugees and relief
officials between ports of the Black Sea and the Eastern
Mediterranean. She departed Constantinople 18 May
1923 and spent the next 5 years with the Scouting Fleet
operating along the East Coast and in the Caribbean.
She departed New York 13 February 1925 for a fleet
training cruise to San Diego, thence she sailed to Pearl
Harbor and returned 17 July. In the spring of 1927 the
destroyer patrolled off bandit-plagued Nicaragua and the
Honduras. She decommissioned in the Philadelphia
Navy Yard 31 December 1930.
Kane recommissioned 1 April 1932 and departed Phila-
delphia 29 June for San Diego, her base for the next 4
years. She got underway from San diego 27 April 1936
for fleet exercises in the Caribbean before entering the
New York Navy Yard to prepare for special service.
Kane departed New York 17 August 1936 for Spain to
evacuate American citizens whose lives were endangered
by the Civil War in Spain. On 30 August en route to
Bilbao she had to open fire three times to drive off a tri-
motored monoplane dropping bombs within a hundred
yards of the destroyer. A strong protest to both Spanish
Civil War factions was then made and forestalled similar
incidents. She called at Bilbao and Gijon embarking
refugees who were taken to St. Jean de Luz France.
Cruiser Raleigh (CL-7) arrived at Gibralter 27 Sep-
tember 1936 as flagship of Squadron Forty-T commanded
by Rear Admiral Arthur P. Fairfield. This special squad-
ron, initially comprising Raleigh, destroyers Kane and
Hatfield, and CGC Cayuga, saved hundreds of American
and other nationals from the dangers of the war in
Spain. Kane and Hatfield were relieved by destroyers
Claxton and Manley 9 November 1937 and sailed for home.
Kane entered the Charleston Navy Yard 22 November and
decommissioned 28 April 1938.
Kane recommissioned 23 September 1939 to serve in
the neutrality patrol in the North Atlantic. On 7 August
she took up inshore defensive patrol along both coast-
lines of Panama. She then steamed to San Diego, ar-
riving 4 November 1940, to patrol off the coast of Calif-
fornia. She overhauled in the Puget Sound Naval Ship-
yard from 4 January to 3 March 1941, she was based
at Seattle for patrols north to Alaska, and along the
western seaboard. After the Japanese struck Pearl
Harbor, she departed Seattle for Kodiak, Alaska, and
escorted troop transports back to Seattle 23 December.
Following a similar escort voyage, she arrived at Seward
19 April 1942 for inter-island convoy and submarine pa-
trols among Alaskan ports.
On 11 June Kane rescued 11 survivors of the torpedoed
SS Areata. The morning of 3 August 1942, she found
her antiaircraft guns of little use against two attacks by
high-altitude Japanese 4-engine bombers. Skillful ma-
neuvering and speed saved the plucky destroyer from
bombs which fell in her wake. She continued patrol and
escort duty in Alaskan and Aleutian sectors until Feb-
ruary 1942, then was converted to a high speed transport
by Todd’s Dry Docks, Seattle, Wash., and reclassified
APD-18. Conversion was completed by 3 April 1943 when
she departed for amphibious training with the Army’s
7th infantry in Monterey Bay, Calif.
Kane departed San Francisco 24 April and arrived in
Cold Bay 30 April to prepare for the recapture of Attu,
Aleutian Islands. The morning of 11 May, submarines
Narwhal and Nautilus landed 100 Army Scouts north-
west of Holtz Bay. Several hours later Kane was
coached in through blinding fog by battleship Pennsyl-
vania’s radar to land 400 reconnaissance troops, who then
joined the scouts.
During the bitter ground fighting on Attu, Kane served
as evacuation hospital transport and shuttled medical
supplies between Holtz and Massacre Bay. Off the en-
trance to Dutch Harbor 17 July, she received 12 survivors
of the Russian Seiner No. 2. Following amphibious exer-
cises off Amchitka Island, she landed elements of the
Army’s 1st Special Service Force on Kiska 14 August and
later on Little Kiska Islands. But the Japanese had evacu-
ated under cover of fog, leaving a few mongrel dogs as
sole inhabitants. This marked the end of the last Jap-
anese hold in the Aleutians. Kane remained on duty be-
tween Alaskan and Aleutian ports until 20 November
1943, then steamed south for an overhaul in the Mare Is-
land Navy Yard until 7 January 1944.
Kane arrived in Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944 to join
the 5th Amphibious Force for the capture of the Mar-
shalls. Her Marine escort secured the channel islets at
592
the entrance of Majuro Lagoon the night of 30 to 31
January 1944 and later took the islands on the east side
of Kwajalein Lagoon. She sailed 25 February to help
screen amphibious landing ships for the invasion of Milne
Bay, New Guinea, then entered Seeadler Harbor, Manus,
as the 7th Cavalry Regiment took the remaining strong
point in the Admiralties. The high speed transport
landed men of the 163d Infantry at Aitape 22 April 1944,
and bombarded enemy positions before withdrawing to
pound Ali Island. After escorting a convoy to the
Solomons she returned to Pearl Harbor 23 May 1944.
After training out of Pearl Harbor and preparations
at Eniwetok, Kane landed Marines for the invasion of
Saipan 15 June 1944. After the fast carriers of the 5th
Fleet destroyed Japan’s carrier-based airpower in the
Battle of the Philippine Sea, the transport supported Un-
derwater Demolition Team 4 in operations off Saipan. On
23 June she dodged an aerial bomb that sprayed her with
sharpnel and wounded three men. She replenished at
Eniwetok, then entered Agat Bay, Guam, the afternoon
of 17 July. The Japanese had planted three lines of
palm-log cribs filled with coral rocks, linked each to the
other by wire cables. Her “naked warriors” of Underwa-
ter Demolition Team 4, assisted by other teams, blew up
hundreds of these obstacles, clearing the way for the
marines, who landed 21 July 1944. On 24 July, as the
frogmen worked into the night, Japanese mortar fire in
Agat Bay barely missed Kane. She returned to Pearl
Harbor 10 August 1944 but entered Leyte Gulf 18 Octo-
ber carrying 100 tons of demolition explosives to be used
in clearing the way for the Leyte Invasion landings 2
days later. She carried her demolition teams to the
Admiralty Islands, then set course for home and an
overhaul arriving San Pedro, Calif., 4 December.
Kane departed San Diego 20 April 1945 to train Under-
water Demolition Team 24 in Hawaiian waters until 4
May, then arrived off Kerama Retto 12 June. After
escorting hospital Solace (AH-5) out of the combat zone,
she patrolled the southwest anchorage of Ilinawa and
fought off two suicide planes 21 June. A week later she
sailed with a convoy bound for Leyte. She became a unit
of the Philippine Sea Frontier on 4 July and patrolled
the shipping lanes leading eastward guarding against
submarines until the close of hostilities.
Kane departed San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 13 September
escorting occupation troops to Korea, arriving Jinsen 17
September. Thereafter she became an unofficial receiving
ship and handled communications for the Jinsen rep-
resentative of the 7th Amphibious Force. Relieved 12
November 1945, she headed for home arrived San Diego
13 December 1945. After sending 149 Navy veterans
ashore, she transited the Panama Canal for the Phila-
delphia Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 24 Janu-
ary 1946. She was sold for scrapping 21 June 1946 to
Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia.
Kane received seven battle stars for service in World
War II.
II
(T-AGS-27 : dp. 2,623 t. ; 1. 282'liy2" ; b. 48'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 44 ; a. none.)
The second Kane (T-AGS-27) was launched 20 Novem-
ber 1965 by the Christy Corp., Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Harold T. Duetermann, wife of Vice
Admiral Deutermann ; assigned to MSTS ; and placed in
service 26 May 1967 for scientific operations under the
Atlantic. Besides conducting coastal hydrographic and
oceanographic surveys, Kane also tends small survey
craft, helicopters, and Marine Corps survey teams. She
is capable of compiling and printing finished charts on the
spot to meet fleet and landing force requirements and has
accommodations for scientists.
Kane County
Counties in Illinois and Utah.
( LST-853 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 268 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-5Jf2)
LST-853 was laid down by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.,
Seneca, 111., 30 August 1944 ; launched 17 November ;
sponsored by Mrs. Ellen Scott DeCoursey ; and commis-
sioned 11 December, Lt. Charles B. Salsbury in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-853 departed New
Orleans for the Pacific 19 January 1945. She loaded
troops and equipment on the West Coast before steaming
from Seattle 10 March. Sailing via Pearl Harbor, Eni-
wetok, and Guam, she arrived Saipan 25 April. The
landing ship embarked units of the 1878th Engineer Avia-
tion Battalion, then sailed on the 27tli for Okinawa.
Arriving 6 days later in the midst of enemy air raids,
LST-853 discharged men and equipment on this strategic
base which lay at the gateway to Japan.
She returned Saipan 24 May and, during the remaining
months of the war, shuttled troops and equipment among
the Marinas, Philippines, and Okinawa staging areas for
the planned invasion of Japan. The enemy’s acceptance
of Allied peace terms obviated an invasion, so LST-853
then operated in the Far Fast, transporting occuption
forces until early December. .
Arriving Saipan 13 December, she embarked veterans
USS Kme (DD-235)
593
of the Pacific fighting in the Marianas and sailed for the
United States in January 1946. After arrival on the
West Coast, LST-853 then sailed to Astoria. Oreg. ; and
decommissioned at Vancouver, Wash., 24 July. While
berthed in the Columbia River with the Pacific Reserve
Fleet, she was named Kane County 1 July 1955.
Under provisions of the Military Assistance Program,
she was transferred to the Republic of Korea 22 Decem-
ber 1958, and serves the ROK navy as Su Yong (LST-
813).
LST-853 received one battle star for World War II
service:
Kangaroo
Any of a family of herbiverous, leaping, marsupial
mammals of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands.
I
A former name retained.
(SP-1284: t. 29; 1. 62'4" ; b. lO'll" ; dr. 3'6" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 11 ; a. 1 1-pdr. )
Kangaroo, a motor boat, was built in 1917 by Her-
reshoff Mfg. Co., Bristol, R.I. ; purchased 18 September at
Boston from her owner, Henry A. Morse, of Marblehead,
Mass. ; and commissioned 10 December, Chief Quarter-
master C. H. Waterman, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Kangaroo served on
section and inner harbor patrol in Penobscot Bay, Maine,
until 14 October 1918, when she sailed for Key West, Fla.
Arriving 12 January 1919, she performed patrol and dis-
patch duties along the Florida Keys and Atlantic coastal
waters. She decommissioned 20 May and was taken over
by the U.S. Coast Guard 22 November for customs and
coastal surveillance patrols. Serving at Key West,
Charleston, and Norfolk, she was renamed AB-6 on 6
November 1923. She was sold to John H. Curtis of
Norfolk 1 October 1932.
II
(IX-121 : dp. 3,665; 1. 441 '6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ;
s. 11 k. ; cpl. 79; a. 1 5", 1 3"; cl. Armadillo: T.
Z-ET1-S-C3)
Kangaroo (IX-121) was laid down as Paul Tulane
under Maritime Commission contract by Delta Shipbuild-
ing Co., New Orleans, La., 28 September 1943 ; renamed
Kangaroo 27 October 1943 ; launched 6 November 1943 ;
sponsored by Mrs. Rufus C. Harris ; acquired by the
Navy on bareboat basis 17 December; and commissioned
20 December, Lt. G. D. Lawson in command.
Following shadedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Kangaroo
departed Guantanamo Bay 24 January 1944, transited
the Panama Canal the 28th, and steamed to Noumea, New
Caledonia, arriving 1 March. Assigned to the Service
Force Pacific as a replacement for Stag (IX-128), she
loaded fuel and supplies and departed for Guadalcanal
21 March. Upon arrival 26 March, she commenced fuel-
ing operations; and for the next 5 months she plied the
waters of the Solomons, replenishing ships with fuel
needed to steam into battle.
Departing Tulagi 10 September, she sailed to the Tonga
Islands, received a cargo of fuel oil, and delivered her
cargo at Noumea 5 October. For 7 months she served
as a shuttle and station tanker, transporting bunker oil
from the Fiji and Tonga Islands to bases in the New
Hebrides and New Caledonia. After a voyage to New
Zealand for repairs, she departed Auckland 6 June to
load fuel oil at American Samoa. Subsequently, she con-
ducted fueling operations in the Solomons, Eniwetok, and
the Western Carolines before arriving Buckner Bay,
Okinawa, 14 August to resume duty as a station tanker.
While in the Pacific Kangaroo steamed over 20,000
miles and hauled more than 38,000,000 gallons of fuel
oil and hundreds of drums of lubricating oil for fighting
ships of the Navy. During her service she refueled more
than 80 ships, including 10 carriers, 34 destroyers, 20
troop transports 12 cargo ships and numerous merchant-
men— not to mention storage barges, oilers, and tank
farms.
Kangaroo departed Okinawa 2 February 1946, for the
United States. Transiting the Panama Canal 9 March,
she put into Norfolk 30 April after a 6-week anchorage
at Lynnhaven Roads and Hampton Roads, Va., Kangaroo
decommissioned 13 May, and the following day she was
turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal.
Kanised
A former name retained.
(SP-439 : t. 61 ; 1. 100' ; b. 17'6" ; dr. 7'7" ; s. 12 k. ; a. 2
1-pdrs. )
Kanised (SP-439), a motor yacht, was built in 1910 at
Long Branch, N.J., and acquired from her owner, Louis
Kann, of Baltimore in May 1917. She had formerly been
named Nahmeoka and Tuscanola. Kanised commissioned
soon afterward, Ens. C. Van Voorhis, USNRF, in
command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk. Kanised
operated in the Hampton Roads area during the balance
of World War I. She served as mail ship on harbor patrol
and as flagship of Squadron 4 on section patrol. After
the war, she remained at Norfolk until being sold 13 De-
cember 1919, to J. A. Mickelson of Morris Heights, N.Y.
Kankakee
A river in Indiana and Illinois that joins the Des
Plaines River to form the Illinois River.
(AO-39: dp. 6,013 ; 1. 501'5" ; b. 68' ; dr. 30'9” ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 261 ; a. 1 5", 4 3" ; 8 40mm., 8 20mm. ; cl. Kennebec;
T. T2-A)
Kankakee (AO-39) was launched as SS Colina by Beth-
lehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md., 24 January 1942 ;
sponsored by Mrs. D. A. Little ; acquired for the Navy 31
March through the Maritime Commission from her owner,
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., New York, N.Y. ; and commis-
sioned as Kankakee at Norfolk, Va., 4 May, Captain W. H.
Mayes in command.
Departing Norfolk 1 June, Kankakee transported a car-
go of fuel oil from Baton Rouge, La., to Coco Solo, C.Z.,
and arrived San Francisco via San Pedro 14 July for ad-
ditional conversion. She cleared the Golden Gate 27 Au-
gust and steamed to Noumea, New Caledonia, arriving 18
September to commence duty as a unit of SerRon 8. Sail-
ing between New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, the Fijis,
and Pearl Harbor, she spent the next 7 months refueling
combat ships and convoys engaged in the bitter, protracted
struggle for the Solomon Islands. She departed Noumea
18 April 1943 and arrived San Pedro 3 May for a 6-week
overhaul before returning to the South Pacific 19 June.
Reaching Noumea 8 July, she resumed refueling, cargo,
and passenger runs, serving the 3d Fleet between the New
Hebrides and Solomon Islands. Sailing to the south of
Guadalcanal 1 November, she refueled Admiral Sherman’s
fast carriers, Saratoga (CV-3) and Princeton (CV-23),
3 to 4 November in preparation for a suprise air strike
against Japanese shipping at Rabaul on the 5th. From
21 February to 2 March 1944 she replenished destroyers
to the east of New Ireland as they battered the Bismarck
Barrier with bombardments on Kavieng and Rabaul.
Captain Arleight A. Burke, Commander of the “Little
Beavers” (DesRon 23) and later Chief of Naval Opera-
tions, commended Kankakee as the “most efficient tanker
we have met.” And while on a similar misssion 22 to 30
March, she refueled carriers of a task force as they
sailed to launch destructive air strikes 30 March to 1 April
against the enemy-held Palau, Yap, and Woleai Islands in
the Western Carolines. Loaded with fuel oil and gaso-
line, she next refueled escort ships engaged in the Saipan
594
landings. On 14 July she returned to San Diego for a
short upkeep.
Kankakee departed the West Coast 24 August ; she ar-
rived Kossol Roads, Palaus, 10 October to serve as station
tanker until 1 November when she shifted her base to
Ulithi, Western Carolinas. From there she provided logis-
tics support to ships that were hitting the enemy from
the Philippines to the “home islands,” forcing Japan’s
unconditional surrender. Throughout November and De-
cember 1944 and January 1945 she replenished Task Force
38. This Task Force struck the enemy devasting blows
at Luzon, Formosa, the China Coast, and French Indo-
china. Departing Ulithi 8 February, she steamed north-
ward and remained at sea until 3 March to refuel carriers,
battleships, cruisers, and destroyers of the 5th Fleet en-
gaged in the savage struggle for Iwo Jima and the support-
ing carrier air strikes on Tokyo. After renewing her cargo
at Ulithi, she sailed 13 March to supply carriers, includ-
ing Franklin (CV-13) and Langley (CVL-27) as they were
conducting air strikes on Kyushu, the Inland Sea, and the
Ryukyus. On 1 April, as landings on Okinawa progressed,
Kankakee departed Southern Anchorage, Ulithi, for
logistic support duty off Okinawa. Under the operational
command of Rear Admiral D. B. Beary, Commander
SerRon 6, she furnished fuel and supplies at sea to ships
of the 5th Fleet. During much of the next 3 months she
helped maintain their striking power and mobolity in the
last great amphibious campaign of the war. Completing
her Ryukyus duty 14 June, she resumed support 3 July
for the 3d Fleet as Task Force 38 conducted devasting
aerial and naval bombardments on the “home islands”
from Hokkaido to the Inland Sea. Kankakee steamed
southeast of Japan as offensive operations ceased 15
August ; but she maintained logistic support until her
return to Ulithi 5 September. After putting into Tokyo
Bay 20 September, she proceeded to the United States,
arriving San Pedro 18 November for overhaul.
Assigned to NOTS 28 February 1946, Kankakee departed
San Pedro 13 March to serve as station tanker in Japan
and China. For much of the next 5 years, she cruised
the North Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the Philippines.
During 1946 and 1947 she transported fuel oil from
Bahrein Island in the Persian Gulf to Japan and the
Philippines.
Now assigned to MSTS, she had an overhaul at Mare
Island. Kankakee departed Seattle 2 February 1951 for
duty with the 6th Fleet. She loaded aviation gasoline at
Marcus Hook, Pa., and sailed 13 March to join Coral Sea
(CVB-43) in the Mediterranean 2 April. Spending 4
months in support of the 6th Fleet she returned to San
Pedro 7 September. She departed Wilmington, Calif., 23
December with a cargo of Korean-bound gasoline. Reach-
ing Pusan 10 January 1952 after discharging her cargo,
she returned via Sasebo, Japan, to San Francisco 2
February.
Kankakee departed San Francisco 1 April ; after loading
fuel oil at Houston, Tex., she sailed 19 April for the Medi-
terranean, arriving Oran. Algeria, 4 May to fuel 6th Fleet
carriers. Completing this important duty 21 November,
she transported aviation gasoline from Saint Rose, La., to
the West Coast, arriving Wilmington 20 December. She
conducted fueling operations along the Pacific coast and
sailed from San Pedro 26 August 1953 for deployment with
the 6th Fleet. From her departure at Beaumont, Tex., 12
September to her arrival at New York 31 May 1955 she
conducted two, 7-month deployments to the Mediterranean
in support of 6th Fleet peace-keeping operations- Placed
in commission in reserve at Norfolk 17 August, she was
towed to Baltimore 14 October, thence to Philadelphia 29
November. She decommissioned 30 November and entered
the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Kankakee recommissioned 20 December 1956, Comdr.
G. R. Wells in command. Assigned to MSTS, she departed
Philadelphia 26 December for 8 months of Atlantic fuel-
shuttle duty that carried her from the eastern seaboard
and Venezeula to Newfoundland, Labrador, and the coast
of western Europe. From 14 to 21 September 1957 she
operated out of Portland, England, to support the NATO
exercise “Strikebaek.” Following return to Norfolk 1
October, she sailed via New York for Port Arthur, Tex.,
arriving 4 November. She decommissioned the next day
and entered the Maritime Defense Fleet Reserve.
Placed in reserve 1 February 1959, Kankakee was
reinstated 1 September 1961 and recommissioned 29
November at New Orleans, Captain M. O. Slater in com-
mand. Assigned to SerRon 4, she departed New Orleans
9 December, arriving Newport, R.I., 15 December. After
a Caribbean cruise from 8 January to 8 March 1962, she
operated along the Atlantic coast. On 24 October, 2 days
after President Kennedy imposed a naval quarantine
against the shipment of Russian offensive missiles into
Cuba, Kankakee departed Newport to furnish logistic sup-
port for the powerful fleet swiftly assembled there. Before
returning to Newport 5 December, she refueled 89 ships
at sea, pointing out the self sufficiency and mobility of
seapower.
Operating out of Newport, this versatile oiler engaged
in a variety of missions between 25 February 1963 and 5
June 1964. During June 1963 she participated in joint
U.S.-French convoy exercises, and in August she sup-
ported Atlantic ASW exercises. Kankakee deployed to the
Mediterranean 3 July. While serving with the 6th Fleet,
she refueled and serviced 269 ships and supplied them
with more than 29 million gallons of fuel oil and aviation
gasoline. During August she supported the Fleet’s Cyprus
patrol as the United States continued its role of world
importance of keeping the peace in the Middle East. Her
deployment completed, Kankakee returned to Newport 22
December.
Kankakee operated along the East Coast and in the
Caribbean into 1967. One of the highlights of her service
occurred in March 1965 when she acted as a recovery
unit for NASA’s Gemini 4 space flight. On this opera-
tion, besides her glamourous recovery duty, she refueled
other ships of the recovery team. She continues to bring
vital fuel to the ships of the Atlantic Fleet.
Kankakee received six battle stars for World War II
service and one for Korean service.
Kansas
The first Kansas was named for the Kansas River,
which is formed by the confluence of the Republican and
Smoky Hill Rivers at Junction City and northeastern
Kansas, and flows east some 200 miles before emptying
into the Missouri River at Kansas City.
The second Kansas was named for the state, which was
admitted to the Union 29 January 1861, as the 34th state.
I
(Gbt : t. 625; 1. 129'6" ; b. 29'; dr. 10'6" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
108; a. 1 150-pdr. r., 2 12-pdr. r., 2 20-pdr. D.r., 2 9" D.sb.)
The first Kansas was built at Philadelphia Navy Yard
with machinery taken from prize steamer Princess Royal;
launched 29 September 1863 : sponsored by Miss Annie
McClellan ; and commissioned at Philadelphia 21 Decem-
ber 1863, Lt. Comdr. Pendleton G. Watmough in command.
The day of her commissioning, the gunboat was or-
dered to Hampton Roads to join the North Atlantic
Blockading Squadron. She arrived Newport News, Va.,
30 December ; but engine and boiler trouble required her
to return to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs.
In March 1864 the gunboat was stationed at Wilming-
ton, N.C., off New Inlet, where she served during most of
the remainder of the war. With Mount Vernon, II ow-
quah, and Nansemond, she engaged Confederate ironclad-
ram Raleigh, (Flag Officer Lynch) which had steamed
over the bar at New Inlet 6 May to attack the Northern
blockaders. The withering fire from the Union ships
caused Raleigh to withdraw toward safety within the
harbor, but she grounded and broke her back while at-
tempting to cross the bar at the mouth of the Cape Fear
River. After strenuous efforts to save the stricken vessel
proved fruitless, she was destroyed to prevent her falling
into Union hands.
595
Shortly before dawn 15 May, Kansas ended a 2-hour
chase by capturing British steamer Tristram Shandy as
the blockade runner attempted to escape to sea with a
cargo of cotton, tobacco, and turpentine. The next day
the proud gunboat towed her prize into Beaufort. On
her return passage she brought Colonel James Jourdan
to reconnoiter Confederate defenses at Fort Fisher in prep-
aration for future attacks.
Throughout the night of 27-28 May, Kansas chased a
blockade-running steamer which finally escaped. That
morning boiler trouble prevented her getting underway to
chase another steamer which dashed out from Wilming-
ton. After remaining on blockade duty at New Inlet
until August, the gunboat returned to Philadelphia for
repairs.
Kansas rejoined her squadron late in September; and,
after briefly cruising at sea, she returned to her old sta-
tion off New Inlet in mid-October. There she chased and
headed off steamer Annie trying to slip out of New Inlet
with a cargo of cotton. This action 31 October enabled
Wilderness and Niphon to capture the chase a short time
later. On 7 December, while Admiral Porter and General
B. F. Butler planned joint operations against Wilmington
to close that vital Confederate port once and for all,
Kansas was one of the Union gunboats which were mak-
ing blockade-running in that quarter hazardous. That
day they forced steamer Stormy Petrel ashore where she
was abandoned by her crew and, a few days later, de-
stroyed by a gale.
At daylight Christmas Eve, Kansas was part of the
huge fleet which formed in line of battle before Fort
Fisher and pounded the formidable Confederate works
with a furious bombardment. Although the cannonade
drove the staunch Southern defenders from their guns
to shelter in bombproofs, transports carrying the Union
soldiers did not arrive from Beaufort until too late to
launch the assault that day.
The next morning, the ships again opened fire on the
forts and maintained the bombardment while troops
landed near Flag Pond Battery, north of the main de-
fensive works. Some 2,000 men established a beachhead
under the protection of naval gunfire which kept the Con-
federate garrison pinned down and away from their guns.
Late that afternoon, supported by heavy fire from the
Union ships, Army skirmishers advanced to within yards
of the fort. Lt. Aeneas Armstrong of the Confederate
Navy later described the effectiveness of the bombard-
ment : “The whole of the interior of the fort, which con-
sists of sand, merlons, etc., was as one 11-inch shell
bursting. You can not inspect the works and walk on
nothing but iron.” However, General Butler, considering
the works too strong to be carried by assault with the
troops available, aborted the operation by ordering his
troops to reembark.
Undaunted by this setback, the Navy was not to be
denied. At Porter’s request Grant sent him a new com-
mander. Kansas was one of some five dozen ships which
Porter sent against Fort Fisher 13 January 1865. A
naval landing party of 2,000 sailors and marines rein-
forced 8,000 soldiers under Major General Alfred H.
Terry. The ensuing onslaught was a classic example of
complete Army-Navy coordination. New Ironsides led
three monitors to within 1,000 yards of Fort Fisher and
opened on its batteries. Meanwhile, Kansas and the
other wooden warships formed in line of battle in close
order and shelled Flag Pond Battery and the adjacent
woods at 0715. Half an hour later they sent in boats to
assist in disembarking the landing party which went
ashore out of range of the fort’s guns. Once the beach-
head had been established, Kansas stood toward Fort
Fisher to join in the bombardment of the main Confeder-
ate works. She continued the bombardment intermittently
for the next 2 days. Shortly before noon 15 January, her
launch went ashore with 20 men to join the naval brigade
for the final push. The gunboat maintained heavy fire
during the following hours while soldiers, sailors, and
marines braved the deadly fire of the stouthearted
Southern defenders. Finally at 2200 loud cheering and
illumination of the fleet announced the fall of the forts.
After cleanup operations in the Wilmington area, Kan-
sas moved to the James River late in February to support
General Grant’s final drive to Richmond. From time to
time during the closing weeks of the war, Kansas sup-
ported Army operations ashore with her guns, particu-
larly near Petersburg. The day after General Lee sur-
rendered at Appomattox Court House, the gunboat was
ordered to a station off Cape Henry to prevent the escape
of Conferedate sympathizers who were reportedly plan-
ning to capture vessels in the bay.
Kansas entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard 23 April
and decommissioned 4 May. She recommissioned 28 July,
Lt. Cmdr. Clark H. Wells in command, and departed
Philadelphia 5 August to begin a 4-year voyage in the
South Atlantic which took her to Cape Town, Africa, as
well as to many ports in the Caribbean and South Amer-
ica. This long and interesting deployment ended 15 Sep-
tember 1869, when the gunboat arrived Washington Navy
Yard, where she decommissioned a week later.
After a year in ordinary at Washington, she recom-
missioned 26 September 1870, Lt. Cmdr. Norman H. Far-
quhar in command. She stood down the Potomac 10 Oc-
tober and arrived Hampton Roads 3 days later to join
Mayflower for the Tehuantepec surveying-expedition sent
to southern Mexico to determine the feasibility of con-
structing an interoceanic canal across the Isthmus of Te-
huantepec which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the
Pacific Ocean. The ships sailed via Key West for Vera
Cruz 14 October. The expedition carefully surveyed the
narrow neck of land and recorded invaluable scientific
information making “many calculations to prove that a
ship-canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is not only
practicable, but that the obstacles in the way of the canal
route are of the most ordinary nature.”
When she returned to Washington 15 June 1871, her
crew was seriously debilitated by fever contracted in the
tropics. As a result, she was ordered to the North At-
lantic to join a special squadron under Vice Admiral
Rowen at Portsmouth, N.H. She stood in to Staten Is-
land 10 October to participate in the reception given the
Russian Fleet. She departed New York Harbor 29 No-
vember for Cuba and arrived Havana 5 December. The
gunboat left that port 25 February 1872 to obtain sup-
plies and await Comdr. A. F. Crossman who headed an-
other Nicaragua-surveying expedition. She was employed
gathering data on potentional interoceanic canal routes
until returning to Key West 13 July.
Kansas departed Key West 6 August to determine posi-
tions for a submarine cable between Key West and Ha-
vana and returned a week later. She departed Key West
21 August and arrived Halifax, N.S., 5 September. She
stood out of Halifax 17 September and arrived New York
21 November after visiting Salem, Mass., and Newport,
R.I., en route. She got underway for another surveying
expedition of Central America 1 January 1873, which
ended when she returned to Key West 15 July.
In November Spanish authorities in Cuba seized arms-
running ship Virginias, illegally flying the American flag
on the high seas, and summarily shot 53 of her passengers
and crew. On hearing of this incident, Wyoming sailed
without orders to Santiago and entered a vigorous pro-
test. Kansas stood out of New York 14 November to join
Wyoming in checking brutal action and in protecting the
nation’s interests. After battling severe weather, she ar-
rived Santiago 2 December. As a host of other warships
from the Home Fleet, the South Atlantic, and the Euro-
pean station converged on Cuba, the 102 survivors of
Virginias, owing their lives to the prompt naval action,
were delivered on board the first arrival, Juniata, and
taken to New York.
Kansas returned to Key West Christmas Day. In Feb-
ruary 1874 she participated in a naval drill in Florida
Bay. Her final year of active service was devoted to
cruising in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico,
at the time a region of considerable unrest. She sailed
596
from Pensacola 8 July 1875, and arrived Portsmouth,
N.H., on the 21st. She decommissioned there 10 August
and laid up until sold at Rockland, Maine, to Captain
Israel L. Snow 27 September 1883.
II
( BB-21 : dp. 16,000; 1. 456'4" ; b. 76'10" ; dr. 24'6" ; s.
18 k. ; cpl. 880; a. 4 12", 8 8", 12 3-pdrs., 2 1-pdrs., 2 .30
cal., 4 21" tt. ; cl. Vermont )
The second Kansas (BB-21) was launched by New
York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 12 August 1905 ;
sponsored by Miss Anna Hoch, daughter of the Governor
of Kansas ; and commissioned in Philadelphia Navy Yard
18 April 1907, Captain Charles B. Vreeland in command.
The new battleship departed Philadelphia 17 August
1907, for shakedown training out of Provincetown, Mass.,
and returned home for alterations 24 September. She
joined the “Great White Fleet” at Hampton Roads 9 De-
cember and passed in review before President Theodore
Roosevelt while getting underway on the first leg of the
fleet’s historic world cruise. The American ships arrived
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, 23 December and 6 days later got
underway for Rio de Janeiro. From there they sailed
south along the east coast of South America and transited
the perilous Straits of Magellan in open order. Turning
north, the fleet visited Valparaiso, Chile, and Callao Bay,
Peru, en route to Madalena Bay, Mexico, for a month of
target practice.
The “Great White Fleet” reached San Diego 14 April
1908, and moved on to San Francisco 7 May. Exactly 2
months later the spotless warships sortied through the
Golden Gate and headed for Honolulu. From Hawaii
they set course for Auckland, New Zealand, to be greeted
as heroes upon arrival 9 August. The fleet made Sydney
20 August and, after enjoying a week of the most warm
and cordial hospitality, sailed to Melbourne where they
were welcomed with equal graciousness and enthusiasm.
Kansas had her last glimpse of Australia 19 September
on leaving Albany for ports in the Philippine Islands,
Japan, and Ceylon before transiting the Suez Canal. She
departed Port Said, Egypt, 4 January 1909, for a visit to
Villefranche, France, and then staged with the combined
“Great White Fleet” at Gibraltar and departed for home
6 February. She again passed in review before President
Roosevelt as she entered Hampton Roads 22 February,
ending a widely acclaimed voyage of good will subtly
but effectively demonstrating American strength to the
world.
A week later Kansas entered the Philadelphia Navy
Yard for overhaul. Repairs completed 17 June, the battle-
ship began a period of maneuvers, tactical training, and
battle practice which lasted almost until the close of the
following year. With the 2d Battleship Division, she
sailed 15 November 1910, for Europe visiting Cherbourg,
France, and Portland, England, before returning to Hamp-
ton Roads via Cuba and Santo Domingo. She again de-
parted Hampton Roads 8 May 1911, for Scandinavia,
visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Cronstadt, and Keil be-
fore returning to Provincetown, Mass., 13 July. She en-
gaged in fleet tactics south to the Virginia capes before
entering the Norfolk Navy Yard 3 November for overhaul.
Early in 1912, she began several months of maneuvers
out of Guantanamo Bay and then returned to Hampton
Roads to serve as one of the welcoming units for the
German Squadron which visited there from 28 May to 8
June and New York from 8 to 13 June.
The battleship embarked Naval Academy Midshipmen at
Annapolis 21 June for a summer practice cruise which
took her, among other ports of call along the Atlantic sea-
board, to Baltimore during the Democratic National Con-
vention which nominated Woodrow Wilson. After de-
barking her midshipmen at Annapolis 30 August, she
USS Kansas, a Steam Gunboat in 1863
597
sailed from Norfolk 15 November for a training cruise in
the Gulf of Mexico. She returned to Philadelphia 21 De-
cember to enter the Navy Yard for overhaul.
Back in top shape 5 May 1913, Kansas operated on the
East Coast until she stood out of Hampton Roads 25
October, bound for Genoa, Italy. From there she pro-
ceeded to Guantanamo Bay en route to the coast of Mexico
to operate off Vera Cruz and Tampico watching out for
American interests in that land then troubled by revolu-
tionary unrest as rival factions struggled to attain and
hold power. She returned to Norfolk 14 March 1914,
and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul 11
April.
Kansas departed Norfolk 1 July with the body of the
Venezuelan Minister to the United States, arriving La
Guaira 14 July. Then she returned to the Mexican coast
to patrol off Tampico and Vera Cruz supporting the A.E.F.
which had landed there. She departed Vera Cruz 29
October to investigate reports of unstable conditions at
Port au Prince, Haiti, where she arrived 3 November.
The battleship stood out of Port au Prince 1 December
and reached Philadelphia a week later. Maneuvers off
the East Coast and out of Guantanamo Bay occupied her
until she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul
30 September 1916.
Kansas was still in that yard 6 April 1917 when the
United States entered World War I. She arrived in York
River from Philadelphia 10 July and became a unit of the
4th Battleship Division, spending the remainder of the war
as an engineering training ship in Chesapeake Bay occa-
sionaly making escort and training cruises to New York.
After the Armistice, she made five voyages to Brest,
France, to embark and return veterans home.
She was overhauled at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from
29 June 1919 to 17 May 1920. Three days later she ar-
rived at Annapolis where she embarked midshipmen and
sailed 5 June for a practice cruise to Pacific waters,
transiting the Panama Canal to visit Honolulu, Seattle,
San Francisco, and San Pedro. She departed the latter
port 11 August, transitted the canal, and visited Guan-
tanamo Bay before returning to Annapolis 2 September.
Proceeding to Philadelphia, Kansas became flagship of
Rear Admiral Charles F. Hughes, Commander of Battle-
ship Division 4, Squadron 2, and future Chief of Naval
Operations. She sailed for Bermuda 27 September and
was inspected by the Prince of Wales at Grassey Bay,
Bermuda, 2 October. Two days later she was underway
for the Panama Canal and Samoa. She was at Pago
Pago, Samoa, 11 November when Captain Waldo Evans
became Governor of American Samoa. After visiting
Hawaiian ports and transiting the Panama Canal, she
cruised in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal before
returning to Philadelphia 7 March 1921.
Kansas embarked midshipmen at Annapolis and sailed
4 June 1921, with three other battleships bound for Chris-
tiana, Norway, Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Guantanamo Bay.
She returned 28 August to debark her midshipmen before
visiting New York from 3 to 19 September. She entered
the Philadelphia Navy Yard 20 September and decom-
missioned 16 December. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 24 August 1923, and she was sold for scrap in
accordance with the Washington Treaty limiting naval
armament.
Kansas City
Large cities in Missouri and Kansas.
The keel of Kansas City (CA-128) was laid 9 July 1945
by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., but further
construction was cancelled 12 August 1945.
I
( AOR-3 : dp. 37,360 (f.) ; 1. 659' ; b. 96' ; dr. 33' ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 350 ; a. 4 3" ; cl. Wichita)
The name Kansas City was assigned to AOR-3 on 27
April 1967. The General Dynamics Corp., Quincy Div.,
Quincy, Mass., began construction of the replenishment
fleet tanker in the summer of 1967 with completion planned
for the summer of 1969.
Once commissioned, Kansas City will operate as a multi-
purpose replenishment ship furnishing fuel, ammunition,
and fleet provisions and stores to the far-ranging U.S.
force at sea.
Kapvik
Name coined by Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey, who
fashioned it by combining the first three letters of the
surname of Comdr. Leonard Kaplan with Vik, a village on
the southermost point of Iceland.
(YO-155: dp. 792; 1. 208'1'' ; b. 39'1" ; dr. 11'8" ; a. none)
Kapvik (YO-155) was built as Poling Bros. Barge
No. 9 by John H. Mathis Co., Camden, N.J., in 1934 and
owned by Augustus and Chester A. Poling of New York
City. Loaded with a partial cargo of gasoline, the com-
mercial barge broke from her moorings in New York
harbor during a storm in late 1941 ; drifted out to sea ; and
USS Kansas (BB-21) in 1907 — a sister ship of US S Vermont (BB-20) and Minnesota (BB-22)
598
finally washed ashore in January 1942 8 miles east of Vik
on the southern coast of Iceland. On 17 May plans were
approved for the Naval Operating Base at Reykjavik,
Iceland, to salvage Poling Bros. Barge No. 9.
Under the command of Comdr. L. Kaplan, Salvage
Officer of the Naval Operating Base, salvage operations
began 26 May. Though not a large undertaking, the task
proved both challenging and trying. Along the coast of
southern Iceland, where the sea was calm for less than
7 days out of the year, the powerful surf pounded the
shore with “unremitting force.” And yet, aided by a
favorable sea and wind at the crucial moment, the barge
was pulled off the shore 23 June by Barnegat (AVP-10)
and refloated. The following day she was towed to
Hvalfjordur, Iceland. Renamed Kapvik, she was placed
“in operation” 10 September.
Serving as a fuel oil barge, Kapvik operated out of
Reykjavik and Skerjafjordur until 24 January 1944 when
she was transferred to the United Kingdom under the
Lend-Lease Act. Returned to custody of the U.S. Navy
26 June 1946, she was struck from the Naval Register
29 September 1947, and transferred to the Maritime Com-
mission for disposal.
Karibou
A former name retained.
( SP-200 : t. 25; 1. 65'6” ; b. 12'5" ; dr. 4'6" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 7 ; a. 1 1-pdr. )
Karibou, a motor boat, was built by Salisbury Marine
Construction Co., of Salisbury, Md., in 1911. The Navy
chartered her from her owner, Harwood Spencer, of Ash-
ville, N.C., 17 May 1917 ; and she commissioned the follow-
ing day, Boatswain Albert Miller, USNFR, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Karibou
served as an armed guard patrol in the harbors of Norfolk
and Newport News. She acted as a mail and dispatch
boat along the lower reaches of the James and York Rivers
and patrolled Atlantic coastal waters from Norfolk to
Virginia beach. Karibou decommissioned 5 February
1919, and was returned to her former owner the same
day.
Karin
A minor planet revolving around the sun between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
(AF-33: dp. 3,139; 1. 338'6" ; b. 50' ; dr. 21'1" ; s. 11.5 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3", 6 20mm. ; cl. Adira)
Karin (AF-33) was launched 22 June 1944 by Pennsyl-
vania Shipyard Inc., Beaumont, Tex., under a Maritime
Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. E. M. Ratcliff ;
acquired by the Navy and commissioned 3 February 1945,
Lt. Richard C. Mallon in command.
After a brief shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Karin
loaded cargo at Mobile, Ala., sailed through the Panama
Canal, and arrived Pearl Harbor 23 March 1945. She de-
parted 4 April with food for the Pacific Fleet and dis-
charged cargo at Eniwetok and Saipan. For the closing
months of the war, the store ship made two additional
cruises from Pearl Harbor to Saipan and Ulithi.
After the end of the war, Karin carried supplies to
occupation forces in the western Pacific. Early in No-
vember she steamed to the assistance of Bridge (AF-1)
after the other store ship had struck a mine off Korea.
After salvaging the ship’s cargo and distributing it at
Pusan and Jinsen, she got underway on the 22d for Seattle,
arriving 21 December.
From 1946 to 1950 Karin made cruises from San Fran-
cisco to the mid-Pacific and the Far East, supplying the
fleet with fresh and frozen provisions.
During the summer of 1950, Karin was in the Far East
when Communist forces invaded South Korea. She re-
mained in the area until January 1951, provisioning U.S.
and U.N. ships operating there. After returning to San
Francisco 19 February for overhaul at Mare Island, she
resumed provisioning cruises to the Marshalls and Pearl
Harbor.
On 7 January 1952 Karin departed San Francisco and
resumed supply operations out of Japan in early February.
She made runs between Sasebo and Yokosuka, and two
cruises to Pusan and Inchon, Korea. Karin returned to
San Francisco 18 December to prepare for provisioning
duties in the mid-Pacific.
During 1954 her home port was changed from Mare
Island to Pearl Harbor. She arrived Sasebo, Japan 17
June for operations in the Far East. While there, Karin
was assigned to special duty in Indochina and from 25 Au-
gust to mid October participated in Operation “Passage to
Freedom.” During this period more than 100,000 Viet-
namese men, women, and children were evacuated from
the Communist dominated North to the free world in the
south. Karin assisted this gigantic population transfer by
supplying many ships with fresh and frozen foods while
providing the Vietnamese with rice and small essentials.
Karin returned Pearl Harbor 10 November to prepare
for her regular duties. From 1955 to 1958 she made 18
cruises to the mid-Pacific with provisions and supplies.
Karin departed Pearl Harbor 25 September 1958, arriving
Astoria, Oreg., 6 October ; and decommissioned there lo
December 1958. She was transferred to WSA and struck
from the Navy list September 1961. She was placed in
the National Defense Reserve Fleet and at present is
berthed at Puget Sound, Olympia, Wash.
Karin received two battle stars for Korean conflict
service.
Karluk, see YP-561
Karnes
A county in Texas.
( APA-175 ; dp. 6,873; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17.7 k:
cpl. 536 ; a. 1 5", 12 40mm., 1 20mm. ; cl. Haskell)
Karnes (APA-175) was launched 7 November 1944 by
Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg., for the Mari-
time Commission ; sponsored by Miss Nora Clancy ; ac-
quired and commissioned by the Navy 3 December 1944,
Captain R. B. Miller in command.
After shakedown along the California coast Karnes ar-
rived Pearl Harbor 13 February 1945 with passengers
and cargo from the West Coast. Six days later she sailed
in convoy to land troops at Saipan and other staging areas
in the Pacific. At Saipan she embarked 406 Marines
wounded in the I wo Jima campaign and returned Pearl
Harbor 17 March.
With the Okinawa invasion well underway, Karnes de-
parted Pearl Harbor 7 April with troops and supplies to
reinforce Americans fighting on that bitterly contested
island. She arrived Okinawa 3 May and unloaded troops
and equipment while under heavy kamikaze attack. She
departed the battle zone 8 May with 866 survivors of
ships damaged by kamikazes. Karnes discharged some
survivors at Saipan and arrived San Francisco 27 May
with the remaining group.
She returned to the embattled Pacific islands, arriving
Manila 1 July with troop replacements and cargo. Fol-
lowing this mission, the transport returned Pearl Harbor
23 July to begin training for the anticipated invasion of
the Japanese home islands and maneuvers.
Upon the cessation of hostilities 14 August Karnes began
preparing foT the occupation of Japan, arriving Sasebo
22 September. She was then assigned to “Magic-Carpet”
duty returning men eligible for discharge, and arrived
San Francisco 11 November with her first group of vet-
erans. Karnes ended a second “Magic-Carpet” cruise 12
January 1946, returning American fighting men from
China. On 13 February she departed San Francisco and
arrived Norfolk 2 March where she decommissioned 11
April 1946. Karnes was returned to the WSA 24 April
1946. She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet
and is berthed in James River, Va.
256-125 0 - 68 - 40
599
Karnes received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kasaan Bay
An eastern inlet on Prince of Wales Island off southern
coast of Alaska.
(CVE-69; dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3''; b. 65'; ew. 108'1" ; dr.
22'6" ; s. 18 k. ; cpl. 856; a. 1 5", 16 40mm., 20 20mm. ;
cl. Casablanca)
Kasaan Bay (CVE-69) was classified ACV-69 on 20
August 1942, launched as CVE-69 on 24 October 1943 by
Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime
Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Morse ;
and acquired and commissioned by the Navy 4 December
1943, Captain B. E. Grow in command.
Kasaan Bay reported for duty late in December and 8
January 1944 departed San Francisco with a cargo of
planes and passengers for Pearl Harbor. Upon returning
San Diego she sailed for Norfolk, arriving 28 February
for overhaul and operations along the East Coast. On 28
May, she departed New York in company of Tulagi
(CVE-72) and Mission Bay (CVE-59) with a cargo of
planes for Casablanca, returning New York 17 June with
342 survivors of Block Island, torpedoed 29 May.
The escort carrier departed Quonset Point, R.I., 30 June
and arrived Oran 10 July. Throughout July she engaged
in ASW patrol and flight operations in the Mediterranean
before rehearsing for the assault on Southern France.
Kasaan Bay departed Malta 12 August, and 3 days later
arrived in the invasion area off the French Riviera.
Planes from the carrier bombed and strafed German posi-
tions, destroying hundreds of enemy vehicles and tanks
and downing two enemy aircraft, over the beach. She
completed her assignment 30 August and departed Oran,
Algeria, 6 September, arriving Norfolk 12 days later.
Following a cruise carrying planes to Casablanca in
late October, Kasaan Bay was assigned to the Pacific
Fleet and arrived San Diego 2 January 1945. During
January she sailed to Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Ulithi
with planes and replacements for other ships of the Fast
Carrier Task Force.
The escort carrier returned Pearl Harbor 14 February
and immediately commenced training operations for air
groups and replacement pilots. Kasaan Bay continued
this duty until early June when she was assigned ASW
patrols in the shipping lanes between the Marshalls and
Marianas protecting the fleet’s supply line during its final
assault on Japan’s defenses.
When hostilities ended 14 August, Kasaan Bay returned
to Guam where she was assigned “Magic-Carpet” duty.
She departed Saipan 13 September with her first group of
returning veterans arriving San Diego 30 September. For
the next 3 months she made three cruises to Hawaii and
the Philippines to transport homeward bound troops to
the United States.
The escort carrier returned to San Francisco 28 Decem-
ber and sailed for the East Coast 29 January 1946, arriv-
ing Boston 22 February. She decommissioned 6 July 1946
and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While in reserve,
Kasaan Bay was reclassified CVHE-69 on 12 June 1955.
She was sold for scrap 2 February 1960.
Kasaan Bay received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kaskaskia
A river in Illinois.
(AO-27: dp. 7,256 (It.); 1. 553'; b. 75'; dr. 32'4”;
s. 18 k. ; cpl. 272 ; a. 2 5", 2 3'' ; cl. Cimmarron)
Kaskaskia (AO-27) was launched 29 September 1939
by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., New-
port News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy;
acquired by the Navy from Esso Oil Co., 22 October 1940 ;
and commissioned 29 October 1940, Comdr. U.S. Gregory
in command.
Kaskaskia cleared Boston 19 November 1940 for Pearl
Harbor, arriving 3 January 1941. She transported oil
between West Coast ports and Pearl Harbor, making six
cruises before 7 August, when she made an oil run to
Johnston Island. The oiler returned to Mare Island 10
September for overhaul and repairs. In San Francisco
when the Japanese made their surprise attack on Pearl
Harbor, Kaskaskia immediately began preparations to
join the Service Force in the Pacific.
Sailing from San Diego 6 January 1942, Kaskaskia
commenced fueling operations en route before arriving
Pago Pago 20 January. For the next 6 minths she op-
erated out of Noumea refueling the ships engaged in the
violent struggle to stem the Japanese advance. The oiler
arrived Kodiak, Alaska, 3 July with a cargo of oil and
fuel to be used in the Aleutian Islands campaign. She
returned Wilmington, Calif., loaded oil and aviation gaso-
line and continued oil runs to Alaskan ports until she
steamed to Noumea late in March 1943. Kaskaskia sup-
plied many ships, increasing the mobility of the fleet
during the successful campaigns in the South Pacific.
Kaskaskia returned San Pedro 28 July for repairs be-
fore resuming her duties at Pearl Harbor 21 September.
She transported oil between California and Hawaii until
she sailed 25 November to support the Gilbert Islands
campaign. Returning to Pearl Harbor 10 December, the
oiler resumed her cruises between San Pedro and Hawaii.
As the Navy pushed relentlessly toward Japan, Kas-
kaskia departed Pearl Harbor 16 January 1944 to support
operations in the Marshall Islands. After the Navy had
captured the Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, Kaskaskia
supported carrier task forces during their devastating
raids on Truk, the Marianas, and Palaus in February and
March.
The oiler continued fueling operations in the Marshall
Islands area until she cleared Majuro 6 June to fuel
destroyers and destroyer escorts in the invasion of Saipan.
Throughout June and July Kaskaskia remained on hand,
assisting the fleet to take Saipan, Guam, and Tiwan —
important supply areas in the future campaign for the
Philippines.
As the Navy fought toward the Philippines, Admiral
Nimitz decided to take the Palau Islands as a staging
area for aircraft and ships during the invasion of Leyte.
Kaskaskia departed Manus 4 September with a task group
bound for an assault on Peleliu. She operated in the
Palau area until returning Manus 8 October. Her stay
was a brief one, however, as she sailed 10 October for
Leyte. Prior to the actual landings, she fueled units of
the fleet, continuing this vital duty until a beachhead had
been established. The oiler returned Ulithi 23 October
and made another fueling run to the Philippine area early
in November.
After an overhaul at San Diego December 1944 through
February 1945, Kaskaskia arrived Kwajalein 11 March to
service the fleet. The oiler cleared Ulithi 30 March for
the fueling area off Okinawa, the last major step before
the Japanese homeland itself. Once again the oilers, the
unsung heroes of the war, stood by refueling the many
ships engaged in the irresistible assault from the sea on
Okinawa.
Kaskaskia was relieved of fueling duties off Okinawa,
only to be summoned for another important service. She
departed Ulithi 3 July to refuel units of the carrier task
forces, launching raids on the Japanese Islands of Honshu
and Hokkaido. When the enemy capitulated, Kaskaskia
steamed into Tokyo Bay 10 September with ships of the
Occupation Forces. She continued refueling operations
in Japan, China, and Formosa for an entire year before
arriving San Pedro 28 September 1946.
Between 1947 and 1950 she ferried oil and aviation
gasoline from the West Coast to the Far East and naval
bases in the mid-Pacific. When Communist troops in-
vaded South Korea, the United States accepted the chal-
lenge and ordered its forces to defend the embattled
peninsula. Kaskaskia cleared San Diego 16 September
to operate out of Sasebo. During October she entered
600
the heavily-mined waters off Wonsan, fueling ships
blockading and bombarding that key port.
During December she arrived off Hungnam to service
ships engaged in evacuation operations in that area.
Throughout the harsh winter months, Kaskaskia contin-
ued vital fueling missions between Japan and Korea.
During the U.N. counteroffensive in the spring of 1951,
she also stood by for fueling operations. The oiler re-
turned to Long Beach, Calif., 27 August for overhaul
and operations along the Pacific Coast.
She sailed for the second Korean tour January 1952,
arriving Sasebo on the 22d to refuel the ships engaged
in the Korean conflict. In addition to services in Korea,
she also supplied units in Japan, Okinawa and Formosa
before returning Long Beach 31 July. Overhaul and
training preceded her third Korean deployment from 27
December to July 1953. On this tour she supported ships
engaged in fire support operations. Returning home 17
August. Kaskaskia underwent overhaul ; she then sailed
again for the Far East 4 January 1954, operated out of
Sasebo and returning San Francisco 12 October. Follow-
ing coastal operations, the oiler was placed out of Com-
mission in reserve 8 April 1955.
Kaskaskia was transferred to MSTS 8 January 1957,
and operated in that capacity with a Navy crew until
21 October 1967 when she decommissioned and was turned
over to the Maritime Administration 10 December. Kas-
kaskia was struck from the Navy List 2 January 1959.
The Berlin Crisis of 1961 necessitated the reactiva-
tion of ships and Kaskaskia was reinstated 8 September.
Following overhaul and alterations she recommissioned at
Hoboken, N.J., 6 December, Captain John D. Howell in
command. After shakedown operations in the Caribbean,
the oiler arrived Mayport, Fla., 1 May 1962. Throughout
the summer she engaged in exercises off the Florida
Coast, and sailed to the Azores to participate in Proj-
ect Mercury, manned orbital flights. She was in com-
pany with Kearsarge during the latter’s recovery of
Astronaut Walter Schirra 3 October, demonstrating the
large role of the Navy in space operations.
Kaskaskia return to Mayport 22 October and 2 days
later sailed to participate in the Cuban quarantine.
President Kennedy ordered the blockade when the Soviet
Union tried to plant offensive missiles only 90 miles from
the United States. The naval pressure persuaded the
Soviet Union to withdraw the missiles, easing the crisis.
The oiler returned to operations out of Mayport 21
November.
She cleared Mayport 5 February 1963, for a six month
Mediterranean cruise to refuel ships of the 6th Fleet,
then resumed refueling exercises off Florida for the rest
of the year. During 1964 Kaskaskia engaged in fueling
operations and exercises off Florida and in the Caribbean,
constantly seeking improved methods to increase the
mobility of the Fleet.
On 6 January 1965, Kaskaskia sailed for another 6th
Fleet deployment. While she was operating in the Medi-
terranean, her crew worked day and night delivering
over 19,000,000 gallons of fuel to 169 ships.
Kaskaskia returned to Mayport, Fla., 7 June. She
operated primarily along the Atlantic Coast and in the
Caribbean into 1967. Highlights of this period were serv-
ice to ships patroling off the coast of riot-torn Santo
Domingo in the summer of 1965 and participation in the
recovery team for an unmanned Appollo space flight in
February of 1966.
Kaskaskia received nine battle stars for World War II
and seven stars for Korean service.
Kasota
An Indian word meaning clear skies.
( YTB-222 : dp. 410; 1. 110'; b. 27'; dr. 11'4" ; cl. Galito)
Kasota. was laid down as YT-222 ; launched 20 January
1944 by the Elizabeth City Shipyard, Elizabeth City, N.C. ;
sponsored by Miss Norma Crawley ; and reclassified YTB-
222 15 May 1944 prior to being placed in service 4 Sep-
tember for duty in the 5th Naval District. Kasota oper-
ated out of Norfolk as a district and service craft until
1 May 1961 when she was struck from the Navy List.
Kasuga Maru, see YP-880
Katahdin
A mountain peak in Maine.
I
(Gbt : t. 507; 1. 158'; b. 28'; dr. 10'3" ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 78;
a. 1 11" D.sb., 1 20-pdr. P.r., 2 24-pdr. how. ; cl. Unadilla)
The first Katahdin was launched by Larrabee & Allen,
Bath, Maine, 12 October 1861 ; and commissioned at
Boston Navy Yard 17 February 1862, Lt. George Henry
Preble in command.
The “90-day gunboat” was assigned to the West Gulf
Blockading Squadron to bolster its strength as Flag Of-
ficer Farragut prepared for his epochal attack on New
Orleans. After entering the Mississippi early in April.
Katahdin assisted Farragut in his unprecedented effort to
work the squadron’s deep-draft, salt-water ships across
the bar into the river.
On 16 April she moved up the river with the fleet to
a position below Forts Jackson and St. Philip guarding
the approaches to New Orleans with over 100 guns. The
next morning a Confederate steamer came down and fired
at the fleet ; but, when Katahdin’ s guns answered briskly,
the Southern ship retired out of range. The following
day the mortar flotilla opened an intensive bombardment
of the forts which continued intermittently for the next
6 days until it reached a mighty crescendo in the small
hours of 24 April as the Union fleet got underway and
headed up the river toward the forts.
Half an hour later, when the Confederate guns opened
fire, Katahdin steamed steadily ahead, replying with all
her guns. Only two rounds struck the gunboat during
the dash, one damaging the foremast and the other the
smokestack.
After passing the forts and sailing beyond the range
of their artillery, the Union ships anchored opposite
Quarantine abreast a Confederate encampment which
raised a white flag. During the morning she collected
ordnance surrendered by Confederate troops ashore. The
next day she proceeded up the river firing on and silencing
Southern batteries on both banks. The afternoon, upon
arriving New Orleans with the fleet, she captured
schooner Jon Gilpin with a cargo of cotton.
Katahdin operated in the vicinity of New Orleans until
16 May when she got underway up river to join the
squadron, which had proceeded her to Vicksburg. While
moving up stream, she gathered valuable information
about conditions in the valley ; and, throughout Farragut’s
operations above Vicksburg, she continued to perform
reconnaissance missions as she convoyed vessels which
supplied the force at Vicksburg from New Orleans. In
July, when Farragut withdrew from the Mississippi to at-
tend to his blockaders in the gulf, he left Katahdin in
the river with Essex, Sumter, and Kineo to protect Army
units in the area and to police the river. During much
of this time Katahdin was stationed at Baton Rouge, La.
On 5 August Confederates attacked the Union encamp-
ment at Baton Rouge in force. The gunboats supported
the badly outnumbered Northern soldiers enabling them
to repulse the attack. Then they fired over the town
into the Confederate camp, forcing them to withdraw out
of range. The next morning Kineo and Katahdin guard-
ed the right flank of the Army while Essex and Cayuga
got underway to engage ironclad ram Arkansas. How-
ever, as the Union warships were closing on Arkansas, the
ram’s engines, failed leaving her unable to flee or fight;
she was set afire by her officers and abandoned before she
blew up. For the next fortnight the threat of an attack
601
kept the ships constantly on the alert to protect the troops
which depended upon naval fire support. Finally, upon
orders from General Butler, the Army evacuated Baton
Rouge 21 August. Just before embarking the troops, the
gunboats beat off an attack on the Union pickets with
rapid and heavy fire. Katahdin brought up the rear as the
ships steamed to New Orleans, where they arrived the
following morning.
After repairs at New Orleans, the gunboat stood up the
river 5 September with Kineo and Scioto scouring the
banks for information. With Itasca she covered the land-
ing of Army troops 22 September at Donaldsonville, La.
While the expedition was ashore, the gunboats protected
them ; and, shortly before the soldiers reembarked, naval
gunfire beat back a Southern attack which threatened to
cut off the landing party. This support prevented annihi-
lation of the landing party by vastly superior forces and
enabled it to retreat to Laurel Hill for passage to safety
in New Orleans.
In the months that followed, the gunboats constantly
patrolled the river to protect Union communications, to
gather information on Confederate activity, and to cut
the flow across the Mississippi of food and men to Con-
federate armies in the East. With 3 other gunboats
Katahdin intercepted a drove of some 1,500 cattle from
Texas and loaded them on transports for passage to New
Orleans. The value of this beef to the South can be
attested by the fact that, 4 miles below Donaldsonville,
about 3,000 infantrymen supported by 9 field pieces struck
back at the ships in a desparate attempt to recapture
the cattle. The gunboats opened promptly and in about
20 minutes drove the Confederates from their position.
The months that followed were a period of constant
stress and peril for the gunboats. “We are constantly
under fire ... as we pass up and down the river,” Lt.
Roe, the commanding officer of Katahdin, reported. “Our
fighting is a savage Indian warfare. The troops and guns
are concealed, and watch for us as we pass along and
fire and flee.”
In January 1863 Katahdin was ordered to reinforce
the blockade off Galveston after that port had been recap-
tured by the Confederacy on New Year’s Day. While
serving in the Gulf off the Texas coast, Katahdin and
Owasco chased, captured, and burned blockade running
schooner Hanover 10 May 1863. She captured schooner
Excelsior 13 July off San Luis Pass, Tex.
Thereafter Katahdin continued to serve in the blockade
of the Texas coast, cutting off supplies sorely needed by
the Confederates. On 30 April 1864 she chased the former
revenue cutter Harriet Lane and steamer Alice as they
escaped from Galveston; but, after a brisk and lengthy
race, Katahdin was finally outdistanced. She was more
successful 31 October when the gunboat overtook Albert
Edward as the British schooner tired to slip out of the
same port with a cargo of cotton.
After the Confederate collapse in April 1865. the veteran
gunboat returned north and decommissioned 14 July 1865.
Katahdin was sold at New York 30 November and docu-
mented as Juno 20 October 1866.
II
(IrcRam : t. 2,155; 1. 250'9" ; b. 43'5" ; dr. 15'1" ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 97 ; 4 6-pdr. r. )
The second Katahdin was launched by Bath Iron
Works, Bath, Maine, 4 February 1893; sponsored by
Miss Una Soley, daughter of the Assistant Secretary of
the Navy ; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard 20
February 1896, Comdr. Richard P. Leary in command.
The experimental, harbor-defense ram was a new de-
parture in ship design, built to ride extremely low in the
water with her bow awash while under way. Her hull
embodied several new features later used in early sub-
marines.
Katahdin departed New York Harbor 4 March 1897, the
day of President McKinley’s first inauguration, and sailed
to Norfolk before decommissioning at Philadelphia Navy
Yard 17 April. A year later, with the Navy preparing for
USS Katahdin, 90-day gunboat in 1861
602
an impending war with Spain, she recommissioned there
10 March 1898. She was attached to the North Atlantic
Squadron and operated along the Atlantic Coast from
New England to Norfolk protecting the Nation’s seaboard
cities from possible attack. After decisive American naval
victories at Manila Bay and Santiago Harbor eliminated
this threat, the ram decommissioned for the last time at
Philadelphia Navy Yard 8 October.
However, Katahdin advanced knowledge of naval
weaponry to her end. She was struck from the Navy List
9 July 1909 ; and designated “Ballistic Experimental
Target ‘A’ ”. Katahdin was sunk by gunfire at Rappahan-
nock Spit, Va., in September.
Katahdin (AT-28) was renamed Sunnadin (q.v.) 17
February 1919.
Kate
A former name retained.
(Gbt: t. 242; dr. 5'6" ; s. 5 k. ; a. 2 20-prd. P.r., 6 24-pdr.
how., 2 12-pdr. how.)
Kate was built as Kate B. Porter at Belle Vernon, Pa.,
in 1864, and was purchased at Cincinnati by the Navy
from J. B. Porter & Son, 23 December 1864 ; converted
into a gunboat and commissioned at Mound City, 111.,
Acting Volunteer Lt. W. R. Wells in command.
Kate’s first duty was patrolling the Mississippi River
from Mound City to Memphis during the closing days of
the Civil War. The tinclad gunboat was ordered down-
stream 28 April 1865 to intercept Confederate President
Jefferson Davis in his flight toward freedom in exile.
After his capture, she returned up the river to assist in
the demobilization of the squadron.
She was sent to the Tennessee River to clear away the
hulks of a number of sunken gunboats and barges. In
August she was ordered to Jefferson Barracks Reserve
to discharge her ordnance and to assist in disarming other
vessels. One of the last vessels in the Mississippi to re-
main on naval duty, she decommissioned at Mound City
25 March 1866 and was sold at public auction there 4 days
later. The eunboat was redocumented James H. Trover
12 April 1866 and stranded 300 miles below Fort Benton,
Mont., 21 June 1867.
Kathay, see Auburn (AGC-10)
Katherine
A former name retained.
( SP-715 : t. 6 ; 1. 35' ; b. 9' ; dr. 2' ; s. 7 k. ; a. none)
Katherine, a motor boat, was built in 1907 by J. T.
Sharpley of Greenbackville, Va., and owned by the Virginia
Fish and Oyster Commission. Chartered on free lease to
the Government, she commissioned 26 April 1917 and was
taken over by the Navy at Norfolk 18 May, Chief Master
at Arms C. C. Jones in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Katherine
operated out of Greenbackville, Va., as a shore and section
patrol boat patrolling southern Chesapeake Bay and At-
lantic coastal waters in and around Chincoteague Bay.
She decommissioned 22 October 1918 and was returned to
her former owner the same day.
Katherine F. Saunders, see YP-Jf26
Katherine K.
A former name retained.
( SP-220 : t. 14; 1. 55'; b. 12'4" ; dr. 4'2" ; s. 10 k. ; a. 2
1-pdrs.)
Katherine K. (SP-220), a motor boat, was built in 1894
by M. D. Battomer of Baltimore, Md., and acquired from
Samuel H. Freas of Miami, Fla., 9 June 1917. Enrolled in
the Naval Coast Defense Reserve on 16 June, she was de-
livered to Key West 10 July and commissioned 7 Septem-
ber, Machinist’s Mate Second Class T. M. Lett, Jr.,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned as a section patrol ship to the 7th Naval Dis-
trict, Katherine K. patrolled the waters in and around Key
West and served as a harbor and target towing tug. She
was ordered transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard 17 March
1919 ; but on 21 May she was placed on the list of ships for
sale. Katherine K. was sold to Eugene E. Bates of Key
West. However, before delivery, she was swept away in
a hurricane 9 to 10 September.
Katherine W. Cullen
Former name retained.
(Bar : t. 703 ; 1. 144'8'' ; b. 30'2" ; dr. 15' ; cpl. 3)
Katherine TV. Cullen, a barge, was launched 1903 at Bal-
timore ; purchased by the Navy from the Cullen Transpor-
tation Co., New York ; and commissioned 28 September
1918, Lt. Goodwin in command. She operated with NOTS
along the New England coast, transporting coal from New
York. She was detached from NOTS 11 December and
was assigned to the 1st Naval District. Katherine TV.
Cullen operated there until 30 December 1918 when she
sunk 15 miles southeast of Boston light ship while in tow
of Heron.
USS Katahdin, a Steel Armored Ram from 1896 to 1909
603
Kathrich II
A former name retained.
( SP-148 : 1. 12 ; 1. 40' ; b. 10’ ; dr. 4' ; s. 9 k. ; a. none)
Kathrich II, a motor boat, was built by B. S. Tbibault
of Jacksonville, Fla., in 1913 and acquired by the Navy
from her owner, Richard B. Marks, of Jacksonville, Fla.
She enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve 20 April
1917 and was taken over by the Navy 8 May. Kathrich II
commissioned 9 May at Charleston, S.C., Boatswain’s Mate
Second Class Robert Fisher, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 6th Naval District, Kathrich II operated
as a section patrol ship in Savannah, Ga., harbor, board-
ing and inspecting ships and sealing radios. On 5 Feb-
ruary 1919 she was assigned to NOTS for duty as a
dispatch and radio inspection ship in Savannah harbor.
Placed out of commission 6 February, Kathrich II re-
mained with NOTS until 4 September when she was
turned over to the Coast Guard for use in communications
work.
Katie
A former name retained.
( SP-660 : t. 15 ; 1. 48' ; b. 11'2" ; dr. 3’8'' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 4 ;
a. none)
Katie, a motor boat, was built by C. E. Bush of Critten-
den, Va., in 1916 and owned by the Virginia Fish and Oys-
ter Commission. Chartered to the Government, she com-
missioned 24 April 1917 and was taken over by the Navy
at Norfolk 18 May, Chief Master-at-Arms J. B. Bush,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Katie operated out
of Crittenden, Va., as a shore and section patrol boat.
Her patrols extended from Norfolk and the James River
to the lower reaches of the Potomac River and Chesapeake
Bay. She decommissioned 22 October 1918 and was re-
turned to her former owner the same day.
Katie S., see YT-345
Katlian
An Eskimo chief of Sitka, Alaska, at the time of Russian
colonization in 1804.
( YN-48 : do l^Q • i aq' ; b. 22' ; dr. 8' ; cl. Cockenoe)
Katlian (YN^to,, ierly A. D. Canulette, was
launched 1939 by Canulette Shipbuilding Co., Slidell, La. ;
purchased by the Navy 22 October 1940 from the Gulf
Coast Towing Co. ; and placed in service 19 December
1940. She was reclassified YNT-16 on 1 May 1942.
Following conversion at New Orleans, she sailed 31 De-
cember 1940 for Mare Island, arriving 7 March 1941 via
Guantanamo and the Canal Zone. She was assigned to
the 12th Naval District and served as a net-tender out of
Mare Island throughout her naval service. Katlian was
placed out of service 30 January 1946 and transferred to
the Maritime Commission 2 June 1947. Sold to R. J.
Fenzl in 1948, she served as a tug under the name Captain
Rudy and subsequently named A. D. Canulette and Ethel
McDermott.
Katmai, see YP-575
Katoura, see Patriot (PYC-47)
Katrina
A former name retained.
( SP-1144 : t. 31; 1. 66'6'' ; b. 11'7" ; dr. 5' ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 8;
a. 1 mg.)
Katrina, a wooden steam yacht, was built in 1913 by
George F. Lawley & Son Corp., Boston. She was char-
tered by the Navy from her owner, Mrs. Anna C. Ewing of
Yonkers, N.Y., 18 May 1917 ; and commissioned with a
Naval Reserve crew 30 May, Boatswain Alvin A. Hanna,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Bar Harbor Section Patrol, she served
in a variety of ways, patrolling, tending lookout stations,
and breaking ice. She was placed in full commission 22
June and enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve 28
July.
Ordered to Halifax, Nova Scotia, 5 June 1918, she ar-
rived at her new station 11 June and was used to transport
men between visiting ships, the receiving ship, and the
station hospital. Katrina was returned to her owner 15
February 1919.
Katrina Luckenbach
Former name retained.
(Str: dp. 16,000; 1. 468'3" ; b. 55'11" ; dr. 30'6" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 91; a. 1 5", 1 6-pdr. )
Katrina Luckenbach was launched 22 February 1918
by the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass. ; she
was acquired by the Navy from Luckenbach Steamship
Co. on a bare-ship basis and commissioned 18 May 1918,
Lt. Comdr. Eldon H. Read, USNRF, in command.
Katrina Luckenbach was assigned to NOTS, and de-
parted New York 10 June with a cargo of Army supplies
for American forces in France. The cargo ship returned
to the States 16 August and, following repairs, was trans-
ferred to the Cruiser and Transport Force to assist in re-
turning American forces from Eurpoe. She sailed from
Boston 15 June 1919 with cargo for France. Upon her
return to New York, Katrina Luckenbach decommissioned
25 November 1919 and was returned to her owners.
Katy D, see Y P-409
Katydid
( SP-95 : 1. 10; 1. 40' ; b. 9'2'' ; dr. 3'4" ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 7 ; a.
1 1-pdr.)
Katydid was built in 1912 at New Rochelle, N.Y., by
William Hoff and was purchased by the Navy from Arnold
G. Dana 27 March 1917. The wooden motor boat was as-
signed to section patrol in the 3d Naval District 4 April
and commissioned 10 May, Chief Boatswain’s Mate Asher
A. Howell in command. In 1917 she operated in New
York Harbor and nearby waters serving as launch to
Wasp and President Grant. Subsequently, she sailed for
France. She was laid up 9 December 1919 and trans-
ferred to the War Department 18 February 1920 for serv-
ice with the Army Ordnance Department at Neville Is-
land, Pa.
Kaukauna
Named for city in Wisconsin. Indian word meaning
portage.
( YTM-749 : dp. 390; 1. 107'; b. 26'6'' ; d. 12'; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 10)
Kaukauna, a medium harbor tug, was built in 1953 by
Higgins at New Orleans. From 1953 to 1963 she served
the U.S. Army as LT-2082. Kaukauna, on loan from the
Army, was then assigned to the 14th Naval District and
is now serving the Pearl Harbor area.
Kaula
A small, rocky, 550-foot high islet in the Hawaiian Is-
lands, nearly 20 miles west-southwest of Niihau Island.
(AG-33: dp. 2,100; 1. 267'; b. 38'3" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl. 70; a.
1 4", 2 3", 4 .50 cal. mg.)
604
Kaula (AG-33) was built in 1938 by Henry Robb, Ltd.,
Leith, Scotland; acquired as Cubahama 3 January 1941
from her owner, Balboa Shipping Co., N.Y. ; renamed
Kaula 15 January; and commissioned at Baltimore 22
January, Lt. Comdr. W. L. Ware in command.
Sailing to Hampton Roads, Va., 25 January, Kaula de-
parted 4 February for Hawaii, via the Panama Canal and
the West Coast, reaching Pearl Harbor 17 March. Prior
to the outbreak of war in the Pacific, she carried cargo
from Pearl Harbor and Honolulu to various islands in the
Hawaiian chain and to Johnston and Palmyra Islands.
During the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor 7 December,
she was en route to Palmyra Island.
Throughout the struggle with the Japanese Empire,
Kaula operated out of Pearl Harbor and Honolulu to
principal Hawaiian Islands and to outlying islands west
to Midway and south to Palmyra. Usually sailing in
convoy, she ranged the Hawaiian Sea frontier carrying
military equipment, ammunition, and contingents of Sea-
bees until she sailed for the United States 18 May 1945,
arriving Seattle 26 May.
Following 2 months of overhaul Kaula departed Seattle
31 July on the first of several voyages to Alaska. Assigned
to the 13th Naval District, she steamed for the U.S. Coast
Guard to Ketchikan, Juneau, Seward, Kodiak, and Dutch
Harbor before returning to Seattle 18 September. She
operated in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca
before steaming to Blake Island Anchorage, Wash., 6 De-
cember and decommissioning 14 January 1946. Struck
from the Naval Register 12 March, Kaula was transferred
to the Maritime Commission 15 July for sale to her former
owner.
Kaweah
A river in California named for the Kawia or Cahuilla
tribe, a southern California group of the Shoshonean divi-
sion of Uto-Aztecan Indians.
(AO-15 : dp. 14.450 ; 1. 446' ; b. 58'2" ; dr. 25'6" ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 252 ; a. 2 5”, 2 3”, 2 .50 cal., 2 .30 cal. ; cl. Kaweah)
Kaweah (AO-15) was launched 1919 by William Cramp
& Sons, Philadelphia, under USSB account; acquired by
the Navy 20 October 1921 ; and commissioned 28 Decem-
ber 1921, Lt. Comdr. O. Beuilagua, USNRF, in command.
After sea trials Kaweah departed New Orleans early
January 1922 and arrived Philadelphia 18 January. She
departed 14 March for a cruise to the Canal Zone and the
Gulf of Mexico. She returned to Norfolk 7 May and de-
commissioned 15 August 1922.
Kaweah recommissioned 16 December 1940, Comdr.
Charles B. McVay in command. From early 1941 until late
fall, she made oil runs between ports on the East Coast
and the Caribbean. She arrived Argentia, Newfoundland,
17 November for duty in the North Atlantic. For the next
14 months she operated between Iceland, Greenland, and
Boston, supplying the fleet with gasoline and diesel oil.
She departed New York 13 January 1943 with a cargo of
diesel oil for Casablanca, returning New York 12 March.
Kaweah made another round trip cruise to Casablanca in
April before resuming fueling operations at Halifax, N.S.,
26 June. For the remainder of 1943 she cruised in convoy
between New England and Iceland supplying the fleet units
with vital fuel.
For the duration of the war the oiler cruised along the
North American coast, Greenland, and the Caribbean with
aviation fuel and diesel oil. Throughout the war Kaweah
remained almost constantly at sea on the important, never-
ending duty of keeping the fleet supplied with petroleum
products. Following the cessation of hostilities 14 August
1945, Kaweah arrived Hampton Roads, Va., 26 September
and decommissioned at Norfolk 16 November 1945. She
was transferred to the WSA 28 May 1946 and sold to
Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, for scrapping.
Kawishiwi
River in Minnesota.
(AO-146, dp. 11,600 ; 1. 655' ; b. 86' ; dr. 35' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl.
254 ; a. 2 5”, 6 3" ; cl. Neosho)
Kawi8hiwi (AO-146) was launched 11 December 1954
by New York Ship Building Corp., Camden, N.J. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Edmund T. Wooldridge ; and commissioned
6 July 1955, Captain Joseph B. Swain in command.
Kawishiwi cleared Philadelphia 18 November 1955, and
arrived at home port Long Beach 8 December for shake-
down training. Upon completion of the training, she de-
parted Long Beach 25 April 1956 to replenish ships of
the 7th Fleet. She remained in the Far East on refueling
operations until returning to Long Beach 10 October.
During 1957 the oiler divided the year into refueling
duties in the Far East and operations out of Long Beach.
Kawishiwi arrived Pearl. Harbor, her home port, 21 Janu-
ary 1958, and 1 month later sailed for her third Westpac
deployment. Her ability to refuel ships at a rapid rate in-
creased the mobility of the U.S. 7th Fleet as it protected
peace in the Far East.
Kawishiwi sailed once again 18 November, after a 5-
month interval of Hawaiian exercises, for duty with the
service force in the Far East. Carrier task groups were
then operating off Taiwan, as the Chinese Nationalist
held islands Quemoy-Matsu appeared in danger. The 7th
Fleet served notice of America’s intention to resist aggres-
sion blunting another Communist probe to test the Free
World’s determination. The oiler returned Pearl Harbor
23 March 1959 and resumed Hawaiian operations.
Her next Westpac cruise in August was also in the
midst of Communist pressure, this time at Laos. How-
ever, the show of strength by the United States averted a
crisis, and, after completing refueling duties, the oiler
arrived Pearl Harbor 23 November. She sailed again 3
May 1960 on her sixth Westpac deployment, replenishing
ships of the Taiwan patrol before returning to Hawaii 22
August.
Following replenishment operations in Hawaiian waters,
Kawishiwi departed 6 February 1961 for 7th Fleet serv-
ices. In addition to standing watch over the tense situa-
tion in Laos, the Fleet engaged in SEATO exercises in
April. The oiler returned home 26 June for a 4-month
respite before another Far East tour commencing 23 Octo-
ber. She fueled units of the 7th Fleet as the need
for peacekeeping missions by the Navy intensified.
Kawishiwi returned Pearl Harbor 27 February 1962 for
overhaul.
From 17 September 1962 to 5 February 1963, she en-
gaged in another Far East deployment with the 7th Fleet.
During October she replenished many ships participating
in amphibious exercises off Okinawa. Kawishiwi re-
turned home 5 February and operated in Hawaiian waters
throughout the year engaging in exercises and replenish-
ment duties. As military operations in Vietnam grew
in intensity, her duty in the Orient concentrated more
and more on refueling the Navy’s ships which were
fighting Communist aggression in Southeast Asia. After
devoting most of the first half of 1966 to servicing ships
off Vietnam, she returned to Pearl Harbor 15 July. Opera-
tions in the mid-Pacific ensued until she headed back to
the Western Pacific 27 March 1967. Kawishiwi arrived
Subic Bay 12 April and fueled the ships of the mighty 7th
Fleet thru mid-1967.
Kearny
Lawrence Kearny was born in Perth Amboy, N.J.,
30 November 1789 and appointed Midshipman in the Navy
24 July 1807. Commodore Kearny was known for his te-
nacity in capturing slave traders in West-Indian waters
and his tireless efforts in fighting Greek pirates in the
Mediterranean. In the early 1840’s he began negotia-
tions with China which opened that country to U.S. trade
and pointed the way toward the American “Open Door
Policy” a half century later. He later served as Com-
mandant at the Norfolk and New York Naval Shipyards.
Retiring 14 November 1861, Commodore Kearny died at
Perth Amboy, N. J., 29 November 1868.
605
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Lt. Lawrence Kearny in USS Enterprise captures four piratical schooners and a sloop in the act of robbing American
Ships Lucies and Aristides and English Brig Larch.
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608
( DD-432 : dp. 2,060; 1. 347'4” ; b. 36’1" ; dr. ll'lO" ; s.
33 k. ; cpl. 208; a. 4 5", 12 .50 cal., 2 10” tt., 2 dct. ; cl.
Oleaves)
Kearny (DD-432) was launched 9 March 1940 by the
Federal Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J. ;
sponsored by Miss Mary Kearny ; and commissioned on 13
September 1940, Comdr. A. L. Danis in command.
After shakedown and sea trials, Kearny got underway
19 February 1941 from New York Harbor for St. Thomas,
V.I., where she took part in the “Neutrality Patrol’’ off
Fort de France, Martinique, French West Indies, until
9 March. The new destroyer patrolled around San Juan,
P.R., and escorted ships in the Norfolk area until August
when she sailed for Argentia, Newfoundland, to escort
North Atlantic convoys.
While Kearny was escorting a convoy in the North At-
lantic before the United States entered the war, three con-
voy merchant ships were torpedoed 16 October. Kearny
immediately began dropping depth charges and continued
to barrage throughout the night. At the beginning of the
midwatch 17 October, a torpedo struck Kearny on star-
board side. The capable crew confined flooding to the for-
ward fire room enabling the ship to get out of the danger
zone with power from the aft fire room. Regaining power
in the forward fire room, Kearny steamed to Iceland at 10
knots, arriving 19 October. Kearny lost 11 bluejackets
and 22 others were injured in this attack. After tempo-
rary repairs Kearny got underway Christmas Day 1941,
and moored 6 days later at Boston, Mass., for permanent
repairs.
From 5 April to 28 September 1942, Kearny was busy
escorting convoys to the British Isles, Panama Canal, and
Galveston, Tex. Late in September, she sailed to act
as a fire support unit in the North African invasion.
There she screened Texas and Savannah on fire support
missions, shot down an enemy plane, and escorted troop
ships to Safi, French Morocco. Kearny departed the inva-
sion theater and escorted a convoy back to New York,
arriving 3 December 1942.
Kearny escorted ships to Port of Spain, Recife, Brazil,
and Casablanca until 15 November 1943, then joined the
Core hunter-killer task group 25 November. During the
day of 1 January 1944, in coordination with antisubmarine
planes from Core , Kearny fired a depth charge attack on a
submarine resulting in a large oil slick ; she returned to
New York 18 January.
Next month Kearny joined the 8th Fleet in French
Algeria. She reported to Brooklyn 10 March for duty in
Italy, where both warships engaged in supplying fire sup-
port for the 5th Army. Due to their daily fire-support
trips to the Anzio beachhead area, the warships became
known as the “Anzio Express.” They later were com-
mended by General Mark Clark for the accuracy of this
fire support.
Kearny was detached from the group the beginning of
June and steamed to Anzio alone to give Allied troops their
last naval fire support prior to their breakthrough and
capture of Rome. The veteran destroyer saw more convoy
duty before sailing for the invasion of Southern France.
Kearny was inner fire support ship for Red Beach,
Cavalaire Bay, France, and rendered counter-battery fire
and pre-H-hour bombardment. She screened heavy fire
support ships ; laid smoke screens off Toulon ; and, on
19 August 1944, began 2 months of duty screening trans-
ports carrying troops between Naples and southern France.
Afterward, Kearny made several cross-Atlantic voyages
from New York to Oran. On 6 August 1945, Kearny tran-
sited the Panama Canal for duty in the Pacific, arriving
at Pearl Harbor late in August after hostilities had
ended. She escorted a transport squadron carrying occu-
pation troops to Japan via Saipan, arriving at Wakayama,
Japan, 27 September. During the next month Kearny
made voyages to Philippine Islands and Okinawa before
returning to Japan in October. She sailed from Waka-
yama, Japan, 29 October 1945 for home via Pearl Harbor,
San Diego, and the Panama Canal, arriving Charleston,
S.C., 5 December 1945. She decommissioned there 7 March
1946, and went into reserve. Kearny was subsequently
moved to Orange, Tex. where she remains into 1967.
Kearny received three battle stars for service in World
War II.
Kearsarge
A mountain in Merrimack County, N.H.
( ScSlp : dp. 1,550 t. ; 1. 201'4” ; b. 33'10” ; dr. 14'3” ; s.
11 k. ; cpl. 163; a. 2 11”, 4 32-pdr., 1 30-pdr.)
The first Kearsarge was launched 11 September 1861 by
the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. ; sponsored
by Mrs. McFarland, wife of the editor of the Concord
Statement; and commissioned 24 January 1862, Captain
Charles W. Pickering in cqmmand.
Kearsarge departed Portsmouth 5 February 1862 for the
coast of Spain ; thence sailed to Gibraltar to join the block-
ade of Confederate raider Sumter, forcing her abandon-
ment in December. But her commanding captain, Raphael
Semmes, soon commissioned Confederate raider Alabama
on the high seas off the Azores.
Kearsarge prepared for her fight with Alabama at
Cadiz (November 1862-March 1863), then searched for
the raider from along the coast of Northern Europe to the
Canaries, Madeira, and the Western Islands. Arriving at
Cherbourg, France, 14 June 1864, she found Alabama in
port and took up patrol at the harbor’s entrance to await
Semmes’ next move.
On 19 June, Alabama stood out of Cherbourg Harbor
for her last action. Careful of French neutrality, Kear-
sarge’s new commanding officer, Captain John A. Winslow,
took the sloop-of-war well clear of territorial waters, then
turned to meet the Confederate cruiser.
Alabama opened fire first while Kearsarge held her reply
until she had closed to less than 1,000 yards. Steaming on
opposite courses, the ships moved around a circle as each
commander tried to cross his opponent’s bow to deliver
deadly raking fire. The battle quickly turned against
Alabama, for the quality of her long-stored powder and
shells had deteriorated. Kearsarge, on the other hand,
had been given added protection by chain cable triced in
tiers along her sides abreast vital spaces. One hour after
she fired her first salvo, Alabama had been reduced to a
sinking wreck. Semmes struck his colors and sent a boat
to Kearsarge with a message of surrender and an appeal
for help. Kearsarge rescued the majority of Alabama’s
survivors ; but Semmes and 41 others were picked up by
British yacht Deerhound and escaped in her to England.
Kearsarge steamed along the French coast in an unsuc-
cessful search for CSS Florida, thence proceeded to the
Caribbean before turning northward for Boston where
she decommissioned 26 November 1864 for repairs. She
recommissioned 1 April 1865 and sailed on the 14th for the
coast of Spain in an attempt to intercept Stonewall; but
the Confederate ram eluded Federal ships and surrendered
to Spanish authorities at Havana, Cuba, 19 May. After
cruising the Mediterranean and the English Channel south
to Monrovia, Liberia, Kearsarge decommissioned 14
August 1866 in the Boston Navy Yard.
Kearsarge recommissioned 16 January 1868 and sailed
12 February to serve in the South Pacific operating out of
Valparaiso, Chile. On 22 August she landed provisions for
destitute earthquake victims at Africa, Peru. She con-
tinued to watch over American commercial interests along
the coast of South America until 17 April 1869. Then she
sailed to watch over American interests among the Mar-
quesas, Society, Navigators (Samoa), and Fiji Islands.
She also called at the ports of New South Wales and New
Zealand before returning to Calao, Peru, 31 October 1869.
She resumed duties on the South Pacific Station until 21
July 1870, then cruised to the Hawaiian Islands before
decommissioning in the Mare Island Navy Yard, Calif., 11
October 1870.
Kearsarge recommissioned 8 December 1873 and de-
parted 4 March 1874 for Yokohama, Japan, arriving 11
May. She cruised on Asiatic Station for 3 years, protect-
ing American citizens and commerce in China, Japan, and
609
the Philippines. From 4 September to 16 December 1874,
she carried Professor Hall’s scientific party from Naga-
saki, Japan, to Vladivostok, Russia, to observe the
transit of Venus. She departed Nagasaki 3 September
1877 and returned to Boston 30 December via the Suez
Canal and Mediterranean ports. She decommissioned at
Portsmouth, N.H., 15 January 1878.
Kearsarge recommissioned 15 May 1879 for 4 years of
duty in the North Atlantic ranging from Newfoundland
to the Caribbean Sea and the coast of Panama. She de-
parted New York 21 August 1883 to cruise for 3 years in
Mediterranean, Northern European waters, and along the
coast of Africa. She returned to Portsmouth, N.H., 12
November and decommissioned in the Portsmouth Navy
Yard 1 December 1886.
Kearsarge recommissioned 2 November 1888 and largely
spent her remaining years protecting American interests
in the West Indies, off Venezuela, and along the Central
Americas. She departed Haiti 30 January 1894 for Blue-
fields, Nicaragua, but was wrecked on Roncador Reef off
Central America 2 February 1894. Her officers and crew
safely made it ashore.
Congress appropriated $45,000 to raise Kearsarge and
tow her home ; but a salvage team of the Boston Towboat
Co. found that she could not be raised.
The name of Kearsarge was struck from the Navy List
in 1894.
II
(BB-5: dp. 11,540; 1. 375'4” ; b. 72'3" ; dr. 23'6" ; s. 16
k. ; cpl. 553; a. 4 13" ; 4 8", 14 5”, 20 6-pdr., 8 1-pdr., 4
.30 cal.)
The second Kearsarge, named by act of Congress to
commemorate the famed steam sloop-of-war, was launched
24 March 1898 by the Newport News Shipbuilding Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; sponsored by Mrs. Herbert Winslow,
daughter-in-law of Kearsarge’ s commander, Captain John
A. Winslow, during her famous battle with Alabama; and
commissioned 20 February 1900, Captain William M. Fol-
ger in command.
Kearsarge became flagship of the North Atlantic Sta-
tion, cruising down the Atlantic seaboard and in the
Caribbean. From 3 June 1903 to 26 July 1903 she served
briefly as flagship of the European Squadron while on a
cruise that took her first to Kiel, Germany. She was
visited by the German Emperor 25 June 1903 and by the
Prince of Wales 13 July. She returned to Bar Harbor,
Maine, 26 July 1903 and resumed duties as flagship of
the North Atlantic Fleet. She sailed from New York 1
December 1903 for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where, on
10 December, the United States took formal possession
of the Guantanamo Naval Reservation. Following ma-
neuvers in the Caribbean, she led the North Atlantic
Battleship Squadron to Lisbon where she entertained the
King of Portugal, 11 June 1904. She next steamed to
Phaleron Bay, Greece, where she celebrated the Fourth
of July with the King, Prince Andrew, Princess Alice of
Greece. The squadron paid goodwill calls at Corfu,
Trieste, and Fiume before returning to Newport, R.I., 29
August 1904.
Kearsarge remained flagship of the North Atlantic Fleet
until relieved 31 March by battleship Maine, but con-
tinued operations with the fleet. During target practice
off Cape Cruz, Cuba, 13 April 1906, an accidental ignition
of a powder charge of a 13-inch gun killed two officers and
eight men. Four men were seriously injured. Attached
to the 2d Squadron, 4th Division, she sailed 16 December
1907 with the “Great White Fleet” of battleships, sent
around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt. She
sailed from Hampton Roads around the coasts of South
America to the western seaboard, thence to Hawaii, Aus-
tralia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Japan. From
there, Kearsarge proceeded to Ceylon, transited the Suez
Canal, and visited ports of the Mediterranean, before re-
turning to the eastern seaboard of the United States.
President Theodore Roosevelt reviewed the Fleet as it
passed into the Hampton Roads 22 February 1909, having
completed a world cruise of overwhelming success, show-
ing the flag and spreading good will. This dramatic
gesture impressed the world with the power of the U.S.
Navy.
Kearsarge decommissioned in the Philadelphia Navy
Yard 4 September 1909 for modernization. She recom-
missioned 23 June 1915 for operations along the Atlantic
coast until 17 September when she departed Philadelphia
to land a detachment of marines at Vera Cruz, Mexico.
She remained off Vera Cruz from 28 September 1915 to
5 January 1916, then carried the marines to New Orleans
before joining the Atlantic Reserve Fleet 4 February 1916
at Philadelphia. She trained Massachusetts and Maine
State Naval Militia until America entered World War I,
then trained thousands of armed guard crews as well as
naval engineers in waters along the East Coast ranging
from Boston to Pensacola. On the evening of 18 August
1918, Kearsarge rescued 26 survivors of Norwegian Bark
Nordhav which had been sunk by German Submarine
U-117. The survivors were landed in Boston.
Kearsarge continued as engineering training ship until
29 May 1919 when she embarked Naval Academy Midship-
men for training in the West Indies. The midshipmen
were debarked at Annapolis 29 August and Kearsarge
proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she de-
commissioned 10 May 1920 for conversion to a crane ship
and a new career. She was designated AB-1 5 August
1920.
In place of military trappings, Kearsarge received an
immense revolving crane with a rated lifting capacity of
250 tons, as well as hull “blisters,” which gave her more
stability. The 10,000-ton craneship rendered invaluable
service for the next 20 years. One of many accomplish-
ments was the raising of sunken submarine Squalus off
the New Hampshire coast. On 6 November 1941 she was
designated Crane Ship No. 1, giving up her illustrious
name which was assigned to a mighty aircraft carrier.
But she continued her yeoman service and made many
contributions to the American victories of World War II.
She handled guns, turrets, armor and other heavy lifts
for new battleships such as Indiana and Alabama; cruis-
ers Savannah and Chicago; and guns on the veteran battle-
ship Pennsylvania.
In 1945 the crane ship was towed to the San Francisco
Naval Shipyard where she assisted in the construction
of carriers Hornet, Boxer, and Saratoga. She departed
the West Coast in 1948 to finish her career in the Boston
Naval Shipyard. Joe McDonald, master rigger, described
her as “a big gray hulk of a thing” which was “pulled
around by two or three tugs” on the job ; “But the old girl
has brought millions of dollars worth of business to Bos-
ton. Without her we would never have been able to do
many of the big jobs that cost millions of dollars.” As one
example, he recalled that the former battleship lifted a
gantry crane intact at the South Boston Naval Drydocks
and transporting it to Charleston where she placed it on
crane tracks to be driven away. As Crane Ship No. 1, her
name was struck from the Navy List 22 June 1955. She
was sold for scrapping 9 August 1955.
Kearsarge (CV-12) was renamed Hornet ( q.v .) on
January 1943.
Ill
24
( CV-33 : dp. 30,800; 1. 888'; b. 93'; ew. 136'; dr. 30'8" ;
s. 33 k.; cpl. 2,100; a. 12 5", 2 3-pdr., 44 40mm., 36
20mm. ; cl. Essex)
The third Kearsarge (CV-33) was launched 5 May 1945
by the New York Naval Shipyard, New York ; sponsored
by Mrs. Aubrey W. Fitch; and commissioned 2 March
1946, Captain Francis J. McKenna in command.
Kearsarge arrived at her homeport Norfolk 21 April
1946, and for the next year engaged in training operations
along the East Coast and Caribbean. She cleared Nor-
folk 7 June 1947 on a midshipmen training cruise to the
United Kingdom. Upon her return to the United States
in August, the carrier engaged in maneuvers for 10 months
610
USS Kearsarge (BB-5)
before departing Hampton Roads 1 June 1948 for duty
with the 6th Fleet. During her tour in the Mediterranean,
units of the 6th Fleet were placed on alert to insure
peace in the Arab-Israeli area. Kearsarge returned
Quonset Point, R.I., 2 October and operated along the
Atlantic Coast and the Caribbean until 27 January 1950
when she sailed for the West Coast. The carrier ar-
rived Puget Sound Navy Yard 23 February and decom-
missioned there 16 June 1950 for a modernization over-
haul that would enable her to handle new jet aircraft.
Kearsarge recommissioned 15 February 1952, Captain
Louis B. French in command. Following shakedown the
carrier cleared San Diego 11 August for intensive flight
training in the Hawaiian Islands. Her readiness com-
plete, she sailed for the Far East to engage in combat
missions in the Korean war. Arriving Yokosuka 8 Sep-
tember, Kearsarge joined the fast carrier Task Force 77
off the east coast of Korea 6 days later. For the next
5 months the carrier’s planes flew nearly 6,000 sorties
against Communist forces in North Korea, unleashing
considerable damage on enemy positions. She completed
her tour in late February 1953, returning to her home-
port, San Diego 17 March. While serving in Korea her
classification was changed to CVA-33.
Kearsarge sailed again for the Far East 1 July 1953
and operated with the 7th Fleet fast carrier force during
the uneasy truce in Korea. The “Mighty Kay” also kept
watch over the Formosa Straits to prevent the Com-
munists from interfering with the Chinese Nationalists on
Taiwan. Kearsarge returned San Diego 18 January 1954
to resume training operations off California. Clearing
San Diego 7 October, she steamed toward her third deploy-
ment to the Far East. While operating with the 7th
Fleet, the carrier stood by to assist the Nationalist Chinese
in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands. From 6 to 13
February 1955 Kearsarge supported units of the fleet in
the successful evacuation of 18,000 civilians and 20,000
military personnel from the islands. Her cruise ended
at San Diego 12 May and for the next 3 years operated
on the annual deployment schedule to the Far East and
training operations off California.
During the summer of 1958 Kearsarge was fitted out as
an antisubmarine warfare support carrier and reclassified
CVS-33. Following intensive training in her new role,
the carrier sailed 5 September 1959 for 7th Fleet operations
in the Far East. Early in her tour Japan was hit with a
violent typhoon, and Kearsarge played an important role
in providing relief to the victims. Her planes landed par-
ties of medical and supply units, while her crew and air
group donated clothing and money to the distressed people.
After participating in SEATO exercises and 7th Fleet oper-
ations, she cleared Yokosuka 3 March 1960 for her home-
ward voyage. Three days later in stormy waters 1,200
miles off Wake Island, four Russians were rescued after
drifting 49 days in disabled landing craft. They were
flown back to their country after Kearsarge arrived Ala-
meda, Calif., 15 March; and the carrier received thanks
from the Soviet Union for this gesture.
A year of training operations preceded her next deploy-
ment from San Diego which began 3 March 1961. The an-
tisubmarine carrier steamed to Southeast Asian waters as
the Communists intensified their effort to overthrow the
government in Laos. The power and determination of the
7th Fleet was observed by the enemy and the crisis eased.
Peace prevailed. After 6 months in the Far East, Kcar-
sarge arrived Puget Sound 1 November for the second
phase of her modernization.
Upon completion of repairs and training Kearsarge de-
parted Long Beach 1 August 1962 to station herself in the
Pacific missle range as a recovery ship in the Mercury
orbital space flight of astronaut Walter Schirra. On Octo-
ber after a flawless flight, the carrier played her role in
the “Space Age” by retrieving Schirra and his capsule and
returning him to Honolulu for flight back to the States.
611
USS Kear surge (CVA-33) in Korean waters 1952 — planes are' F2H Banshees.
Kearsarge resumed training exercises, continuing these
for 6 months before arriving Pearl Harbor 29 April 1963
to once again take part in the space program. The car-
rier repeated her earlier recovery by plucking astronaut
Gordon Cooper on 18 May 1963 after he orbited the earth
22 times in his capsule “Faith 7.” She returned the space
hero to Pearl Harbor, then departed 4 June on her eighth
cruise to the Far East. Operations with the 7th Fleet in-
cluded keeping watch on the unsettled problems in South-
east Asia. Kearsarge returned Long Beach 3 December,
for training exercises off California.
Six months later, 19 June 1964 the antisubmarine car-
rier was deployed on her ninth Far Eastern cruise. Ar-
riving Yokosuka 30 July, Kearsarge was dispatched to the
South China Sea, following the North Vietnamese patrol
boat attack on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
While U.S. Navy planes destroyed North Vietnam oil and
supply depots, Kearsarge provided antisubmarine protec-
tion for the 7th Fleet. The decisiveness of American ac-
tion persuaded the Communists to delay their objectives
for the time being ; and Kearsarge returned Long Beach
16 December.
After overhaul during the first half of 1965, Kearsarge
operated off the West Coast until sailing for the Far East
9 June 1966. Steaming via Hawaii and Japan, she
reached “Yankee Station” 8 August and operated off Viet-
nam through 24 October. The next day she headed for the
Kuala Lumpur area and anchored in the Strait of Malacca
on the 30th. She returned via Subic Bay to “Yankee
Station” 5 November and operated there through the
23d. The next day the carrier started home via Hong
Kong and Japan, arriving San Diego 20 December. She
operated on the West Coast until departing San Diego 18
August and reached Pearl Harbor 10 days later to prepare
for future action.
Kearsarge received two battle stars for Korean War
service.
Keathley, Sgt. George, see Sgt. George Keathley
( APC-117)
Keats
A British name retained. Sir Richard Keats (1756-
1834), a captain in the Royal Navy, commanded HMS
Superb from 1801 to 1807.
Tisdale (DE-278) (q. v.) was renamed HMS Keats upon
transfer to the United Kingdom under lend-lease 19 Oc-
tober 1943.
Keegan, V. L., see Y 0-166
Keith
Ellis Judson Keith, Jr., was born at Houston, Tex., on
30 June 1919 and entered the Navy as a Seaman Second
Class on 2 October 1941. He was assigned as a radioman
and gunner on a patrol plane that flew on aerial bombard-
ments and strafing attacks on enemy ships in the Aleutian
Islands. Killed in action during a mission over Kiska
Harbor 11 June 1942, Seaman Keith was awarded the Air
Medal posthumously for his courage and fortitude.
( DE— 241 ; dp. 1,200; 1. 306'; b. 26'7" ; dr. 8'7", s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3", 8 40 mm., 10 20mm., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 3 21"
tt. ; cl. Edsall )
612
USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) and destroyers arrive Subic Bay 1961.
Keith (DE-241), laid down as Scott and renamed Keith
8 December 1942, was launched 21 December 1942 by
Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, Tex. ; sponsored by
Mrs. Ellis J. Keith, Sr., mother of Seaman Keith ; and
commissioned 19 July 1943 at Houston, Tex., Lt. D.
Cochran in command.
After shakedown and training exercise out of Bermuda,
Keith sailed from Norfolk 14 September 1943 on the first
of three voyages escorting convoys from East Coast ports
to Gibraltar.
After returning from convoy escort duty 22 February
1944, Keith underwent extensive refresher training and
participated in antisubmarine warfare exercises before
sailing on 15 March as part of escort carrier Tripoli’s
newly-formed hunter-killer group. With this group she
patrolled the Atlantic from Brazil to Newfoundland in
quest of enemy submarines.
In July she joined a similar group operating with escort
carrier Core. On 30 August, Core’s hunter-killer group
contacted an enemy submarine. Keith, assisting in the
search, made two hedgehog attacks with inconclusive
results.
Keith continued to operate with the hunter-killer group
patrolling the vast waters of the Atlantic, escorting con-
voys from “midocean point” to ports in Brazil, Bermuda,
Newfoundland, Cuba, and the United States.
On 23 April 1945, the hunter-killer group, operating as a
combined force against a large wolfpack of U-boats,
spotted a partially submerged submarine but could not
locate it after it dived. While searching the next day,
Davis, a destroyer in company, was torpedoed and sunk.
Keith and task group ships headed to the position where
Davis had gone down and launched a severe depth charge
attack that lasted some 12 hours before U-51,6 was forced
to surface. The destroyer escorts opened fire on the sub-
marine ; and Keith made two direct hits before the U-boat
sank. After the engagement, Keith rescued four survivors
from the submarine.
In mid-July, Keith departed Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for
duty in the Pacific. Keith found herself in Pearl Harbor
at the end of hostilities and got underway for Saipan for
escort duty and mop-up operations. Shortly after arriv-
ing 31 August, she was assigned an air-sea rescue station
between Iwo Jima and Japan. At the end of the year
Keith sailed for China, arriving Shanghai on the last day
of December. She remained there patrolling and escort-
ing vessels until sailing for home on 10 April 1946 via
Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal arriving at Charles-
ton, S.C., 15 May 1946. Keith was towed to Green Cove
Springs, Fla., where she was decommissioned and placed
in reserve 20 September 1946. At present she is berthed
at Orange, Tex.
Keith received one battle star for World War II service.
Keith, Willard, see Willard Keith (DD-775)
Keith, Willard, see Keith, Willard (DE-314)
Kelble, see Y P-1,57
613
hollar
John Gilbert Kellar, born 11 March 1871 near Peoria,
111., graduated from Dartmouth College in 1893 and
studied civil engineering at the University of Colorado in
1898 and 1899. As a civilian hydrographic engineer, he
was appointed to the Hydrographic Office in 1908. Be-
tween 1908 and 1927 he served as civilian leader of ocean
and coastal survey cruises and completed 15 cruises off
the coasts of Panama, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Renowned
for this contributions to tbe fields of geodesy, hydrogra-
phy, and astronomy, he invented the Altitude-Azimuth
Star Plotter and Identifier. In addition, he published
“Manual of Hydrographic Surveying” in 1927 and “Glos-
sary of Cartographic Terms” in 1943. He retired in 1943
and died 20 October 1947 in Washington, D.C.
( AGS-25 : dp. 1,320 ; 1. 209' ; b. 39' ; dr. 14 ; s. 17 k. ; cpl. 26 ;
a. none ; cl. Kellar)
Kellar (AGS-25) was laid down by Marietta Mfg. Co.,
Point Pleasant, W. Va., 20 November 1962; launched 30
July 1964 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harriet K. Pond ; transferred
to Boland Machine Mfg. Co., New Orleans, La., 30 July
1966 for completion of construction ; and scheduled for
completion in the winter of 1968.
Once commissioned, Kellar will provide valuable assist-
ance to the Navy as a far-ranging hydrographic and
oceanographic survey ship. Operating under the control
of the Hydrographic Office, she will possess the latest
survey equipment, with which she can compile field charts
and amphibious data. During the continuing task of
“keeping the peace” over the vast reaches of global waters,
she will contribute vital information for determining po-
tential amphibious landing sites. In addition she will be
able to transport and support a combat coastal survey
team.
Keller, Robert F., see Robert F. Keller (DE^19)
Kelly, J. J., see J. J. Kelly (YOG-38)
Kelly, Sgt. Jonah E., see Sgt. Jonah E. Kelly (APC-116)
Kelly, William, see Rotanin (AK-108)
Kelso
A city in Cowlitz County, Wash.
(PC-1170 : dp. 295 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 65 ;
a. 1 3'', 1 40mm., 2 20 mm., 2 rkt., 4 dcp. 2 dct.
PC-1110 was laid down by Sullivan Dry Dock & Repair
Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., 3 July 1943; launched 16 October;
sponsored by Mrs. M. M. McCauley ; and commissioned 21
February 1944 ; Lt. Burrill D. Barker, Jr., in command.
USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) near Honolulu 3 October 1962 — Astronaut Walter M. Schirra emerges from Sigma 7 space-
craft after being hoisted aboard Carrier.
614
After shakedown off the Florida coast, PC-1170 was
assinged to convoy escort duty between Guantanamo,
Cuba, and New York. Screening against possible German
U-boat attacks, the subchaser made the New York-Cuba
voyage 33 times from May 1943 to June 1945. Departing
New York 18 June, she steamed to the Pacific to strengthen
naval strength in that unfinished war.
Following a brief stay in San Diego, PC-1170 proceeded
to Pearl Harbor, arriving there late July. On 2 August
she departed Hawaii for patrol duty in the Marshall
Islands. The veteran subchaser was operating out of
Eniwetok when World War II ended. Transferred to the
Hawaiian Sea Frontier, PC-1170 for the next 10 years
performed patrol duty and reported weather information
in the Central Pacific.
On 26 February 1955 she arrived San Francisco and
decommissioned 8 August 1955. While berthed with the
Pacific Reserve Fleet, she was named Kelso 15 February
1956. Kelso was struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960
and sold to Ship Supply Corp. 25 April 1961.
Kemah
A former name retained.
( SP-415 : t. 300 ; 1. 146' ; b. 21' ; dr. 9’ ; s. 13 k. ; a. 2 3'' )
Kemah (SP-415), a motor yacht, was built by Luders
Marine Construction Co., Stamford, Conn., in 1917 to
1918 and acquired while under construction from her
owner, F. E. Lewis II, of New York City, 7 October 1917.
Brought to the Navy Yard, New York in April 1918,
Kemah commissioned 16 July, Lt. L. L. Rand, USNRF,
in command.
Originally assigned to the 6th Naval District at Charles-
ton, she was transferred upon commissioning to the 3d
Naval District, New York, for the period of her service.
Restricted to protected waters, Kemah served as a guard
ship on coastal waters of New York Harbor. She con-
tinued her patrol duty until 3 September 1919 when she
was withdrawn from active duty. Kemah decommis-
sioned 18 September and was sold 22 September 1920 to
R. T. Robinson of San Diego.
Kemper County
A county in Mississippi.
(LST-854 : dp. 1,625 ; 1. 328' ; b. 50' ; dr. 11' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
266 ; a. 3 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl LST-542)
LST-854 was laid down by the Chicago Bridge & Iron
Co., Seneca, 111., 30 August 1944 ; launched 20 November ;
sponsored by Mrs. M. A. Menkol ; and commissioned 14
December, Lt. E. J. Robeson in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-854 departed New
Orleans for the Pacific 16 January 1945. Steaming via
the Panama Canal, the West Coast, and Pearl Harbor,
she reached Ulithi, Caroline Islands, 1 April. There she
prepared to support the invasion of Okinawa ; then, with
an Army Aviation Engineer Battalion on board, she sailed
12 April for that strategic island which lay at the gateway
to the heart of the Japanese empire.
The campaign was well underway when LST-854
arrived Nago Wan, Okinawa, 6 days later. Despite heavy
enemy air raids, she unloaded troops and equipment, then
returned Ulithi 5 May. During the remaining months of
the war, she shuttled troops and equipment among the
Philippines and Okinawa in preparation for a possible
invasion of Japan. Following the end of World War II,
she operated in the Far East, transporting occupation
forces until November.
LST-854 arrived Seattle, Wash., 16 December, then
after overhaul and training returned to the Far East 27
June 1946. From 1946 to 1949 she transported Navy and
Marine Corps troops and cargo among Chinese ports and
the Marianas. The veteran landing ship returned to the
United States 6 June 1949, and decommissioned 21 Octo-
ber at Puget Sound Navy Yard.
After Communist aggression threatened the freedom of
South Korea, the United States responded by sending
American forces to aid the embattled country. To assist
in the transportation of troops and cargo, LST-854 re-
commissioned 20 November 1950; then, after training,
she departed San Diego 17 March 1951. Three months
later she commenced operations in the war zone, and from
June to December operated between Japan and Korea.
Her duties in Korea were transporting prisoners-of-war
from Pusan to Koje Do, furnishing logistics support for
troops at Koje Do, and rotating cargo and troops among
Korean ports.
During early January 1952, LST-854 participated in
the landing of the 40th Division at Inchon and provided
refugees lifts along the Korean coast. Departing Yoko-
suka 25 February, the landing ship arrived San Diego
16 March. After overhaul and training along the West
Coast, she was back in Japan 26 November. For the re-
maining months of the Korean conflict, LST-854 shuttled
troops and cargo in support of U.N. forces engaged in
fierce combat on the Asian mainland. Following the truce
which ended hostilities, the veteran landing ship trans-
ported pro- and anti-Communist prisoners to await
repatriation.
LST-854 returned San Diego 17 October and, following
overhaul, performed training exercises along the West
Coast. From May 1954 to May 1960, she sailed on four
WestPac cruises in which she supported the 7th Fleet
operating to protect U.S. interests in the event of reckless
Communist attempts to upset the peace and stability of
Asia. LST-854 was named Kemper County 1 July 1955.
After returning from her WestPac cruise 6 May 1960,
Kemper County spent the next 5 years performing am-
phibious training exercises along the California coast and
in the Hawaiian operating area.
As Communist aggression increased, the United States
expanded efforts to protect the integrity and independence
of the Republic of South Vietnam. To aid in the vast
logistic demands created by the crisis, Kemper County
departed San Diego 11 October 1965, arriving Subic Bay,
Philippines, 12 November. Ten days later she arrived
Da Nang, and operated along the coast of South Vietnam
for the rest of the year. She operated primarily in the
rivers of the Mekong Delta transiting enemy-controlled
territory to carry supplies to the Vietnamese Army Head-
quarters Can Tho. Four times she ascended these streams
as far as 90 miles inland. On 3 March 1966 she assisted
tanker SS Paloma which lay burning and adrift in the
Saigon River after a Viet Cong attack. On reaching the
scene, she shelled the river bank from which the Commu-
nist attack had been launched while fighting the confla-
gration on the tanker.
During this deployment Kemper County carried over
10,000 tons of military cargo and vast quantities of food
and clothing for the war-stricken civilian population of
South Vietnam before returning to San Diego 28 May 1966.
Her services won her the Battle Efficiency “E” of 1966.
She operated off the West Coast into 1967 preparing for
future action.
LST-854 received one battle star for World War II
service and five stars for service in the Korean conflict.
Kempthorne
A British name retained. Sir John Kempthorne (1620-
79), a captain in the British Navy, commanded Mary
Rose during her historic fight with seven Algerines in
1669.
Trumpeter (DE-279) (q.v.) was renamed HMS
Kempthorne upon transfer to the United Kingdom undeer
lend-lease 23 October 1943.
615
256-125 0-68-
41
Kendall C. Campbell
Kendall Carl Campbell, born 25 July 1917 in Garden
City, Kans., after enlisting in the Naval Reserve 28
October 1940, reported to the Naval Reserve Aviation
Base in Kansas City for flight training 15 November.
Appointed Aviation Cadet 1 February 1941, he became an
Ensign 19 August. He was assigned to carrier combat
squadrons, courageously engaging the enemy in the early
actions.
During the Battle of the Coral Sea, Ens. Campbell
“with disregard of personal safety contributed materially
to the sinking or damaging of eight enemy vessels in
Tulagi Harbor on 4 May and to the sinking of the enemy
aircraft carrier Shoho 7 May.” He lost his life in this
action and was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously.
He was also awarded the Gold Star in lieu of the
Second Navy Cross for service in New Guinea. “On 10
March 1942, in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire Ensign
Campbell ... by his superb airmanship and outstanding
courage contributed to the destruction of three enemy
ships and upheld the highest traditions of the United
States Naval Service.”
( DE-443 : dp". 1,350 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8” ; dr. 9'5” ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 2 5”, 4 40mm. , 10 20mm., 2 dct., 9 dcp., 3 21”
tt. ; cl. John C. Butler)
Kendall C. Campbell (DE-443) was launched 19 March
1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark,
N.J. ; sponsored by Mrs. Carl B. Campbell ; and commis-
sioned 31 July 1944, Lt. Comdr. R. W. Johnson in
command.
Kendall C. Campbell departed New York 20 August
1944 for shakedown exercises off Bermuda. Ten days
later she departed Norfolk, transited the Panama Canal,
and arrived Pearl Harbor 30 October. The destroyer
escort was assigned to hunter-killer operations out of
Hawaii with Corregidor (CVE-58) and performed this
duty until she sailed for Ulithi 24 November. She im-
mediately commenced ASW patrols designed to keep the
supply lanes to the Marianas and Western Carolines open.
Anxiously awaiting her first major encounter, Campbell
put to sea 1 January 1945, and sortied with the Luzon
Attack Force for the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. She re-
turned to Ulithi 5 February for a short overhaul period,
departing 2 weeks later for carrier escort duty during the
occupation of Iwo Jima. When the volcano island was
secure, Kendall C. Campbell put into Ulithi to prepare
for the Okinawa invasion.
The destroyer escort sailed 21 March accompanying es-
cort carriers as they unleashed air raids in the prein-
vasion strikes against Japanese positions on Okinawa.
After the American assualt forces hit the beach 1 April,
Kendall C. Campbell stood by until the island was free
of enemy resistance and offered all possible support to the
successful campaign.
As the war moved closer to the enemy homeland, on
26 June Campbell joined the Logistics Support Group,
which operated northeast of Honshu, during the carrier
strikes on Japan’s home islands. In early August she
searched for Japanese submarines southeast of Okinawa
Gunto and was on this mission when the fighting ended.
During the first week of September she furnished ASW
patrols for the Tokyo Occupation Force en route to Japan.
After escorting a group of 54 LST’s from Tokyo to
Manila, she returned to Yokosuka 16 October. Kendall
C. Campbell departed Japan 4 November, arriving San
Pedro, Calif., 22 November. The destroyer escort decom-
missioned at San Diego 31 May 1946 and joined the
Pacific Reserve Fleet. At present she is berthed at
Stockton, Calif.
Kendall C. Campbell received four battle stars for World
War II service.
Kendrick
Charles S. Kendrick was born in Kentucky 23 January
1817. Early in the Civil War, as Third Master in Army
gunboat St. Louis of the Western Flotilla, he took part in
the captures of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Island No. 10,
Memphis, and Fort St. Charles. On 1 October 1862, when
the Western Flotilla was transferred to the Navy Depart-
ment, he was commissioned Acting Master in the U.S.
Navy. On 30 April 1863, while commanding a landing
party which drove Confederate sharpshooters from the
river banks at Haines Bluff, he personally captured a
Southern officer in hand-to-hand combat. In July he com-
manded Petrel when she and Forrest Rose ascended the
Tensas River and captured Confederate steamers Louis-
ville and Elmira. The following month Acting Master
Kendrick was stricken with fever and died at the Naval
Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., 13 August 1863.
( DD-612 : dp. 1,620; 1. 348'4” ; b. 36'1” ; dr. 11'9” ; s.
37.5 k. ; cpl. 256; a. 4 5”, 4 40mm., 6 dcp., 2 dct., 5 21”
tt. ; cl. Benson )
Kendrick (DD-612) was launched 2 April 1942 by
Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif. ; sponsored by
Mrs. J. Hanson Delvac, a great-granddaughter of Acting
Master Charles S. Kendrick ; and commissioned 12 Septem-
ber 1942, Lt. Comdr. C. T. Caufield in command.
After shakedown exercises along the West Coast,
Kendrick cleared San Diego 11 December 1942 and ar-
rived Casco Bay, Maine, 28 December for ASW exercises.
The destroyer then sailed to New York to join Convoy
UG-S-4 and sailed 13 January 1943 for Casablanca. She
returned New York 13 February with another convoy, and
commenced patrol, escort, and training from Norfolk to
Newfoundland. Kendrick departed New York 28 April
for a round trip escort mission to Oran, Algeria, and re-
turned New York 8 June.
After 3 days the destroyer once again steamed toward
the Mediterranean, escorting Rear Admiral Kirk’s Task
Force 85, which carried Major General Troy Middleton’s
famed 45th Infantry Division. She arrived Oran, staging
area for the invasion of Sicily, 22 June. Kendrick sailed
5 July and arrived off the beaches of Scoglitti 4 days
later. She guarded transports and landing craft until
12 July, then steamed as escort for troop ships via Oran
to New York, arriving there 4 August.
She returned to Oran 2 September; that night a Ger-
man dive bomber made a surprise attack on Kendrick's
starboard quarter. The plane roared in 50 feet above
the water and launched two torpedoes before it was shot
down by the destroyer’s gunners. One of the “fish”
struck Kendrick's stern damaging her rudder, steering
compartment, and fantail, but without harming her crew.
As she turned back to Oran, the destroyer stopped to
throw life rings to the crew of the enemy plane and re-
ported their position.
After temporary repairs at Oran, Kendrick was towed
to Norfolk, arriving 26 October. Upon completion of
repairs she made a round-trip escort cruise to the United
Kingdom before sailing 18 February as convoy escort.
Arriving Oran 5 March she prepared for patrol and
screening operations, and joined the screen of cruiser
Philadelphia. For nearly 3 months the destroyer repeat-
edly provided effective gunfire in support of ground troops
advancing up the Italian boot. After Rome was liberated,
she stood by to support the Allied drive in northern Italy.
She cleared Palermo 12 August for the invasion of
southern France. As a unit of Rear Admiral Deyo’s
American-French bombardment group, Kendrick gave
direct fire support to the 36th Infantry Division storming
the beaches 15- August. She helped silence German
88mm. guns 15 to 16 August and bombarded gun em-
placements and ammunition dumps at St. Madrier,
France, 25 to 26 August. Upon completion of her mis-
sion the destroyer steamed toward the United States,
arriving Boston 19 September.
Kendrick escorted a convoy to the Mediterranean in
mid-November, before returning New York 15 December.
She joined a convoy and once again departed Norfolk
6 January 1945, reporting for duty with the 8th Fleet 18
January. For the next 4 months she performed air-sea
rescue, escort duty, fire support missions, and patrol duty
616
in the Mediterranean as the war in Europe came to an
end. Kendrick cleared Oran 15 May with a convoy and
put into New York 8 days later. Following repairs at
New York and refresher training in Cuba, the destroyer
transited the Canal, arriving Pearl Harbor 28 August via
San Diego. She engaged in training exercises out of
Hawaii before returning Charleston, S.C., 16 October.
Kendrick remained at Charleston until she decommis-
sioned and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange,
Tex., 31 March 1947. On 1 May 1966 her name was struck
from the Navy List, and Kendrick was used in destruction
tests at sea by the David Taylor Model Basin, Carde-
rock, Md.
Kendrick received three battle stars for World War II
service.
Kenmore
Home of George Washington’s sister Betty.
Kenmore (AP-62) was converted to a hospital ship
and renamed Refuge (AH-11) (q.v.) 2 September 1943.
I
( AP-162 : dp. 12,350; 1. 441'6” ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 24'6" ; s.
12.8 k. ; cpl. 1,242; a. 1 5", 4 3”, 8 20mm.; cl. Crater;
T. EC2-S-C1)
Kenmore (AP-162) was launched as James H. Mc-
Clintock 30 May 1943 by California Shipbuilding Corp.,
Wilmington, Calif., under a Maritime Commission con-
tract; sponsored by Mrs. T. J. Bluechel; renamed Ken-
more 27 October 1943 ; acquired by the Navy and commis-
sioned 14 November 1943, Lt. Comdr. O. H. Pitts, in
command.
Kenmore loaded cargo and departed Oakland, Calif.,
22 November, arriving Pearl Harbor 1 December. After
repairs at Pearl Harbor, she prepared for the Marshall
Islands invasion and departed Hawaii 25 January 1944.
Nine days later she arrived off the shores of Majuro
Atoll with troops and equipment of the attacking force.
The cargo ship returned to Pearl Harbor 21 February to
embark garrison troops for the Gilbert Islands, debarking
them at Tarawa in March.
After shuttling troops between the Gilberts and
Hawaii for the next 2 months, Kenmore departed Hono-
lulu 29 May for Kwajalein, the staging area for the in-
vasion of the Marianas. There she loaded troops of the
106th Infantry and arrived with the massive amphibious
force in the assault area off Saipan 20 June. After a
beachhead was secured, Kenmore remained in the area
until 8 July unloading cargo and equipment. Throughout
the summer she transported troops among the Marshalls,
Marianas, and Hawaii.
Reclassified AK-221 on 20 August, Kenmore stood out
of Honolulu 25 September with cargo and reinforcements
for the Palau Islands via Eniwetok, arriving Kossal
Roads 29 October. She continued supplying the Pacific
Islands with men and equipment for the next 6 months.
The cargo ship departed Ulithi 20 April with reinforce-
ments needed for the Okinawa campaign, arriving there
6 days later.
In the closing days of the war, Kenmore shuttled troops
between California and the Pacific Islands, insuring the
already inevitable victory. When hostilities ended 15
August, Kenmore was assigned to “Magic-Carpet” duty.
She made two cruises between the Islands, China, and
San Francisco arriving with her final group 15 December.
Kenmore remained in San Francisco and decommissioned
there 1 February 1946. She was delivered to WSA the
same day for return to her owner.
Kenmore received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Kenmore, see President Madison (AP-62)
Kenmore (AK-221), see James H. McClintock (AP-162)
Kenmore, see YT-332
Kenmore, see Refuge (AH-11)
Kennebago
A river in western Maine that empties into Mooselook-
meguntic Lake.
(AO-81: dp. 5,782 (It.); 1. 523'6" ; b. 68'; dr. 30'10" ;
s. 16 k. ; cpl. 267 ; a. 1 5", 4 3", 4 40mm., 12 20mm., 2 dcp. ;
cl. Escambia ; T. T2-SE-A2)
Kennebago (AO-81) was laid down under Maritime
Commission contract by Marineship Corp., Sausalito,
Calif., 9 January 1943 ; launched 9 May 1943 ; sponsored
by Mrs. W. E. Waste ; acquired by the Navy 30 July 1943 ;
converted by Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco,
Calif. ; and commissioned 4 December 1943, Comdr. B. N.
Bock in command.
After shakedown off the West Coast, Kennebago carried
a cargo of fuel oil and aviation gasoline from San Diego
to bases in the Aleutians between 24 January and 19 Feb-
ruary 1944. After returning to San Pedro 28 February,
she loaded fuel oil and departed for the Marshalls 31
March. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she reached Majuro
Atoll 15 April. Assigned to Service Force, Pacific Fleet,
during the next 2 months she made fueling runs among
the Marshalls and between the Marshalls and Pearl
Harbor.
Following the amphibious invasion of the Marianas 16
June, Kennebago departed Eniwetok 19 June to supply
fire and support ships with fuel. She arrived off Saipan
22 June, and during the next several weeks refueled fight-
ing ships of the 5th Fleet. She returned to Eniwetok 11
August ; and, after loading oil and gasoline, she sailed
for the Admiralties the 26th, arriving Manus 31 August.
Kennebago departed 11 September to support invasion
operations in the Palaus. During and after the landings,
she steamed to the east of the Palaus, refueling escort
carriers and fire support ships. She continued replenish-
ment operations between Manus and the Palaus until 7
October, then returned to Manus to prepare for the in-
vasion of the Philippines.
In company with two other fleet oilers, Kennebago
sortied from Manus 9 October and rendezvoused with car-
riers of Vice Admiral Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Task Force.
Steaming in the Philippine Sea, she refueled ships until
23 October. Then she sailed for Ulithi where she arrived
the 29th. Operating out of Ulithi, she carried out addi-
tional refueling operations east of the Philippines be-
tween 12 and 24 November and between 16 and 25
December.
Task Force 38 again departed Ulithi 29 December to
cover amphibious landings in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon.
Steaming with other logistics ships, Kennebago refueled
fighting ships at sea while American carrier-based air
power pounded enemy air bases from Formosa to Luzon.
Between 3 and 9 January 1945, planes from the fast car-
riers flew more than 3,000 sorties, wrecked havoc on
Japanese air defenses, and directly contributed to the
success of the Luzon invasion 9 January.
Returning to Ulithi 9 January, Kennebago refueled
before resuming fuel replenishment operations off Luzon
from 15 to 24 January. She arrived Ulithi the 27th ;
then, from 5 to 11 February, she steamed via Manus to
Florida Island, Solomons, for anchorage fueling duty dur-
ing the next month. Departing Tulagi 20 March, she
loaded fuel at Eispiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and sailed
for Ulithi via Manus 24 March. She reached Ulithi 2
April ; after discharging her cargo, she sailed the 6th for
the United States and arrived Los Angeles 24 April.
After overhaul at Terminal Island Navy Yard, Kenne-
bago departed 12 June for the Western Pacific. Steaming
617
via San Francisco and Pearl Harbor, she reached Ulithi
4 July and rejoined the logistics ships supporting carrier
operations off the coast of Japan. She departed Ulithi 10
July and until 2 August operated in the refueling areas
as the mobile carriers ranged Japanese waters, launching
strike after strike against targets on Honshu and Hok-
kaido. She returned to Ulithi 5 August for refueling,
then continued at sea replenishment off Honshu from 8 to
28 August.
Following the Japanese surrender, Kennebago operated
out of Okinawa from 19 September to 5 October. Loaded
with fuel oil, she steamed to Taku, China, arriving 9 Oc-
tober. During the next 2 months she served at Taku and
fueled ships of the 7th Fleet as American Naval forces as-
sisted Nationalist Chinese troops during the struggle
against the Communist Chinese for control of China. De-
parting Taku 14 December, she steamed via Yokosuka,
Japan, to Pearl Harbor, arriving the 28th. Between 26
January 1946 and 14 February she returned to the Far
East, carrying fuel to Yokosuka and Hong Kong. She de-
parted Hong Konk 17 February for the United States ; and
after reaching San Francisco 7 March, she sailed the 28th
for the East Coast. Kennebago arrived Boston 19 April
and decommissioned there 19 July.
Transferred to the Maritime Commission 24 May 1947,
Kennebago was reacquired by the Navy and assigned to
MSTS 1 October 1949. She reactivated in September
1950, and, during the war to repel Communist aggression
in Korea, she carried vital oil to bases in the Far East.
During the following years, in response to intermittent
threats to world peace by nations under Communist con-
trol, she helped support the might of American sea power
in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean. On 27 No-
vember 1957 she was inactivated at Beaumont, Tex., and
transferred to the Martime Administration the same day.
She was returned to MSTS control 23 May 1958 and reac-
tivated for logistics duty in the Pacific. She provided
refueling services during supply operations to American
bases located in the Arctic. During late 1958 and early
1959 she supported the mighty 6th Fleet in the Mediter-
ranean. She returned to New York 22 May 1959, trans-
ferred to the Maritime Administration 23 June and entered
the National Defense Reserve Fleet in James River, Va.
She transferred to the Army 20 May 1966 for use as a
floating power plant in South Vietnam.
Kennebago received six battle stars for World War II
service.
Kennebec
A river in central and southern Maine flowing from
Moosehead Lake to the Atlantic.
I
(Gbt : t. 507 : 1. 158' ; b. 28' ; dr. 10'3")
The first Kennebec was launched 5 October 1861 by G.
W. Lawrence, Thomaston, Maine ; and commissioned at
Boston Navy Yard 8 February 1862, Lt. John H. Russell
in command.
The new gunboat was assigned to Admiral Farragut’s
newly created West Gulf Blockading Squadron and stood
out to sea 12 February 1862. She reached Ship Island,
Miss., 5 March and 3 days later crossed the bar at Pass
a l'Outre and entered the Mississippi.
In the ensuing weeks she did reconnaissance and patrol
duty, occasionally engaging Confederate ships chasing
them upstream. On 28 March she and Wissahickon
steamed up the river within sight of Fort Jackson and
found the cable-linked line of hulks which the South had
placed across the river to bar Farragut’s invaders. After
Southern batteries at the Fort opened a rapid fire on the
gunboats, they retired down the river; but, from time to
time thereafter, they steamed up to learn more about
the Southern defenses while Farragut made ready to
attack.
On 18 April a flotilla of Mortar schooners under Com-
mander David Dixon Porter opened a steady fire on Forts
Jackson and St. Philip, and maintained the barrage until
it reached a crescendo on the night of 24 April as Farra-
gut in Hartford led his fleet past the forts. Kennebec,
in the gunboat division commanded by Captain Henry H.
Bell, became entangled in the line of rafts which obstruct-
ed the river and struck one of the Confederate schooners.
This delayed her until Admiral Farragut had completed
his dash, enabling the Confederate guns fire to concen-
trate their fire on Kennebec, Itasca and Winona. As
dawn had made their ships even more vulnerable targets,
their commanders ordered the crews to lie flat on the
decks while the gunboats drifted down stream out of ac-
tion. However, Kennebec' s disappointment was softened
4 days later when she was on hand to see the Stars and
Bars at Fort Jackson lowered and the Stars and Stripes
raised in their place.
Patrol and convoy duty up and down the Mississippi
occupied Kennebec for the next 2 months. She was with
Farragut below Vicksburg 25 June, and began a bombard-
ment of the Confederate batteries there the next day.
She remained below with Brooklyn continuing the shell-
ing until Farragut had safely run by the Southern guns
on the 28th and joined Flag Officer Davis above Vicks-
burg. The gunboat engaged batteries and snipers ashore
for 2 days before heading down stream to resume escort
and patrol duty. The tricky waters of the Mississippi ever
threatened to fling the gunboat hard aground in hostile
territory ; and Confederate cannon and riflemen lay hid-
den ashore waiting to harass the Union ships and their
men.
On 9 August Kennebec headed for the open sea for
blockade and cruising duty in the Gulf. From time she
exchanged fire with shore batteries and shelled targets
ashore. She helped capture schooner Jupiter 4 May 1863
and took schooner Hunter on the 17th. Steamer William
Bayley fell prey to the vigilant blockader 18 July. She
shared in the capture of schooner Winona off Mobile 29
November and she took schooner Marshall J. Smith laden
with 260 bales of cotton 9 December. On the last day
of 1863, she made a prize of steamer Grey Jacket after
the blockade runner had slipped out of Mobile laden with
cotton, rosin, and turpentine for Havana. She then took
schooner John Scott after an 8-hour chase 7 January 1864.
The conquest of Mobile was Farragut’s next major ob-
jective. Kennebec helped blockade the port during the
spring and summer of 1864, tightening the noose around
the valuable Southern port. One of her most daring ex-
ploits of the war occurred during this duty. On 30 June
Glasgow had forced blockade-running steamer Ivanhoe to
run aground near Fort Morgan 30 June. Because the
steamer was protected by the fort’s guns, Rear Admiral
Farragut attempted at first to destroy her by long range
fire from Metacomet and Monongahela. When this proved
unsuccessful, Farragut authorized his Flag Lieutenant,
J. Crittenden Watson, to lead a boat expedition to burn
Ivanhoe. Under the cover of darkness and the ready
guns on board Metacomet and Kennebec, Watson led four
boats directly to the grounded steamer and fired her in two
places shortly after midnight 6 July. Farragut wrote :
“The admiral commanding has much pleasure in announc-
ing to the fleet, what was anxiously looked for last night
by hundreds, the destruction of the blockade runner
ashore under the rebel batteries by an expedition of
boats . . . the entire conduct of the expedition was
marked by a promptness and energy which shows what
may be expected of such officers and men on similar
occasions.”
On the morning of 5 August Admiral Farragut was
ready to attack Mobile. Kennebec was lashed alongside
Monongahela when the Union ships got underway shortly
after 6 A.M. An hour later the guns at Fort Morgan
opened fire and Confederate steamers Morgan and Gaines
soon joined them. Undaunted Farragut’s ships steamed
steadily ahead and answered as they came within range.
After an hour of fighting, the South’s ironclad ram Ten-
nessee passed across Monongahela' s bow and struck Ken-
nebec's bow ; glanced off ; and fired into the gunboat’s
berth deck as she pulled away, wounding four members
618
of Kennebec's, crew but doing little damage to the ship.
Kennebec then cast off from Monongahela and steamed up
the bay. By mid-morning all major Confederate opposi-
tion afloat had been destroyed or captured ; and the rest
of the day was spent rounding up Southern merchant
ships. Kennebec chased several and captured schooner
Corina.
On 8 August Fort Gaines surrendered ; and Kennebec
turned her attention to shelling Fort Morgan until that
valiantly-defended southern stronghold surrendered on
the 23d. After repairs at Pensacola, Kennebec sailed for
for the Texas coast 10 March 1865 and remained on block-
ade there until the Confederacy collapsed. Off Galveston
she engaged in one of the last actions of the war. On
24 May blockade runner Denbigh, once described by
Admiral Farragut as “too quick for us,” was found
aground at daylight on Bird Key Spit, near Galveston.
She had attempted to run into the Texas port once again
under cover of darkness. She was destroyed during the
day by gunfire from Cornubia and Princess Royal, and
later boarding parties from Kennebec and Seminole set
her aflame. Prior to the capture of Mobile Bay, Denbigh
had plagued Farragut by running regularly from Mobile
to Havana.
After the war ended, Kennebec remained off the Texas
coast providing stability as Union authority was restored
and keeping an eye on events in Mexico, where French
intervention had violated the Monroe Doctrine. She
headed eastward 6 July, stopped at Pensacola a week, and
reached Hampton Roads on the 23d. Five days later she
sailed North and reached Boston 1 August. Kennebec
decommissioned at Boston Navy Yard 9 August and was
sold at New York 30 November 1865.
II
(AO-36: dp. 21,100; 1. 501 '5" ; b. 68'; dr. 30'2" ; s. 16.5
k. ; cpl. 214 ; a. 1 4”, 2 3”, 2 dcp. ; cl. Kennebec ; T. T2-A)
The second Kennebec (AO-36) was launched as Corsi-
cana 19 April 1941 by Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Corp.,
Sparrows Point, Md. ; sponsored by Mrs. E. Rolfe Brown ;
renamed Kennebec 9 January 1942; acquired by the Navy
from the Maritime Commission 13 January 1942 ; and com-
missioned 4 February 1942, Comdr. S. S. Reynolds in
command.
Kennebec departed 11 February 1942 and joined the
Service Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The fleet oiler
arrived New Orleans 27 February and commenced oil runs
from Gulf ports to depots along the Atlantic coast and
South America. Kennebec was almost constantly at sea,
supplying the fleet from Brazil to Newfoundland with vital
fuel oil, kerosene, diesel oil, and aviation gasoline. She
departed Norfolk 4 May for fueling operations in the
Caribbean, then resumed coastal oil runs throughout the
summer.
Kennebec cleared Hampton Roads, Va., 24 October to
provide logistic support to the American invasion fleet in
the North African campaign. The fleet oiler arrived off
French Morocco 7 November and operated with a carrier
formation near the coast, remaining there until the land-
ings were completed. She sailed for Norfolk 14 Novem-
ber, arriving there 12 days later to continue her coastal
fuel runs. She made another cruise to Casablanca in
January 1943 with a cargo of gasoline for the continuing
operations in North Africa.
Upon her return to Norfolk 14 February, Kennebec re-
sumed fuel runs from Port Arthur, Tex., to various ports
along the Atlantic coast. She continued these operations
for 11 months, including another cruise to Casablanca in
October. On 18 January 1944, she cleared Bayonne, N.J.,
to fuel ships of convoys bound to and from the United
Kingdom. The fleet oiler returned to New York 13 Feb-
ruary and commenced regular runs from Gulf and Atlantic
ports to North Africa and the Caribbean. She made a
total of four cruises to the submarine-infested waters of
the Mediterranean during the year carrying oil and gaso-
line to support the fleet in that area.
Following an overhaul at Norfolk in January 1945, Ken-
nebec cleared Norfolk 5 February for fueling operations in
the West Indies. She sailed 28 March for another cruise
to Oran and after discharging her cargo reported for duty
in the Azores 15 April. The oiler returned Norfolk 28 May
and resumed coastal fuel runs until 20 July when she de-
parted Galveston, Tex., for the Pacific. She arrived in
Japan 9 September via Pearl Harbor and Adak, Alaska,
for duty as a station tanker supporting the occupation
forces in the Far East. She remained there for 10 months
replenishing the fleet in China and Japan with oil from
Bahrein, Saudi Arabia. She cleared Shanghai, China, 8
July 1946 and put into Bremerton, Wash., 29 July for a
much needed overhaul.
From 1947 to 1950 Kennebec was assigned to the Naval
Transport Service, and circled the globe providing fuel to
American ships from oil depots in Saudi Arabia, Aruba,
and Texas. She operated both in the Atlantic and Pacific
during this period, acting as the “lifeline” in the era of
mobile seapower. Following coastal operations between
California and Alaska, the oiler decommissioned at San
Diego 4 September 1950.
Kennebec was recommissioned at Oakland 11 January
1951, Comdr. A. G. Beckman in command. Assigned to
MSTS, she cleared San Pedro 9 March on the first of four
fuel runs to the Hawaiian Islands that year. The oiler
also replenished coastal ports in Washington, Oregon, and
Alaska. For the next 3 years, Kennebec shuttled oil to
Hawaii and Alaska staging areas for the supply runs to
the Korean battle zone. In addition to the increased ac-
tivity in the Pacific because of the Communist aggression
in Korea, Kennebec also made two cruises to the Carib-
bean before decommissioning at San Diego 25 September
1954.
Kennebee (T- AO-36) recommissioned 14 December 1956
at San Diego, Comdr. Naden F. Stimac in command. Fol-
lowing a cruise to Pearl Harbor 1-15 January, the oiler
transited the Panama Canal and arrived Norfolk 10 Feb-
ruary. She made six logistics cruises between Aruba in
the Dutch Antilles to Norfolk before departing Bermuda
11 May for the Mediterranean. After supplying ports in
Spain and Italy, she transited the Suez Canal to pick up
fuel cargo in Arabia. She unloaded her cargo at Japan,
then returned to the Atlantic to participate in the NATO
exercise “Strikebaek” during September. Kennebec re-
turned to New York 12 October and decommissioned 31
October 1957. She was struck from the Navy List 14
January 1959.
As a result of the Berlin crisis, President Kennedy
ordered an augmentation of the military forces. Kenne-
bec was reacquired by the Navy and recommissioned 16
December 1961. She cleared New York 19 January,
picked up cargo at Aruba and arrived at her new home
port San Francisco 15 February. The oiler engaged in
replenishment operations until June when she put into
Hunter’s Point for an extensive overhaul.
The overhaul was completed 5 January 1963, and Ken-
nebec departed San Francisco 25 February 1963 for the
Far East. She arrived Sasebo 1 April and commenced
operations with the 7th Fleet peacekeeping force. The
oilers played an important role of increasing the mobility
of the fleet, a powerful factor helping to prevent crises
from exploding into war. She returned to San Francisco
7 August and operated along the West Coast for the rest
of the year. Kennebec departed San Francisco 21 March
1964 for another Far East deployment to replenish units
of the mighty 7th Fleet. During the summer, the North
Vietnamese Communist Navy decided to test the determi-
nation of the United States by firing on U.S. destroyers
in international waters off the coast of Vietnam. On 4
August, President Johnson ordered the Navy to retaliate
by destroying North Vietnamese naval bases and oil
depots. Kennebec remained in the South China Sea
through August until the crisis eased, and she returned to
San Francisco 21 October.
During ensuing years, Kennebec continued to alternate
operations along the West Coast with Far Eastern deploy-
ment. For example, she returned from the Orient 18 June
1966 after a cruise in which she had fueled many of the
619
USS Kennebec (AO-36) on 4 October 1942
Navy’s ships fighting off Vietnam. Then she operated out
of San Francisco until heading back to the Far East
10 January 1967. She operated out of Subic Bay support-
ing the effort to thwart Communist aggression in south-
east Asia until returning to San Francisco 8 September.
Kennebec received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kennedy
John Pendleton Kennedy was Secretary of the Navy in
1852 and 1853. See John P. Kennedy.
(DD-306 : dp. 1,190 ; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'5" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 95 ; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson )
Kennedy (DD-306) was launched 15 February 1919
by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Eugene F. Essner ; and commissioned
16 August 1920, Lt. Oomdr. C. J. Parrish in command.
Kennedy arrived in San Diego, her homeport, 7 October
1920 and joined the Pacific Fleet in exercises and maneu-
vers along the West Coast from the Pacific Northwest
to South America. Gunnery drills, torpedo practice, plane-
guard duty, fleet problems, and war maneuvers with the
Army kept Kennedy busy at sea, perfecting the techniques
of naval warfare which were to make possible the great
victories of World War II.
During the spring of 1924, the destroyer transited the
Panama Canal for fleet concentrations in the Caribbean.
She returned San Diego 22 April to resume operations
of her homeport. She sailed 13 June 1925 for a fleet
problem and joint exercises off Hawaii. During this
cruise she accompanied the Battle Fleet to Pago Pago,
Samoa, and ports in Australia and New Zealand, return-
ing San Diego 26 September. In 1927 she revisited the
Caribbean for more exercises, this time calling at Norfolk
and New York before returning San Diego 22 May. Ken-
nedy sailed once again 9 April 1928 for large scale maneu-
vers in Hawaiian waters, resuming operations out of San
Diego 2 months later.
After training cruises for reserves during the summer
of 1929, Kennedy arrived San Diego 27 September and
decommissioned there 1 May 1930. Her hulk was sold
19 March 1931 and scrapped in accordance with the terms
of the London Treaty limiting naval armament.
USS Kennedy (DD-306)
620
Kennedy, John F., see John F. Kennedy (CVA-67)
Kennedy, Joseph P., Jr., see Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
(DD-850)
Kennesaw
A town in Cobb County in northwest central Georgia,
22 miles northwest of Atlanta, nearby where Union forces
under General W. T. Sherman defeated Confederate troops
under General Joseph Johnston defending Atlanta in the
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain late in June 1864.
(YTB-255: dp. 415; 1. 110'; b. 27'; dr. 11'4" ; s. 12 k. ;
a. 2.50 cal. mg.)
Kennesaw was laid down as YT-255 ; reclassified
YTB-255 on 15 May 1944 ; and launched 30 September
1944 by William F. Stone & Sons., Oakland, Calif. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. MaTy Ehrhorn ; and assigned to the 11th
Naval District. She operated there as a service craft
until struck from the Navy List ^February 1960.
Kenneth D. Bailey
Kenneth Dillion Bailey, born 21 October 1910 in Pawnee,
Okla., was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the U.S.
Marine Corps 10 July 1935. Assigned to various sea
and shore billets before the outbreak of World War II,
he served with the Marine detachment on board Pennsyl-
vania (BB-38) from 2 June 1938 to 14 July 1940. Trans-
ferred 30 April 1942 to field duty in the Pacific with the
1st Marine Raider Battalion, he was promoted to Major
18 May. During the invasion of Tulagi, Solomon Islands,
7 August, he led a successful assault against an enemy
machine gun nest. Although seriously wounded, he di-
rected the action of his company until forcibly evacuated.
For his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity,” Major
Bailey was awarded the Silver Star.
As commanding officer of Company C, 1st Raider Bat-
talion, he led his men in repulsing a Japanese attack,
which had penetrated American lines during the Battle
of Bloody Ridge, Guadalcanal, 12 to 14 September. De-
spite a severe head wound, he directed his men for more
than 10 hours of fierce hand-to-hand fighting. “His great
personal valor while exposed to constant and merciless
enemy fire, and his indomitable fighting spirit inspired
his troops to heights of heroic endeavor which enabled
them to repulse the enemy and hold Henderson Field.”
Killed 26 September while heading his men in an attack
on the enemy at the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal, Major
Bailey was posthumuously awarded the Medal of Honor
and the Presidential Unit Citation.
The name Kenneth D. Bailey was assigned to DE-552
on 30 November 1943 ; cancelled 10 June 1944 ; and reas-
signed to DD-713 on 8 July 1944.
I
(DD-713: dp. 2,425; 1. 390'6" ; b. 41'1" ; dr. 18'6" ;
s. 35 k. ; cpl. 336 ; a. 6 5'', 16 40 mm., 20 20mm., 5 21" tt.,
6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gearing)
Kenneth D. Bailey (DD-713) was launched 17 June
1945 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny,
N.J. ; sponsored by Elizabeth Speissegger Bailey, widow
of Major Bailey; and commissioned 31 July 1945, Comdr.
G. H. Richards, Jr., in command.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Kenneth D. Bailey
operated in the Atlantic from the New England coast to
the Caribbean. Working out of Newport, R.I., and Nor-
folk, Va.. she served as plane guard during the qualifica-
tion of pilots in carrier operations and trained men for
the crews of new destroyers. From 13 February to 26
March 1947 she cruised along the eastern coast of South
America and returned to Norfolk 31 March.
On 10 November Kenneth D. Bailey departed Norfolk
on the first of many Mediterranean cruises during the
Cold War. While deployed with the mighty 6th Fleet,
she has strengthened American naval power during its
constant vigil to maintain peace, preserve freedom, con-
tain Communist expansion, and keep the Middle East
facing west. From 13 December to 5 January 1948, she
patrolled the coast of Greece to insure Greek independence
despite Communist aggression. While operating in the
Mediterranean from 13 January to 12 May 1949, she sup-
ported the still unsettled truce in Israel and helped to
maintain peace between Italy and Yugoslavia during their
struggle for Trieste. Again, from 3 September 1951 to
4 February 1952, she ranged the Mediterranean from
Spain to Turkey to maintain the freedom of the nations
which rim that ancient sea.
When not deployed with the 6th Fleet, Kenneth D.
Bailey joined operations that carried her from the Carib-
bean and the reaches of the Arctic Ocean to the shores
of Northern and Western Europe. Undertaking a variety
of duties, she trained naval reservists, served as plane
guard and screen during carrier operations, and partici-
pated in cold weather exercises north of the Arctic Circle.
On 2 December 1952 she entered the Boston Naval Ship-
yard for modernization and conversion to a radar picket
destroyer and decommissioned on the 22d.
Redesignated DDR-713, Kenneth D. Bailey recommis-
sioned 29 August 1953, Comdr. W. D. Gaddis in command.
Based at Newport, she operated along the East Coast, then
deployed with the 6th Fleet 19 May 1954. Before return-
ing to Newport 28 September, she participated in joint
NATO operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. She
again deployed to the Mediterranean from 5 November
1955 to 17 March 1956, and in February 1956 she patrolled
the Red Sea along Israeli and Egyptian coasts to express
U.S. concern over the mounting Suez crisis. In April
1957 she cruised the eastern Mediterranean in support
of King Hussein’s pro-Western Jordanian government,
then threatened by Communist subversion. And while
on her next deployment (2 September 1958-28 March
1959), she supported U.S. operations in Lebanon, begun
in July 1958 at the request of Lebanese President Cha-
moun, who feared a Communist coup.
Kenneth D. Bailey shifted her homeport from Newport
to Mayport, Fla., 16 June 1959. After completing de-
stroyer operations in the Atlantic, she entered Charleston
Navy Yard 26 January 1960 for a 9-month FRAM II
overhaul that equipped her with new radar, sonar, and
communication facilities. She returned to Mayport 27
October well prepared to help maintain American security
on the seas. She sailed 14 November for waters off
Guatemala and Nicaragua to establish barrier patrols to
prevent the landing of Cuban supplies and armed forces
during small-scale revolts in those Central American na-
tions. She continued this important duty until 4 Decem-
ber, then returned to Mayport 18 December to prepare
for further service in the Mediterranean.
Departing Mayport 9 February 1961, Kenneth D. Bailey
arrived Gibraltar 18 February to commence 6 months of
Fleet and NATO operations that carried her from the
coast of France to the shores of Greece, Turkey, and
Lebanon. Since that time, she has deployed to the Medi-
terranean four times within 4 years to support the Fleet’s
peace-keeping mission. Returning from her latest deploy-
ment 26 October 1966, this versatile destroyer remained
off Mayport, Fla., until 12 April 1967 when she arrived
at Charleston, S.C., for overhaul, where she remains into f
the fall of 1967.
Kenneth L. McNeal
A former name retained.
( SP-333 : t. 331 ; 1. 160' ; b. 24' ; dr. 12' ; s. 11 k. ; cpl. 24 ;
a. 1 3")
Kenneth L. McNeal, a fishing boat, was built by M. M.
Davis of Solomon’s Island, Md., in 1913 ; sold to the
Government by her owner, McNeal Dodson Co., Inc., of
621
Readville, Va., 31 May 1917 ; delivered to the Navy 14
June at Norfolk; and commissioned 10 August, Lt. (j.g.)
C. B. Byrne in command.
Fitting out as a minesweeper, Kenneth L. McNeal de-
parted Norfolk 17 August for Boston. On the 26th she
sailed from Boston for Brest, France, where she arrived
9 September and commenced minesweeping patrols and
coastal escorts along the Brittany coast from Vannes to
St. Brieuc. Damaged while operating out of Brest on
patrol in February 1919, she was offered for sale 11 May.
Kenneth L. McNeal decommissioned at Brest 8 September
and was sold to Union d’Entreprisen Marocaine of Casa-
blanca, French Morocco.
Kenneth M. Willett
Kenneth Martin Willett, born 9 April 1919 in Overland,
Mo., enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an apprentice sea-
man 9 July 1940. Appointed to the Naval Reserve Mid-
shipmen’s School 9 August, he was commissioned Ensign
14 November and assigned to California (BB-44), where
he served until 24 November 1941. He then reported to
the 12th Naval District for duty at the Armed Guard
Center, San Francisco, 22 January 1942. While serving
as commanding officer of the Naval Armed Guard on
board freighter SS Stephen Hopkins, he was promoted to
Lieutenant (j.g.) 15 June.
While en route from Capetown, South Africa, to
Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, Stephen Hopkins was at-
tacked 27 September by two enemy surface raiders.
Though seriously wounded by one of the first enemy shells,
Lt. Willett courageously manned the 4-inch gun and fired
shell after shell into the nearer, more heavily armed
raider. Inflicting heavy damage on both enemy ships, his
accurate fire eventually sank one of them. Even after an
exploding magazine silenced his gun, Lt. Willett refused
to give up his struggle for both ship and crew. When
last seen, although weakened and suffering, he was help-
ing to launch life rafts from the flaming freighter in a
desperate effort to save lives. For his “great personal
valor and gallant spirit of self-sacrifice,” Lt. Willett was
posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
( DE-354 : dp. 1,350 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5”, 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 9 dcp.,
2 dct. ; cl. John C. Butler)
Kenneth M. Willett (DE-354) was launched 7 March
1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. D. C. Willett, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Willett;
and commissioned 19 July 1944 at Orange, Lt. Comdr. J.
M. Stuart in command.
After shakedown and training off Bermuda, Kenneth M.
Willett served as a training ship in the Chesapeake Bay
from 1 to 20 October. Joining CortDiv 82, she departed
Norfolk 21 October for duty in the Pacific with the 7th
Fleet. Steaming via the Panama Canal, the Galapagos
Islands, and the New Hebrides, she reached Hollandia,
New Guinea, 28 November.
Assigned to convoy escort duty between Humboldt Bay,
New Guinea, and Leyte Gulf, Philippines, Kenneth M.
Willett made seven trips from 13 December 1944 to 25
February 1945. On 1 January 1945, while she screened a
convoy to Hollandia, Kenneth M. Willett’s guns brought
down an attacking enemy torpedoplane close aboard one
of the merchant ships.
Upon arriving Leyte Gulf 25 February, the destroyer
escort was assigned to patrol and ASW duty. Steaming
to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, 6 March, she made hunter-
killer patrols off Mindoro and Luzon, then returned to
Leyte Gulf 4 June for escort duty between Leyte and
Ulithi, Western Carolines. After two runs to Ulithi, she
resumed patrol duty off Mindoro 2 July ; and on the
10th she returned to Leyte for a convoy escort run to
Okinawa.
Departing 17 July with a convoy of LCI’s and LST’s,
Kenneth M. Willett steamed via Casiguran Bay, Luzon,
for the Ryukyus. After safely passing through a typhoon
30 to 31 July, the convoy reached Okinawa 7 August.
Kenneth M. Willett departed the next day for Leyte.
During the next 16 weeks she made convoy runs out of
Leyte and Manila to Ulithi, Tokyo, and Shanghai. And
from 29 December to 29 January 1946 she operated out
of Guiuan Roadstead, Samar, on intermittent weather
patrols east of Leyte Gulf.
Steaming to Manila 10 February, Kenneth M. Willett
cleared the bay 15 February for patrol duty along the
Chinese coast. She arrived Tsingtao 20 February with
five other destroyer escorts and commenced operations
from the Yellow Sea to Shanghai in support of Chinese
Nationalists’ efforts to wrest control of the northern
Chinese Mainland from the Communists. Following ASW
operations in the North Yellow Sea 1 to 5 April, she
departed Tsingtao 15 April en route to the United States.
Steaming via Guam, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor, she
arrived San Pedro 11 May. She decommissioned 24 Oc-
tober and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego
10 November.
During the Korean War Kenneth M. Willett recom-
missioned 25 May 1951 at San Diego, Lt. Comdr. E. N.
Weatherly in command. *>After shakedown along the Cali-
fornia coast, she departed San Diego 4 September and
steamed via the Panama Canal en route to New Orleans,
where she arrived 18 September for duty as a Naval
Reserve training ship. Assigned to the 8th Naval Dis-
trict, she departed 5 November on a Naval Reserve cruise
to San Juan, P.R. From then until 16 October 1958 she
made 63 training cruises that carried her from New
Orleans to South America, Canada, the eastern seaboard
of the United States, and throughout the Caribbean. Dur-
ing this time she rendered vitally important service, mak-
ing certain that men of the Naval Reserve remained quali-
fied to serve on a moment’s notice to guard the nation’s
security on the high seas.
Upon her arrival from Havana, Cuba, 16 October 1958
Kenneth M. Willett completed her final training cruise.
She departed New Orleans 30 November, arriving Orange,
Tex., the following day. She then operated out of Orange
until decommissioning 26 February 1959. Assigned to the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet, she at present is berthed at Phila-
delphia.
Kenneth Whiting
Kenneth Whiting, born at Stockbridge, Mass., 22 July
1881, was appointed Naval Cadet 7 September 1900. He
was commissioned Ensign 25 February 1908 after attend-
ing the Naval Academy and serving the required sea duty.
Whiting then became qualified in submarines, subse-
quently commanding Porpoise, Shark, Tarpon, and Seal.
In 1914 his interest turned to aviation. After learning
to fly under Orville Wright, he was designated Naval
Aviator 16. As a true pioneer of naval aviation, he as-
sumed command of the 1st Naval Air Unit in France fol-
lowing America’s entry into World War I. Lt. Comdr.
Whiting was then assigned to command Naval Air Sta-
tions 14 and 15 at Killingholme, England. For this serv-
ice he was awarded the Navy Cross “for exceptionally
meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility.”
After the war his interest in and support of aviation
was partially responsible for the conversion of collier
Jupiter into the Navy’s first aircraft carrier Langley. He
continued active participation in naval aviation, com-
manding Langley and Saratoga, and various air squad-
rons prior to his retirement as Captain 30 June 1940.
He was then retained on active duty as General Inspector
of Naval Aircraft, Eastern Division until 1943. Captain
Whiting was assigned command of the Naval Air Station,
New York, 19 February ; and held this post until his death
24 April 1943.
(AY-14: dp. 8,510; 1. 492'; b. 69'6" ; dr. 26'; s. 18.7 k. ;
cpl. 1,077 ; a. 2 5", 12 40mm., 16 20mm. ; cl. Whiting ; T.
C3)
Kenneth Whiting (AV-14) was launched 15 December
1943 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co., Seattle, Wash. ;
622
sponsored by Mrs. Kenneth Whiting, widow of Captain
Whiting ; and commissioned 8 May 1944, Comdr. R. R.
Lyons in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Kenneth Whit-
ing cleared San Diego 21 July 1944 and arrived Saipan 14
August for operations in the Marianas. Her PB2Y squad-
ron made reconnaissance flights which provided valuable
data necessary to the success of the Allied operations.
At Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, Kenneth Whiting used a
former Japanese seaplane ramp to augment the mainte-
nance facilities and increase the availability of planes.
She sailed for Kossol Passage 20 November, relieving ten
der Pocomoke there 3 days later. She remained in the
Palau Islands until 5 February 1945.
Arriving Ulithi 6 February, Kenneth Whiting resumed
tending seaplanes. On 11 March while she was still off
Ulithi, two enemy suicide planes attacked the base. One
crashed into Sorlen Island ; but the second dove into
Randolph (CV-15). The seaplane tender cleared Ulithi
2 April ; received provisions and supplies at Guam and
Saipan ; then steamed to Okinawa, arriving 25 April and
immediately commencing combat and search operations.
On 11 May her lookout sighted a group of 29 Koreans
waving a white flag on the beach of Gerum Shima. An
armed boat party from the tender took them into custody
for transfer to the POW camp on Zamami Shima. While
at Okinawa Kenneth Whiting operated as fleet post office
and a housing center for aircraft survivors.
At 1830, 21 June, 5 hours after Major General Geiger
had declared Okinawa secured, a small group of kami-
kazes penetrated Kerama Retto. Kenneth Whiting
knocked down an “Oscar” but part of the plane hit her,
causing minor damage and wounding five men. However,
she continued operations out of Okinawa for the rest of
the war. During July her planes flew armed recon-
naissance along the coasts of Japan, Korea, and China
locating targets for 3d Fleet raids.
Kenneth Whiting departed Okinawa 19 September and
anchored at Sasebo 2 days later. The tender was then
assigned to China duty, arriving Hong Kong 14 October.
Her VPB squadron commenced patrol courier service, and
continued this until she was relieved 28 November. She
arrived San Francisco 22 December with 572 Navy officers
scheduled for release. With the close of the war and the
emergence of the Atomic Age, Kenneth Whiting cleared
San Diego 6 May 1946 to operate with support forces dur-
ing Atomic tests at Bikini. She returned to San Diego
30 August ; transferred to San Pedro 30 October ; and
decommissioned there 29 May 1947.
Kenneth Whiting recommissioned at San Diego 24
October 1951, and sailed for Far Eastern duty 13 March
1952. She arrived Yokosuka, Japan, 29 March to assist
U.S. naval forces in resisting Communist aggression in
Korea. The seaplane tender operated out of Iwakuni un-
til 16 October when she sailed for the United States.
Following overhaul at Bremerton, Wash., and coastal
operations out of San Diego, Kenneth Whiting sailed 2
March 1953 for another Westpac deployment, supporting
seaplane activities out of Japan in the final months of
the Korean conflict.
After the war, Kenneth Whiting made annual deploy-
ments to the Far East in support of the 7th Fleet activi-
ties. During the summer of 1955, she operated in the
Formosa-Pescadores area in the wake of repeated Com-
munist harassment on Chinese Nationalist-held islands.
On 29 March 1957 she arrived at her new home port
Crescent Harbor, Wash., but sailed for another Far East-
ern tour 12 August. She continued operations with the
7th Fleet until 31 January 1958 when she cleared Subic
Bay, P.I., and returned Crescent Harbor, Wash., 10
March. Kenneth Whiting decommissioned at Puget
Sound 30 September, and was struck from the Navy List
1 July 1961, and sold 21 February 1962 to Union Minerals
& Alloy Corp.
Kenneth Whiting received two battle stars for World
War II.
Kennison
William W. Kennison, born 28 February 1828 in Massa-
chusetts, was appointed Acting Master’s Mate 28 August
1861. Durig the Civil War he was promoted to Volunteer
Lieutenant for gallant conduct in action between the CSS
Mcrrimac and the USS Cumberland 7 March 1862. Fol-
lowing the war, he was honorably discharged 4 May 1866,
but was reappointed Acting Master 20 August 1866. His
final muster out date was 16 November 1868.
( DD-138 : dp. 1,154; 1. 314'5” ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 9' ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 113 ; a. 4 4", 2 3-pdrs., 1 1-pdr., 12 21” tt. ; cl. Wickes)
Kennison (DD-138) was launched 8 June 1918 by the
Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif. ; sponsored by
Miss Elizabeth Riner ; and commissioned 2 April 1919,
Comdr. R. P. Enrich in command.
Following completion, shakedown, and acceptance trials,
Kennison arrived San Diego, her home port, 25 March
1920. During the summer she engaged in experimental
torpedo and antiaircraft exercises. The destroyer con-
tinued coastal operations and tactical exercises until 12
August 1921 when she put into San Diego with 50 percent
complement. She decommissioned at San Diego 22 June
1922.
Recommissioned 18 December 1939, Lt. W. G. Michelet
in command, Kennison joined the Neutrality Patrol out of
San Diego 6 May 1940. From June to September she en-
gaged in reserve training cruises before rejoining the
Neutrality Patrol 14 October. The destroyer continued
patrol operations along the West Coast until the United
States entered World AVar II. As the war effort in-
creased in early 1942, Kennison intensified her ASW op-
erations including escort of convoys and submarines to
various California ports until 22 September 1944 when
she sailed for Bremerton to undergo conversion.
Redesignated AG-83, Kennison returned to San Diego
9 November 1944 to resume service. For the rest of the
war she operated out of San Diego as a target ship for
plane exercises with aerial torpedoes. These exercises,
provided invaluable training to Navy pilots preparing for
combat. Following the war Kennison sailed for the East
Coast, arriving Norfolk late October. She decommis-
sioned 21 November 1945 at Portsmouth, Va. She was
sold 18 November 1946 to Luria Bros. & jCo., Inc., Phila-
delphia, Pa., and scrapped.
Kenosha
A county in Wisconsin.
Kenosha (SeStr) was renamed Plymouth ( q.v .) on
15 May 1869.
( AK-190 : dp. 7.450; 1. 338'7” ; b. 50' ; dr. 21'1” ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3”, 6 20mm. ; cl. Alamosa)
Kenosha (AK-190) was launched 25 August 1944 by
Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wis., under a
Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Miss Marion
Crowley ; acquired by the Navy 1 August 1945 ; and com-
missioned 7 September 1945, Lt. S. Bernsen in command.
After shakedown out of Galveston, Tex., Kenosha ar-
rived Gulfport, Miss., 19 October to load cargo for the
Marianas. The cargo ship departed Gulfport 25 Novem-
ber, cleared the Panama Canal, and arrived Guam via
Pearl Harbor 10 January 1946. Upon discharging her
cargo, she loaded cargo for the Marines and sailed for the
East Coast, arriving Lynnhaven Roads, Va., 7 March. On
3 April Kenosha arrived Baltimore and decommissioned
there 16 April 1946. She was returned to a Norwegian
shipping firm in 1947, and renamed Rio Dale. She was
renamed Torian in 1959.
Kensington
Former names retained.
623
I
Kent
(Ship: t. 357; dr. 15' ; a. none)
The first Kensington was a wooden, ship-rigged vessel
purchased by the Navy at New Bedford, Mass., 28 October
1861 for service in the “Stone Fleet.” She departed New
Bedford 20 November and arrived Port Royal, S.C., by 17
December. She was presumably sunk in the main channel
leading into Charleston Harbor 21 December.
II
( ScStr : t. 1,053; 1. 195'; b. 31'10" ; dr. 18'; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
72; a. 2 32-pdrs., 1 30-pdr. P.r.)
The second Kensington was built at Philadelphia by
J. W. Lynn in 1858 and was purchased by the Navy at
Boston 27 January 1862. She commissioned at Boston
Navy Yard 15 February, Acting Master Frederick Crocker
in command.
The wooden steamer departed Boston 24 February for
the Gulf of Mexico, but heavy winds, rough seas, and
engine trouble required her to stop at Charleston for re-
pairs. While at Charleston she was of great service to
ships of the North Atlantic Squadron furnishing them
with fresh water. The supply and water vessel resumed
her voyage in April and joined the West Gulf Blockading
Squadron at New Orleans 4 May. After bringing water
and supplies to Flag Officer Farragut’s ships blockading
the Gulf Coast, Kensington was ordered to ascend the
Mississippi towing Horace Beals and Sarah Bruen, both of
Comdr. David D. Porter’s Mortar Flotilla. While passing
Ellis Cliffs, Miss., the three ships came under fire of Con-
federate batteries. Their answering salvos silenced the
Southern guns enabling the Union force to continue pas-
sage to Vicksburg. After placing her charges in position
to bombard the cliffside batteries which defended Vicks-
burg, Kensington remained with Porter’s flotilla issuing
water and supplies and from time to time assisting sailing
ships to change positions.
After dropping down the river in mid-July, the water
and supply ship visited blockaders stationed along the
Louisiana and Texas coast. She joined Rachel Seaman
and Henry James in bombarding Confederate batteries at
Sabine Pass, Tex., 24 and 25 September. The action was
broken off when defending troops spiked their guns and
evacuated the fort. Though Sabine Pass surrendered the
next day, a shortage of troops prevented the Navy from
occupying the area. Nevertheless, this operation and
similar attacks were a constant drain on Southern
strength, and compelled the Confederacy to disperse its
forces widely.
During operations along western Gulf coast in Septem-
ber and October, Kensington captured British blockade
running schooners Velocity. Adventure, Dart, and West
Florida. She also took Confederate schooners Conchita,
Dart, and Mary Ann; sloop Eliza; and steamer Dan.
Kensington began her voyage to Pensacola with her
prizes 13 October, delivering water en route to blockading
ships stationed along the coast of Texas. Arriving Pensa-
cola 24 October, the fighting supply ship began operating
from that base, capturing Confederate schooner Course
11 November and British schooner Maria the next day.
Kensington moved to New Orleans 26 January 1863 and
5 months later set sail for New York for long needed re-
pairs. Back in fighting trim 1 August 1864, Kensington
functioned as a supply vessel for ships of the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron until 30 November. 'She
sailed from Boston as a transport vessel 7 December visit-
ing Port Royal, Key West, Mobile, Pensacola, and New
Orleans. After returning to New York 11 January 1865,
Kensington made two similar voyages to Southern ports
before decommissioning 5 May 1865. She was sold at
public auction at New York to Brown & Co. 12 July 1865
and redocumented 31 July.
Kensington sank after colliding with an unknown sail-
ing vessel at sea 27 January 1871.
A former name retained.
( AP-28 : dp. 5,341 ; 1. 373'6'' ; b. 51'6" ; dr. 22'8" ; s. 12 k. ;
trp. 751 ; a. 4 3", 8 .50 cal. mg.)
Kent (AP-28) was launched as Santa Teresa in No-
vember 1918 by William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine
Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa., for her owner, Grace Lines
of New York. She operated as a passenger ship between
California and the west coast of South America until sold
in 1936 to Merchants & Miners Transportation Co., Balti-
more, Md. Renamed Kent, she made passenger runs along
the Atlantic Coast. In April 1941 she was purchased by
the Army, renamed Ernest Hinds, and converted to a
troop transport. She was transferred to the Navy 21 July
under her previous name of Kent at New York 22 July,
Comdr. E. J. Kidder in command.
Departing New York Kent sailed 16 August, for Panama
and arrived 23 August with military passengers and cargo.
Six days later she cleared Coco Solo, C.Z., for New York
and arrived 5 September. At New York when the Japa-
nese attacked Pearl Harbor, Kent resumed transport duty
along the Atlantic coast 22 December. Before returning
New York 11 February 1942, she visited Charleston, Ber-
muda, and New Orleans. She was decommissioned at
New York 24 March ; turned over to the Army ; and struck
from the Navy List 8 May 1943. She resumed service with
the Army Transport Service as Ernest Hinds. Arriving
San Francisco from New York in May 1942, she carried
troops and supplies throughout the Pacific and sailed to
bases in Alaska, Hawaii, the Solomons, the New Hebrides,
New Caledonia, and Australia. Returning to San Fran-
cisco in September 1943, Ernest Hinds was converted to a
hospital ship.
Departing San Francisco in June 1944, the hospital ship
steamed to Charleston to begin service between the East
Coast and Europe. Ernest Hinds returned to New York
in September 1945; reconverted to a transport ; and trans-
ferred to the WSA to transport Jamaican laborers be-
tween the West Indies and Florida. Transferred to the
U.S. Public Health Service in April 1946, she then served
as a floating isolation ward at Jacksonville, Fla. Subse-
quently, she was returned to the Maritime Commission and
entered the Jame9 River Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped
in 1957.
Kent County
Counties in Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Rhode
Island, and Texas.
( LST-855 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 266 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-5^2)
LST-855 was laid down by the Chicago Bridge & Iron
Co., Seneca, 111., 6 September 1944; launched 27 November ;
sponsored by Mrs. Jean Henning Hoerner ; and commis-
sioned 21 December, Lt. (j.g. ) Thomas P. Kierl in
command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-855 loaded cargo and
departed New Orleans 25 January 1945. Steaming via
the Panama Canal and San Diego, she reached Pearl
Harbor 28 February. Following repairs and training in
Hawaii she sailed 7 April for the Western Pacific. During
the remaining months of World War II, she shuttled sup-
plies and equipment among the Marianas, Philippines, and
Okinawa staging areas for a possible invasion of Japan.
The enemy’s acceptance of Allied peace terms precluded
an invasion ; and the landing ship then operated between
the Philippines and Japan, transporting occupation forces
until mid-November.
On 20 November LST-855 departed Guam with over 300
U.S. -bound Pacific veterans on board, arriving San Fran-
cisco the following month.
Returning to the Far East seven months later, she ar-
rived Taku, China, 16 July 1946 to support U.S. forces in
the area. She made cargo runs among Chinese ports, and
served in this capacity until 1949. After the Communist
624
takeover of mainland China, L8T-855 returned to the
United States, arriving San Diego 29 July 1949. Operat-
ing along the West Coast, the veteran landing ship sailed
to Alaska in early September for cargo operations in the
North Pacific. She returned Seattle 15 November and
decommissioned at Bremerton 15 February 1950.
When Communist aggression in Korea threatened the
peace and stability of Asia, the United States acted to
halt the advance. To aid in the movement of men and
equipment, LST-855 recommissioned 3 November, Lt. L. J.
Parsons in command. After training off the West Coast,
she departed Long Beach 26 March 1951 for duty in the
Western Pacific. Arriving Pusan, Korea, 23 May she
unloaded cargo for the war effort, then sailed for Yoko-
hama, Japan. For the next 4 months she continued
cargo operations out of Japan, before making another
cargo run to Korea in mid-October. Two months later
she embarked North Korean refugees at Paengyang Do
and transferred them to Makpo ; and in late December
she transported troops and vehicles of the 27th Infantry
Regiment combat team from Inchon to Koje Do. LST-
855 departed Yokosuka, Japan, 25 February 1952 for a
stateside overhaul.
She was back in the Far East 2 November, and resumed
cargo operations out of Japan and Korea. For the re-
mainder of the Korean conflict, she shuttled between
Korean and Japanese ports as a logistic support ship.
Following the July 1953 armistice which ended the fight-
ing, LST-855 continued cargo runs, operated as a station
ship, and transported prisoners of war for repatriation.
Returning San Diego 25 September, she operated off the
West Coast for the rest of 1953.
The landing ship sailed for another Far East tour 28
May 1954, arriving Yokosuka 1 month later. While op-
erating with 7th fleet units from August to October,
she participated in the “Passage to Freedom” Operation.
She carried refugees, troops and supplies from Northern
Indo China and transported them to the South, where
they would establish a free form of government.
LST-855 continued operating in the Far East ; and on
6 February 1955 she was en route to the Tachen Islands
to evacuate Nationalist Chinese troops to Formosa when
their positions could no longer be defended. Loading
300 troops and vehicles, she departed Tachen Islands 10
February ; and, after off-loading at Keelung, Formosa,
she resumed duties out of Japan.
Returning San Diego 20 April, LST-855 performed am-
phibious exercises off the West Coast for the remainder
of the year. She was named Kent County 15 July 1955.
Kent County made her final WestPac cruise in August
1956, engaging in amphibious exercises with 7th Fleet
units, then returning to the United States 14 May 1957.
She performed amphibious exercises off the West Coast
and Hawaii until she decommissioned 22 January 1958.
Kent County was used as a target and destroyed 19
March 1958.
LST-855 received six battle stars for the Korean
conflict.
Kent Island
An island in the Chesapeake Bay, Md., where a trading
post was established in 1631 by William Claiborne.
(AG-78: dp. 5,766- 1. 441 '6" ; b. 56'11'' ; dr. 23'; s. 12.5
k. ; cpl. 883 ; a. 1 5", 12 20mm. ; cl. Belle Isle)
Kent Island (AG-78) was launched 9 January 1945
by New England Shipbuilding Corp., South Portland,
Maine, under a Maritime Commission contract ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Nan Hatch ; transferred to the Navy 19
January 1945 ; commissioned the same day, ferried to
Todd Shipbuilding Co., Hoboken, N.J. ; decommissioned
23 January 1945 for conversion to a barracks and issue
ship ; and recommissioned 1 August 1945, Comdr. W. C.
Ball, USNR, in command.
After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Kent Island
cleared Norfolk 31 August for duty with the Service
Force of the Pacific Fleet. She arrived Pearl Harbor 9
October via San Diego to commence operations in Ha-
waiian waters. She sailed for Okinawa 17 October to
receive Navy veterans for transportation to the United
States, and returned San Francisco 30 November. Kent
Island cleared San Francisco 3 January 1946, transited
the Panama Canal, and arrived Hampton Roads 26 Jan-
uary. Following upkeep, she put into Orange, Tex., 15
March where she was placed out of commission in reserve
22 June 1946. She was redesignated AKS-26 on 18 Au-
gust 1951 and struck from the Navy List 1 April 1960.
Kent Island was sold to Southern Scrap Material Co.
2 November 1960 to be scrapped.
Kenton
A county in Kentucky.
( APA-122 : dp. 6,873; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 536; a. 1 5", 12 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl. Haskell; T.
VC2-S-AP5)
Kenton (APA-122) was launched 21 August 1944 by
the California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., un-
der a Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs.
Paul A. Everett; acquired by the Navy 31 October on a
loan charter basis ; and commissioned 1 November at San
Pedro, Captain V. B. Tate in command.
Following shakedown along the California coast, Kenton
departed Seattle 27 December carrying some 1,500 Army
troops to Pearl Harbor, arriving 4 January 1945. After
amphibious training maneuvers to prepare for operations
in the western Pacific, she cleared Pearl Harbor 18 Feb-
ruary with troops and equipment for the Philippines on
board and arrived Leyte Gulf via Eniwetok and the Palaus
10 March.
After landing rehearsals, Kenton departed Leyte 27
March to participate in the Okinawa invasion. She
reached Kerama Retto 1 April, unloaded Seabee construc-
tion equipment, and proceeded 3 April to Hagushi Beach,
Okinawa, to discharge troops and cargo. During an air
attack 6 April, Kenton’s guns claimed two of the seven
enemy planes that were shot down. She completed un-
loading 9 April, embarked 95 battle casualties, and sailed
10 April for Guam, arriving the 14th. She sailed 16
April on a cargo run to the Philippines, then proceeded
to Ulithi, Western Carolines, 29 April to embark casual-
ties for passage to the United States. Returning to
Guam 24 May, she embarked additional casualties and
proceeded the next day en route to San Francisco, where
she arrived 12 June.
Kenton departed San Francisco 6 July with troop re-
placements for the Philippines. She reached Tacloban,
Leyte, 29 July ; cleared Leyte Gulf 1 August ; and re-
turned to Seattle 19 August. Embarking occupation
troons for Japan she sailed 29 August, via the Philippines
to Yokohama, arriving 24 September. As a unit of the
“Magic-Carpet” fleet, she took on board 1,527 homebound
troops; departed 29 September; and arrived San Fran-
cisco 10 October.
After two additional “Magic-Carpet” cruises to the
western Pacific between 28 October and 26 January 1946,
Kenton departed Portland, Oreg., 28 January for the East
Coast. Sailing via San Francisco and the Panama Canal,
she arrived Newport News 16 February, decommissioned
at Portsmouth, Va., 28 March and transferred to the Mari-
time Commission the next day. Her name was struck
from the Navy List 12 April. Kenton was placed in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet and in 1967 was berthed
in James River, Va.
Kenton received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kentuckian
A former name retained.
( S P-1544 : dp. 6,582 ; 1. 414'6" ; b. 53'8”)
625
Kentuckian was built in 1910 by Maryland Steel Co.,
Sparrows Point, Md. ; acquired by the Navy 16 December
1918; and commissioned 28 January 1919, Lt. Comdr.
Carrol E. Higgins, NAR, in command.
Kentuckian was assigned to transport duty as thousands
of American World War I veterans were awaiting return
to the United States. She cleared New York on her first
cruise 2 March 1919, picked up nearly 2,000 troops at St.
Nazaire, France, and returned New York 1 April. The
transport made a total of five cruises from New York to
France, unloading general cargo at France and returning
with troops. Kentuckian arrived Norfolk 31 August from
her final cruise, decommissioned 15 September 1919, and
returned to her owners the same day.
During World War II, Kentuckian operated with a
naval armed guard on convoy runs between the East Coast
and the Mediterranean. She won a battle star for her
service in convoy HX-233 during April 1943. She was
subsequently scuttled as a blockship at the Normandy
beachhead.
Kentucky
Kentucky was admitted to the Union 1 June 1792 as the
15th state.
The Mississippi Flotilla captured Confederate trans-
port Kentucky (q.v.) at Memphis 6 June 1862. The Navy
Register for 1863 listed her as assigned to the Mississippi
Squadron but no other record of her service in the Union
Navy has been found.
(BB-6 : dp. 11,520; 1. 375'4" ; 72'2y2" ; s. 16.9 k. ; cpl. 554;
a. 4 13”, 4 8”, 14 5”, 20 6-pdrs., 8 1-pdrs., 4 .30 mg., 4 18”
tt. ; cl. Kcarsarge)
Kentucky (BB-6) was launched 24 March 1898 by New-
port News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News,
Va. ; sponsored by Miss Christine Bradley, daughter of
Governor William Bradley of Kentucky ; and commis-
sioned 15 May 1900, Captain Colby M. Chester in
command.
After fitting out in New York Navy Yard during the
sunimer, Kentucky sailed 25 October 1900 for the Far
East via Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. She joined the
other American ships on the Asiatic Station at Manila 3
February 1901 and 6 days later sailed for Hong Kong,
where she became flagship of the Southern Squadron un-
der Rear Admiral Louis Kempff 23 March. Throughout
the following year the battleship led her squadron as it
watched over American interest in the Far East, visiting
principal ports of China and Japan including Chefoo,
Taku, Nanking, Woosung, Hong Kong, Amoy, Nagasaki,
Kobe, and Yokohama.
Rear Admiral Frank F. Wildes also selected Kentucky
as his flagship upon relieving Admiral Kempff 1 March
1902, but he transferred his flag to Rainboiv 7 April.
Rear Admiral Robely D. Evans, Commander in Chief,
Asiatic Fleet, chose Kentucky as his flagship at Yokohama
4 November; and he continued to direct American naval
operations in the Far East from her until she sailed from
Manila for home 13 March 1904. After retracing her
steps through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar,
she arrived New York 23 May.
Upon completing overhaul in New York Navy Yard 26
October, Kentucky devoted the following year for tactics
and maneuvers off the Atlantic coast with the North At-
lantic Fleet. The battleship joined the welcome of the
British Squadron at Annapolis and New York in the fall
of 1905 and then cruised along the eastern seaboard until
23 September 1906. On that day off Provincetown, she
embarked marines from Maine, Missouri and Kearsargc
and landed them at Havana 1 October to protect American
lives and property during the Cuban Insurrection. She
stood by to support forces ashore until 9 October before
resuming battle practice and tactics in the North Atlantic.
Kentucky visited Norfolk 15 April 1907 to attend the
Jamestown Exposition ; and, after more exercises off the
New England coast, she returned to Hampton Roads to
join the “Great White Fleet” of 16 battleships for a world
cruise that brought great prestige and honor to the Navy
and the Nation. Rear Admiral Evans, Kentucky's former
Flag Officer, commanded the fleet as it circumnavigated
the globe receiving warm and enthusiastic welcomes at
each port of call. As the famous voyage got underway
from Hampton Roads 16 December, Kentucky passed in
review before President Roosevelt as a unit in the 2d
Squadron. After calling at Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro,
the warships passed in open order through the Straits of
USS Kentuckian, a transport of World War I
626
Magellan to visit Punta Arenas and Valparaiso, Chile. A
stop at Callao Bay, Peru, was followed by a month of
target practice out of Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The fleet
reached San Diego 14 April 1908 and moved on to San
Francisco 7 May. Exactly 2 months later the spotless
warships sortied through the Golden Gate and sailed for
Honolulu. From Hawaii they set course for Aukland,
New Zealand, arriving 9 August. The fleet made Sydney
20 August and, after a week of warm and cordial hospi-
tality, sailed for Melbourne.
Kentucky departed Albany, Australia, 10 September for
ports in the Philippine Islands, Japan, China, and Ceylon
before transiting the Suez Canal. She departed Port Said
8 January 1909 to visit Tripoli and Algiers with the 4th
Division before reforming with the fleet at Gibraltar.
Underway for home 6 February, she again passed in re-
view before President Roosevelt upon entering Hampton
Roads 22 February, ending a widely-acclaimed voyage of
good will in which she and her sister ships subtly but ef-
fectively demonstrated American strength to the world.
After local operations and repairs at Philadelphia Navy
Yard, Kentucky decommissioned at Norfolk 28 August
1909. She recommissioned in the 2d Reserve 4 June
1912 but, save for a run to New York, did not operate at
sea before being placed in ordinary in Philadelphia Navy
Yard 31 May 1913.
The veteran battleship recommissioned at Philadelphia
23 June 1915 and sailed 3 July to train New York militia
in a cruise from Long Island to ports in New England
and Chesapeake Bay. She debarked the militia at New
York and sailed to Portland to embark Maine militia for
a training cruise. Returning to Philadelphia 31 August,
she sailed 11 September for the coast of Mexico to watch
over American interests during the unrest caused by the
Mexican Revolution. She reached Vera Cruz 28 Septem-
ber 1915; and, but for a visit to New Orleans for Mardi
Gras in March 1916, she remained on patrol off the Mex-
ican coast until 2 June 1916.
The battleship called at Guantanamo Bay and Santa
Domingo en route home to Philadelphia, where she ar-
rived 18 June. Following maneuvers and tactics ranging
north to Newport during the summer, Kentucky arrived
New York 2 October and remained in the North River
until the end of the year. She entered New York Naval
Shipyard for repairs 1 January 1917 and was still there
when the United States entered World War I. She ar-
USS Kentucky (BB-6) was one of the ships Admiral Husband E. Kimmel served in between graduation from the Naval
Academy and receipt of his commission as an Ensign in 1906.
627
rived Yorktown, Va., 2 May for duty as a training ship
and trained recruits on cruises in Chesapeake Bay and
along the Atlantic coast as far north as Long Island
Sound. When the Armistice was signed 11 November
1918, she was training her 15th group of recruits, having
already trained several thousand men for service in ships
of the war-expanded Navy.
Kentucky entered Boston Navy Yard 20 December for
overhaul. She sailed 18 March 1919 for refresher train-
ing out of Guantanamo Bay and then participated in
fleet maneuvers and exercises ranging north from Norfolk
to the New England coast. She arrived Annapolis 29
May to embark midshipmen and got underway 9 June for
a summer practice cruise that took her to Cuba, the
Virgin Islands, Panama, New York, Boston, and Province-
town. She returned Annapolis 27 August to debark her
midshipmen and entered Philadelphia Navy Yard 30 Aug-
ust. She remained there until decommissioning 29 May
1920. Kentucky was sold to Dravo Construction Co.,
Pittsburgh, Pa., for scrapping 23 January 1924 in com-
pliance with U.S. commitments under the Washington
Treaty which limited naval armaments.
The keel of Kentucky (BB-66), an /otca-elass battle-
ship, was laid at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., 6
December 1944.
Construction was suspended 17 February 1947 when
the battleship was 72.1 percent complete. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 9 June 1958 ; and her uncom-
pleted hulk was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Co.,
Baltimore, Md., 31 October.
Kenvcood
The first Kenwood retained her former name ; the sec-
ond was named for the first.
I
( StwStr : t. 232; dr. 5'6" ; s. 7 k., a. 2 32-pdrs„ 4 24-pdrs.
how.)
The first Kenwood , a stem wheel steamer was launched
3 April 1863, by H. A. Jones at Cincinnati, Ohio ; pur-
chased for the Navy by Rear Admiral D. D. Porter and
commissioned at Cairo, 111., 24 May 1863, Acting Master
John Swaney in command.
Kenwood joined the Mississippi squadron, 1 June 1863,
and operated on the Arkansas River in the vicinity of
Fort Pillow. Following brief river convoy duty, Kenwood
participated in the joint Army-Navy expedition which cap-
tured Yazoo City, 13 July 1863. Kenwood was sent to the
Port Hudson Division, 19 August 1863 and served as a
convoy and patrol gunboat at Baton Rouge, La., until 10
February 1865, when she was ordered to the 4th River
District at Natchez. After helping to neutralize Rebel
forces west of the Mississippi, Kenwood was sent 28 May
1865 to New Orleans as a transport for officers. Follow-
ing this duty, she steamed to Mound City, 111., and decom-
missioned 7 August 1865.
Kenwood was sold at Mound City to W. J. Priest 17 Au-
gust 1865. After merchant service, as Cumberland, she
exploded and sank at Shawneetown, 111., 14 August 1869
with the loss of 18 lives.
II
( IX-179 : dp. 6,368 ; 1. 416'8" ; b. 56' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 70 ;
a. 14", 2 3", 8 20mm.)
The second Kenwood (IX-179) was built in 1916 as
Texas by Fore River Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass.
She was operated by the Texas Oil Co., until she was
taken over by the Maritime Commission at the beginning
of World War II. After a year’s charter to the Soviet
Union, she returned to the Maritime Commission in July
1944. Renamed Johren, she subsequently sailed to
Brisbane, Australia, where she was taken over by the
Navy on bare boat charter 16 November. She commis-
sioned at Brisbane 6 December as Kenwood, Lt. Comdr.
R. L. West in command.
Assigned to the Service Force, 7th Fleet, she departed
Brisbane 13 December for New Guinea, and arrived
Hollandia 21 December. After loading a cargo of fuel,
she sailed 30 December for the Philippines and arrived
Leyte Gulf 7 January 1945. Departing in convoy 16 Jan-
uary, Kenwood proceeded to Lingayen Gulf where she
arrived 21 January, to begin duty as a mobile floating
fuel storage ship. Loaded with gasoline and oil, she
operated in Lingayen Gulf until 9 March, then proceeded
to Subic Bay, Luzon, to continue station tanker opera-
tions. Returning to Lingayen Gulf 6 May, she served as
a diesel and bunker oil tanker at San Fernando Roads,
Luzon, from 15 May to 5 July when she again sailed to
Subic Bay. Alternating between Lingayen Gulf and Subic
Bay, she continued fueling operations until 2 November
when she steamed into Manila Bay. Proceeding to Subic
Bay 17 December, she decommissioned 10 January 1946
and was transferred to the Maritime Commission for
disposal.
Kenwood was sold for scrap 3 March 1948 to Asia
Development Corp.
Kenyon, Henry R., see Henry R. Kenyon (DE-683)
Keokuk
A town in Iowa named for a leader of the Sauk Indians
bom in Illinois about 1780. His name has been translated
as “one who moves about alert” and as “Running Fox.”
His career was distinguished by opposition to Sauk par-
ticipation in the Black Hawk War and by skillful
diplomacy in negotiations with agents of the Federal
Government and leaders of other tribes. He died in 1848
in Kansas.
I
( IrcStr : t. 677 ; 1. 159'6" ; b. 36' ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 92 ;
a. 2 11" D.sb.)
Laid down as Moodna, the first Keokuk was launched
at New York by Charles W. Whitney 6 December 1862;
sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Whitney, wife of the builder ;
and commissioned March 1863 ; Comdr. Alexander C.
Rhind in command.
The experimental ironclad steamer embodied some un-
usual concepts : her two stationary, cylindrical gun tow-
ers, each pierced with three gun ports, which often caused
her to be mistaken for a double-turreted monitor ; and
her armor of horizontal iron bars alternating with strips
of wood.
The new ironclad departed New York 11 March and
steamed south to join the South Atlantic Blockading
Squadron for the attack on Charleston and arrived New-
port News 2 days later. She got underway again on the
17th but returned to Hampton Roads for repairs when
her port propeller fouled a buoy. She stood out of Hamp-
ton Roads again 22 March and arrived Port Royal, S.C.,
the 26th.
As the day of attack on Charleston approached,
Keokuck and Bibb were busy laying buoys to guide Rear
Admiral Du Pont’s ironclad flotilla into the strongly for-
tified Confederate harbor. The Union ships crossed the
Stono Bar 6 April but were prevented from attacking
that day by hazy weather which obscured targets and
blinded pilots.
The advance began at noon on the 7th, but difficulties
in clearing torpedoes from the path of Du Pont’s ironclads
slowed their progress. Shortly after three, they came
within range of Forts Moultrie and Sumter; and the
battle began. Southern obstruction and a strong flood
tide made the ironclad virtually unmanageable, while ac-
curate fire from the forts played upon them at will. With
the Union formation scrambled, Keokuk was compelled
to run ahead of crippled Nahant to avoid fouling her in
628
the narrow channel. This brought her less than 600
yards from Fort Sumter, where she remained for half an
hour receiving the “undivided attention” of the Confed-
erate guns.
The game ironclad was riddled by 90 hits, one-fifth of
which pierced her at or below the waterline. She was
withdrawn from the action and anchored overnight be-
yond range of the forts while her crew struggled to keep
her afloat. Next day, 8 April, when a breeze came up,
Keokuk took on more water ; filled rapidly ; and sank
off Morris Island.
II
(CMC-6: dp. 6,150 ; 1. 353' ; b. 57' ; dr. 17' ; s. 12 k. ; cpl.
278; a. 2 3'', 4 .50 cal. mg., 2 .30 cal. mg. ; cl. Keokuk )
The second Keokuk (CMC-6), formerly Columbia
Heights, was launched 1914 by William Cramp & Sons,
Philadelphia, Pa. ; she was acquired by the Navy 28 July
1941 on a Maritime Commission bare boat charter; re-
classified AN-5 on 15 August 1941 ; and commissioned 28
February 1942, Lt Comdr. L. Brennan, USNR, in
command.
Keokuk cleared Delaware Bay 7 March 1942 and ar-
rived Norfolk the same day to commence service as a net
layer. She operated out of Norfolk and Key West for 2
months before she was reclassified CM-8 on 18 May 1942.
Based at Yorktown, Va., mine depot that summer, Keokuk
engaged in high priority mine laying along the Atlantic
coast.
As the war in Europe intensified, the mine layer made
preparations for service in the Mediterranean. Depart-
ing Brooklyn, N.Y., 13 November, Keokuk crossed the sub-
marine-infested Atlantic and arrived Casablanca 1 Decem-
ber. She remained in North African waters for 7 weeks,
laying mines off the harbor of Casablanca. She sailed 20
January 1943 with convoy GUS-3, arriving New York 7
February. Following repairs at Hoboken, N.J., Keokuk
sailed 1 March to commence net-laying exercises out of
Melville, R.I.
During April and May, the mine layer operated with
the mine warfare school at Yorktown, Va. ; then sailed to
Brooklyn to joint a convoy bound for Algeria. Keokuk
departed Brooklyn 13 June, arriving Oran, Algeria, 4
July. Two days later she steamed toward Gela, Sicily,
to lay antisubmarine minefields prior to the landings there.
During these operations, on 11 July, Keokuk was attacked
by six enemy planes ; but antiaircraft fire drove the raiders
off. After the successful conclusion of the Sicilian cam-
paign, she operated out of Algeria until sailing for Norfolk
7 October.
Upon completion of a short overhaul, Keokuk con-
verted to a net layer and, reclassified AKN-4, departed
Norfolk 23 November to meet another enemy in the Pacific.
She arrived Tarawa 3 February 1944 after a month’s stay
at Pearl Harbor, and immediately commenced net laying
operations in the Marshall Islands. She continued this
service until 12 April when she cleared Eniwetok to load
new net at San Francisco. Keokuk returned Kwajalein
9 June, and departed 2 days later to engage in the amphib-
ious assault on Saipan. She arrived in Saipan waters
19 June and bagan laying antisubmarine net off Tanapag
Harbor.
Following the Saipan compaign the net-cargo ship oper-
ated out of Eniwetok until 17 July when she once again
sailed for San Francisco. Upon her return to Guadal-
canal 1 September, Keokuk readied herself for the as-
sault on Peleliu — needed as a base for the subsequent and
invasion in the Philippines. She arrived off Kossol Pas-
sage 17 September and continued net laying operations for
1 month before arriving Manus 17 October. The next
day Keokuk sailed for San Francisco to undergo repair
and overhaul.
The net-cargo ship returned Eniwetok 6 February 1945
as the raging war was approaching its climax. Keokuk
departed Guam 16 February, bound for the Japanese-held
volcano fortress, Iwo Jima. She commenced net laying
operations 4 days later, as she played her key role in this
courageous undertaking. On 21 February just prior to
sunset while cruising in formation with a group of LST’s,
an enemy “Jill” dived out of the clouds and hit Keokuk
on the starboard side, knocking out most of the starboard
20mm. battery. The fires were extinguished by 1850 ; the
ship had 17 killed and 44 wounded in the action.
Upon completion of repairs at Leyte, the net-cargo ship
sailed 19 March toward the last great hurdle — Okinawa.
Keokuk arrived off Kerama Retto 26 March to lay anti-
submarine nets prior to the invasion. With the invasion
well under way, she cleared the battle area 4 April, ar-
riving Saipan 10 April. Then after a 2-month overhaul
at Pearl Harbor, Keokuk returned Eniwetok 2 July to un-
load net material. As the war entered its final month,
she sailed from Ulithi 25 July, and, after a stop at Pearl
Harbor, arrived San- Francisco 10 September. The vet-
eran ship remained there until she decommissioned 5 De-
cember 1945. She was transferred to the WSA 1 July
1946 and sold to the West India Fruit & S.S. Co. 7 March
1947.
Keokuk received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Ill
( YTB-771 : dp. 270 ; 1. 109' ; b. 31' ; dr. 14 ; cpl. 12)
The third Keokuk (YTB-771) was launched 21 May
1964 by the Mobile Ship Repair Inc., Mobile, Ala. ; and
placed in service 4 September 1964, Chief Boatswain’s
Mate Jerry R. Richter in command. She serves in the
Norfolk area as a tug.
Keosanqua
I
( AT-38 : dp. 969; 1. 156'8" ; b. 30'2'' ; dr. 14'7" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 61 ; a. 2 3" ; cl. Allegheny)
The first Keosanqua (AT-38) was launched 26 Febru-
ary 1920 by Staten Island Shipbuilding Co., Port Rich-
mond, N.Y. ; and commissioned 9 December at New York
Navy Yard, Lt. (j.g.) G. F. Coulson in command.
Departing New York 2 February 1921, Keosanqua sailed
for Hawaii via Charleston, the Panama Canal, and San
Diego. Arriving Pearl Harbor 16 April, the tug was
based at the Navy Yard there, towing ships and targets
until she decommissioned 8 June 1922.
Keosanqua recommissioned at Pearl Harbor 1 July 1934,
Lt. (j.g.) H. O. Parish in command. During the remain-
der of 1934 she operated with Submarine Squadron 4,
towing targets and retrieving torpedoes; she provided
similar services for Submarines Squadron 9 the following
year. Duty with submarines continued until January
1938 when she commenced towing operations with the Pa-
cific Fleet, participating in joint Army-Navy maneuvers
off Oahu during May 1939. She was assigned to the Navy
Yard, Pearl Harbor, 29 January 1940 for harbor tug duty.
On 7 December 1941 Keosanqua was taking over a tow
from Antares (AG-10) southwest of the entrance to Pearl
Harbor when the infamous Japanese raid began. At-
tacked by enemy planes which bombed and strafed the
ship, she promptly opened fire with her machine guns.
During the attack she coolly completed the transfer of the
tow and proceeded to Honolulu unharmed. After the
raid, she operated as a salvage tug, swept for mines, and
searched for enemy submarines. She departed 21 Decem-
ber 1943 for towing duty in the central Pacific.
Assigned to Service Squadron 4, she arrived Funafuti,
Ellice Islands, 4 January 1944 for harbor duty. Proceed-
ing in convoy en route to the Marshalls 28 February, she
reached Kwajalein 8 March and joined Service Squadron
10 on 17 March ; then departed 1 April for Eniwetok with
a barge of aviation gasoline in tow. She arrived 4 April
and commenced operations as harbor tug, station ship, and
harbor pilot-training ship.
Redesignated ATO-38 on 15 May, she operated out of
Eniwetok until 25 November 1945, and then proceeded via
Kwajalein, Johnston Island, and Pearl Harbor for the
West Coast, arriving San Francisco 24 December for tow-
629
ing duty along the California coast. Keosanqua sailed for
Seattle 25 February 1946; and, arriving Blake Island 1
March, she decommissioned 6 May. Her name was struck
from the Navy List 7 February 1947.
Transferred to the Maritime Commission 11 July for
disposal, she was sold the same day to Puget Sound Tug
& Barge Co., Seattle, Wash. Resold to a Canadian ship-
ping firm in 1948, she was renamed Edward J. Coyle. In
1960 she was renamed Commodore Straits.
II
( ATA-198 : dp. 534; 1. 143'; b. 34'; s. 13 k. ; cpl. 48; a.
1 3'', 2 20mm. ; cl. Maricopa)
Originally designated as ATR-125, she was redesignated
ATA-198 on 15 May 1944 ; launched 17 January 1945 by
Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Tex. ; and commis-
sioned 19 March, Lt. J. L. Bean in command.
Departing Galveston 18 April, ATA-198 steamed via
the Panama Canal and San Francisco for duty in the
Pacific. She reached Pearl Harbor 1 June, then con-
tinued 7 June via Eniwetok and Ulithi towing Pegasus
(IX-222) to the Philippines. Arriving Leyte Gulf 18
July, she departed the 21st and reached Pearl Harbor via
Kwajalein 7 August. From 9 August to 31 October she
made two towing runs to San Francisco, and then re-
sumed harbor and barge towing duty out of Pearl Harbor.
For more than 3 years she made periodic towing runs to
Wake Island; to various islands in the Hawaiian chain,
including Maui and Midway ; and to the West Coast.
Renamed Keosanqua 16 July 1948, she departed Pearl
Harbor 7 December for Long Beach, where she arrived 22
December. Proceeding to San Diego 3 January 1949, she
commenced target towing duty with the Fleet Sonar School
and provided harbor and coastal towing services between
San Diego and Long Beach. On 19 June 1951, while the
United States fought to protect South Korea from Com-
munist aggression, she departed San Diego for a 10-month
deployment in the western Pacific.
Operating primarily out of Sasebo, Japan, Keosanqua
provided tug service along the coast of Korea from Makpo
to Inchon. Departing Sasebo 25 March, she steamed via
Pearl Harbor to San Diego, arriving 19 April.
On two subsequent deployments (26 January-30 Septem-
ber 1953 and 7 February-2 October 1955) Keosanqua
served with the mighty 7th Fleet in the Far East, provid-
ing harbor tug and target towing services out of Sasebo
and Yokosuka. After returning from the western Pacific
in 1955, she continued operations out of San Diego until
25 May 1956 when she decommissioned and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the
Navy List 1 May 1961. She was transferred to the Re-
public of Korea and commissioned ROKS Yong Mun
(ATA-2) on 1 February 1962.
Keosanqua received three battle stars for Korean War
service.
Keosauqua
A town in Iowa located in Van Buren County.
Keosauqua, a screw sloop-of-war, was listed in the 1864
Naval Register as “building.” The hull was projected
but never completed. She was never commissioned and
saw no service. Her name was struck from the Navy
List in 1866.
Kephart
William Perry Kephart, born Meyersdale, Pa., 9 Sep-
tember 1915, enlisted in the Naval Reserve 15 August
1937 and was appointed Aviation Cadet 3 months later.
After flight training at Pensacola, Fla., he was commis-
sioned Ensign 1 December 1938. He served with air
groups in Saratoga (CV-3) and Wasp (CV-7), and in
May 1940 returned to Pensacola as a flight instructor.
Six months later he rejoined Scouting Squadron 71 on
1
1
--
■Ultfijllf
dHUi!
1
% . f.
l" If
USS Keosanqua ( AT-38) at Pearl Harbor circa 1930
630
board Wasp. Promoted to Lieutenant (j.g.) 15 June 1942
and Lieutenant (temporary) 1 October, Lt. Kephart was
killed in action 14 October while engaging the enemy over
Guadalcanal.
(DE-207 : dp. 1.400 ; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 3 3”, 4 1.1", 8 20mm., 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.
( h.h. ) , 2 dct. ; cl. Buckley )
Kephart (DE-207) was launched 6 September 1943 by
Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C. ; sponsored by
Mrs. A. P. Kephart, mother; and commissioned 7 January
1944, Lt. Comdr. I. H. Cammarn in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, Kephart departed New
York 23 March for convoy escort duty in the Atlantic.
During the next 3 months she made three runs from New
York to Gibraltar and Bizerte, Tunisia. Returning New
York 30 June for conversion to a high speed transport,
she was reclassified APD-61 on 5 July.
Kephart departed New York 30 September and joined
the 7th Fleet at Hollandia, New Guinea, 10 November.
As a unit of TransDiv 103, she departed in convoy 17
November and arrived Leyte Gulf, Philippines, 24 Novem-
ber. After a run to the Palaus, she embarked troops
of the 77th Infantry at Leyte and steamed 6 December
with Task Group 78.3 for amphibious assault at Ormoe
Bay. During landing operations 7 December Keph art’s
guns splashed two Japanese planes in a fierce raid. Re-
turning to Leyte 8 December, she embarked soldiers of
the 19th Infantry ; sailed 12 December for Mindoro ; and
landed assult troops at San Jose 15 December, again under
heavy enemy air attack. Returning to Leyte 17 Decem-
ber, she continued 20 December to Hollandia to prepare
for antisubmarine and amphibious operations.
Carrying men of the 158 RCT, Kephart departed Noem-
foor, Schouten Islands, 4 January 1945 to rejoin the
fight to liberate the Philippines. Steaming to Luzon, she
arrived San Fabien, Lingayen Gulf, 11 January and land-
ed reinforcements, despite constant harassment from
enemy planes emerging from the heavy air attack un-
scathed. Returning Leyte 15 January for 3 months of
antisubmarine patrol, Kephart took part in scattered
landing operations in the Philippines : at Grande Island,
Subic Bay (30 January) ; Puerto Princesa. Palawan (28
February) ; Zamboanga, Mindanao (10 March) ; Cebu
City, Cebu (26 March) ; and Cotabato, Mindanao (17
April).
Kephart departed Leyte Gulf 4 May for escort and as-
sault operations in the Dutch East Indies, arriving Moro-
tai 7 May. After escorting a convoy to Mindanao (18-20
May), she returned to Morotai 21 May and embarked
troops of the Australian Army for an amphibious assault
at Brunei Bay, North Borneo. Sailing 4 June, she landed
troops 10 June amid dwindling enemy resistance ; then she
patrolled the South China Sea hunting submarines before
returning Morotai 19 June. She sailed 26 June carrying
Australian soldiers to the eastern coast of Borneo 1 July
for the final major amphibious operation of the war — the
landing operations at Balikpapan, Borneo.
Continuing escort and antisubmarine duty, Kephart
departed Morotai 16 July and reached Leyte Gulf 2
days later. On 4 August she began amphibious training at
Albay and Lagonoy Gulfs, Luzon, in preparation for a
possible invasion of Japan. After the fighting ended 15
August, she sailed from Leyte Gulf 29 August to Okinawa
to embark occupation troops for Korea. She reached
Jinsen, Korea, 8 September; and then shuttled between
the Philippines and Korea. She steamed from Jinsen
29 October via Sasebo, Japan, and Okinawa to Tsingtao,
China, arriving 14 November to support the Chinese Na-
tionalists’ effort to repel Communist aggression on the
Chinese mainland.
Returning Okinawa 22 November, Kephart embarked
147 homebound veterans and departed 26 November for
the United States. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she
reached San Diego 16 December. Two days after unload-
ing her passengers she sailed for the East Coast and ar-
rived New York on New Year’s Day 1946. Following over-
haul, she departed 8 February for Green Cove Springs,
Fla., arriving the 11th. Kephart decommissioned 21 June
and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Tex.
She was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1967 and trans-
ferred under the Military Assistance Program to the
Republic of Korea 16 May 1967.
Kephart received five battle stars for World War II
service.
Keppler
John Reinhardt Keppler, born in Ralston, Wash., 22
January 1918, enlisted in the Navy 19 February 1936.
After an honorable discharge, he reenlisted 25 April 1910
and was assigned to San Francisco. During the war
Boatswain’s Mate First Class John R. Keppler partici-
pated in action at Pearl Harbor, Bougainville, Salamana,
Guadalcanal, and Savo Island. He lost his life in the
Savo Island campaign and was awarded the Medal of
Honor posthumously. The citation reads: “For ex-
traordinary heroism and distinguished courage above and
beyond the call of duty while serving aboard the San
Francisco (CA-38) during action against enemy Japanese
forces in the Solomon Islands, November 12-13, 1942.
When a hostile torpedo plane, during a daylight air raid,
crashed on the after machine gun platform, Keppler
promptly assisted in removal of the dead and by his
capable supervision of the wounded, undoubtedly helped
save the lives of several shipmates who otherwise might
have perished. . . . Later, although mortally wounded,
he labored valiantly in the midst of bursting shells, per-
sistently directing firefighting operations and adminis-
tering to injured personnel until he finally collapsed from
loss of blood. His great personal valor, maintained with
disregard of personal safety, was in keeping with the
highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
He gallantly gave up his life for his country.”
Keppler (DE-311) was cancelled during construction
13 March 1944.
Keppler (DE-375) was cancelled during construction 6
January 1914.
I
(DD-765: dp. 2,425; 1. 390’2" ; b. 40'11" ; dr. 18'6" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 336; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 10 20mm., 6 dcp., 2
dct., 5 21" tt. ; cl. Gearing)
Keppler (DD-765) was launched 24 June 1946 by Beth-
lehem Steel Co. Shipbuilding Div., San Francisco, spon-
sored by Mrs. Elizabeth L. Keppler, widow of John R.
Keppler- and commissioned 23 May 1947, Comdr. P. M.
Cauiglio in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Keppler cleared
San Diego 9 October 1947 for training exercises in
Hawaiian waters. The destroyer then sailed to Australia
and China before returning San Diego 20 May 1948.
Early in 1949 Keppler entered San Francisco Navy Yard
for conversion to antisubmarine destroyer. Resuming op-
erations on the West Coast 9 June, she departed San
Diego 5 October for duty in the Atlantic.
Arriving Norfolk 15 days later, she immediately com-
menced intensive ASW exercises along the Atlantic Coast.
Keppler sailed to Newport, R.I., her new homeport, for
additional hunter-killer operations, arriving 27 November.
She was reclassified DDE-765 on 4 March 1950 and cleared
Newport 5 July for the Mediterranean. Arriving Greece
27 July, the antisubmarine destroyer was ordered to the
Far East to help repel Communist aggression in Korea.
After transiting the Suez Canal and crossing the Indian
Ocean, Keppler joined the 7th Fleet in mid-August. For
the next 2 months she patrolled the Formosa Strait before
joining Philippine Sea (CV^47) on 17 November. For the
next 3 months she screened her task group during con-
tinued carrier air strikes against Communist positions on
the Korean mainland. Keppler then steamed for Yoko-
631
256-125 0 - 68 - 42
suka, Japan, arriving 7 February 1951. Three days later
she cleared port for the United States, reaching Newport
14 March. She was overhauled and for the rest of the
year engaged in refresher training and ASW operations.
Keppler cleared Newport once again 9 January 1952
to participate in antisubmarine exercises with the pow-
erful 6th Fleet. This cruise culminated in NATO Exer-
cise “Grandslam,” in which ships of several freedom-
loving nations operated together in practice maneuvers to
prevent aggression. The antisubmarine destroyer return-
ed to Newport 26 March and resumed operations along
the Atlantic Coast.
From 1952 to 1957 Keppler continued her vital ASW
exercises out of Newport and the Caribbean in addition
to NATO operations and Mediterranean cruises with the
6th Fleet. During these years such exercises steadly per-
fected her ability to protect the nation from the threat of
a growing Soviet submarine force.
On 4 January 1957 she sailed toward South American
waters for a training and good will cruise. Before re-
turning Newport 18 March, she visited ports in Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Panama. After completing
additional costal exercises, Keppler was deployed to the
Mediterranean 12 August. During September she tran-
sited the Sue* Canal to strengthen forces in the Red
Sea, as Communists had gained control of the Syrian
Army and threatened the pro-western government in
Jorden. This display of American determination as-
suaged the crisis enabling Keppler to return to Newport
21 December.
From 1958 to 1961 the antisubmarine destroyer engaged
in concentrated ASW operations along the Atlantic coast
and Caribbean NATO exercises, a midshipmen cruise in
1959, and a 6th Fleet deployment in the summer of 1960.
Keppler entered New York Naval Shipyard 1 March 1961
for a FRAM II overhaul designed to increase her service
and effectiveness. Following the overhaul she returned
Newport 25 October and resumed antisubmarine duty
8 March 1962. Keppler sailed 4 June for a summer mid-
shipmen cruise to Europe, returning to Newport 30 Au-
gust. She was reclassified DD-765 during that period.
Two months later a grave international crisis loomed,
as the Russians planted offensive missiles in Cuba only
90 miles from the United States. President Kennedy ac-
cepted this challenge and ordered a naval quarantine of
Cuba. Keppler cleared Newport 22 October to take her
station in the blockade. While patrolling her Caribbean
sector, she sighted a surfaced Russian submarine 2 No-
vember and observed her for the next 7 days. On 9
November the submarine joined a Russian trawler, and
Keppler continued her surveillance until the Russian ships
turned back toward the Azores. Effective American sea-
power helped persuade the Soviet government to with-
draw the missiles easing the crisis. The destroyer re-
turned Newport 21 November.
During 1963 and 1964 Keppler continued hunter-killer
exercises along the East Coast and Caribbean. She sailed
8 September 1964 for Mediterranean deployment and en-
gaged in NATO exercises en route. The destroyer re-
turned home 18 December.
Following overhaul in Boston Naval Shipyard, Keppler
operated out of Newport until sailing for the Far East
4 October 1966. Steaming via the Panama Canal she ar-
rived Pearl Harbor 24 October and pushed on toward Ja-
pan a week later. She departed Yokosuka 14 November
for plane guard duty in the Gulf of Tonkin. Early in
December she was assigned naval gunfire support missions
to assist allied troops fighting in South Vietnam, and she
also served in Operation “Sea Dragon” helping to inter-
rupt infiltration of men and weapons into South Vietnam
from the North. On the night of 11 and 12 December she
rescued a downed pilot. Early in 1967 she returned to
“Yankee Station” for plane guard duty and on 28 Janu-
ary assisted in the rescue of another pilot. In January
and February her guns damaged or destroyed 51 Commu-
nist junks. Keppler' s crew derived great “satisfaction
from the fact that many of these targets suffered second-
ary explosions thus proving it was not ‘fish’ they were
carrying.” During this period Keppler frequently en-
gaged enemy batteries ashore, and 11 March a Communist
gun scored a hit on one of the destroyer’s gun mounts.
Nevertheless she remained in the fight until returning to
Subic Bay on the 23d. Three days later she headed home-
ward via the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Medi-
terranean. Upon arriving Newport 8 May she resumed
operations along the East Coast to prepare for future
action.
Keppler received two battle stars for Korean service.
Keresan
A family of Pueblo Indians living in the Rio Grande
Valley in central New Mexico.
( Str : dp. 8,700 ; 1. 380'6" ; b. 50'1" ; dr. 11' ; s. 11 k. ; cpl.
62; a. 1 6", 1 3”)
Keresan, a cargo ship, was launched as Electra in 1912
by Pickersgill & Sons Ltd., Newcastle, England, and, sub-
sequently, renamed Erodiade. She was taken over by the
Navy from M. U. Martinolich Co. and commissioned 18
September 1918, Lt. Comdr. R. Douglas in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Keresan sailed from New York 1
October with a cargo of ammunition for U.S. forces in
Europe. Following the Armistice of November 1918,
Keresan returned to New York 13 December to prepare
for a cruise to South America. She steamed to Buenos
Aires in January 1919 with general cargo, and returned
New York 5 June. Keresan decommissioned 26 June 1919
and was returned to her owner.
Keresaspa
A former name retained.
( Str : t. 3,019 ; 1. 360' ; b. 48' ; dr. 13'5" ; s. 9 k. ; cpl. 86 ;
a. 1 5")
Keresaspa, formerly Franconia, was launched 1903
by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Newcastle,
England. The cargo ship was acquired by the Navy
from the Franconia S.S. Co., Ltd. and commissioned 31
October 1918, Lt. Comdr. James J. Boyce in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Keresaspa departed New York with
a cargo of 400 horses and mules for transport to France.
She discharged her cargo at La Pallice, France, and re-
turned to Baltimore 20 January 1919. Following repairs
Keresaspa decommissioned 11 February 1919 and was
returned to her owners.
Kerkenna
A group of seven islands (often spelled Kerkennah)
in the Gulf of Gabes belonging to Tunisia.
(Str: dp. 3,621; 1. 380'7" ; b. 45'7'' ; dr. 22'2" ; s. 8 k. ;
cpl. 65 ; a. 2 3")
Kerkenna, a cargo ship, was built in 1900 as Borneo
by William Hamilton & Co., Port Glasgow, Scotland ;
taken over by the Army 22 November 1917 from her owner,
Kerr Navigation Corp., New York ; and acquired and
commissioned by the Navy 28 September 1918 at Brest,
France, Lt. Comdr. A. F. Dahlstedt, USNRF, in command.
Attached to NOTS, Kerkenna carried coal and Army
supplies between British and French ports. She departed
Inverness, Scotland, 24 February 1919 with a cargo of
mines and mine supplies for return to the United States.
Reaching New York 19 March, she proceeded 2 days later
to Norfolk, arriving 24 March. She then decommissioned
16 April, and was transferred to the USSB for immedi-
ate return to her owner.
632
Kerlew
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 3,563; 1. 336'; b. 41'9" ; dr. 25'; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
77; a. 1 4”)
Kerlew, a cargo ship, was built in 1906 by Craig, Taylor
& Co., Ltd., Stockton, England ; acquired on bare-
charter basis by the Army 17 October 1917 from her
owner, Kerr Navigation Corp., New York; and taken
over and commissioned by the Navy 13 November 1918
at Cardiff, Wales, Lt. S. V. Kalhauge, USNRF, in
command.
Assigned to the Army coal trade at Cardiff, Kerlew
transported coal from British to French ports. She con-
tinued this channel duty until 29 January 1919 when she
arrived Invergordon, Scotland, to load a cargo of mines
for return to the United States. Departing 19 February
she arrived Norfolk, Va., 9 March. Transferred to USSB,
she was placed in line for demobilization. Kerlew de-
commissioned 12 April and was returned to her owner
the same day.
Kermanshah
A former name retained.
(Str. dp. 4,948; 1. 390' ; b. 52'6" ; dr. 26'7'' ; s. 9.5 k. ; cpl.
84 ; a. 1 4”, 1 6-pdr.)
Kermanshah, a cargo ship, was built in 1910 by
Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle, England ;
taken over by the Navy from her owner, Kerr Navigation
Corp., New York, 1 August 1918; and commissioned at
New York 3 August, Lt. Comdr. S. W. Hickey, USNRF,
in command.
Kermanshah departed New York 17 August in convoy
for Bordeaux, France, with a cargo of general Army
supplies. Arriving 3 September she returned to New
York 24 September. Departing once again for Bordeaux
12 October, she made two more trips between New York
and French ports. Subsequently, she arrived New York
13 February 1919 from Nantes, France, with a cargo of
munitions. Kermanshah decommissioned 5 March and
was turned over to the USSB for return to her owner the
same day.
Kermit Roosevelt
Kermit Roosevelt, born 10 October 1889 at Oyster Bay,
Long Island, N.Y., was the second son of President Theo-
dore Roosevelt. Following graduation from Harvard
University in 1912, he accompanied his father to Brazil
on an explorating expedition seeking the source of the
River of Doubt and remained in South America for 4
years. In 1917 he was commissioned in the British Army
to serve under General Maude in the Mesopotamia cam-
paign. Transferring to the American Army in France in
1918, he served as a captain in the 7th Field Artillery until
the end of the war.
He then devoted his energy and talents to the merchant
marine. During the next 20 years, he served as a member
of the Board of Directors of the American Ship & Com-
merce Corp. ; the founder and president of the Roosevelt
Steamship Co., and the vice president of Kerr Steamship
Co., the American Mercantile Marine, and the United
States Lines.
At the outbreak of World War II in Europe in Septem-
ber 1939, he was recommissioned in the Middlesex Regi-
ment of the British Army with the rank of major. In
1941, after serving in Norway and Egypt, he was “in-
valided out” of the British Army. In July 1942 he was
commissioned Major in the U.S. Army and served in
Alaska until his death 4 June 1943.
(ARG-16: dp. 5,159; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 23' ; s. 12.5
k. ; cpl. 401 ; a. 1 5'', 3 3", 4 40mm., 12 20mm., cl. Luzon;
T. EC2-S-C1)
Originally laid down as Deal Island (ARG-16), she
was renamed Kermit Roosevelt 29 September 1944 ;
launched 5 October by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc.,
Baltimore, Md., under a Maritime Commission contract ;
sponsored by Mrs. Kermit Roosevelt ; acquired by the
Navy 21 October ; and commissioned 31 May 1945, Comdr.
C. W. Scribner in command.
After shakedown along the Virginia coast, Kermit
Roosevelt departed Norfolk 21 July for duty in the Paci-
fic. Steaming via Pearl Harbor and Okinawa, she ar-
rived Tsingtao, China, 16 October and began service as a
station repair ship. A unit of SerRon 10, she supported
U.S. Naval forces aiding the Chinese Nationalists on the
Chinese mainland. She departed Tsingtao 11 March
1946 and arrived Hong Kong 16 March for 5 months of
similar duty. There after serving briefly at Guam and
Saipan, she returned to Bremerton, Wash., 3 February
1947.
Clearing San Pedro Bay 21 April, Kermit Roosevelt
returned to Tsingtao 4 September and provided ship re-
pair services there until 28 February 1949. Then she
continued operations in the Philippines and the Pacific
until departing Kwajelein, Marshalls, for the West Coast
8 June. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she reached San
Diego 24 July. On 23 January 1950 she sailed for the
Central Pacific; and, before returning to San Diego 12
June, she provided repair facilities at Kwajelein and
Majuro, Marshalls ; Truk, Carolines ; and Nauru, Gilberts.
Between 10 July 1950 and 23 October 1953 Kermit
Roosevelt made four deployments to the Far East. Oper-
ating out of Sasebo, Japan, she repaired ships fighting
Communist aggression in Korea and keeping the peace in
the Strait of Formosa. From 10 October to 27 November
1950 she supported Task Group 95.6 at Wonsan, Korea,
and during 13 to 23 December she performed similar duty
at Hungnam for ships of Task Group 79.2. And while
operating out of Pusan from 7 August to 16 September
1953, she helped salvage SS Cornliusker Marine.
Kermit Roosevelt returned to Long Beach 23 October
1953 and operated along the West Coast until she again
sailed for the Far East 6 October 1954. Between then
and 30 April 1956 she made two more deployments to the
Western Pacific, where she provided important repair
services for the 7th Fleet by maintaining U.S. sea power,
helped contain Communist aggression from Korea to Viet-
nam. After returning to the United States in 1956, Kermit
Roosevelt operated out of Long Beach until she departed
1 October 1959 for Bremerton, Wash., arriving 7 October.
She decommissioned 31 October and entered the Pacific
Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Naval
Register 1 January 1960, and she transferred to the Mari-
time Administration 23 June. On 25 August 1960 she was
sold to Zidell Explorations Inc. for scrap.
Kermit Roosevelt received three battle stars for Korean
War Service.
Kermoor
A former name retained.
(Str : dp. 3,106 ; 1. 378' ; b. 52'4'' ; dr. 22'6" ; s. 9 k. ; cpl.
67; a. 1 3")
Kermoor, a cargo ship, was built in 1907 by J. L. Thomp-
son & Sons, Ltd., Sunderland, England ; taken over by the
Army 14 March 1918 from her owner, Kerr Navigation
Corp., New York ; and acquired and commissioned by the
Navy 1 November at Cardiff, Wales, Lt. Comdr. T. Cart-
wright, USNRF, in command.
Operated by the Navy under Army account, Kermoor
served out of Cardiff, carrying coal and military supplies
between British and French ports. Detached from chan-
nel service 1 March 1919, she sailed for Queenstown,
Ireland, 6 March for the United States with a cargo of
military stores. Reaching Baltimore, Md., 27 March, she
continued to New York 21 April. She arrived 23 April
and discharged her cargo. Kermoor decommissioned 5
May and was returned to her owner by the USSB the
same day.
633
USS Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16) in December 1959
Kern
A river in south-central California.
(AOG-2: dp. 1,850 (It.) ; 1. 310'9" ; b. 48'6" ; dr. 15'8" ;
s. 14 k. ; cpl. 133 ; a. 4 3" , 12 20mm., 2 dcp. ; cl. Patapsco )
Kern (AOG-2) was laid as Rappahannock by Seattle-
Tacoma Ship Building Co., Tacoma, Wash., 25 May 1942 ;
renamed Kern 18 July 1942 ; launched 7 September 1942 ;
sponsored by Mrs. L. A. Oldin ; and commissioned at
Seattle, Wash., 9 March 1943, Lt. Comdr. Lewis Williams
in command.
Departing Seattle 24 March, Kern arrived San Pedro,
Calif., 28 March for shakedown. On 12 April she joined
a convoy out of Los Angeles and reached Pearl Harbor the
22d. Loaded with aviation gas and diesel oil, she steamed
to Midway between 8 and 12 June. She returned to Pearl
Harbor 18 June, and from 27 June to 11 July she made a
similar run to Canton and Palmyra Islands.
During the next year Kern continued tanker operations
out of Pearl Harbor, supplying American bases on Midway,
Canton, and Palmyra I lands with gasoline and oil. De-
parting Pearl Harbor 19 August 1944, she sailed to Eniwe-
tok, Marshalls, where she arrived 31 August and served as
station tanker during September. She departed Eniwetok
5 October and carried gasoline to the Marianas and Ulithi
before reaching Kossol Roads, Palaus, 28 October.
From November to July 1945 Kern served as a station
tanker at Kossol Roads and as a shuttle tanker to Pele-
liu and Angaur. In addition, she made replenishment
runs between the Palaus and Ulithi during March, May,
and June. Departing Kossol 21 July, she steamed via
Ulithi to Guam where she arrived 6 August for overhaul.
Following the end of hostilities in the Pacific, Kern re-
turned to Ulithi 31 August. She steamed to Okinawa
from 17 to 21 September and served as station tanker
until sailing for Japan 13 October. She reached Hiro
Wan, Honshu, 15 September and began refueling ships in
support of occupation operations in Japan. She operated
along the coast of Japan until 31 January 1946 when she
departed Sasebo, Kyushu, for Korea. She arrived Jinsen
2 February, served there as a station tanker, then sailed
for Japan 15 April. The veteran tanker arrived Kobe,
Honshu, 18 April and resumed refueling duties along the
coast of Japan. She decommissioned at Yokosuka, Hon-
shu, 6 August 1946 and was transferred to the Army the
same day.
Reacquired by the Navy 1 July 1950, Kern was assigned
to MSTS. Manned by a civilian crew, she operated in the
Western Pacific. During the effort to repel Communist
aggression in Korea, she supplied fighting ships of the
mighty 7th Fleet with gasoline and oil. After the end
of the Korean conflict, she continued to operate in the
Pacific as the might of U.S. seapower sought to keep the
peace in the tense Far East. She was inactivated at San
Francisco in September 1956 and was berthed in the Na-
tional Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif., from
28 September to 30 April 1957. During the late spring
and throughout the summer of 1957 she returned to tanker
duty for Naval replenishment operations in the Arctic
Ocean north of Alaska. She was again inactivated at
San Francisco 1 October. She entered the National De-
fense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay and remained under
MSTS control until 10 April 1958 when she was trans-
ferred to the Maritime Administration. At present she
remains berthed at Suisan Bay, Calif.
Kerowlee
A former name retained.
(Str: dp. 3,350; 1. 350'; b. 46'8" ; dr. 23'; s. 10 k. ; cpl.
84; a. 14")
634
Kerowlee, a cargo ship, was built by J. Readhead &
Sons, South Shields, England, in 1901 ; taken over by the
Army 1 December 1917 at Havre, France, from her owner,
Kerr Navigation Corp., New York ; acquired by the Navy
and commissioned 17 October 1918 at Cardiff. Wales, Lt.
Comdr. W. L. Strong, USNRF, in command.
Departing 3 November for Brest, France, Kerowlee op-
erated between channel ports in England and France,
carrying coal and military supplies. She was assigned to
the Food Administration 11 April 1919 to carry foodstuffs
between St. Nazaire, France, and Danzig, Germany.
Transferred to USSB account 1 June, she departed St.
Nazaire 8 July with a load of Army cargo for the United
States. Arriving Norfolk 25 July, she decommissioned 11
August and the same day was returned to her owner by
the USSB.
Kerrville
A city of Kerr county, 55 miles northwest of San An-
tonio, Tex.
(PC-597 : dp. 295 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 65 ;
a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. PG~
451)
PC-597 was laid down by the Commercial Iron Works,
Portland, Oreg., 9 May 1942 ; launched 7 September ; spon-
sored by Miss Doris Lee Riley ; and commissioned 15
February 1943, Lt. L. L. Thurber in command.
After shakedown off the West Coast, PC-597 departed
San Francisco 5 April and arrived Pearl Harbor 2 weeks
later. For the next 8 months she remained in the Ha-
waiian Islands on ASW patrol and convoy escort duty.
The sub chaser sailed 28 December to perform similar
operations in the South Pacific.
Through the early months of 1944, she operated out of
New Caledonia and the New Hebrides before assignment
in the Solomons during April. From April to December
she continued screening and escort duty while the Solomon
Islands were being used as staging bases for assault on
the Marianas and the Philippines.
For the remainder of World War II, PC-597 played a
major role in the South Pacific escorting supply-laden
transports to reinforce U.S. forces on the “road to Japan.”
A rotation policy shifted her base of operations among
New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji Islands, and Samoa.
After the war, the veteran sub chaser searched out-of-the
way islands for overlooked survivors of ship wrecks and
plane crashes. The search was concluded 30 October
1945.
Proceeding to Suva, Fiji Islands, 4 November PC-597
was assigned to air-sea rescue work. She continued sim-
ilar operations off other South Pacific Islands during the
early months of 1946 before departing Kwajalein 1 May
en route to the United States. Upon arrival at San Diego
one month later, she remained off the West Coast until
she sailed for the Atlantic late in the summer. Arriving
Key West, Fla., 9 October, PC-597 was towed to Green
Cove Springs and decommissioned there 30 April 1947.
While berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, PC-597
was named Kerrville 15 February 1956. She was struck
from the Navy List 5 September 1957 and sold to Boston
Metals Co., Baltimore, Md.
Kerry Patch, see Celtic ( IX-137 )
Kershaw
A county in South Carolina.
( APA-176 ; dp. 6,873 ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 24' ; s. 17 k. ; cpl.
536; a. 1 5'' 12 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl. Haskell; T. VC2-
S-AP5 )
Kershaw (APA-176) was launched 12 November 1944,
by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; spon-
sored by Miss Helen Molloy ; and commissioned 2 Decem-
ber 1944, Comdr. A. G. Davenport in command.
After shakedown, Kershaw cleared San Francisco 7
February 1945, with nurses and naval personnel, arriving
Guam 23 February. Moving to Saipan 27 February, the
transport prepared for the invasion of the Ryutyus, the
last enemy stronghold before Japan itself. During March
she loaded equipment and troops of the 2d Marine Divi-
sion ; then, following amphibious exercises off Tinian, she
sailed for the assault area 27 March.
The invasion got underway as the troops hit the beach
at Okinawa 1 April. After troops from Kershaw landed
on the southeastern shore of the island, the transport
stood by for the next 10 days. She returned Saipan 14
April, remaining there until sailing for the Solomons
5 June. Following brief stops at Tulagi, Espiritu Santo,
and Eniwetok, she arrived Guam 14 July.
Following a short overhaul period at San Francisco, the
transport loaded cargo and troops to replace veterans in
the occupation area. She cleared San Francisco 17 Au-
gust and steamed into Tackoban, Leyte, 10 September.
From there she ferried occupation troops to Honshu,
Japan, before returning to San Pedro 19 October. On
the third of four additional “Magic-Carpet” cruises to
the Far East, Kershaw delivered equipment to Bikini for
the atomic tests before sailing on to Samar to embark
another 2,000 veterans for return to San Francisco 25
May. On her final cruise she took on units of the 2d
Marines at Sasebo before transiting the Panama Canal
and arriving Norfolk 8 August.
Kershaw remained at Portsmouth, Va., until she decom-
missioned 20 December 1946, and entered the Atlantic
Reserve Fleet at Norfolk. Struck from the Navy List 1
October 1958, she joined the National Defense Reserve
Fleet 19 December 1958 and at present is berthed in James
River, Ya.
Kershaw received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kerstin
An asteroid (No. 842) of 13.7 magnitude discovered
in 1916 by Max Wolf in Heidelburg.
( AF-34 : dp. 3,139; 1. 338'6'' ; b. 50'; dr. 21'1" ; s. 12 k ;
cpl. 83 ; a. 1 3", 6 20mm. ; cl. Adria; T. R1-M-AV3)
Keratin (AF-34) was launched 16 July 1944 by Penn-
sylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont, Tex., under a Mari-
time Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. W. B.
Towns ; acquired by the Navy 22 January 1945 ; and com-
missioned 23 February 1945 at Houston, Tex., Lt. H. C.
Prichard in command.
Departing Galveston, Tex., 14 March, Kerstin loaded
cargo at Mobile, Ala., and arrived Pearl Harbor 14 April.
Assigned to Service Squadron 8, she took on board 1,680
tons of refrigerated and dry provisions and sailed 20
April, reaching Eniwetok 2 May. For more than 6 months
she made supply runs, transporting frozen food to ships
and bases at Iwo Jima, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Ulithi,
Manus, Noumea, and Auckland, New Zealand. While
steaming from Saipan to Iwo Jima 13 July, she directed
the prompt rescue of nine men from a disabled B-29
bomber, which splashed about 2 miles off her port quarter
while returning to Tinian after a raid over Tokyo. Be-
fore departing Saipan 29 November for her return to the
United States, Kerstin had travelled more than 26,000
miles and delivered over 5.500 tons of refrigerated cargo.
Arriving San Pedro 20 December, Kerstin again de-
ployed to the Pacific 1 January 1946 to transport provi-
sions to Wake, Tarawa, Samoa, and the Marshalls before
returning to San Francisco 24 May. Departing 29 June
for cargo operations in the Far East, Kerstin made 11
voyages to the Pacific between June 1946 and December
1949. Steaming to bases scattered throughout the Pacific,
her deployments included four runs to the Far East, three
to the Marianas and the Marshalls, and four to Pearl
Harbor.
Departing Manila Bay 25 November 1949, Kerstin
steamed via Guam en route to San Francisco, where she
arrived 22 December. After overhaul at Mare Island
635
Navy Yard, she decommissioned 12 May 1950 and trans-
ferred to the Maritime Commission. Her name was struck
from the Naval Register 16 June. At present she is in
the Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet, berthed at
Suisun Bay, Calif.
Kerwood
A former name retained.
(AK: dp. 2,321 t. ; 1. 331'; b. 48'4" ; dr. 21'4" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 52 ; a. 2 3' ' )
Kerwood (No. 1489), formerly Budapest, was launched
in 1911 by Richardson, Duck & Co., Stockton-on-Tees,
England ; acquired by the Navy ; and commissioned 5
November 1918, Lt. Comdr. E. Ellis in command.
Kerwood was assigned to NOTS and commenced coal-
ing runs from Cardiff, Wales, to French ports. The cargo
ship continued these operations until 28 December when
she arrived Bordeaux with 1,000 tons of Army stores.
From Bordeaux she sailed to Cardiff before sailing for
the United States 29 January 1919. Kerwood arrived
Norfolk 27 February ; decommissioned 19 March 1919 ;
and returned to the USSB for simultaneous return to her
owner.
Keshena
An Indian word meaning “swift flying.”
(YN-37 : dp. 132; 1. Ill'; b. 22'6" ; dr. 9'3" ; a. 2 3")
Keshena (YN-37), formerly Raymond Card, was
launched 1910 by J. H. Dialogue & Son, Camden, N. J. ;
she was acquired by the Navy 20 September 1940 from
the Card Towing Line, New York ; and placed in service
19 October 1940. Keshena cleared Hampton Roads, Va.,
30 October and arrived Guantanamo 9 November for
service as a net tender.
She remained in the 10th Naval District operating out
of Guantanamo throughout the war. She was reclassified
YNT-5 on 8 April 1942, and subsequently YTM-731 on
4 August 1945. Keshena was struck from the Navy List
28 August 1946 and transferred to the Maritime Commis-
sion for disposal on 12 February 1947.
Kestrel
I
A small European falcon.
( AMC-5 : dp. 219 ; 1. 98'10" ; b. 21'8" ; dr. 6'7" ; s. 11 k. ;
cpl. 19 ; a. 2 .30 mg. )
The first Kestrel (AMC-5), formerly C banco, was built
1938 by Salisbury Yacht Co., Salisbury, Md. ; acquired by
the Navy 1 October 1940 from the Chanco Corp., Glou-
cester, Va. ; and placed in service 21 January 1941. She
was assigned to the 5th Naval District and operated on in-
shore patrol duty out of Norfolk until 11 January 1944.
Sailing to Boston, Kestrel performed similar duties in the
1st Naval District. She was reclassified IX-175 on 10
July 1944 and operated for the remainder of her service
as an experimental vessel for Radiation Laboratory,
M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass. Kestrel was placed out of serv-
ive 29 October 1945 and delivered to the WSA for disposal
on 5 August 1946.
II
(LCI(L)-874 : dp. 209 ; 1. 159' ; b. 24' ; dr. 6' ; s. 14 k. ; cpl.
239; a. 5 20mm.; cl. (LCI (L)-351)
LCI(L)-874 was laid down by New Jersey Shipbuilding
Corp., Barber, N.J., 7 September 1944 ; launched 6 October ;
and commissioned 13 October, Lt. (j.g.) J. O. Harrison in
command.
Following shakedown and training off the Atlantic
coast, LCI (L)-874 departed Key West 25 November for
the Pacific. She engaged in additional training after ar-
riving San Diego 13 December. Departing 29 January
1945, she touched Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Guam be-
fore arriving Peleliu 12 April. She performed picket and
patrol duty in the Palau Islands during the remaining
months of World War II.
From September 1945 to February 1946, LCI {L)-87Jt
operated between the Palau and Mariana Islands, provid-
ing mail and shuttle service among the Islands. Departing
Eniwetok 4 February she arrived San Pedro, Calif., 1
month later. Sailing to Oregon in May LCI(L)-874 de-
commissioned there 10 July 1946 and joined the Pacific
Reserve Fleet.
She was reclassified and named Kestrel (AMCU-26)
7 March 1952 ; then recommissioned 8 February 1954, Lt.
Gurley P. Chatelain in command. After shakdown and
training, she arrived San Diego 27 March for operations
in the 11th Naval District. From 1954 to 1957, Kestrel
operated out of San Diego on underwater mine location ex-
ercises. She was reclassified MHC-26 in February 1955.
Kestrel decommissioned at San Diego 2 December 1957.
She was sold to Murphy Marine Service on 28 June, 1960.
Kestrel II
A former name retained.
( S P-529 : t. 93 ; 1. 108' ; b. 18' ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 12 k. ; cpl. 9 ;
a. 1 3-pdr.)
Kestrel II, a motor boat, was built by Percy Tuttle of
Greenport, Long Island, N.Y., in 1912 and owned by D.
Herbert Hostetter of New York City. Acquired under
free lease, she was taken over by the Navy 2 June 1917
and commissioned at Newport, R.I., 4 June, Chief Boat-
swain’s Mate C. E. Black, U SNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 2d Naval District at Newport, Kestrel
II operated out of New London, Conn., on section and shore
patrol in Long Island Sound. She decommissioned 6
January 1919 and was returned to her former owner the
same day.
Ketchikan, see YP-84
Kete
A species of North Pacific salmon also called “chum” or
“dog salmon” ( Oncorhynchus keta).
(SS-369 : dp. 1,526 (surf.), 2,424 (subm.) ; 1. 311'9" ; b.
27'3" ; dr. 15'3'' ; s. 20 k. (surf.), 9 k. (subm.) ; cpl. 66;
a. 1 5", 1 40mm., 1 20mm., 10 21" tt. ; cl. Balao)
Kete (SS-369) was launched 9 April 1944 by Mani-
towoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis. ; sponsored by
Mrs. E. S. Hutchinson ; and commissioned 31 July, Comdr.
R. L. Rutter in command.
Departing Manitowoc 20 August, Kete sailed via New
Orleans to Panama. Arriving 5 September, she trained
with SubRon 3 until 28 September; then the new sub-
marine sailed to Pearl Harbor, arriving 15 October, and
steamed westward on the 31st for her first war patrol.
She topped off her fuel at Midway 4 November and
reached her assigned patrol area in the East China Sea
on 15 November in company with Sea Lion (SS-315).
Harassed by heavy weather and nonfunctioning bow
planes, she sailed 19 November for Saipan, where she ar-
rived the 24th. She departed Saipan with Kraken (SS-
370) on 24 December and resumed her war patrol north
of Okinawa 4 days later. Despite prolonged periods of
heavy weather, she made lifeguard patrols off the cen-
tral Ryukyus from 1 January to 27 January 1945 search-
ing for American fliers downed during air strikes on the
Ryukyus. After gathering vital weather data, she sailed
to Guam and arrived 30 January for refit.
Lt. Comdr Edward Ackerman in command. Kete
cleared Guam 1 March for her second war patrol. As-
signed to waters surrounding the Nansei Shoto Chain, she
resumed lifeguard duty and gathered weather data for
636
the forthcoming invasion of Okinawa. While patrolling
west of Tokara Retto on the night of 9 and 10 March, she
surprised an enemy convoy and torpedoed three marus
totaling 6,881 tons. During the night of 14 March, she
attacked a cable-laying ship. With only three torpedoes
remaining, she was ordered to depart the area 20 March,
refuel at Midway, and proceed to Pear Harbor for refit.
Kete acknowledged these orders 19 March ; and, while
steaming eastward the following day, she sent in a weath-
er report from a position south of Colnett Strait. Sched-
uled to arrive Midway by 31 March, she was neither seen
nor heard from again. Repeated attempts to contact her
by radio failed ; and on 16 April she was reported as pre-
sumed lost.
Circumstances surrounding her loss remain a mystery.
The cause could have been an operational malfunction, a
mine explosion, or enemy action.
Kete received one battle star for World War II service.
Kettering, Robin, see Alhena (AK-26)
Kevin Moran, see Yaqui (AT-80)
Kewaunee
A city in eastern Wisconsin, 25 miles east of Green Bay.
I
(PC-1178 : dp. 315 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k. ; cpl. 59 ;
a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. PC-461)
PC-1178 was laid down by Leathern D. Smith Ship-
building Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 11 August 1943 ;
launched 2 October ; sponsored by Miss Elsie Krause ; and
commissioned at New Orleans 6 January 1944, Lt. (j.g.)
Norman E. Jones in command.
After shakedown off Florida, PC-1178 escorted convoys
along the East Coast until May 1944. Departing New
York on the 26th, she screened a convoy to Guantanamo,
then proceeded to the West Coast, arriving San Diego 16
June. Following a brief stay in Pearl Harbor, the sub-
chaser continued her voyage to the Pacific war zone. Ar-
riving Florida Island 24 August, PC-1178 prepared for
her initial assignment in a combat area.
Departing Guadalcanal 8 September, she took up patrol
station on the approaches to the Palau Islands, needed as
a staging base for 'he Philippine invasion. The conquest
of the Palaus began with landings on Peleliu 15 Septem-
ber. PC-1178 continued patrol and escort duty in the
vicinity of the Palaus until departing for Eniwetok 15 No-
vember. For the next 3 months, she operated on patrol
and escort duty between the Marshall and Mariana Is-
lands, then sailed for Pearl Harbor 8 March 1945.
Following a brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor, she re-
turned to Eniwetok 1 June and resumed operations in the
western Pacific, remaining there for the duration of World
War II. Reclassified PCC-1178 in August, she continued
servicing the occupation forces in Okinawa and the Philip-
pines following the cessation of hostilities. With many
months of foreign duty behind her, she departed Manicani,
P.I., 19 April 1946, and arrived Astoria, Oreg., 6 June.
PCC-1178 decommissioned at Astoria 4 September 1946
and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
While berthed in the Columbia River, she was once
again reclassified PC-1178 in October 1955, and named
Kewaunee 15 February 1956. She remained in the Pacific
Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy List 1 November
1959. She was sold to the Port of Portland, Portland,
Oreg., 30 June 1960.
PC-1178 received one battle star for World War II
service.
II
Shamokin (YTM-752) (q.v.) was renamed Kewaunee
15 March 1966.
Kewaydin
An Indian chief of what is now Michigan whose name
meant “North Wind.’’
Kewaydin , a screw steamer, was laid down at Boston
Navy Yard in 1864. but her hull was never completed. Re-
named Pennsylvania 15 May 1869, she was broken up in
1884.
The double-turret monitor Kickapoo (q.v.) carried the
name Cyclops from 15 June 1869 to 10 August when she
was renamed Kewaydin. She saw no service as
Kewaydin.
I
( AT-24 : dp. 795 ; 1. 156'8" ; b. 30'2'' ; dr. 14'7" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 35 ; a. none ; cl. Bagaduce)
Kewaydin (AT-24) was launched 25 June 1919 by
Ferguson Steel & Iron Co., Buffalo, N.Y. ; accepted by the
Navy 31 October ; and commissioned 4 November, Lt. M. A.
McDuffie in command.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Kewaydin arrived
Norfolk, Va., 19 June 1920. For more than 22 years she
operated out of Norfolk from Boston, Mass., to Charles-
ton, S.C., towing ships and targets and performing yard,
harbor, and salvage duty. She departed New York 16
November 1942 with a Iceland-bound convoy and was dam-
aged while steaming through heavy seas 19-27 November.
After repairs at St. John’s, Newfoundland, she arrived
Hvalfjordur, Iceland, 22 December. Assigned to the Na-
val Operating Base, she towed gasoline barges, provided
harbor tug services, and assisted in salvage operations.
On 13 April 1943 she assisted in freeing Uranus (AF-14),
grounded off Akureyri, along the northern coast of Iceland.
Kewaydin departed Reykjavik 19 April for Argentia,
Newfoundland, where she arrived 28 April for duty as
harbor tug and target-towing ship for Task Force 22. She
served at Argentia until she sailed 2 June for Norfolk,
arriving on the 7th. Resuming duty out of Norfolk,
Kewaydin towed antisubmarine and surface targets in
Chesapeake Bay and steamed from Maine to South Caro-
lina on towing and salvage duty. While steaming off Cape
Henry 17 and 18 November, she helped to free grounded
Melville (AD-2) ; and, during towing operations along
the New England coast 11 to 13 December, she searched
for SS Suffolk, disabled in heavy seas.
Departing Charleston, S.C., 25 January 1944, Kewaydin
steamed in convoy via Bermuda and the Azores for Eng-
land. She reached Falmouth, England, 13 March, and
for more than 2 months she made towing runs along the
southern coast of England from Falmouth to the Thames
River. Reclassified as ATO-24 on 13 April, Kewaydin
joined in the Normandy Invasion. Departing Selsey, Eng-
land, 8 June, she towed lightship AL-28 to Utah Beach at
St. Laurent, France. Between 8 June and 14 January
1945 she made 22 Channel crossings. Although harassed
by unfavorable weather and German V-l robot-bombs, she
towed barges and landing craft from Lee-on-Solent, Fal-
mouth, Plymouth, Portland, and other English ports to St.
Laurent, Arromanches, Cherbourg, and Calais, France.
While anchored at Dungeness, England, 29 June, she was
slightly damaged by a V-l robot-bomb that exploded close
aboard after being shot down by British fighters.
Kewaydin continued operating along the English coast
until she departed Plymouth 16 March 1945 for the United
States. Steaming via Belfast, Ireland, she reached Cape
Cod., Mass., 12 April and arrived Norfolk 22 April. After
a complete overhaul, she sailed 16 June with YRS1 in
tow. Steaming via Bermuda, Cuba, and the Panama Canal,
she reached San Diego 31 July as the Navy’s final blows
against Japan brought the war in the Pacific to a close.
Kewaydin decommissioned at San Diego 10 December and
was transferred to the Maritime Commission. She was
637
sold to Bay Cities Transportation Co., San Francisco 23
December.
Kewaydin received one battle star for World War II
service.
Keweenaw
A bay of Lake Superior along the northern shore of
the upper peninsula of Michigan.
( CVE-44 : dp. 9,800; 1. 495 ' 8" ; b. 69'6" ; ew. 111'6" ;
dr. 26' ; s. 18 k. ; cpl. 890; a. 2 5" ; 16 40mm., 27 20mm.,
28 ac. ; cl. Bogue; T. C3-S-A1)
Keweenaw (CVE-44) was laid down as ACV-44 under
Maritime Commission contract by Seattle-Tacoma Ship-
building Corp., Tacoma, Wash., 27 November 1942 ;
launched 6 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. R. G. Risley ;
assigned to the United Kingdom 10 June 1943; reclassified
CVE-44 on 15 July 1943 ; and transferred to the United
Kingdom under lend-lease 22 October 1943. During the
remainder of World War II, she served the Royal Navy
as HMS Patroller and operated in the Atlantic on convoy
escort and patrol duty. Arriving Norfolk, Va., 9 Decem-
ber 1946, she was returned to the U.S. Navy the same
day. Her name was struck from the Navy List 7 February
1947, and she was sold to Waterman Steamship Corp. 26
August 1947.
Key
Eugene Morland Key, born Conroe, Tex., 5 October 1916
enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
17 January 1941. Commissioned Second Lieutenant 29
May, he served at San Diego and Washington, D.C., before
joining the 1st Marine Raider Battalion 19 March 1942.
Promoted to First Lieutenant 4 June, he participated in
the amphibious invasion of Tulagi Island, Solomons, 7
August. While leading the assault against a heavily
defended, enemy position, Leiutenant Key was hit by hos-
tile sniper fire. Although mortally wounded, he courage-
ously struggled forward and threw hand grenades into
the Japanese position, thus destroying the enemy resist-
ance and allowing his platoon to advance without further
loss. For his “indomitable fighting spirit, outstanding
skill, and great personal valor” First Lieutenant Key was
posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
( DE-348 : dp. 1,350; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8” ; dr. 9'5" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 8 dcp. ;
1 dcp. (h.h.), 2 dct. ; cl. John C. Butler)
Key (DE-348) was launched 12 February 1944 by Con-
solidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs. Ira
F. Key, mother of Lt. Key ; and commissioned 5 June
1944, Lt. Comdr. F. D. Buckley in command.
Following shakedown off Bermuda, Key operated out of
Norfolk, training crews for destroyer escorts and patrol-
ling the North Atlantic in quest of submarines. Clearing
Hampton Roads 20 September, she escorted a convoy to
Naples, Italy, then returned to New York 24 October. As
a unit of CortDiv 76, she sailed from New York 10 Novem-
ber for duty with the 7th Fleet in the Southwest Pacific.
Key arrived Hollandia, New Guinea, 27 December, and
between 1 January 1945 and 6 February she made five
escort runs from Hollandia to Leyte Gulf. On 9 February
she began antisubmarine patrols east of Leyete Gulf ; then
she steamed to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, 19 February for
similar duty in the South China Sea. Returning to Leyte
14 March, the versatile destroyer escort operated out of
Leyte Gulf and Polloc, Mindanao, screening ships en route
to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon ; Zamboanga, Mindanao ; Jolo,
Sulu Archipelago ; and Legaspi and Manila, Luzon. After
escorting a convoy of LSM’s and LCI’s to Davao Gulf 15
May, Key bombarded and destroyed an important Japanese
PT base at Piso Point before returning to Polloc the 17th.
After additional escort runs to Davao Gulf, Leyte Gulf,
and Legaspi, Luzon, Key departed Manila Bay 11 June for
duty in the Dutch East Indies. Arriving Morotai Island
14 June, she screened Tawitawi-bound LCI’s 23-26 June
before escorting a convoy the 28th to a rendezvous the
following day with the amphibious force en route to the
assault at Balikpapan, Borneo. While at Balikpapan 7
July, Key rescued a survivor from a LCM sunk by a mine
in the harbor. She patrolled for enemy submarines until
22 July when she sailed via Morotai for Leyte Gulf, arriv-
ing 4 August.
Operating out of Leyte after the end of hostilities, Key
steamed on antisubmarine patrols east of Leyte 22 to 31
August and escorted a convoy to Ulithi, Western Carolines
before sailing to Manila 8 September. Between 18 Sep-
tember and 23 November she made two escort runs from
Manila Bay to Okinawa to support American Occupation
operations in Japan. Clearing Manila Bay 25 November,
she embarked homebound veterans 27 November at
Guiuan, Samar and departed the next day for the United
States. Arriving San Pedro, Calif., 17 December, she
decommissioned 9 July 1946 at Terminal Island and
entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. At present she is
berthed at Bremerton, Wash.
Key received one battle star for World War II service.
Key Pittman, see Leonis (AK-128)
Key West
The largest seaport in the Flordia keys.
I
(StwStr : t. 207; 1. 156'; b. 32'; dph. 4'6" ; a. 6 24-pdr.
how.)
The first Key Wes# was built in 1862 at California, Pa.,
as Key West No. 3; purchased by the Navy from W. S.
Evans et al. at Cairo, 111., 16 April 1863 ; and commis-
sioned 26 May, Acting Master E. M. King in command.
The wooden stern-wheel steamer departed Cairo that
day for patrol duty in the Tennessee River, supporting
Army efforts and protecting Federal positions in the
Tennessee Valley from Confederate Calvary raids. Fre-
quently, as she patrolled the river and escorted transports
and supply ships, her guns engaged hit-and-run batteries
and bands of riflemen. On 10 October 1864, as troops
debarked at Eastport, Miss., from three transports Key
West and Undine had escorted from Clifton, Tenn., a
hidden Confederate 6-gun battery at Eastport and a 3-gun
battery near Chickasaw opened fire on the Union ships.
After the Southern guns had set two of the transports on
fire and damaged Key West with two rifle shots, the Un-
ion ships reluctantly retired downstream out-of-range.
On 2 November at Johnsonville, Tenn., Key West as-
sisted Tawah in recapturing transport Venus, taken along
with Undine and Cheeseman by the Confederates there
30 October. On 4 November Key West, Tawah, and Elfin
were caught in a narrow, shallow section of the river near
Johnsonville by a Confederate force under General Nathan
B. Forrest. After a vigorous action in which Key West
was hit 19 times by rifled artillery, the 3 Union gunboats,
riddled and almost out of ammunition, were set afire and
scuttled.
II
( PF-17 : dp. 1,430 ; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20.3
k. ; cpl. 190 ; a. 3 3", 4 40mm., 9 20mm., 9 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Tacoma )
The second Key West (PF-17) was launched 29 Decem-
ber 1943 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio ;
sponsored by Mrs. Vernon Lowe; sister of Lt. Harold
Felton, the first resident of Key West reported missing in
World War II ; and commissioned at Houston 7 November
1944, Lt. Comdr. B. Papanek, USCGR, in command.
Key West stood out of Galveston Bay 17 November 1944
for training exercises and escort duty out of Bermuda.
The frigate operated there until sailing for Norfolk 22
638
December. Key West departed Hampton Roads 18 Jan-
uary 1945 escorting a convoy to Oran, Algeria, and re-
turned Boston 28 February.
During the next 4 months, she made two cruises out of
Casco Bay, Maine. Upon her return New York 14 June,
from her final cruise, Key West remained at Brooklyn
until 5 July when she sailed for Boston for conversion
to a weather ship.
She departed Boston 31 July and, after transiting the
Canal, arrived Pearl Harbor 23 August. Key West was
then assigned to duty of weather station patrol in the
vicinity of Guam, arriving there 10 September. She
operated out of Apra Harbor reporting meterological data
and stood by to aid ships in distress until 14 March 1946
when she arrived San Francisco. Key West departed San
Francisco 9 April and served for 3 weeks on plane-guard
station off the North California Coast. The weather ship
arrived Seattle, Wash., 1 May and decommissioned at
Bremerton, Wash., 14 June 1946. She was sold 18 April
1947 to Cascade Enterprises, Oakland, Calif., and
scrapped.
Keyport
A town in Kitsap County, Wash.
Keyport was named YF-885 (q.v.) 8 June 1965.
Keystone State
A symbol of Pennsylvania.
I
(SwStr : t. 1,364; 1. 220'; b. 35'; dr. 14'6" ; s. 9.5 k. ; cpl.
163 ; a. 2 12-pdrs. ( It. ) , 2 12-pdrs ( h. ) )
The first Keystone State, a wooden side wheel steamer
built at Philadelphia in 1853 by J. W. Lynn was chartered
by the Navy 19 April from the Ocean Steam Navigation
Co. at Philadelphia, and purchased 10 June 1861. She
commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 19 July 1861,
Comdr. G. H. Scott in command.
Chartered to search for Confederate raider Sumpter,
she shared in the capture of Hiawatha at Hampton Roads
20 May 1861. When her charter expired 23 May, she re-
turned to Philadelphia, where she was purchased ; fitted
out ; and commissioned. She left the Delaware Capes 21
July and cruised in the AVest Indies seeking Confederate
blockade runners in Carribbean ports ; and on the high
seas she captured Saloon 10 October and towed her to
Philadelphia via Key AA^est, Fla.
At Philadelphia Comdr. W. E. Le Roy took command of
the ship 12 November. The side wheeler stood down the
Delaware and out to sea 8 December, visited Bermuda,
\ \ 1 » i . 7.
rH r 1
6 Jf«.
USS Key West (PF-17) launching 29 December 1943 at Lorain, Ohio
639
and arrived Hampton Roads the day after Christmas.
She got underway 9 January 1862 and joined the South
Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Charleston 13 January
1862.
Ordered to the Florida coast she engaged Confederate
batteries at Amelia Island on the 18th and captured
schooner Mars 5 February.
Keystone State arrived Port Royal, S.C., for replace-
ment 18 March and got underway again on the 29th. She
chased a blockade runner and fired at another 3 April ;
but both escaped. On the 10th she chased schooner
Liverpool of Nassau ashore where she was burned to the
water’s edge. Schooner Dixie fell prey to the vigilant
bloekader 15 April, steamer Elizabeth then struck her
colors 29 May, and schooner Cora surrendered 2 days
later. Keystone State took blockade runner Sarah off
Charleston 20 June and pursued an unidentified steamer
all day and night of the 24th before giving up the chase.
She took schooner Fanny attempting to slip into Charles-
ton with a cargo of salt 22 August.
However, this was dangerous work ; and Keystone
State well earned her long list of prizes. On the last day
of January 1863 she discovered a ship off Charleston,
stood fast, and fired at her. The ship responded in kind,
from time to time hitting the bloekader. At 0600 a shot
ripped into 'Keystone State’s steam drum, scalding 1 of-
ficer and 19 men to death and wounding another score.
Later that morning Memphis towed Keystone State to
Port Royal for repairs. Ready for action again, she got
underway on George Washington’s Birthday for blockad-
ing station off St. Simons Sound, Ga., where she served
until departing for Philadelphia 2 June for repairs at the
Navy Yard, where she decommissioned on the 10th.
Keystone State recommissioned 3 October, Comdr. Ed-
ward Donaldson in command, and stood out from Dela-
ware Capes on the 27th. Three days later she joined
the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Wilmington,
N.C. While cruising off Wilmington, the veteran side
wheeler captured steamer Margaret and Jessie 5 Novem-
ber. On 29 May 1864 she picked up 235 bales of cotton
which had been thrown overboard by a chase ; and the
next day she captured steamer Caledonia. She took
steamer Suez off Beaufort, N.C., 5 June and steamer Rouen
at sea 2 July. On the 26th she chased a steamer which
escaped after throwing her cargo of cotton overboard.
Keystone State then picked up over 60 bales. On a sim-
ilar occasion 8 August she salvaged 225 bales. On the
24th she chased and captured steamer Lilian and, with
Gettysburg, picked up 58 bales. On 5 September with
Quaker City she chased and fired at steamer Elsie. A
shell exploded in the blockade runner’s forward hold,
starting a fire which Keystone State extinguished. Key-
stone State then escorted her prize to Beaufort, N.C.
During the fall of 1864, the side wheeler continued
blockade duty off the North Carolina coast ; and, as winter
set in, she prepared to attack Fort Fisher, which pro-
tected the important Confederate port of Wilmington.
Shortly after dawn on Christmas Eve, Keystone State,
steaming with the reserve squadron of the fleet in line
of battle, got underway toward Fort Fisher. Her guns,
firing over and between the ships in the first echelon,
supported troops as they landed and fought to take the
fort. However, late in the afternoon, the Army Com-
mander. General Benjamin F. Butler, decided that the
Confederate works could not be taken and ordered
his troops to reembark. Keystone State withdrew to
Beaufort, N.C.
Rear Admiral Porter, the Navy Commander, was not
to be thwarted. He renewed the attack on Fort Fisher
13 January with a force of 59 warshins. He sent some
2,000 sailors and marines ashore to aid the 8,000 Army
troops led by Major General Alfred H. Terry. After 3
days of bitter fighting, the bravely defended Confederate
fortress fell, closing the South’s last supply line with
Europe. Keystone State reached the scene before dawn
the 16th and received the wounded.
After the capture of Wilmington, the side wheeler con-
tinued to operate along the Carolina coast supporting
clean-up operations which snuffed out Southern resist-
ance. She got underway 13 March towing monitor Mon-
tauk to Hampton Roads and arrived Baltimore the 20th.
Keystone State decommissioned 25 March and was sold
at auction at Washington 15 September to M. O. Roberts.
She was redocumented 22 December 1865, and operated
in merchant service until 1879.
Sloop-of-War St. Louis (q.v.) was renamed Keystone
State 30 November 1904.
Keytcadin
An Indian word meaning “North Wind.”
I
After decommissioning 29 July 1865, a double-turreted
monitor Kickapoo (q.v.) was renamed Cyclops 15 June
1869 and then Keywadin 10 August 1869 before being sold
12 September 1874.
II
( ATA-213 : dp. 835; 1. 143'; b. 34'; dr. 13'2" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 45 ; a. 1 3'', 2 20mm. ; cl. Maricopa)
ATA-213 was authorized ATR-llfO; reclassified ATA-
213 on 15 May 1944 ; launched 9 April 1945 by the Gulfport
Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, Tex. ; and com-
missioned 1 June 1945, Lt. Vincent A. Galterio, USNR,
in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, ATA-213
cleared New Orleans 4 July 1945, towing a barracks ship
and floating derricks to the Marshall Islands. The tug
arrived Majuro 24 September, and after several towing
assignments, returned Pearl HaTbor 17 October where
she operated until sailing for the East Coast 28 June 1946.
Following towing assignments enroute, the tug arrived
Boston 28 September to serve in the 1st Naval District.
ATA-213 was named Keywadin 16 January 1948, and
from that time through 1964 she performed various tow-
ing duties along the Atlantic coast. She operated out of
Boston engaging in essential although unheralded assign-
ments of the U.S. Navy. She towed disabled ships to port
for repairs ; towed targets in gunnery exercises ; and
delivered mail. Although operating primarily in the 1st
and 4th Naval Districts, Keywadin frequently cruised
south to Charleston, S.C., and Mayport, Fla., towing barges
and ships for overhaul. During October 1964 the tug
commenced torpedo recovery services for patrol aircraft,
continuing this duty for the next 2 months. Keywadin
continues to serve in the 1st Naval District through 1967.
Khedive
A British name retained. A title granted in 1867 by
the sultan of Turkey to the viceroy or governor of Egypt.
Cordova (CVE-39) (q.v.) was renamed HMS Khedive
upon transfer to the United Kingdom under lend lease
25 August 1943.
Khedive, see Nehenta Bay (CVE-74)
Kiamichi
A river in Oklahoma.
( AOG-73 : dp. 4.335; 1. 325'2" ; b. 48'2" : dr. 15'8" ;
s. 10 k. ; cpl. 80; cl. Klickitat; T. T1-M-BT1)
Kiamichi (AOG-73) was launched 17 August 1945 by
St. Johns River Shipbuilding Corp., Jacksonville, Fla.;
640
and sponsored by Mrs. B. C. Lourex. Kiamichi’ s acqui-
sition was cancelled 29 August 1945 prior to commission-
ing. She was later completed for International Tankers,
Panama. She was renamed Transmere in 1951, and in
1952 sold to Colombia and renamed Sancho Jimeno.
Kiasutha
An Indian chief of the Mingo band noted as an orator
and advocate of peace between the French and English
during the French and Indian War.
(YT-463: dp. 206; 1. 102'2” ; b. 241; dr. 12'4”; s. 12 k. ;
a. 2 .50 cal. mg. )
Kiasutha (YT-463) was built in 1943 by Gulfport
Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, Tex., and placed
in service 13 September 1943. Assigned to the Pacific,
she departed New Orleans 3 October and sailed via the
Panama Canal for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, to join
Service Squadron, South Pacific Force. Reclassified as
YTB^163 on 15 May 1944, she conducted tug and salvage
operations out of Espiritu Santo until she reported to
the Commander, Pacific Forward area 12 May 1945. She
continued to operate in the Pacific until she was placed
out of service at Pearl Harbor 1 May 1947. Towed by
PCE-8M, Kiasutha arrived San Diego 23 September and
was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone 15 Novem-
ber. Departing San Diego 20 November, she arrived
Panama Canal under tow 11 December. Her name was
struck from the Naval Register 5 December. She was
subsequently transferred to the Panama Canal Corp.
Kibbey , Joseph H., see Photos (AK-129)
Kickapoo
A tribe of Algonquian Indians.
(BM: t. 970; 1. 220'; b. 57'; dr. 6-7'; cpl. 123 ; a. 4 11'')
Kiclcapoo was a double-turreted monitor built at St.
Louis by G. B. Allen & Co., in 1864 and commissioned at
Mound City, 111., 8 July 1864, Lt. David C. Woods in com-
mand.
After serving the Mississippi squadron off the mouth of
the Red River during the summer, the new ironclad was
transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron 1
October and stationed in Mobile Bay, where Admiral
Farragut was building up strength for operations against
the forts which protected the city. Lt. Comdr. Meri-
weather P. Jones assumed command of the monitor 23
December.
In the spring of 1865 Kickapoo engaged in the danger-
ous work of sweeping the water approaches to the forts
clearing defensive minefields. On 28 March she rescued
the crew of Milwaukee after the ship struck a torpedo
and sunk. The next day she was on hand to save the men
of Osage after that monitor had met a similar fate.
Late in June Kickapoo sailed for New Orleans where
she decommissioned 29 July and was laid up. Her name
was changed to Cyclops 15 June 1869 and then Kewaydin
10 August. She was sold at public auction in New Orleans
to Schickels, Harrison & Co., 12 September 1874.
Prior to launch 24 February 1919, Kickapoo (AT-29)
was renamed Mahopac (q.v.).
Kidd
Isaac Campbell Kidd, born in Cleveland, Ohio, 26 March
1884, entered the Naval Academy in 1902. He served in
Columbia, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pittsburgh, San
Diego, New Mexico, Utah, and Vega. During the Japa-
nese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, Rear
Admiral Kidd was Commander of Battleship Division 1
and Chief of Staff and Aide, Commander, Battleship Bat-
tle Force. At the first knowledge of the attack, he rushed
to the bridge of Arizona (BB-39), his flagship, and
“courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Pres-
ent Afloat until Arizona blew up from a magazine explo-
sion and a direct bomb hit on the bridge which resulted
in the loss of his life.”
He was awarded the Medal of Honor and the Purple
Heart for his “conspicuous devotion to duty, extraor-
dinary courage, and complete disregard of his own
life . .
(DD-661 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8'' ; dr. 17'9" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 273 ; a 5 5', 10 21” tt. ; 6 dct. ; cl. Fletcher)
Kidd (DD-661) was launched 28 February 1943 by
Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Isaac C. Kidd, widow of Rear Admiral Kidd,
and commissioned 23 April 1943, Comdr. Allan Roby in
command.
After shakedown out of Casco, Maine, in June, Kidd
cruised in the Atlantic and Caribbean escorting large
combatant vessels until she departed for the Pacific in
August 1943 in company with Alabama (BB-60) and South
Dakota (BB-57). Arriving Pearl Harbor 17 September
1943, she got underway 29 September escorting aircraft
carriers toward Wake Island for the heavy air attacks 5
October and returned to Pearl Harbor 11 October 1943.
Mid-October found Kidd underway with a formidable
task force to strike Rabaul and to support the Bougain-
ville landings. Upon reaching a strike position south of
Rabaul on the morning of 11 November, the task force
struck hard at Japanese positions on the island. Kidd
dropped astern of her formation to rescue the crew of a
plane from aircraft carrier Essex (CV-9) which had
splashed as the American carrier launched a strike at
Rabaul. A group of planes from an extremely heavy
Japanese counterattacking force dove at the destroyer in
an attempt to sink her while she was on her own. Striking
back hard, she splashed three Japanese planes and suc-
cessfully completed the rescue while skillfully maneuver-
ing to dodge torpedoes and bombs. Comdr. Roby, her com-
manding officer, received the Silver Star for gallantry dur-
ing this action. The destroyer returned to Espiritu Santo
13 November.
Kidd next screened carriers making air attacks on Ta-
rawa during the Gilbert Island invasion from 19 to 23 No-
vember. On the 24th she spotted 15 low flying enemy
bombers heading toward the heavy ships, gave warning,
and shot down 2 “Vais.” After Tarawa was secure, Kidd
remained in the Gilbert Islands to support cleanup oper-
ations before returning to Pearl Harbor 9 December.
On 11 January 1944 Kidd sailed for the forward area,
touched at Espiritu Santo, then sailed next day for Funa-
futi, arriving 19 January. During the invasion of the
Marshall Islands 29 January to 8 February, Kidd screened
heavy ships and bombarded Roi and Wotje, then anchored
at Kwajalein 26 February.
From 20 March to 14 April Kidd guarded an airstrip
under construction on Emirau and supported the occupa-
tion of Aitape and Hollandia in New Guinea 16 April to 7
May. She fought in the Marianas campaign 10 June to
8 July and helped soften up Guam for invasion 8 July to
10 August.
In need of repairs, Kidd sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriv-
ing 26 August 1944. On 15 September she departed Pearl,
reached Eniwetok 25 September, and arrived Manus 3
October. There she became part of the giant Philippines
invasion fleet and entered Leyte Gulf 20 October. Here
she screened the initial landings and provided fire support
for soldiers who fought to reconquer the island until she
sailed 14 November for Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, ar-
riving 19 November. On 9 December Kidd headed toward
Mare Island Navy Yard for overhaul and moored at Mare
Island Christmas Day.
Kidd sailed 19 February 1945 to join Task Force 58 for
the invasion of Okinawa. Trained and battlewise. Kidd
played a key role during the first days of the Okinawa cam-
paign, screening battleships, bombarding key targets
641
ashore, rescuing downed pilots, sinking floating mines,
providing early warning of enemy air raids, guarding
heavily damaged Franklin, and shooting down kamikazes.
While on picket station 11 April 1945, Kidd and her
division mates, Black (DD-666), Bullard (DD-660) and
Chanucey (DD-667), with the help of Combat Air Patrol,
repelled three air raids. That afternoon a single enemy
plane crashed Kidd, killing 38 men and wounding 55. As
the destroyer headed south to rejoin the task group, her
effective fire drove off enemy planes trying to finish her.
Stopping at Ulithi for temporary patchwork, she got un-
derway 2 May for the West Coast, arriving Hunter’s
Point Naval Shipyard 25 May.
On 1 August 1945, Kidd sailed to Pearl Harbor and re-
turned to San Diego 24 September 1945 for inactivation.
She decommissioned 10 December 1946 and entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet.
When the United States had allowed her military
strength to shrink beyond the danger point, the Commu-
nist struck in Korea. Fortunately, there were ships in
reserve, though it took time to obtain and train crews and
provide material. Kidd recommissioned 28 March 1951,
Lt. Comdr. Robert E. Jeffery in command ; sailed to the
Western Pacific 18 June; and arrived Yokosuka 15 July.
She joined Task Force 77 and patrolled off the Korean
coast until 21 September when she sailed for the East
Coast of Korea. From 21 October to 22 January 1952,
Kidd bombarded targets of opportunity from Wan-Do Is-
land to below Koesong. She then sailed with Destroyer
Division 152 to San Diego, arriving 6 February 1952.
Kidd again got underway for Korea 8 September 1952 ;
joined the screen of a hunter-killer group near Kojo ; and,
in November, was back on bombardment missions off
North Korea. Shortly thereafter, truce talks began.
Kidd continued to patrol the Korean coast during nego-
tiations, strengthening the position of American repre-
sentatives by showing the Communists that we were ready
and able to intensify operations. She departed Far East
3 March 1953 via Midway and Pearl Harbor and arrived
San Diego for overhaul 20 March.
Overhaul completed, Kidd proceeded to Long Beach 20
April 1953. Next day Swedish freighter Hainan
rammed Kidd in Long Beach harbor requiring repairs
until 11 May 1953.
From late 1953 to late 1959 Kidd alternated Westpac
cruises with operations on the West Coast making stops
at Pearl Harbor and various ports in Japan, Okinawa,
Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
She visited Sydney, Australia, 29 March 1958 and later
that year patrolled the Formosa Straits.
Kidd got underway 5 January 1960 for the East Coast
via the Panama Canal, arriving Philadelphia 25 January.
From there she made Naval Reserve training cruises to
various East Coast ports. She joined fleet operating forces
during the Berlin Crisis in 1961. December 1961 found
Kidd patrolling off the Dominican Republic in a “show-of-
force” patrol to provide an element of security in the
troubled Caribbean.
Kidd arrived Norfolk 5 February 1962 and joined Task
Force Alfa for ASW exercises. On 24 April she was as-
signed to the Naval Destroyer School at Newport. After
a cruise to the Caribbean, on 1 July 1962 she resumed
Naval Reserve training. Kidd decommissioned 19 June
1964, entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, and at present
is berthed at Philadelphia.
Kidd received four battle stars for World War II
service and four battle stars for Korean service.
Kidder
Hugh P. Kidder was born in Waukon. Iowa, in 1897.
He was awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm and star
duriing World War I for courage and endurance while car-
USS Kidd ( DD-661 ) in December 1959
642
rying orders to advanced positions under violent machine
gun fire during a period of 9 days. Lt. Kidder was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraor-
dinary heroism near Blanch Mont. France, 2 to 3 October
1918 when he led a small patrol into enemy trenches and
captured two strong machine gun positions. First
Lieutenant Kidder was killed in action 3 October attempt-
ing to better his position in the face of heavy machine
gun and artillery fire.
(DD-319: dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'8” ; dr. 9'10” ;
s. 35 k.. ; cpl. 95 ; a. 4 4", 12 21” tL ; cl.. Clemson)
Kidder (DD-319) was launched 10 July 1919 by Bethle-
hem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif. ; sponsored
by Miss Ethel Murry Jonstone; and commissioned 7 Feb-
ruary 1921, Comdr. H. J. Abbett in command.
After shakedown along the coast, Kidder was assigned
to Destroyer Division 34, Battle Fleet, at San Diego.
From 1921 to 1924 she operated along the West Coast
between Washington and the Canal Zone engaging in
training maneuvers, fleet problems, and gunnery exercises.
The destroyer played an important role in the development
of naval warfare through using experimental torpedoes in
exercises.
Kidder transited the Panama Canal during January 1924
for fleet concentrations in the Caribbean, returning San
Diego 22 April. She continued her training operations
before clearing San Francisco 15 April 1925 for a fleet
problem and joint exercises off Hawaii. Kidder then ac-
companied the Battle Fleet to Samoa, Australia, and New
Zealand before returning Mare Island 26 September.
For the rest of her naval service she was almost con-
stantly at sea, including winter fleet concentrations in the
Caribbean during 1927 and a joint submarine exercise off
Hawaii in the spring and summer of 1928. The Navy
gained valuable experience from the various exercises and
experiments which Kidder conducted — information that
made possible many of the great naval victories of World
War II. During her final year of service, Kidder operated
out of San Diego and decommissioned there 18 March 1930.
After scrapping, her materials were sold 31 October 1930
in accordance with the terms of the London Treaty limit-
ing naval armament.
Kiel, see Camden (1X^2)
Kilauea
An active volcano on the Island of Hawaii.
Kilauea (AE-4) was renamed Mount Baker (q.v.) 17
March 1943.
( AE-26 : dp. 20,500; 1. 564' ; b. 81' ; S. 20 k.; a. 8 3” ; cl.
Kilauea )
Kilauea (AE-26) was laid down 10 March 1966 by
General Dynamics Corp., Quincy Div., Quincy, Mass. ;
launched 9 August 1967 ; sponsored by Mrs. Michael J.
Kirwin, wife of Representative Kirwin of Ohio ; and will
be completed by early 1968.
Once commissioned, the ammunition ship will deliver
ammunition and limited quantities of freight, mail, and
passengers to the Pacific Fleet at sea and in port.
Killarney
A former name retained.
( SP-219 : t. 32; 1. 64'10” ; b. 13' ; dr. 4'6” ; 10 k. ; a. none)
Killarney (SP-219), a motor yacht, was built by Defoe
Boat Works, Bay City, Mich., in 1910 ; purchased 30 April
1917 from her owner, James H. McGillan, of Green Bay,
Wis., and commissioned 12 June, Ens. James H. McGillan,
USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval District at Great Lakes, 111.,
Killarney served as a section patrol ship on the St. Mary’s
River in the Straits of Mackinac during the summer and
fall of 1917. She wintered in Detroit and continued her
duties on Lake St. Clair and the Detroit and St. Clair
Rivers, where she patrolled channels and regulated traffic.
Killarney was transferred 3 March 1919 to the Naval
Training Camp at Detroit and declared inactive 12 August.
Struck from the Navy List 3 November, Killarney was sold
18 December to John J. Kiley of Detroit.
Killdeer
A ringed plover : a North American shore and field bird
( Charadius vociferus ) .
( AMC-21 : dp. 275 ; 1. 105'7” ; b. 22'10” ; dr. 9'8” ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 18 ; a. 1 .50 cal. mg. )
Killdeer (AMC-21) was originally built as a purse
seiner in 1930 by A1 Larson, Los Angeles with the name of
Vindicator; rebuilt in 1940 by Harbor Boat Works, San
Pedro, Calif. ; acquired by the Navy from her owner, Mr.
Martin Trutanich, 8 November 1940 ; and placed in service
the same day as Killdeer.
From 9 November 1940 to 17 April 1941 she underwent
conversion to AMC-21, and on 8 May 1941 she began serv-
ice with the 12th Naval District. Operating out of San
Francisco, Killdeer transferred to the Western Sea Fron-
tier 1 August for further service as a channel minesweep-
ing ship. She continued sweeping shipping lanes in the
approaches to San Francisco Bay until 12 September 1944
when she was placed out of service. Reclassified as IX-194
on 25 September, Killdeer was used by the 12th Naval
District as a general utility vessel. Her name was struck
from the Naval Register 2 June 1945, and she was turned
over to the Maritime Commission for disposal 9 January
1946.
LSIL-883 (q.v.) was commissioned 26 October 1944
and decommissioned in March 1946. On 7 March 1952,
while out of commission in reserve, she was named Kill-
deer and reclassified AMOU-27. In July 1954 she was again
reclassified LSIL-883.
Killen
Edward Killen joined the Navy 5 May 1801 as a seaman
aboard Enterprise. Accompanying her to the Mediter-
ranean Edward Killen served with skill and devotion,
and was promoted to Master’s Mate 9 November 1803.
He volunteered for Stephen Decatur’s daring expedition
into Tripoli Harbor 16 February 1804 to destroy Phila-
delphia, a United States frigate captured by Tripolitan
pirates. After successfully completing this mission in
Intrepid, Killen served on board Enterprise until his
death 24 July 1806.
( DD-593 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6” ; b. 39'8” ; dr. 17'9”; s.
35 k. ; cp. 273 ; a. 5 5”, 10 40mm. ; 7 20mm. ; 6 dcp., 2
dct., 10 21” tt. ; cl. Fletcher)
Killen (DD-593) was launched 10 January 1943, by the
Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Inez Cowdrey; and commissioned 4 May 1944,
Comdr. H. G. Corey in command.
After shakedown Killen cleared Port Angeles, Wash.,
19 August 1944, escorted a convoy from Pearl Harbor,
and arrived Manus, Admiralty Islands, 14 September.
Following training exercises the destroyer departed Hol-
landia 12 October with the Central Philippine Attack
Force that arrived off San Pedro Bay on the 20th. For
the next 5 days she gave day and night fire support to
troops ashore on Leyte, and during one 30-minute period
on the 21st silenced three enemy artillery positions.
When the Japanese Navy decided to contest the landings
in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Killen' s squadron engaged
the enemy at Surigao Strait. On the morning of 25 Oc-
643
tober, at 0325, she launched five torpedoes toward battle-
ship Yamashiro. One hit slowing her to 5 knots enabled
other American destroyers to maneuver for the kill. In
the widespread fleet actions for Leyte, covering hun-
dreds of thousands of sea miles, the U.S. Fleet reduced
the Japanese Fleet to an ineffective force thus greatly
speeding up the advance toward Japan and end of the
war.
Killen resumed antiaircraft screen. While on patrol
off Leyte 1 November she was attacked by seven enemy
aircraft. The destroyer splashed four raiders before a
bomb from one of the attackers found its mark in Kilr
len’s port side, killing 15 men. After temporary repairs
at San Pedro Bay and Manus, she steamed into Hunter’s
Point, Calif., 15 January 1945, for overhaul.
Returning to Manus 9 May, the gallant destroyer
sailed the next day for convoy escort and patrol duty
in the Philippines. Killen steamed into Brunei Bay,
Borneo, 10 June with the assault forces, and supported
the troops with prelanding bombardment. She resumed
exercises 15 June before arriving off Balikpapen, Borneo,
27 June for fire support missions. After silencing enemy
shore batteries on Borneo, Killen prepared for the final
phase of the Pacific war as she arrived Manila 14 July.
She cleared that port 2 weeks later, and joined the North
Pacific Force in the Aleutian Islands.
Upon the cessation of hostilities the destroyer was as-
signed to the occupation forces in the Japanese islands.
Departing Adak 31 August, Killen supported the occupa-
tion forces until 14 November when she sailed to Puget
Sound. From there she proceeded to San Diego, arriving
2 April, and decommissioning 9 July 1946.
The veteran destroyer served as a trial ship during
the atom bomb tests in 1958, and in 1962 engaged in high
explosive tests in the Chesapeake Bay. Killen was
struck from the Navy List in January 1963 to be used as
a target ship for missiles off Vieques Island, P.R.
Killen received two battle stars for World War II
service.
KUlerig
(SI : t. 576; 1. 172' ; b. 30' ; dr. 14'6'' ; a. 1 6-pdr.)
During World War II, Killerig, a salvage ship built in
1918 by Smith Dock Co., Ltd., South Bank, Middles-
borough, Yorkshire, England, was operated out of Kings-
ton, Jamaica, by Merritt-Chapman & Scott, Co. under
direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Ships.
Killigrew, William //., see YP-Jf84
Kilty
Rear Admiral Augustus H. Kilty, born in 1807 at An-
napolis, Md., was appointed Midshipman 4 July 1821. He
served in Pacific, Asiatic, Mediterranean, and African
waters. In February 1832 he took part in Commodore
George Reid’s operations in defense of American mer-
chantmen at Quallah Batto. During the Civil War, he
was conspicuous for his skill and bravery at Island No.
10 and Fort Pillow. He commanded an expedition to
White River, Ark. ; during this operation he was severely
wounded 17 June 1862, causing the loss of his left arm.
He was commissioned Rear Admiral 13 July 1870 and
died 10 November 1879.
(DD-137 : dp. 1,090; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31'9" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35
k. cpl. 113 ; a. 4 4", 1 1-pdr. ; cl. Wiclces)
Kilty (DD-137) was launched 25 April 1918 by the
Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif. ; sponsored by
Miss Elizabeth Harrison Shapley ; and commissioned 17
December 1918, Lt. Comdr. Timothy Jerome Keleher in
command.
After a Caribbean shakedown and a European cruise
during the summer of 1919, Kilty returned to San Diego
and operated there until she decommissioned 5 June 1922.
Kilty recommissioned 18 December 1939; and in April
1940 sailed on Neutrality Patrol out of San Diego. Dur-
ing the summer she conducted reserve training cruises and
resumed her patrols early in September. The destroyer
continued these operations until the United States entered
World War. II. Then Kilty intensified ASW patrols,
trained armed-guard crews for merchantmen, and escorted
coastal convoys throughout 1942.
Reclassified APD-15 on 2 January 1943, Kilty cleared
Mare Island 2 March for the South Pacific. After arriving
Noumea 8 April with a Marine Raider battalion, the trans-
port steamed toward Guadalcanal as an ASW screen 28
April. She made similar cruises until June when she re-
ported for patrol and escort duty in the Solomons. Kilty
played a vital role in the conquest of the Solomons, land-
ing troops of the 37th Division on New Georgia Island
30 June and 4 July. Continuing operations in the area,
she made three reinforcement runs up the “Slot” during
July and landed troops on Vella Lavella Island 15 August.
As Allied operations built up momentum, Kilty moved
on to the Treasury Islands Campaign. She successfully
landed New Zealand troops on Stirling Island 27 October
and a Marine force on Bougainville 9 days later, enabling
Allied Forces to take Rabaul. Kilty effectively aided this
campaign in three more landings before sailing for Bris-
bane 21 November.
Returning Milne Bay in mid-December, the transport
began preparing for the assault on the Bismark Archi-
pelago. Kilty landed units of the 7th Marine Regiment
for the initial attack on Cape Gloucester, New Britain
26 December. Following two more landings there, she
sent troops ashore at Saidor 2 January 1944 to take an
air strip which would help the Air Force patrol and sup-
port Cape Gloucester. Kilty's next objective was Green
Island, where she landed troops on 15 and 20 February be-
fore returning to Port Purvis.
Following an unopposed assault on Emiran Island 20
March, the transport prepared for the Hollandia cam-
paign. Completing landings at Aitape 22 April, Kilty
then participated in New Guinea landings, including
Wakde 17 May and Biak 10 days later before putting into
Humboldt Bay 28 May.
After a minor overhaul at Milne Bay, she landed troops
on Cape Sansopor 30 July before sailing to Sydney. Re-
turning to Humboldt Bay 30 August, Kilty landed troops
on Morotai 15 September to complete her operations in
New Guinea area. Kilty departed Hollandia 12 October
as part of the spearhead for the giant Leyte assault that
bore down on the enemy like a typhoon. In the advance
assault force she landed rangers on Dinagat in the en-
trance to Leyte Gulf 17 October to pave the way for the
main Philippine invasion. While Kilty was returning to
Hollandia 23 October, the U.S. Fleet was crushing the
Japanese Navy in the famous battle for Leyte Gulf.
During another cruise to Leyte in mid-November, the
transport splashed two “Vais” before they could crash into
American LST’s. Continuing operations in the strategic
Philippines, Kilty landed troops 15 December in the inva-
sion of Mindoro, and on 11 January 1945 supported the
Luzon landings. She made additional landings at Nasugbu
31 January and at Corregidor in mid-February before
sailing for Ulithi 25 February for overhaul.
Battle-proven Kilty cleared Ulithi 2 April as escort to
four escort carriers ferrying planes to the Okinawa beach-
head. During May she made another escort cruise from
Saipan to Okinawa, and on the 4th rescued survivors
from Luce (DD-522) sunk during a kamikaze attack.
With the Okinawa campaign well under way, Kilty de-
parted Guam 17 May and arrived San Diego 18 June for
overhaul. Redesignated DD-137 on 20 July 1945, Kilty was
still in the yard as the war came to an end. The veteran
destroyer decommissioned 2 November 1945, and was sold
26 August 1946 to the National Metal & Steel Corp. for
scrapping.
Kilty received ten battle stars for World War II service.
644
USS Kilty (DD-137) at Guantanamo Bay in January 1920
Kimberly
Lewis Ashfield Kimberly was bom 22 April 1838, in
Troy, N.J., and was appointed a Midshipman 8 December
1946. From 1847 to 1860 he was in the African, Pacific,
and East-India Squadrons. During the Civil War he
served on Potomac in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron,
and took part in the Mississippi River operations at Port
Hudson, Grand Gulf, and Vicksburg. He was Executive
Officer of Hartford in the Battle of Mobile Bay, and was
warmly commended for gallant and efficient service.
During the period 1866 to 1889 he cruised in European,
Atlantic, Pacific, and East Indian waters. He commanded
Canonicus, Monongahela, and Omaha, before assuming the
Presidency of the Naval Examining Board in 1885 with
the rank of Commodore. On 11 April 1887, he took com-
mand of the Asiatic Station, and 2 months later was
promoted to Rear Admiral. While Commander in Chief
of the Pacific station, he was unable to save his flagship
Trenton for a violent typhoon which struck Samoa 15
to 17 March 1889. Guiding his men with the inspiring
words, “If we go down, let us do so with our flag flying,”
Kimberly skillfully beached his flagship, losing only one
man in the raging storm that wrecked Trenton. Follow-
ing his return to the United States in January 1890,
Rear Admiral Kimberly was appointed President, Board
of Inspection and Survey ; and he held that post until
retirement in April 1892. Rear Admiral Kimberly died in
West Newton, Mass., 28 January 1902.
I
(DD-80 : dp. 1,060 ; 1. 315'5" ; b. 31' 8" ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 100 ; a. 4 4", 2 1-pdrs., 12 21" tt, ; cl. Wickes)
The first Kimberly (DD-80) was launched 14 Decem-
ber 1917, by Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass. ;
sponsored by Miss Elsie S. Kimberly, daughter of Rear
Admiral Kimberly ; and commissioned 26 April 1918,
Comdr. A. W. Johnson in command.
After shakedown Kimberly cleared Boston 19 May 1918,
escorting a convoy to the United Kingdom. After her ar-
rival in June, the destroyer spent the remainder of the
war protecting ships bound for the battle zoneg in Europe
from the British Isles. She departed Queenstown, Ire-
land, 26 December ; and, after arrival Boston 8 January
1919, Kimberly engaged in training operations along the
coast. In May the destroyer served as a lifeguard ship
in New England waters during the world’s first transatlan-
tic flight — that of the Navy’s NC-4 hydroplane com-
manded by Lt. Comdr. Albert C. Read.
Kimberly completed maneuvers out of Newport, and
entered Boston Navy Yard for extensive repairs. She
joined the Destroyer Force at Newport 18 April 1921, and
throughout the summer operated with submarines. In-
formation gained through these early experiments was
of great value in refining the techniques of undersea war-
fare. Kimberly spent the winter at Charleston, S.C., be-
fore arriving Philadelphia 29 March 1922, where she de-
commissioned 30 June. Her hull was sold to Boston
Iron & Metal Co., Baltimore, Md., for scrapping.
II
( DD-521 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376'6" ; b. 39'8" ; dr. 17'9" ; s.
35 k. ; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 14 40mm., 12 20mm. , 6 dcp., 2
dct., 5 21" tt. ; cl. Fletcher)
Kimberly (DD-521) was launched 4 February 1943, by
Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y. ; sponsored by
Miss Elsie S. Kimberly, daughter of Admiral Kimberly ;
and commissioned 22 May 1943, Comdr. H. W. Smith in
command.
After shakedown Kimberly cleared Norfolk 10 Septem-
ber 1943, and steamed toward the action in the Pacific.
Following additional training at Pearl Harbor, the de-
645
stroyer arrived off Makin 20 November to begin the
Navy’s relentless conquest of Micronesia. Throughout
the Gilbert Islands campaign, the destroyer served in
ASW screen for the battleships and cruisers supporting
marines fighting ashore with deadly accurate and devasta-
ting gunfire.
Kimberly departed Tarawa 6 December for the West
Coast. After repairs at San Francisco, she sailed 22
January 1944, for the Aleutian Islands. Operating with
Rear Admiral Baker’s Task Force 94, the destroyer de-
parted Attu 1 February to silence enemy antiaircraft
batteries on Suribachi Wan and Kura'bi Saki. Kimberly
remained in the Aleutians for 7 months on ASW patrols,
offensive sweeps, bombardment of the Kuriles, and train-
ing exercises before steaming toward San Francisco 18
September.
As the tempo of the Pacific war quickened, Kimberly
arrived at Manus, Admiralty Islands, to prepare for her
roles in the reconquest of the Philippine®. In 10 Novem-
ber she departed escorting a supply convoy to Leyte Gulf,
carrying material to replenish U.S. forces there. On the
evening of 21 December, while Kimberly escorted another
convoy to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, Japanese suicide
planes attacked the American ships. During the 2-hour
battle, Kimberly's guns splashed one plane and assisted
in the downing of two others. After repulsing the attack,
the convoy proceeded to Mangarin Bay bringing men and
material for the construction of an airstrip and a PT-boat
base needed to support the invasion of Luzon, Kimberly’s
next mission.
The destroyer departed Leyte 2 January 1945, screening
a preinvasion battleship group. En route, during one of
many kamikaze attacks, the destroyer scored another kill.
Arriving off Lingayen Gulf 6 January, the bombardment
group was immediately placed on alert to ward off the
fanatic enemy suicide pilots. That day Kimberly
splashed two more planes. For the remainder of the
month, she bombarded enemy railroad and supply centers.
During February the destroyer prepared for the Oki-
nawa campaign which would advance American forces
next door to the Japanese homeland. Departing San
Pedro Bay 21 March for radar picket duty, the destroyer,
off the Ryukyus, was attacked 26 March by two “Vais.”
Despite accurate antiaircraft fire and numerous hits, one
enemy plane, trailing fire and smoke, crashed into the
aft gun mounts killing 4 men and wounding 57. Kim-
berly cleared the area 1 April for repairs at Mare Island,
arriving 25 April.
Returning to the fight, she cleared Pearl Harbor 10
August but Japan capitulated as the veteran destroyer
steamed to join the 3d fleet in the Far East. She entered
Tokyo Bay 4 September and 2 days later sailed, escorting
Missouri. In company with the famed battleship, she ar-
rived Philadelphia 18 October. After Navy Day ceremon-
ies, Kimberly departed Philadelphia 2 November and ar-
rived Charleston, S.C., the next day. She remained there
until 5 February 1947 when she was placed in reserve.
The United States shrank her Navy too far. Encour-
aged by the weakness, the Communists struck in Korea.
As fast as crews and material could be assembled, the
nation rebuilt her fleet. Kimberly recommissioned 8 Feb-
ruary 1951, Comdr. O. B. Parker in command. After
shakedown out of Guantanamo and exercises along the
coast, she cleared Norfolk 15 May 1951, and steamed to
the Pacific as reinforcement. She arrived Yokosuka 18
June and 5 days later sailed for fire support operations
off the western coast of Korea. The destroyer also acted
as ASW screen and plane guard for the carriers during
the raids on enemy positions ashore. In mid-September
she arrived off Formosa for patrol operations before sail-
ing 6 October via the Philippines, the Suez Canal, and the
Mediterranean, for the United States.
Arriving Norfolk 12 December, Kimberly operated along
the Atlantic coast and Caribbean on training exercises
until she arrived Charleston, S.C., 20 June 1953. She
remained there and decommissioned 15 January 1954.
After 12 years in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Charles-
ton, S.C., Kimberly proceeded to Boston Naval Shipyard
in July 1966 for overhaul prior to being loaned to the gov-
ernment of the Republic of China.
Kimberly received five battle stars for World War II
and one star for Korean service.
Kimbro, Sgt. Truman, see Sgt. Truman Kimbro ( AK-254)
Kimmel, Charles J., see Charles J. Kimmel (DE-584)
Kineo
A mountain peak in central Maine.
I
(Gbt : t. 507; 1. 158'; b. 28'; dr. 4'6" ; cpl. 81 ; a. 1 11''
D.sb., 1 20-pdr. P.r., 2 24-pdr. hows.)
The first Kineo, an ironclad gunboat, was launched 9
October 1861 at Portland, Maine, by J. W. Dyer ; spon-
sored by Miss Eunice C. Dyer, daughter of the builder,
and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 8 February
1862, Lt. George M. Ransom in command.
Slated for Admiral Farragut’s West Gulf Blockading
Squadron, the new 90-day gunboat got underway 13 Feb-
ruary and reached Ship Island, Miss. 7 March to pre-
pare for the conquest of New Orleans. She did recon-
naissance work in the lower Mississippi while Farragut
labored to get his deep-draft oceangoing ships over the
bar and into the river. The mortar flotilla opened a
steady fire on Fort Jackson and St. Philip 18 April which
continued until the Union ships braved a heavy Con-
federate cannonade as they dashed by the forts 24 April.
Kineo was hit several times as she ran the gauntlet in
the division commanded by Captain Bailey. On 27 April
she captured 5 Confederate sail boats below New
Orleans.
In ensuing months, she patrolled the Mississippi from
time to time exchanging fire with shore batteries. She
reached sight of Vicksburg 19 May and engaged South-
ern batteries at Grand Gulf a week later. On 6 August
with Sumter, Cayuga, and Katahdin, she helped repel a
Confederate attack on the Union garrison at Baton Rouge
enabling the Union Navy to maintain its blockade of the
important Red River supply line. She shelled a guerrilla
camp on the 9 and fired over the city on the 20th to stop
the approach of a Confederate force. On the 28th she
captured and destroyed several small boats.
October opened with the capture of a large drove of
cattle near Donaldsonville, La., which were being sent
east to feed Lee’s Army. Two days later transports ar-
rived, loaded the cattle — some 1,500 head— and carried
them downstream. The next day a member of the crew
was killed and another wounded in engaging a battery
on the west bank.
Gunboats were constantly necessary to protect Union
steamboats from attacks by flying batteries and roving
snipers. Kineo efficiently performed this duty during the
months when the Union Navy and Army fought and
labored to take Vicksburg. As the campaign to clear the
Mississippi approached its climax, Farragut decided to
move up the river to a position where he could interrupt
Southern supplies from the West at the mouth of the Red
River. Powerful batteries at Port Hudson, La., barred
his way, but the Admiral was undaunted. He lashed
gunboats to his deep-water ships to shield them from
gunfire and to assist them in navigating the tricky waters
of the Mississippi. Kineo was paired with Monongahela
for the dash on the night of 13 and 14 March. Heavy and
deadly accurate fire rained down on the Union ships
which prevented all but the flagship Hartford and her
consort Albatross from passing the fort.
A shot disabled Monongahela’s rudder causing her and
Kineo to run aground. The gunboat worked herself free
646
and then pulled Monongahela off and guided her as they
drifted down stream out of range.
After this engagement Kineo resumed her varied but
vital duties in the lower river and remained at the task
until after the fall of Vicksburg. She left the Mississippi
16 August and reached Baltimore on the 25th for repairs.
Back in top trim, Kineo departed the Delaware Capes
29 February 1864 and rejoined the West Gulf Blockading
Squadron at New Orleans 17 March and was assigned to
blockade duty off the Texas coast. She boarded British
schooner Sting Rag 22 May, but the blockade runner’s
crew overcame the prize crew, ran the schooner aground
on the Texas crew, and turned the Union prize master
and sailors over to Confederate troops.
Kineo returned to New Orleans 8 December and served
in the Mississippi until the final weeks of the Civil War.
She stood to sea 5 April 1865 and entered Chesapeake Bay
on the 17th. She entered Philadelphia Navy Yard on the
26th, decommissioned 9 May, and was sold 9 October 1866.
II
Kineo (Tug No. 39) was renamed Montcalm (q.v.)
24 February 1919.
King
The first King was named after Frank Ragan King, bom
15 October 1884 in Montevallo, Ala. He was appointed
midshipman at the Naval Academy 6 May 1903 and grad-
uated 11 February 1907. After serving as passed mid-
shipman, he was commissioned Ensign 12 February 1909.
He served in Arkansas, Hartford, Milwaukee, Pennsyl-
vania, and Illinois before attaining the rank of Commander
21 September 1918. He assumed command of trawler
Richard Buckley 7 July 1919 during minesweeping opera-
tions in the North Sea. On 12 July 1919 hi9 ship struck a
mine and went down in only 7 minutes.
During the crisis King exerted himself to see that all
of his crew might be saved. King’s feeling for his men
was evidenced by the fact that his final act before going
down with his ship was to strap his own life preserver
to a stunned sailor and help him over the side. Comdr.
King received the Distinguished Service Medal for his
valor.
The second King (DLG-10) was named after Ernest
Joseph King, born 23 November 1878 in Lorain, Ohio. He
was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1897. In July
1898, during the Spanish-American War, he served as
Naval Cadet in San Francisco, flagship of the Northern
Patrol Squadron. Upon graduation from the Academy he
was commissioned Ensign 7 June 1903.
Prior to World War I King served in the Asiatic Fleet,
Atlantic Fleet, and shore duty at Annapolis, Md. During
World War I he served as Aide and Squadron Engineer
to Admiral Mayo, Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet.
After the war, with the rank of Captain, he again served
at the Naval Academy as head of the Postgraduate
Department.
King next turned his attention to submarines and the
expanded role of naval aviation. After training at Pen-
sacola, he received his wings. He was named Assistant
Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department in
August 1928. After promotion to Rear Admiral 26 April
1933 King served as Chief of the Bureau.
On 1 February 1941 he was designated Commander in
Chief, Atlantic Fleet with the rank of Admiral. Soon after
the United States entered World War II, President Roose-
velt appointed King Chief of Naval Operations and the
Senate confirmed the appointment 18 March 1912. In this
office, with wisdom, inflexible integrity, and determina-
tion, he mapped out the strategy and vigorously directed
the operations of the unprecedented naval campaigns
which led to victory over Axis powers in Europe and
crushed Japan in the Pacific. By act of Congress 14
December 1944, the grade of Fleet Admiral U.S. Navy
was established ; his appointment to that rank was con-
firmed the same day.
After he was relieved by Fleet Admiral Nimitz as Chief
of Naval Operations, King continued to serve on active
duty in an advisory capacity in the Office of the Secretary
of the Navy. He died at the Naval Hospital,. Portsmouth,
N.H., 25 June 1956. During his naval career, Fleet Ad-
miral King received the Navy Cross, and the Distinguished
Service Medal with two Gold Stars, in addition to
many other awards from the United States and foreign
governments.
I
( DD-242 : dp. 1,190; 1. 314'5" ; b. 31 '8” ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 35 k. ;
cpl. 101 ; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt. ; cl. Clemson)
The first King (DD-242) was laid down 28 April 1919 by
the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; launched
14 October 1920 ; sponsored by Mrs. Allene A. King, widow
of Comdr. King ; and commissioned 16 December 1920, Lt.
Comdr. R. C. Smith, in command.
After shakedown and training operations along the At-
lantic Coast King cleared Hampton Roads 2 October 1921
for her first Mediterranean cruise. Arriving Smyrna,
Turkey, 8 November, the destroyer received 300 Greek
refugees for transport to Mitylene, Greece. The destroyer
served as Station ship during the Crimean Crisis, remain-
ing in Turkish waters until June 1923.
Upon Teturn to the United State during the summer,
King joined the Atlantic Scouting Fleet and from 1923
to 1930 engaged in fleet exercises and reserve training
cruises along the coast and in the Caribbean. She sailed
for the Pacific 15 April 1925 for maneuvers in Ha-
waiian waters. During the spring of 1927, she patrolled
waters off Nicaragua to protect American citizens and
interests during civil war in that country. King decom-
missioned at Philadelphia 10 March 1931.
She recommissioned 13 June 1932 and departed Hamp-
ton Roads 18 August to join the Pacific Scouting Force.
King operated out of California for the next 6 years,
engaging in central Pacific exercises, reserve cruises and
training maneuvers to strengthen America’s powerful sea
force. The destroyer decommissioned at San Diego 21
September 1938.
Soon after Nazi aggression plunged Europe into war,
King recommissioned 26 September 1939, Lt. Comdr.
E. E. Berthold in command. The veteran destroyer
cleared San Diego 13 November to join the Caribbean Neu-
trality Patrol. Following arrival at Norfolk 22 February
1910, the destroyer operated along the East Coast on
Neutrality Patrol out of Boston and Key West, before re-
turing to the West Coast during the fall. She continued
patrol and maneuvers out of San Francisco, operating in
that area at the outbreak of hostilities with Japan.
During the first 5 months of the war, King operated
on patrol and escort duty along the West Coast. De-
parting Mare Island 22 May 1942, she joined Task Force
8 escorting troop transport President Fillmore to the
Aleutians. Arriving Dutch Harbor 3 June, King operated
on ASW and screening patrols in the Aleutians through-
out the summer, and fought with Task Group 8.6 dnring
the bombardment of Kiska in August. She remained in
the frigid Aleutians until she sailed for San Francisco
22 December 1943.
After overhaul, King operated off the West Coast for the
rest of the war, as patrol vessel and an ASW screen. She
departed Treasure Island 28 August 1945 arriving Phila-
delphia 20 September. King decommissioned there 23 Oc-
tober 1945, and was sold to Boston Metals for scrapping on
29 September 1946.
King received one battle star for World War II service.
II
(DLG-10: dp. 4,700; 1. 512'6" ; b. 52'3" ; dr. 20' ; s. 30 k. ;
cpl. 378; a. 1 5", 4 3", 6 21" tt., ASROC, Ter. mis. ; cl.
Coontz)
The second King (DLG-10) was laid down 1 March 1957
by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ; launched 6 December
1958 sponsored by Mrs. Oliver W. Yandenberg, daughter
256-125 0 - 68 - 43
647
of Fleet Admiral King; and commissioned 17 November
1960, Comdr. Melvin B. Bustard, in command.
After shakedown along the coast, and in Hawaiian
waters, King continued training out of San Diego for the
remainder of 1961. Following extensive preparations the
guided-missile frigate sailed on her first WestPac cruise,
7 June 1962, strengthening the mighty 7th Fleet with her
Terrier missile arsenal. Operating with this mighty
peacekeeping force, King helped to check Communist ag-
gression in Southeast Asia.
Upon returning San Diego 31 December, she resumed
tactical exercises off the West Coast until 1 August 1963
when she departed on her second WestPac cruise. Once
again her operations with the 7th Fleet helped main-
tain stability in the Far East. King returned San Diego
10 March 1964 and conducted operations along the coast,
for the rest of the year constantly perfecting her fighting
skills and increasing the peacekeeping ability of the Navy.
King headed back for the Far East 5 April 1965 es-
corting Oriskany (CVA-34). She operated from the
South China Sea during May screening carriers and par-
ticipating in air-sea rescue work. She continued to serve
off Vietnam until returning to San Diego 2 November.
The guided missile frigate operated off the West Coast
until heading back for the Western Pacific 26 May 1966.
On this cruise she carried a helicopter for search and
rescue missions to save American pilots during strikes
against North Vietnam. She arrived Da Nang, South
Vietnam, 27 June. During July she saved five downed
aviators, including one who was rescued from deep within
North Vietnam by the ship’s daring helicopter crew. In
August the ship was stationed in a positive identification
and radar advisory zone (PIRAZ) in the Gulf of Tonkin
to help protect American ships from enemy aircraft. Be-
fore she was relieved, she had checked over 15,000 air-
craft. During this duty she also rescued seven pilots
whose planes had gone down during strikes against enemy
targets. She continued this duty, except for brief runs to
Hong Kong and Subic Bay, until relieved by Long Beach
(CGN-9) on 29 November.
King returned to San Diego 20 December and operated
off the West Coast into 1967 preparing for future action.
King, Ruth, see YP-567
USS King (DLG-10) departing Pearl Harbor 19 August 1963
648
King, Strom, see Strom King (AP-171)
King County
Counties in Texas and Washington.
( LST-857 : dp. 1,625; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 14'1" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 226 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm. ; cl. LST-511 )
LST-587 was laid down by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.,
Seneca, 111., 19 September 1944 ; launched 6 December
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Beatrice Snow Major ; and com-
missioned at New Orleans, La., 29 December 1944, Lt.
Roy C. Parlier in command.
After shakedown off the Florida coast, LST-857 de-
parted New Orleans for the Pacific 1 February 1945.
Steaming via the Panama Canal, she touched the Hawai-
ian and Marshall Islands and reached Guam 30 March.
There she loaded bombs and ammunition and departed
21 April for Iwo Jima. Steaming via Saipan, she reached
Iwo Jima 1 May, unloaded her cargo, then sailed 18 May.
Carrying 334 enemy prisoners, she returned to Guam the
21st.
Between 23 and 30 May, LST-857 carried a cargo of
fog oil to Okinawa. She supplied ships at Hagushi until
24 June. Returning to Guam the 4th of July, she loaded
troops and Army construction equipment, then sailed
for Okinawa the 16th. She operated there from 28 July
to 5 August; and, after returning to Saipan 11 August,
she loaded cargo and departed for the Philippines 3
September.
LST-857 arrived San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 10 September
and was assigned to support occupation operations in
Japan. After embarking ordnance and construction troops
and loading equipment at Iloilo, Panay, and Batangas,
Luzon, she sailed in convoy for Japan 20 September. She
reached Tokyo Bay the 29th and, until 25 October, operated
along the coast of Honshu shuttling occupation troops and
cargo. She returned to the Philippines early in Novem-
ber ; and, after embarking additional troops, she returned
to Japan 18 November and resumed occupation opera-
tions. Departing Yokohama 15 December, she steamed
via Saipan and Pearl Harbor to the United States and ar-
rived San Francisco 25 January 1946.
During the next six months LST-857 operated along
the California coast between San Francisco and San
Diego. She departed San Diego 31 July, reached Pearl
Harbor 11 August, and began supply runs under Service
Force, Pacific Fleet. For more than 3 years she operated
out of Pearl Harbor, carrying passengers and supplies to
bases in the Hawaiian Islands and to Johnson and Canton
Islands. Between 3 April and 6 August 1948 she deployed
to the Marshall Islands where she conducted shuttle serv-
ice among the atolls.
Departing Pearl Harbor 3 January 1950, LST-857 re-
turned to the .West Coast 14 January. After overhaul
at Mare Island, she operated out of Astoria, Oregon, and
San Diego until 1 July when she departed San Francisco
for Hawaii. She arrived Pearl Harbor 11 July ; and,
after serving briefly as interisland transport, she de-
parted 18 August to support the effort to repel Communist
aggression in South Korea. She arrived Yokosuka, Japan,
4 September, then shifted to Kobe, Japan, the next day.
After embarking men and equipment of the 1st Marine
Engineer Battalion, she sortied 10 September as part of
an amphibious attack convoy bound for Inchon, South
Korea.
Assigned to Task Element 90.32, LST-857 arrived off
Inchon 15 September while a heavy air-sea bombard-
ment pounded enemy shore positions. Late that after-
noon, she closed Red Beach under heavy mortar and
machine gun fire to take part in landings which were de-
signed to spearhead an Allied offensive northward. De-
spite concentrated enemy fire, she debarked assault troops
and unloaded vital supplies and equipment. In addition
she provided counter-battery fire and embarked battle
casualties for emergency treatment. For daring bravery
and heroic performance of duty on Red Beach, the ag-
gressive and intrepid tank landing ships, including LST-
857, received the Navy Unit Commendation.
LST-857 completed unloading and departed the beach
early 16 September. She returned to Sasebo, Japan, 19
September. She again returned to Inchon 2 October and
delivered a cargo of ammunition to Missouri (BB-63).
On 14 October she departed Sasebo for Hawaii and ar-
rived Pearl Harbor 3 November. Following shipyard re-
pairs, she departed 1 December on a cargo run to the
Marshall Islands. During the next 10 months she con-
ducted passenger and cargo service out of Pearl Harbor
to the Marshall, Samoa, and Palmyra Islands, as well as
to ports in the Hawaiian Islands.
Departing Pearl Harbor 28 September 1951, LST-857
sailed for the Far East and arrived Yokohama 18 October.
On the 22d she sailed for Sasebo where she arrived 26
October to prepare for shuttle duty along the vital water
supply line between Japan and Korea. Operating pri-
marily out of Sasebo, she transported men and supplies to
ports along the western coast of Korea. In addition she
supplied fleet activities along the coast of Japan. She
sailed for the United States 23 September 1954, touched
at Pearl Harbor 9 October, and arrived San Diego 22
October.
LST-857 returned to Pearl Harbor from San Diego 27
November ; and, after overhaul, she began passenger and
cargo runs between Pearl Harbor and Midway 2 Feb-
ruary 1955. Renamed King County 1 July, she continued
this duty until August 1956. Between 17 August and 12
September she made a supply run to the Marshalls ; then
she sailed for the West Coast 1 October, arriving Oak-
land the 11th. She entered the Mare Island Naval Ship-
yard 12 October and began conversion to an experimental
guided missile test ship. Reclassified AG-157 on 17 May
1958, she completed conversion 15 November, then de-
parted for testing and evaluation operations out of San
Diego and Port Hueneme.
While undergoing conversion, King County appeared
as though she had swallowed a submarine. A mock-up
submarine hull was installed on her deck for use in test-
ing a prototype missile handling system. In addition she
received launching, recording, and evaluation equipment
for testing the launch and flight capabilities of Regulus
II guided missiles. Capable of carrying four missiles in
her hangar, she was designed as a mobile testing center
for these surface-to-surface missiles.
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 5, King County con-
ducted her first missile engine firing 8 December while
operating in the Pacific Missile Range. She fired her
first Regulus II missile 2 days later. During the next 6
months she performed simulated missile launchings and
served on telemetry and recovery stations in the Pacific
Missile Range. Moreover, she supported the development
of America’s space program and participated in tracking
and recovering missile nose cones.
Transferred to the 11th Naval District 1 July 1959, she
continued operating as a missile tracking and recovery
ship. During the next year she cruised the missile range
off Southern California and Baja California supporting
missile firing and recovery operations. Operating out of
Port Hueneme, she participated in tracking Corvus mis-
sile firings in May and July 1960. She also supported
the telemetering and recovery of the data capsule from
Discovery XII. After returning to Port Hueneme 8 July,
she steamed to Long Beach 19 July and decommissioned
the same day. She was sold to Zidell Explorations Inc.,
25 April 1961.
LST-857 received one battle star for World War II
service and seven battle stars for Korean service.
King Philip
( SwStr : t. 500; 1. 204'; b. 22'11'' ; dph. 8'; cpl. 14; a. 1.
gun)
Powhatan, a side wheel steamer built at Baltimore in
1845 by J. A. and E. T. Robinson, operated on the Potomac
649
out of Georgetown, D.C. Early in the Civil War the
Army seized the side wheeler 21 April 1861 and trans-
ferred her to the Navy. The next day she entered the
Washington Navy Yard to be fitted out for war service.
A week later Lt. John Glendy Sproston was ordered to
take command of Powhatan and proceed to Kettle Bottom
Shoals to replace and protect buoys there which had been
removed by Confederate agents.
After patrol duty in the Potomac helping to protect the
Nation’s Capital during the early months of the Civil
War, Powhatan steamed to Baltimore for repairs. She
was renamed King Philip 4 November 1961.
Throughout the Civil War King Philip was used as a
dispatch vessel shuttling mail, supplies, and passengers
between Washington and Union ships in the Potomac and
Rappahannock Rivers. After peace had been restored
and the Nation reunited, King Philip was sold at auction
to H. F. Harrill 15 September 1865.
Kingbird
Any of several American tyrant flycatchers.
I
( AMC-56 : dp. 206; 1. 96' ; b. 21.6’ ; dr. 7' ; s. 9 k. ; a. 2.30
cal. mg. ; T. Wooden Dragger)
The first Kingbird (AMC-56), ex Governor Saltonstall,
was built in 1939 by the Quincy Drydock & Yacht Co.,
Quincy, Mass., acquired by the Navy 26 December 1940,
and placed in service as a coastal minesweeper in the 1st
Naval District 24 July 1941.
Following assignment to Portsmouth, N.H., in January
1942, Kingbird operated in the 1st Naval District as a
coastal minesweeper for over 2 years. She was reclassified
IX-176 10 July 1944 and placed out of service 28 July
1944 for use in training sound operators for new sub-
marines. Kingbird was transferred to the WSA 7 June
1946 for disposal.
II
(M SC-194 : dp. 370; 1. 144' ; b. 28' ; dr. 8'6" ; s. 14 k. ; a.
2 20mm.; cl. Bluebird)
The second Kingbird (MSC-194) was launched 21 May
1954 by the Quincy Adams Yacht Yard Inc., Quincy, Mass. ;
sponsored by Mrs. Marion Cushman Wilson ; and com-
missioned 27 April 1955, Lt. (j.g.) R. E. Alder, in com-
mand.
After shakedown, Kingbird arrived Charleston, S.C.,
for minesweep training and for the entire year she per-
fected methods of detecting and destroying mines. She
also participated in exercises which kept her ready for any
service she might be called upon to perform. From 1956
through 1964 Kingbird engaged in minesweeping exercises
along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to the Canal
Zone in the Caribbean. During 1965 she displayed her
versatility in two search operations : one for a downed
Navy plane and the other a lost merchant ship. In 1967
she still operates out of Charleston.
Kingfish
A fish found along the Atlantic coast of the United
States.
(SS-234 : dp. 1,526 ; 1. 311'8" ; b. 27'4” ; dr. 15'3'' ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 60 ; a. 13'', 10 21'' tt. ; cl. Gato)
Kingfish (SS-234) was launched by Portsmouth Navy
Yard 2 March 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Harry A. Stuart,
wife of Read Admiral Stuart; and commissioned 20 May
1942, Lt. Comdr. V. L. Lowrance in command.
Kingfish arrived Pearl Harbor from New London 31
August 1942, and sailed on her first war patrol 9 Sep-
tember. Patrolling close to Japan’s coast Kingfish sighted
a three-ship convoy and fired a three torpedo spread at
the last freighter, scoring one hit. Unable to determine
the extent of the damage due to an uncomfortably efficient
barrage of depth charges which lasted 18 hours, Kingfish
successfully outwitted her attackers and cleared the area.
Sighting freighter Yomei Maru 1 October, Kingfish fired
a three torpedo spread which sent her to the bottom.
Going deep for the inevitable depth charging, Kingfish
rearmed her tubes and continued scouting shipping lanes.
Four days later she sighted and torpedoed a freighter off
Muroto Zaki but could not verify the sinking. Two weeks
of frustration followed due to lack of targets. On 23 Oc-
tober a freighter was sighted ; immediately her able crew
went into action and sent Seiko Maru to the bottom with
two torpedoes. Completing her first war patrol, Kingfish
arrived Midway 3 November.
After refit Kingfish sailed 25 November to Chichi Jima
on her second war patrol. Entering the South China Sea
5 December, she sighted freighter Hino Maru No. 3 and
sank it 2 days later. Then, on 28 December, she sent an-
other freighter Choyo Maru to the bottom. Two trawlers
were attacked by gunfire early in January. The first was
riddled and set afire and the second sunk by gunfire.
Kingfish sailed for Pearl Harbor from her second war
patrol, arriving 23 January 1943.
Kingfish was underway for her third war patrol 16
February. En route Formosa she sank a trawler off Bonins
and torpedoed a passenger freighter. Damage to this ship
could not be ascertained as the submarine was immedi-
ately attacked by enemy bombs and depth charges. On 17
March, a freighter was tracked and a precise torpedo
spread damaged it considerably. Two days later she
sighted, tracked, and sank a troop transport as enemy
troops scrambled down her sides. On 23 March Kingfish
was subjected to a severe depth charge attack. The attack
was so intense and the damage so great that secret codes
and material were burned in preparation to abandoning
ship. The last string of depth charges bashed in the main
induction piping allowing a huge bubble to escape to the
surface, apparently causing the enemy to think the ship
had sunk. Kingfish cautiously surfaced, cleared the area
and set course for Pearl Harbor, arriving 9 April with a
grateful crew. The submarine then proceeded to Mare
Island Navy Yard, where entire sections were rebuilt and
installed.
Battle damage repaired, Kingfish sailed to Pearl Har-
bor, arriving 23 June 1943. She sailed 1 July for her
fourth war patrol in the Babuyan Channel, north of the
Philippines, off southern Formosa, and near Manila. King-
fish was ordered to depart the patrol area due to lack of
enemy activity and to report to Fremantle, Australia, for
refit.
Assigned the South China Sea as her fifth patrol area,
Kingfish sailed 24 September. While on this patrol, she
accomplished two special missions. The first entailed
planting mines on enemy shipping lanes and the second,
the secret and successful landing of a party of Allied per-
sonnel and equipment on the northeast coast of Borneo.
Continuing on her patrol, she sank a gunboat by gunfire
and damaged a tanker with torpedoes 9 October off Sibutu
Islands. She sank cargo ship Sana Maru off Cape Varella
20 October. Her patrol a success, Kingfish sailed into
Fremantle 14 November 1943.
Kingfish departed Fremantle on 16 December 1943 with
a new commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. H. L. Jukes. Thread-
ing her way in the South China Sea, she made first
contact on 3 January when she sent tankers Ryuei Maru
and Bokuei Maru to the bottom and sank tanker Fushimi
Maru No. 3 7 January. Having navigated brilliantly
through extremely dangerous waters and having outwitted
the enemy escort vessels, Kingfish headed for Pearl Harbor
with a proud record, arriving 26 January 1944.
Kingfish’s seventh war patrol was in the Mariana Islands
area from 19 February to 9 April 1944. No attacks were
possible during this patrol, although the boat underwent
a bombing and depth charge attack. Kingfish departed her
patrol area, arriving Majuro, Marshall Islands, 9 April for
refit.
650
The submarine’s eighth war patrol was made in the
Bonins. Since this patrol was unfruitful because of the
lack of worthwhile targets, Kingfish received orders to
return to Midway, arriving there 19 June. While there
she was ordered to Mare Island, Calif., for overhaul.
Her overhaul completed, with a new commanding officer,
Comdr. T. E. Harper, Kingfish sailed for Pearl Harbor on
her ninth war patrol 12 October. The day Kingfish entered
her patrol area she spotted freighter Ikutagavca Maru and
sent her to the bottom off Chichi Jima Retto 24 October.
Three days later she sank the cargo ship Tokai Maru No.
4 and a landing craft transport off Kita, Iwo Jima. Chang-
ing patrol areas to Okinawa, Kingfish tracked a convoy
but was unable to attack. Dropping anchor at Guam, she
completed her patrol 28 November.
On 23 December 1944 Kingfish steamed out of Guam
toward the Japanese home islands for her 10th war patrol.
A convoy was sighted 2 January 1945, but heavy weather
prevented the submarine from attacking. The following
night the submarine made up for lost time and sent the
freighter Yaei Maru and the passenger-cargo ship Shibo-
zono Maru to the bottom. For the remainder of the patrol
Kingfish was assigned the additional task of lifeguard
duties. She returned to Guam 1 February.
The submarine refitted at Guam and sailed 6 March,
operating in a coordinated attack group with Icefish and
Sawfish. Despite thorough coverage, no targets worthy
of torpedo fire were encountered. However, late in March
Kingfish experienced the great pleasure of rescuing four
downed aviators from a British task force. Leaving
the area Kingfish debarked the British aviators at Saipan
and set course for Pearl Harbor, arriving 25 April.
Departing Hawaii 17 June with a new commanding
officer, Lt. Comdr. T. D. Keegan, the submarine sailed via
Guam for the Japanese island of Honshu. In smartly ex-
ecuted night gun attacks, she sank two sampan picket
boats off Honshu 5 August, also exploding several drifting
mines during this patrol. Having completed her 12th and
last war patrol, Kingfish arrived Midway 2 hours before
the war ended.
Kingfish got underway for Galveston, Tex., 27 August
via Pearl Harbor and Panama Canal, arriving 23 Septem-
ber. She sailed to Orange, Tex., 25 October for Navy Day.
Kingfish sailed 30 October to New London, Conn., ar-
riving 5 November, was decommissioned, and placed in
reserve 9 March 1946. She was struck from the Navy List
on 1 March 1960, sold to Albert Heller 6 October I960, and
scrapped.
Kingfish made 12 war patrols, sinking 14 enemy ships
totaling 48,866 tons, and was awarded 9 battle stars for
World War II service.
Kingfisher
One of Europe’s most beautiful birds ( Alcedo Tspida)
conspicuous for its blue-green back and rich chestnut
breast.
I
(Bark: t. 451; 1. 121 '4”; b. 28'8" ; dph. 14'4” ; cpl. 97;
a. 4 8" D.sb.)
The first Kingfisher was purchased by the Navy at Bos-
ton 2 August 1861 ; and commissioned at Boston Navy
Yard 3 October, Acting Lt. Joseph P. Couthouy in com-
mand.
That day she was ordered to Key West, Fla., for duty
in the Gulf Blockading Squadron. On 21 January she
joined Ethan Allen in capturing Olive Branch bound from
Ceder Keys to Nassau with a cargo of turpentine. She
again cooperated with Ethan Allen 26 January in man-
ning and equipping a boat expedition to the mouth of the
Manatee River which captured sloop Mary Nevis and
burned Confederate calvary barracks. Three days later
she took Spanish brig Terisita of Havana bound for Mata-
moras with a contraband cargo. On 25 February King-
fisher overtook blockade runner Lion in the Gulf of Mexico
after a 3-day chase.
The great risks involved in blockade duty during the
Civil War have not been generally recognized. The need
for water, food, or timber often forced parties from the
Union ships to venture ashore in hostile territory. On
2 June two boats from Kingfisher rowed up Aucilla River,
Fla., to obtain fresh water. A Southern raiding party
surprised the expedition killing two men and capturing
the remaining nine.
Other landing parties from the bark fared better. An
expedition destroyed salt works at St. Joseph’s Bay, Fla.,
which had produced some 200 bushels a day.
But the hardships of blockade duty in the Gulf were
unabated. Early scurvy became a serious problem for the
crew prompting Rear Admiral Lardner to order King-
fisher to Boston. When the ship had been repaired and
her crew reinvigorated, Kingfisher was assigned to the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and ordered to Port
Royal, S.C., where she arrived 21 December.
The bark was stationed in St. Helena Sound, S.C.,
where she distinguished herself for efficiency in recon-
naissance work and operations against small parties of
Confederates ashore. On 9 April 1863 a party from King-
fisher landed at Middleton’s estate, Edisto Island, S.C.,
and captured a group of Southern cavalrymen stationed
there to observe and report activity of Union ships in the
area. From time to time during the ensuing year, she
shelled Confederate troops ashore and sent small landing
parties inland to gather information and capture food
for her crew and for refugees who had flocked to her for
protection.
Kingfisher grounded on Combahee Bank in St. Helena
Sound 28 March 1864 and filled with water. After ef-
forts to save the stranded ship proved fruitless she was
abandoned 5 April.
II
( SP-76 : dp. 17 ; 1. 60' ; b. 10'9" ; dr. 3' ; s. 26 k. ; a. 1 1-pdr.,
1 .30 cal. mg. )
Kingfisher, a motor launch, was built in 1916 by George
Lawley & Sons, Neponset, Mass. ; acquired by the Navy
8 May 1917 from her owner, R. P. Mathiesson, Chicago,
111. ; and commissioned 15 May at Newport, R.I., Ens.
R. P. Mathiesson, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 2d Naval District, Newport, Kingfisher
enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve 9 June.
Based at New London, Conn., she patrolled Long Island
Sound. On 7 January 1919 she was ordered returned to
her former owner. Kingfisher decommissioned 22 Janu-
ary and was turned over to her previous owner 4 March.
III
(AM-25 : dp. 950 ; 1. 187’10" ; b. 35'6" ; dr. 9'10" ; s. 14 k. ;
cpl. 78 ; a. 2 3”, 3 .50 cal. mg. )
Kingfisher (AM-25) was launched 30 March 1918 by
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Puget Sound, Wash. ; spon-
sored by Miss Nancy Griswold ; and commissioned 27
May 1918, Lt. ( j.g.) C. L. Greene in command.
Departing Bremerton, Wash., 17 June, Kingfisher
steamed to Philadelphia, where she arrived 8 August for
duty as a minesweeper off Cape May, N.J. On 5 April
1919 she departed Boston for the North Sea, arriving In-
verness, Scotland, 20 April. Assigned to the North Sea
Detachment at Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, she swept up
mines of the Northern Barrage until 1 October when she
sailed for the United States. Steaming via France, Portu-
gal, and the Azores, she reached New York 19 November.
Assigned to the Train Force, Pacific Fleet, Kingfisher
departed Hampton Roads, Va., 9 August 1920 for the
West Coast. Arriving San Diego 3 October, she began duty
as a fleet tug and minesweeper. Over the next 19 years
fleet maneuvers and supply, towing, and minesweeping
operations sent her to the East Coast, Puerto Rico, Cuba,
the Canal Zone, and Hawaii. During the summers of
1933, 1934, and 1935 she supplied naval ships and bases
in Alaskan waters for the Aleutian Islands Survey
Expedition.
651
He
Subject: U.S. S. KENGFISH - Report of Third ;far Patrol.
Mar, 22 - Submerged patrol along traffic lane north- and east of
FORMOSA. .
1625 H Sighted 3 trawlers *of about 200 tons with' what appeared
to be machine guns mounted on pilot house. Estimated
speed 12 knots. They searched about in our area for a-
bout one hour and then disappeared to the south.
1900 Surfaced and 'stood over to patrol in vicinity of trans-
port sinking.
Mar. 23
0300 H
0325 H
0752 H
- Sighted ship bearing 150° T distance 5000 yards, angle
on bow 90° Starboard. Appears to be a destroyer1.
Manned battle stations with intentions of gaining pos-
ition ahead for a dawn attack.
Everything was working nicely and we were gaining posi-
tion ahead when target apparently saw or_heard us and
headed for us at 16 knots. Opened out on target very
slowly at flank speed. At 0345 Target trained search-
light on us at range of about 5500 yards at which time
we dove. Did- not attempts shot at target as visibility
was too poor to stay at periscope depth and try an app-
roach against a high speed zig>-zagging target that had
sighted us before we dove. Submerged, to 250 feet, rig-
ged for depth charge attack and ran silent changing
course frequently. Thoughfcwe ' were evading successfully
but at 0448 H commenced the first of eight runs during
which the enemy dropped 40 depth charges.. All except-
the last ones at 1228 H were close and were estimated
at 25- 150 ‘yards.
Heard screws of another vessel joining in the hunt. V/e
ran silently as possible at 300 feet .in 350 feet of
water making anywhere from 40-60 turns but our adver-
sary seemed to have no trouble staying on us with both
listening and pinging,, several times after daylight
we started up for a topped© shot1 but as soon as we would
reach 200 feet he would start another run. Up until
1225 H we had escaped serious damage but at 1227 H on
his last run he dropped two charges over the engine room
at an estimated distance of 25-50 feet. These bulged in
the hull over the engine rooms about 4 inches and bott-
omed us in 350 feet of water, v/ater commenced coming
-8-
ENCLOSURE (A)
Extract from King fish (SS-234)’s Third War Patrol
Departing San Diego 4 October 1939, she sailed to Pearl
Harbor for duty with the Base Force, Hawaiian Detach-
ment. Arriving 19 October, she towed target rafts and
conducted gunnery and minesweeping exercises until sail-
ing for Samoa 26 October 1941. Kingfisher reached
Tutuila 5 November and was on station duty 7 December
when hearing of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
With Lt. Comdr. C. B. Schiano in command, Kingfisher
began defense patrol and mine laying operations off Samoa.
On 19 February 1942 she departed Tutuila for similar
duty in the Fijis and arrived Viti Levu 23 February. Re-
turning to Samoa 12 April, she was reclassified AT-135
on 1 June; she then sailed to Wallis Island 28 July for
a month of plane guard and rescue duty. With a lighter
in tow she departed Suva, Fiji, 12 September for Nou-
mea, New Caledonia. Arriving 18 September, she served
under the command of the Port Director until she de-
parted for Hawaii 8 October.
652
He
Subject: U.S.S. KINSFISH - Report of Third War Patrol.
0752 H ( Cent* d )
thru the engine hull flappers where their 3eats had
been sprung. Rigged chain falls on these and stopped
leaks. Silenced ship completely and waited for dark.
Destroyed DCM and rendered TDC inoperative.
JK - QC. sound heads apparently knocked out of line by
depth charging* Unable to lower QB sound head before
bottoming and after surfacing. Unable to train either
Sound head.
Same screws heard for about 15-30 minutes.
Manned battle stations and completed plans, for.. scuttling
ship in case escape seemed impossible.
1848 H Surfaced and sighted patrol vessel of about 1000 tons.
lying tp about 2000 yards on our starboard bow.. Clear-
ed area at flank speed on 4 engines.
2000 H Started battery charge on one engine. Night -is .dark
and sea is rough. By 2200 H the engine' induction* and’
bilges were dry. and we were able to dive.
Depth charging. and damage incurred covered* under A/S
measures.
1700
1830
Mar*
0450
24
Mar, 25
Mar. 26
2100 H
Submerged. Hull induction floods but engine induction
is fairly tight. #2 periscope out and barely usable.
Submerged during the day.
Commenced running on surface.
Broadcast message to Comsubpac that we were clearing
area. Receipt received about 5 hours later.
-9- iSNCLOSURE (*)
Arriving Pearl Harbor 30 October, Kingfisher served
as a tug and torpedo recovery ship until 23 September
1943 when she sailed for the Ellice Islands. She reached
Funafuti 5 October and undertook towing duty between
the Ellice and Phoenix Islands. On 8 December she
sailed for the Gilberts, arriving Tarawa Atoll 13 Decem-
ber. Though subjected to intermittent enemy bombing
attacks, Kingfisher towed antisubmarine nets and laid
telephone cables in Betio Harbor before departing 27
December for Funafuti. From 30 December to 15 April
1944 she continued towing, station ship, and harbor op-
erations in the Ellice, Gilbert, and Marshall Islands ; then
she departed Kwajalein 16 April for Pearl Harbor, ar-
riving 29 April.
Reclassified ATO-135 on 15 May, Kingfisher departed
19 September for further towing operations in the South
Pacific. Towing runs sent her to Palmyra, Ellice, Solo-
mon, Admiralty, and Marshall Islands before she re-
turned to Pearl 14 November. On 18 November she sailed
for the West Coast, arriving San Diego 29 November.
She returned to Pearl 29 January 1945 and resumed tug
and target towing services. On 21 April she assisted in
Salvage operations of grounded merchantman Sarensen.
And while towing a gunnery target 4 May, she rescued
the pilot of an Army P-47 that had splashed while on a
training flight.
Kingfisher sailed for San Francisco 30 October, arriv-
ing 9 November. Remaining in the San Francisco Bay
area, she decommissioned 6 February 1946 and entered
the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Transferred to the Maritime
Commission 3 June 1947, she was sold the same day to
M. E. Baker at Suisun Bay, Calif.
Kingfisher received one battle star for World War II
service.
653
Kingman
A county in Illinois.
(APB-47: dp. 4,080; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 137 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.)
Kingman (APB-17) was laid down as LST-1113 ; then
reclassified AKS-18 and named Kingman 8 December
1944 ; again reclassified APB^7 on 3 March 1945 ;
launched 17 April 1945 by Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron
Co., Evansville, Ind. ; sponsored by Mrs. K. B. Bragg ;
transferred to New Orleans; and commissioned 27 June
1945, Lt. R. J. Figaro in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Kingman
cleared Gulfport, Miss., and steamed westward through
the Panama Canal, arriving Pearl Harbor 2 September,
the day of Japan’s historic surrender. Five days later the
barracks ship sailed for the Far East, arriving Sasebo 8
October via Eniwetok and Guam. She remained in Japa-
nese ports for 5 months before loading America-bound
troops and departing Sasebo 16 March 1946. Kingman,
arrived San Diego 29 April and remained there until she
decommissioned 15 January 1947. She was assigned to
the Pacific Reserve Fleet and at present is berthed in San
Diego.
Kingsbury
A county in east-central South Dakota.
( APA-177 : dp. 6,873; 1. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 536; a. 1 5", 12 40mm., 10 20mm.; cl. Haskell ; T.
VC2-S-AP5)
Kingsbury (APA-177) was launched 16 November 1944
by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg., under a
Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. Leon-
ard Euckler ; and commissioned 6 December 1944, Comdr.
J. H. Hughes in command.
After shakedown along the California coast, Kingsbury
departed San Pedro 9 February 1945. Steaming via Pearl
Harbor and Eniwetok, she arrived Iwo Jima 14 March,
embarked battle-weary Marines, and returned to Pearl
Harbor 5 April via Guam and Eniwetok. Sailing for
Seattle 22 May, she arrived 29 May and embarked 1,507
soldiers before departing 15 June for Iwo Jima. Arriving
7 July, she debarked her passengers and then departed
10 July with 262 military passengers for Pearl Harbor
where she arrived the 21st.
Supporting U.S. occupation operations in Japan, Kings-
bury cleared Pearl Harbor 1 September and steamed via
Saipan for Sasebo, Japan, where she arrived 22 September
to debark occupation troops of the 5th Marine Division.
From 25 September to 14 October she made a circular
run between Japan and the Philippines to transport addi-
tional occupation troops : then she returned to the Philip-
pines 26 October for “Magic-Carpet” duty. With 2,077
homebound troops embarked, she departed Taeloban,
Leyte, 30 October and reached San Francisco 17 Novem-
ber. Between 2 December and 9 January 1946 Kingsbury
made another trip to and from the Far East, carrying 935
replacement troops to Manila and returned 2,058 veterans
to the West Coast.
Kingsbury sailed 11 February for the East Coast, ar-
riving Norfolk 3 March. She decommissioned at Ports-
mouth, Va., 19 April. Turned over to custody of the Mari-
time Commission 23 Apiil, her name was struck from the
Naval Register 1 May. At present *iie is in the Maritime
Defense Reserve Fleet, James River. Va.
Kingsbury received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kingsmill
Sir Robert Kingsmill (1730-1805) commanded British
ship HMS Vigilant during a major battle with a French
fleet off Ushant, France, 27 July 1778.
(DE-280 : dp. 1,140; 1. 289'5" ; b. 35'1'' ; dr. 8'3" ; s. 21
k. ; cpl. 156; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm„ 2 det., 8 dcp., 1
dcp. (h.h.) ; cl. Evarts)
Kingsmill (DE-280) was launched 13 August 1943, by
Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass. ; assigned to the United
Kingdom under lend-lease 10 June ; and transferred to the
British Navy 6 November.
During her service as an escort in the British Navy,
Kingsmill operated in the English Channel. On 6 June
1944, she supported the amphibious invasion at Normandy,
and in November she participated in the invasion of the
Netherlands at Walcheren. Her service continued until
22 August 1945, when she was returned to the U.S. Navy
and commissioned the same day at Harwick, England.
Departing Harwich 26 August, Lt. Comdr. George B.
Calkins in command, she arrived Philadelphia 8 Septem-
ber and decommissioned 26 October. He name was struck
from the Naval List 16 November. She was sold for
scrapping 17 February 1947.
Kingsport Victory
A merchant name retained. Kingsport is a city in
northeastern Tennessee.
(T-AK-239 : dp. 10,680; 1. 455'3" ; b. 62'; dr. 28'6" ; s.
16.5 k. ; cpl. 52 ; a. none ; cl. Greenville Victory ; T. VC2-
S-AP3)
Kingsport Victory (T-AK-239) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract by California Shipbuilding
Corp., Los Angeles, Calif., 4 April 1944 ; launched 29 May
1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. George O’Brien ; and delivered to
WSA 12 July 1944.
From July to October 1944 Kingsport Victory made cargo
runs between the West Coast and Pearl Harbor; then she
sailed for the Western Pacific 17 October. After arriving
Milne Bay, New Guinea, 2 November, she carried cargo
during the remainder of the war to American bases at
Eniwetok, Iwo Jima, Guam, Ulithi, and Okinawa. She
departed Okinawa 27 December 1945 ; steamed via Hong
Kong, Calcutta, and the Suez Canal ; and reached New
York 27 February 1946. During the remainder of 1946
she transported cargo between the East and West Coasts.
The cargo ship was acquired by the Navy from the
Maritime Commission 1 March 1950 and assigned to
MSTS.
Manned by a civilian crew, Kingsport Victory operated
in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean
from 1950 until late 1956. Carrying military cargo, she
steamed out of New York and Charleston, S.C., to ports
in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Greece,
Turkey, Spain, and North Africa. In addition, she trans-
ported supplies from Norfolk, Va., to the Canal Zone and
to American bases in the Caribbean.
Loaded with cargo, Kingsport Victory departed Norfolk
13 November 1956 for the Far East. Steaming via the
West Coast, she reached Yokohama, Japan, 20 December;
and, during the next month, she shuttled supplies to
Okinawa, Formosa, and South Vietnam. She departed
Saigon for the United States 28 January 1957 ; reached
San Francisco 15 February ; and arrived New York 8
March to resume transatlantic cargo service.
Between March 1957 and August 1961 Kingsport Victory
maintained a busy schedule for far-ranging cargo runs
that sent her from the eastern Mediterranean to the
western Pacific. In addition to numerous round-trip voy-
ages between New York and West European ports, she de-
ployed four times to the Mediterranean where she sup-
ported ships of the mighty 6th Fleet. Though operating
out of New York, she completed eight deployments to the
Far East. Her cargo runs sent her to Japan, South Korea,
Formosa, Hong Kong, and Thailand, as well as to the
Marshall and Aleutian Islands.
After returning to the United States from the Medi-
terranean 29 August 1961, Kingsport Victory departed
New York for the West Coast 5 September. Steaming via
654
San Diego and San Francisco, she reached Portland,
Oreg., 24 September and underwent conversion to a satel-
lite communication ship by Willamette Iron & Steel Co.
at Portland. On 14 November she was renamed Kingsport
and reclassified AG-164.
Designed for use by the U.S. Army Satellite Communi-
cations Agency in the defense satellite communications
programs, Project ADVENT, Kingsport Victory under-
went extensive alteration during conversion. A special
high frequency radio station was installed for ship-to-
shore communications. She received advanced tracking
and telemetry equipment and anti-roll stabilization tanks.
In addition, a 30-foot, gyro-stabilized, computer-oriented,
triaxial, parabolic antenna was installed on her afterdeck.
Housed in a 53-foot, plastic, air-pressurized radome, this
antenna permitted precision tracking of a high altitude
satellite at any angle above the horizon.
From 12 to 26 April 1962 Kingsport steamed to the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where, during the next 6
months, the antenna and radome were installed. Follow-
ing shakedown and equipment trials off the coast of Vir-
ginia, he departed Philadelphia 5 January 1963 and
arrived off Lagos, Nigeria, 18 January. During the next
2 months she conducted communications tests in the Gulf
of Guinea before returning to Norfolk 29 March.
Between 17 June and 1 July, Kingsport again sailed to
Lagos. After the successful launching of a synchronous
communication satellite (SYNCOM 2) from Cape Canaver-
al 26 July, she served as terminal control station during
the testing and evaluation of the satellite. She departed
Lagos 23 September ; reached Rota, Spain, 3 October ; then
sailed the 6th for further communication tests in the
Mediterranean. She cruised the Mediterranean from 7
to 25 October and touched at Leghorn, Italy, and Beirut,
Lebanon. During this time she conducted successful voice
and teletype tests between the United States and ships of
the 6th Fleet via satellite. She returned to Rota 26 Octo-
ber ; and, after completing additional experiments, she
sailed for Norfolk 9 November and arrived 21 November.
Kingsport departed for the Pacific 17 February 1964.
Steaming via Puerto Rico and the Panama Canal, she
touched at San Diego 13 March and reached Pearl Harbor
the 25th. During the next 10 months she steamed between
Pearl Harbor and Guam while conducting communication
experiments. She supported the evaluation of SYNCOM
3 after its launching 19 August, and communication ex-
periments sent her throughout the Western Pacific and
into the Indian Ocean. She continued to support these
important tests until July 1965-when she provided her
“know-how” and wealth of equipment for NASA’s Gemini
manned space shots. She served as an on station com-
munications ship between Okinawa and the Philippines
during the flight of. GT-5 from 21 to 29 August. She
supported three more Gemini flights between 4 December
and 16 March 1966, then returned to the West Coast the
following month. She remained at San Francisco from
18 April to 27 October in a ready reserve status. During
November she steamed, to the East Coast, and in early
1967 was at New York undergoing repairs and
alterations.
Kingsport Victory received one battle star for World
War II service.
Kingston, see Caesar (AC-16)
Kinsman
(SwStr : t. 245)
In 1854 Kinsman was built at Elizabeth, Pa., as Gray
Cloud. She operated on the Mississippi River and its
tributaries from St. Louis. After the capture of New’
Orleans in the spring of 1862, she was commandeered by
General B. F. Butler and fitted out for river service.
Renamed Kinsman, the side-wTheel steamer operated for
the Army, Acting Master George Wiggen in command.
With Calhoun, Estrella, and Diana, she engaged Con-
federate ironclad gunboat Cotton in a spirited action 3
November. Kinsman was struck under her port bow and
the other Union ships were damaged but they forced the
Confederate vessel to retire. That night the Northern
ships captured A. B. Seger, a small Steamer of the Con-
federate Navy used as a dispatch boat. Five days later
USNS Kingspo>-t (T-AG-164), a satellite communications ship
655
Kinsman and A. B. Seger captured and burned steamers
Osprey and J. P. Smith in Bayou Cheval, La.
Kinsman was transferred to the Navy 1 January 1863.
With three other ships under overall command of Lt.
Comdr. Thomas McKean Buchanan, she attacked the
South’s defenses at Bayou Teche, below Franklin, La.
Vigorous prosecution of the action by Northern vessels
forced the Southerners to retire permitting removal of
obstructions which had impeded Union ships. Confederate
gunboat Cotton enaged the attackers but was compelled to
retire. Soon thereafter Cotton's crew set their ship afire
and destroyed her to prevent capture. During the engage-
ment, a torpedo exploded under Kinsman unshipping her
rudder.
While transporting a detachment of troops 23 Febru-
ary 1863, Kinsman struck a snag and sank in Berwick
Bay near Brashear City, La. Six men were reported
missing.
Kinzer
Born in Rock, W. Va„ 22 August 1917, Edward Blaine
Kinzer enlisted in the Naval Reserve 26 February 1941.
He was appointed Aviation Cadet 3 April and commis-
sioned Ensign 20 October. On 12 November 1941 he was
assigned to Scouting Squadron 5 on board Yorlctown
(CV-5). He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously
for extraordinary heroism and extreme disregard of his
own personal safety during the Battle of Coral Sea. This
aggressive and skillful pilot contributed materially to the
sinking or damaging of eight enemy vessels in Tulagi
Harbor 4 May and the sinking of Japanese aircraft car-
rier Shoho. On 8 May while on antitorpedo plane control,
he died while fiercely engaging “the continued attack of
enemy bombing and torpedo planes and their fighter
support.”
( APD-91 : dp. 1,650; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 12'7" ; s. 23.6 k. ;
cpl. 204; a. 2 5'', 2 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 dct., 9 dcp. ; cl.
Edsall)
Kinzer (APD-91) was launched as DE-232 9 December
1943 by Charleston Navy Yard Charleston, S.C. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Charles E. Kinzer, mother of Ens. Kinzer ; reclassi-
fied APD-91, 17 July 1944, converted to a high speed
transport ; and commissioned 1 November 1944, Lt. Rich-
ard C. Young, USNR, in command.
Kinzer departed Norfolk, Va., 1 January 1945, transitted
the Panama Canal and docked at San Diego, Calif., 16
January. Two days later she sailed for Pearl Harbor via
San Francisco, arriving 29 January. At Pearl Harbor
Kinzer embarked marines of the Reconnaissance Bat-
talion, Fleet Marine Force, and sailed 12 February for
the Pacific war zone. She arrived at Okinawa Gunto for
her preinvasion mission 26 March escorting LST’s to their
landings on Kerama Retto. When night came Kinzer
landed marines on the various small islands surrounding
Okinawa to gather data on terrain and enemy activity.
Later, large guns set up on these bits of land aided the
initial assault of Okinawa itself. Kinzer in company with
Scrihner (APD-122) continued this pattern while dodging
enemy suicide planes during patrols and antisubmarine-
screen duty until she sailed 15 July 1945 with a convoy
headed for Guam. There she picked up Sargent Bay
(CVE-83) escorted it to Pearl Harbor and continued on
to the West Coast, arriving San Pedro, Calif., 9 August.
Completing overhaul, Kinzer sailed from San Pedro 6
September 1945, disembarked passengers at Pearl Harbor,
Guam, and Ulithi, arriving at Manila 13 October. Ten
days later she sailed for Haiphong, Indochina, where
she embarked Chinese troops for transfer to Northern
China. From 7 November to 22 April 1946, Kinzer re-
deployed Chinese troops in Northern China and called on
ports of Chinwangtao, Tsingtao, and Taku, China; Hu-
lutao, Manchuria ; and Jinsen, Korea. During this time,
she served as flagship for Commander, LST Flotilla 15.
Kinzer cleared Tsingtao 25 April 1946 for the United
States, calling at Guam and Pearl Harhor en route, ar-
riving San Pedro 17 May.
Kinzer decommissioned 18 December 1946, entered the
Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, and later was moved to
San Francisco. Kinzer was struck from the Navy List
1 March 1965; and on 21 April 1965 sold to Nationalist
China under the Military Assistance Program.
Kinzer received one battle star for her service in World
War II and the China Service Medal.
Kiowa
A tribe of warlike and predatory American Indians, who
at one time resided in Missouri. They later moved south-
ward and often joined the Comanches in raids on other
tribes and American settlers. Some members of the tribe
still reside on a reservation in Oklahoma.
I
( S P-711 : 1. 35' ; b. 9' ; dr. 3'6" ; s. 10 k. ; a. .30-cal. m.g.)
The first Kiowa (SP-711) was built 1915 by Lawley &
Son Corp., Boston, Mass. ; acquired by the Navy 5 May
1917, from Mr. Frank A Marwell ; and placed in service
14 May for Harbor Patrol duty in the 1st Naval District.
Kiowa operated out of Boston in this capacity until placed
out of service 24 November 1918. She was returned to her
owner 28 March 1919.
II
(Str; dp. 4,500; 1. 261'; b. 43'6”; dr. 17'9" ; s. 9 k; cpl.
62; a. 15", 13")
The second Kiowa (No. 1842) was launched 1917 by the
American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, Ohio, taken over
from the Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies S.S. Line 26 Feb-
ruary 1918 ; and commissioned the same day, Lt. Comdr.
A. Hopen in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Kiowa arrived Norfolk 25 March
1918, to transport coal along the Atlantic coast. She re-
turned Hampton Roads during April to load mines for
the North Sea mine-laying squadron. Kiowa sailed 30
April and arrived Obran, Scotland, 20 May. She made
two additional cruises carrying mine equipment to North-
Sea ports before clearing Norfolk 6 December with a
cargo of coal for Bermuda. Kiowa returned Norfolk 22
December, and decommissioned there 16 January 1919
for simultaneous return to her owners.
Ill
( ATF-72 : dp. 1,146 (It.); 1. 205'; b. 38'6'' ; dr. 14'3'' ;
s. 16.5 k. ; cpl. 85 ; a. 1 3'', 4 .50 mg. ; cl. Apache )
The third Kiowa (ATF-72) was launched 5 November
1942, by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,
Charleston, S.C. ; sponsored by Mrs. Hilda How Edwards ;
and commissioned 7 June 1943, Lt. William O. Kuykendall
in command.
After shakedown off Key West, Kiowa reported Nor-
folk and sailed 26 July 1943, for operations off New-
foundland. During that summer the ocean tug performed
various services, including towing targets for new Iowa
(BB-61), enabling the larger ships to fulfill their vital
roles. For 6 months Kiowa towed all kinds of ships and
floating equipment before arriving New York 2 March
1944, to prepare for overseas operations. Sailing 3 weeks
later, she arrived Falmouth, England, 19 April as the
Allies were in the final planning stages for the Normandy
invasion. Loaded with firefighting and salvage equip-
ment, Kiowa sailed 3 June; joining a convoy of LST’s,
she made her way toward the largest amphibious opera-
tion of the war. D-day came 3 days later and the tug
was actively engaged in repairing landing craft, assisting
disabled ships, and performing general salvage duty. She
remained off Normandy until 25 July and then operated
in British waters before returning to Norfolk 30 Sep-
tember.
656
For the rest of the war Kiowa operated along the At-
lantic coast, towing and assisting disabled ships and also
escorting Allied merchant ships to the convoy lanes. Dur-
ing late spring 1945, the tug commenced operations as a
tanker, fueling a number of ships at sea. Following the
war Kiowa arrived Argentia, Newfoundland, 21 Decem-
ber for duty in the North Atlantic. From 1946 to 1969
the ocean tug continued operations along the coast from
the Canal Zone to Newfoundland, as she engaged in
salvage, target and ship towing. These unheralded but
vital assignments are a major contribution to the power
for peace of the Navy.
Arriving Guantanamo Bay 9 April, Kiowa prepared
for her assignment in the Caribbean. She cleared San
Juan 26 May and took station off Antigua as recovery ship
for what was to be the beginning of space flight. On 28
May the tug recovered the nose cone of a Jupiter missile
which contained monkeys Able and Baker, the first U.S.
space riders. Thus Kiowa played a major role lifting
America into space.
From 1959 into early 1965 Kiowa continued her vital
towing operations out of Norfolk, and also performed ex-
tensive services at Guantanamo Bay during the tense
years since Castro made Cuba a Communist foothold in
the Western Hemisphere. The latter part of June and all
of July 1965 Kiowa operated as a unit of a task force
patrolling the West Indies during the second Dominican
Republic Crisis. Her primary task was to maintain the
off-shore pump for petroleum products to beseiged Santo
Domingo. En route to East Coast, the fleet ocean tug re-
covered experimental mines off San Juan, Puerto Rico,
before arriving off her homeport, Little Creek, Va., early
in August.
On 7 September Kiowa departed for the Mediterranean
to join the 6th Fleet in more peace-keeping operations.
Arriving off Rota, Spain, the 20th, she began her target-
towing, diving, and salvaging duties which continued into
1966.
From 26 January to 26 February 1966 the ship partici-
pated in the search for an H-bomb that fell into the Medi-
terranean off Palomares, Spain, following an Air Force
bomber’s collision with a air-tanker. Kiowa then returned
home, via South Wales, England, and San Juan, arriving
Little Creek 16 April. Kiowa spent the next 5 months
towing targets in the Virginia Capes area before entering
drydock at Norfolk 27 September.
Her overhaul completed by late January 1967, Kiowa
returned to operations off the East Coast, cruising from
Bermuda to Canada and back into late 1967.
Kiowa received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kirkpatrick
Thomas L. Kirkpatrick was born 5 July 1887, in Cozad,
Nebr., and was appointed Acting Chaplain, U.S. Navy, 19
February 1918. After serving as chaplain to stations in
the United States and abroad, Thomas Kirkpatrick was
assigned to North Dakota 24 June 1919. For the next
20 years he served on Utah, Pittsburgh and Saratoga in
addition to duty at Samoa from 1935 to 1937. He re-
ported to Arizona 13 September 1940, and was commis-
sioned Captain 1 July 1941. Captain Kirkpatrick lost his
life when Arizona was sunk during the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941.
( DE-318 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7" ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 6 40mm., 10 20mm., 9 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Edsall)
Kirkpatrick (DE-318) was launched 5 June 1943, by
Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs.
Genevieve Kirkpatrick, widow of Captain Kirkpatrick ;
and commissioned 23 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. V. E.
Bakanas, USCG, in command.
After shakedown along the Atlantic Coast, Kirkpatrick
arrived Norfolk 23 December 1943, to commence trans-
atlantic escort duty. From January 1944 to May 1945
she made 1 convoy escort mission to the Mediterranean,
and 10 crossings between the United States and the British
Isles. On her third voyage, Gandy (DE-764) another
escort in the convoy rammed a German submarine V -550
after the U-boat had sunk tanker Pan Pennsylvania.
Eleven prisoners from the sunken enemy submarine were
captured in this action of 16 April 1944.
Kirkpatrick returned New York on completion of her
final transatlantic escort mission 15 May 1945. After
bombardment exercises in the Caribbean, she sailed for
the Pacific. She entered Pearl Harbor 11 July, for tactics
with submarines in Hawaiian waters until 29 August
when she departed on an escort cruise to the Far East.
Departing Sasebo 2 November, Kirkpatrick arrived
Charleston 8 December 1945, via Pearl Harbor and the
Panama Canal. She arrived Jacksonville 5 days later
and decommissioned 1 May 1946, at Green Cove Springs,
Fla.
Kirkpatrick was reclassified a radar picket ship (DER-
318) on 1 October 1951, and recommissioned 23 February
1952, Lt. Comdr. George S. Davis in command. After
shakedown and training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
Kirkpatrick reported to Newport 11 July 1952, for radar
picket operations on the Atlantic Barrier, the seaward
extention of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line
across northern Canada. She manned radar picket sta-
tions in the North Atlantic until 1960, a seaborne unit of
the air defense system of the United States and Canada.
Incidental to this service she visited ports of northern
Europe in the summers of 1958 and 1959. The radar
picket ship departed Newport 27 March 1960, and arrived
Philadelphia 2 days later. She decommissioned there 24
June 1960, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. At
present she is berthed at Philadelphia.
Kirwin
John Joseph Kirwin was born 4 July 1918, in Newport,
R.I., and enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve 11 December
1935. Kirwin was appointed Midshipman 11 August
1937, and commissioned Ensign 7 February 1941, reporting
for duty aboard Savannah (Cl-42). During World War
II, Kirwin was appointed Lieutenant (j.g.) 16 June 1942,
and saw action aboard Savannah in the North African
and Sicilian campaigns. He was promoted to Lieutenant
1 December 1942.
On 11 September 1943, while bombarding German shore
defenses in Salerno Bay, Sicily, Savannah and her sister
cruisers came under heavy aerial attack. The cruisers
and British spitfires drove off nearly 60 German bombers
before 1 aimed a secret-type bomb at Savannah. The
radio-controlled, armor-piercing bomb struck Savannah’s
number three turret immediately in front of the bridge.
For his part in this action, Lt. Kirwin was awarded the
Navy Cross with the following citation : “For extraor-
dinary heroism as a turret officer. . . . When the detona-
tion of an enemy bomb set off numerous fires and filled
the turret with dense smoke and toxic gases, Lt. Kirwin
promptly ordered the area abandoned and despite the im-
minent danger, stood by his station in the turret booth.
With full knowledge of the serious hazards involved
and with complete disregard for his own personal safety,
he calmly supervised evacuation and deliberately re-
mained behind to aid in saving the lives of as many of
his command as possible ... he eventually succumbed in
the stricken booth, gallantly sacrificing his own life in
order that his men might live.”
(APD-90: dp. 1,650; 1. 306' ; b. 36'10" ; dr. 9'8" ; s. 24 k. ;
cpl. 186 ; a. 12 20mm. ; cl. Rudderow)
Kirwin (DE-229) was launched 15 June 1944, by the
Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia ; sponsored by Mrs.
Andrew J. Kirwin, mother of Lt. Kirwin ; reclassified
APD-90, on 7 July 1944 ; and commissioned 4 November
1945, Lt. Comdr. Lloyd G. Benson, USNR, in command.
After shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay, Kirwnn cleared
Norfolk 29 January 1946, and arrived Green Cove Springs
657
2 days later. Kirwin decommissioned there 6 April 1946,
and was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Kirwin recommissioned 15 January 1965, and in Febru-
ary sailed to Newport News for overhaul. She got under-
way for Guantanamo Bay 6 July and spent the next 5
weeks on atomic-defense, antisubmarine, and gunnery ex-
ercises. The destroyer escort visited San Juan, Puerto
Rico, en route to Little Creek, Va., arriving 22 August.
She sailed 29 November for the Caribbean to join Task
Force 184 for amphibious and antisubmarine exercises.
She returned to Little Creek 16 December.
In 1966 Kirwin operated out of Little Creek, Va., on
training- exercises along the Atlantic Coast and the Carib-
bean until heading for the Mediterranean 15 August. Ar-
riving Rota, Spain, 10 days later, she visited Italy, Malta,
Greece, Tunisia, Spain, and Morocco before returning home
3 December. She operated along the West Coast in 1967
preparing for future assignments.
Kishwaukee
A river in Illinois.
( AOG-9 : dp. 4,130; 1. 311'; b. 49'; dr. 14'6" ; s. 15.5 k. ;
cpl. 127 ; a. 4 3" ; 12 20mm. ; cl. Patapsco)
Kishwaukee (AOG-9) was launched 24 July 1943, by
Cargill Shipyard, Savage, Minn. ; sponsored by Mrs. John
Shipp; and commissioned 27 May 1944, Francis M. Hill-
man, USNR, in command.
After shakedown, Kishwaukee cleared Norfolk 8 July
1944, and joined the Service Squadron at Pearl Harbor
10 August. She completed a 2-month shuttle among the
central Pacific islands before sailing west to support the
reconquest of the Philippine Islands. Kishwaukee ar-
rived off Leyte late in October and operated as station
tanker, fueling ships in the vicinity. She supported the
Philippine campaign until she sailed 1 February 1945, for
operations in the Palau and Caroline Islands.
Late in March, as the war moved closer to Japan, Kish-
waukee sailed for the Ryukyus to fuel ships engaged in
the invasion of Okinawa. In spite of the constant enemy
air raids, the oiler remained as station tanker until after
Okinawa had been secured and continued servicing Allied
ships in Okinawa until sailing for Japan, arriving Sasebo
22 December. Following 6 months as station tanker in
the Far East, Kishwaukee cleared Japan 5 July and put
into San Pedro 31 July.
From 1946 to 1950 Kishwaukee remained on active serv-
ice with the Pacific Fleet. Based at Pearl Harbor she
alternated tours in the Far East with cruises among the
islands off the South and Central Pacific.
During the Korean conflict, she supplied vital fuel to
Pacific staging areas and operated as a station ship out
of Sasebo November through December 1950. Upon ces-
sation of Korean hostilities, Kishwaukee resumed fuel
shuttles from Pearl Harbor to the Pacific Islands and
Alaska.
During 1954 the oiler unloaded cargo in French Indo-
china as the war in that country was nearing an end.
That August she sailed to Formosa with a supply of avi-
ation gasoline in anticipation of a possible Red Chinese
attack on Nationalist held islands in the Formosa Straits.
Kishwaukee returned Pearl Harbor 17 October and for
the next 3 years continued runs between Hawaii and the
Marshall Islands before sailing for the West Coast 10 No-
vember 1957. She arrived Astoria, Oreg., 11 December
and decommissioned at Seattle 2 April 1958. Her name
was struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960. Kishwaukee
remained with the Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet
until October 1965, when her name reappeared on the
Navy List. The ship underwent extensive overhaul at
Astoria, Oreg., and recommissioned 1 September 1966.
After fitting out, Kishwaukee arrived Pearl Harbor, her
homeport, 7 October 1966. Following shakedown train-
ing, she sailed to the Far East 5 December and arrived,
via Guam, at Subic Bay 22 December. The gasoline
tanker entered the combat zone the last day of the year
and supplied fuel for naval aircraft for strikes against
Communist targets ashore. From 2 January 1967 into
April she operated out of Da Nang, Vietnam, before de-
parting for Yokosuka, Japan, arriving 30 April. Kish-
waukee continued on to Pearl Harbor and joined Serv-
Ron 5 after her arrival 15 May.
Kishwaukee received two battle stars for World War
II service.
Kite
A small or medium bird of the hawk family.
I
(AM-75 : dp. 482' ; 1. 124'3" ; b. 23'0" ; dr. 10'6'' ; s. 9 k. ;
a. 13")
The first Kite (AM-75) was built in 1928 as beam trawler
Holy Cross by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; pur-
chased by the Navy from H. C. Trawling Corp. 11 Septem-
ber 1940 ; and commissioned 3 March 1941, Lt. Comdr.
George L. Burns in command.
Kite cleared Boston 27 March 1941 ; and, after training
exercises with the mine warfare school Yorktown, Va.,
she operated with the Support Force out of Norfolk. Five
months later she sailed for Newfoundland arriving Ar-
gentia 31 August for minesweeping operations in the North
Atlantic. From August 1941 to 3 May 1944, Kite swept
sea lanes in frigid Newfoundland waters. Clearing Argen-
tia, Kite arrived Boston 7 May and decommissioned at
Quincy, Mass., 14 August 1944. She was transferred to
WSA 2 March 1945 and sold.
Kite (AM-^403) was cancelled during construction 12
August 1945.
II
( YMS-374 : dp. 270; 1. 136'; b. 25'; dr. 8'; s. 15 k. ; cpl.
32 ; a. 1 3", 2 20mm. ; 3 dcp., 2 dct)
YMS-374 was launched 17 February 1944 by Weaver
Shipyards, Orange, Tex. ; and commissioned 31 May 1944,
Lt. (j.g.) Robert A. Harris in command.
After shakedown out of Little Creek, Va., and mine-
sweeping operations in Massachusetts Bay, YMS-374
cleared Boston 30 September and steamed toward the
Pacific war zone. The minesweeper arrived Pearl Har-
bor 18 November; and, following formation sweeping
maneuvers, sailed 22 January 1945 escorting LST Flotilla
21 to Saipan.
As the struggle on the “road to Japan” was intensified,
the minesweeper prepared for conquest of Iwo Jima. Ar-
riving off the volcanic island 17 February, she cleared
lanes for landings scheduled 2 days later. Following the
invasion YMS-374 made antisubmarine patrols, escorted
support ships, and laid smoke screens before retiring to
the Philippines and arriving Leyte 8 March.
The minesweeper steamed into Saipan 28 March and
for nearly 5 months she operated in the Marianas on ASW
patrols, convoy escort, submarine training exercises, and
plane guard duty for crews of downed B-29 bombers.
After the fighting stopped YMS-374 sailed for Kakyo To
Island on the southwestern coast of Korea to clear ap-
proaches to Jinsen for the landing of occupation troops.
She swept Korean waters until she sailed 7 September
for minesweeping operations in the Nagasaki-Sasebo area.
YMS-374 departed Japan 29 December and arrived on
the West Coast in January 1946.
After a year of operations out of California she was re-
classified AMS-22 on 18 February 1947 and assigned the
name Kite. She decommissioned that same day and was
placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Kite recommissioned 9 May 1949, Lt. (j.g.) Nicholas
Grkovic in command. After repairs in San Diego and
Long Beach, she sailed for Pearl Harbor 25 July and
cleared Hawaii 26 September for operations in the West-
ern Pacific out of Japan. Soon after Communist aggres-
658
USS Kishwaukee (AOG-9)
sors invaded South Korea, Kite sailed 13 July 1950 for
Pusan to aid in the effort to contain the Communist drive.
Operating in the Pusan area through most of the summer,
Kite sailed 12 September to clear waters approaching In-
chon. The American amphibious assault which followed
there was among the most successful operations of the
war and began a great Allied land offensive. During
October, as the drive into North Korea gathered momen-
tum, the minesweeper arrived Wonsan to open the mined
harbor to Allied supply ships and then retired to Yoko-
suka for repairs.
Kite returned to the conflict zone 5 January 1951, and
for the rest of the conflict she continued mine clearing
operations along the Korean coast. Her services allowed
Allied supply and fire support ships to complete their
missions through heavily mined waters. After the Korean
truce 27 June 1953, Kite remained in the Far East con-
tinuing minesweeping operations out of Korea and Japan.
Kite was reclassified MSC(0)-22 on 7 February 1955.
She was transferred to the South Korean Navy 6 January
1956 and renamed Kim Po (MSC(O)-520).
Kite received 2 battle stars for World War II service
and 10 stars for Korean service.
Kite, see Otter (OYFB-663)
Kitkun Bay
An Alaskan Bay on the southeast coast of Prince of
Wales Island.
(CVE-71) : dp. 7,800; 1. 512'3" ; b. 65'; ew. lOl'l" ;
dr. 22'6” ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860; a. 1 5” ; 16 40mm., 20 20mm.,
28 ac. ; cl. Casablanca : T. S4-S2-BB3)
Kitkun Bay, originally designated as an AVG, was
classified as ACV-71 on 20 August 1942 and reclassified as
CVE-71 on 15 July 1943. Laid down 3 May 1943 she was
launched 8 November 1943 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co.,
Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission
contract ; sponsored by Mrs. Edward A. Cruise ; and com-
missioned 15 December 1943, Captain J. P. Whitney in
command.
After a shakedown along the Pacific coast, Kitkun Bay
departed San Diego 28 January 1944 on a replenishment
voyage to the New Hebrides bases. After loading pas-
sengers, planes, and other cargo, she sailed for home 18
February via Pearl Harbor and arrived San Diego 6
March. Upon her return, the planes of VC-5 were brought
aboard for training and assignment. With Rear Admiral
Harold B. Salada, Commander, Carrier Division 26 em-
barked, she sailed 1 May for Pearl Harbor and the com-
pletion of her training exercises.
On 31 May her task unit sortied forth to escort the
bombardment and transports units of Task Group 52.17
to Saipan. On 13 June her planes shot down their first
enemy aircraft and the next day began the bombing and
strafing of enemy positions in the Marianas. Kitkun
Bay's planes alternated flying support missions for the
Saipan landings and air cover for ships east of this island.
Eight enemy planes were splashed in attacks on her forma-
tion on the 17th and her own guns downed three more the
659
next day. Early July brought a brief respite at Eniwetok
but 14 July she resumed support sorties at Saipan, Tinian,
and from 2 to 4 August at Guam.
Withdrawn, she steamed to Espiritu Santo, New Heb-
rides, for upkeep before sailing to the Solomons for addi-
tional practice in support of amphibious operations.
Heading westward on 8 September her task unit escorted
an assault force to Peleliu and Angaur Islands in the
Palaus group and provided cover from the 15th to 21st.
Withdrawn to Manus, Admiralty Islands, she made prep-
arations for the invasion of Leyte, P.I., and her finest hour.
Departing 12 October she soon joined Rear Admiral
Clifton Sprague’s task unit “Taffy 3” composed of 6 CVE’s
and their screen of escorts. On 20 October Kitkun Bay
began launching strikes against Leyte. These operations
conducted from a position east of Samar Island continued
until early in the morning of the 25th when Japanese war-
ships were sighted on the northwest horizon. Admiral
Kurita’s powerful Center Force had passed through the
San Bernadino Straits unnoticed, hoping to destroy the
supply ships off Leyte. Not designed to exchange gunfire
with surface warships “Taffy 3” launched what planes
were ready and turned southward behind a smoke screen.
In the ensuing 2%-hour running battle, the courageous
maneuvers and skillful action of its screen, the diverting
attacks by its planes, the astute orders of its command
officers averted annihilation. In the forefront of the
circular formation Kitkun Bay escaped any direct hits as
the shells splashed ever closer until 0925 when the enemy
suddenly broke off the engagement and retired. The less
fortunate Gambler Bay and three escort ships went down
fighting valiantly ; while suffering some gunfire damage,
the Center Force lost three cruisers as a result of the
attacks of the aircraft of “Taffies 2 and 3.”
The final phase of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf was the
retaliatory air strikes by both sides. Before the “Fore-
noon” watch had expired, Kitkun Bay had splashed a
suicidal Betty but had also been crashed by a Zeke which
struck the port catwalk killing 1 man and wounding 16.
The losses for the day also included two planes and their
crews. The next day she sailed for Manus in the Ad-
miralty Islands for replenishment and repairs.
Arrived 1 November, she departed Manus the 7th for
Pearl Harbor where VC-5 was replaced by VC-91. De-
spite a submarine attack en route, Kitkun Bay returned
safely to Manus 17 December. New Year’s Day 1945
dawned with CVE-71 steaming as part of Task Unit 77.4.3
(Lingayen Transport Cover Group) bound for the invasion
of western Luzon. After passing through Surigao Straits,
the convoy underwent a series of air attacks. Air cover
destroyed seven enemy planes but at 1857 an Oscar got
through and crashed Kitkun Bay's portside amidships at
the waterline. Almost simultaneously a 5-inch shell
struck her starboard side. The resultant fires and flood-
ing were brought under control but 16 were dead and 37
wounded. The following day with a list and only one
engine operating she withdrew and proceeded by stages
first to Leyte, Manus, Pearl Harbor and arrived San Pedro,
Calif., 28 February.
Two months later she sailed again for the Western
Pacific. After a training period in the Hawaiian Islands,
she departed 15 June for Ulithi and duty with the 3d Fleet.
On 3 July Kitkun Bay sortied forth with other escorts and
ships of the “train” for support of the fast carriers operat-
ing off the coast of Japan. Mid-August she was re-
assigned to Task Force 44 gathering at Adak, Alaska, to
escort Admiral F. J. Fletcher, COMNORPAC, who had
been designated to receive the formal surrender of the
Japanese in northern Honshu and Hokkaido. Arrived off
Honshu 7 September, she remained in the area until the
27th, seeing to the feeding and transportation of American
prisoners of war. Detached to participate in Operation
“Magic-Carpet,” she first debarked 554 troops at San
Francisco 19 October. Additional voyages to Pearl Har-
bor and Okinawa concluded 12 January 1946 at San Pedro,
Calif.
Kitkun Bay entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,
Bremerton, 18 February and decommissioned 19 April.
Sold 18 November 1946 to Zidell Machinery & Supply Co.,
Portland, Oreg., she was scrapped early in 1947.
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation Kitkun
Bay earned six battle stars during World War II.
Kittanning
A town in Armstrong County in western Pennsylvania
located on the Allegheny River 37 miles northeast of
Pittsburgh. In Iroquois dialects the word, kittanning,
means “on the great stream.”
( YTB-787 : dp. 325 (It.) ; 1. 109' ; b. 28' ; dr. 13' ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 12; cl. Pontiac )
Kittanning (YTB-787) was laid down 22 December
1965 by Marinette Maine Corp., Marinette, Wis. ; and
launched 29 March 1966.
The new large harbor tug was placed in service in the
Pacific Fleet 27 October 1966 ; and in 1967 operates out of
Yokosuka, Japan, assisting ships of the American and
Allied navies in the Far East. Her labors, like those of
countless other service ships, are a major source of Ameri-
can naval strength in the Far East helping to prevent that
troubled region from being engulfed by war or communism.
Kittatin ny
A long mountain ridge in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
continuing the Delaware Water Gap.
(Sch: t. 450; 1. 129'; b. 29'; dph. 11'6" ; cpl. 66; a. 4
32-pdrs. )
Kittatinny was a three-masted schooner purchased by the
Navy at Philadelphia as Stars and Stripes from Simpson
and Neile 21 September 1861 ; and commissioned at Phila-
delphia Navy Yard 9 December 1861, Lt. George E. Welch
in command.
Assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron, she departed
the Delaware 20 December and reached Key West 10 days
later. An active blockader in the Gulf of Mexico, she
shared in the capture of Major Barbour attempting to
slip through the blockade with a cargo of gunpowder,
niter, sulphur, percussion caps, and lead for the Con-
federate Army. She took schooner Julio near Barataria
11 May and captured schooner Emma 27 September.
Schooner Matilda fell prey to the vigilant Union block-
ader off Matagarda Bay, Texas, 25 November; and
schooner Diana was taken the next day. Kittatinny
took sloop D. Sargent cff Galveston 12 March 1863 shortly
before sailing to New York for repairs.
Kittatinny recommissioned at New York 10 June 1863,
Acting Master Isaac D. Seyburn in command. On the
15th she sailed on a cruise in the North Atlantic seeking
Confederate raider Tacony, a ship taking a heavy toll on
Northern shipping. She returned to New York on the 29th
and sailed 11 August to return to the West Gulf Blockad-
ing Squadron for duty off the Texas coast. She arrived
on station 2 September; and on the 22d she chased an
unidentified schooner ashore where the blockade runner
was burned by her crew. She captured schooner Reserve
25 October.
Early in 1968 Kittatinny sailed via New Orleans to
Pensacola, where she was based for over a year. On 25
March 1865 she sailed for Mobile Bay, where she served
until after the end of the Civil War. She stood out from
Mobile Bay 8 August ; touched Pensacola ; and arrived
New York 1 September where she decommissioned on the
14th. Kittatinny was sold at public auction 27 September
1865 to D. McCarty & Son.
Kittaton
A creek in Virginia named for an Indian word meaning
“the great town or village.”
660
( YTB-406 : dp. 238; 1. 100'; b. 25'; dr. 9'7" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. a. none; cl. Sassaba )
Kittaton (YTB-406) was laid down as YT-406; re-
classified YTB-406 on 15 May 1944; launched 30 June
1944, by Ira Bushey & Sons, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. ; and
placed in service 19 January 1945, Ens. T. .J. Barfield
in command.
Assigned to duty in the Pacific, Kittaton joined Task
Force 16 at Pearl Harbor 21 May. Departing 2 days
later, she steamed via Kwajalein and arrived Guam in
June for towing operations out of Apra Harbor. Kittaton
served at Guam and in the western Pacific until February
1947 when she was assigned to further duty with Service
Force, Pacific Fleet. Reclassified YTM-406 in February
1962, Kittaton in 1967 remains on active service with the
Pacific Fleet out of Subic, Philippines.
Kittery
A coastal city in southwestern Maine.
I
( AK-2 : dp. 3,300; 1. 293'8" ; b. 40'6" ; dr. 13'3" ; s. 15.5
k. ; cpl. 87 ; a. none)
Kittery (AK-2) was launched as the German transport,
Praesident, 30 November 1905, by G. Seebach Co., Bremer-
haven, Germany. Owned by the Hamburg-American Line,
Praesident operated throughout the waters of the West
Indies and the Caribbean. After the outbreak of World
War I, she was suspected of supplying German cruisers in
the Leward Islands. Following several harrowing cruises,
during which she narrowly avoided capture by English
and French ships, she entered the port of San Juan, P.R.,
early in 1915 and was interned with two other German
merchantmen. After the United States entered the war
in April 1917, she was taken over 14 May by the U.S. Navy.
Praesident sailed to the United States escorted by Han-
cock (AP-3) and was refitted for naval service. She
commissioned as Kittery 6 July at Philadelphia, Lt.
Comdr. Charles Geddes, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to cargo and troop transport duty between the
United States and the West Indies, Kittery departed
Philadelphia 18 July. Operating out of Charleston, S.C.,
she made monthly trips during the remainder of the war
to supply American forces. After the war she continued
her cargo service from Charleston and Norfolk for more
than 15 years, making scores of runs to West Indian ports.
Following a final trip to Guantanamo, Port-au-Prince,
and Cape Haiten, she arrived Norfolk 21 December 1932.
She proceeded to Philadelphia 28 January 1933, arriving
the 30th. Kittery decommissioned 5 April, and her name
was struck from the Navy List 11 April, 1933. Trans-
ferred to the USSB 26 June 1933, she was scrapped in
1937.
II
(PC-1201 : dp. 295 ; 1. 174' ; b. 23' ; dr. 8' ; s. 20 k ; cpl. 60;
a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 3 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
PC-592)
USS Kittery (AK-2)
661
PC-1201 was laid down 12 December 1942 by Consoli-
dated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, N.Y. ; launched
14 February 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. A. E. Bradbury and
Commissioned 11 June, Lt. (j.g. ) William W. Huffman in
command.
After shakedown and sound training off Florida, PC-
1201 was assigned to escort convoys in the Caribbean.
Arriving Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 20 August 1943, she
sailed 7 days later on her first escort cruise to Trinidad.
Throughout the remaining months of World War II, PC-
1201 continued the Guantanamo-Trinidad runs protecting
supply laden convoys from evening U-boat attacks.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the sub chaser con-
tinued air-sea rescue operations out of Trinidad and Cuba
until she sailed for New York via Puerto Rico and Norfolk,
arriving Tompkinsville, Staten Island, N.Y., 21 June. PC-
1201 decommissioned there 30 July 1946, then began duty
as a Naval Reserve Training Ship. She operated in this
status until 1950 when she joined the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet at Boston.
While berthed at Boston, PC-1201 was named Kittery
15 February 1956. She was sold 9 October 1959 to Hughes
Brothers Inc., New York, N.Y.
Kittiwake
Any of several gulls of genus Rissa which are found
along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America.
( ASR-13 : dp. 1,780; 1. 251 '4” ; b. 42'; dr. 16'; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 115 ; a. 1 3", 4 20mm. ; cl. Chanticleer)
Kittiwake (ASR-13) was launched 10 July 1945, by
Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga. ; spon-
sored by Mrs. Howard S. Rue, Jr. ; and commissioned 18
July 1946, Lt. L. H. Collier in command.
After shakedown, Kittiwake departed Charleston, S.C.,
3 October for Balboa, Canal Zone, arriving 8 October.
Assigned to support and rescue duty with Submarine
Squadron 6, the submarine rescue ship accompanied sub-
marines during sea trials and maneuvers to monitor div-
ing operations ; to practice underwater rescue procedures ;
and to recover practice torpedoes. While based at Balboa,
her operations carried her to the Virgin Islands, to Puerto
Rico, and along the Atlantic coast to the Davis Strait.
Departing Balboa 31 May 1949, Kittiwake arrived Nor-
folk 6 June to continue duty with SubRon 6. From 17
January to 1 February 1950 she provided divers and equip-
ment during salvage operations to free Missouri (BB-63),
grounded in tidal banks off Thimble Shoals, Va. During
the 1950’s she cruised the Atlantic from New England to
the Caribbean while supporting ships of the Silent Service
with a trained and highly skilled crew. And while on
station off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Fla., 20 July 1960,
she stood ready to assist George Washington (SSB(N)-
598) as the mighty nuclear-powered submarine success-
fully launched the first two Polaris ballistic missiles ever
fired from a submarine beneath the sea.
Kittiwake continued operating out of Norfolk until 1
August 1961 whne she departed for the Mediterranean.
Arriving Rota, Spain, 15 August, she cruised the Mediter-
ranean from Spain to Greece while deployed with the 6th
Fleet. After supporting submarine maneuvers out of
Pireaus, Greece, from 20 September to 9 October, she de-
parted the Mediterranean 8 November and arrived Norfolk
the 18th. She then conducted operations out of Norfolk
for the next 18 months. While on duty off Key West 2
February 1963, she sighted a Cuban boat, Jose Maria
Perez; took on board 12 refugees (including 3 children)
fleeing Communist oppression in Cuba ; and carried them
to safety at Key West.
Departing Charleston, S.C., 16 April, Kittiwake arrived
St. Nazaire, France, 3 May with two LCU’s in tow. She
proceeded to the Mediterranean 10 May and reached Rota
the 14th. For more than 2 months she participated in fleet
operations before departing Rota 31 July for the United
States. Returning to Norfolk 10 August 1963, she resumed
training and support operations with submarines, along
the Atlantic coast. Through 1964 and 1965, Kittiwake
continued her role in maintaining the readiness of individ-
ual submarines which were to carry out their missions of
defense and deterrant effectively. She escorted them as
they left the East Coast shipyards for sea trials, standing
ready to come to their rescue should difficulties arise.
Constant exercise in use of weapons by submarines was
furnished by Kittiwake, such as running as a target and
recovering exercise torpedoes and mines. The operations
ranged from the Virginia Capes to the Atlantic missile
range off Florida. On 6 April 1965, she departed Norfolk
with submarines for exercises off the coast of Spain,
thence to the Mediterranean Sea.
Kittiwake departed Toulon 31 May 1965, to operate out of
Rota, Spain, in support of FBM’s of Submarine Squadron
16: Andrew Jackson, Woodroiv Wilson, James Madison,
and Nathan Hale. Following torpedo recovery and train-
ing off the coast of Spain, she sailed for Holy Loch 30
June 1965, to give support to Submarine Squadron 14. She
recovered torpedoes for James Monroe and John Adams,
provided underway training for men of tender Eunley,
then sailed 20 July for Norfolk, arriving 30 July 1965.
During the autumn months, Kittiwake guarded new Po-
laris submarines, Lewis & Clarke, and Simon Bolivar, dur-
ing their builders sea trials prior to commissioning.
Kittiwake operated on the East Coast and in the Carib-
bean until sailing for the Mediterranean 8 July 1966. She
reached the Bay of Cadiz on the 20th and transited the
straits 2 days later. She operated in the Mediterranean
until emerging at Rota, Spain, 1 September. She headed
for Holly Loch, Scotland, on the 6th and arrived on the
11th. Four days later she was ordered to the North Sea
to assist in locating and salvaging German submarine Hai
(S-171). She reached the scene of the tragedy 17 Sep-
tember and remained on hand assisting salvage operations
until the 20th. She continued to operate off Western
Europe until returning to Norfolk 13 November. Kittiwake
operated on the East Coast into 1967.
Kittiwake, see Curlew (IX-170)
Kittiwake, see Curlew (AM-69)
Kittiwake, see YP-199
Kittiwake, see Y P-5'10
Kittson
A county in Minnesota.
( APA-123 : dp. 14,800 ; 1. 455' ; b. 62' ; dr. 28' ; s. 16.5 k. ;
a. 1 5'', 12 40mm., 10 20mm. ; cl. Haskell )
Kittson (APA-123) was launched 28 August 1944 by
the California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif.,
under a Maritime Commission contract ; acquired by the
Navy 4 November 1944 ; and commissioned 5 November,
Captain G. B. Helmick in command.
After shakedown along the Pacific coast, Kittson cleared
San Diego 26 December 1944 with the 4th Marine Aircraft
Wing aboard. She arrived Majuro 12 January 1945 ; un-
loaded the Marine unit; and sailed for Leyte, arriving
1 February. While operating in the Philippines for the
next 6 weeks, the attack transport prepared for the
Okinawa invasion.
Departing Leyte 27 March with units of the 7th Divi-
sion on board, Kittson arrived off Hugushi Beach, Oki-
nawa, 1 April. After the air was cleared of enemy
aircraft, the transports commenced unloading troeps and
cargo for the largest amphibious assault to take place in
the Pacific. Kittson stood off the area unloading cargo
and assisting in smoke screen operations until she sailed
for the West Coast 7 April and Pearl Harbor. She
662
steamed into San Francisco Bay 30 May, loaded cargo
and sailors for the final push on Japan, and cleared port
6 June.
Stopping at Eniwetok and Ulithi en route, Kittson ar-
rived Okinawa 24 July, unloaded cargo, and steamed
toward Guam. While the transport was at Guam, hostili-
ties ended ; and she was assigned to ferry occupation
troops to Japan. She made two runs from Cebu, Philip-
pines, to Japan before clearing Tokyo Bay with troops
for China. Arriving Taku Bay 24 October, Kittson was
assigned to “Magic-Carpet” duty and sailed with her first
group of returning veterans 2 November, arriving San
Diego 24 November. After completing another “Magic-
Carpet” cruise to Japan, the transport tied up at San
Pedro 13 January 1946. Kittson sailed for the East
Coast, arriving Norfolk 4 February, and decommissioned
11 March 1946. She was returned to the Maritime Com-
mission 2 days later. Kittson was placed in the National
Defense Reserve Fleet and at present is berthed at James
River, Va.
Kittson received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kitty Hawk
A small village in North Carolina where the Wright
brothers made the world’s first airplane flight 17
December 1903.
I
( APV-1 : dp. 14,000; 1. 478' ; b. 63'6" ; dr. 22'10" ; s. 17 k. ;
cpl. 245 ; a. 4 3", 1 5” ; cl. Kitty Hawk)
Kitty Hatch (APV-1), formerly SS Seatrain New York,
was built in 1932 by Sun Ship Building & Dry Dock Co.,
Chester, Pa. ; acquired by the Navy 25 June 1941 ; renamed
Kitty Hawk 8 July; converted to an aircraft transport by
Tietjin & Land Dry Dock Co., Hoboken, N.J. ; and com-
missioned 26 November 1941, at New York Navy Yard,
Comdr. E. C. Rogers in command.
After shakedown Kitty Hawk departed New York 16
December 1941, for Hawaii via the Panama Canal with
aircraft to replace America’s losses in the Japanese attack
and arrived Pearl Harbor 8 February 1942. She unloaded
her planes at Hickam Field and returned to the mainland
25 February. Kitty Hawk returned to Pearl Harbor 17
May. Intelligence reports arrived indicating that a Japa-
nese fleet was approaching the Hawaiian Islands. Imme-
diately Kitty Hawk loaded the men, armament, and equip-
ment of the 3d Marine Defense Battalion and planes of
Marine Air Groups 21 and 45 and sailed at top speed
to reinforce Midway, escorted by Gwyn. En route a
PBY reported a submarine in the area which Gwyn drove
off with a heavy barrage of depth charges, enabling Kitty
Hawk to deliver her vital fighting men and aircraft to
Midway 26 May 1942.
Escorted by destroyers Gwyn and Sicard, Kitty Hawk
departed Midway 29 May and arrived Honolulu 1 June
1942. On 5 June at Pearl Harbor she learned of the
great American victory in the Battle of Midway, which
turned back a giant Japanese offensive with disastrous
results to the Japanese carrier attack force. That same
day the proud aircraft transport sailed for the West
Coast, arriving San Diego 13 June.
Kitty Hawk returned to Pearl Harbor 31 July 1942;
loaded men, equipment and airplanes of the 2d Echelon
of the 23d Marine Air Group ; and set course for Port
Vila, Efate, New Hebrides, arriving 28 August. She
moored alongside escort carrier Long Island (CVE-1)
transferring 40 aircraft which were immediately cata-
pulted by Long Island and flown directly into combat on
bitterly-contested Guadalcanal.
She sailed 4 October for San Francisco, discharged
and loaded cargo, then headed for Pearl Harbor, arriving
20 October. Loading badly-needed airplanes for the
Army, she steamed to Palmyra, arriving 30 October.
There, under hazardous conditions, she embarked more
planes, cargo and passengers. Sailing on 2 November,
she arrived Dumbea Bay, Noumea, 10 November where
she picked up men from Hornet’s air group after that
valiant carrier had gone down in battle. Arriving at
Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 13 November, she dis-
charged army aviators and planes. Kitty Hawk sailed
from Espiritu Santo 22 November for home with 359
passengers, arriving San Diego 7 December. Carrying
men and equipment of Marine Air Group 12, she got under-
way 4 January 1943, for the New Hebrides, arriving at
Espiritu Santo 22 January ; but, as enemy air raids pre-
vented unloading, she sailed on to Pallikulo Bay, a safer
place ; then departed for Undine Bay, Efate, where she
finished unloading men, munitions and aircraft of Marine
Air Group 12. Kitty Hawk returned to San Diego 20
February.
Between 20 February 1943 and 25 June 1944, Kitty
Hawk made seven voyages to Hawaii and seven to the
Southwest Pacific carrying vital aircraft, fighting men
and munitions to be used in pressing forward toward
Japan and victory. The ship was reclassified AKV-1 on
15 September 1943. She returned to the West Coast and
arrived at San Francisco for overhaul 5 August 1944.
Kitty Hawk loaded passengers, planes, and cargo at
San Diego and sailed 29 August for Finschhafen, New
Guinea ; Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admhalty Islands ;
Guadalcanal ; and Espiritu Santo, returning San Diego
12 October 1944.
Kitty Hatch sailed directly from San Francisco to
Manus, arriving 12 November. From Manus she steamed
to the Solomons to pick up men of a radio control drone
unit; called at Guadalcanal 26 November, Espiritu Santo
30 November; then sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving 9
December. Two days later she sailed to Maui Island,
where she debarked the radar control unit.
After minor repairs at San Diego, Kitty Hatch sailed
7 January 1945, to various ports in the South Pacific;
returned to San Francisco 17 February • made a quick
turn about; and steamed bark to the forward area,
returning to the West Coast 12 June.
Kitty Hawk received news of the end of hostilities 13
August 1945, while at Pearl Harbor. Basing from Pearl
Harbor, she carried military cargo to the Marshalls, the
Marianas, and the Philippines. She departed PeaTl Har-
bor 24 November for the East Coast. Kitty Hawk ar-
rived Bayonne, N.J.. 15 December 1945 ; visited Norfolk ;
then decommissioned at New York 24 January 1916; and
was returned to her owner, Seatrain Lines, *nc., the same
day.
II
(CVA-63: dp. 60,000; 1. 1,047'6" ; b. 129'4" ; ea. 252';
s. 35 k. ; cpl. 4,582 ; a. Ter. mis. ; cl. Kitty Hawk)
The second Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) was laid down by
the New York Ship Building Corp., Camden, N.J., 27
December 1956 ; and launched 21 May 1960 ; sponsored
by Mrs. Neil H. McElroy ; and commissioned 21 April
1961 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Captain William
F. Bringle in command.
Following shakedown in the Western Atlantic, Kitty
Hawk departed Norfolk 11 August 1961. After a brief
stop at Rio de Janeiro, where she embarked the Secretary
of the Brazilian Navy for a demonstration of exercises
at sea with five Brazilian destroyers, the attack carrier
rounded Cape Horn 1 October. She steamed into Val-
paraiso Bay 13 October and then sailed 2 days later for
Peru, arriving Callao 20 October where she entertained
the President of Peru. At San Diego Admiral George
W. Anderson, Chief of Naval Operations, landed on her
deck 18 November to witness antisubmarine demonstra-
tions by Wilson and Blueback ; a Terrier Missile demon-
stration by Topeka-, and air demonstrations by Kitty
Hawk.
Kitty Hawk entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard 23
November 1961. for alterations. Following operations out
of San Diego, she sailed from San Francisco 13 September
1962. Kitty Hawk joined the 7th Fleet 7 October 1962,
relieving Midway as flagship.
After participating in the Philippine Republic Aviation
Week Air Show, Kitty Hawk steamed out of Manila
256-125 0 - 68 - 44
663
Harbor 30 November 1962, and welcomed Admiral H. D.
Felt, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, for a demonstra-
tion of modern naval weapons 3 December. The ship
visited Hong Kong early in December and returned to
Japan, arriving at Yokosuka 2 January 1963. During
the following 2 months she visited Kobe, Beppu, and
Iwakuni before returning to San Diego 2 April 1963.
On 6 June 1963, President Kennedy, with top civilian and
military leaders, boarded Kitty Hawk to witness a carrier
task force weapons demonstration off the California coast.
Addressing the men of the task group from Kitty Hawk
President Kennedy told them that as in the past, control
of the seas still means security, peace and ultimate vic-
tory. He later wrote to President and Madam Chiang
Kai-Shek who had witnessed a similar demonstration on
board Constellation: “I hope you were impressed as I
was, on my visit to Kitty Hawk, with the great force for
peace or war, which these mighty carriers and their ac-
companying escorts provide, helping to preserve the free-
dom of distant nations in all parts of the world.”
Following a series of strike exercises and tactics reach-
ing along the California coast and off Hawaii, Kitty Hawk
again sailed for the Far East. While approaching Japan
she learned an assassin had shot President Kennedy.
Flags were at half mast as she entered Sasebo Harbor
25 November'1963, the day of the President’s funeral : and
as senior ship present, she had the sad honor of firing
memorial salutes. After cruising the South China Sea
and ranging to the Philippines in readiness operations
with the 7th Fleet, she returned to San Diego 20 July 1964.
Kitty Hawk overhauled in Puget Sound Naval Ship-
yard, then trained along the western seaboard. She
sailed from San Diego 19 October 1965, for Hawaii,
thence to Subic Bay, P.I., where she prepared for combat
operations off the coast of Vietnam.
Kitty Hawk was awarded the Navy Unit Commenda-
tion for exceptionally meritorious service from 26 Novem-
ber 1965 to 14 May 1966 while participating in combat
operations against the insurgent Communist guerilla
forces in the Republic of Vietnam. The valiant men of
her Carrier Air Wing 11 flew over 10,000 sorties and de-
livered over 10,700 tons of ordnance against enemy forces.
The officers and men of Kitty Hawk displayed undaunted
spirit, courage, professionalism and dedication to maintain
their ship as a fighting unit under the most ardent oper-
ating conditions to enable her pilots to destroy vital mili-
tary targets in North Vietnam despite intense opposition
and extremely adverse weather conditions.
Kitty Hawk returned to San Diego in June 1965 for
overhaul and training until 4 November 1966 when she
again deployed to serve the cause of freedom and national
security in waters of Southeast Asia. Kitty Hawk ar-
rived at Yokosuka, Japan, 19 November to relieve Constel-
lation (CVA-64) as flagship for Rear Admiral David C.
Richardson, Commander Task Force 77. On 26 November
Kitty Hawk departed Yokosuka for Yankee Station via
Subic Bay, and on 5 December aircraft from Kitty Hawk
began their around-the-clock missions over North Vietnam.
About this time Kitty Hawk — already accustomed to
celebrities as guests — entertained a number of extremely
prominent visitors : William Randolph Hearst, Jr. ; Bob
Considine ; Dr. Billy Graham ; and John Steinbeck, among
others. She remained in the Far East supporting the
fight for freedom in Southeast Asia until departing Subic
Bay 28 May 1967. Steaming via Japan, the carrier
reached San Diego 19 June and a week later entered the
naval shipyard at Long Beach for maintenance. Kitty
Hawk returned to San Diego 25 August and began a
rigorous training program to prepare her for future
action.
Kiyo Maru, see Y P-110
Klamath
A tribe of Indians formerly living along the Klamath
River in California and Oregon.
(Monitor: dp. 1,175 (o.t. ) ; 1. 225'; b. 45'; dr. 6’4
s. 5.7 k. ; cpl. 60 ; cl. Casco )
Klamath was a light-draft monitor launched 20 April
1865 by S. T. Hambleton & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, under
subcontract with Alexander Swift & Co., also of Cincin-
nati. She was deli’ ered to the Navy 6 May 1866 but was
never commissioned and saw no service. While laid up
at Mound City, 111., she was renamed Harpy 15 June 1869,
but was changed back to Klamath 10 August. She was
moved to New Orleans in 1870, and sold at auction there
to Schickels, Harrison & Co. 12 September 1874.
Klaskanine
A river in the state of Oregon.
( AOG-63 : dp. 845 ; 1. 220'6'' ; b. 37' ; dr. 13'11" ; s. 10 k. ;
a. 1 3'', 2 40mm., 3 20mm. ; cL Mettawee ; T. T1-M-A2)
Klaskanine (AOG-63) was laid down 24 April 1944 by
the East Coast Shipyard Inc., Bayonne, N.J., under a
Maritime Commission contract : launched 3 February
1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Harris ; acquired by the
Navy 26 February and commissioned 8 March 1945, Lt.
R. O. Kostelak in command.
Klaskanine cleared New York 26 March ; and, after
shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, steamed to the Pacific, ar-
riving San Diego 27 May. The small tanker loaded diesel
oil and sailed for Pearl Harbor 4 days later. When her
main engine broke down 6 June midway to her destination,
she was towed to Pearl Harbor, arriving 14 June. Klaska-
nine operated as a shuttle tanker among the Hawaiian
and mid-Pacific Islands through the summer.
After getting underway for Eniwetok 31 August, the
oiler once again was stopped by engine failure before com-
pleting her cruise. Following repairs at Eniwetok and
Pearl Harbor 21 September 1945 to 24 January 1946,
Klaskanine put into San Francisco 7 February 1946 and
decommissioned there 25 March 1946. She was returned
to WSA the same day and later sold to Brazil. She at
present serves the Brazilian Navy as Raza (G-19).
Kleinsmith
Charles Kleinsmith, born 28 September 1904 in Zion-
ville, Pa., enlisted in the Navy 26 October 1922 as an ap-
prentice seaman. Until honorably discharged 5 October
1926 as Fireman Second Class, he served on board several
ships, including Wyoming (BB— 32) and Maryland (BB-
46). Kleinsmith reenlisted 20 December 1928, and during
the next 11 years he had duty on board Milwaukee (CL-
5), Cincinnati (CL-6), Portland (CA-33), and Honolulu
(CL-48), He reported on board Saratoga (CV-3) 27
December 1939 and transferred to Yorktown (CV-5) 31
October 1940. During the Battle of Midway 4 June 1942,
Kleinsmith maintained auxiliary power on Yorktown
after an intense enemy bombing attack extinguished the
fires in all boilers but one. Despite the stifling fumes, in-
tense heat, and imminence of explosion, he performed
courageously, enabling the fighting carrier to attain speed
necessary for launching plances to oppose a Japanese aer-
ial torpedo attack. At the end of the attack, Chief Water-
tender Kleinsmith was missing and presumed dead. He
was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
The name Kleinsmith was assigned to DE-376 31 May
1944, but construction of the ship was canceled 6 June
1944.
I
(APD-134: dp. 1,450; 1. 306'; b. 36'10" ; dr. 13'6" ; s.
23.6 k. ; cpl. 204; a. 1 5'', 6 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct. ; cl
Crosley)
Originally designated DE-718, a Rudderow- class de-
stroyer escort, Kleinsmith was redesignated as APD-134 on
664
USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) refueling USS McKean (DD-784) and USS Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748)
17 July 1944 ; launched 27 January 1945 by Defoe Ship-
building Oo., Bay City, Mich. ; sponsored by Mrs. Mary
Agnes Kleinsmith ; and commissioned at New Orleans 12
June 1945, Lt. Comdr. Alden J. Laborde in command.
After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Kleinsmith
arrived Norfolk 21 July. Departing 4 August for the Pa-
cific, the high-speed transport steamed via San Diego and
Pearl Harbor and reached Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 1 Oc-
tober. She operated between Okinawa and the Japanese
home islands until 21 February 1946 ; then she sailed from
Sasebo via the Marshalls and Pearl Harbor, arriving San
Francisco 24 March with 118 returning veterans embarked.
Departing 10 April, she proceeded via the Panama Canal
to the Bast Coast, arriving Norfolk 1 May.
Based at Norfolk and Little Creek, Va., during the next
6 years, Kleinsmith operated along the Atlantic coast from
Labrador to Venezuela while conducting amphibious and
antisubmarine operations. She served primarily as an
amphibious command ship; many of her cruises carried
her into the Caribbean, where she operated out of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guantanamo Bay.
Returning from the Caribbean 13 February 1951, Klein-
smith departed Little Creek 5 March on the first of four
deployments to the Mediterranean. Arriving Gilbralter
15 March with UDT personnel embarked, she deployed
with the mighty 6th Fleet and participated in amphibious
operations that ranged from Oran, Algeria, to Phaleron
Bay, Greece. After serving as amphibious control ship,
she departed Gilbralter 26 June for the United States, ar-
riving Little Creek 6 July. On 19 July 1952 she de-
parted for a 4-month deployment with the 6th Fleet and
supported its important peace-keeping activities off the
troubled lands of the Mediterranean.
Returning to Little Creek 29 January 1955, Kleinsmith
resumed operations along the eastern seaboard to the
Caribbean. On 9 January 1957 she again departed for
duty with the 6th Fleet and for almost 3 months operated
in the Eastern Mediterranean. In response to an urgent
request from King Hussein of Jordan, whose government
was threatened with leftist-oriented, Egyptian-supported
subversion, Kleinsmith departed La Spezia, Italy, 25 April
for the Levantine Coast. Arriving off Beirut, Lebanon,
30 April, she joined ships of the 6th Fleet in a formidable
display of sea power, designed to show U.S. determination
that the integrity and independence of nations in the Mid-
dle East would be guaranteed against Communist sub-
version or aggression. Remaining on station until 3 May,
she then departed Rhodes, Greece, 18 May and returned
to Little Creek 1 June.
In less than 3 months Kleinsmith sailed once again for
the Mediterranean, arriving Palermo, Sicily, 15 Septem-
ber. During the previous August, a pro-Soviet takeover
of the Syrian Army had threatened the stability of the
Middle East. The high-speed transport proceeded to the
665
Eastern Mediterranean 19 September and operated there to
prevent aggression and to preserve peace. She departed
Barcelona, Spain, 4 November arrived Little Creek 17
November.
In 1958 Kleinsmitli continued her activities along the
Atlantic coast. While operating out of Guantanamo Bay
24 October, she rescued 56 U.S. citizens and 3 foreign
nationals at Nicaro, Cuba, where they were endangered
by military operations between the Cuban Army and the
Castro rebels. From 27 May to 3 August 1959 she cruised
to the Great Lakes via the newly opened St. Lawrence
Seaway. On 1 April 1960 Kleinsmitli departed Little
Creek for the Pacific. Steaming via San Diego, Pearl
Harbor, and Guam, she arrived Tsoying, Taiwan 15 May.
Kleinsmitli decommissioned 16 May and was transferred
the same day to the Nationalist Government of the Repub-
lic of China. At present she serves in the Nationalist
Chinese Navy as Tien Shan (APD-215).
Klickitat
A river in the State of Washington.
( AOG-64 : dp. 1,988 ; 1. 325'2'' ; b. 48'2" ; dr. 19' ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 80; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 8 20 mm.; cl. Klickitat; T.
T1-M-BT1 )
Klickitat (AOG-64) was launched 24 March 1945, by St.
John’s River Shipbuilding Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., under
a Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. I. B.
McDaniel ; acquired by the Navy and commissioned 14
July, Lt. M. J. Seibert, USCG, in command.
Departing Jacksonville 28 July, Klickitat arrived Hamp-
ton Roads, Va., 31 July. After shakedown in the Chesa-
peake Bay, the gasoline tanker proceeded on 23 August
for Rockland, Maine, arriving the 26th. She returned to
Norfolk 3 September and departed 23 November with
Michigamme (AOG-65) for Houston, Tex. Arriving 2 De-
cember, she loaded a cargo of diesel oil, sailed 3 Decem-
ber for the East Coast, and arrived Norfolk 12 December.
Remaining at Norfolk, Klickitat decommissioned 23 Jan-
uary 1946 and was returned to the Maritime Commis-
sion 24 January. Her name was struck from the Navy
List 7 February 1946. Following merchant service as SS
Captain, she was acquired in 1949 by the Argentine
Navy and renamed Punta Loyola.
Kline
Stanley Fly Kline was bom 15 November 1901 in
Graterford, Pa., and enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve
2 February 1927. He began active duty 13 July 1942, and
was assigned to Britsh warship Hartland, former U.S.
Coast Guard cutter Pontchartrain, as a member of an
antisabotage party.
On November 8, as Hartland entered Oran Harbor,
Algeria, the ship came under heavy fire from enemy ships
and shore batteries. When a shell exploded in a compart-
ment occupied by the boarding party, the survivors found
themselves trapped by fire and fumes. Kline, crawling
through a small overhead hatch and worming his way
along the deck under a hail of shells and machine gun fire,
opened a large hatch and assisted 42 men to safety. He
then turned to loading ammunition clips for an automatic
rifle and continued his heroic conduct with complete dis-
regard of his own safety until killed by a shell explosion.
Kline was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal
for his conspicuous gallantry.
( APD-120 : dp. 1,390; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; dr. 12'7'' ; s. 23.6 k.
cpl. 204 ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm. ; 6 20mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Crosley)
Kline (DE-687), was launched 27 June 1944 by the
Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. ; sponsored by Mrs.
Hazel Kline, widow ; redesignated APD-120 on 17 July ;
and commissioned 18 October 1944, Lt. B. F. Urban,
USNR, in command.
While en route to shakedown, 6 November 1944, Kline
rescued nine survivors from Navy dirigible K-34 which
had been forced down in a storm. Completing her Ber-
muda shakedown the high-speed transport cleared Norfolk
24 December for the Pacific. Upon arriving Pearl Harbor
20 January 1945, Kline trained underwater demolition
teams until sailing 14 February for Leyte. Intensive pre-
invasion exercises were completed in the Philippines before
the transport arrived off Okinawa 26 March. Kline's
underwater demolition team cleared the approaches to
the island, “the last stepping stone” on the road to Japan.
After the main invasion force landed 1 April, Kline re-
mained in the area as radar and ASW picket. Her guns
also assisted in splashing an enemy aircraft on 1 April
and helped down another on the 6th.
She departed Okinawa area 16 April and for the next 6
weeks underwent training and repairs. Sailing from
Borneo 2 June, Kline provided close fire support during
the invasion of Brunei Bay, Borneo on 10 June and 2
weeks later her underwater demolition unit gave valuable
service during the invasion of Balikpapan. The high-
speed transport departed Indonesian waters 7 July and,
sailing via the Carolines and Marshalls, arrived Ocean-
side, Calif., 5 August.
Following the cessation of hostilities Kline sailed for
Japan, arriving Sasebo 20 September to commence under-
water reconnaissance missions. After similar operations
at Nagasaki she returned San Diego 19 October to pre-
pare for “Magic-Carpet” service. Kline made 1 cruise to
Pearl Harbor and returned 110 Pacific veterans to San
Diego 19 November. Two days later she sailed for the
East Coast, arriving Norfolk 5 December. On 28 January
Kline arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla., where she decom-
missioned 10 March 1947 and joined the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet. Kline was struck 15 January 1966 and on 22 Feb-
ruary sold to Nationalist China under the Military Assist-
ance Program.
Kline received two battle stars for World War II service.
Klondike
The mining district south of the Klondike River in
Yugon Territory, Canada, which was the scene of the gold
rush of 1897.
(AD-22 : dp. 8,165 ; 1. 492' ; b. 69'8" ; dr. 27'3'' ; s. 18.4 k. ;
cpl. 826 ; a. 1 5", 4 3", 4 40mm., 20 20mm. ; cl. Klondike)
Klondike (AD-22) was launched 12 August 1944 by
Todd Shipbuilding Corp., San Pedro, Calif. ; sponsored
by Mrs. Dorothy J. Diirck ; and commissioned at San
Pedro 30 July 1945, Comdr. M. E. Hatch in command.
After shakedown, Klondike loaded hundreds of tons of
spares and stores in preparation for the important task
of supplying and maintaining the speedy, hardhitting de-
stroyers. Designed as a “mother ship” for the “grey-
hounds of the fleet,” she departed San Pedro 19 October
for Pearl Harbor, arriving the 25th. Recalled to the West
Coast, she sailed from Pearl 7 November with 500 home-
bound veterans embarked and arrived San Diego 15
November. On 21 November she became the flagship for
Commander, San Diego Group, 19th Fleet ; and commenced
inactiviation operations on ships scheduled for the Pacific
Reserve Fleet. Placed on an inactive status (in commis-
sion, in reserve) 30 November 1946, Klondike was placed
in service in late summer, 1948. She served as flagship
until 11 May 1955.
Klondike recommissioned 15 July 1959 at Long Beach,
Comdr. F. F. Mullins, Jr., in command. Returning to
San Diego 4 December, she provided repair facilities as
a unit of SerRon 1. On 20 February 1960 she was re-
classified as repair ship AR-22 and she repaired vessels
at San Diego, Long Beach, and San Francisco until 15
July 1961. Klondike then departed San Diego for duty
in the Far East. Assigned to SerRon 3, she arrived Yoko-
suka, Japan 4 August ; and until 23 February 1962 she
provided repair facilities at Sasebo and Iwakuni, Japan,
and Subic Bay, P.I., for the peace-keeping ships of the
666
mighty 7th Fleet. Returning to the West Coast 11 March,
she resumed her duty out of San Diego.
Departing San Diego 17 July 1963, Klondike steamed
via Pearl Harbor for the Western Pacific. While en route
to Sasebo, she offered assistance 6 through 9 August to
distressed Greek freighter Cryssism during a raging ty-
phoon. Reaching Sasebo 11 August, she proceeded to
Subic Bay 15 August for repair ship station duty. Klon-
dike operated in the Far East until 30 November ; then she
returned to the United States, arriving San Diego 14
December. During the next year she continued servicing
ships while operating out of San Diego and San Francisco.
Klondike continued to repair the ships of the Pacific Fleet
into mid-1967. Her last Far Eastern deployment began
25 February 1966 when she departed San Diego. She re-
mained in the Orient repairing the ships of the mighty
7th Fleet until returning to Pearl Harbor 27 October. The
remainder of the year was devoted to preparing for
future action in 1967.
Klondike, see YF-891
Knapp
Harry Shepard Knapp, born 27 June 1856 in New
Britain, Conn., graduated from the Naval Academy 20
June 1878. After serving in Pensacola as cadet midship-
man and in Minnesota and Jamestown as a midshipman,
he was commissioned Ensign 8 July 1882. Following as-
signments to a number of ships and stations ashore, he
was ordered to Dorothea as executive officer at the out-
break of the Spanish American War. Outstanding service
in a variety of important billets afloat and ashore was
rewarded on 3 August 1908 when Knapp assumed com-
mand of Charleston (C-22). Promoted to Captain 1909,
Knapp was assigned to the General Board 8 January 1910.
At about this time he served intermittently on the Joint
Army and Navy Board for Defense of the Panama Canal.
He was in charge of Florida (BB-30) while she was
fitted out and commanded the battleship when she first
commissioned 15 September 1911. He took command of
Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet 8 November 1915.
Knapp was promoted to Rear Admiral 17 March 1917
and a week before the United States entered World War I
was appointed Military Governor of Santo Domingo and
Military Representative of the United States in Haiti.
“Meritorious service” in this post, labouring to protect
Allied shipping from German U-boats and to make the
Caribbean secure from enemy aggression, won Rear Ad-
miral Knapp the Navy Cross. Soon after the armistice,
he was Naval Attach^ in London with staff duties and on
4 February 1920 assumed command of U.S. Naval Forces
operating in European waters with rank of Vice Admiral.
Even after Vice Admiral Knapp was placed on the retired
list effective 27 June 1920, the Navy utilized his singular
abilities. This won him temporary active duty as a con-
sultant and as quasi-diplomat. He died at Hartford,
Conn., 6 April 1928.
( DD-653 : dp. 2,050; 1. 376 ' 6" ; b. 39'7” ; dr. 17'9” ; s.
37 k. ; cpl. 319; a. 5 5", 10 21” tt., 6 dep., 2 dct. ; cl.
Fletcher)
Knapp (DD-653) was laid down 8 March 1943 by Bath
Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched 10 July 1943; spon-
sored by Misses Margaret L. and Mary C. Knapp ; and
commissioned 16 September 1943, Comdr. Frank Virden
in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Knapp departed
Boston 26 November for the Pacific arriving Pearl Harbor
21 December. She departed Pearl Harbor 16 January
with the mighty carriers of Admiral Mitscher’s Task Force
58 for the Marshall Islands invasion. At sea on this duty
from 16 January until 12 February when she put in to
Majuro, Knapp also bombarded Kwajalein Island. She
continued her screening as carriers launched raids on
Truk 16-17 February and on bases in the Marianas from
21 to 22 February, then sailed from Majuro to Espiritu
Santo to screen carriers providing air cover for the seizure
of Emirau Island from 20 to 25 March and raiding the
Palaus, Yap, and Woleai from 30 March to 1 April.
The destroyer returned to Majuro 6 April 1944 and a
week later she sortied with heavy ships for the Hollandia
landings of 21 to 24 April, and air raids on Truk, Satawan,
and Ponape at the close of the month.
Following replenishment at Majuro in May Knapp
joined and screened carriers during operations against
Saipan. On 19 June Knapp guarded her force during the
momentous air Battle of the Philippine Sea in which
Japan’s air power was annihilated. From 25 July to 5
August she continued her screening in the raids on Palau,
Ulithi, Yap, Iwo Jima, and Chichi Jima during the last of
which she joined in the surface gunfire which sank several
ships of a Japanese convoy earlier badly mauled by car-
rier aircraft. Knapp refitted at Eniwetok 11 to 30 August.
Knapp steamed out of Eniwetok for the invasion of the
Palaus 30 August screening five battleships and later
rendezvous with carriers Langley, Lexington, Essex, and
Princeton before their deadly strikes at targets in the
Palaus during the bloody struggle to take Peleliu. During
September Knapp screened heavy ships making strikes at
the Philippines and 6 October she sailed from Ulithi for
the air strikes on Okinawa and Formosa in preparation
for the Leyte landings, and fired protective antiaircraft
cover for her force during the Formosa air battle of 12-14
October. After guarding the retirement toward safety of
the stricken Canberra which had been struck by an aerial
torpedo 13 October, she rejoined her force for air strikes
on Luzon, and screened them during the Battle of Surigao
Strait, one phase of the decisive Battle of Leyte Gulf.
She returned to Ulithi 30 October, 2 days later headed
back to the Philippines. After Reno was damaged 3 No-
vember by a submarine torpedo, Knapp guarded her with-
drawal to safety. From 25 November through the middle
of January 1945 Knapp screened air strikes on Luzon,
French Indo China, and cities on the China Coast neu-
tralizing Japanese bases in preparation for the Lingayen
invasion. Escorting Ticonderoga which was hit during
an air attack on 21 January, Knapp arrived in Ulithi 24
January 1945 with the crippled carrier. Accomplishing
her mission, the veteran destroyer sailed 30 January for
the West Coast, arriving 20 February for overhaul.
Knapp sailed for the Western Pacific 23 April arriving
off Okinawa 27 May 1945. She served on dangerous and
demanding duty as radar picket ship until 26 June. Three
days later she joined carrier Task Force 39 for the final
series of raids against the Japanese home island. Follow-
ing the end of fighting 15 August, Knapp arrived in
Sagami Wan, Honshu, Empire of Japan, 27 August and
sailed into Tokyo Bay 1 September for the surrender cere-
monies aboard the Missouri (BB-63) 2 September. Dur-
ing the early days of the occupation she helped demili-
tarize Japanese midget submarine and suicide boat bases.
She sailed for the United States 5 December and arrived
at San Diego 21 December 1945. Shortly thereafter
Knapp sailed via the Panama Canal for Boston arriving
17 January 1946. She sailed for Charleston, S.C., 2 April
and decommissioned 5 July 1946.
Knapp recommissioned 3 May 1951 when the outbreak
of the Korean conflict necessitated more naval vessels.
She served in the Atlantic Fleet working out of Newport,
R.I. She cruised in the Caribbean from 20 July to 13
September when she pulled into Charleston, where she
was refitted with modern equipment then sailed 4 Feb-
ruary 1952 with a task force to England, Norway, and
Germany. She made a voyage to the Mediterranean 22
November visiting ports in Italy, Turkey, and Spain.
Knapp transitted the Straits of Gibraltar 26 January 1953
and overhauled at Boston until 10 August 1953 when she
deployed with Destroyer Division 182 for a world cruise.
Her cruise was delayed when she arrived in the Far East.
She patrolled the Korean coast with Task Force 77 until
14 January 1954 when she resumed her cruise via Hong
Kong ; Singapore ; Colombo ; Aden ; Saudi Arabia ; Suez
667
Canal ; visited Port Said, Naples, Barcelona, Lisbon, Ber-
muda, and arrived Fall River, Mass., 10 March 1954.
Knapp sailed from Newport for San Diego arriving 15
December. She got underway 4 January 1955 for the
Western Pacific and patrolled the East China Sea and the
Formosa Straits until the first part of June when she re-
turned to San Diego 19 June 1955. After operations along
the California coast she returned to the Far East 27 Jan-
uary 1956, visited ports of Kobe, Subic Bay, Buckners Bay
and patrolled the Formosa Straits showing off to the Com-
munists our interests in that part of the world before
returning San Diego 31 May 1956. She operated along the
California coast, entering Long Beach Naval Shipyard 4
September for overhaul. Knapp was decommissioned 4
March 1957 and assigned to the Long Beach Group, Pacific
Reserve Fleet. At present she is berthed at Bremerton,
Wash.
Knapp received eight battle stars for World War II
service.
Knave
A servant or common person.
(AM-256: dp. 350; 1. 184'6" ; b. 33'; dr. 9'9" ; s. 15 k. ;
cpl. 105 ; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Admirable)
Knave (AM-256) was launched 13 March 1943, by
American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio ; sponsored by
Mrs. Geraldine Donohue ; and commissioned 14 October
1943. Lt. Comdr. A. M. White in command.
Knave sailed for the Virginia Capes 24 October 1943,
via the St. Lawrence River arriving Norfolk 24 November.
After a brief period as school ship at Little Creek, Va.,
Knave departed Hampton Roads for Rio de Janeiro via
Trinidad, B.W.I., and Recife, Brazil, arriving 11 February
1944. She swept Brazilian waters until 4 April when
she began 9 months of escorting convoys between Trinidad
and Recife. On 1 January 1945, she got underway for
the United States, escorting Pleiades (AK-46) and arrived
Miami, Fla., 15 January.
After overhaul at Miami, Knave served as school ship
at the Naval Training Center, Miami and at Yorktown,
Va., visiting Charleston, New Haven, and Norfolk. De-
tached from school ship duty 11 February 1946, Knave
sailed from Norfolk to Orange, Tex., arriving 21 February.
Knave decommissioned and was placed in reserve at
Orange, Tex., 1 May 1946. While in reserve Knave was
reclassified MSF-256, sold to the Mexican Government
2 October 1962, and renamed DM-18.
Knickerbocker
A former name retained.
( SP^79 ; 1. 123 ; 1. 110' ; b. 23'11" ; dr. 11' ; s. 9 k. )
Knickerbocker (SP-479), a steam tug, was built by
Neafie & Levy, Philadelphia, Pa., in 1873 and rebuilt in
1904. She was leased by her owner, Cornell Steamboat
Co., New York City, 2 May 1917 and enrolled in the Navy
Coast Defense Reserve. Purchased 13 September, Knick-
erbocker commissioned 22 September at New York,
Boatswain M. J. Lounsbery, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 3d Naval District, Knickerbocker op-
erated on the Hudson River and New York Harbor as
a minesweeper, tug, and dispatch ship. Though ordered
struck from the Navy List 14 March 1918, the scarcity
of tugs resulted in her retention for harbor duty. On 30
December she was assigned to the training and guard
ship Amphitrite and served as a dispatch ship. Knicker-
bocker decommissioned 18 February 1919 and was sold
the same day to Francis J. McDonald of Ardmore, Pa.
Knickerbocker, see YF-569
Knight
Austin Melvin Knight, born in Ware, Mass., 16 Decem-
ber 1854, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1873.
After service as a Passed Midshipman, he was commis-
sioned Ensign 16 July 1874. He served in various sea
and shore assignments over the next two decades, includ-
ing tours at the Naval Academy, and in Tuscarora,
Constellation, Chicago, Monongahela, and Lancaster.
During the Spanish- American War he served in Puritan,
blockading the coasts of Cuba and Puerto Rico. After
attending the Naval War College at Newport in 1901, he
commanded several ships during the next decade includ-
ing Yankton, Washington (ACR-11), and Castine.
Knight was promoted to Captain in 1907 and was com-
missioned Rear Admiral 29 January 1911. Subsequently
he served twice as Commander in Chief, Atlantic Reserve
Fleet, and commanded the Special Squadron and the
Narragansett Bay Naval Station.
From 15 December 1913 to 16 February 1917 he served
with distinction as President, Naval War College. On
22 May 1917, he took command of the Asiatic Fleet with
the rank of Admiral (temporary) ; he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal during Allied naval opera-
tions at Vladivostok, Siberia. He transferred to the re-
tired list 16 December but subsequently served on active
duty from 13 March 1919 until 30 June 1920 as Senior
Member, Board of Awards. He died 26 February 1927,
at Washington, D.C., and was buried at the Naval Acad-
emy Cemetery. On 17 November 1930, Austin Melvin
Knight was commissioned Admiral posthumously on the
Retired List from 26 February 1927.
( DD-633 : dp. 1,630; 1. 348'4" ; b. 36'1" ; dr. 17'5'' ;
s. 35 k. ; cpl. 261 ; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 4 20mm., 5 21'' tt,
6 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl. Gleaves )
Knight (DD-633) was laid down 18 March 1941, by
Boston Navy Yard; launched 27 September 1941; spon-
sored by Miss Elizabeth H. Royal, granddaughter of
Admiral Knight; and commissioned 23 June 1942, Lt.
Comdr. Richard B. Levin in command.
After shakedown off New England, Knight arrived Nor-
folk 6 October to prepare for Operation “Torch,” the inva-
sion of North Africa. She cleared Chesapeake Bay 23
October, joined her task force on the 27th, and arrived
off Safi, French Morocco, 8 November. After serving as
landing control ship, during the assault, she conducted
antisubmarine patrols until she sailed 13 November for
the United States, arriving Norfolk 24 November.
From 12 December to 28 April 1943, Knight escorted
three convoys between New York and the Moroccan ports
of Casablanca and Fedhala. Steaming to Norfolk 29 May,
she departed 8 June in convoy for the Mediterranean,
where she arrived Oran, Algeria, 22 June to prepare for
the invasion of Sicily. Sailing 5 July with Rear Admiral
A. G. Kirk’s Task Force 85, she arrived off Scoglitti during
first watch 9 July. As a fire support ship during “Cent”
Force landings on the 10th, she silenced enemy shore bat-
teries and screened transports from hostile submarines
and planes. On the 11th she downed an attacking enemy
fighter and on the 13th sailed, arriving Oran 16 July.
Knight made escort and patrol runs along the Algerian
and Tunisian coasts, then returned to Sicily 31 July to
provide effective fire support for General Patton’s 7th
Army. She operated out of Palermo until 22 August,
helping repel several German night-bombing attacks and
bombarding targets along the northern coast to Cape
d’Orlando. While on an escort Tun to Malta 11 August,
she rescued two sailors who were knocked overboard
Brant (ARS-32) when the salvage repair ship, displaying
inadequate recognition signals, was shelled and damaged
by friendly gunfire the previous day. After escorting
convoys between Palermo and Bizerte, Tunisia, Knight
returned to Sicily 7 September for the invasion of Italy.
As flagship for Task Group 80.4, Knight closed Vento-
tene Island off Gaeta, Italy, 8 September and supported
the capture of German and Italian troops on the 9th.
668
Arriving Salerno Bay 10 September with 87 German pris-
oners embarked, she fought off enemy air attacks the
10th and 11th that damaged Savannah (CL-42). The
destroyer then supported the capture of Capri 13 Sep-
tember. During the next 2 weeks she operated along
the coast of Italy in search of enemy submarines and
supply convoys; and she guarded transports in the Gulf
of Salerno from intermittent air attacks. On 27 Septem-
ber she embarked Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly and
sailed for Tunisia, arriving Bizerte the 28th. Proceeding
along the North African coast, she departed Oran 30
September for the United States, arriving New York 9
October.
Between 21 October and 1 May 1944, Knight engaged
in five Atlantic convoy escort runs from New York to
ports in the United Kingdom. On 17 May she again
sailed for the Mediterranean from Norfolk, reaching Oran
28 May. For almost 2% months she steamed from North
Africa to Italy and Gibraltar on antisubmarine patrols
and escort missions. Returning New York from Oran 22
August, she resumed convoy escort duty to the British
Isles 20 September. After two runs to England, she
again took up convoy operations in the Mediterranean,
making three runs between Norfolk and Oran from 28
December to 2 June 1945.
From 3 June to 24 July Knight was converted to a
high-speed minesweeper at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Re-
classified DMS-40 on 23 June, she arrived Norfolk 25
July, received intensive training in minesweeping, and
departed 12 August for the Pacific. Steaming via San
Diego and Pearl Harbor, she reached Okinawa 28 Sep-
tember. Assigned to Mine Squadron 21, she departed
Okinawa 16 October for the Yellow Sea, where she swept
for mines from 19 October to 16 November. Her opera-
tions between Okinawa and the Japanese home islands
continued until 24 February 1946, when she departed
Kobe for the United States, arriving San Francisco 5
April. Knight steamed to Bremerton, Wash., 27 to 30
November and decommissioned 19 March 1947. Reclassi-
fied DD-633 on 15 July 1955, Knight was berthed in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet at Stockton, Calif., until she was
struck from the Navy List 1 December 1966. As of 1
September 1967 Knight is scheduled to be used as a
target off San Diego.
Knight received four battle stars for World War II
service.
Knight , Elias D., see Enceladus (AK-80)
Knorr
Ernest R. Knorr was senior civilian and Chief Engineer
Cartographer of the Hydrographic Office from 1860 to
1885. He was largely responsible for the success of the
U.S. Navy’s first systematic charting and surveying ef-
forts, including the North Pole expedition by Jeannette
through the Bering Strait and the Pacific coast surveys by
Jamestown and Tuscarora. In 1871 he was cited by the
Hydrographer of the Navy for “outstanding ability,
and . . . constant and unremitting attention to his duties
and the interests of the Office.” He later became the first
in the United States to advocate worldwide coordination
of hydrographic research, publishing in 1879, at his own
expense, Memoir on International Cooperation in Mari-
time Hydrography.
( AGOR-15 : dp. 1,370; 1. 209' ; b. 40' ; dr. 16' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl.
26 ; cl. Robert D. Conrad)
The name Knorr was assigned to AGOR-15 on 8 May
1967. The Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich., began
construction of the oceanographic research ship on 3 April
1967 with completion planned for the fall of 1968.
Knorr, an important addition to the Navy’s new fleet
for ocean research, will gather vital scientific data on the
uncharted areas of the sea for the welfare of all peoples
throughout the world.
Knox
The first Knox was named for counties in Illinois,
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Ten-
nessee, and Texas.
The second Knox was named for Dudley Wright Knox,
bom 21 June 1877, in Fort Walla Walla, Wash., and
graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy 5 June 1896.
During the Spanish-American War he served on board
Maple in Cuban waters. He commanded gunboats, Al-
bany and Iris, during the Philippine Insurrection and the
latter during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion. He then com-
manded three of the Navy’s first destroyers; Shubrick,
Wilkes, and Decatur before commanding the First Torpedo
Flotilla. During the cruise of the “Great White Fleet”
sent around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt,
he was ordnance officer of Nebraska (BB-14). In the
years before World War I he was Fleet Ordnance Officer
in both Atlantic and Pacific, served the Office of Naval
Intelligence, and commanded the Guantanamo Bay Naval
Station. In November 1917, he joined the staff of Admiral
Sims, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in European
Waters, and earned the Navy Cross for “distinguished
service” serving as Aide in the Planning Section, and
later in the Historical Section. He was promoted to
Captain 1 February 1918.
After returning to the United States in March 1919 for
a year on the faculty of the Naval War College, he suc-
cessively commanded Brooklyn (ACR-3) and Charleston
(C-22) before resuming duty in the Office of the Chief of
Naval Operations.
Transferred to the Retired List of the Navy 20 October
1921, he continued active duty simultaneously serving as
Officer in Charge, Office of Naval Records and Library,
and as Curator for the Navy Department. Early in
World War II he was assigned important, additional duty
as Deputy Director of Naval History. For a quarter of a
century his leadership inspired diligence, efficiency, and
initiative while he guided, improved, and expanded the
Navy’s archival and historical operations. During his
tenure he contributed a written legacy that honored both
the Nation and the Navy.
A master of content and style, his clear writings include
The Eclipse of American Sea Power (1922) ; The
Naval Oenius of George Washington (1932) ; and A His-
tory of the United States Navy (1936), the latter recog-
nized as “the best one-volume history of the United States
Navy in existence.” Advanced to Commodore 2 Novem-
ber 1945, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for “ex-
ceptionally meritorious conduct” while directing the cor-
relation and preservation of accurate records of the U.S.
naval operations in World War II, thus protecting this
vital information for posterity. Commodore Knox was
relieved of all active duty 26 June 1946. He died 11
June 1960.
I
( APA-46 : dp. 8,100 ; 1. 492' ; b. 69'6” ; dr. 26'6" ; s. 16.5 k. ;
cpl. 553; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 18 20mm.; cl. Bayfield; T.
C3-S-A2)
The first Knox was originally classified AP-91 and re-
classified APA-46 on 1 February 1943; launched 17 July
1943, by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.,
under a Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs.
R. K. Forde; acquired by the Navy 30 September 1943;
placed in ferry commission from 30 September to 14 Octo-
ber during transfer to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Brooklyn,
N.Y., for conversion ; and commissioned in full 4 March
1944, Comdr. John K. Brady in command.
After shakedown, Knox departed Norfolk 6 April for
the Pacific, arriving Pearl Harbor 23 April with Marines
and Seabees embarked. Assigned to the 5th Amphibious
Force, the transport sailed 29 May as part of Task Force
52 bound for the Marianas as the Navy’s offensive in the
Pacific moved into high gear. Steaming via Eniwetok,
Marshall Islands, Knox arrived off Saipan 15 June and
made a diversionary landing at Garapan before debarking
her troops that afternoon at the actual landing area. She
669
remained off Saipan until 24 June, then sailed for Eni-
wetok, arriving the 28th with Saipan casualties on board.
Departing Eniwetok 15 July, she returned to Saipan 19
July to prepare for the assault on Tinian. With Marines
of the 2d Division embarked, she engaged in another am-
phibious diversion during the 24 July invasion of Tinian.
She then landed her troops the next day and operated
off Tinian and Saipan until sure of the success of the con-
quest of the Marianas, which toppled Tojo and his cabinet
and edged Japan toward peace. She departed 28 July
for Pearl Harbor via Eniwetok, arriving 10 August.
After completing amphibious exercises, Knox sailed 15
September for Manus, Admiralities, where she arrived 3
October to prepare for the long awaited liberation of the
Philippines. Loaded with Army troops and equipment,
she departed Manus 14 October in the Southern Attack
Force ( TF-79) . The transport arrived off Dulag, Leyte,
20 October ; and, during a terrific aerial and Naval gun-
fire bombardment, lowered boats for the first assault.
Knox completed unloading under a smoke screen the 21st
and departed Leyte Gulf for New Guinea arriving Hol-
landia the 26th.
Knox steamed out of Humboldt Bay 5 November and
returned to Leyte 18 November after loading troops and
cargo at Noemfoor, Schouten Islands, 7 to 14 November.
From Leyte she proceeded the same day to Manus ; and,
arriving 24 November, began a month of landing exercises
off Manus, New Britain, and Now Guinea in preparation
for the invasion of Luzon. Loaded with 1,278 Army
troops, she departed Manus 31 December for Lingayen
Gulf, Luzon. Fighting through heavy enemy air attack,
she reached Lingayen Gulf 9 January 1945, unloaded
all troops and cargo within 8 hours, and headed back
toward Leyte. While repelling air attacks 9 to 10 Jan-
uary, Knox hit two Japanese planes, splashing one of them.
After arriving Leyte Gulf 12 January, Knox proceeded
to Ulithi 19 to 23 January and thence to Guam 6 to 8
February to embark Marines of the 3d Division for the
invasion of Iwo Jima. Departing 17 February, she ar-
rived off Iwo Jima 22 February and debarked her troops
the 24th as part of a reserve force. After embarking
casualties and loading cargo, Knox departed 6 March.
Steaming via Saipan, Guam, and Tulagi, Solomons, she
reached Noumea, New Caledonia, 18 March. Following
overhaul and landing exercises, she got underway 3 May
for the Philippines. Touching Manus en route, she ar-
rived San Pedro Bay 16 May and unloaded troops and
cargo. On 25 May she sailed for the United States ar-
riving Portland, Oreg., for overhaul 14 June.
Knox sailed from Portland to San Francisco 14 to 16
August. After loading troops and cargo, she departed 18
August for the Philippines. Sailing via Pearl Harbor
Eniwetok, Guam, and Ulithi, she reached Leyte Gulf 13
September. She operated among the Philippines until 1
October ; then she carried occupation troops to Japan be-
tween 1 and 29 October. Returning to Samar 5 Novem-
ber, she embarked homebound veterans and sailed the 6th
as a unit of the “Magic-Carpet” fleet. She arrived San
Pedro 24 November. After another “Magic-Carpet” cruise
to the Philippines from 7 December to 26 January 1946, she
departed Long Beach 31 January for New Orleans where
she arrived 12 February. Knox proceeded to Mobile, Ala.,
6 March and decommissioned 14 March. Her name was
struck from the Navy List 1 May and she was transferred
to the Maritime Commission 14 May. In 1947 she was
sold to Isthmian Lines, Inc., and renamed Steel Recorder.
Knox received five battle stars for World War II service.
II
(DE-1052 : dp. 2,624 ; 1. 414'6" ; b. 44' ; dr. 18' ; s. 27.4 k. ;
cpl. 247 ; a. 1 5", ASROC, DASH, 4 21" tt. ; cl. Knox)
The second Knox (DE-1052), the prototype in a new
class of destroyer escorts, was laid down 5 October 1965,
by Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle, Wash. ; launched 19
november 1966 ; sponsored by Mrs. Peter A. Sturtevant,
granddaughter of Commodore Knox ; and will be com-
pleted in the summer of 1968.
Once completed, Knox will perform search and rescue
operations and provide evacuation, blockade, and sur-
veillance support, when necessary, for the Pacific Fleet.
Knox, Frank, see Frank Knox (DD-742)
Knox, General, see General Knox (No. 1237)
Knox, General Henry, see Picket (ACM-8)
Knox, Leslie L. B., see Leslie L. B. Knox (DEI-580)
Knox Victory
Knox Victory was renamed Huntsville {q.v.) and clas-
sified AGM-7 on 27 November 1960.
Knoxville
A major city in Tennessee.
( PF-64 : dp. 1,430; 1. 303'11" ; b. 37'6" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 214 ; a. 3 3", 4 40mm., 9 20mm., 9 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Tacoma ; T. S2-S2-AQ1 )
Knoxville (PF-64) was launched 10 July 1943 by the
Leatham D. Smith Shipyard, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., under a
Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. Cecelia
Daniel ; and commissioned 29 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. G. R.
Reynolds. USCG, in command.
After shakedown out of Bermuda, Knoxville arrived
Norfolk 16 November, and served briefly as a training ship.
Clearing Norfolk 11 December, she escorted convoy UGS
63 to North Africa, arriving Oran 28 December. On her
return voyage the patrol escort searched for enemy
U-boats that plagued Allied shipping at the approaches to
the Straits of Gibraltar and arrived Boston 20 January
1945.
During the early months of 1945, Knoxville escorted
convoys across the submarine-infested Atlantic and occa-
sionally she was dispatched for ASW search operations.
Following her final escort cruise to the Azores, the patrol
frigate arrived Philadelphia 1 June for conversion to a
weather ship.
Knoxville cleared Philadelphia 17 June and two weeks
later took position on air-sea rescue and weather stations
off Newfoundland. For 10 months she operated from her
post, flashing news of weather conditions to assist flight
operations and ship movements in the western Atlantic.
Upon completion of her tour Knoxville returned to Charles-
ton, S.C., where she decommissioned 13 June 1946 and was
sold 22 September 1947 to the Dominican Republic. Knox-
ville at present serves as Capitan General Santana
(F-104).
Knudson
Milton Lox Knudson, born 20 October 1923 in Geneva,
111., enlisted in the Navy 1 July 1941. While serving in
Laffey (DD^459) in the Southwest Pacific he distinguished
himself 15 September 1942 during rescue operations for
survivors of the torpedoed Wasp (CV-7). With “cour-
ageous disregard” for his personal safety, he dived over
the side of his ship and swam considerable distances with
lines to rescue the stricken carrier’s exhausted sailors, thus
saving the lives of many who otherwise might have per-
ished. During the heroic night naval action off Guadal-
canal 13 November Seaman First Class Knudson was killed
when Laffey was sunk by Japanese torpedoes and gunfire.
He was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine
Corps Medal for his valor.
(APD-101 : dp. 1,390; 1. 306' ; b. 37' ; 12'7" ; s. 24 k. ; cpl.
204 ; a. 1 5", 6 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct. ; cl. Crosley )
670
KNOX D E - 1 0 5 2
LAUNCHING CEREMONY
SHIP PASSING □
TODD SHIPNR
WN WAYS
i CORP
SEATTLE DIVISION
NOVEMBER 19 1966
Knudson (DE-591) was laid down 23 December 1943 by
Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards, Inc., Hingham, Mass. ;
launched 5 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Emmons R.
Knudson ; reclassified APD-101 on 17 July ; and com-
missioned 25 November, Lt. Dudley C. Sharp in command.
After shakedown, Knudson departed Norfolk 18 January
1945 for the Pacific. Steaming via San Diego, the high-
speed transport arrived Pearl Harbor 9 February for
training with UDT units. With UDT 19 embarked, she
departed Pearl 28 1 ebruary, steamed via Bniwetok, and
arrived Ulithi 12 March to prepare for operations in the
Ryukyus. Clearing Ulithi 21 March for operations off
Kerama Retto, she supported UDT 19 during reconnais-
sance and demolition operations on Kuba, Aka, Keise, and
Geruma Shima from 25 March to 30 March. While serv-
ing as antisubmarine screen 26 March, she was attacked
by an enemy bomber. Her guns splashed the plane after
two bombs had missed her close aboard. On 1 April she
continued ASW patrols during amphibious landings at
Hagushi, Okinawa. During the next 2 weeks she con-
ducted screening patrols off the western shores of Oki-
nawa. Then she sailed 14 April for Guam escorting Nevada
(BB-36), arriving 19 April. She proceeded to Ulithi 23
April, debarked UDT 19 on the 25th, and departed 5 May
for Okinawa escorting Portland (CA-33). Reaching Oki-
nawa 8 May, she resumed screening duty and helped repel
enemy air attacks until 15 June when she departed
Hagushi Anchorage for Leyte.
A"riving 18 June, Knudson operated in the northern
Philippines until 4 July. She departed Subic Bay as escort
for an Okinawa-bound, LST convoy, reaching Guam 16
July. After embarking UDT 19, she sailed 19 July for
the West Coast via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, arriving
San Diego 5 August. Knudson embarked UDT 25 on 13
August, departed 16 August for the Far East, and arrived
Tokyo Bay, Japan, 4 September. She operated out of
Yokosuka until 20 September when she returned to the
United States, arriving San Diego 11 October. She con-
tinued her service in the Pacific from 30 October to 12
May 1946, carrying men and supplies to bases in the
Marshalls, Marianas, Admiralties, and Philippines. De-
parting Manila Bay 20 April with homebound veterans
embarked, she arrived San Pedro 12 May. Knudson
decommissioned 4 November and entered the San Diego
Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, 15 November.
Knudson recommissioned 6 August 1953, Lt. Comdr. J. F.
Roohan, Jr., in command. After shakedown and con-
version to an APD Flagship, she departed San Diego
3 May 1954 for the Western Pacific. Arriving Yokosuka
23 May, she conducted amphibious exercises off Japan,
South Korea, and Okinawa. Clearing Tokyo Bay 13
August, she sailed for the Vietnamese coast, where she
arrived Haiphong, North Vietnam, 22 August. As flag-
ship for the Commander, Embarkat’on Group, she partic-
ipated in Operation “Passage to Freedom, “ through which
the Navy evacuated almost 300,000 Vietnamese from
671
North to South Vietnam. From 22 August to 19 Septem-
ber, she operated out of Haiphong during the loading of
refugees, cargo, and military equipment by Navy ships.
Then she steamed to Saigon, South Vietnam, arriving 22
September. Continuing to Subic Bay 2 October, she re-
turned to Yokosuka via Hong Kong 1 November. And
on 7 November she sailed for the United States, arriving
San Diego 23 November.
Knudson operated out of San Diego and Long Beach
supporting amphibious training during 1955 and early
1956. Departing Long Beach 24 March 1956, she steamed
via Pearl Harbor to Eniwetok where she arrived 10 April.
Until returning to Pearl 23 July, she supported nuclear
tests in the Marshall Islands. She returned Long Beach
6 August and resumed amphibious, UDT, and ASW train-
ing operations. After sailing to San Francisco 27 Septem-
ber, Knudson decommissioned 2 January 1958 and joined
the Stockton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, later to trans-
fer to the Texas Group, where she remains.
Knudson received one battle star for World War II
service.
Ko-A.S.A., see Luster (EX-82)
/ Kochab
A star in the constellation Ursa Minor, the “Little Bear”
or “Little Dipper.”
(AKS-6 : dp. 5,244; 1. 441'6" ; b. 56'11" ; dr. 28'4" ; s. 12
k. ; cpl. 193; a. 1 5", 4 3”, 8 20mm.; cl. Acubens; T.
EC2-S-C1)
Kochab (AKS-6) was launched 30 March 1944, by
Delta Shipbuilding Co., New Orleans, under a Maritime
Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas J. Crane ;
acquired by the Navy and commissioned 2 May, Lt.
Comdr. R. E. King in command; transferred to Mobile,
Ala., and decommissioned 5 May ; converted to a general
stores supply ship by Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding
Co. ; and recommissioned 4 November 1944.
Kochab cleared Mobile Bay 17 November for shake-
down in Chesapeake Bay before departing Norfolk 16
December for duty in the Pacific. Steaming via the
Marshall Islands, she operated out of Ulithi and from
20 February to 28 April made replenishment runs to
Manus, Admiralties. Steaming to the Marianas 13 to 15
May, she loaded cargo at Guam and Saipan before pro-
ceeding 29 May for the Ryukyus. She reached Kerama
Rhetto 8 June and, despite enemy air attacks, conducted
supply operations until 19 June. Proceeding then to Oki-
nawa for further replenishment duty, she operated be-
tween the Ryukyus and the Marianas for almost 5 months.
After Japan surrendered, Kochab departed Okinawa
7 November for the United States as a unit of the “Magic-
Carpet” fleet. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she arrived
San Francisco 3 December with 203 homebound passen-
gers embarked. She operated out of San Francisco until
9 February 1946, then sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving
18 February. Kochab decommissioned 17 April and en-
tered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Transferred under tow
to the 12th Naval District 23 September 1947, she was
turned over to the Maritime Commission 22 October and
berthed with the Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Calif.
She was sold for scrapping 14 January 1965, to Nicolas
Joffe Corp., Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kochab received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kodiak
A town on Kodiak Island, Alaska.
(LSM-161 : dp. 52; 1. 204'; b. 35'; dr. 7'; s. 13 k. ; cpl.
106 ; 1 40mm., 4 20mm. ; cl. LSM-1 )
The keel of LSM-161 was laid down 3 June 1944 by
Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C. ; launched 27 June
1944; and commissioned 16 August 1944, Lt. Joseph M.
Gresser in command.
After serving at Little Creek, Va., as a training ship
for more than 5 months, LSM-161 departed Newport, R.I.,
23 February 1945 for the West Coast, arriving San Diego
23 March. Departing 28 April for the Pacific, she arrived
Saipan 6 June ; then commenced supply operations in the
Far East. For the remaining months of World War II,
LSM-161 shuttled troops and cargo among the Philippines,
Okinawa, and the Marianas. Following the Allied victory
in the Pacific, the medium landing ship supported occupa-
tion forces in the Western Pacific until she sailed for the
United States 12 December. Arriving San Pedro, Calif.,
12 January 1946, LSM-161 remained along the West Coast ;
and decommissioned at Vancouver, Wash., 8 June 1946.
When the Korean conflict called for additional naval
logistic support, LSM-161 recommissioned 6 September
1950 and was assigned to LSM Division 12 out of San
Diego. She operated off southern California until 11
February 1952 when she sailed for the Western Pacific.
Arriving Yokosuka 26 March, she commenced supply and
transport operations in support of U.S. forces in Korea.
Sailing to Pusan Korea in mid-April, the veteran landing
ship embarked prisoners-of-war and transported them to
Koje Do. She continued operations between Japan and
Korea until she departed Yokosuka 20 September for the
United States.
Following operations out of San Diego, LSM-161 sailed
for Kodiak, Alaska, 16 June 1953. Arriving there 1 week
later, she became a logistics support ship for the Alaskan
area. From 1953 to 1965 she provided services for VP
Squadrons at Kodiak, performed search and rescue mis-
sions, and made frequent resupply cruises to the Adak
Naval Station. LSM-161 was named Kodiak 14 October
1959.
Kodiak also participated in the Alaskan earthquake-
relief operations from March to May 1964 by shuttling
supplies to remote villages on the island of Kodiak. Later
that summer she assisted the Red Cross in earthquake-
relief work by carrying supplies and household furnish-
ings to devastated areas.
After many years of naval service — a veteran of 2
wars — Kodiak decommissioned 19 April 1965 and was
struck from the Navy List 1 June 1965.
LSM-161 received two battle stars for the Korean
conflict.
II
( YF-866 : dp. 160; 1. 133' ; b. 31' ; dr. 9' ; s. 10 k. ; cpl. 11 ;
cl. YF-852)
YF-866 was laid down by the Missouri Valley Bridge
& Iron Co., Evansville, Ind., 4 April 1945 ; launched 26
October and placed in service May 1946. She operated for
1 year in the 15th Naval District and was placed out of
service during May 1947.
After 18 years in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, YF-866 was
named Kodiak 21 April 1965; and placed in sen-ice for
operations in the 14th Naval District. At present she per-
forms harbor duties in the Hawaiian Islands.
Koelsch
John Kelvin Koelsch, born 22 December 1923 in London,
England, enlisted as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Naval
Reserve 14 September 1942. Following flight training, he
was commissioned Ensign 23 October 1944. He served
at Naval Air Stations at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Nor-
folk, Va., and subsequently flew with Composite Squadron
15 and Torpedo Squadrons 97 and 18. Promoted to Lieu-
tenant (j.g.) 1 August 1946, he became an accomplished
torpedo bomber pilot. After the outbreak of Communist
aggression in Korea, he joined Helicopter Squadron 1 at
Miramar, Calif., in August 1950. As Officer in Charge of
a helicopter detachment, he joined Princeton in October
for pilot rescue duty off the eastern coast of Korea. He
served in Princeton until June 1951 when he joined Heli-
copter Squadron 2 for pilot rescue duty out of Wonsan,
Korea, then under naval blockade. He provided lifeoruard
duty for pilots who were downed either in coastal waters
672
or over enemy-held territory. On 22 June he rescued a
Naval aviator from the waters of Wonsan Harbor, south-
east of Yo Do Island. Late in the afternoon of 3 July, he
responded to a distress call from a Marine a iator, Capt.
James V. Wilkins, whose Corsair had been hit by enemy
fire during an armed reconnaissance mission about 35
miles southwest of Wonsan. Capt. Wilkins parachuted
from his burning plane at low altitude; and, though
severely burned about the legs, he survived. Despite ap-
proaching darkness, worsening weather, and enemy
ground fire, Lt. Koelsch located the downed aviator in
the Anbyon Valley and began his pickup. Thick fog pre-
vented the air cover from protecting the unarmed heli-
copter, and intense enemy fire downed the plane as the
Lieutenant’s crewman, George M. Neal, AM3, hoisted the
injured pilot toward the helicopter. All three men sur-
vived the crash ; and, after hiding in the mountains from
enemy patrols for 3 days, they began a slow march to the
coast. After 6 more days, they reached a coastal village
where they were captured the following day while hiding
in a hut. During his captivity Koelsch steadfastly re-
fused to aid his captors in any manner. Though beaten
and abused, he refused to submit to interrogation ; and his
fortitude and personal bravery inspired his fellow prison-
ers. He died of malnutrition and dysentery 16 October
1951. For his conspicuous gallantry, intrepidity, and
heroic spirit of self-sacrifice Lt. (j.g.) Koelsch was post-
humously awarded the Medal of Honor 3 August 1955.
( DE-1049 : dp. 3,040; 1. 414'6'' ; b. 44'1" ; dr. 24'2''; s.
20+ k.; cpl. 239; a. 2 5”, 4 tt., 1 ASROC, 1 DASH; cl.
Garcia )
Koelsch (DE-1049) was laid down by Defoe Shipbuild-
ing Co., Bay City, Mich., 19 February 1964: launched 8
June 1965 ; sponsored by Miss Virginia L. Koelsch ; and
commissioned 10 June 1967, Comdr. John A. Buck in
command.
She at present is providing valuable support to ships
of the Atlantic Fleet from her homeport, Newport. R.I.,
because she has the capabilities both to screen attack and
support ships and to operate effectively against sub-
marines. Operating either alone or with a hunter-killer
group, she can seek out and destroy enemy submarines
with the most advanced ASW equipment. Moreover, as is
so important in a time of unrest and potential conflict, her
ability to carry out blockade, surveillance, and evacuation
missions at a moment’s notice adds readily to the Navy’s
mighty deterent force and to the continuing task of
“keeping the peace.”
Kohi
A former name retained.
( YAG-27 : dp. 400; 1. 93'; b. 28'; dr. 4'2'')
Kohi, a wooden diesel-powered coastal scow, was pur-
chased 17 November 1942 by the Navy from the New Zea-
land Joint Purchasing Board and commissioned the same
day at Auckland. Assigned to Task Force 35, South
Pacific Service Force, she operatec out of Auckland, haul-
ing military cargo to Norfolk Island and to Noumea, New
Caledonia. After continuing this important duty for more
than a year, she decommissioned at Auckland 3 March
1944. Departing for Wellington, New Zealand, the same
day, she was turned over to the Joint Purchasing Board
14 March for return to her former owner.
Koiner
James Duval Koiner, born 16 February 1919, in Waynes-
boro, South River, Va., entered the Naval Reserve as
Ensign 31 December 1940. He reported for active duty
17 March 1941, under instruction at the Supply Corps,
Naval Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Koiner reported
to the 3d Naval District 17 October 1941, for duty on board
Atlanta (CL-51) upon her commissioning. After serving
in the light cruiser during the Midway and Solomon
Islands campaigns, Koiner was promoted to Lieutenant
(j.g.) 1 October 1942. He was killed in action 13 Novem-
ber 1942, on board Atlanta, during the Battle of Guadal-
canal.
(DE-331 : dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7'' ; dr. 8'7'' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 6 40mm., 10 20mm., 9 dcp., 2 dct. ; cl.
Edsall)
Koiner (DE-331) was laid down 26 July 1943, by Con-
solidated Steel Co., Orange, Tex. ; launched 5 September
1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Mae H. Koiner, the mother of
Lt. (j.g.) Koiner; and commissioned 27 December 1943,
Lt. Comdr. C. S. Judson, Jr., in command.
After shakedown off Bermuda, Koiner cleared Charles-
ton, S.C., 28 February 1944, to join a convoy at Willemstad,
Curacao, N.W.I., and escort tankers to Mediterranean
ports. For the next 6 months she remained on convoy-
escort duty in the Atlantic, making four roundtrip cruises
from Curacao to North Africa and Naples-
Completing her final Mediterranean cruise 31 August,
Koiner commenced escort duty for United Kingdom bound
ships. From 20 September 1944 to 1 May 1945 the de-
stroyer escort sailed with five convoys to British ports and
upon cessation of hostillities in Europe she began prepara-
tions for Pacific duty.
Koiner arrived Pearl Harbor 25 June commencing train-
ing operations with Corregidor (CVS-58) and exercises
with submarines. Departing Pearl Harbor 4 August, she
was en route to Leyte when President Truman announced
the end of hostilities with Japan. The destroyer escort
remained in the Far East as part of the occupation forces
on escort and patrol duty until 1 April 1946. Clearing
Hong Kong she sailed by way of the Indian Ocean and
Mediterranean Sea, and arrived Charleston, S.C., 30 May.
Koiner decommissioned and joined the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet 4 October 1946, at Green Cove Springs, Fla.
From 20 June 1951 to 14 May 1954, Koiner was on loan
to the Coast Guard commissioned as WDE-431. She
served as an ocean station vessel out of Seattle, Wash.,
until her return to the Navy in 1954. She was converted
to a radar picket escort vessel and reclassified DER-331
on 28 September 1954. Recommissioned 26 August 1955,
Lt. Comdr. V. W. Tracy in command, Koiner joined the
Continental Air Defense System in the Pacific Barrier.
From 1956 into 1965 Koiner operated on picket stations
off the Washington and California coast to provide early
warning in the event of enemy air attack. On 1 July 1965
Koiner departed Alamada, Calif., for her new homeport,
Guam, arriving 28 July after a stopover at Pearl Harbor.
On 6 August she left for the first of three “Market Time”
patrols ending in December. The experience Koiner had
gained during her patrols off the West Coast enabled the
radar picket escort ship to contribute greatly to the sur-
veillance tactics necessary to prevent the flow of supplies
by sea to the Viet Cong.
During 1966 Koiner was again deployed for further
“Market Time” operations off Vietnam. A 7-month West-
Pac cruise began late in February. Between patrols the
ship visited Hong Kong; Bangkok; Manila; and Kaoshi-
ung, Formosa.
In late January 1967 Koiner participated in a gunfire
mission after a brief inport period in Japan. She then
resumed her regular duties. The important work radar
picket escort and her sister ships is an example of the
diversified roles which the Navy must play in defending
the nation and encouraging peace abroad.
Koka
The phonetic spelling of Coca, formerly an Indian vil
lage in southern Arizona.
Koka, a single turret, light draft monitor, was launched
18 May 1865, by Wilcox & Whiting, Camden, N.J. Comple-
tion of the ship was ordered suspended 17 June, and she
was laid up at League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia,
673
without any active service. Renamed Argos 15 June 1869,
she was again renamed Koka 10 August. She was broken
up at Philadelphia 2 October 1874, by Harlan & Hollings-
worth Co., Wilmington, Del., for use in the construction
of Amphitrite (BM-2).
I
( AT-31 : dp. 1,000; 1. 156'8" ; b. 30' ; dr. 14'7" ; s. 13 k. ;
cpl. 46 ; a. none ; cl. Bagaduce)
Originally designated as Oconee, AT-31 was renamed
Koka 24 February 1919; launched 11 July 1919, by the
Puget Sound Navy Yard ; and commissioned 18 February
1920, Lt. ( j.g.) J. C. Bauman, Jr., in command.
Assigned to the 11th Naval District, Koka sailed from
Puget Sound to San Diego during March 1920. For almost
18 years she operated out of San Diego along the coast
of southern California, performing various tug and target-
towing services. While steaming off San Clemente Island,
she ran aground 7 December 1937, and was officially de-
commissioned the same day. Declared unsalvageable,
Koka was abandoned as a wreck 22 January 1938. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 2 March.
II
( ATA-185 : dp. 534 ; 1. 143' ; b. 34' ; dr. 13' ; s. 13 k. ; cpl.
48 ; a. 1 3", 2 20mm. ; cl. ATA-174)
Originally designated as ATR-112, she was redesig-
nated as ATA-185 on 15 May 1944 ; launched 11 September
1944, by Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Tex. ; and
commissioned on 16 November, Lt. (j.g.) Woodrow Sulli-
van in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, ATA-185 de-
parted Galveston 14 December for duty in the Pacific.
She reached Eniwetok, Marshalls, 26 February 1945 ; and
for more than 5 months she operated out of Eniwetok ;
Guam and Saipan, Marianas ; Ulithi, Carolines ; and
Kerama, Ryukyus, while performing a variety of towing
services. After a month of target sled towing duty at
Guam, ATA-185 departed 4 August for Okinawa, where
she arrived 11 August with two barges in tow. As a
unit of SerRon 12, she performed tug and salvage opera-
tions in Buckner Bay until 3 November when she de-
parted for the United States. Steaming via Eniwetok
and Pearl Harbor, she arrived San Francisco 1 February
1946 with YNG-30 and YNG-38 in tow.
Clearing San Francisco Bay 22 March, ATA-185 reached
Pearl Harbor 13 April to prepare for participation in
atomic weapons tests in the Marshall Islands. Departing
Pearl 11 May, she assisted in mooring target ships for
Operation “Crossroads” at Bikini Atoll. After the tests
she recovered radiological instruments from various target
ships, including Nevada (BB-36), former German cruiser
Prinz Eugen, and former Japanese battleship Nagato.
Departing Bikini 5 September, she reached Pearl Harbor
20 September then underwent a 4-month overhaul.
ATA-185 departed Pearl Harbor 20 January 1947, and
arrived San Diego 3 February with LCI-1062 in tow.
Assigned to the 11th Naval District for coastal towing,
she has operated out of San Diego since 1947. Renamed
Koka (ATA-185) on 16 July 1948, most of her towing
assignments have carried her to Long Beach, Port Hue-
neme, San Pedro, and San Francisco. Over the years she
has traveled the Pacific coast from California to Alaska
r
USS Koka (AT-31)
674
while towing barges and district craft to Kodiak, Alaska ;
Seattle, Wash. ; and Portland and Astoria, Oregon. Koka
continues her coastal towing out of San Diego for the
11th Naval District into 1967.
Koka as ATA-185 received one battle star for World
War II service.
Koningen Der Nederlanden
A former name retained.
(Str: t. 5,020; 1. 455' 2" ; b. 55'2" ; dr. 26'5" ; s. 14.5 k. ;
cpl. 221 ; a. 4 6”, 2 1-pdrs., 2 mg.)
Koningen Der Nederlanden , a Dutch ship launched by
Nederland S.B. Maats, Amsterdam, Holland, in 1911, was
seized by custom officials at San Francisco, acting under
the Executive Order of 20 March 1918 ; and commissioned
4 April, Lt. Comdr. N. T. Payne, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Koningen Der Nederlanden departed
San Francisco 5 May 1918, arriving Balboa, C.Z., on the
11th. Here she was converted to a troop transport before
steaming on to Norfolk in mid-July to prepare for a cruise
to the war-ravaged European continent.
On 6 August Koningen Der Nederlanden was detached
from NOTS and assigned to the cruiser-transport force
embarking over 2,200 Army troops for duty in Europe.
For the next 3 months the transport made two more
round trip cruises from Norfolk to French ports, arriving
Brest, France, on her third cruise 9 November. The
Armistice which ended World War I was signed 2 days
later, and Koningen Der Nederlanden was assigned the
task of returning war veterans to the United States.
From November 1918 until August 1919 the transport
made 5 cruises from French to American ports, carrying
with her over 10,000 soldiers of the American-European
forces to their home shores. Koningen Der Nederlanden
arrived New York from her final crossing on 19 August
and decommissioned 7 November 1919 for return to her
owner.
Konoka
A village in Seneca County, N.Y.
( YT-151 : dp. 237 ; 1. 100' ; b. 25' ; dr. 9'7" ; s. 12 k. )
Konoka (YT-151) was built 1940 to 1941 by the Defoe
Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.; and placed in service
7 June 1941, in the 3d Naval District, New York, where
she performed various harbor duties throughout her entire
service. Konoka was reclassified YTB-151 on 15 May
1951. During Feb. 1962 she was again reclassified
YTM-151, and in 1967 continues in service in the 3d Naval
District, New York, N.Y.
Konpira Maru, see YP-SlfS
Kooyong HI, see YP-75
Kopara
A former name retained.
(AK-62: dp. 679; 1. 193'; b. 35'8" ; dr. 13'8" ; s. 12 k. ;
a. 4 20mm.)
Kopara (AK-62) was built in 1938 by Richardson Co.,
Ltd., Napier, New Zealand ; purchased in early August
1942 from her owner, Henry Robb, Ltd., Auckland. New
Zealand, through the New Zealand Government ; and com-
missioned 21 September 1942 at Auckland, Lt. (j.g.) H. R.
Greeley in command.
Reclassified as AG-50 on 23 September, Kopara de-
parted Auckland 5 October for supply runs from Noumea,
New Caledonia, and Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, to
Guadalcanal and Tulagi, Solomons. Arriving Noumea 9
October, she steamed on the 14th for Espiritu Santo to
take on board supplies for the embattled American force
on Guadalcanal. Loaded with torpedoes and general
cargo and escorted by Nicholas (DD-449), she departed
19 October. Kopara arrived Lunga Roads during mid-
watch 22 October and began unloading operations which
were completed that evening despite harassing gunfire
from enemy shore batteries and a noon attack by Japanese
dive bombers. Protected by Nicholas, Kopara departed
Guadalcanal undamaged and returned to Noumea 27
October.
During the next few months, Kopara continued supply
runs to the Solomons ; and, while she unloaded at Guadal-
canal and Tulagi 13 through 15 November, American
battleships, cruisers, and destroyers fought the enemy in
two fierce night naval battles off Savo Island. From 20
February to 26 June 1943, she carried cargo along the
sea lanes between Auckland, Noumea, Efate, and Espiritu
Santo. And from 11 July to 17 September she shuttled
supplies between New Zealand and Norfolk Island.
After a voyage to the New Hebrides, Kopara departed
Noumea 10 November to resume supply duty in the Solo-
mons. She reached New Georgia 16 November; and, for
almost 8 months, ranged the waters of Melanesia from
Bougainville to New Caledonia bringing supplies to foTces
which loosened the enemy’s hold on the Bismarck Archi-
pelago and New Guinea. Returning to New Caledonia
7 August 1044, she began supply runs eastward out of
Noumea. Between 10 August and 21 December she made
four voyages to Fiji, American Samoa, and the Ellice
Islands. She departed Noumea 24 December and steamed
via Norfolk Island to Auckland 3 January 1945. Kopara
decommissioned 12 January and was turned over to the
New Zealand Joint Purchasing Board foT return to her
previous owner.
Kopara received one battle star for World War II
service.
Korana, see YP-273
Kosciusko
Thaddeus Kosciusko, born in Lithuania 12 February
1746, came to America in 1776 to assist the colonies in
their struggle for independence. He distinguished him-
self throughout the American Revolution, especially in
the defense of West Point and at the seige of Yorktown.
After the American victory, Kosciusko fought with skill
and courage in Europe for Polish freedom. He died in
Switzerland 2 April 1817.
Lancaster No. 3, a ship in the Ellet Ram Fleet, was
ordered renamed Kosciusko 8 September 1862, but
continued to be called Lancaster No. 3 ( q.v .) or simply
Lancaster.
Koyo Maru, see YP-562
Kraken
A legendary sea monster believed to haunt the coasts
of Norway.
( SS-370 : dp. 1,526 ; 1. 311'9'' ; b. 27'3'' ; dr. 15'3'' ; s. 20 k. ;
cpl. 66; a. 1 5'', 10 21" tt. ; cl. Balao)
Kraken (SS-370) was launched 30 April 1944, by the
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis. ; sponsored
by Mrs. John Z. Anderson, wife of Congressman Anderson
of California ; and commissioned 8 September 1944,
Comdr. Thomas H. Henry in command.
Kraken steamed by way of Chicago to Lockport, 111.,
27 September 1944, and was towed in floating dry dock
down the Mississippi River arriving at Algiers, La., 4
October. Ten days later Kraken cleared Algiers, tran-
675
sited the Panama Canal and underwent intensive training
in the Gulf of Panama. She sailed for Hawaii 4 Novem-
ber and arrived Pearl Harbor the 21st.
KraJcen departed Pearl Harbor 12 December 1944, for
her first war patrol, touched at Saipan the 23d, set course
for Indochina next morning. There she maintained life-
guard duty in support of 3d Fleet Carrier strikes. While
on station she rescued a Lexington pilot from rough seas
and evaded a strafing enemy plane by diving. Finding
no targets Kraken set course for Fremantle, Australia,
arriving there 14 February 1945.
Kraken departed on her second war patrol 15 March
and maintained lifeguard duty in the South China Sea
supporting aircraft carrier strikes against Singapore and
Saigon. She returned to Subic Bay, P.I., 26 April.
Departing on her third war patrol on 19 May 1945,
Kraken set course for the Gulf of Siam. After searching
in vain for enemy targets, she shifted to the Java Sea
where on 19 June she bombarded Merak and riddled a
coaster and a small ship with 5-inch and 40mm. projec-
tiles. She saw the coaster sink and she left the small
ship ablaze before clearing the harbor. Three days later,
while chasing an eight-ship convoy, Kraken’s torpedoes
sank an oiler and a coastal steamer and her guns inflicted
heavy damage on one of the Japanese submarine chasers.
Then Kraken proudly sailed into Fremantle, Australia,
3 July 1945, ending her most successful patrol.
Kraken sailed on her fourth and last patrol 29 July.
While seeking the enemy in the Java Sea, her patrol was
cut short when she received news of Japan’s capitulation.
Sailing for Subic Bay, she arrived 21 August.
Kraken cleared Subic Bay 31 August 1945, touched at
Pearl Harbor, and arrived at San Francisco 22 September.
On 14 October she rendezvoused with Halsey’s 3d Fleet
and formed a part of honor escort for Admiral Halsey,
as he passed under the Golden Gate Bridge in Flagship,
South Dakota. Ten days later Kraken visited Longview,
Wash., for the first postwar Navy Day celebrations and
returned to San Francisco 31 October where she was
placed out of commission 4 May 1946.
Kraken remained in reserve status until 18 September
1958, when she was assigned to Pearl Harbor Naval
Shipyard for activation overhaul and fitting out prepara-
tory to transfer for loan to the Spanish Government 17
October 1958. She serves the Spanish Navy as Almirante
Garcia (S-31).
Kraken received one battle star for World War II
service.
Kraus, Richard E., see Richard E. Kraus ( AG^lol)
Kretchmer
Raymond Joseph Kretchmer, born 30 January 1917, in
Chicago, 111., enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve 29 August
1940. He was appointed Midshipman, Naval Reserve, at
Northwestern University and commissioned Ensign 12
September 1941.
Ens. Kretchmer was assigned to active duty 12 Sep-
tember and served on board Astoria. He was killed in
action 9 August 1942 when Astoria was sunk by Japanese
naval forces during the Battle of Savo Island.
(DE-329: dp. 1,200; 1. 306' ; b. 36'7” ; dr. 8'7" ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 6 40mm., 10 20mm., 9 dcp., 2 dct. ;
cl. Edsall)
Kretchmer (DE-329) was laid down 28 June 1943, by
Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. ; launched 31
August 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Betty Kretchmer, sister
of Ens. Kretchmer ; and commissioned 13 December 1943,
Lt. R. C. Wing, in command.
After a Bermuda shakedown Kretchmer departed
Charleston, S.C., 15 February 1944, for operations in the
Caribbean. Based at Port-au-Spain, Trinidad, she es-
corted convoys to Cuba and Bermuda until sailing for
Key West 2 May. Assigned to an air wing training de-
tachment, Kretchmer operated with torpedo bombers
for 3 weeks, before departing Charleston 8 June escorting
a convoy to Europe. Sailing via Curacao, D.W.I., Kretch-
mer screened shipping bound for Naples in preparation
for the assaults on southern France. After returning to
the United States 16 July, the escort ship made one more
cruise to Naples during the summer.
Between 20 September 1944 and 27 April 1945, Kretch-
mer sailed as escort to five convoys from New York to
United Kingdom ports. After victory in Europe, she pre-
pared for Pacific Fleet duty arriving Pearl Harbor 5
July. Clearing Pearl Harbor 1 August, Kretchmer was
en route to the Philippines when hostilities stopped 14
August.
Serving in the Far East until 1 April 1946, the destroyer
escort engaged in occupation and repatriation operations,
including the evacuation of Allied prisoners of war from
Formosa during September 1945. Kretchmer also served
on escort duty, mine patrol, and mail runs between Chi-
nese ports. Departing Hong Kong 1 April 1946, she re-
turned home by way of the Indian Ocean and Mediter-
ranean Sea, arriving Charleston, S.C., 29 May. Kretch-
mer decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 20
September 1946.
After extensive conversion, Kretchmer recommissioned
as DER-329 on 22 September 1956, Lt. Comdr. C. F.
Fadeley in command. After shakedown in the Caribbean,
the radar picket arrived at Boston 18 December to com-
mence operations in the Northern Radar Barrier. Based
at Newport, R.I., from 1957 to 1962, she remained on
picket duty, making regular patrols to provide early
warning to the continental air defense systems. Kretch-
mer also made cruises to northern Europe in 1958, 1961,
and 1962, and in August 1961 rescued six men from
foundered Icelandic fishing vessel Sleipnir.
In the aftermath of the Cuban missile crisis, Kretchmer
departed Newport 23 November 1962 for picket duty off
the southern coast of the United States. While operating
as plane guard and screen for Essex (CVS-9) in Key
West waters, Kretchmer rescued two shrimp fishermen
from disabled fishing vessel Ala, after they had been fired
upon by Cuban “Mig” aircraft. On 21 February 1963,
while Kretchmer was guarding Ala, a Mig-17 made four
passes at the disabled fishing craft before turning tail
ahead of U.S. Marine aircraft.
Kretchmer continued picket and training operations in
the Atlantic until 21 May 1965, when she entered Boston
Naval Shipyard for overhaul prior to deployment in the
western Pacific. The ship departed Newport, R.I., for
Guam, arriving 2 August after a stopover at Pearl Harbor.
One month later, Kretchmer joined other vessels off the
South Vietnam coast in Operation “Market Time,” keep-
ing coastal traffic under surveillance to prevent the ship-
ment of Communist arms and supply to South Vietnam
by sea. Her motor whaleboat came under heavy small
arms fire during a roundup operation in November. No
American casualties resulted and Krctchmer’s search
party seized a large number of suspected guerrilla
infiltrators.
By the end of a year of patrol, the ship had investigated
some 17,000 contacts, and boarded over 1,000 small craft.
On 10 December Kretchmer steamed into Apra Harbor,
Guam, where she remained until her departure 22 Febru-
ary 1966 for a 7%-month deployment with the 7th Fleet.
She continued “Market Time” patrol off the northwest
coast of Vietnam and provided gunfire support for the
Marines and Army on shore. She left Subic Bay 29 Sep-
tember for her homeport, Guam, where she remained
through part of October. Kretchmer then departed for
further radar picket escort duties off Vietnam through
1966 into 1967. Her continued presence on the South
China seacoasts delineates the commitment of the United
States to the preservation of the independence of South
Vietnam.
676
Krishna
In Brahmanic mythology, the eighth incarnation of
Vishnu, second god of the Hindu Trimurti, and a hero of
inumerable exploits whose feats surpassed those of Her-
cules and Archilles in prowess.
(ARL-38: dp. 2,125; 1. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2" ; s. 12 k. ;
cpl. 253 ; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm., cl. Achelous)
Originally classified LST-1149, Krishna was reclassified
ARL-38 on 14 August 1944 ; and laid down 23 February
1945, by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Senaca, 111. ; launched
25 May 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Eva Best Smith ; placed
in reduced commission during transfer to Mobile, Ala., for
conversion ; and commissioned 3 December 1945, at Mobile,
Lt. Lyle E. Brown in command.
Departing Mobile 8 January 1946, Krishna arrived Nor-
folk 14 January for duty with Amphibious Group 2 at
Little Creek, Va. For more than 19 years the landing
craft repair ship operated out of Little Creek, and sup-
port-and-repair operations have carried her from Baffin
Bay to the Caribbean. From 25 May to 31 August 1951
she participated in Operation “Blue Jay” during the initial
phase of establishing the large air base at Thule, Green-
land. While at Little Creek she made annual deployments
to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other Caribbean
Islands supporting amphibious landing exercises.
Krishna departed Little Creek 5 October 1964, and
sailed to waters off southern Spain, arriving Huelva 26
October. While there she participated in Operation “Steel
Pike I,” the largest amphibious landing operation since
World War II which sent more than 28,000 2d Division
marines storming the shores on a mock invasion. One of
84 naval ships, Krishna provided support and replenish-
ment services during this impressive exercise that clearly
illustrated the strength and diversity of American naval
sea power and emphasized the Navy’s ability and readiness
to move a vast amphibious force to any shore if needed in
keeping the peace. Departing Huelva 4 November,
Krishna steamed to the East Coast via Oporto, Portugal,
and arrived Little Creek 29 November.
From 1 December to 22 February 1965, Krishna reacti-
vated Kirwin (APD-90), and on 1 June she was assigned
to Service Force, Pacific Fleet. Departing Little Creek,
she steamed via Pearl Harbor and Guam for duty in the
Far East. Operating out of Subic Bay, Philippines, she
reached the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Vietnam 17
September and began duty as support ship for patrol craft
of U.S. Coast Guard Squadron 1. While the cutters pa-
trolled coastal waters to prevent infiltration of ammuni-
tion and supplies to the Viet Cong, Krishna served as a
repair facility and fueling station as well as an opera-
tions, communications, and command center. Later in the
year she also provided services for eight 50-foot “Swift”
launches that arrived to strengthen the coastal surveil-
lance program.
Krishna remained on station until 1 December when
she departed for Bangkok, Thailand, arriving 3 December.
She returned to her various support duties in the Gulf of
Thailand 11 December. In February Krishna raised and
salvaged PCF-J/. On 30 April men from Krishna helped
extinguish a fire in An Thoi, a South Vietnamese village.
She had a number of distinguished visitors through 1966,
including Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze on the 15th
of July. On 21 July the landing craft repair ship headed
for Sasebo, Japan, with a stopover at Kaoshiung, Taiwan,
29 July to provide repair facilities, arriving Sasebo 9 Au-
gust. Krishna departed Sasebo for Vietnam 22 Septem-
ber, arriving in the Gulf of Siam 7 October to resume her
WestPac mission. Krishna continued to patrol off the
coast of Vietnam through 1966 into 1967.
Kroll, Cornelius (YN42), see Okisko (YNT-10)
Kroonland
A former name retained.
USS Krishna (ARL-38)
677
( SP-1541 : t. 12,241; 1. 580 '0 " ; b. 60'0" ; dr. Sl'l" ; s.
16 k. ; epl. 414 ; a. 4 4”, 2 1-pdrs., 2 mg. )
Kroonland was built in 1902 by William Cramp & Sons,
Philadelphia, Pa., for the International Merchantile Ma-
rine Co. and operated as a passenger liner principally be-
tween New York and Antwerp. On 2 February 1915 en
route to San Francisco, she was one of the first passenger
liners to transit the Panama Canal. In 1916 she trans-
ferred to the American Line and ran between New York
and Liverpool.
Shortly before the United States entered World War
I, the Navy placed guns on the ship, and an armed naval
guard embarked 25 March 1917 to protect her from Ger-
man submarines. On the morning of 20 May 1917, while
the liner steamed through a heavy fog toward Liverpool,
a torpedo struck her without exploding. Two minutes
later her lookouts spotted a submarine bearing down on
Kroonland so close aboard that the liner’s guns could not
be depressed enough to open fire on the raider. Although
the U-boat, apparently also taken by surprise, reversed
her screws and tried to turn to avoid a collision, she
lightly struck the liner’s hull and scrapped along her side
before diving out of sight. Meanwhile two more torpedoes
came with some 20 feet of hitting Kroonland' s stern.
That afternoon the liner sighted another submarine sur-
faced some 1,000 yards off her port quarter. Kroonland
immediately began shelling the U-boat, forcing her to
dive for safety.
The Army took over the ship at New York 18 February
1918, loaded her with military equipment, and sent her to
St. Nazaire, France. After returning New York 9 April,
Kroonland was converted to a troop transport by William
J. Kennedy Co. The Navy acquired and commissioned her
22 April, Commander Manley H. Simons in command. As
a naval transport, she made five round-trip voyages to
France before the Armistice.
On 10 July, as she steamed homeward from her second
voyage for the Navy, a lookout spotted a periscope rising
from the water about 200 yards away. Kroonland opened
fire and the fourth shot from her No. 4 gun “burst with a
tremendous cloud of dirty blue smoke” exactly on the
periscope. The submarine zig-zagged “erratically back
and forth until she was directly in the disturbed water of
our wake.” The transport continued firing until the sub-
marine disappeared, leaving an oil slick which could be
seen for at least 15 minutes.
After the war Kroonland shuttled across the Atlantic
returning American veterans. She decommissioned and
was returned to her owner 1 October 1919. On 14 April
1920 she resumed commercial runs between the United
States and Europe. In 1928 she transferred to Panama
Pacific Line to sail between New York and San Francisco.
She was scrapped in 1927.
K’thanga, see Y P-132
Kukui
A former name retained.
(t. 677 ; 1. 174' ; b. 30' ; dr. 12'6" )
Kukui (lighthouse tender) was acquired from the
Lighthouse Service by an Executive Order of 11 April 1917.
She operated out of Pearl Harbor in the 14th Naval Dis-
trict for the entire period she was under naval jurisdiction.
Kukui was returned to the Lighthouse Service under an
Executive Order of 1 July 1919.
Kula Gulf
The night naval battle of 6 July 1943 between an Amer-
ican cruiser-destroyer task group under Rear Admiral W.
L. Ainsworth and a powerful Japanese destroyer force in
a 5-mile-wide gulf between Kolobangara and New Georgia,
Solomon Islands. The task group sank one enemy de-
stroyer and drove a second ashore, while Japanese torpe-
does sank cruiser Helena.
(CVE-108: dp. 11,373; 1. 557'1'' ; b. 75' ; ew. 105'2" ; dr.
32' ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 1.066; a. 2 5'', 36 40mm„ 20 20mm„
ac. 34 ; cl. Commencement Bay)
Vermillion Bay (CVE-108) was renamed Kula Gulf 6
November 1943 ; laid down by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.,
Tacoma, Wash., 16 December 1943; launched 15 August
1944; sponsored by Miss Dorothy Mott; completed by Wil-
liamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; and com-
missioned at Portland 12 May 1945, Captain J. W. King
in command.
After shakedown and night carrier training off the West
Coast, Kula Gulf departed San Diego 5 August for oper-
ations with the 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific. Steam-
ing via Pearl Harbor and the Marshalls, she arrived Leyte
Gulf, Philippines, 14 September. During the next 2
months she patrolled the East China Sea out of Okinawa
and shuttled planes between Saipan and Guam. Assigned
to “Magic-Carpet” duty, she departed Guam 17 November
with 600 veterans of the Pacific fighting embarked and
steamed to San Francisco, arriving 4 December. Between
10 December and 10 January 1946 she returned to the Far
East ; and, after embarking 1,520 returning veterans at
Tientsin and Tsingtao, China, she sailed to the West Coast,
reaching San Diego 26 January. She departed San Fran-
cisco for the East Coast 26 February, arrived Norfolk 16
March, decommissioned at Boston 3 July, and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
When the Korean conflict brought an urgent need for
a greatly expanded fleet throughout the world, Kula Gulf
recommissioned at Boston 15 February 1951, Captain
Alden D. Schwarz in command. After shakedown out of
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the escort carrier departed Nor-
folk 6 August and carried a cargo of airplanes to Casa-
blanca, French Morocco. Following her return to Nor-
folk 1 September, she spent the next 15 months training
pilots of helicopter, air-antisubmarine, and fighter squad-
rons to strengthen U.S. forces in Korea.
During May 1952 Kula Gulf supported Marine heli-
copter maneuvers on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico; and in
October she operated as ASW screen to troop transports
bound for Labrador. Following a modernization overhaul
from January to July 1953, she resumed air-antisubmarine
maneuvers in the Caribbean and off the Atlantic coast.
From 1953 to 1955 Kula Gulf helped perfect ASW tech-
niques by participating in search and kill exercises with
ships of the Atlantic Fleet. She played an important role
in the development of more effective antisubmarine war-
fare tactics that help the Navy control the seas. In
addition to ASW development, she also aided the advance-
ment of helicopter warfare tactics, which are now so
important during the struggle to repel Communist aggres-
sion in South Vietnam. Kula Gulf supported Marine ver-
tical assault landing exercises at Vieques Island between
February and April 1955. After returning to Norfolk
26 April, she entered Boston Naval Shipyard 13 May and
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 19 August for inactivation
overhauls. She decommissioned at Philadelphia 15 De-
cember 1955 and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She
was reclassified AKV-8 on 7 May 1959.
As Communist aggression in South Vietnam increased,
the United States expanded efforts to protect the integrity
and independence of the Republic of South Vietnam. This
assistance posed vast logistic demands and created the
need for additional sea power. Because of this urgent
need, Kula Gulf was transferred to MSTS 30 June 1965
for use as an aircraft ferry. During the summer of 1965
she carried helicopters and troops of the 1st Cavalry Divi- .
sion from the East Coast to Vietnam. Since then she has \
continued aircraft shuttle operations between West Coast
ports and American bases along the coast of South Viet-
nam into 1967.
Kumigan
( SP-97 : t. 34; 1. 76'; b. 13'; dr. 2'9" ; s. 23 k. ; cpl. 8;
a. 1 1-pdr.)
678
Kumigan, a motor yacht built in 1917 by Great Lakes
Boat Building Corp., was taken over by the Navy 8 May
1917 from Albert Pack of East Chicago, 111., and 2 days
later enrolled in the Naval Coastal Defense Reserve.
However, she saw no service and was returned to her
owner early in the summer of 1917.
Kuper, Charles P., see Charles P. Kuper (SP-1235)
Kuru, see YP-102
Kutcana II
Former name retained.
(SP-97: t. 34; 1. 76', b. 13'; dr. 2'9" ; s. 23 k.; cpl. 8;
1 1-pdr. )
Kuwana II, a motor boat, was built by Elco Launch
Co., Bayonne, N.J., in 1911 ; leased from her owner,
Frank E. Masland of Philadelphia ; taken over and com-
missioned 2 June 1917, Chief Quartermaster Schofield,
USNRF, in command.
Enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve 8 June,
Kuwana II was assigned to the 4th Naval District as a
section patrol ship. She sailed the Delaware Bay and
Delaware River from Cape May, N.J., to Wilmington,
Del., and guarded the submarine net at Fort Delaware.
Based at Cold Spring Harbor, Cape May, she also pa-
trolled coastal waters and served as a dispatch and train-
ing ship. Kuwana II was struck from the Navy List and
returned to her owner 5 December 1918.
Kwajalein
The World War II battle of 31 January 1944, for Kwa-
jalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
(CVE-98: dp. 7,800; 1. 512'33''; b. 65'; ew. 108'11" ; dr.
22'6" ; s. 19 k. ; cpl. 860; a. 1 5", 16 40mm., 20 20mm. ;
cl. Anzio)
Kwajalein (CVE-98), formerly Bucareli Bay, was
launched 4 May 1944, by the Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver,
Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored
by Mrs. Rudolf L. Johnson ; acquired by the Navy 7 June
1944, and commissioned the same day, Comdr. R. C. War-
rack in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Kwajalein
cleared San Pedro 19 July 1944, bound for Espiritu Santo
with passengers and a cargo of fuel and planes. Arriving
3 August, she sailed 4 days later to transport aircraft
to Guam and pick up salvaged Japanese equipment for
intelligence studies in the United States.
Following repairs at San Diego, Kwajalein got under-
way 7 October for operations as replenishment carrier.
She loaded combat-ready aircraft at Manus and sailed
for Eniwetok 5 November to replenish the carriers of
Task Force 38 as they prepared for raids on Manila and
the Visayas. Continuing operations from Ulithi, Kivaja-
lein furnished the big carriers with the planes needed to
drive the Japanese out of the Philippines. During Janu-
ary 1945, replacement aircraft roared from her decks
to Task Force 38 flat tops for strikes on enemy air bases
on Formosa and the China coast. Kwajalein returned
San Diego 23 February for overhaul and additional air-
craft before resuming operations 9 March.
From March to August Kwajalein carried aircraft on
three cruises from Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific
keeping carrier-based air groups at full strength for the
massive carrier raids on the Japanese home islands. With
the cessation of hostilities 14 August 1945, the carrier
was assigned the task of returning Pacific veterans to
the United States. She made four cruises to the Pacific
Islands before arriving San Pedro 2 February 1946, from
her final “Magic-Carpet” mission. On 23 April Kxvajalein
cleared San Pablo Bay for Mukilteo, Wash., arriving there
3 days later. She decommissioned at Tacoma, Wash., 16
August 1946, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her
name was struck from the Navy List 1 April 1960, and
she was scrapped in Japan the following year.
Kwajalein received two battle stars for World War II
service.
Ktcasind
In Longfellow’s poem, a friend of Hiawatha known for
his great strength.
( SP-1233 : t. 303; 1. 180'; b. 23'6" ; dr. 9'3" ; s. 16 k. ;
cpl. 63 ; a. 2 3”, 2 mg.)
Kwasind (SP-1233), a steam yacht, was built by Robins
Dry Dock & Repair Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1914 as
Nokomis I; then purchased from her owner, Horace Dodge,
9 May 1917. After conversion to Navy use at New York,
she commissioned at New York Navy Yard 5 December
1917, Lt. Comdr. W. W. Ramsay in command.
Assigned to service in the Caribbean, Kwasind departed
New York 9 December and sailed via Charleston and
Guantanamo Bay to Santo Domingo, where she arrived
28 December. For the next 18 months she was based at
Santo Domingo and sailed to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas,
and Cuba with Marines and passengers. Kwasind re-
mained in the Caribbean after the Armistice, sailing 9
June 1919 via Charleston for New York where she arrived
23 June. The ship decommissioned 5 July 1919 at New
York and was eventually sold to W. H. Raab of Brooklyn
4 December 1919.
Kyes, James E., see James E. Kyes (DD-787)
Kyma, see YP-559
Kyne
Elden Francis Kyne, born 4 June 1910, in Ringgold,
Nebr., enlisted in the Navy 1 February 1929. He was
appointed Machinist 15 April 1941. Reporting on board
Astoria (CA-34) 8 August 1941, Kyne was commissioned
Ensign 15 June 1942. Ens. Kyne was killed in action
9 August 1942, when Astoria was sunk by Japanese naval
forces during the battle of Savo Island.
(DE-744 : dp. 1,240; 1. 306' ; b. 36'8" ; dr. 8'9'' ; s. 21 k. ;
cpl. 186; a. 3 3'', 2 40mm., 10 20mm., 9 dcp., 2 dct., 3
21'' tt. ; cl. Cannon)
Kyne (DE-744) was laid down on 16 April 1943, by the
Western Pipe & Steel Co., Los Angeles, Calif. ; launched
15 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Alma Marion Kyne,
widow of Ens. Kyne ; and commissioned 4 April 1944,
Comdr. A. Jackson, Jr., in command.
After shakedown along the West Coast, Kyne cleared
Los Angeles 6 June 1944, to join the Pacific Fleet. Follow-
ing training and escort duty at Pearl Harbor, Kyne was
underway 12 August to screen a task force which brought
material and ships for the impending Palau Islands in-
vasion. She departed Manus 15 September as escort to
transports filled with garrison troops and supplies, land-
ing at Peleliu 20 September. Kyne sailed the same day
as escort to a convoy carrying wounded marines from
the scene of battle.
For the next 3 months the destroyer escort continued
screening operations out of Ulithi for a fleet logistic sup-
port unit which replenished both Task Force 38 and Task
Force 58. Departing Ulithi 2 January 1945, Kyne pro-
vided escort service for refueling operations in support of
the Luzon landings 6 January. She remained on station
in the Philippines before returning Ulithi 21 January
to prepare for the Iwo Jima landings.
Operating together with support units, she departed
Ulithi 8 February to provide a screen for refueling opera-
679
256-125 0 - 68 - 45
USS Kwajalein (CVD-98) on 11 June 1944, later reclassified AKV-34
tions during the Iwo Jima invasion. When that island
was secure, giving the United States an air strip vitally
needed as base for future B-29 raids on Japan, Kyne
returned Ulithi 5 March. Sailing again 25 March as a
screen to oilers, she made her way to Okinawa — the last
step on the road to Japan. She continued screen and
patrol operations for the support unit throughout most
of the Okinawa campaign, returning Ulithi 21 May.
Kyne cleared San Pedro Bay, P.I., 26 June to screen
escort carriers as they provided air support fo rthe in-
vasion near Balikpapan, Borneo. Following the Borneo
landings, she returned to the logistic support group dur-
ing July as planes of the fleet rained fire on the Japanese
home islands. Upon cessation of hostilities 14 August and,
after 43 days at sea, Kyne arrived Tokyo Bay 28 August
as part of the occupation force. Departing Yokosuka 2
October, the destroyer escort arrived Philadelphia 23
November via Pearl Harbor and Long Beach. Kyne de-
commissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 14 June 1946.
During 1947 Kyne was designated in service, in reserve,
and operated as a reserve training ship out of Fort Schuy-
ler, N.Y. She recommissioned 21 November 1950, Lt.
Comdr. Carl L. Scherrer in command; and was assigned
to the 3d Naval District as a reserve training ship. For
the next nine years, Kyne provided the training necessary
to maintain a well-drilled reserve, ready to defend the
nation during any crisis. Kyne decommissioned 17 June
1960, at New York and remains in the Atlantic Reserve
Fleet at Philadelphia.
Kyne received six battle stars for World War II service.
680
Appendix I
HISTORIC SHIP EXHIBITS IN THE
UNITED STATES
PART I — Enshrined Fighting Ships of the Continental, the United States,
and the Confederate States Navies.
PART II — Major Parts and Commemorative Displays of Fighting Ships of
the United States and Confederate States Navies, and contem-
plated major salvage projects.
PART III — Foreign Warships.
PART IV — Selected Merchant Ships.
PART V — Selected Museums where Naval and Maritime Memorabilia are
displayed.
PART VI — Alphabetical Locator by State and City.
FalUii •**
Anthon} |
r till' 14/ ft
/K/ni/
l h .tritr
An 18th century map of the eastern shore of North America
681
USS Alabama (BB-60) 1 December 1942
USS Arizona (BB-39) Memorial at Pearl Harbor
682
PART I
ENSHRINED FIGHTING SHIPS OF THE CONTINENTAL,
THE UNITED STATES AND THE CONFEDERATE
STATES NAVIES
All over the United States there are museums
and battlefield memorials, but there are no monu-
ments on the high seas where our nation’s fate has
often hung in the balance. Enshrined warships
can in some measure take their place. These ships
are living museums, most being in their own en*
vironment near the stormy seas, but in a snug
harbor. To visit and walk the deck of a ship
launched in 1797 for example is an exciting and
unforgettable experience.
This part covers enshrined fighting ships that
are maintained by public spirited individuals
through private enterprise and without the aid
of Federal monies. Five exceptions exist to this
general rule: USS Constitution , a commissioned
Navy ship at Boston; USS Arizona and USS
Utah at Pearl Harbor where they sank on 7 De-
cember 1941 ; USS Missouri (BB-63) as a part of
the Navy’s Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, Wash.;
and Intelligent Whale , a very small submarine,
at the Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
No attempt has been made to create a complete
history of each ship but rather to develop a list-
ing of each by name and show the location of the
ship. Complete histories on each will be included
in the applicable volume of the Dictionary of
American Naval Fighting Ships. For the con-
venience of the reader, Part VI of this listing
provides an alphabetical index by State and city.
The ships are not indexed but rather are listed
alphabetically in the text.
USS Alabama (BB-60)
Dedicated on 9 January 1965 to the memory of
the men and women of- all the armed forces from
Alabama who served so gallantly in World War
II and Korea, USS Alabama has since been the
featured attraction of Mobile’s 100-acre Marine
Park, located on the south side of U.S. Route 90,
just east of the Tensaw Bridge.
After commissioning in 1942 and underway
training, Alabama reported for duty in the Pa-
cific where, with her powerful 16-inch guns and
antiaircraft batteries, she earned nine battle stars
for her outstanding service in World War II.
Alabama was formally accepted by the USS
Alabama Battleship Commission, a State spon-
sored but privately supported organization, in
Seattle, Wash., 7 July 1964. The 35,000-ton bat-
tleship was then towed 5,600 miles to Mobile, Ala.,
through the Panama Canal which she cleared
with only 12 inches on each side. Daily progress
has brought the battleship closer to her wartime
condition and appearance. In June 1965, an
OS2U “Kingfisher” seaplane was placed on board ;
and several 20mm. guns have been added to her
mighty armament. Public facilities and displays
are in the Battleship park area.
During the first year of operation as a memo-
rial, Alabama was visited by close to a half mil-
lion people. In full view from Route 90, she is
open every day from 8 a.m. to sunset. For in-
formation, address: USS Alabama Battleship
Commission, Post Office Box 65, Mobile, Ala.
36601.
“The more you hurt the enemy, the less he will
hurt you.”
— Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan.
USS Arizona (BB-39)
Public Law 85-344, an act to authorize construc-
tion of United States Ship Arizona Memorial, was
approved on 15 March 1958.
683
Partially submerged in Pearl Harbor, where she
sank on 7 December 1941, Arizona proudly flies
the National Ensign as she did on that day of in-
famy. Though no longer in commission, the
American flag is raised and lowered aboard her in
morning and sunset ceremonies as is the practice
on board all commissioned ships of the Navy.
In recognition of her sacrifice Admiral Radford
said on 7 March 1950 :
“From today on, the USS Arizona will
again fly our country’s flag as proudly as she
did on the morning of 7 December 1941. I
am sure the Arizona’s crew will know and
appreciate what we are doing.”
At a cost of $526,000 in public and private funds,
the simple wooden platform erected for his speech
was replaced in 1961 by a concrete memorial struc-
ture in gleaming white over the sunken hulk.
Relics of Arizona may be viewed in a museum to
the left of a ceremonial bridge, while to the right,
white marble plaques bear the list of those killed on
that fateful Sunday morning. The memorial was
dedicated on 30 May 1962 in remembrance of all
the valiant men who gave their lives for our coun-
try in the Pearl Harbor attack. More than half
the men killed on that day died in the battleship
Arizona.
Platforms which extend outward from the me-
morial accommodate visitors boarding or retiu i-
ing to shore. The Navy provides shuttle-boat
service to Arizona leaving frequently from Hal-
awa Gate Landing, Pearl Harbor. Arizona's bells
are now treasured relics. One hangs in Student
Union Tower at the University of Arizona, Tuc-
son; the other bell, displayed for many years at
the First National Bank in Phoenix, Ariz., is now
at Pearl Harbor as part of the Arizona Memorial.
“A nation’s character is the sum of its noble
deeds.”
— Henry Olay.
USS Banning (PCE-886)
The patrol craft or escort ship is designed to
screen coastal convoys and conduct antisubmarine
patrol. Besides its ability to operate offensively
and defensively against submarines, this type ship
can destroy surface or aerial targets at close range.
These small guardians of the Fleet also proved
valuable on air-sea rescue missions. Banning and
her 97-man crew rendered yeoman service to the
Pacific Fleet. During the first dozen years of her
life her varied career included duty as a weather
station in the Philippines for a year and as an in-
terisland transport operating out of Tutuila for
another year following World War II.
Banning also supported United Nations Forces
in Korea. With the outbreak of hostilities in
Korea in 1950, many ships of the Reserve Fleet
were activated. Banning was among those re-
called. Outfitted with a new suit of electronic
gear, she assisted in the support of the Korean
operation. Most noteworthy were her participa-
tion in the mock invasion of Kojo and her escort
work with the 1st Marine Division at Inchon.
Placed in Reserve after Korea, Banning was
transferred 15 July 1962 to the Port of Hood
River, on the Columbia, near Portland, Oreg. Vis-
its to her can be arranged through the Hood River
Chamber of Commerce, whose members and asso-
ciates contribute many hours of devoted labor to
maintain their ship in top condition.
“Do your duty — fight until you sink.”
— Admiral Franklin Buchanan at Mobile
Bay , 186J/,.
USS Cairo
Cairo was one of the famous ironclad river gun-
boats built by James B. Eads, which were known
as “Pook Turtles” because of their ungainly ap-
pearance and their designer, naval constructor
Samuel Pook. who worked under the supervision
of Commander John Rodgers and Captain An-
drew Foote. These warships spearheaded the
Union thrust into the South along the Mississippi
River and its tributaries, which split the Confed-
eracy and won the war in the West.
Cairo was sunk 12 December 1862, first victim
of a “torpedo” (mine) in combat on the Yazoo
River. This was during the Yazoo Pass Expedi-
tion, a part of General Grant’s wide sweep to cap-
ture strongly fortified Vicksburg — “Gibraltar of
the West.”
684
Visitors begin conducted tour of USS Banning (PCE-886) at Hood River, Oreg.
USS Cairo
685
She was rediscovered by National Park his-
torian Edwin C. Bearss and geologist Warran
Grabau in the summer of 1956. U.S. Navy divers
and underwater demolition experts assisted with
the removal of ammunition, including treacherous
black powder, found in the magazine.
Cairo attracted wide attention during the diffi-
cult salvage operation. After restoration at Pas-
cagoula, Miss., she returned to Vicksburg as the
main attraction of an admirable local museum.
The salvage of Cairo has been a joint venture of
State and county organizations under the admin-
istration of the Mississippi Agricultural and In-
dustrial Board.
“He who holds the sea must be master of the
empire.”
— Cicero , uAd AtticusT
USS Constellation
Celebrated as our oldest warship afloat, built
under an appropriation by the American Con-
gress Constellation is a center of attention at Balti-
more. She returned to her home port in July
1955 to be preserved as a national shrine by the
Star Spangled Banner Flag House Association.
The Constellation Committee of this small group
of dedicated patriots has expended endless hours
of volunteer service to preserve and restore this
“living” example of America’s strong and great
tradition. This splendid frigate, the “Yankee
Race Horse” by nickname in the 1790’s, has seen
significant progress in her return to her original
appearance.
Much of the restoration is being financed by the
sale of commemorative “coins” struck from the
bronze spikes once used in the ship. These are
not only collector’s items, but serve as life-time
passes which entitle the bearer to free admission
to the ship. When work is completed, she will be
berthed in Baltimore Harbor at Fort McHenry.
Already designated a National Historical Shrine,
Constellation may be visited on the downtown
Baltimore waterfront at the pier on Pratt Street.
One of the ship’s 6,000-pound anchors remains
on display at the Naval Station in Newport, R.I.,
where she served as a training vessel for naval
cadets in her last years in commission. There, too,
Fleet Admiral King flew his flag in her as Com-
mander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
“I wish peace from the bottom of my soul, but
I desire to see us prepared for war in every re-
spect. . . .”
— Commodore Thomas Truxtun in a
Letter to Timothy Pickering , 8 De-
cember 1807.
USS Constitution (IX-21)
“Old Ironsides” earned her sobriquet in fierce
combat with HMS Guerriere 19 August 1812
when the heavier gunned British ship opened fire
and the shot fell in the sea after glancing ineffec-
tually off the hull of Constitution. When sched-
uled to be broken up for scrap, an effective meas-
ure to save her was Oliver Wendell Holmes’ stir-
ring lines :
“Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it'waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky ;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar ;
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.”
On her decks are enshrined some of the proud-
est traditions of the American people. “Old Iron-
sides” has become a living symbol of the Navy it-
self. A favorite frontispiece for school texts
since the turn of the century, she was chosen by
the Post Office Department in 1964 as one of the
three symbols of our heritage — together with the
eagle and Liberty Bell — to appear on a 4-cent blue
stamped envelope. She is one of Boston’s lead-
ing tourist attractions and is especially sought out
by foreign travelers.
Constitution may be visited outside the main
gate of Boston Naval Shipyard, close to historic
Bunker Hill in Charlestown, a stone’s throw from
where she was launched in 1797. Proudly she flies
her pennant as our oldest commissioned warship
afloat, with the further distinction of being flag-
ship of Commandant, 1st Naval District.
686
USS Constellation in 1893
“If that fellow wants a fight, we won’t disap-
point him.”
— Captain Isaac Hull,
USS Constitution 1812.
The launching of the Constitution
Launching of USS Holland (SS-1), Crescent Shipyard, Elizabeth, N.J., 17 May 1897
Holland’s Prototypes of USS Holland (SS-1)
John Philip Holland’s first submarine, a steam-
powered midget only 14 feet long, made experi-
mental dives in the Passaic River, N.J., in 1878 for
the Fenian Society, a group seeking independence
for Ireland. Holland’s project had been rejected
by the U.S. Navy in 1875. Prevailing factors
included the Nation’s stringent economy of the
1870’s and the impracticability of an effective sea-
going submarine with existing technology. Ex-
perience gained with this one-man model led Hol-
land, an immigrant schoolteacher in Paterson,
N.J., to build his three-man Fenian Ram in 1881.
He made frequent dives in New York Harbor.
These two submarines were the forerunners of
54- foot USS Holland (SS-7) that the Navy
bought from the Holland firm, 11 April 1900, to
inaugurate the “Silent Service”.
The first Holland product was raised from the
Passaic River in 19*27. She and Fenian Ram are
on exhibit in Paterson, N.J., a few miles north-
west of New York City’s George Washington
Bridge. The earlier submarine rests in the City of
Paterson Museum, Broadway at Summer Street,
while Fenian Ram is in West Side Park.
“I have always felt relieved when a naval officer
has arrived on the scene because he always kept
within the situation.”
— John Hay , Secretary of State.
Intelligent Whale
On exhibit for many years as a relic at the New
York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, opposite the
main entrance to the Commandant’s headquarters,
was this hand-cranked, 30- foot experimental sub-
marine. With the closing of the yard in 1966, she
now is exhibited at the Navy Memorial Museum,
Naval Historical Display Center, Washington
Navy Yard.
Intelligent Whale was laid down during the
Civil War and condemned in 1872. This was the
United States’ last official effort to develop an
undersea warship until important engineering and
electrical developments of the late 19th century
made submarines practical.
Intelligent Whale , manned by six to 13 persons,
could submerge for several hours, and make about
4 knots underwater. Plans for the submarine
were proposed by Scovel S. Merriam, and financ-
688
A Holland Submarine at Paterson, N.J.
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Marking system based on 5.0 vice 4.0.
ing and construction were largely by Augustus
Price and Cornelius S. Bushnell. Mr. Halstead
was the principal designer and operator of Intel-
ligent Whale. Her sinking and condemnation
came after his death when his heirs tried to com-
plete the contract without his experience.
This early submarine may be seen daily, along
with many other interesting outdoor exhibits in
the old Washington Navy Yard not far from the
U.S. Capitol. The stirring Navy Memorial Mu-
seum before which the submarine is displayed may
also be visited every day except Sunday.
“. . . if they had had two of those things in
Manila, I never could have held it with the squad-
ron I had.”
— Testimony of Admiral George Dewey ,
1901 , on military value of submarines.
689
Intelligent Whale
USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
Representative of the ultimate in U.S. Naval
power at the opening of World War II, Massa-
chusetts is the sixth battleship built in the Com-
monwealth of Massachusetts in the 20th century.
She arrived from Norfolk, Va., 12 June 1965 for
“Welcome Home, Mamie” ceremonies at State
Pier, Fall River. She is enshrined there, in the
shadow of the Braga Bridge (Interstate Route
195), as a permanent memorial to all war veterans
of the Commonwealth and a monument to the Bay
State’s traditional shipbuilding skill. Massachu-
setts was first opened to the public at Fall River,
31 July 1965. Many thousands of visitors have
boarded this great dreadnaught of World War II
since then.
Massachusetts played a major role in the Casa-
blanca action 8 November 1942. By August 1945
USS Missouri (BB-63) — 16-inch projectiles in flight.
A commemorative plate in her deck marks the spot above which the Instrument of the Japanese Surrender in World
War II was signed on board USS Missouri (BB-63).
690
she had won 10 more battle stars while adding
mighty firepower to the Pacific Fleet from the
Gilbert Islands to J apan. Massachusetts , south of
Tokyo when hostilities ceased, had recently fired
265 of her 16-inch projectiles into industrial plants
along the coast of Honshu. Upon arriving off
Norfolk in 1946, the mighty battleship completed
her last assignment when her crew manned the
rail for President Truman, embarked in the newly
commissioned carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“If we fight, hit hard and break clean. There
is glory enough for us all.”
— Captain E. M. Whiting on hoard
Massachusetts off Casablanca , No-
vember 19J$.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
This noted 45,000-ton battleship — illustrious
symbol of VJ-Day — is at the Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. In Tokyo Bay, on
her “surrender deck,” the formal capitulation docu-
ment was signed by J apanese Premier Shigemitsu,
bringing World War II to a close. A bronze
plaque imbedded in Missouri's deck marks the
historic spot.
Next “Mighty Mo” became symbolic of Ameri-
can seapower in the Eastern Mediterranean. In
response to strong Soviet pressure against Iran,
Turkey, and Greece — early manifestations of the
Communist expansionism which precipitated the
Cold War — the formidable warship arrived Istan-
bul, Turkey, 5 April 1946. Her presence in the
Bosporus underscored America’s determination to
thwart the Russian thrust toward the ancient sea-
lanes of the Mediterranean and helped preserve
the precarious peace in the troubled Middle East.
Again the symbol of American capability to
protect freedom, Missouri returned President
Truman and his family from the Rio cle Janeiro
Conference in September 1947. At this historic
meeting, the United States joined the nations of
Latin America in negotiating the Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, which remains
the foundation for joint defense of the Western
Hemisphere.
Following the invasion of the Republic of South
Korea by North Korean troops in June 1950, Mis-
souri once again steamed to the Western Pacific
where she had first become a symbol of America’s
modern seapower. As the first battleship to reach
Korean waters, she unleashed her mighty guns
during the campaign which, spearheaded by the
brilliant amphibious invasion of Inchon, repelled
the initial Communist advance. During ensuing
months she cruised along both coasts of the war-
torn peninsula and pounded important enemy
positions with devastating gunfire.
While helping to contain the Communist aggres-
sion in Korea, this powerful vanguard of the
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) 4 July 1944
691
CSS Muscogee in the process of restoration
Pacific Fleet continued to serve the Nation and the
free world as both a weapon of war and an instru-
ment of peace until 26 February 1955 when she
decommissioned at Bremerton, Wash. Although
now in Reserve, “Mighty Mo” remains very much
a part of the Navy and is a popular center of at-
tention at Bremerton. Visited by more than
100,000 people during the Seattle Century 21
Exposition in 1962, she can best be reached by a
once-daily, weekday, 75-minute guided bus tour
of the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Bremerton.
“We will win only by fighting.”
— Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.
CSS Muscogee (or Jackson )
Launched in December 1864 at Columbus, Ga.,
this Confederate ironclad was captured and
burned before commissioning by Federal troops
during Wilson’s cavalry raid on Columbus, Ga., 17
April 1865. Her remains, raised and preserved
by the Georgia Historical Commission, are price-
less relics at the Conferedate Naval Museum in
Columbus.
Discovery of this gunboat added significantly to
present day knowledge of Confederate naval con-
struction and design. Until recently it was pre-
sumed that Muscogee was a centerwheel ironclad
steamer. The remains of this ship cast doubt as
to the traditional theory of her propulsion, as the
evidence now points to twin-screw machinery.
“America can make every product we need for
the preservation of freedom ; only men can make
America.”
— Admiral Arleigh A. Burke , Commence-
ment Address at the U.S. Naval Academy ,
June 1958.
CSS Neuse
The ram Neuse , a flat-bottom, shallow-draft
ship, was designed for duty principally in the
sounds and rivers along the North Carolina coast.
This twin-screw steamer of 376 tons, 158 feet long,
with a draft of 7 feet, carried a crew of 150 officers
and men.
She was burned and sunk by her own crew in
March 1865 at the approach of General Sherman’s
Army from Georgia. Her hull has been raised
and restored for public display at the Governor
Richard Caswell Memorial site just off U.S. 70A,
2 miles west of Kinston, N.C. “Coins” of histori-
cal interest, struck by the local committee, are help-
ing to finance enshrinement of this ship that lay
on the bottom of the Neuse River for nearly 100
years.
692
OSS Neuse under reconstruction
“Every attempt to make war easy and safe will
result in humiliation and disaster.”
— General W. T. Sherman, Personal Memoirs.
USS Niagara
Relief flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard
Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 September
1813, was the 110-foot brig Niagara , of 20 guns.
Raised from the sands of Misery Bay near Erie
during the centenary of the battle and recon-
structed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
from the remains, Niagara may now be visited
at the foot of State Street, Erie, Pa. After trans-
ferring his flag, inscribed with heroic words of
Captain James Lawrence, “Don’t Give Up the
Ship !”, from Lawrence to Niagara , Perry went on
to victory and penned the immortal, “We have met
the enemy and they are ours . . .”
“Aim not only to hit first, but to keep hitting,
and often er than the other fellow.”
— Fleet Admiral E. J. King.
USS North Carolina (BB-55)
First of the Navy’s modern, 35,000-ton battle-
ships, North Carolina is berthed off the channel
of the west bank of Cape Fear River, in full view
of downtown Wilmington, N.C. This imposing
memorial was dedicated 29 April 1962. Every-
thing above her main deck is open to the public —
officers’ quarters, examples of the crew’s living
compartments, combat information center and,
most impressive, three huge 16-inch gun turrets.
This capital ship, a veteran with 12 Pacific battle
stars, was known affectionately for years as “The
Showboat”. Now she is one in a new sense — a new
departure in telling the Navy’s story to the Ameri-
693
USS Niagara,
can public. Some 2 million visitors have boarded
North Carolina. Since 1 April 1965, they have
been treated to a “sound and light” dramatic en-
actment of her career. Splendid illumination and
animation, stereophonic sound, guns belching real-
istic fire and smoke captivate and inform up to
1,000 visitors during a typical 45-minute produc-
tion of “The Immortal Showboat” — first spectacle
of its kind in this country.
North Carolina , the third ship so named, is a
veteran of every major Pacific campaign of World
War II from the time of the landings on Guadal-
canal in 1942 until the formal signing of the docu-
ment for the surrender of Japan on board Mis-
694
USS North Carolina (BB-55) at Wilmington. Photo by Hugh Morton
souri 2 September 1945. During 40 months of
combat duty in the Pacific, she steamed over 300,-
000 miles and was six times reported sunk by the
Japanese propagandist, “Tokyo Rose”.
“Hit hard, hit fast, hit often.”
— Fleet Admiral 'William Halsey , Jr.
USS Olympia
Commodore George Dewey’s flagship led the
Asiatic Squadron past the batteries on Corregidor
into Manila Bay at daybreak, 1 May 1898. At
5 :40 Dewey ordered Olympia's Captain, “You may
fire when you are ready, Gridley!” By 12:40,
Spain no longer had a fleet in the Philippines.
Today, our oldest remaining steel warship, built in
1895, is beautifully restored through the efforts of
public-spirited citizens working through the
Cruiser Olympia Association. Olympia , filled
with stirring historic objects, is a major tourist at-
traction in Philadelphia, berthed in the Delaware
River on the North Side of Municipal Pier, foot of
Race Street. She may conveniently be included in
a tour of our national treasures — such as the origi-
nal Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, New Hall,
U.S. Marine Corps Museum, and in time, Pember-
ton House Army-Navy Museum, which is being de-
veloped as part of the Independence Hall Complex.
Olympia , a protected cruiser, was built in San
Francisco and launched there 5 November 1892.
She cruised in Asiatic Waters until arriving Bos-
695
256-12$ 0-68-46
USS Harvest Moon Scuba divers are probing area where she sank to determine the possibility of raising her. Photo
by Walter McDonald. See page 709.
696
Philadelphia, the Revolutionary War Gondola at the Smithsonian Institution
ton via the Suez Canal in 1899. Following duty
in the North and South Atlantic, she sailed 28
April 1918 for Murmansk, Russia. A tour in the
Mediterranean, return of the Unknown Soldier in
1921, a midshipman cruise and then Philadelphia
Navy Yard in 1922 for decommissioning, com-
pleted her service as an active warship. Slated for
the scrap pile in 1954, the public-spirited citizens
of Philadelphia rescued Admiral Dewey’s famous
flagship and by 1958, she was completely restored.
“To defeat the enemy, come to grips with him
and fight him.”
— Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.
Philadelphia, Revolutionary War Gondola
The Continental gondola Philadelphia has been
acquired by the Smithsonian Institution (U.S. Na-
tional Museum) in Washington, D.C. Philadel-
phia is our oldest ship extant. She fought gal-
lantly in the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake
Champlain on 11 October 1776 as a unit of the
fleet that delayed British invasion from Canada,
an action that greatly influenced the American
victory at Saratoga the following year. Phila-
delphia,, a small gunboat, carried a crew of 45
men. She lay on the bottom of Lake Champlain
from 1776 to 1935.
The gondola’s battle scarred hull, in a remark-
697
Pioneer
able state of preservation, is one of the main at-
tractions at the Smithsonian’s new Museum of
History and Technology, Constitution Avenue at
14th Street NW. In addition to much of the ship’s
equipment, the shot that presumably sank her is
prominently displayed.
“The Sea and ships are an integral part of this
country’s past, present, and future.”
— Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Pioneer, Confederate Privateer Submarine
Long a fixture of Jackson Square in front of the
Cabildo, New Orleans’ own submarine Pioneer was
moved to nearby Presbytere Arcade at Louisiana
State Museum in 1957. Visitors to the Old Quar-
ter of the city should be sure to inspect her. It
was from their experience with Pioneer that Hor-
ace L. Hunley and his colleagues went on to con-
struct two other pioneer submarines at Mobile,
Ala. — an unnamed submersible boat, often called
“ Pioneer //,” and the famous H. L. Hunley, first
submarine to sink a ship in combat.
This first Pioneer , a two-man privateer, was
started in 1861 to counter U.S. Navy moves to
patrol Lake Pontclxartrain. Completed early in
1862 from quarter-inch riveted iron plates cut
from old boilers, she made several descents in the
Lake and, during her trials, succeeded in destroy-
ing several practice targets, including a small
schooner. Before Pioneer could attack a Federal
ship, however, Flag Officer Farragut surprised
New Orleans from the sea, beginning the dismem-
berment of the Confederacy by driving a wedge
up the Mississippi. Pioneer was scuttled hastily
to avoid capture and lay on the bottom for many
years, while Hunley and his associates fled to
Mobile to resume submarine building with renewed
vigor. The war was long over before Pioneer was
raised, and installed in Jackson Square.
“Gladly would I sell my life for suceess.”
Words of H. L. Hunley just 'prior to his death
in CSS H. L. Hunley. From the Mobile
Advertiser and Register — 16 November
1863.
698
USS Texas (BB-35) at San Jacinto Battleground. Photo courtesy of Harper Leiper Studios
USS Texas (BB-35)
This combat veteran of two world wars, pre-
served by the people of Texas in 1948, is on exhibit
off the busy Houston Ship Channel. The historic
battleship is the crowning touch of the remarkable
San Jacinto Battleground. The Texas preserva-
tion project was the first to establish a coordinated
ship-and-shore memorial to a state’s naval name-
sake and encouraged other groups to create simi-
lar exhibits. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
was present at the dedication.
Texas (BB-35) is the third ship of the U.S.
Navy named for the State of Texas. By demon-
strating the fighting spirit of the “Lone Star
State” to the enemy in two world wars, this gallant
ship proved worthy of her name.
Commissioned at Norfolk in 1914, she cruised in
Mexican waters to secure redress of grievances and
uphold United States’ rights against the brutality
of General Victoriano Huerta, who had ousted
Mexico’s President. She patrolled with the British
Grand Fleet in World War I.
At the outbreak of war in Europe, 1 September
1939, Texas was ordered on neutrality patrol in
the North Atlantic. Later, she joined the task
force which landed 35,000 troops in North Africa.
Bombarding munition dumps while her scout
699
USS Utah (BB-31)
planes bombed tanks with depth charges, this
great battleship slugged it out with shore bat-
teries until the success of the invasion of France
was well assured.
In the Pacific, early in 1945, she was again on the
front lines bombarding I wo Jima and Okinawa.
After the surrender of Japan she joined other ships
in Magic Carpet Duty. Her last voyage was from
Norfolk to Galveston in 1948 where she rests to-
day, a justly proud addition to San Jacinto State
Park. A short drive by freeway from downtown
Houston brings the visitor to this panoramic naval
display.
“Come on, Texas”
Signal from escorting destroyer as Texas,
struck by a 280mm. shell , continues to op-
pose German gums on Normandy , June
19U-
USS Utah (AG-16, ex-BB-31)
This once powerful battleship served the Nation
well for some 30 years — until the bombing of Pearl
Harbor. There, parts of her wreckage may be seen
today, partially righted and turned inshore near
where she capsized on the far side of Ford Island.
Her bell is displayed by the Utah Historical So-
ciety in Salt Lake City, another bell is displayed at
Naval Supply Depot, Clearfield, Utah.
Utah was a veteran of the Yera Cruz expedition
and World War I Atlantic convoy duty. In 1931
she was transformed to a mobile target and anti-
aircraft training ship (AG-16). Utah made a
lasting contribution to the new sciences and proved
her outstanding service in developing radio control
target skills, antiaircraft gunnery, dive bombing
and amphibious tactics. She played a large role in
the outstanding readiness of the U.S. Navy antiair-
craft gunners and carrier pilots when World War
II opened.
“Control of the seas means security; control of
the seas means peace; control of the seas means
victory.”
— J ohn F. Kennedy.
700
USS Utah (BB-Sl)’s Bell on display at Clearfield, Utah
701
.■ ..
Masts of two of our great World War II fighting ships looking out over the sea by which they valiantly helped save
America. San Francisco (see p. 715) Portland (see p. 714)
702
PART n
MAJOR PARTS AND COMMEMORATIVE DISPLAYS OF
FIGHTING SHIPS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CON-
FEDERATE STATES NAVIES, AND CONTEMPLATED
MAJOR SALVAGE PROJECTS
The second part of this description of ship ex-
hibits contains major parts, displays and memo-
rials of ships whether they be in the planning
stages, now building or completed. As in Part I,
no effort has been made to create a ship’s history.
These sketches index and catalogue those ships
that have been or are about to be memorialized and
show physical locations of the major parts and the
memorials of famous fighting ships that no longer
exist. Detailed historical sketches are contained
in the appropriate volume of the Dictionary of
American Naval Fighting Ships.
federate ironclad, hero of the defense of Vicks-
burg commanded by the redoubtable Issac Newton
Brown. Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Ste-
phen R. Mallory truly observed, “Navy history
records few deeds of greater heroism or higher
professional ability” than her single-handed en-
gagement with Farragut’s and Davis’ flotillas in
the Mississippi, 15 July 1862.
“Good men with poor ships are better than poor
men with good ships.”
— Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan.
CSS Arkansas
USS Balao (SS-285)
A citizens’ group in the Baton Rouge, La., area
is interested in raising the remains of this Con-
The conning tower-fairwater of this successful
World War II submarine is on display at Admiral
CSS Arkansas
703
USS Balao (SS-285) — conning tower
Willard Park, outside the Naval Historical Dis-
play Center, Navy Yard, Ninth and M Streets
S.E., Washington, D.C. Balao , first of her class,
won nine battle stars in 10 patrols, sinking half a
dozen Japanese merchantmen.
“We shall never forget that it was our sub-
marines that held the lines against the enemy
while our fleets replaced losses and repaired
wounds.”
— Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
704
CSS Chattahoochee
Plans are underway at Columbus, Ga., to raise
and restore this ship sunk in the Apalachicola
River, December 1864. This famous steam gun-
boat was a wooden twin screw bark with a comple-
ment of 120 men. Her boilers blew up, 27 May
1863, and she sank. Chattahoochee was raised and
taken to Columbus, Ga., for repairs. On 1 Novem-
ber 1864, she was reported as thoroughly repaired
and awaiting installation of boilers salvaged from
wreck of CSS Raleigh. Chattahoochee has been
described as having, “. . . three masts, one yard
on foremast, one on mainmast. Hull black and
has bowsprit.” When the Confederates aban-
doned the Apalachicola River, Chattahoochee was
sunk just below Columbus, Ga., to prevent capture.
“ . . no one will do wrong who lays his vessel
alongside of the enemy and tackles with the ram.”
— Admiral David Farragut at Vicksburg,
July , 1862.
USS Flasher (SS-249)
With over 100,000 tons of enemy shipping sunk
during World War II, this ship ranked as a high
scorer in the Submarine Service. By herself, she
sank nearly 2 percent of the total enemy tonnage
destroyed by U.S. submarines.
Dedicated 4 July 1964, her conning tower,
bridge, shears, and periscope are a permanent me-
morial at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New
London, Conn., to all undersea heroes who lost
their lives in World War II.
“The colors must never be struck.”
— Captain William Burrows , mortally
wounded aboard Enterprise in action
with EMS Boxer, 1813
USS Franklin (CV-13)
The fifth ship so named commissioned 31 Janu-
ary 1944. Before dawn of 19 March 1945 Franklin
had maneuvered closer to the J apanese coast than
had any other carrier during World War II. Her
CSS Chattahoochee, a wooden gunboat, was destroyed by Confederates to prevent capture. Some of her machinery,
shown here, reveals that sledge hammers were used to disable the powerplant.
705
USS Flasher (SS-249) — conning tower
706
USS Franklin (CV-13) 26 April 1945
planes struck Honshu, the Japanese home island,
and later Kobe Harbor. Suddenly a Japanese
plane with semi-armor-piercing bombs made di-
rect hits on Franklin. She lay dead in the water
50 miles from the Japanese coast and took on a 13°
list. Burning fiercely, with no radio operable,
Frcmklin was saved only by sheer valor and te-
nacity. Casualties totaled 724 killed and 265
wounded. Among those who saved many lives
were Lt. Comdr. J. T. O’Callahan and Lt.
(j.g.) Donald Gary, both Medal of Honor recip-
ients. Franklin was taken in tow by Pittsburgh
until she manged to get her speed up to 14 knots,
to make for Pearl Harbor. She later sailed un-
der her own power to Brooklyn, N.Y., where she
was decommissioned in 1947. Her extreme dam-
age made her unworthy of repair.
In 1966 Franklin was sold for scrap. Saved
from Franklin , however, was her navigation
bridge. The city of Norfolk, Va., will install this
bridge in Norfolk as a permanent memorial to
Franklin and her brave sailors.
“I’ll never abandon ship, as long as a gun will
fire.”
— Commander Frederick Becton , USS
Laffey, April 1945.
USS Hartford
During the Civil War, Hartford served as Ad-
miral David G. Farragut’s flagship in the actions
at New Orleans, Vicksburg, and Mobile. For al-
most a century afterward, she was a familiar sight
at Norfolk, Va., until she succumbed to old age
and sank at her pier. The ship is no more, but
mementos of her have found places in displays all
over the eastern United States.
Many of these relics are now in the State of
Connecticut, the location of the city after which
Hartford was named. One of the ship’s bells
graces the city’s new Constitution Plaza. The
Navy League placed a bronze plaque with an
anchor from the ship in a beautiful setting near
the University of Hartford’s North House admin-
istration offices on Navy Day, 1964. Connecticut
Governor Abraham Ribicoff dedicated a second
anchor memorial at the entrance to Mystic Sea-
port’s yacht basin at Mystic, Conn.
The third of Hartford1 s anchors and one of her
bells are among the many artifacts at the Naval
Historical Display Center, Washington Navy
Yard, in the National Capital. Across the Po-
tomac River in the Pentagon, Hartford s skylight
rests near the Secretary of the Navy’s office.
707
David G. Farragut in Hartford bombards Forts Jackson and St. Philip en route to epic capture of New Orleans in 1862.
USS Hartford on 9 April 1901
USS Harvest Moon
Among the other relics at The Mariners Museum
in Newport News, Va., the visitor finds the bilge
pump, the gilded billethead, the fife rail, and a
stanchion from Hartford. Her last anchor found
its way to the exhibit at Fort Gaines on Dauphin
Island in Mobile Bay, the scene of the actions
which gave Farragut and the Hartford the adula-
tion of a nation.
“The best protection against the enemy’s fire
is a well-directed fire from our own guns.”
— Admiral F arraguVs general order for
passing Port Hudson , 1863.
USS Harvest Moon
Flagship of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren,
ordnance expert and Commander of the South
Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Harvest Moon was
sunk in Winyah Bay near Georgetown, S.C., 1
March 1865, by a Confederate “torpedo” (mine).
The State of South Carolina and patriotic groups
there plan to raise and preserve her as a Civil
War monument.
“Should you be attacked ... I shall expect of
you, at all events, to defend her to the last man.”
— Stephen Decatur.
USS Indiana (BB-58)
The mainmast and two twin mount 40 mm guns
of the second Indiana to serve the U.S. Navy have
been enshrined near the football stadium at the
University of Indiana at Bloomington. An
anchor is on view at F ort Wayne, and more than a
thousand other relics have been placed in schools,
museums, and exhibits throughout the State.
Some 210 tons of her 12-inch armor plate now
form a lead-lined laboratory for radiation research
under the lawn, of Salt Lake City’s medical center
in the Utah State Capital. Another 65 tons serve
a similar purpose at the VA Hospital, Hines, 111.
The original Indiana (BB-1) was commissioned
by Captain “Fighting Bob” Evans 20 November
1895. Her successor, BB-58, commissioned 30
April 1942 with the first Indiana’s 1898 battle flag
flying.
Fast, tough, and powerful, she played an im-
portant part in the Pacific War. A unit in Vice
Admiral J. F. Shafroth’s Task Group during July
1945, her 16-inch guns had a telling effect on tar-
gets on the Japanese island of Honshu.
“Cease firing, but if any enemy planes appear,
shoot ’em down in a friendly fashion.”
— Fleet Admiral William Halsey, Jr.
USS Maine
In Arlington National Cemetery across the
Potomac from Washington, D.C., the mainmast of
the battleship, whose sinking triggered a war, is
a memorial to the 260 men of the 355-man crew
709
USS Maine entering Havana Harbor
who died in Havana Harbor in 1898. Only 16
crew members escaped injury. Her foremast may
be seen near the seawall at the U.S. Naval Acad-
emy, Annapolis. One anchor graces the memorial
on Penn’s Commons, Reading, Pa. Notable among
other relics is a plaque, cast from Maine metal and
dedicated to the “Americanism of Theodore Roose-
velt” by his comrades in arms, on display at the
Commissioned Officers’ Mess at the Naval Station,
Brooklyn, N.Y. A capstan is on display at
Charleston, S.C.
USS Maine was commissioned in 1895 and was
assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet. She cruised
the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Key West and
on 25 January 1898, she arrived Havana, Cuba.
Her mission was to protect American interests dur-
ing the Cuban revolt against Spain. On 15 Feb-
ruary 1898 while moored to a buoy in Havana
Harbor, she was rent in half by two explosions
and sank within minutes. This apalling catas-
trophe precipitated the Spanish- American War.
“On the Presidential coat of arms, the American
eagle holds in his right talon an olive branch, while
in his left he holds a bundle of arrows. We in-
tend to give equal attention to both.”
— John F. Kennedy , “ State of the Union
Message , 1961”
USS Michigan — First U.S. Iron Warship
The bow of this sidewheeler, first iron hull ever
built for the U.S. Navy, has been erected as a per-
manent memorial at the foot of State Street, Erie,
Pa. In Erie her prefabricated sections, made in
Pittsburgh, were fashioned into a hull. Michigan
launched 5 December 1843. She spent over a cen-
tury on the Great Lakes, 1844-1949, most of those
years as the only ship of war on these inland
waters. Renamed in 1905, when battleship Mich-
igan was building, the “Original Michigan ” is re-
membered with affection as Wolverine (later
classified IX-31) by many a sailor who trained in
her during the World War I era. Loaned to the
City of Erie in 1927 as a relic, Michigan was
scrapped in 1949.
“We are ready now, sir.”
— Captam J. K. Taussig , Arriving With
Destroyer Division Eight in Queenstown
May 1917 After an Arduous Crossing.
Monitor-Merrimack ( Virginia ) Paintings
In Hampton Roads, off Newport News, Va., 9
March 1862, the first encounter between ironclads
dramatized the opening of a new era in naval
warfare. A plan proposed by a local editor and
naval historian, Commander Alexander Crosby
Brown, was adopted by the Newport News City
Council in 1965 : Oil paintings 4 feet by 8 feet are
being executed by the muralist of Jamestown and
Yorktown, Sidney E. King. The King oils are de-
signed to be exhibited outdoor in heavy waterproof
frames. The first depicts the 8 March battle when
CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack) destroyed
710
USS Cumberland and Congress , of the Hampton
Roads Blockading Fleet. The work was unveiled
in Christopher Newport Park late in September
1966. The second scene, the celebrated 4-hour
ironclad battle of 9 March, is planned for 1968 at
Monitor-Merrimack Overlook, near the mouth
of Salters Creek, east of Anderson Park. A large-
scale diorama depicting the battle between Moni-
tor and Merrimack is on display at The Mariners
Museum, Newport News, Va. Another diorama
exists at the Navy Memorial Museum, Naval His-
torical Display Center, Navy Yard, Washington,
D.C.
“From their first volley at one another, modem
naval history must date its birth.”
— G. E. Hopkins.
USS Narwhal (SS-167)
Built by the Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.,
Narwhal commissioned 15 May 1930. Commenc-
ing her first war patrol 2 February 1942, she wa9
one of the oldest submarines to participate in
World War II. Credited with sinking seven Jap-
anese ships including a river gun boat, Narwhal
also served as a troop and cargo submarine. She
supplied guerrilla forces with provisions and am-
munition as well as being the carrier for covert
troop landings.
NarichaVs two 6-inch deck guns, much used dur-
ing her 13 war patrols, are permanently enshrined
at New London, Conn. These guns may be viewed
at the Submarine Base near Morton Hall.
USS Michigan Bow
256-125 0 - 68 - 47
711
V
NEWPORT NEWS
BY JOAQUIN MILLER
THE HUGE SEA MONSTER, THE M E R R I M A C.
THE MAD SEA MONSTER, THE "MONITOR”;
YOU MAY SWEEP THE SEA, PEER FORWARD AND BACK.
BUT NEVER A SIGN OR A SOUND OF WAR.
A VULTURE OR TWO IN THE HEAVENS BLUE;
A SWEET TOWN BUILDING, A BOATMAN S CALL;
THE FAR SEA — .SONG OF A PLEASURE CREW,
THE SOUND OF HAMMERS. AND THAT IS ALL.
MAIN’
S H ORE1.
AND WHERE ARE THE MONSTERS THAT TORE THIS
AND WHERE ARE THE MONSTERS THAT SHOOK TH1J
THE SEA GREW MAD! AND THE SHORE SHOT FLAM1' c
THE MAD SEA MONSTERS THEY ARE NO MORE.
THE PALM, AND THE PINE, AND THE SEA SANDS BROWN
THE FAR SEA SONGS OF THE PLEASURE CREWS;
THE AIR LIKE BALM IN THIS BUILDING TOWN-
AND THAT IS THE PICTURE OF NEWPORT NEWS.
COMPOSED BY THE “POET OF THE SIERRAS!'
JOAQUIN MILLER
1637 - 1913
ON THE OCCASION OF HIS VISIT TO NEWPORT NEWS IN T
1 880’S ASA GUEST OF SHIPYARD FOUNDER COLL1S P. HUNTINGDON
THIS TABLET INSTALLED BY
THE BETHEL CHAPTER, UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFV N.
19 6 5
; wa
. •***'
-
Monitor-Merrimac Plaque
“Go tell the Bashaw of Tripoli and the people
of your country that in the future they may ex-
pect only tribute of powder and ball from the
sailors of the United States.”
— Lieutenant Andrew Sterret , Command-
ing Enterprise in the Tripolitan Wars,
February , 1801.
Naval Museum
The U.S. Naval Historical Display Center is the
national museum of the U.S. Navy, a memorial to
all those who have served our beloved Nation at
sea. This striking museum is filled with historic
objects covering the stirring role of the Navy in
the history of the United States from 1775. The
huge building is a historic site in itself, having
been built in 1828 and later expanded into the
Breech Mechanism Shop where all major caliber
guns produced for the Navy were assembled.
Exhibits are arranged in chronological order
commencing with the Revolutionary War, where
John Paul Jones’ deathless words “I have not yet
begun to fight” are reenacted by a sound and visual
display. The exhibit ends with the current opera-
tions of the U.S. Navy in outer and inner space.
In the huge central area of the museum, thousands
of items commemorate a great variety of the Navy’s
complex and far-reaching activities, including
diplomacy, exploration, scientific achievement and
712
USS Monitor and CSS Virginia engagement 1862. From F. D. Roosevelt Collection. Painting by O. O. Davidson
missions of mercy. There are “please touch” dis-
plays for juniors as well as seniors. For instance,
one may view the nearby countryside and the
Anacostia River through a World War II sub-
marine periscope. There is a ship model collec-
tion that President Kennedy started from boy-
hood, pieces from the illfated Thresher recovered
by T rieste in 8,000 feet of water, and many pieces
of ordnance from the 18th, 19th, and 20th cen-
turies. Numerous dioramas narrate the highlights
of the glorious achievements of our past and pres-
ent naval heroes.
The museum is open daily except Sunday from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there is no charge for admis-
sion. Upon your arrival at the Navy Yard, Wash-
ington, D.C., 11th and M Streets S.E., the guards
at the M or 11th Street gate will direct you to the
museum and the waterfront display. Ample park-
ing is available adjacent to the museum as well
as to the outside display area. The destroyer
escort USS Loeser and the submarine USS Drum ,
World War II ships now used for Naval Reserve
training, are moored nearby.
“The physical Navy ever changes, ever evolves.
Our high traditions of loyalty, service, and devo-
tion to duty endure.”
— Admiral Forrest Sherman.
USS Oregon (BB-3)
On 25 June 1925, USS Oregon (BB-3) was
loaned to the State of Oregon to be berthed at
Portland as a floating monument. USS Oregon
was moored in Portland Harbor as a museum until
World War II when the Navy recalled her for
duty. Eventually she was scrapped but the city of
Portland managed to salvage her mast and bow
plate which are now standing in a special park on
the Willamette River front. The Oregon His-
torical Society also preserved USS Oregon's, elabo-
rate silver sendee, homeward bound pennant and
other memorabilia.
Characteristic of the above and beyond the call
of duty tradition of the U.S. Navy is the cruise of
battleship Oregon when called on for duty in a
crisis due to the impending war with Spain in 1898.
She sailed around South America at a speed that
astounded all naval experts. This alone would
have given her an unparalleled record among bat-
tleships of the day but the culmination came in the
great Battle of Santiago Harbor on 3 July when
she took part in the action in which Spanish
Admiral Cervera’s fleet was destroyed.
Operations on the Asiatic Station, service as
flagship of the Pacific Fleet, and duty as escort for
transports of the Siberian Expedition in 1918 com-
pleted her commissioned service. During World
713
One of Narwhal’s 6-inch guns on display near Morton Hall, U.S. Naval Submarine Base at New London
USS Portland (CA-33)
The mast, open bridge, bell, and other artifacts
from this heavy cruiser are preserved in Portland,
Maine, as a memorial in Fort Allen Park over-
looking scenic Casco Bay. A scant 2 months after
her commissioning in 1933, she was the first ship
War II she served as a floating ammunition depot
at Guam. In 1956 she was sold and towed to
Japan for scrap.
“We come from a land that has always been
brave, and therefore free.”
— Thucydides, Pelopponesian War.
714
USS Oregon (BB-3) en route to Cuba in 1898
at the scene of the airship Akron disaster. Vet-
eran of 24 major Pacific actions against Japan, and
winner of a Navy Unit Commendation for heroic
naval actions in the Solomons, she was the first
Portland in the U.S. Navy and known affection-
ately as “The Sweet Pea.”
“Don’t tell me it can’t be done — go out there and
do it.”
— General Lucian K. Truscott.
USS Saginaw'* s Gig
The gig in which heroic survivors of USS Sagi-
naw, shipwrecked off Ocean Island, sailed 1,500
miles to Hawaii in 1871 to obtain aid for their
shipmates, is at the Saginaw Museum, 1126 North
Michigan Avenue, Saginaw, Mich. Generations
of Naval Academy Midshipmen will remember the
gig when it was exhibited at the Naval Academy
Museum. The gig is in storage in 1967 and not on
public display.
“The best diplomacy is futile unless supported
by naval and military power.”
— Rear Admiral Richard Wamwright.
USS San Francisco (CA-38)
The shell-riddled navigation bridge of this fight-
ing cruiser, second of her name in the Navy, is
mute testimony to her valiant action in the Naval
Battle of Guadalcanal, 12-15 November 1942.
The bridge was preserved when a replacement had
to be fitted during extensive repairs after the
battle. It has been built into a memorial on
715
USS Saginaw’s gig
“Land’s End,” a 450-foot cliff overlooking the
Golden Gate. San Francisco , commissioned at
Mare Island in 1934, earned 17 battle stars and both
U.S. and Philippine Republic presidential unit
citations. She was scrapped in 1960.
“We all admire a ship that can’t be licked.”
— Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.
USS Seawolf ( SS-197)
A monument to this famous submarine and her
crew and passengers was unveiled 28 May 1967 by
the Texas Chapter of the U.S. Submarine Veterans
of World War II. The monument, a full size
torpedo flanked by 3-inch guns, is located along-
side USS Texas at the San Jacinto Battleground.
During her 15 war patrols, USS Seawolf sank
more enemy tonnage than any other American ship
up to that time. She went down in 1944 while on
a special mission carrying 30 Army commandos
to the J apanese-held Philippines.
USS South Dakota (BB-57)
The beautiful memorial to South Dakota at
North Sheraton Park, 12th and Kiwanis Avenue,
Sioux Falls, S.D., will be unique when completed
in 1968. Although more than 1,000 miles from the
oceans that floated the “Coyote State’s” powerful
namesake, her spirit will be fittingly preserved in
a manner unexcelled. The ship’s lifelines will re-
create the perimeter of the battleship whose dimen-
sions and contour will be faithfully reproduced.
This will be even more apparent from the air.
As if by a “sea change”, her main turrets will take
the form of three reflecting pools of similar size
and shape, while smaller pools will represent two
of her 5-inch, 38-caliber gun mounts. In lieu of
bridge and superstructure amidships will stand a
museum housing mementos from her gallant Pa-
cific years, when she was “Battleship X”, the ship
the Japanese claimed to have sunk at least five
times. The “Battleship X” name came from the
press account of her shooting down 20 aircraft in
one action off Guadalcanal before her addition to
the Fleet had been declassified.
Battleship South Dakota was built in Camden,
N. J., 1939 to 1942, first of a new class that included
Indiana , Massachusetts , and Alabama. South
Dakota went back to the Delaware River to be
scrapped 21 years later, but she had won her fame
across the world in the Far Pacific, with 13 battle
stars and a unit commendation on her record.
Like those that have carried the message of
Constellation , Neuse , and Olympia , attractive his-
torical “coins” recalling South Dakota’s exploits
have been struck by the commission to aid con-
716
USS San Francisco (CA-38)
USS South Dakota (BB-57) Memorial Artist’s Conception
struction of this remarkable memorial. South
Dakota's propellers are on display at the Washing-
ton, D.C. Navy Yard and at the entrance to The
Mariner’s Museum, Newport News, Va.
“Without a decisive naval force we can do noth-
ing effective, and with it everything honorable and
glorious.”
— George W ashing ton, to the Marquis de
Lafayette , November , 1781.
717
USS South Dakota (BB-57) propeller at Newport News, Va. Courtesy of The Mariners Museum
USS Squalus (SS-192)
Raised from a watery grave in the Isles of
Shoals off New Hampshire after a diving mishap
23 May 1939, Squalus was reconstructed, and re-
commissioned Sailfsh. The operation that res-
cued 33 men from the partially flooded submarine
was probably one of the most publicized of its
kind in modern times, and a milestone in the art
of naval salvage.
Although she saw very successful service in the
Pacific War, sinking the Japanese escort carrier
Chuyo and a number of transports, her conning
tower, erected at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,
Kittery, Maine, is a memorial primarily to the 26
men who lost their lives on board her in 1939.
“Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
— Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz , after
operations on I wo Jima.
Submarine Memorial — Submarine Base
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
At the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
is a Submarine Memorial, the only one of its kind
in the world. The memorial was completed in
1960 and dedicated to the officers and men of those
submarines who made the supreme sacrifice. A
total of 52 submarines were lost during World
War II. Each bronze plaque represents a sub-
marine and lists those lost in the undersea craft.
The 52 submarines are:
Albacore (SS-218)
Amber jack (SS-219)
Argonaut (SS-166)
Barbel (SS-316)
Bonefish (SS-223)
Bullhead (SS-332)
Capelin (SS-289)
Cisco (SS-290)
Corvina (SS-226)
Darter (SS-227)
Dorado (SS-248)
Escolar (SS-294)
Flier (SS-250)
Golet (SS-361)
Grampus (SS-207)
Grayback (SS-208)
718
USS Squalus (SS-192) Memorial with memorial wreath of USS Thresher at Portsmouth, N.H.
719
USS Swordfish (SS-193) Memorial at St. Paul, Minn., September 1964
Grayling ( SS-209 )
Grenadier (SS-210)
Growler (SS-215)
Grunion (SS-216)
Gudgeon (SS-211)
Harder (SS-257)
Herring (SS-233)
Kete (SS-369)
Lagarto (SS-371)
Perch (SS-176)
Pickerel (SS-177)
Pompano (SS-181)
R-12 (SS-89)
Robalo (SS-273)
Runner (SS-275)
8-26 (SS-131)
8-27 (SS-132)
8-28 (SS-133)
8-36 (SS-141
8-39 (SS-144)
S-U (SS-155)
Scamp (SS-277)
Scorpion (SS-278)
Sculpin (SS-191)
Sealion (SS-195)
Seawolf (SS-197)
Shark (SS-174)
Shark (SS-314)
Snook (SS-279)
Sword-fish (SS-193)
Tang (SS-306)
Trigger (SS-237)
Triton (SS-201)
Trout (SS-202)
Tullibee (SS-284)
Wahoo (SS-238)
“We’ll take the big ones first.”
— Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan.
USS Swordfish (SS-193)
A torpedo has been enshrined in the city of St.
Paul, Minn., with plaques on either side — one
sacred to the memory of the officers and men of
Swordfish , lost off Okinawa in J anuary 1945, after
sending to the bottom a dozen ships vital to Jap-
anese supply lines ; the other tablet honors all who
perished in the other 51 World War II submarines
still on patrol in dark waters, whose names are
individually recorded in bronze. The St, Paul City
Council, Minnesota building tradesmen, and the
Minnesota Viking Squadron of the U.S. Sub-
marine Veterans of World War II devoted much
to the financing and building of this admirable
memorial.
“All the Axis is hearing the tolling of the bells,
and we are doing the rope pulling.”
— Fleet Admiral William Halsey , Jr.
USS Trout (SS-202)
A memorial to this hard-hitting submarine and
her men, lost on her 11th patrol on 29 February
1944, was dedicated 15 June 1963 alongside the
Cape Cod Canal between the Bourne and Saga-
more bridges, not far from Falmouth, Mass.
Trout carried out the gold and securities from
Corregidor in January 1942 after supplying am-
munition to prolong the defense, a memorable
incident in the first of three patrols for which she
received Presidential Unit Citations. She went
on to sink a dozen Japanese ships and thus con-
720
1 I 1
1 1
1 1
11
Submarine Memorial Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor
tributed materially to the defeat of the Island
Empire.
“I have not yet begun to fight.”
— John Paul Jones in action against the
Serapis, 23 September 1779.
USS Wahoo (SS-238)
A Mark XIV torpedo with memorial plaque has
been placed in Wahoo, Nebr., to honor an out-
standing submarine and crew. The display is in
the court house yard, alongside highways 77 and
30A. Her active life was little over a year but
Wahoo's “feats have become submarine legend.”
In seven patrols, she sank some 20 Japanese ships
and won a Presidential Unit Citation. Com-
mander Dudley W. Morton’s motto is still often
quoted: “Just sight, track, shoot and sink!” It
was he and the last crew of Wahoo who sank a
heavily laden transport in Tsushima Strait, and
721
IN MEMORY OF ALL
US. SUBMARINERS THAT
ARE STILL ON PATROL
8 US S. TROUT 6
STATE BOAT OF
MASSACHUSETTS
LOST IN ACTION
FEBRUARY 29™ 1944
DEDICATED BY
US. SUBMARINE VETERANS
WORLD WAR E
BAY STATE CHAPTER
USS Trout (SS-202) Memorial
thus crashed “Japan’s historic doors to the Asiatic
mainland.”
Two of her engineers were Nebraskans — one
from the town of Wahoo.
You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.
— Admiral George Dewey , Manila Bay ,
May 1898.
722
USS Wahoo (SS-238)
USS Washington (BB-56)
A major display — including the bell, wheel, and
other relics of the battleship Washington — is ex-
hibited in the State Capitol, Olympia. It is an
outstanding monument, beautifully executed, to
the memory of a great fighting ship and all who
sailed in her. Commissioned in May 1941, Wash-
ington won 13 battle stars from Murmansk to
Okinawa, and sank the Japanese battleship
Kirishima.
Some are born great, some achieve their great-
ness, but others have gratefully had greatness
thrown their way. In World War II Washington
met the conditions of greatness. In the Atlantic
and in the Pacific she not once left her nation wait-
ing. It has been said that Washington was “the
ship that was always there.”
“It’s going to be a real party, boys.”
— Captain C. P. Nelson , preparing to at-
tack the Austrian naval base at Durazzo
on the Adriatic , October , 1918.
USS West Virginia (BB-48)
Commissioned December 1923, the last of the
post-World War I era “super-dreadnaughts” was
the second “WeeVee” in the U.S. Navy. She won
battle efficiency laurels no less than five times be-
tween 1925 and 1934. Her mast is displayed in
Morgantown at the University of West Virginia
on the main campus near Oglebay Hall. Her
flagstaff is on the Main Street side of the court-
house yard at Clarksburg and other relics are ex-
hibited throughout the “Mountain State”. Sunk
at Pearl Harbor, W est Virginia was raised 30 May
1942, and returned to war in full fury in October
1944 to pour destruction upon the enemy from
Leyte Gulf to J apan. She earned five battle stars
in a few months.
USS White Plains (CVE-66)
The bell, flag and other mementos from “their
ship” are displayed with pride by the citizens of
White Plains, a suburban community in New
York’s Westchester County, whence the ship re-
ceived her name. Christened by Mrs. Marc A.
Mitscher, 27 November 1943 at Vancouver, Wash.,
White Plains steamed over 150,000 miles in 1944-
45, and won five battle stars from Kwajalein to
Leyte and the Philippine Republic Presidential
Unit Citation.
PROJECTS IN THE VERY EARLY
PLANNING STAGE
1. William Penn’s Welcome at Philadelphia.
2. Replica of the Continental Frigate Raleigh at
Portsmouth, N.H.
3. Baltimore Clipper Schooner of 1812 at Ports-
mouth, N.H.
4. USS Key West, Tawah, and Elfin.
Some effort is being made in the vicinity of
Johnsonville, on the Tennessee River to locate
these gunboats. They were sunk to prevent
723
USS Washington (BB-56) Display at the State Capitol, Olympia
t.-Kyj'.,;
:• v
■KR&R
il
BELL OF THE U.S.S. HARTFORD
ADMIRAL FARRACUT'S FLACSHIP
DURINC THE CIVIL WAR BATTLES
OF NEW ORLEANS. APRIL, 1862
AND MOBILE BAY. AUGUST. 1864
DAMN THE TORPEDOES .... FULL SPEED AHEAD
( rillltl) At MOBILE Bit)
i
USS White Plains (CVE-66) San Diego, 8 March 1944
capture in Confederate General Forrest’s bom-
bardment and destruction of the Johnsonville
Base on 4 November 1864.
5. USS Cero (AGSS-225) Memorial at East St.
Louis, 111.
6. USS Alaska (CB-1) (artifacts) at Juneau.
7. USS Tecumseh at Mobile Bay, Ala.
8. USS Cabrilla at San Jacinto Battleground.
9. USS Tumult at Punta Gorda, Fla.
725
1
Parts of two mighty fortresses of the sea still live on serving to recall that only the brave live free. USS West
Virginia (BB-^8) See p. 723. USS Indiana (BB-58) See p. 709.
726
“Stand fast ! We’re staying here. Marines
don’t retreat.”
— Anonymous Navy lieutenant spotting
naval gunfire on I wo Jima , February,
1945.
The famous planting of the Stars and Stripes on Mt. Suribaehi, Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945. A U.S. Marine Corps
War Memorial depicting this historic flag raising may be visited near Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
256-125 0 - 68 - 48
727
U.S. Naval Historical Display Center
Continental Ship Bon Homme Richard and British Serapis
PART III
FOREIGN WARSHIPS
This descriptive part of ships’ exhibits deals ex-
clusively with foreign warships on exhibit in the
United States. All of the ships are submarines
and they include the captured German U -605 , plus
the German, Japanese and Italian midget sub-
marines. Though the midget submarines may not
be boarded, a complete tour of the U-505 may be
made at Chicago for a nominal fee.
German Midget Submarines
Type Seehund II, HU75, from Hitler’s Navy,
is exhibited at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base,
New London, Conn. Another example is well
known to Washingtonians who visit Admiral Wil-
lard Park in the Navy Yard at Eighth and M
Streets SE, Washington, D.C., as part of the Naval
Historical Display Center. At The Mariners Mu-
seum, Newport News, Va., there exists a German
one-man torpedo carrying Marder type submarine.
This type of submarine was used in the Mediter-
ranean during World War II.
“You can get a man down quicker by hitting
him on the same tooth than by hitting him all
over.”
— Rear Admiral Fori'est Sherman , May 19
Italian Midget Submarines
The Mariners Museum at Newport News, Va,,
has on exhibit two Italian midget submarines.
One of them, a two-man submarine described as
German Midget Submarine, Type Seehund II, at U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London, Groton, Conn.
729
a “Pig,” is of the type which penetrated the harbor
of Alexandria, Egypt on 19 December 1941 and
sank the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and
Valiant and a large oil tanker. These craft were
used during World War II to attach warheads
to the keel of the ship to be destroyed. The opera-
tors of this type wore diving suits equipped with
underwater breathing apparatus and rode in the
open cockpit.
“Guts as well as guns win battles.”
— Admiral Harold R. Stark.
Japanese Midget Submarines
The U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London,
Conn., has two of the two-man Japanese midget
submarines on display. One was recovered intact
off Cape Esperance in 1943 ; the other, used by the
Japanese for instruction at the Submarine School,
Yokosuka, has the sides cut away. These small
submarines carried two 18-inch torpedoes plus a
200-pound demolition charge. Still others are on
display at Admiral Willard Park as a part of the
Naval Historical Display Center in the Navy
Yard, Washington, DC.; at the “Lighthouse Mu-
seum” of the Key West Art Historical Society in
Florida ; and at the Submarine Base, Pearl Har-
bor. A type of Japanese submarine known as a
diverging boat and used for salvage work is on
display at The Mariners Museum, Newport News,
Ya. This craft was built in 1935 for the gather-
ing of coral but did not prove successful. The
exhibit is a full scale model found at Kure, Japan,
at the conclusion of World War II.
“Ninety-five percent of my country’s naval losses
were attributed to action of the United States
Navy.”
— Admiral Osami Nagano , Imperial Japa-
nese Navy, Interview, 19^6.
V-505
This 740-ton German U-boat rests on dry land
as a permanent exhibit outside the Museum of
Science and Industry on the lake front at Lake
Shore Drive and East 57th, Chicago. Admiral
D. V. Gallery’s Task Group captured her on the
high seas off Cape Blanco, French West Africa,
4 June 1944. USS Guadacanal (CVE-60) was
the flagship, accompanied by five destroyer es-
corts USS Chatelain (DE-149), Jenks (DE-665),
Pillsbury (DE-133), Flaherty (DE-135), and
Pope (DE-134). Moving TJ-505 the 3,000 miles
under tow from Portsmouth, N.H., to the Windy
City was much simpler than the 800 feet overland
from Lake Michigan, well described as a “unique
engineering accomplishment.” It also took a com-
mittee of 100 enthusiastic Chicagoans and other
Japanese Midget Submarine with sides cut away to reveal interior
730
Captured Japanese Midget Submarine, showing arrangement of torpedo tubes
admirers of Admiral Gallery, a native son, to raise
the money needed for this last journey of TJ-505.
Visitors may walk through this submarine from
stem to bow and view the filter cover that the
boarding party replaced to prevent the ship from
sinking. F or this action of conspicuous gallantry
and intrepidity at the risk of life, Lt. Albert L.
David, USN, the leader of the boarding party,
was awarded the Medal of Honor.
“When outstanding heroism was required, it was
commonplace among the boarding parties.”
— Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery , report-
ing the capture of U-505, June 19^.
731
Bow on view of U-505 in place before the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
732
PART IV
SELECTED MERCHANT SHIPS
Our country owes much to the sea. Since the
settlement of the frontiers, we have been depend-
ent on overseas commerce for our very existence.
Without the essential materials imported over the
high seas, our domestic economy could barely sus-
tain itself. Most all of the chromium and man-
ganese we need is imported by ocean-going ships.
Our national interest in prosperity — in survival it-
self— is preserved by the use and protection of
our nonmemorialized sea lanes.
It is fitting that our ships have recognized me-
morials for themselves and those sailors and ships
that are lost at sea only to rest in unmarked
graves. Part IV is a fitting and inspiring resume
of some of the ships that have been preserved and
others that have been reproduced and now exist as
identical replicas of the originals, in order that the
memory of the sea may be perpetuated.
Falls of Clyde
A full-rigged, four-masted wrought iron ship,
built on clipper lines in 1878, Falls of Clyde is to
be preserved in Honolulu as a floating museum
and focus for interest in Hawaiian maritime his-
tory. This 1809-ton ship is 266 feet long and was
built in Port Glasgow, Scotland.
“There are no tombstones on the sea.”
— Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery.
Jamestown, Va., Ships
Moored at Centennial Park are full-rigged rep-
licas of Discovery , 20 tons, Godspeed , 40 tons,
and Susan Constant , 100 tons. These three ships
brought the first permanent English settlers to
America at Jamestown in 1607. The voyage to
Jamestown was indeed a saga of seamanship.
Considering the standards of 1607, Susan Con-
stant, Godspeed , and Discovery were small ships
and to cross the stormy Atlantic in wintertime is
still not an easy task. The crews manning these
sturdy ships were instinctive sailors, and much
The Jamestown Ships (1. to r.) Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. Photo courtesy of T. L. Williams
733
credit is due them and the shipwrights of Eng-
land.
We must even consider their load list as excep-
tionally well planned, for they carried oats, bar-
ley, and wheat for seed. Other provisions included
tools, beer and wine. Crew and passengers were
fed a watery gruel or thin porridge, made from
meal or flour and water.
The three Jamestown ship replicas were built
in West Norfolk, Va. in 1956. They then moved
to Jamestown Festival Park, where over 3 million
visitors have boarded them since 1 April 1957.
“The ocean knows no favorites. Her bounty is
reserved for those who have the wit to learn her
secrets, the courage to bear her buffets, and the
will to persist ... in her rugged service.”
— Samuel Eliot M orison.
J. T. Leonard
At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St.
Michaels, Md., there exists the last of the round-
bottom topmast sloops under her original rig. J. T.
Leonard was built in 1882 on Taylor’s Island, Md.
She was one of the hundreds of round-bottomed,
weatherly, sailing ships that carried farm cargoes
to and from the tidewater towns of the Chesapeake.
As the steamers took over this trade, ships like
J. T. Leonard joined the bugeyes and the newer,
flatter skipjacks in dredging oysters. J. T. Leon-
ard with her lofty topsail gaff rig, had until the
spring of 1966 sailed in the oyster fleet. She is
an inspiring holdover from an earlier era of the
dying age of commercial sail and plans are under-
way to preserve her. The Museum may be reached
from the Nation’s Capital by a motor trip east
across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and south on
Maryland Route 33.
“If a man does not know to what port he is
steering, no wind is favorable to him.”
— Seneca.
Kaiulani
The last American-built merchant square-rig-
ger— a product of the Sewall Yard in Bath,
Maine — was presented in a White House ceremony
by the people of the Philippines to the American
people early in 1965 as a symbol of the warm and
enduring friendship between the two nations. She
is being restored at Subic Bay by the Maritime
Historical Society of the District of Columbia,
assisted materially by the Republic of the Philip-
pines Navy. As a barge, Kaiulani had been haul-
ing mahogany logs among the islands since World
War II. Once restored to her former beauty,
the stately ship will be sailed by a volunteer
crew across the Pacific, “round the Horn,” and
up the Potomac to a permanent site being reserved
as an essential part of the new Maine Avenue
waterfront development in the Nation’s Capital.
Kaiulani is the sole survivor of some 17,000 square-
rigged merchant ships — Salem, East Indiamen,
Clippers, down-Easters — built in this country over
a span of three centuries.
“Any fool can carry on, but only the wise man
knows how to shorten sail in time.”
— Joseph Conrad.
Mayflower II
A replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims
to the shores of New England is a memorial in
Plymouth, Mass. Built in Britain, and given to
the United States as a token of friendship, May-
flower II, taking 53 days was sailed across the At-
lantic by a volunteer crew of 33 in 1957 and was
present at the great International Fleet Review at
Jamestown, Va,, before being moored permanently
at Plymouth, Mass.
“Of seas, ships are the grace.”
— Ancient Greek saying.
Mystic Seaport, Conn.
Many interesting ships and small craft form one
of the outstanding tourist attractions of its kind
anywhere. The Marine Historical Association’s
seaport village preserves the following representa-
tive vessels among the larger of its many and un-
usual exhibits :
Whaleship — Charles W. Morgan
Schooner — Bowdoin
Schooner — Dorothy A. Parsons
Danish Training Ship — Joseph Conrad
Ketch — Gundel
Schooner — Regina M.
Schooner — L. A. D unton
Schooner — Brilliant
734
Kaiulani, sailing as the Star of Finland in 1913. Photo courtesy of the National Maritime Historical Society
“But the ships, they carries me long, long ways,
an’ draws far places near.”
— J. J. Bell , “ On the Quay.”
Santa Maria
In the Nation’s Capital on the Maine Avenue
Waterfront at Pier 3, there rests a replica of Co-
lumbus’ ship Santa Maria. This reproduction,
constructed nearly 500 years after Christopher
Columbus made his voyage to America, is open
to the public. The ship was constructed in Spain
using many 15th century tools and methods.
The replica was sailed to the United States and
spent 1964 and 1965 at the World’s Fair in New
York prior to her arrival in Washington, D.C.
“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do
business in great waters; these see the works of
the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.”
— Psalm 107.
735
Mystic Seaport, Conn.
San Francisco Ships
Balclutha
A stately windjammer built on the Clyde in 1886
at Glasgow, this Cape Horner of the eighties has
been restored by the San Francisco Mariners Mu-
seum and is docked at Pier 43 on the Embarcadero
near the Museum in San Francisco.
Gjoa
The famous Norwegian ship that transited the
Northwest Passage in 1903-06 under Captain
Eoald Amundsen may be visited at Golden Gate
Park, San Francisco.
San Francisco Maritime Historic Park
Four historic ships, not long ago seemingly con-
signed to a fate of rotting disintegration, once
again are moored proudly in San Francisco Bay.
Visitors may climb the gangplanks of sailing
schooner C. A. Thayer , the side wheel ferryboat
Eureka , the steam schooner Wapama, and the hay
scow Alma , all important types in San Francisco
maritime history.
“Maritime skill is not a thing to be cultivated by
the way or at chance times.”
— Thucycides, Peloponnesian War.
Star of India
Another Clyde-built square-rigger once sailing
in the same fleet with Balclutha and Falls of Clyde ,
she is said to be the oldest iron-hulled windjammer
still afloat. She is a landmark at San Diego, Calif.
Built in Scotland about 1863, Star of India is 205
feet long and carried a crew of 16. After a few
years in the Indian trade Star of India, became an
emigrant ship, sailing to New Zealand and Aus-
tralia. Her track out carried her via the Cape of
Good Hope and she came home around Cape Horn.
Originally she was the British ship Enterpe and
after a brief interval under the Hawaiian flag, she
became an American ship. In 1926 she was towed
to San Diego and restored by her present owners,
the Maritime Museum Association of San Diego.
“Ships are to little purpose without skillful sea-
men.”
— Richard Hakluyt.
736
Viking Memorial — Land finder — The Raven
i
A Viking ship replica graces Lincoln Park,
northeast of Center Street, near the zoo in Chicago,
111. This Viking ship was donated by the Nor-
wegian people on 6 November 1920. In 1893 this
ship sailed from Bergen, Norway to New London,
Conn, in 44 days and arrived at Chicago for the
World’s Fair, July 12th of that year, by way of the
Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. The crew con-
sisted of Captain Magnus Andersen, two mates,
eight sailors and a steward.
This type of ship was used by the Vikings in
their ocean going explorations. This could have
been the type and size ship that Leif Ericsson
sailed in when he touched the east coast of North
America about the year 1000.
“Let him who knows not how to pray go to sea.”
— J ohn Ray , English Proverb.
Balclutha at San Francisco after restoration. Photo by Karl Kortum
737
Star of India is a landmark ait San Diego.
The Viking Memorial in Chicago. Courtesy of the Chicago Park District
738
PART V
SELECTED MUSEUMS WHERE NAVAL AND MARITIME
MEMORABILIA ARE DISPLAYED
State
City
Alabama
Dauphin Island
California . .
China Lake
California
Los Angeles. .
California
National City
California _
Oakland. ..
California
Port Hueneme.
California __ _
San Diego
California. _ - _
San Diego
California.
San Diego _
California. ....
San Francisco. _
California
San Francisco
California
San Pedro _. .
California. . . .
Vallejo. .
Connecticut
Hartford
Connecticut.
Mystic..
Connecticut _
New London. .
District of Columbia..
Washington
District of Columbia..
Washington _
District of Columbia..
Washington.
Florida . _
Key West. _ _
Florida.
Key West.
Florida
Pensacola
Florida
Stuart. _
Florida.. _ __
Tavernier.
Georgia _
Columbus _ ...
Georgia
St. Simons Island.
Georgia
Savannah . . .
Hawaii. _ _
Honolulu
Illinois .
Chicago.. . ...
Illinois. ....
Chicago
Illinois. . ...
Chicago
Indiana ....
Jeffersonville. _ .
Iowa .
Keokuk
Kentucky. . _
Louisville. . .
Louisiana.
New Orleans. _
Maine
Bath...
Maine. . .
Bath.. . ...
Name
Fort Gaines Museum
Michelson Museum (Michelson Laboratory), Naval
Ordnance Test Station
California Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of American Treasures
Oakland Public Museum
Seabee Museum, U.S. Navy
Aero Space Museum, Balboa Park
Naval Training Center Historical Museum
Maritime Museum Association on board Star oj India
San Francisco Maritime Museum
Spreckles Museum, Treasure Island
Cabrillo Beach Marine Museum
Mare Island Naval Shipyard Museum
Marine Room, Wadsworth Athenaeum
Mystic Seaport
Submarine Library and Museum, Submarine Base
U.S. Naval Historical Display Center
Truxtun-Decatur Naval Museum
Smithsonian Institution — Museum of History and
Technology — National Air Museum
East Martello Tower Gallery and Museum
Lighthouse Museum
Naval Aviation Museum
House of Refuge, Hutchinson Island
McKee’s Museum of Sunken Treasure
Confederate Naval Museum
Fort Frederica National Monument
Ships of the Sea Museum including Cruz Del Sur
Bernice P. Bishop Museum
Chicago Historical Society
George F. Harding Museum
Museum of Science and Industry, Jackson Park
Howard National Steamboat Museum
George M. Verity River Museum
Steamer Belle oj Louisville
Louisiana State Museum
Bath City Hall
Bath Marine Museum
739
State City
Maine Castine
Maine Portland
Maine Searsport
Maryland Annapolis
Maryland Annapolis
Maryland Annapolis
Maryland Annapolis
Maryland Annapolis
Maryland Baltimore
Maryland Baltimore
Maryland St. Michaels
Massachusetts Andover
Massachusetts Barnstable
Massachusetts Boston
Massachusetts Boston
Massachusetts Boston
Massachusetts Boston
Massachusetts Cambridge
Massachusetts Cambridge
Massachusetts Chatham
Massachusetts Cohasset
Massachusetts Edgar town
Massachusetts Fall River
Massachusetts Gloucester
Massachusetts Mattapoisett
Massachusetts Nantucket
Massachusetts Nantucket
Massachusetts New Bedford
Massachusetts Newburyport
Massachusetts Newburyport
Massachusetts Salem
Massachusetts Salem
Massachusetts Salem
Massachusetts Sharon
Michigan Dearborn
Michigan Dearborn
Michigan Detroit
Michigan Detroit
Michigan Sault Sainte Marie
Minnesota Winona
Mississippi Vicksburg
Missouri Hannibal
Missouri Hermann
Missouri St. Louis
Nebraska Hastings
New Jersey Beach Haven
New Jersey Paterson
Name
Maine Maritime Museum
Maine Historical Society
Penobscot Marine Museum
U.S. Naval Academy Museum
U.S. Naval Academy Library
Maryland State House
Sheer Shiplap House
Historic Annapolis, Inc.
Maryland Historical Society
Peale Museum
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy
The Donald G. Trayser Memorial Museum
Boston Marine Society
Museum of Science, Science Park
State Street Trust Co. Marine Collection
Stebbins Marine Collection, Harrison Gray Otis
House
Francis Russell Hart Nautical Museum
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Whaling Museum
Maritime Museum
Dukes County Historical Society Museum
F all River Historical Society
Gloucester Art Institute
Mattapoisett Historical Society
N antucket Whaling Museum
Nantucket Historical Association
Old Dartmouth Historical Society, Whaling Museum
Historical Society of Old Newbury Newburyport
Public Library
Essex Institute
Peabody Museum
Salem Maritime National Historic Site (including
Custom House and Derby House)
Kendall Whaling Museum,
The Edison Institute
Greenfield Village — Steamer Suwanee
Dossin Great Lakes Museum
Detroit Historical Society Dock
Carnegie Public Library
Julius C. Wilkie Steamboat Museum
Mississippi River Museum and River Hall of Fame
on board Steamer Sprague
Steamer Mark Twain
Historic Hermann Museum, including Riverboat
Room
Missouri Historical Society
Hastings Museum (J. M. McDonald Planetarium)
Schooner Lucy Evelyn
Paterson Museum
740
State
City
New York
Brooklyn _
New York
Brooklyn
New York
Buffalo
New York
Cold Spring Harbor,
L.I.
New York
East Hampton.
New York.
Glen Cove, L.I. . ._
New York
_ Hyde Park
New York
Kings Point. . ._
New York
Long Island
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York _
New York
New York _. .
New York
New York. .
New York.
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York .
New York
New York
New York
Oswego
New York
Sackets Harbor..
New York
Sag Harbor..
New York
Staten Island.
New York
Staten Island
New York
Syracuse. _ _
New York
West Brighton,
Staten Island
New York
Whitehall
North Carolina.
Beaufort.
Ohio.. .
Cleveland
Ohio..
Fairport Harbor.
Ohio... _ _ .
Marietta _
Ohio .
Vermilion.
Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City...
Oregon.. ...
Astoria.
Pennsylvania
Doylestown.
Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia _
Pennsylvania. .
Philadelphia . _ _
Pennsylvania..
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania _
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania. _
Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia _
Pennsylvania .
Philadelphia __
Rhode Island..
Bristol
Rhode Island. . .
East Greenwich
Rhode Island.
Newport. . _.
Rhode Island
Providence.
South Carolina
Charleston..
Name
Brooklyn Museum
Long Island Historical Society
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society
Whaling Museum
East Hampton Town Marine Museum
Webb Institute of Naval Architecture
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
The Vanderbilt Marine Museum
India House
Museum of the City of New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York Historical Society
Museum of Science and Industry, Rockefeller Center
Seamen’s Bank for Savings, Maritime Collection
Seamen’s Church Institute of New York, Marine
Museum
New York Public Library
New York Yacht Club
Oswego County Historical Society Museum
Sackets Harbor Museum
Suffolk County Whaling Museum
Staten Island Museum
Steamship Historical Society of America Library
The Canal Museum
Sailor's Snug Harbor
Skenesborough Museum
Alphonso Whaling Museum
Great Lakes Historical Society
Fairport Marine Museum
Campus Martius State Memorial Museum (including
River Museum and Steamboat W. P. Snyder, Jr.)
Great Lakes Historical Museum
Oklahoma Science and Arts Foundation
Columbia River Maritime Museum
Marine Room, Bucks County Historical Society
Atwater Kent Museum
Franklin Institute
Insurance Co. of North America Museum
Independence National Historical Park, Army-Navy
Museum (Pemberton House), United States Marine
Corps Museum (New Hall)
American-Swedish Historical Museum
Philadelphia Maritime Museum
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Herreshoff Model Room
Varnum Military and Naval Museum
New England Naval and Marine Museum
Rhode Island Historical Society
The Confederate Museum
741
State
City
Texas..
Fredericksburg __
Vermont.
Shelburne _ .
Virginia.
Newport News
Virginia. ...
Portsmouth
Virginia ...
Portsmouth _ _ _
Virginia .
Quantico
Virginia —
Yorktown
Washington. —
Bremerton _. _.
Washington .
_ Seattle. ...
Washington
_ _ Seattle _
Wisconsin. .
Manitowoc
Name
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Memorial Museum
Shelburne Museum, Steamer Ticonderoga
The Mariners Museum
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum
Portsmouth Coast Guard Museum Inc.
U.S. Marine Corps Museum
Colonial National Historical Park Museum
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Museum
Schooner Wawona
Museum of History and Industry
Manitowoc County Historical Society
“I told you they must be flotilla men. They
have given us the only real fighting we have had.”
— British General Robert Ross comment-
ing to British Admiral Sir George Cock-
bum , following the gallant resistance by
American sailors and marines under
Commodore J oshua Barney at the Battle
of Bladensburg on 21 August 1811.
742
PART VI
ALPHABETICAL LOCATOR BY STATE AND CITY
State, City, and Item Page
ALABAMA
Mobile :
ALABAMA (BB-60) 683
ARIZONA
Tucson:
ARIZONA (BB-39) 683
CALIFORNIA
San Diego:
STAR OF INDIA... 736
San Francisco:
SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38) Navigation
Bridge 715
ALMA 736
BALCLUTHA 736
C. A. THAYER 736
EUREKA 736
GJOA 736
WAPAMA. 736
CONNECTICUT
Hartford:
HARTFORD Anchor 707
HARTFORD Bell 707
Mystic :
HARTFORD Anchor 707
BOWDOIN 734
BRILLIANT 734
CHARLES W. MORGAN 734
DOROTHY A. PARSONS 734
GUNDEL 734
JOSEPH CONRAD. 734
L. A. D UNTON 734
REGINA M. 734
New London:
NARWHAL (SS-167) Guns.... 711
FLASHER (SS-249) Conning Tower 705
GERMAN MIDGET SUBMARINE... 729
JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE.. 730
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington:
BALAO (SS-285) Conning Tower 703
GERMAN MIDGET SUBMARINE... 729
HARTFORD Bell 707
HA RTFO RD Skylight 707
HARTFORD Anchor 707
INTELLIGENT WHALE 688
JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE.. 730
KAIULANI 734
MAINE Mainmast 709
State, City , and Item Page
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
W ashington — Continued
PHILADELPHIA (Revolutionary War
Gondola) 697
SANTA MARIA 735
SOUTH DAKOTA Propeller 716
U.S. Naval Museum 712
FLORIDA
Key West:
JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE.. 730
GEORGIA
Columbus:
MUSCOGEE (or JACKSON) 692
CHATTAHOOCHEE 705
HAWAII
Honolulu:
FALLS OF CLYDE 733
Pearl Harbor:
ARIZONA (BB-39) 683
UTAH (BB-31) (AG-16) 700
JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE.. 730
WORLD WAR II SUBMARINE ME-
MORIAL 718
ILLINOIS
Chicago:
U-505 730
VIKING MEMORIAL 737
INDIANA
Bloomington:
, INDIANA Mainmast and guns 709
Fort Wayne:
INDIANA Anchor 709
LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge:
CSS ARKANSAS 703
New Orleans:
CONFEDERATE SUBMARINE
PIONEER 698
MAINE
Kittery:
SQUALUS (SS-192) Conning Tower 718
Portland:
PORTLAND Mast, Bridge, and Bell 714
MARYLAND
Annapolis:
MAINE Foremast 709
743
256-125 0 - 68 - 51
USS Marylcmd (BB^46) — Bell on the grounds of the State House, Annapolis, Md.
State, City, and Item Page
M ARYL AN D — Cont inued
Annapolis:
MARYLAND Bell 744
Baltimore:
CONSTELLATION 686
St. Michaels:
J. T. LEONARD 734
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston:
CONSTITUTION 686
Fall River:
MASSACHUSETTS (BB-59) 690
State, City, and Item Page
MASSACHUSETTS — Continued
Falmouth:
TROUT (SS-202) Memorial 720
Plymouth:
MAYFLOWER II _ 734
MICHIGAN
Saginaw :
SAGINAW Gig 715
MINNESOTA
St. Paul:
SWORDFISH (SS-193) Memorial 720
744
State, City, and Item
MISSISSIPPI
Vicksburg:
CAIRO -
NEBRASKA
Wahoo:
WAHOO (SS-238) Memorial
NEW JERSEY
Paterson:
HOLLAND PROTOTYPE
West Side Park:
HOLLAND PROTOTYPE
NEW YORK
Brooklyn:
MAINE Plaque
White Plains:
WHITE PLAINS (CVE-66) Bell and
Flag
NORTH CAROLINA
Kinston:
NEUSE
Wilmington:
NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55)
OREGON
Hood River:
BANNING (PCE-886)
Portland:
OREGON (BB-3) Relics
PENNSYLVANIA
Erie:
MICHIGAN (WOLVERINE) Bow
NIAGARA
Philadelphia:
OLYMPIA
Reading:
MAINE Anchor
RHODE ISLAND
Newport:
CONSTELLATION Anchor
Page
684
721
688
688
709
723
692
693
684
713
710
693
695
709
686
State, City, and Item
SOUTH CAROLINA
Charleston:
MAINE Capstan
Georgetown:
HARVEST MOON.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Sioux Falls:
SOUTHDAKOTA (BB-57) Memorial...
TEXAS
Houston:
TEXAS (BB-35)
UTAH
Salt Lake City:
INDIANA Armor Plate
Ciearfie.d:
UTAH (BB-31/AG-16) Bell
VIRGINIA
Jamestown:
DISCOVERY
GODSPEED
SUSAN CONSTANT...
Newport News:
HARTFORD Bilge Pump, Billethead Fife-
rail, and Stanchion Models, Figureheads.
MONITOR-MERRIMACK (VIR-
GINIA) Paintings
SOUTH DAKOTA Propeller
Norfolk:
FRANKLIN Navigation Bridge
WASHINGTON
Bremerton:
MISSOURI (BB-63)
Olympia:
WASHINGTON (BB-56) Bell, Wheel. „
WEST VIRGINIA
Clarksburg:
WEST VIRGINIA (BB-48) Flagstaff... .
Morgantown:
WEST VIRGINIA (BB-48) Mast
Page
709
709
716
699
709
700
733
733
733
707
710
716
705
691
723
723
723
The commerce and the navy of a people have a common identity and
are inseparable companions. Each is necessary for the other, and both are
essential to national prosperity and strength.
Gideon Welles,
Secretary oj the Navy,
Annual Report to the President, 1+ December 1865.
745
U.S. Monitor Kickapoo — The photograph was probably taken prior to her transfer to Admiral Farragut’s West Gulf
Blockading Squadron in July 1864. An interesting point is that the Eads’ turret forward is outwardly identical
to the Ericsson turret aft.
Hand colored pen and ink sketch of U.S. Monitor Squando apparently drawn by a watch-stander on the ship. The draw-
ing was found in the ship’s log at the National Archives.
' • '//■Vu.h a • /\y
746
Appendix II
MONITORS
of the
UNITED STATES NAVY
1861-1937
f-V # f fd
ill
iral-i
. Ai Jt 1 IT m M i * ^ ,
n
■1
f ’ ■ . iL
^ _ "i* .i V
USS Tallahassee serving as a submarine tender during the World War I period — U.S.S. Submarines K-5 and K-6 are
shown alongside on 10 December 1916 in a picture taken in Hampton Roads.
747
MONITORS
The first of her kind, Monitor , showing the scars of her historic battle with the Confederate iron-
clad Virginia.
748
Appendix II
MONITORS
In its own way, the 19th century was a time
of change as remarkable and far reaching in its
effect as that of today. This change not only en-
tered into power at sea to make it even more potent
than in its great past, but much of the change orig-
inated in or gained its impulse from the Navy.
Each era has produced several types of war-
ships that of necessity range from small, fast ships
to the heaviest and most powerful. The Ship-of-
the-Line, short for Ship-of-the-Battleline, was the
“Battleship” of the age of sail — the mightiest of
warships that could give the most punishment and
take the most. It was the citadel of seapower.
Steam propulsion, large rifled cannon and other
developments brought a revolution. This slowly
gathered headway up to the Civil War. Then al-
most overnight the world was startled into aware-
ness of a new era by the dramatic events in Hamp-
ton Roads that culminated in the battle between
Monitor and Virginia ( Merrimack ) , 9 March 1862.
On that day the Ship-of-the-Line passed into
history as the first strength of navies. No one
type was on hand to replace it.
The next generation would witness much exper-
imentation and wide diversity of thought concern-
ing the new champion of the seas. Interestingly,
as it evolved, both Monitor and Virginia provided
key elements. They were grandparents of the
mighty battleship that steamed majestically upon
the stage of history as the 20th century opened.
Because of the success of Monitor , the United
States built a large number of this heavily ar-
mored, turreted, low freeboard type — which
gained the generic title “monitors”. The appen-
dix that follows is the first thorough and deeply
researched study covering all of them. It is the
result of deep interest and assiduous application
by Lt. Richard H. Webber, USNR-R.
Lieutenant Webber began this study while serv-
ing in the Naval History Division on a full tour
of duty. When he finished his time in uniform
and returned to the rough seas of civil life, he con-
tinued to work on this appendix even though
swamped by law studies. He has completed this
gem and shaped it for this volume during short
tours of Naval Reserve training duty and civilian
assignment with the Division.
I have read the manuscript in its various stages
of development. Each time I have been impressed
that what could have been simply a prosaic, statis-
tical study has instead, while maintaining accu-
racy, become one filled with vivid interest. It is
an ornament to our work and to Lieutenant Web-
ber as a developing historian.
After the Civil War the Nation let its Navy de-
cline beyond the danger point as it has imprudently
after most wars. Yet even in these doldrum days
wise leaders in the Navy achieved progress. This
fine study brings out some of it.
As he peruses it, the reader will see some of the
diversity of concept as naval thinkers sought to
achieve the champion of the sea that would best
serve the United States as she sped toward world
leadership. Steadily there is growth toward a
combination of Monitor and Virginia. As a few
monitors were modernized or new ones laid down
beginning in the 1870’s, these monitors added free-
board and superstructure to develop toward the
true ship type of hull represented by Virginia.
With their centerline turrets and usually single
caliber battery they were the true forerunners of
the Dreadnought.
This evolution and many other changes in the
“new Navy” of the 1880’s-90’s resulted in the bat-
tleship which served our Nation well in its brief
span of predominance. Today we live in another
period of evolutionary change. It races at jet
speed but in many respects is like that of the cen-
tury ago. Of four battleships still in reserve, New
Jersey recently recommissioned. Happily, as
749
another appendix covers, four States have pre-
served their namesakes as stirring mementoes of
the courage, skill and devotion of the men who
manned them.
This handful of surviving champions of an-
other era sees three types of warships now contest-
ing for the honor of supremacy — the aircraft car-
rier, the heavy guided-missile ship, the Polaris
submarine. Will they evolve into a single type?
Or with the vast expansion of capabilities air and
underwater operations have brought navies in this
century, will we have co-champions, each serving
in its medium ? This and many other interesting
thoughts will come from Lieutenant Webber’s fine
study that follows. E.M.E.
The original Monitor , designed by John Erics-
son and built under his supervision, was only the
first of her type to serve in the U.S. Navy. Be-
tween 4- October 1861, the date that the contract
for Monitor was signed, and 1937, the year in
which Cheyenne (ex-Wyoming) was stricken from
the Navy List, 71 monitors were ordered for the
Navy, of which about 50 actually saw commis-
sioned service. Many ships completed after the
close of the Civil War in 1865-66 ran their trials
and wei - immediately laid up at various Navy
yards, never to be commissioned. For example, of
the 20 ships of the Casco class only eight were com-
missioned, and of these, three were converted to
torpedo boats before completion.
Between 1861 and 1865 the U.S. Navy made
great strides in the design of turreted ironclads.
The Monitor was a relatively small, single-turreted
vessel mounting two Xl-inch Dahlgren smooth-
bores as her main armament. Her size, low power
and speed, and certain design defects limited her
to service on protected waters such as harbors and
rivers. On her second excursion into the North
Atlantic, in December 1862, she foundered off Cape
Hatteras. The four ships of the Kalamazoo class
laid down in 1863-64, on the other hand, were to
have been true ocean-going “battleships.” The
largest ships ordered by the Navy during the Civil
War except for the casemated ironclad Dunder-
berg , their designed displacement being about
5,700 tons, their armament of four XV-inch Dahl-
gren smoothbores, would have presented a formi-
dable challenge to any of the European ironclads
built during the same period. The experiences
gained from the combat operations of the earlier
monitors were incorporated into the Kalamazoo s in
the form of an improved ventilation system,
heavier armor, higher speed, and improved habit-
ability. Perhaps unfortunately for the growth
and development of the Navy during the latter
third of the 19th century, appropriations for the
completion of this class were not forthcoming and
construction was suspended to all intents and pur-
pose in November 1865, when none of the ships had
even been launched. Thus the Navy would not
have an armored ship capable of matching her Eu-
ropean counterparts until 1895 when Maine and
Texas commissioned.
Monitors were not only built for coastal service.
Nine, specifically designed for use on the Missis-
sippi River and its tributaries, were laid down in
the Midwest during the Civil War. Of these, six,
Neosho and Osage , and the four ships of the i Mil-
waukee class, were built to the designs of James B.
Eads under his personal supervision. The four
General plan of the U.S. Iron Glad Steamer Monitor “deduced from the original drawings of Captain John Ericsson
and from actual measurements taken from the vessel”
750
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Monitor's hull at the latter’s Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
751
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758
Milwaukee s, built at the Union Iron Works outside
St. Louis, each mounted a turret designed by Eads,
as opposed to the Ericsson turrets of all other
Civil War monitors. The Eads turret, handled
by steam machinery, was probably the most sophis-
ticated of the period. Other monitors, particularly
certain of the Casco class, were built in the Mid-
west but were not designed specifically for river
warfare.
After the Civil War, the ironclad fleet was al-
lowed to deteriorate for want of sufficient funds to
operate or adequately maintain the ships. In 1874-
75, Secretary of the Navy Robeson began to
rebuild selected monitors under the guise of re-
pairs. In order to finance this effort, many of the
old monitors were sold and it was during this
period that the entire Casco class was disposed of.
The five monitors upon which reconstruction ef-
forts were concentrated were the four ships of
the Miantonomoh class and Puritan. Although
Miantonomoh recommissioned briefly during
1882-83, she was not complete, and none of
the ships actually completed modernization until
1891 when Miantonomoh was commissioned. As
modernized, these monitors were new steel ships
with lines characteristics of the monitors ordered
during the last two decades of the 19th century.
In 1889 Monterey was laid down, to be followed
in 1899 by the four monitors of the Arkansas
class. However, conditions which had made the
monitors so formidable during the Civil War had
changed. Captain W. L. Rodgers, USN, in a
paper entitled “The Influence of National Policies
on Ships’ Design,” said:
The development was entirely suited to pe-
culiar conditions, the outcome of a pre-exist-
ing political situation . . . The country at
large and indeed the Navy . . . concluded
that the ships which had given satisfaction
once, necessarily would do so again . . . That
very summer of the War (1898) Congress au-
thorized the last monitors, obsolete before they
were commenced.
I!.*0, ilrdii War ltoftl
UR'l'l'AH
Upper left, shiphouse at the Continental Iron Works in which USS Monitor was constructed during the winter of 1861-2 ;
bottom, Monitor vs. Virginia.
754
i
USS Monterey in dry dock, 22 April 1896 — She was the first ship to use the graving dock at what is now Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. The ram bow and full body, characteristic of “New Navy” monitors, can be
seen.
Alexander C. Brown wrote probably the most
trenchant epitaph for American monitors in his
“Monitor-Class Warships” where he noted:
Monitors found their final employment as
submarine tenders in World War I for which
their low freeboard hulls made them well-
suited. It is significant to note, however,
that in this humble role they were ministering
to the needs of that type of craft which had
logically replaced them for as originally en-
visaged, monitors were designed to combine
heavy striking power with concealment and
the presentation of a negligible target area . . .
The scope of this study is a relatively narrow
one, concentrating as it does upon monitors of
the U.S. Navy. It is further limited by the cri-
teria used to determine what ships were monitors.
The principal criteria was that a ship so desig-
nated mount one or more revolving turrets. This
excluded such a ship as Keokuk , a casemated iron-
This fine contemporary lithograph of Roanoke is an example of the ship “portraits” published by Endicott & Co. of New
York, N.Y. Endicott & Co. was noted for its excellent craftsmanship and scrupulous attention to detail.
755
clad of the Civil War, and Katahdin , an ironclad
ram of the “new Navy.” Another criteria was
that the ship have low freeboard and a low length
to beam ratio. The latter excluded early Ameri-
can battleships such as Oregon which could be
argued to meet other criteria. Roanoke , a razeed
steam frigate converted to a turreted ironclad dur-
ing the Civil War, has been grouped with the
monitors although, technically speaking, her finer
lines should disqualify her. The reason for her
inclusion is that Roanoke was an early outgrowth
of the “monitor” concept and seems to fit best in
this group.
Design statistics have been supplied in most
cases and, wherever possible, actual builder’s di-
mensions have been included. The length is
length overall as opposed to length between per-
pendiculars and the beam is extreme beam vice
molded beam. Armament is that which the ship
mounted when commissioned or, in cases of ships
not completed, the designed armament. In this
latter case, the dimensions are taken from the
last series of plans found. The Kalamazoo class,
for example, went through several revisions of
design in which their dimensions were changed.
Service speed has been taken from ships’ logs or
reports of trials whereas designed speed was
drawn from contract specifications, where found,
or other sources reporting on the projected capa-
bilities of a particular ship or class of ships.
Service speed has been defined, for purposes of
this study, as maximum sustained speed in serv-
ice, although, where available, trial speed has been
substituted.
This study, begun as a hobby, could not have
been completed but for the kindness of Rear Ad-
miral Ernest M. Eller, USN (Ret), and Captain
F. Kent Loomis, USN (Ret), who made it possi-
ble for me to complete the research and writing
during a tour of active duty and whose able com-
ments and advice were invaluable. Credit must
also be given to Lt. John C. Roberts, USNR, who
collaborated with me on much of the research rela-
tive to James B. Eads and warship construction
on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Dr.
William J. Morgan, Head of the Historical Re-
search Section of the Naval History Division,
Commander Clayton F. Johnson, USN, Head of
the Ship’s History Section of the Naval History
Division, and Mr. James L. Mooney, editor of the
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships ,
were always willing to assist me with helpful com-
ments and suggestions during the writing phase
in particular. Other members of the Naval His-
tory Division who were most generous in their
assistance were, Mr. Frederick S. Hicks, Miss Jo
Ann Kluse, Mr. Frederick S. Meigs, and Mr. Rich-
ard A. Von Doenhoff. Thanks are also due to the
numerous people at the Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia, the National Archives, the Library
of Congress, and many other museums and his-
torical societies who so graciously assisted me in
the preparation of this study.
USS Monterey at target practice off Port Angeles, Wash — The splash of one of her 12-inch shells may be seen in the
right background.
756
CONTENTS
COASTAL MONITOKS: w
Monitor class 758
Passaic class 758
Roanoke class =. 761
Dictator class 762
Puritan class 763
Onondaga class 766
Miantonomoh class 767
Canonicus class 768
Casco class 771
Kalamazoo class 776
RIVER MONITORS:
Neosho class 781
Ozark class 781
Marietta class 781
Milwaukee class 783
“NEW NAVY” MONITORS:
Puritan class 787
Amphitrite class 787
Monterey class 790
Arkansas class 790
Artist’s impression of U.S. Monitor Kalamazoo — This is the only representation of this class found to date
COASTAL MONITORS
Monitor class (1) ; Monitor
The principle of the revolving turret equipped with
heavy guns was, as John Ericsson himself was first to ad-
mit, an old one. However, it remained for Ericsson’s en-
gineering genius to give- the principle practical application
in the form of Monitor, the first turreted ironclad war-
ship. The pioneering efforts of Ericsson in the United
States and Captain Cowper Coles, R.N., in Great Britain
would, after some 80 years of continuing development, cul-
minate in the construction of USS Missouri, one of the
most sophisticated battleships ever built.
At the time of her keel laying in October 1861 Monitor
represented a complete break with traditional naval de-
sign. Instead of a standard ship hull Monitor had a large
armored “raft” 172 feet by 43 feet 8 inches supported by a
box-like iron hull 124 feet by 34 feet. The “raft” was de-
signed to increase stability in a seaway thereby giving the
guns a more stable platform for accurate fire and, also, to
protect the hull structure proper from the effects of ram-
ming. Numerous other technical advances were incor-
porated into Monitor including forced ventilation of living
spaces, an armored pilothouse, and a protected anchor
which could be raised without exposing any members of
the crew to hostile fire. The contract price for Monitor
was only $275,000, a small investment for the creation of
such an important weapons system.
It was with good reason that the London Times re-
marked, following receipt of news of the Monitor-V irginia
engagement :
Whereas we had available for immediate purposes
149 first-class warships, we have now two, these two
being the Warrior and her sister Ironside [sic, Black
Prince ]. There is not now a ship in the English Navy,
apart from these two, that it would not be madness
to trust to an engagement with that little Monitor.
However, to put this observation in proper perspective,
one must recall that Great Britain then had 13 other iron-
clads in some phase of construction and that the British
ironclads were designed to fight in a seaway and could.
Perhaps the single most serious fault of American moni-
tors, and for that matter all monitors, was that they could
not fight their main batteries in a seaway. The turret had
to be combined with increased freeboard before it was
generally accepted in the world’s navies.
Statistics:
Length overall : 172'
Extreme beam: 41'6"
Draft: 10'6"
Depth of hold : 11 '4"
Designed speed : 9 knots
Displacement: 987 tons; 776 tons (old tonnage) 1
Engines : 2 Ericsson vibrating lever engines
Horsepower : 320 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 2 Martin
Bunker capacity : 100 tons coal
1 “Old tonnage” was derived from volume by various arbitrary
formulas.
Screws : Single screw, 9' diameter
Complement: 49
Armament : 2 Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter : 20' inside
Armor: Turret, 8''; side 4%''
Monitor:
Date of contract : 4 October 1861
Launched : 30 January 1862
Commissioned : 25 February 1862, Lt. John L. Worden
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to John Erics-
son ; hull subcontracted to Continental Iron
Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Machinery : Subcontracted to Delameter Iron
Works, New York, N.Y. •
Service speed : 6 knots
Passaic class (10) ; Camanche, Catskill, Lehigh, Montauk,
Naliant, Nantucket, Passaic, Patapsco, Sangamon,
W eehawken.
The Passaic class were single-turreted monitors de-
signed as enlarged versions of the original Monitor. As
such they were larger in all basic dimensions and in-
corporated a number of significant improvements. Among
these were the substitution of a XV-inch Dahlgren smooth-
bore for one of the Xl-inch carried by Monitor, the in-
stallation of a permanent stack, a pilot house on top of
the turret, permanent standing ventilators, and an In-
crease in the thickness of the armor. Contracts for the
Passaic class were let in the spring of 1862 and the ships,
with the exception of Camanche, were launched between
30 August 1862 and 17 January 1863. The lead ship of the
class, Passaic, was commissioned 5 November 1862 and the
last, again with the exception of Camanche, 15 April 1863.
Camanche was built at the Jersey City, N.J., yard of
Joseph Coldwell by Donohue, Ryan, and Secor, shipped in
pieces to San Francisco and there reassembled. She was
launched 14 November 1864 and commissioned 24 May
1865. The contract price for each ship was $400,000.
Statistics:
Length overall : 200'
Extreme beam : 46'
Draft: 10'6"
Depth of hold : 12'6''
Designed speed : 7 knots
Displacement: 1,875 tons; 844 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 2 Ericsson vibrating lever engines
Horsepower : 320 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 2 Martin
Bunker capacity : 150 tons coal (approx.)
Screws : Single screw, 12' diameter
Complement : 75 ( approx. )
Armament : 1 XV-inch and 1 Xl-inch Dahlgren
smoothbore; Camanche, 2 XV-inch Dahlgren
smoothbores; Lehigh, Patapsco, 1 XV-inch Dahl-
gren smoothbore, 1 150-pdr. Parrott rifle.
Turret diameter : 21' inside
Armor: Turret, 11" ; side, 5"
758
Monitors forming part of the fleet of Rear Admiral D. D. Porter, USN, riding out a gale at anchor off Fort Fisher, N.C.,
21 December 1864.
Camanche:
Launched : 14 November 1864 2
Commissioned : 24 May 1865, Lt. Comdr. Charles J.
McDougal
Builder :
Hull : Donohue, Ryan and Secor of New York,
N.Y., at the yard of Joseph Coldwell, Jersey
City, N.J.3
Machinery : Secor & Co. of New York, N.Y. at the
Fulton Foundry, Jersey City, N.J.
Service speed : 5 knots
Catskill (15 June 1869 Goliath, 10 August 1869 Catskill) :
Launched : 6 December 1862
Commissioned : 24 February 1863, Comdr. George W.
Rodgers
Builder :
Hull: Contract for ship awarded to John Erics-
son, hull subcontracted to Continental Iron
Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Machinery : Subcontracted to Delameter Iron
Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 4 knots
•The reasons for the delayed completion of Camanche were
several. “The contractors were obliged to give portions of the
material of the Camanche to aid in the construction of other iron-
clads then building in New York, and required by the government
for immediate use, as the rolling mills of the country were not
of sufficient capacity to roll the kinds of iron required for that
class of vessels as fast as lt was wanted. When the Camanche
was ready for shipment to San Francisco, the Government took
the principal fSarts of her engines to replace parts of the engine
of the Weehawken, which had broken down at Port Royal, The
delay in replacing these parts of the machinery caused the
Camanche to arrive in San Francisco in the winter (of 1863)
instead of in the spring of that year.” Minutes of the Selfridge
Board.
Aquila, the ship which carried the disassembled Camanche
around Cape Horn, sank at her pier in San Francisco on 16 No-
vember 1863, prior to being unloaded. The completion of Caman-
che was probably delayed for several months by the subsequent
salvage operations.
•Peter Donohue and James F. Ryan were both from San
Francisco, Calif.
Lehigh:
Launched : 17 January 1863
Commissioned : 15 April 1863, Comdr. John Guest
Builder :
Hull: Contract for ship awarded to John Erics-
son, hull subcontracted to Reaney, Son & Arch-
bold, Chester, Pa.
Machinery : Subcontracted to I. P. Morris, Towne
& Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Service speed : 4 knots
Montauk:
Launched : 9 October 1862
Commissioned : 17 December 1862, Comdr. John L.
Worden
Builder :
Hull: Contract for ship awarded to John
Ericsson ; hull subcontracted to Continental
Iron Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Machinery : Subcontracted to Delameter Iron
Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 5 knots ; 8% knots on trials
Nahant (15 June 1869 Atlas, 10 August 1869 Nahant) :
Launched : 7 October 1862
Commissioned : 29 December 1862, Comdr. John
Downes
Builder :
Hull : Harrison Loring at his City Point Works,
South Boston, Mass.
Machinery : Harrison Loring at his City Point
Works, South Boston, Mass.
Service speed : 5 knots
Nantucket (15 June 1869 Medusa, 10 August 1869
Nantucket) :
Launched : 6 December 1862
Commissioned : 26 February 1863, Comdr. Donald
McN. Fairfax
759
256-125 0 - 68 - 50
Builder :
Hull : Atlantic Iron Works, Boston, Mass.
Machinery : Atlantic Iron Works, Boston, Mass.
Service speed : 5 knots
Passaic:
Launched : 30 August 1862
Commissioned : 25 November 1862, Captain Percival
Drayton
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to John
Ericsson ; hull subcontracted to Continental
Iron Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Machinery : Subcontracted to Delameter Iron
Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 6 knots
Patapsco:
Launched : 27 September 1862
Commissioned : 2 January 1863, Comdr. Daniel Ammen
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to John
Ericsson ; hull subcontracted to Harlan & Hol-
lingsworth, Wilmington, Del.
Machinery : Subcontracted to Harlan & Hollings-
worth, Wilmington, Del.
Service speed : 5 knots
Sangamon (15 June 1869 Jason) :
Launched : 27 October 1862
Commissioned : 9 February 1863, Comdr. Pierce
Crosby
U.S. Monitor Camanche under construction in San Francisco during 1864 — This photograph appears to have been taken
shortly before the one on page 762 as the ships in the background are the same.
760
PASSAIC CLASS
PHOPlUgW ANO ITCRN ARrJWcKMINT
Alt /.»♦* //Ml
Off tot /I*//
Propeller and rudder arrangement of U.S. Monitor Passaic
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to John
Ericsson ; hull subcontracted to Reaney, Son
& Archbold, Chester, Pa.
Machinery : Subcontracted to I. P. Morris, Towne
& Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Service speed : 5 knots
Weehawken:
Launched : 5 November 1862
Commissioned : 18 January 1863, Captain John
Rodgers
Builder :
Hull : Secor & Co., New York, N.Y., at the yard
of Joseph Coldwell, Jersey City, N.J.
Machinery : Secor & Co., of New York, N.Y., at
the Fulton Foundry, Jersey City, N.J.
Service speed : 5 knots
Roanoke class ( 1 ) : Roanoke
Roanoke was originally one of the proud class of steam
frigates which included Merrimack. The latter serving
as CSS Virginia became the first Confederate ironclad.
Shortly after the battle in Hampton Roads between the
original Monitor and Virginia it was decided to convert
Roanoke into a seagoing turreted ironclad. Accordingly
she was razeed, her sides and deck were plated, and three
Ericsson turrets were placed on board. Theoretically
Roanoke was the most powerful monitor to be commis-
sioned during the Civil War but, although she served in
the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron for many months,
she was never regarded as successful. The weight of the
three turrets caused her to roll heavily, even in a slight
seaway, and the hull was found to be too weak to ade-
quately support them. Accordingly most of Roanoke' s
service was as a station or guard ship. It might be argued
that Roanoke was technically not a monitor because of her
standard warship hull. However, her revolving turrets
and low freeboard made her more like a monitor than
any other extant type of warship.
Statistics:
Length overall : 265' *
Extreme beam : 52'6”
Draft: 24'3"
Depth of hold : Not found
Designed speed : 10 knots
Displacement: Not found ; 3,435 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 2 Horizontal direct acting engines
Horsepower : Not found
Boilers: 4 Martin
Bunker capacity : 550 tons coal
Screws : Single screw
Complement: 350 (approx.)
Armament: Forward turret, 1 XV-inch Dahlgren
smoothbore. 1 150-pdr. Parrott rifle; middle turret,
1 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbore, 1 Xl-inch Dahl-
gren smoothbore; after turret, 1 Xl-inch Dahlgren
smoothbore, 1 150-pdr. Parrott rifle
Turret diameter : 21' inside
Armor : Turret, 11” ; side, 4%”
4 The length overall and extreme beam of Roanoke after her
conversion have been difficult to establish. A plan of the turret
deck found In the National Archives Indicated a length overall
of 278 feet. However, a contemporary lithograph noted her
length as 265 feet and her beam as 52 feet 6 inches. As Roanoke
was merely razeed and armor plated the original dimensions of
the ship remained approximately the same and for this reason the
lithograph dimensions appear reliable. The addition of a ram
might have altered the length overall to some extent but In the
absence of adequate plan views it is difficult to estimate to what
extent. The Scientific American of 26 July 1862 described the
ram in the following terms : 'This beak resembles a huge ax
and is formed of plates twenty and a half inches thick, thus
making nine inches of iron on the front edge.”
761
Roanoke 5
Date of contract : Not found
Launched : Not applicable
Commissioned : 26 June 1863, Captain Guert Ganse-
voort
Builder: Novelty Iron Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 6 knots
Dictator class (1) ; Dictator
Dictator and her near sister Puritan were contracted
for in the summer of 1862 when the Navy was looking for
a monitor which would be a true seagoing ship. Dictator
was a single turreted, single screw monitor of unprece-
dented size and cruising range. Only the never completed
Puritan, the four Kalamazoos, and Dunderberg would
have surpassed her in size. In response to complaints
from officers commanding monitors the overhang of the
armored “raft” was considerably reduced and the raft
itself was given finer “ship” lines. The apparent difficulty
with the “raft” was that in a seaway the interaction of
the ship and the waves tended to separate the raft from
the hull, causing leakage. In fact, this is one of the ex-
planations offered for the loss of the original Monitor off
Cape Hatteras on 30-31 December 1862. Dictator was
“The hull of Roanoke was built at the Norfolk Navy Yard,
Portsmouth, Va. ; the machinery being constructed by Anderson.
Delaney & Co., Richmond, Va. She was launched 13 December
1855 and commissioned 4 May 1857. On 20 March 1862 Roanoke
was decommissioned for conversion Into a seagoing Ironclad.
designed as a high-speed monitor but, like most of this
type, failed to reach her contract speed. The contract
price was $2,300,000 for Dictator and Puritan together.
Statistics:
Length overall : 312'
Extreme beam : 50'
Draft: 20'6"
Depth of hold: 21'8''
Designed speed : 15 knots
Displacement: 4,438 tons ; 3,033 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 2 Ericsson vibrating lever engines
Horsepower : Not found
Boilers : 6 Martin
Bunker capacity : 1,000 tons coal
Screws : Single screw, 21 '6" diameter
Complement: 175 (approx.)
Armament : 2 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter : 24' inside
Armor: Turret, 15" ; side, 6"
Dictator:
Date of contract : 28 July 1862
Launched : 26 December 1863
Commissioned: 11 November 1864, Captain John
Rodgers
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to John Erics-
son ; hull subcontracted to Delameter Iron
Works, New York, N.Y.
This gathering of San Francisco notables was probably occasioned by the imminent launching of USS Camanche from
the yard of Danohue, Ryan and Secor on 14 November 1864. USS Camanche was the only monitor to serve on
the West Coast until the arrival of USS Monadnock in 1866.
762
USS Camanche fitting out alongside the pier shown in the center background of the two construction photographs.
She was finally commissioned in May 1865.
Machinery : Machinery subcontracted to De-
lameter Iron Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 9 knots
Puritan class (1) ; Puritan
The contract for Puritan was let to John Ericsson dur-
ing the summer of 1862. The Navy indicated that it
wanted Puritan to be a double turreted monitor hut
Ericsson resisted. His reasoning was that on a given dis-
placement the weight involved in constructing a second
turret could be better used in increasing armament and
armor with the result that a single turreted monitor would
always be more powerful than a multiturreted monitor
of the same displacement. The counter argument was
that by concentrating all armament in a single turret
Ericsson was taking a chance that a minor mechanical
accident in the turret machinery, for example, could put
the whole ship out of action. Ericsson won the fight with
the Navy and the design was altered to his specifications.
However, delays in construction and the casting of the
XX-inch smoothbores resulted in Puritan’s not being com-
pleted by the end of the Civil War. Construction was
suspended in 1865 and begun again in 1874 under the
guise of repairing. When Puritan was finally completed in
1898 she was a completely different ship from that con-
tracted for in 1862. The original contract price was
$2,300,000 for Puritan and Dictator together.
Statistics (oringial design, 1862) : 0
Length overall: 340'
Extreme beam : 50'
Draft : 20'
Depth of hold: 21'8''
Designed speed : 15 knots
Displacement: 4,912 tons; 3,265 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 2 Ericsson vibrating lever engines
Horsepower : Not found
Boilers : 6 Martin
0 For statistics on Puritan as commissioner! in 1896, see ‘‘New
Navy" Monitors, Puritan class, p. 787 ; for a further note on her
reconstruction, see p. 754.
U.S. Monitor Camanche as she appeared in 1898 — The Civil War monitors which were not fully rebuilt but which
remained on the Navy List received additional deck ventilators and a light hurricane deck over the years, the once
long and low clean lines becoming cluttered and ugly.
763
Deck of U.S. Monitor Catskill, off Charleston during early 1865 — The Commanding Officer, Lt. Com dr. Edward Barrett,
is seated in front of the armored pilothouse on top of the turret. Barrett’s executive officer, probably Lt Charles
W. Tracy, is standing at his right. The XV-inch and Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbores which formed the armament
may be seen through the gunports in the turret The XV-inch on the left could not be run out of the port because
of its size and had to be fired inside the turret through a box mounted in the interior.
U.S. Monitor Lehigh while operating on the James River during the spring of 1863
764
/jy'* f -*
•/-■/reu^jC/ A* +jL, / f* • 6
A~£_ ^
' ✓
y* ***j /\
</
r. r* i/a*- <uX< /&.
** /4<J. — * «f £>< /u/
.. i i I
This plan of U.S. Monitor Passaic was prepared at the Boston Navy Yard during 1896. The changes made over the years
are particularly apparent when these views are compared with the plans drawn during the Civil War.
765
o
o
o
o
o
Deck and hold plans of U.S. Ironclad Roanoke prepared at the New York Navy Yard in February 1874
Bunker capacity : 1,000 tons coal
Screws : Twin screw, 2T diameter
Complement : Not found
Armament : 2 XX -inch
Turret diameter : 26' inside
Armor: Turret, 15”; side, 6”
Puritan:
Date of contract : 28 July 1862
Launched : 2 July 1864
Commissioned : Never completed
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to John Erics-
son; hull subcontracted to Continental Iron
Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Machinery : Machinery subcontracted to the All-
aire Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : No service
Onondaga class (1) ; Onondaga
Onondaga was the first double-turreted monitor to be
completed for service. After commissioning in March
1864 she was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron. Operating in the James River Onondaga had
only one brief skirmish with Confederate ironclads to
mark an otherwise uneventful career. Subsequent to a
Special Act of Congress the builder, George W. Quintard,
was permitted to refund the purchase price to the U.S.
Navy and Onondaga was returned to him 12 July 1867.
Quintard, in turn, sold the ship to the French Navy, in
which she served as a coast defense battleship until 1903.
The original contract price was $625,000.
Statistics:
Length overall : 226' 7
Extreme beam : 49 '3”
Draft: 12'10”
Depth of hold : 13'2”
Designed speed : 9 knots
Displacement: Not found; 1250 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 4 horizontal back acting engines
Horsepower : 420 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 4 Martin
Bunker capacity : 268 tons coal but only sufficient
buoyance for 160 tons
Screws: Twin screw, 10' diameter
Complement: 150 (approx.)
Armament: 2 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores, 2 150-
pdr. Parrott rifles
Turret diameter : Double-turreted, 21' inside
Armor: Turret, 11” ; side, 5 %”
Onondaga:
Date of contract : 26 May 1862
Launched : 29 July 1863
Commissioned : 24 March 1864, Captain Melancton
Smith
7 The plans and specifications of Onondaga Indicate that she
was to be 226 feet overall, with a beam of 49 feet, 3 inches. How-
ever, Chief Engineer James W. King, USN. in his 1877 report on
European navies, described her as being 228 feet, 7% inches X
51 feet, 2 inches X 13 feet, 2 inches. (The latter dimensions are
probably more indicative of Onondaga as completed. Contractor
designed ships appeared to vary more from the original specifi-
cations than Navy or Ericsson designs.
766
Plan view of U.S. Monitor Onondaga
USS Onondaga on the Janies River during the Civil War — The bulletproof shields installed around the tops of the
turrets on many monitors during 1863-65 are clearly visible.
Builder
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to George W.
Quintard ; hull subcontracted to Continental
Iron Works, Greenpoint. N.Y.
Machinery : George W. Quintard at his Morgan
Iron Works, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 7 knots
Miantonomoh class (4) ; Agamenticus, Miantonomoli, Mo-
nadnock, Tonawanda
Although the four double-turreted monitors of the
Miantonomoh class were laid down in 1862 only one, Mo-
nadnock, was completed in time to see Civil War service.
However, following the war both Miantonomoh and Mo-
nadnock were sent on long ocean voyages as a demonstra-
tion of their efficiency. The former visited ports of the
leading naval powers of Europe during 1866 and created
a generally favorable impression of American warship
design. Monadnock was transferred to the Pacific coast,
reaching San Francisco by rounding Cape Horn. As a
class these ships were regarded by American naval officers
as the best monitors built during the Civil War and when
the “rebuilding” began in 1874—75 these four ships were
chosen to be repeated. It should also be noted that apart
from the four unfinished Kalamazoos this was the only
class of monitors to be built in naval shipyards, a favor-
able reflection on the quality of those yards even during
the mid-19th century.
Statistics (as commissioned, 1864-65) : *
Length overall: 258'6"
Extreme beam : 52'9"
Draft: 12'8"
Depth of hold : 14'
Designed speed : Not found
8 For statistics on the monitors bearing these names as com-
missioned In 1891-96, see “New Navy monitors, Amphitrite
class, p. 787 ; for a further note on the reconstruction of these
ships see p. 754.
767
U.S. Monitor Agamenticus as she appeared shortly after her completion in 1865 — The Micmtonomahs were the only Civil
War monitors originally built with hurricane decks, with the possible exception of USS Dictator.
Displacement: 3,400 tons (approx.) ; 1,564 tons (old
tonnage)
Engines : Agamenticus and Honadnock, 2 Ericsson
vibrating lever engines ; Miantonomoli and Tona-
wanda, 2 Isherwood horizontal back-acting engines
Horsepower : Not found
Boilers: 4 Martin
Bunker capacity : 300 tons coal
Screws : Twin screw, 10' diameter
Complement: 150 (approx.)
Armament : 4 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter: 23' inside
Armor : Turret, 10'' ; side, 5"
Agamenticus (15 June 1869 Terror) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 19 March 1863
Commissioned : 5 May 1865, Lt. Comdr. C. H. Cush-
man
Builder :
Hull : Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
Machinery : I. P. Morris, Towne & Co., Philadel-
phia, Pa.
Service speed : 9 knots
Miantonomoli:
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 15 August 1863
Commissioned : 18 September 1865, Comdr. Daniel
Ammen
Builder :
Hull : New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Machinery : Novelty Iron Yorks, New York, N.Y.
Service speed : 6% knots
Monadnock:
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 23 March 1864
Commissioned : 4 October 1864, Captain John M. Ber
rien
Builder :
Hull : Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass.
Machinery : I. P. Morris, Towne & Co., Philadel-
phia, Pa.
Service speed : 9 knots
Tonawanda (15 June 1869 Amphitrite) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 6 May 1864
Commissioned : 12 October 1865, Comdr. William
Ronckendorff
Builder :
Hull : Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.
Machinery : Merrick & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa.
Service speed : 6% knots
Canonicus class (9) ; Canonicus, Catawba, Mahopac, Ma-
nayunk, Manhattan, Oneota, Saugus, Tecumseh, Tip-
pecanoe.
The ships of the Canonicus class were the first to incor-
porate the lessons of combat experience gained during
the Monitor-Virginia clash and the attacks on Charleston
as well as the practical ones gained from day-to-day ex-
perience with what was virtually an entirely new approach
to warship design. Although their outward appearance
was very similar to the Passaics, the single-turreted moni-
tors of the Canonicus class represented a major design
advance. A protective glacis 5 inches thick and 15 inches
high was placed around the base of the turret to prevent
the turret from being jammed by a chance hit at its base ;
side armor was strengthened by the addition of a 4-inch
stringer ; deadwood aft was cut away in an effort to make
the propeller more efficient ; and ventilation was improved
by the installation of more powerful blowers and a tall
permanent vent from the head and galley. Perhaps more
significantly, armament was increased to two XV-inch
Dahlgren smoothbores from the one XV-inch and one XI-
inch of the Passaic class. The contracts for the Canonicus
class were let in September-Oetober 1863 ; the first launch-
ing, of Canonicus, took place on 1 August 1863 and the
last, of Mahopac, on 17 May 1864. The five ships which
saw Civil War service were commissioned between April
and September 1864. The contract price for each ship of
the class was $460,000.
Statistics:
Length overall : 225 ; Catawba, Oneota, 225' ; Tippe-
canoe, 224; Mahopac, Manhattan, Tecumseh, 223'
Extreme beam: 43'3'' ; Mahopac, Manhattan, Te-
cumseh, 43'4" ; Catawba, Oneota, 43'3" ; Tippe-
canoe, 43'0"
Draft: 11'6'' (approx.) ; Manayunk, 12'6"
Depth of hold : 13'4" ; MahopcCc, Manayunk, Manhat-
tan, Saugus, Tecumseh, 13'4" ; Catawba, Oneota,
13'3"
Designed speed : 13 knots
Displacement: 2,100 tons; 1,034 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 2 Ericsson vibrating lever engines
Horsepower : 320 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 2 Stimers
Bunker capacity : 150 tons coal (approx.) ; Canonicus,
150 tons ; Saugus, 145 tons ; Mahopac, 140 tons.
Screws : Single screw, 13' diameter
Complement : 100 ( approx. )
Armament : 2 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter : 21' inside
Armor: Turret, 10''; side, 5'' (plus 4" stringer)
Canonicus (15 June 1869 Scylla, 10 August 1869 Canoni-
cus) :
Date of contract : 15 September 1862
Launched : 1 August 1863
Commissioned : 16 April 1864, Comdr. Enoch G. Par-
rott
Builder :
Hull : Harrison Loring at his City Point Works,
South Boston, Mass.
Machinery: Harrison Loring at his City Point
Works, South Boston, Mass.
Service speed : 9 knots on trials
768
U.S. Monitor Mvantonomoh on her historic trip to Europe in 1866-67 — The ship is seen during a visit to Malaga, Spain,
24 December 1866 — 3 January 1867. The photograph was probably taken on 26 December 1866 when the log made
specific mention of the ship being crowded with visitors.
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Extract from the log of USS Miantonomoli including 26 December 1866
769
-■..'. . & .
USS Dictator on the ways at Delameter Iron Works, New York, N.Y. — From the advanced stage of completion and the
overcoats on the figures in the foreground, it seems likely that the photograph was taken in the winter of 1863,
shortly prior to the launching of Dictator on 26 December 1863. Note the minimal overhang of the armored “raft”
and the large screw, 21 feet, 6 inches, in diameter.
Catawba:
Date of contract : 10 September 1862
Launched : 13 April 1864
Commissioned : Never, but completed 10 June 1865 ;
sold to Alex Swift & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio in 1868,
who in turn sold her to Peru on 2 April 1868 ; served
in the Peruvian Navy as Atahuallpa
Builder :
Hull : Alex. Swift & Co. and Niles Works, Cincin-
nati, Ohio
Machinery : Alex. Swift & Co. and Niles Works,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Service speed : Maximum sustained sea speed re-
ported to be 6 knots in Peruvian service
Mahopac (15 June 1869 Castor, 10 August 1869 Mahopac) :
Date of contract : 15 September 1862
Launched : 17 May 1864
Commissioned : 22 September 1864, Comdr. William A.
Parker
Builder :
Hull : Secor & Co., New York, N.Y., at the yard of
of Joseph Coldwell, Jersey City, N.J.
Machinery : Secor & Co., New York, N.Y., at the
Fulton Foundry, Jersey City, N.J. ; boilers and
main engines subcontracted 9
Service speed : At % power 6.3 knots on trials
Manayunk: (15 June 1869 Ajax)
Date of contract : 15 September 1862
Launched : 18 December 1864 10
Commissioned: No Civil War service, completed 27
September 1865
Builder :
Hull : Snowden & Mason, Pittsburgh, Pa., at their
yard in South Pittsburgh
Machinery : Snowden & Mason, Pittsburgh, Pa., at
their facility in Brownsville, Pa.
Service speed : 4.5 knots on trial run up the Ohio River
9 Among the boiler and machinery subcontractors were John
Dolan & Co., East Brooklyn, N.Y. ; Samuel Secor, New York. N.Y. ;
New Jersey Locomotive Works, Jersey City, N.J. ; Atlantic Steam
Engine Works, Brooklyn, N.Y. ; and Lazell, Perkins & Co., Bridge-
water, Mass.
10 Manayunk was ready to be launched in April 1864 ; but, ac-
cording to the builder, the very low state of the Ohio River delayed
the launching until December.
770
A lithograph of USS Dictator as she probably appeared during the Civil War — No photographs of USS Dictator have
been located except for the preceding construction photograph.
Manhattan (15 June 1869 Neptune, 10 August 1869 Man-
hattan) :
Date of contract : 15 September 1862
Launched : 14 October 1863
Commissioned : 6 June 1864, Comdr. J. W. A. Nichol-
son
Builder :
Hull : Perine, Secor & Co., New York, N.Y., at the
yard of Joseph Coldwell, Jersey City, N.J.U
Machinery : Perine, Secor & Co., New York, N.Y.,
at the Fulton Foundry, Jersey City, N.J. ;
boilers and main engines subcontracted
Service speed : 8 knots on trials
Oneota:
Date of contract : 10 September 1862
Launched : 21 May 1864
Commissioned: Never, but completed 10 June 1865;
sold to Alex. Swift & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1868,
who in turn sold her to Peru on 2 April 1868 ; served
in the Peruvian Navy as Manco Capac
Builder :
Hull : Alex. Swift & Co. and Niles Works, Cin-
cinnati, Ohio
Machinery : Alex. Swift & Co., and Niles Works,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Service speed : Maximum sustained sea speed re-
ported to be 6 knots in Peruvian service
Saugus (15 June 1869 Centaur, 10 August 1869 Saugus) :
Date of contract : 13 October 1862
Launched : 16 December 1863
Commissioned : 7 April 1864, Comdr. Edmund R. Col-
houn
Builder :
Hull : Harlan & Hollingsworth & Co., Wilming-
ton, Del.
Machinery : Harlan & Hollingsworth & Co., Wil-
mington, Del.
Service speed : 8 knots
Tecumseh:
Date of contract : 15 September 1862
Launched : 12 September 1863
Commissioned : 19 April 1864, Comdr. Tunis A. M.
Craven
Builder :
Hull : Secor & Co., New York, N.Y., at the yard
of Joseph Coldwell, Jersey City, N.J.
Machinery : Secor & Co., New York, N.Y., at the
Fulton Foundry, Jersey City, N.J. ; boilers and
main engines subcontracted
Service speed : 8 knots on trials
11 The contract was awarded to the new corporate entity of
Perine, Secor & Co., because Wilham Perine, originally awarded
the contract, was unable to show the Navy that he himself had
access to the required building facilities.
Tippecanoe (15 June 1869 Vesuvius, 10 August 1869 Wy-
andotte) :
Date of contract : 15 September 1862 ; construction
commenced 28 September 1862
Launched : 22 December 1864
Commissioned : Never, but completed December 1865 ;
delivered to the U.S. Navy 15 February 1866
Builder :
Hull : Miles Greenwood, Cincinnati, Ohio at the
shipyard of John Litherbury 12 in Cincinnati
Machinery : Miles Greenwood, Cincinnati, Ohio
Service speed : Not found
Casco Class (20) ; Casco, Chimo, Cohoes, Etlali, Klamath,
Koka, Modoc, Napa, Naubuc, Nausett, Shawnee, Shi-
loh, Squando, Suncook, Tunxis, Umpqua, Wassuc,
Waxsaw, Yazoo, Yuma.
During the summer of 1862 the Navy began the prepara-
tion of specifications for a class of “light-draft” monitors
which would be able to fight effectively on the shallow
bays, sounds, and rivers which bordered much of the Con-
federacy. Threats such as that later posed by the C.S.
Ram AXbermarle could not be countered by the conven-
tional monitors with their relatively deep draft. The end
product was a twin-screw, single-turreted monitor with a
designed draft of slightly over 6 feet. Armor was sacri-
ficed to meet the demands of shallow draft, resulting in the
Casco$ being among the most lightly armored American
monitors ever built. Perhaps the most radical innovation
to be incorporated into the Casco design was the provision
of special ballast tanks which would permit the ships to
go into action partially submerged.13
Contracts for the class were let in the period March-
June 1863 ; delivery of 13 being specified for 6 months after
the contract signing. The builders of the remaining seven
were allowed 8 months, but were to be paid only $386,000
as against the $395,000 received by the 6-month contrac-
tors.11 Due to delays in the furnishing of plans and con-
stant design changes the ships lagged badly from the start.
In the spring of 1864 when Chimo was launched it became
clear that grave errors had been made in the calculations
of displacement. Chimo had only 3 inches freeboard with-
out her turret and stores as opposed to the designed 15
inches ready for sea. Accordingly, it was decided to com-
plete the five most advanced ships, less Tunxis, as tor-
12 Litherbury had previously superintended the construction of
four City class gunboats built by James B. Eads at Carondelet,
Mo. He also undertook the conversion of Lexington , one of the
first three Union gunboats on the Ohio River.
13 The function of the tanks were described in the Army and
Navy Journal of 31 October 1864 : “The hull of the vessel will be
divided, so that in fact there are two distinct hulls, but are
fastened together so as to leave an opening of 2 feet between
each hull. This space is to be used as a water tank, which, in
action, will be fitted with water and add doubly to secure the
vessel against torpedoes and infernal machines.” The author
might have added that the lower silhouette resulting from flood-
ing the tanks would diminish the chances of the ship taking a hit.
“ The “6-month” ships were Casco, Chimo, Cohoes, Klamath,
Modoc, Napa, Naubuc, Squando, Suncook, Umpqua, Waxsaw,
Yazoo, and Yuma; the “eight-month,” Etlah, Koka, Nausett,
Shawnee, Shiloh, Tunxis, and Wassuc.
771
U.S. Monitor Catawba of the Canonious class as Atahuallpa in the Peruvian Navy — American monitors rarely, if ever,
used sails except on long ocean passage®. Actually the lithograph may depict Atahuallpa as she appeared upon
departing New Orleans for Peru in 1868. Under the circumstances it would not be surprising to see sails.
pedo boats and to deepen the hulls of the remaining 14
by 22 inches in order to enable them to carry their monitor
armament.15 Tunxis was completed to the original design,
with minor modifications, but proved unsuccessful and
was deepened during the winter of 1864-65 at the yard
of Wm. Cramp & Son, Philadelphia, Pa. Launch dates
of the Casco class ranged from May 1864 to the middle
of 1865 and only eight were completed in time to see com-
missioned service during the Civil War. Of the eight none
saw combat ; those ships which were in the war zones gen-
erally acting as station or guard ships.
1S The ships selected for conversion to torpedo boats were
Casco, Chimo, Napa, Naubuc, and Modoc. Not even these conver-
sions achieved speeds of over 5 knots and, as such, were virtually
useless as torpedo boats. The cost of deepening the remaining
15, Including Tunxis, varied according to the degree of completion
at the time the change was ordered. These costs were as follows :
Cohoes, $89,000 ; Etlah, $82.500 ; Klamath, $89,000 ; Koka,
f 58, 665. 86 ; Nausett, $89,000 ; Shawnee, $90,000 ; Shiloh, $82,500 ;
quando, $90,000 ; Suncook, $87,500 ; Tunxis, $115,500 ; TJmpqua,
$85,000 ; Wassuc, $55,275.60 ; Waxsaw, $89,140.25 ; Yazoo,
$68,000 ; Yuma, $89,000.
Statistics:
Length overall: 225' Etlah, 225'8" ; Squando,
225'4%" ; Modoc, Naubuc, 225'
Extreme beam: 45'; Etlah, 45'6" ; Naubuc, 45'3'' ;
Squando, 45'1%" ; Modoc, 45'1"
Draft : 6'4y2'' (designed) ; Squando, 8'3"; Etlah, 8' ;
Nausett, 7'8%" ; Casco, 7'4" ; Naubuc, 7'1" (less
gun and ordnance stores)16
Depth of hold: 9'; Squando, 11'%"; Modoc, 9'1" ;
Naubuc, 8'11" 17
Designed speed : 9 knots
Displacement: 1,175 tons; 614 tons (old tonnage);
Squando, 1,618 tons ; Nausett, 1,487 tons
Engines : 2 Stimers’ direct-acting inclined engines
Horsepower : 600 indicated horsepower
10 The draft of Casco and Naubuc, while substantially in excess
of the designed draft, was less than that of Etlah, Nausett, or
Squando because the former did not carry a turret, mounted only
one Xl-inch, and had reduced deck plating. Also, the addition
of 22 inches to the depth of the monitors increased the displace-
ment by 130 tons which, in turn, increased the draft.
17 The depth of hold of Squando is a reflection of the 22-inch
deepening of the hull.
U.S. Monitor Mahopao on the Appomatox River during the Civil War — The booms extending from the starboard side
support netting which served as a primitive minesweeping device. Confederate mooring mines known as “torpedoes”,
represented a very real threat to all Union warships. The U.S.S. Monitors Milwaukee, Osage, Patapsco, and
Tecumseh were lost to mines. The black area results from damage to the original glass negative.
772
Engraving by Harley depicting U.S. Monitor Puritan as she would have appeared when completed to her original Civil
War design.
Boilers : 2 Stimers’ horizontal tubular
Bunker capacity: Monitors 130 tons coal (approx.) ;
torpedo boats 60 tons coal (approx.) 18
Screws : Twin screw., 9' diameter
Complement: 60 (approx.)
Armament: Monitors, 2 Xl-inch Dahlgren smooth-
bores, Tunxis, 1 Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbore and
1 150-pdr. Parrott rifle (13 Sep 1864) ; torpedo
boats, 1 Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbore, Ghimo, 1
150-pdr. Parrott rifle, and Wood-Lay spar torpedo
equipment
Turret diameter: 20' inside diameter (monitors only)
Armor: Turret, 8”; pilothouse, 10" (8" in torpedo
boats) ; side, 3"
Casco (15 Jun 1869 Hero ) :
Date of contract : 14 March 1863
Launched : 7 May 1864
Commissioned : 4 December 1864, Acting Master
Charles A. Crooker
Builder :
Hull : Atlantic Iron Works, Boston, Mass.
Machinery : Atlantic Iron Works, Boston, Mass.
Service speed : 5 knots
Chimo (15 Jun 1869 Orion, 10 Aug 1869 Piscataqua ) :
Date of contract : 17 March 1863
Launched : 5 May 1864
Commissioned: 20 January 1865, Acting Master
John C. Dutch
Builder :
Hull : Aquilla Adams, Boston, Mass., at his
Marine Iron Works
Machinery: Aquilla Adams, Boston, Mass, (prob-
ably at an engine factory owned by him)
Service speed : 4 knots
Cohoes (15 Jun 1869 Charyhdis, 10. Aug 1869 Cohoes) :
Date of contract : 17 April 1863
Launched : 31 May 1865
Commissioned: Never; but delivered to U.S. Navy at
New York Navy Yard 19 January 1865
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to M. Franklin
Merritt, Stamford, Conn. ; hull subcontracted
to Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint, N.Y.
Machinery : Subcontracted to Hewes & Philips,
Newark, N.J.
Service speed : No service
18 However, Modoc, a torpedo boat, probably carried between
76 and 80 tons during her trials. The apparent Inconsistency
might be explained by the fact that the torpedo boats had bunker
capacity equal to that of the monitors but that the amount which
could be carried safely from the point of view of reserve buoyancy
was much less. Onondaga was a case In point.
Etlah (15 Jun 1869 Hectate, 10 Aug 1869 Etlah) :
Date of contract : 24 June 1863
Launched: 3 July 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but delivered to U.S. Navy 12
March 1866
Builder :
Hull : Charles W. McCord, St. Louis, Mo.
Machinery : Charles W. McCord, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 5 knots on 12 March 1866 trial
Klamath (15 Jun 1869 Harpy, 10 Aug 1869 Klamath) :
Date of contract : 26 March 1863
Launched : 20 April 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but delivered to and accepted
by U.S. Navy 6 May 1866
Builder :
Hull : Alex. Swift & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, at the
yard of S. T. Hambleton & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
Machinery : Subcontracted to Moore & Richard-
son, Cincinnati, Ohio
Service speed : 5.7 knots on trial
Koka (15 Jun 1869 Argos, 10 Aug 1869 Koka) :
Date of contract : 24 April 1863
Launched : 18 May 1865
Commissioned: Never; but delivered to U.S. Navy at
Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 November 1865
Builder :
Hull : Wilcox & Whiting, Camden, N.J.
Machinery : Wilcox & Whiting, Camden, N.J.
Service speed : No service
Modoc (15 Jun 1869 Achilles, 10 Aug 1869 Modoc) :
Date of contract : 4 June 1863
Launched : 21 March 1865
Commissioned: Never; but completed 23 June 1865
Builder :
Hull : Jeronomus S. Underhill, New York, N.Y.,
at the New York Iron Shipyard
Machinery : Jeronomus S. Underhill, New York,
N.Y.
Service speed : No service
Napa (15 Jun 1869 Nemesis, 10 Aug 1869 Napa) :
Date of contract : 2 March 1863
Launched : 26 November 1864
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 4 May 1865
Builder :
Hull: Harlan & Hollingsworth & Co., Wilming-
ton, Del.
Machinery: Harlan & Hollingsworth & Co., Wil-
mington, Del.
Service speed : No service
Naubuc (15 Jun 1869 Oorgon, 10 Aug 1869 Minnetonka) :
Date of contract : 2 April 1863
Launched : 19 October 1864
jt ,/t t/,~ 4 s- •’
» -^->-1- ... - - ■ — -
Plan of the spar torpedo equipment designed for installation on USS Casco, USS Chimo, USS Napa, USS Naubitc,
and USS Modoc — USS Napa and USS Modoc were not commissioned during the Civil War.
Plan of U.S. Monitor Koka — USS Koka was one of the fifteen ships of the Casco class to be redesigned and com-
pleted as monitors, although she never saw commissioned service.
Commissioned : 27 March 1866, Acting Master Gilbert
Dayton
Builder :
Hull : Wilham Perine, New York, N.Y., at his
Perine’s Union Iron Works, Williamsburgh,
N.Y.
Machinery: Subcontracted to Dolan & Farron,
Williamsburgh, N.Y.
Service speed : Not found
Nausett (15 Jun 1869 Aetna, 10 Aug 1869 Nausett) :
Date of contract : 10 June 1863
Launched : 26 April 1865
Commissioned : 10 August 1865, Acting Master Wil-
liam V. Grozier
Builder :
Hull: Donald McKay at his shipyard in East
Boston, Mass.
Machinery : McKay & Aldus, East Boston, Mass.1’
Service speed : 5 knots
Shawnee (15 Jun 1869 Eolus, 10 Aug 1869 Shawnee)
Date of contract : 2 April 1863
Launched : 13 March 1865
Commissioned : 18 August 1865, Lt. Comdr. Edward P.
Williams
Builder :
Hull : Curtis & Tilden, East Boston, Mass, at their
shipyard
Machinery : Curtis & Tilden, East Boston, Mass,
(probably subcontracted)
Service speed : 5.4 knots
Shiloh (16 Jun 1869 Iris ) :
Date of contract : 24 June 1863
Launched : 14 July 1865 20
Commissioned : Never ; but delivered to and accepted
toy the U.S. Navy 12 March 1866
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to George C.
Bestor, Peoria, 111. ; hull built at the yard of
Charles W. McCord, St. Louis, Mo.a
Machinery : Subcontracted to Charles W. Mc-
Cord, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : No service
Squando (15 Jun 1869 Erebus, 10 Aug 1869 Algoma) :
Date of contract : 4 May 1863
Launched : 31 December 1864
Commissioned : 6 June 1865, Acting Master George
H. Leinas
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to McKay &
Aldus, East Boston, Mass. ; hull built at the
shipyard of Donald McKay, East Boston, Mass.
Machinery : McKay & Adlus, East Boston, Mass.
Service speed : 4.2 knots
M Donald McKay was an East Boston shipbuilder. His brother
Nathaniel and George Aldus operated a boiler factory in East
Boston. Interestingly enough, both firms were located on Border
Street. McKay & Aldus built about one-half of the motive ma-
chinery for Nausett but failed to complete it for reasons as yet
unknown.
20 An attempt was made to launch Shiloh on 3 July 1865. How-
ever, according to the Inspector, ", . . the bow not being tripped
as soon as the stern hung back and threw the stern cradles off
the ways. The bow then started, but the stern dragging on the
ground began to lag, and the vessel finally stopped at the waters
edge, with the bow slightly in advance — then by wedging up and
cutting off the ends of the ways which supported the vessel she
was gradually pushed down the bank by means of hydraulic jacks,
and on the morning of the 14th Inst, she was afloat, without the
slightest injury and scarcely leaking a drop. . .
21 Bestor and McCord were virtually partners, building Etlah
and Shiloh under the same roof, making contracts for materials
together and so forth. Consequently lt does not seem entirely
correct to describe them as separate individuals although this
has been done for the sake of convenience. They had previously
cooperated In the construction of Ozark with McCord building the
machinery.
S uncook (15 Jun 1869 Spitfire, 10 Aug 1869 Suncook) :
Date of contract : 17 March 1863
Launched : 1 February 1865
Commissioned : 27 J uly 1865, Acting Master L. H.
Beattie
Builder :
Hull : Globe Works, South Boston, Mass.
Machinery : Globe Works, South Boston, Mass.
Service speed : Not found
Tunxis (15 Jun 1869 Hydra, 10 Aug 1869 Otsego) :
Date of contract : 9 March 1863
Launched: 4 June 1864
Commissioned : 12 July 1864, Lt. Comdr. Henry Erben
Builder :
Hull : Reaney, Son & Archbold, Chester, Pa. at
their Pennsylvania Iron Works
Machinery : Reaney, Son & Archbold, Chester,
Pa.
Service speed : 4 knots
Umpqua (15 Jun 1869 Fury, 10 Aug 1869 Umpqua) :
Date of contract : 9 March 1863
Launched : 21 December 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 7 May 1866
Builder :
Hull : Snowden & Mason, Pittsburgh, Pa., at
Brownsville, Pa.
Machinery : Snowden & Mason, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Service speed : No service
Wassuc (15 Jun 1869 Stromboli, 10 Aug 1869 Wassuc) :
Date of contract : 2 June 1863
Launched : 25 July 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 28 October 1865
Builder:
Hull : George W. Lawrence & Co., Portland, Me.
at the Lawrence Iron Works 22
Machinery : George W. Lawrence & Co., Port-
land, Me., at the Lawrence Iron Works
Service speed : No service
Waxsatc (15 Jun 1869 Niobe) :
Date of contract : 13 March 1863
Launched : 4 May 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 21 October 1865
Builder :
Hull : A. & W. Denmead & Son, Baltimore, Md.
Machinery : A. & W. Denmead & Son, Baltimore,
Md.
Service speed : No service
Yazoo (15 Jun 1869 Tartar, 10 Aug 1869 Yazoo) :
Date of contract : 2 March 1863
Launched : 8 May 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 15 December
1865
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to Merrick &
Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. ; hull subcontracted to
Wm. Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa.
Machinery: Merrick & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa.
Service speed : No service
Yuma (15 Jun 1869 Tempest, 10 Aug 1869 Yuma) :
Date of contract : 26 March 1863
Launched : 30 May 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but delivered to and accepted
by U.S. Navy 6 May 1866
22 The keel of Wassuc was laid down at the facilities of the
Globe Works In South Boston, Mass. However, when the Navy
discovered this, work was ordered to be suspended because lt had
been the Navy Department s Intention to spread the Ironclad con-
tracts around, undoubtedly as result of political pressure, and
Lawrence bad been awarded the contract because he was from
Portland, Maine. However, Lawrence retained the contract and
began work at his own yard In Portland during October 1863, the
completed beams, etc. having been shipped to Portland.
256-125 0 - 68 - 49
775
U.S. Monitor Wassuc, one of the fifteen Cascos actually completed as monitors— However, she was never commissioned
as this lithograph would indicate It can only be concluded that the lithograph was prepared in anticipation of
Wassuc’ s completion and commissioning. Also, it is interesting to note that the publishers, Endicott & Go., used
the same plate for all ships of a given class, changing only the caption.
Builder :
Hull : Alex. Swift & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio at the
yard of S. T. Hambleton & Co., Cincinnati,
Ohio
Machinery : Subcontracted to Moore & Richard-
son, Cincinnati, Ohio
Service speed : No service
Kalamazoo class (4) ; Kalamazoo, Passaconaway, Quin-
sigamond, Shackamaxon
The four ships of the Kalamazoo class were the largest
warships of any type ordered by the U.S. Navy during the
Civil War (with the exception of Dunderberg) although
specifications were drafted for a 10,000-ton casemate
battleship. Intended to fight their four XV-inch guns in
a seaway the Kalamazoos were the closest that the U.S.
Navy came to including armored oceangoing “battleships”
until the 1890’s. Despite numerous assertions to the con-
trary in the American press the Kalamazoo and, possibly,
the four ships of the Miantonomoli type were the only
monitors that could have fought contemporary European
warships on equal terms outside protected coastal areas.
The contract price, for machinery only, was $580,000 for
Kalamazoo and Quinsigamond and $590,000 for Passa-
conaway and Shackamaxon. Construction on all four
ships proceeded but slowly during the Civil War and
construction was suspended in the fall of 1865, never to
resume. Being built with improperly seasoned timber
and left exposed to the elements the ships gradually rotted
and were eventually broken up on the stocks, none of the
four ever having been launched.
Statistics:
Length overall : 345'
Extreme beam: 56'8"
Draft: 17'6"
Depth of hold: 18'10"
Designed speed : 10 knots
Displacement : 5,660 tons ; 3,220 tons (old tonnage)
Engines: 4 horizontal, direct-acting engines (2 sets)
Horsepower : Not found
Boilers : 8 Martin
Bunker capacity : Not found
Screws : Twin screw, 15' diameter
Complement : Not found
Armament : 4 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter : 24' inside
Armor: Turret, 15'' ; side, 6" ”
Kalamazoo (15 June 1869 Colossus) :
Date of contract : Not applicable 24
Launched : Never ; broken up on the stocks in 1884
Commissioned: Never
Builder :
Hull : New York Navy Yard, Williamsburg, N.Y.
Machinery : Delameter Iron Works, New York,
N.Y.
Service speed : No service
Passaconaway (15 June 1869 Thunderer, 10 August 1869
Massachusetts) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : Never ; broken up on the stocks in 1884
Commissioned: Never
Builder :
Hall: Portsmouth Navy Yard. Kittery, Maine
Machinery : Delameter Iron Works, New York,
N.Y.
Service speed : No service
Quinsigamond (15 June 1869 Hercules, 10 August 1869
Oregon):
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : Never ; broken up on the stocks in 1884
Commissioned: Never
Builder :
Hull : Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass.
Machinery : Atlantic Iron Works, Boston, Mass.
Service speed : No service
Shackamaxon (15 Jun 1869 Hecla, 10 Aug. 1869 Nebraska)
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : Never ; broken up on the stocks in 1874
Commissioned: Never
Builder :
Hull : Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.
Machinery : Pusey, Jones & Co., Wilmington, Del.
Service speed : No service
23 The side armor consisted of two layers of rolled 8-inch
wrought iron plates. The plating for Passaconaway was ordered
from M. K. Moorhead & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa.
21 Contracts for machinery, armor plating, and the turrets were
let during 1863. The work allotted to civilian contractors was
practically complete at the time work was suspended.
776
USS Onondaga as she appeared while serving in the French Navy under original name — She was carried on the French
navy list as a coast defense ship.
777
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778
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Body plan of U.S. Monitor Tonawwnda
U.S. Torpedo Boat Casco, name ship of the light draft Casco class of monitors, shown on the James River near Dutch
Gap during March-April 1865.
780
RIVER MONITORS
Neosho class (2) ; Neosho, Osage
Neosho and Osage were the first river monitors de-
signed by James B. Eads of St. Louis, Mo. Noted for
their shadow draft, the single-turreted Neoshos were also
unusual in that they were the only monitors to be pro-
pelled by stern wheels. The “turtleback” which was to
become the hallmark of Eads’ designs first appeared in
these ships. Contracts for the two ships of the Neosho
class were let in mid-1862 and, launched within a month
of each other in early 1863, Neosho and Osage commis-
sioned on 13 May 1863 and 10 July 1863 respectively.
Rear Admiral Porter, while commanding the Mississippi
Squadron, noted that the Neoshos, “. . . do very well for
light work, but are not at all suitable for rough weather
or heavy service. . . Nevertheless, the class was suc-
cessful from the aspect of riverine warfare. The actual
cost of each ship was approximately $200,000.
Statistics:
Length overall : 180' 25
Extreme beam : 45'
Draft : 4'6" (full load)
Depth of hold : 9'
Designed speed : Not found
Displacement: Not found; 523 tons (old tonnage)
Engines: 2 (probably noncondensing horizontal en-
gines of the type found in the Winnebago class)
Horsepower : 400
Boilers : 4 (probably horizontal tubular)
Bunker capacity : 50 tons coal
Screws: Stern wheel; diameter 19', width 17'
Complement: 100
Armament : 2 Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter: 20' inside
Armor : Turret, 6'' ; side, 2 1/2”
Neosho (15 June 1869 Vixen, 10 August 1869 Osceola) :
Date of contract : 21 May 1862
Launched : 18 February 1863
Commissioned: 13 May 1863, Comdr. J. C. Febiger
Builder :
Hull : James B. Eads at his Union Iron Works,
Carondelet, Mo.
Machinery: Probably subcontracted to the Ful-
ton Iron Works, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 7.5 mph.
Osage:
Date of contract : 21 May 1862
Launched : 13 January 1863
Commissioned : 10 July 1863, Acting Volunteer Lt.
Joseph P. Couthouy
Builder :
Hull: James B. Eads at his Union Iron Works,
■Carondelet. Mo.
Machinery: Probably subcontracted to the Ful-
ton Iron Works, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 7.5 mph.
Ozark class (1) ; Ozark
A single-turreted river monitor, Ozark, like the never
commissioned Marietta and Sandusky, carried a substan-
23 The written specifications for the Neosho class, found in
RG45, National Archives, called for a ship 165' x 45' x S'. How-
ever, it was not uncommon for design changes to be made after
the specifications were drawn up and in this case, the 180' length
overall figure is given strong support by a reliable newspaper
account in the Missouri Democrat of 14 January 1863.
tial deckhouse aft (built along traditional Mississippi
steamboat lines) which provided additional quarters for
the crew. In addition to her two Xl-inch guns mounted
in the turret, Ozark carried one X-inch and three IX-inch
pivot guns which had to-be fought in the open, a virtual
impossibility in a war where the river banks were thickly
populated by Confederate sharpshooters. Like her eastern
counterparts, but unlike Neosho and Osage, Ozark carried
an armored pilothouse atop her turret. Begun in 1862,
Ozark was launched 18 February 1863 and was then towed
to St. Louis for installation of her turret and machinery,
arriving there 27 February. She did not commission until
18 February 1864. The actual cost of Ozark was about
$215,000.
Statistics:
Length overall : 180'
Extreme beam : 50'
Tlrnff • K'
Depth of hold: 7'4"
Designed speed : 9 mph. in still water
Displacement: Not found ; 578 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 4 ( type not found )
Housepower : Not found
Boilers: 6 boilers (probably horizontal tubular)
Bunker capacity : 100 tons coal
Screws: Quadruple screws, 7' diameter
Complement: 120
Armament : 2 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores ; 1 X-
inch, 3 IX-inch Dahlgren smoothbores mounted in
early summer 1864
Turret diameter : 20' inside diameter
Armor: Turret, 6" ; side, 2
Ozark:
Date of contract : 14 May 1862
Launched : 18 February 1863
Commissioned : 18 February 1864, Acting Volunteer
Lt. George W. Brown
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to George C.
Bestor, Peoria, 111. ; hull subcontracted to Ham-
bleton. Collier & Co. at their Mound City Ma-
rine Ways, Mound City, 111.
Machinery : Charles W. McCord at his Franklin
Foundry, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 2% knots
Marietta class (2) ; Marietta, Sandusky
Although Marietta and Sandusky were laid down during
the summer of 1862 neither was completed until late 1865,
too late to be of service in the Civil War. The reports
of the hull and machinery inspectors often mentioned that
more men could or should be employed. Letters were sent
to the contractors stressing the need for haste, and Com-
mander Hull himself made several visits to Pittsburgh,
but nothing seemed to substantially alter the continued
slow pace of construction. Although the Mariettas were
designed by the contractors, numerous changes were in-
corporated during construction at the insistence of Navy
inspectors. Since neither plans nor representations of the
vessels as completed are extant it is impossible to be sure
what they actually looked like. It is probable, however,
that they had a deckhouse aft and a single turret forward
like Ozark in this respect. If the original drawings were
followed Marietta and Sandusky had the towering twin
smokestacks associated with Mississippi River steamboats,
781
Photograph of U.S. Monitor Osage, probably taken shortly after completion — The armored casing of the stemwheel is
conspicuous, as is the “turtleback”, characteristic of an Eads design.
USS Osage shown on the Red River during the 1864 expedition in support of General Banks — Additional deck struc-
tures erected since the previous photograph can be seen. Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., who commanded USS Osage
at this time, spoke in his memoirs of using a periscope mounted on the turret to direct fire of the battery.
782
and a low pyramidal pilot house mounted on the main
deck, somewhat similar in concept to that placed on the
original Monitor. However, there are indications that the
pilothouse was eventually placed on top of the turret
as in the other later types of monitors. The contract price
for each ship was $188,000.
Statistics:
Length overall : 170' 26
Extreme beam : 50'
Depth of hold: 6' 6''
Designed speed : 9 mph. in still water
Displacement: Not found; 479 tons (old tonnage)
Engines: 2 (western steamboat type)
Horsepower : not found
Boilers : 4 (probably horizontal tubular)
Bunker capacity : 144 tons coal
Screws: Quadruple screw, 6'6" diameter; triple
rudders
Complement: 100
Armament : 2 Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter : 20' inside
Armor: Turret, 6" ; side, 1%"
Marietta (15 June 1869, Circe; 10 August 1869, Marietta) :
Date of contract : 16 May 1862
Launched : Probably between 1 and 6 December 1864
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 16 December
1865 and accepted by the U.S. Navy 25 April 1866
Builder :
Hull : Joseph Tomlinson, Andrew Hartupee, and
Samuel Morrow 27
Machinery : Joseph Tomlinson, Andrew Hartupee,
and Samuel Morrow
Service speed : No service
Sandusky (15 June 1869, Minerva; 10 August 1869, San-
dusky) :
Date of contract : 16 May 1862
Launched : Between 13 and 17 January 1865
Commissioned : Never ; but completed 26 December
1865 and accepted by the U.S. Navy 25 April 1866
Builder :
Hull : Joseph Tomlinson, Andrew Hartupee, and
Samuel Morrow
Machinery : Joseph Tomlinson, Andrew Hartupee,
and Samuel Morrow
Service speed : No service
Milwaukee class (4) ; Chickasaw, Kickapoo, Milwaukee,
Winnebago
The Milwaukee s, designed primarily for river warfare,
spent most of their commissioned service during the Civil
War serving with the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.28
Admiral Farragut who had Chickasaw and Winnebago
under his command at the Battle of Mobile Bay noted
that “. . . no vessels in his fleet performed more efficient
service.” The double-turreted quadruple screw Milwaukee s
were perhaps the most sophisticated successful monitors
of the Civil War. Designed by James B. Eads, the ships
had the “turtleback” deck characteristics of an Eads’ de-
sign. Perhaps the greatest single improvement over other
classes of monitors was the mounting of an Eads turret
20 An armored shield projecting from the stern and designed to
protect the propellers and rudders from a chance hit added an
additional 7 feet to the length overall.
27 Contrary to some accounts these three men were not all
business partners. Hartupee and Morrow did business as
Hartupee & Co. Pittsburgh business directories for the Civil
War period Indicate that Tomlinson and Hartupee & Co. had
entirely different places of business. Thus, the contract could
best be characterized as a joint effort by two businesses.
28 The steam log of Kickapoo contains a peevish comment writ-
ten during the ship’s passage from the mouth of the Mississippi
to Mobile Bay. After reporting on the satisfactory state of the
engineering plant the author added that the ship had no compass,
no barometer, no log line, and no instruments for determining
latitude or longitude. Apparently neither Kickapoo' s builder nor
the Navy foresaw that she would be needed for service in the
Gulf of Mexico.
forward on each ship of the class.20 Eads had prepared
the drawings for Osage and Neosho but Secretary of the
Navy Welles was unwilling to replace the proven Ericsson
design without previous testing. The Winnebago also had
an armored conning tower which doubled to some extent
as a lire control center.
Statistics:
Length overall : 229'
Extreme beam : 56'
Draft: 6'
Depth of hold : 8'6''
Designed speed : 9 knots
Displacement : 1,300 tons ; 970 tons (old tonnage)
Engines : 4 noncondensing horizontal engines
Horsepower : Not found
Boilers : 7 horizontal tubular
Bunker capacity : 150 tons coal (approx.)80
Screws: Quadruple screw, 7'6'' diameter; triple rud-
ders
Complement: 120 (approx.)
Armament : 4 Xl-inch Dahlgren smoothbores
Turret diameter : Double-turreted, 21' inside
Armor : Turret, 8" ; side, 3'' 81
Chickasaw (15 June 1869 Samson, 10 August 1869 Chicka-
saw) :
Date of contract : 26 May 1862
Launched : 10 February 1864
Commissioned : 14 May 1864, Acting Master James
Fitzpatrick
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to Thomas
Gaylord of Gaylord, Son & Co., Cincinnati,
Ohio; hull built at the Union Iron Works,
Carondelet, Mo.82
20 The Scientific American of 28 November 1863 described the
Eads turret on Winnebago In the following terms : “She has two
turrets, one Ericsson and the other Eads’ patent. The latter turret
differs fe m Ericsson s, among other things, in having a portion
of the shell entered down to, and the whole weight of the turret
resting on spheres at the bottom of the vessel. The guns are
placed on a huge platform, loaded In the hold, and raised In the
turret by steam power. They are also run out by steam ; the recoil
Is received on steam cylinders, and the whole apparatus, guns and
all, is operated by one man (an engineer). . . .”
30 On 17 November 1864 Chickasaw’s bunkers contained 148 tons
of coal and after coaling on 29 March 1865, 156 tons. Kickapoo’s
maximum coal load was 156 tons, after coaling on 15 February
1865.
31 The side armor of the Winnebago was unique in that It was
made up of heavy 3-inch thick Iron plates. The armor on most
other monitors was laminated, being build up on 1-lnch thick
plates to the desired thickness. This was not done because lami-
nated armor was superior (on the contrary, it was decidedly In-
ferior) but because until relatively late In the Civil War there
were very few rolling mills which could roll plate thicker than
1 Inch.
32 The Union Iron Works, at which Neosho and Osage were also
built, was situated several miles below the center of St. Louis, on
the Mississippi River. (Eads described the process of establishing
the yard in a letter dated 19 June 1862 to Naval Constructor John
Lentball, Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair :
“The construction of iron boats being quite a novel thing with
us I am necessarily delayed at the start in making preparation
to do the work well and quickly. I have erected a large machine
shop (200 x 60 ft.) expressly for the purpose and are [sic] erect-
ing 4 large ship houses under which to build the boats. I believe
they will be the first boats ever built In the West under shelter.
One house will be about 340 ft. by 64 ft. It is nearly finished and
the others are underway.”
The Missouri Democrat of 26 January 1863 reported that work wras
going on day and night, at night under gaslight, and on 6 April
1863 remarked that as early as November 1862 Eads had between
500 and 600 men employed at the Union Iron Works. Com-
mander Joseph B. Hull, USN, then superintending construction of
gunboats for the Mississippi Squadron, wrote on 6 July 1864 to
Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles and Chief Engineer Jnmes
W. King describing the yard :
Saint Louis, Mo., July 6th 186i
“Sir, In obedience to your order of the [5]th inst received this
day by telegram we have examined the Union Iron Works of
James B. Eads, situated at Carondelet, 7 miles below this city
and have to report as follows. The lot enclosed by plank fences
Footnote continued on page 785.
783
Plans initially submitted to the Navy by the contractors for U.S. Monitors Marietta and Sandusky — The ships were not
completed until nearly 2 years after these plans were probably drawn and, accordingly, it is not possible to be sure
that there were not major design changes prior to their acceptance by the Navy in 1866.
U.S. Monitor Ozark while part of the Mississippi Squadron in 1864 — The deckhouse and exposed pivot guns may be
seen clearly. USS Ozark's pilothouse resembles that which was placed on the main deck of the Milwaukee class.
The pilothouse on most monitors was approximately 6 feet high but that on USS Ozark appears to be about 12
feet in height.
784
Machinery : Probably built at the Fulton Iron
Works, St. Louis, Mo.33
Service speed : 9 plus knots on trial
Kickapoo (15 June 1869 Cyclops, 10 August 1869 Keway-
din) :
Date of contract : 27 May 1862
Launched : 12 March 1864
Commissioned: 8 July 1864, Acting Volunteer Lt.
D. C. Woods
Is about 600 feet front on the river by 400 feet on the street.
Through this street the Iron Mountain Rail Road passes having
a side track into the Yard. There is also an adjoining lot on the
north side not enclosed. Within the enclosure there are four
Shiphouses built in pairs. One Machine and Smlthery building.
Two Storehouses. Two houses in which turrets were erected.
One small Saw mill for light work. Two ranges of Coal & Iron
sheds. One small building for generating gas and one Office and
Drawing room. The Ship houses are about the following general
dimensions
“Vis: :
No. 1 — 300 feet long by 60 feet wide
No. 2 — 225 feet long by 60 feet wide
No. 3 — 230 feet long by 60 feet wide
No. 4 — 225 feet long by 60 feet wide
"They are of the ordinary [frame] wood construction lighted
from the roofs sides. In two of them the launching ways are
complete, and in the other two they are laid only from the river
to the high water mark. In all however the foundations are laid.
The Machine and Smithery building is also temporary frame wood
and [Is] one story high, lighted from the roof. It is about 300
feet long by 85 feet wide and contains machinery and forges etc.
as follows. Viz : 22 small forges. Two ordinary heating fur-
naces. One small [trip] hammer and all the necessary black-
smiths. tools and appliances. 5 Lathes from smallest up to
medium 5 Planing Machines from smallest up to 24 feet bed.
8 Drilling Machines, assorted sizes
7 Punching Machines, assorted sizes
3 Shearing Machines, assorted sizes
2 Bolt Cutting Machines
1 Gas Pipe Machine
1 Slotting Machine
1 Large armor plate planing machine
1 Large Facing Lathe
1 Large Set Rolls 10 feet long by 16 inches diameter
1 Set Rolls small size
“Also all the attachments . . .
“There is no foundry for making casting of either Iron or Brass
attached to the establishment. With this exception the facilities
are sufficient for repairing any vessels or machinery of the
Mississippi Squadron or building Iron or Wood vessels for the
Rivers. It is proper to state that there are several Foundries in
the City and a Dry Dock near the Works. As regards the value
of the Works for rent per annum we can only base our opinion on
a comparison with similar Works under Case and have to state
that in as much as the buildings will require some repairs and
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to G. B. Allen
and Oliver B. Filley doing business as G. B.
Allen & Co., St. Louis, Mo. ; hull built at the
Union Iron Works, Carondelet, Mo.
Machinery: Probably built at the Fulton Iron
Works, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 9 knots
Milwaukee:
Date of contract : 27 May 1862
Launched : 4 February 1864
Commissioned : 27 August 1864, Acting Volunteer Lt
James W. Magune
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to James B.
Eads, St. Louis, Mo.; hull built at the Union
Iron Works, Carondelet, Mo.
Machinery: Probably built at the Fulton Iron
Works, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 9 knots
Winnebago (15 June 1869 Tornado, 10 August 1869 Winne
bago) :
Date of contract : 27 May 1862
Launched: 4 July 1863
Commissioned: 27 April 1864, Acting Master A. S.
Megathlin
Builder :
Hull : Contract for ship awarded to James B.
Eads, St. Louis, Mo. ; hull built at the Union
Iron Works, Carondelet, Mo.
Machinery : Probably built at the Fulton Iron
Works, St. Louis, Mo.
Service speed : 9 knots
both buildings and Machinery require to be kept in order we think
17,500 00/100 per annum a fair valuation.
Respectfully Your Obdt Servt, J. B. Holl
Commander U8N
G. W. King
, _ _ Chf. Engr. U8N
“Hon Gideon Welles
Secty. of the Navy”
33 Gerard B. Allen, who with Oliver B. Filley operated the Ful-
ton Iron Works, was the Allen of Allen & Co. which contracted
for Kickapoo. The close business relationships among Eads,
Gaylord, Filley, and Allen which were obvious during the con-
struction of the City class gunboats during the fall and winter
of 1861-62 apparently culminated in this “sharing of the pie''
of the Winnebago class contracts.
785
This drawing of the Milwaukee class was submitted to the Navy Department by James B. Eads as part of a proposal
for warship construction. The ships generally followed the drawing as completed. However, one boiler was added
to the middle pair and the pilothouse aft of the forward turret, designed by Eads as a truncated cone, was sub-
stantially altered.
USS Puritan
786
"NEW NAVY”
MONITORS
Purit an class (1) ; Puritan
The never finished Puritan of the Civil War underwent
the same kind of rebuilding as the four Miantonomohs.
Although her original plans called for a single turret
carrying 4 XX-inch Dahlgren smoothbores, the revised
design of the “repaired” ship called for two turrets. It
is important to realize that all of the “repaired” ships
were actually completely modern ships of war bearing
only a vague resemblance of the first ships of the name.
All five of these ships had the superstructures, military
mast, and tall stack which also identified the monitors
built between 1889 and 1903.
Statistics (as commissioned, 1896) : **
Length overall : 296 '3''
Extreme beam: 60’1%” (measured on load water
line)
Draft: 18' (mean)
Designed speed : Not found
Displacement : 6,060 tons
Engines : 2 horizontal compound engines
Horsepower : 3,700 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 8 single-ended cylindrical
Bunker capacity : 410 tons coal
Screws : Twin screw, diameter not found
Complement: 200 (approx.)
Armament : 4 12-inch breech loading rifles and as
sorted 4-inch and 6-pdrs.
Armor: Turret, 8"; side, 14”
Puritan (BM-1)
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 6 December 1882
Commissioned: 10 December 1896, Captain J. R.
Bartlett
Builder: John Roach & Son, Chester, Pa., and New
York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Service speed: 12.40 knots on trials
Amphitrite class (4) ; Amphitrite, Miantonomoh, Monad-
nock, Terror
The Civil War monitors of the Miantonomoh class, al-
though regarded as the best of this type of warship by
American naval officers, deteriorated rapidly after the
war. The wood armor backing and other timbers in the
ships’ hulls suffered from dry rot and within the first ten
years after the war their combat value had become almost
nil. Accordingly, in 1874-75 Secretary of the Navy
George Robeson decided to carry out extensive “repairs”
on the ships. The repairs were so extensive involving the
construction of new iron hulls as to result in entirely new
ships. However, since the funds for new construction
had not been appropriated by the Congress, Robeson main-
tained the fiction that the ships were actually still the
Civil War monitors and so the names never dropped from
the Navy List. A national scandal resulted when this
and the fact that Robeson had been paying for the new
ships with old came to light. But, Robeson’s actions
marked the beginnings of the movement to reestablish the
United States as a strong naval power.
The Amphitrites were begun in private yards and com-
pleted in naval shipyards, construction having been sus-
®* For statistics on Puritan as originally designed and laid dowD
in 1862, see Coastal Monitors, Puritan class, p. 763 : for a further
note on her reconstruction, see p. 754.
pended for a time and progress slow throughout. Monad-
nock was one of the only two monitors to cross the Pacific,
doing so in 1898.
Statistics (as commissioned, 1891-96) : “
Length overall: 262'9” ; Miantonomoh, Terror, 263'
1” ; Monadnock, 262'3”
Extreme beam: 55'10”; Terror, 55'6” ; Monadnock,
55'5” ; Amphitrite, Miantonomoh, 55'4” (all meas-
ured on load water line)
Draft: 14'6” (mean) ; Terror, 14'8”
Depth of hold : 17'
Designed speed : 12 knots ; Monadnock, 14.5 knots
Displacement : 3,990 tons
Engines: 2 horizontal compound engines; Monad-
nock, 2 horizontal triple-expansion engines
Horsepower : 1,600 indicated horsepower ; Monadnock,
3,000 indicated horsepower
Boilers : Amphitrite, 4 Babcock & Wilcox ; Miantono-
moh, Terror, 6 single-ended cylindrical ; Monadnock,
4 single-ended cylindrical
Bunker capacity: 270 tons coal (approx.); Monad-
nock, 386 tons coal 38
Screws : Twin screw, 12' diameter
Complement: 150 (approx.)
Armament: 4 10-inch breech loading rifles and as-
sorted 4-inch and 6-pdrs.
Armor: Amphitrite, turret, 7%” ; side, 9” 31
Miantonomoh, turret, 11% ” ; side, 7”
Monadnock, turret, 7%” ; side, 9”
Terror, turret, 11%” ; side, 7”
Amphitrite (BM-2) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 7 June 1883
Commissioned : 23 April 1895, Captain W. C. Wise
Builder: Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Del.
and Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va.
'Service speed : 10.50 knots on trials
Miantonomoh (BM-5) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 5 December 1876
Commissioned : 27 October 1891, Captain Montgomery
Sicard 38
Builder : John Roach & Son, Chester, Pa. and New
York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Service speed : 10.50 knots on trails
Monadnock (BM-3) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 19 September 1883
Commissioned : 20 February 1896, Captain G. W.
'Sumner
35 For statistics on the monitors bearing these names as
originally commissioned in 1864-65, see Coastal Monitors,
Miantonomoh class, p. 768 ; for a further note on their reconstruc-
tion. see p. 754.
38 The ships normally carried 250 tons of coal when operating.
37 The side armor described here was actually what is now
known as a “belt”. The thickness given here and in other post
Civil War monitors is taken at the water line.
38 Miantonomoh was in commission briefly during 1882 and
1883, during which time she went from Philadelphia to Washing-
ton, and, later, to New York where the final phases of her
reconstruction were completed. During this period she carried
no main armament.
787
USS Amphitrite underway off the Boston Navy Yard, 27 August 1901
USS Monadnock under construction in 1892 — The indented area running the length of the hull provided the support for
the wood backing of the armor belt.
788
USS Amphitrite under construction at the Norfolk Navy Yard — The wood backing for the armor has been set in place
but the belt is not yet installed. The tall military mast which was typical of the “New Navy” monitors has already
been set in place.
USS Honadnock enroute from San Francisco to Manila in 1898— Note the amount of water being taken over the main
deck of the “new” monitor in a relatively slight sea.
789
I
Plan of U.S. Monitor Monadnock.
Builder: Phineas Burgess at the Continental Iron
Works, Vallejo, Calif., and Mare Island Navy Yard,
San Francisco, Calif.
Service speed : 11.63 knots on trials
Terror (BM-4) :
Date of contract : Not applicable
Launched : 24 March 1883
Commissioned : 15 April 1896, Captain P.F. Har-
rington
Builder : Wm. Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa., and
New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Service speed : 10.50 knots on trials
Monterey class (1) ; Monterey
The double-turreted Monterey was the first monitor to
be laid down for the new steel Navy of the 1880’s. Built
in San Francisco for service on the Pacific Station she
represented an effort to strengthen the force of armored
ships in the Pacific. In 1887, when Monterey was au-
thorized, Monadnock, then rebuilding, was the only po-
tentially effective American armored vessel in the Pacific
although Camanclie was still available. One of the design
features of the Civil War Casco class which added to their
displacement problems reappeared in Monterey although
in a much more refined and successful form. This feature
was the provision of large water-ballast tanks which
enabled her freeboard to be decreased by flooding prior
to action. The actual cost of Monterey was $2,065,779.30.
Monterey and Monadnock were the only two monitors to
cross the Pacific. Both ships were sent to the Philippines
to strengthen Dewey’s fleet. However, they did not ar-
rive until August of 1898, too late to participate in the
Battle of Manila Bay.
Statistics:
Length overall : 260'11"
Extreme beam : 59'%" (measured on load water line)
Draft: 14'10" (mean)
Designed speed : Not found
Displacement : 4,084 tons
Engines : 2 vertical triple-expansion engines
Horsepower : 5,250 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 4 Babcock & Wilcox
Bunker capacity : 230 tons coal
Screws : Twin screw, 10'2" diameter
Complement : 190 ( approx. )
Armament: 2 12-inch and 2 10-inch breech load-
ing rifles and assorted 6-pdrs.
Armor: Turret, 8" ; side, 13"
Monterey (BM-6) :
Date of contract : 14 June 1889
Launched : 28 April 1891
Commissioned : 13 February 1893, Captain Louis
Kemp
Builder : Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif.
Service speed : 13.60 knots on trial
Arkansas class (4) ; Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida,
Wyoming
The Arkansas class was the last group of monitors to
be constructed for the U.S. Navy although the navies of
Great Britain and Italy built and used monitors for shore
bombardment during World War I and the former used
them during World War II as well. Single turreted moni-
tors, they mounted the most modern heavy guns in the
U.S. Navy at the time they were built, 12 inch 40 calibre
weapons. The Arkansas class did not see any combat dur-
ing World War I and instead served as submarine tend-
ers. Alexander C. Brown, writing in the Society of Naval
Architects and Marine Engineers Historical Transactions
noted in a penetrating comment that :
Monitors found their final employment as subma-
rine tenders in World War I for which their low
freeboard hulls made them well suited. It is signifi-
cant to note, however, that in this humble capacity
they were ministering to the needs of that type of
craft which had logically replaced them for as ini-
tially envisaged monitors were designed to combine
heavy striking power with concealment and the pres-
entation of a negligible target area . . .
Statistics:
Length overall : 255'1"
Extreme beam: 50’ ( measured on load water line)
Draft: 12'6" (mean)
Designed speed : 12.50 knots
Displacement : 3,225 tons
Engines : 2 vertical triple-expansion engines
Horsepower : 2,400 indicated horsepower
Boilers : 4 ; Arkansas, Thornycroft ; Connecticut, Ni-
clausse; Florida, Mosher; Wyoming, Babcock &
Wilcox
Bunker capacity: 350 tons coal (approx.) ; Wyoming,
129 tons coal
Screws : Twin screw, 16' diameter (approx.)
Complement : 220 ( approx. )
790
USS Wyoming on the building ways at the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif. — The photograph was taken 30
June 1900.
Outboard profile of USS Monterey
791
256-125 0 - 68 - 52
USS Florida being outfitted at the Crescent Shipyard of Lewis Nixon, Elizabethport, N.J. — The photograph was taken
sometime in 1901-02. Another characteristic of the “New Navy” monitors was the towering stack.
Launch of USS Arkansas at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., 10 November 1900.
792
IJ.S. Monitor Miantonomoh lying at Boston in 1874 — Her armor, turrets and other fittings have been removed and she
is in reality only a hulk. At the same time construction of the second monitor to be named USS Miantonomoh
was beginning.
Armament : 2 12-inch breech loading rifles and
assorted 4-inch and 6-pdrs.
Armor : Turret, 10" ; side, 8"
Arkansas (2 March 1909 Ozark (BM-7) ) :
Date of contract : 11 October 1898
Launched : 10 November 1900
Commissioned : 28 October 1902, Comdr. C. E. Vree-
land
Builder : Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Service speed : 12.03 knots on trials
Connecticut (January 1901 Nevada, 2 March 1909 Tono-
pah (BM-8) ) :
Date of contract : 19 October 1898
Launched : 24 November 1900
Commissioned : 5 March 1903, Comdr. T. B. Howard
Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Service speed : 13.04 knots on trials
Florida (20 June 1908 Tallahassee (BM-9) ) :
Date of contract : 11 October 1898
Launched : 30 November 1901
Commissioned : 18 June 1903, Comdr. J. C. Fremont
Builder : Lewis Nixon at the Crescent Shipyard, Eliza-
bethport, N.J.
Service speed : 12.40 knots on trials
Wyoming (1 January 1909 Cheyenne (BM-10) ) :
Date of contract : 5 October 1898
Launched : 8 September 1900
Commissioned : 8 December 1902, Comdr. V. L. Cott-
man
Builder : Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif.
Service speed : 11.80 knots on trials
793
USS Arkansas fitting out at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., 1 July 1902 — Her armament is com-
pletely installed and the ship is only four months away from commissioning. The ship in the aft background is
the battleship USS Missouri.
Ask/
Although the last monitor was stricken from the Navy List before World War II, the type nevertheless played a role
in the career of the Navy’s greatest wartime leader. USS Tonopah served periodically as Lt. Chester W. Nimitz’s
(later Fleet Admiral Nimitz) flagship when he was Commander, Atlantic Submarine Flotilla, from 20 May 1912
to 30 March 1913.
794
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Manuscripts — National Archives 1
Record Group 19, Bureau of Construction and Repair
GENERAL RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU
Correspondence and Reports, 1850-1886
Letters sent to officers, Jan 1865-Oct 1870. 2 Vols.
Entry 51.
Letters sent to officers, Feb 1862-Apr 1863. 3 Vols.
Entry 52.
Letters sent to the General Superintendent of Ironclads,
Nov 1863-Apr 1867. 1 Vol. Entry 55.
“Reports from Superintendents outside of Navy Yards.”
Sep 1862-Apr 1863. 2 Vols. Entry 65.
“Reports from Superintendents outside of Navy Yards.”
Jan 1863-Jul 1866. 3 Vols. Entry 66.
“Reports from Superintendents outside of Navy Yards.”
Nov 1862-Sep 1866. 10 Vols. Entry 68.
Plans of Ships and Stations, with Related Records
Plans of ships and shore establishments. 179L-1910.
Entry 126.
Plans, tracings, and blueprints of U.S. Navy monitors
are included in this entry. The sets of plans are gen-
erally very complete including plans of decks, turrets,
inboard and outboard profiles, magazines, armor, etc.
The development of a design can often be traced through
successive sets of plans. Unfortunately, the plans of
river monitors built during the Civil War are not in-
cluded in this collection. However, a few detail ma-
chinery drawings are found in the Records of the Bu-
reau of Engineering. Entry 1028.
Records Relating to Claims Involving Vessels
Records relating to claims in connection with the con-
struction of Civil War naval vessels. 1861-1909.
Entry 186.
Papers relating to monitors, consisting of correspond-
ence between superintending construction, inspectors,
and contractors and the Navy Department during con-
struction of the vessels. The contracts and reports of
inspectors are particularly valuable.
Published Court of Claims records in cases involving
naval vessels. 1878-1910. 88 Vols. or pamphlets.
Entry 195.
Printed volumes or pamphlets containing such docu-
ments as evidence and depositions of claimant and
defendant, findings of fact, and correspondence relating
to the construction of the vessels. Of particular inter-
est is testimony relating to actual builders’ measure-
ments of individual monitors after completion.
Miscellaneous Records Relating to United States Vessels
Contracts for construction of naval vessels. 1861-18B4.
2 Vols. Entry 235.
RECORDS OF THE GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF IRONCLADS
Records of the Office of the General Superintendent of
Ironclads
1 Entry numbers from National Archives preliminary Inventories
have been supplied wherever applicable.
Correspondence. Jul 1861-Dec 1864. 13 Vols. Entry
1235.
Letters sent to the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary
of the Navy. Nov 1862-Oct 1866. 4 Vols. Entry 1236.
Records of the Office of the General Inspector of Ironclads
Letters sent. Sep 1862-Mar 1867. 4 Vols. Entry 1248.
Reports of vessels and steam machinery. Sep 1862-Aug
1866. 3 Vols. Entry 1249.
Letters sent to contractors and local inspectors. Sep
1862-Apr 1863. 1 Vol. Entry 1250.
Letters sent to contractors and local inspectors concern-
ing light-draft monitors. Mar 1863-Sep 1866. 4 Vols.
Entry 1251.
Letters sent to contractors and local inspectors concern-
ing harbor and river monitors. Apr 1863-Oct 1866. 3
Vols. Entry 1252.
Circular letters sent to local inspectors. May 1863-Feb
1864. 1 Vol. Entry 1253.
Letters received. Sep 1862-Oct 1866. 2 Vols. Entry
1255.
Letters received concerning the Manayunk and the Ump-
qua. Jan 1865-Jul 1866. 1 Vol. Entry 1256.
Record Group 24, Records of the Bureau of Personnel
Deck Logs.
Record Group 45, Naval Records Collection of the Of-
fice of Naval Records and Library
Mound City Naval Station, Letters received by the Com-
mandant, Jul-Dec 1864, Dec 1864-Aug 1865, Apr 1867-
May 1868. 3 Vols. Entry 324.
Letters sent by Commodore Isaac B. Hull, Jun 1861-Sep
1865. 2 Vols. Entry 344.
Naval Ships : design, construction, etc.
Construction. Subject file AC.
Design and general characteristics. Subject file AD
Record Group 74, Records of the Bureau of Ordnance
Reports of armament on vessels, 1863-1871. 7 Vols.
Entry 121.
Reports of the disposition of guns, 1863-1895. 21 Vols.
Entry 122.
Manuscripts — Franklin Institute
Lenthall collection of ships’ plans.
II. Printed Works
Newspapers and Periodicals
Army and Navy Journal
St. Louis Missouri Democrat
New York Times
Scientific American
Transactions of the Society of Naval Architects and
Marine Engineers
United States Naval Institute Proceedings
Public Documents
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in
the War of the Rebellion. 30 Vols. Washington,
1894-1922.
795
Register of the Commissioned, Warrant, and Volunteer
Officers of the Navy of the United States, etc. Wash-
ington, annual.
Report of the Chief Engineer J. W. King on European
Ships of War, etc. Washington, 1877.
Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the
War. 3 Vols. Washington, 1865.
Report of the Secretary of the Navy. Washington,
annual.
Report of the Secretary of the Navy in Relation to
Armored Vessels. Washington, 1864.
Ships, Data, U.S. Naval Vessels. Washington, annual
from 1911.
General Works
Baxter, James Phinney, The Introduction of the Ironclad
Warship, Cambridge, 1933.
Bennett, Frank M., The Monitor and the Navy Under
Steam, Boston, 1900.
Bennett, Frank M., The Steam Navy of the United States,
Pittsburgh, 1897.
Church, William C., The Life of John Ericsson, New York,
1890.
Davis, Charles H., Life of Charles Henry Davis, Rear
Admiral, 1807-1877, Boston, 1899.
Hovgaard, William, Modern History of Warships, New
York, 1920.
Johnson, Robert U., and Buel, C. C., Eds., Battles and
Leaders of the Civil War, New York, 1888-1889.
King, James W., The War-Ships and Navies of the World,
Boston, 1881.
MacBride, Robert, Civil War Ironclads, Philadelphia, 1962.
Miller, Francis T., Ed., The Photographic History of the
Civil War, New York, 1911.
Parkes, Oscar, British Battleships, London, 1956.
Porter, David Dixon, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil
War, New York, 1885.
Porter, David Dixon, Naval History of the Civil War, New
York, 1886.
Russell, J. Scott, The Modern System of Naval Architec-
ture, London, 1865.
Selfridge, Thomas O., Jr., Memoirs of Thomas O. Selfridge,
Jr., Rear Admiral, USN., New York, 1924.
Thompson, R. M., and Wainwright, Richard, Eds., Confi-
dential Correspondence of Gustava Vasa Fox, Assistant
Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1865, New York, 1918-1919.
Very, Edward W., Navies of the World, New York, 1880.
Welles, Edgar T., Ed., Diary of Gideon Welles, New York,
1911.
Wilson, H. W., Battleships in Action, London, 1926.
Wilson, H. W., Ironclads in Action, London, 1896.
U.S. Monitor Saugus on the James River during the Civil War — The booms and netting protruding from the bow of
Saugus are a so-called “torpedo rake”, designed to sweep Confederate mines from the path of the ship.
j
796
Appendix III
CIVIL WAR NAVAL ORDNANCE
Our work in Naval History consistently bene-
fits from the assistance of students of history who,
as a consuming hobby, have become experts in the
field of their interest. Their hobbies differ widely
but one characteristic unifies them — yearning to
find the truth and willingness to share it with
others.
From this reservoir of knowledgeable scholars
we are privileged to present in this volume the
following study of Civil War Naval Ordnance
by Eugene B. Canfield. The latest of the special
Civil War studies we are making more widely
available, it appropriately ornaments this third
volume of our important fighting ship series.
Mr. Canfield joined General Electric at Pitts-
field in 1946 and has made important contributions
to fire control system development for shipboard
use including the monumental Polaris program.
He has also provided key design data in the three
axis Shipboard tracking antenna and the Atlas
radio guidance system used to place the Gemini
and Mercury astronauts into orbit. A graduate
of Syracuse University, Mr. Canfield has patents
or patents pending on Directrol Gearless Power
Drive and several control devices. He has au-
thored a recent book and articles in electromechan-
ical controls and ordnance fields. In “spare” time
he has become expert on the 18th and 19th cen-
turies’ ordnance and owns an outstanding library
on the subject. A registered professional engineer
in both New York and Massachusetts, Mr. Can-
field lives in Pittsfield, Mass., with his wife and
three children.
All those interested in the Civil War, in ord-
nance, in ships, will welcome this excellent study
on Naval Ordnance of the Civil War period that
this talented writer has so well expressed and
illustrated.
E.M.E.
797
CIVIL WAR NAVAL ORDNANCE
by
Eugene B. Canfield
On January 8, 1847 a relatively unknown lieu-
tenant in his late thirties reported to the Wash-
ington Navy Yard for ordnance duty. So slightly
was he regarded that the officer in charge received
him coldly and put him off for 2 weeks. Yet, soon
he and his commanding officer were steadfast
friends, and such was his ability that when he was
placed in command of the South Atlantic Block-
ading Squadron in June 1863, he had invented a
system of boat howtizers, contributed to the de-
velopment of the naval lock, created the shell guns
and a lesser known series of rifles, designed a 15-
inch smoothbore for monitor armament, and even
originated a .69 caliber rifled musket.1 The Lieu-
tenant, of course, was John Adolphus Dahlgren
and it is to him more than to any other individual
that the Navy owed the proficiency of its Civil War
ordnance.
Aside from the guns developed specifically for
the monitor turrets, three basic categories were
used:
(a) Boat guns or howitzers ;
( b ) Broadside guns ; and
( c ) Pivot guns.
The general types of guns were shell guns, shot
guns, rifles and howitzers. In addition, at least in
the Confederate Navy, a few Carronades 2 3 re-
mained from a bygone era.
Although Dahlgren attended to the design of
rifled guns as early as 1856, they were not given
1 Known as the Plymouth musket, it was a development from
the French Carabine a Tige. Ten thousand were In service In
1864.
3 Carronades are short iron guns having relatively little weight
for their caliber. They have no trunnions and are fastened to
their carriage by a loop underneath in a fashion similar to the
Dahlgren boat guns. Carronades were first brought into British
service in 1779, the 68-, 42-, 32-, and 24-pounders still being listed
as retained ordnance after 1870. The Carronade, named after
the Carron Works in Scotland, is somewhat obscure in origin,
some crediting it to General Robert Melville and others to Charles
Gascoigne, manager of the company. In any case, the guns were
at first called Gasconades and one may conjecture the possibility
of a play upon words, for gasconade, derived from the French
Gascons, means a boast or vaunt of something very improbable.
CS Ram Manassas was armed with a single 24- or 32-pounder
Carronade.
the same emphasis as in the army, possibly because
of the different conditions and problems met afloat.
In any case, most of the rifled guns were the de-
signs of Robert P. Parrott, although Dahlgren
rifles as well as those of Sawyer and James saw
service. In the Confederacy, many Brooke rifles
were used.
While generalizations can be made concerning
Civil War ordnance, variation and experimenta-
tion was the rule. Small, or even significant differ-
ences may be found between two pieces of the same
type. In addition, many old or obsolete pieces,
especially in the Confederacy, were rifled, banded
or otherwise modified by a variety of methods so
that they no longer represented a standard class of
ordnance. Method of updating also could vary
depending upon the foundry and the sophistica-
tion of its techniques, the time, and the individuals
in charge.
Shell Guns
Although Dahlgren’s work on boat guns pre-
ceded the shell gun designs, his system of shell guns
represents the effort for which he is most famous.
However, his shell guns were not the first shell
guns to arm U.S. ships, 8-inch guns of 63 and 55
cwt. having been established in 1845. Subsequently,
a 10-inch shell gun of 86 cwt. also was brought into
service. These guns generally followed the form
of the canon-obusier developed for the French
Navy by General Henri Joseph Paixhans. Paix-
hans initial effort commenced about 1821 and by
1841 the first tube had been cast. Dahlgren wrote,
“Paixhans had so far satisfied naval men of the
power of shell guns as to obtain their admission on
shipboard ; but by unduly developing the explosive
element, he had sacrificed accuracy and range. . . .
The difference between the system of Paixhans and
my own was simply that Paixhans guns were
strictly shell guns, and were not designed for shot,
nor for great penetration or accuracy at long
ranges. They were, therefore, auxiliary to, or as-
798
Commander Dahlgren and the Dahlgren gun. From Harper's Weekly, 20 April 1861 (p. 244)
799
sociates of, the shot-guns. This made a mixed
armament, was objectionable as such, and never
was adopted to any extent in France. . . .”
“My idea was, to have a gun that should gener-
ally throw shells far and accurately, with the ca-
pacity to fire solid shot when needed. Also to
compose the whole battery entirely of such guns.”
The first draft of the 9-inch shell gun was com-
pleted January 8, 1850. Commodore Warrington,
Chief of Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography,
approved the building of an experimental model
on January 10 and an order was placed on the
West Point Foundry. Weight of the gun was
about 9,080 pounds and the cast iron was to have
a density (specific gravity) not less than 7.230 and
tensile strength of at least 33,000 pounds per square
inch. This original gun, as can be seen from the
figure, had a slightly different form from the later
designs and had only a single vent.
On May 21, 1850, the gun was landed at the
Navy Y ard. Practice with the gun was quite suc-
cessful and encouraged both Dahlgren and Com-
modore Warrington. Meanwhile, in May of 1850,
Dahlgren refined the 9-inch gun, developing the
curvature of the reinforce and adding two vents.
Although subsequent designs show minor changes
including the use of a single central vent 3 in place
of the two side vents, this appears to be the design
used during the Civil Wax*.
Design for the 11-ixxch shell gun was submitted
March 24, 1851. By April 30, Commodore War-
rington had approved the building of a model by
Cyrus Alger of the South Boston Foundry. It ap-
pears this first gun was used experimentally for
several years and finally burst at the 1959th round
July 18, 1855. In addition to shells, the gun had
fired 655 solid shot.
In some respects, the trial 9-inch gun built in
1857 was even more remarkable. After firing 1,500
i*ounds of standard 72-pound shell with 10 pounds
of powder charge, the gun was successively loaded
with shot until 10 shot with a total weight of 903
pounds was reached. With 20 pounds of chax*ge,
the overloaded tube finally burst. The 10 shot had
filled the bore to within 7% inches of the muzzle.
3 Upon the death of Commodore Warrington, October 12, 1851,
Commodore Charles Morris was placed in command of the Bureau
of Ordnance and Hydrography. Apparently Morris insisted on
a single central vent and “would not permit me to have my own
vent in my own model of IX-inch and X-inch.” After Morris’
death in 1856, one of Dahlgren’s first acts was “to restore the side
vents to all his guns.”
In 1854, Congress authorized the Secretary of
the Navy to build six first-class steam frigates.
These six were the famous Merrimack class 4 and
Dahlgren’s new shell guns were to constitute the
armament, the 9-inch being adopted for the gun
decks. However, the Bureau refused to adopt the
11-inch pivot insisting instead upon a lighter 10-
inch pivot. Because Niagara was to carry 11-
inch, however, a few 11-inch were included in the
initial production order as follows :
Alger & Co., Boston
9-inch
28
10-inch
7
11 -inch
7
Parrott, Cold Spring .
28
7
7
Knap & Wade, Pittsburg
50
Anderson, Richmond. .
50
—
—
156
14
14
Dispute concerning the ability to handle heavy
guns aboard ship continued. Finally, in 1857, in
order to convince his critics, Dahlgren obtained
Plymouth , sloop-of-war, as a “gunnery practice
ship.” He then replaced the original armament
with four 9-inch shell guns, one 11-inch shell pivot
gun, two 24-pdr. and one 12-pdr. howitzer, all of
Dahlgren design. Also, the 9-inch broadside guns
were mounted on the two-wheel Marsilly carriage
rather than the four-wheel common carriage.
Plymouth? s 6 -month cruise was completely success-
ful, and the Secretary of the Navy concluded in his
1857 Annual Report that, “The result of the oper-
ations of Plymouth seem to dispel all remaining
doubt whether the heavy cannon which she carried
would be manageable, and not only to justify the
previous adoption of such ordnance in the steam
frigates recently built, but also to render it expedi-
ent to extend this plan of armament.” Firing of
the 7214-pound shell from the 9-inch gun could be
accomplished once every 40 seconds by an experi-
enced crew.
Yents in all naval guns were 0.2 inch in diameter.
Because the vent became enlarged or worn more
quickly than other parts of the piece, two were ar-
ranged in the Dahlgren shell guns. One was filled
with zinc, the other being used until it became suffi-
ciently enlai'ged to endanger the safety of the piece.
It was then filled with zinc and the first oixe opeixed.
Other times the right vent only was bored, the left
vent being unbored or pai*tially bored.
Normally, the 10- and 11 -inch gxxns were used in
pivot and the 9-inch ixx broadside, but there were a
4 Others of the class were Wabash, Minnesota, Roanoke, Colo-
rado, and Niagara. Niagara was built as a large sloop-of-war
and strangely was armed exclusively with 11-inch guns.
800
801
The 4-wheel common carriage was used to mount 32-pdrs
in broadside. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
few exceptions. USS New Ironsides had a broad-
side battery of 11 -inch shell guns mounted on iron
carriages and slides somewhat similar to a pivot
mounting. At Charleston, she Avas able to fire the
11-inch guns once every 1.74 minutes for about an
hour or once every 2.86 minutes for 3 hours, and it
was believed that a rate of 1.33 minutes per round
could be sustained for a short time. The 11 -inch
guns also formed a part of the armament for many
of the monitors.
Shot Guns
In the decade or more preceding the Civil War,
a large variety of 32-pdr. shot guns was available
for the armament of naval vessels. These essen-
tially were copies of “the last English decree on the
subject” and A\ere constructed in 27, 32, 42, 46, 51,
The Marsilly carriage was the usual mounting for the
9-inch shell gun. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
and 57 cwt. sizes.5 A few other sizes may even be !
found. The most predominant sizes just previous
to and during the Avar Avere of 27, 32, 42, and 57
CAvt. These guns AATere generally mounted on the
four-Avheel common carriage and formed a portion
of the armament of many ships.
In addition to the 32-pdrs., a 64-pdr. of 106 cwt. i
AA'as available for mounting as a pivot gun on a
slide carriage, though it was nearly obsolete. Dur-
ing June 1864, an 8-inch shot gun of 10,100 pounds
and a 9-inch shot gun of 12,000 pounds AA-ere de-
signed Avith a cylindrical chamber, but these guns
likely saAv little if any service.
5 The British had an even larger variety of 32-pdrs designed by
Dundas, Monk, Blomfield and others. A hundredweight, cwt, is
112 pounds. Quotation is from Memoir of John A. Dahlgren by
Madeleine V. Dahlgren, Charles L. Webster & Co., 1891. Dahl-
gren’s second wife was quoting from his notes.
802
Although these tubes were classified as shot guns,
shells were also available and were supplied to
ships in appropriate proportions. For the 32-pdr.,
the shot weighed 32.5 pounds while the shell
weighed approximately 26 pounds when filled with
0.9 pound of powder. Firing at a vertical screen
40 feet wide by 20 feet high at a distance of 1,300
yards with a 32-pdr. of 57 cwt., only three out of
10 shots hit the target, two direct and one on
ricochet. The average range to first splash was
1,324 yards with deviations from 1,238 yards to
1,383 yards. While not necessarily the firing rate
for this particular practice, the long 32-pdr., like
the 9-inch shell gun, could be fired once every 40
seconds. Since a 9-inch shell weighed 73.5 pounds
complete with sabot, it is apparent duties other
than lifting and loading the projectile limited the
rate of fire for these two pieces. In noting the
armament of various ships, the 32-pdrs. of 42 and
57 cwt. are the most prevalent.
Rifles
Most of the rifled cannon used in the Civil War
were the product of Captain Robert P. Parrott and
the West Point Foundry at Cold Spring, N.Y.
The Parrott rifles were first made in 1860 and con-
sisted of a cast iron tube with a wrought iron re-
inforced band shrunk around the breech. Sizes
varied from the 3-inch 10-pdr. to the 10-inch 300-
pdr., although none of the latter and few of the
former saw naval service. The 30-pdr. was one of
the most popular and reliable sizes and was fur-
nished with both truck and pivot carriages, as was
the smaller 20-pdr. The 8-inch 150-pdr. was nor-
mally mounted in pivot or placed in the monitor
turrets, although a Marsilly carriage as well as the
more usual pivot carriage was available for the
smaller 6.4-inch 100-pdr.
In September 1862, the 100-pdr. was fired from
130 feet at a target having 6 inches of wrought
iron armor plates. Penetration was achieved with
a 14-pound charge and 70-pound shot. It was also
found that the 8-inch Parrott, with 150-pound
bolts and only a 16-pound charge could break
through but not punch 41/2 -inch plates.
The heavy 6.4-, 8-, and even 10-inch rifled guns
used in both Army and Navy ivere almost exclu-
sively those of Robert Parrott. The bursting of
some of these guns at Charleston, and later at Fort
Fisher weakened confidence in the durability of
the guns and brought some discredit to his name.
In fact, the Parrott guns were quite remarkable.
Rodman, Blakely, Brooke, Dahlgren and others
who were working to improve the state-of-art all
suffered from the bursting of large caliber cannon,
especially rifles. The technology to make reliable
large caliber weapons did not yet exist, and when
it was developed, cast iron was made obsolete.
Another rifle that saw use, especially on some of
the river gunboats, was the invention of General
Charles T. James. The guns were old army 42-
pdr. smoothbores rifled possibly by Ames at Chico-
pee, Mass., and supplied with 811/4-pound shot or
6414-pound shell. While the James rifles and
projectiles were primarily noted for their per-
formance at Fort Pulaski and Pensacola, they also
performed well in naval service.
Heavy rifles for the Confederate Navy were de-
signed by John M. Brooke. They somewhat re-
sembled the Parrott guns in that the cast iron
tubes were reinforced by single and later double
wrought iron bands shrunk around the breech.
Manufacturing was done at the Tredegar works
in Richmond or at the Naval Gun Foundry and
Ordnance Works, Selma, Ala. The most predom-
inant sizes were the 6.4- and 7-inch, although an 8-
inch was also produced.6 Except under the band-
ing, the tubes were not turned, but remained in
the condition in which they left the mold. For the
double-banded 7-inch rifle, nine individual bands
each 2 by 6 inches were actually used. Six bands
made up the inner layer. After the inner layer
was turned in the lathe, the three outer bands were
put on, “and the gun is again returned to the mill
in order to have the exterior of the outer band
turned off.”
In February 1863 at Drewry’s Bluff, Brooke
practiced against an armored target composed of
four layers of 2-inch plates and 22 inches of timber
backing. Using a gun from CSS Richmond , pre-
sumably 7-inch, he “broke three layers of plates,
so that the pieces came out, and broke the remain-
ing plate and pushed it firmly in the wood . .
The range was 200 yards and a 25-pound charge
was used to propel the 140-pound bolt. However,
proof firing was accomplished with a 16-pound
charge and a 111-pound bolt. Other weights of
projectile including a 102-pound shell were also
available. The 6.4-inch guns were mounted on
6 Brooke also designed 10- and 11-inch banded smoothbores.
803
Si OE ELEVATION OF XI- INCH GUN CARRIAGE
AND SLIDE
CARRIAGE SLIDE
WOODEN PARTS METAL PARTS WOODEN PARTS nctal part*
-A. Brackets of two pieces, with. jo£ '&j d. Cap squares . C. Hails. G. Shifting trucks .
and dowel 6 b e. Tcu union, plates . .]>. Compressor b aliens . XI. Training invcks, both with, journals .
B. Transoms. I projecting beyond the rails f. Compressor, with, screw and lover . IK. Xransmps; front and rear each, in two and ecientfix* aries .
from middle . and rear . JQjffied inro $ Hollers and journal plates . parts, middle in one p tat.
brackets . I. Harters , front and rear .
The pivot carriage was used for mounting 11-inch shell guns and heavy Parrott rifles. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
The 7% -inch Dahlgren rifle, shown with Brooke and Parrott rifles, was never used on board ship. Other Dalgren rifles,
except the 12- and 20-pdr. bronze pieces, were of the same form. Original drawing by author.
804
Marsilly carriages while the 7-inch guns were
mounted on pivot carriages. Both carriages were
essentially the same as those of the Union fleet.
In general, the Brooke rifles, as well as other
cannon produced in the Confederacy, were quite
subject to evolutionary changes as well as other
small differences peculiar to the foundry and the
sophistication of the workers and their equipment.
Consequently, various differences exist between
models of the same type.
As might be expected, Dahlgren also became
interested in heavy rifled cannon and made com-
putations for a 16,000-pound model in 1856. By
1860, Dahlgren was firing a 50-pdr. with consider-
able success. Shortly, designs had also been com-
pleted for 30-, 80- and 150-pdr. rifles, although
relatively few were built. The first 80-pdr. was
completed August 28, 1861, and placed aboard USS
Underwriter. USS Hetzel received serial No. 10
which burst spectacularly on February 7, 1862:
“At 5 :15 rifled 80-pdr. aft, loaded with 6 pounds
of powder and solid Dahlgren shot, 80 pounds,
burst, in the act of firing, into four principal
pieces ; the gun forward of trunnions fell on deck,
one third of breech passed over mastheads and fell
clear of ship on starboard bow, one struck on port
quarter, and the fourth piece, weiging about 1,000
pounds, driven through the deck and magazine,
bringing upon the keelson ; set fire to the ship. . . .”
The tube weighed 7,900 pounds.
Dahlgren rifles were cast without trunnions, and
the trunnions were supplied by a breech strap at-
tached to the finished casting. As in the shell
guns, two vents were present, although only one
was completely bored through to the chamber.
Very few of the rifles saw service, and most of them
were 50-pdrs. Before his system of rifles was
perfected, Dahlgren was given other duties as Rear
Admiral and commander of the South Atlantic
Blockading Squadron.
Armament for the Monitors
On March 9, 1862 Gustavis V. Fox, Assistant
Secretary of the Navy and Lt. Henry A. Wise,
Bureau of Ordnance, watched the encounter be-
tween Monitor and Merrimack from a small tug-
boat in Hampton Roads. Although Monitor
was left in possession of the battleground, neither
contestant had been materially injured and it was
apparent that something more powerful than Mon-
itor's 11-inch Dahlgren shell guns 7 was required.
Coming ashore at Fort Monroe, Fox was attracted
by an experimental 15-inch Rodman columbiad
lying nearby. This obviously was the needed gun.
Therefore, in April, Dahlgren completed a 15-inch
design to fit the 20-foot interior of the new Erics-
son ironclads. The first 15-inch guns were
mounted alongside 11-inch shell guns since the 15-
inch guns could not be produced quickly enough to
provide two for each turret. The carriages were
made of iron and the gun ports were so small that
the 26.5-inch muzzles could not protrude. Conse-
quently, a smoke-box was devised as shown in the
illustration to protect the gun crew from the blast
of the explosion.
Early testing was carried out in attacks on Fort
McAllister, Ga. On January 27, 1863, Com-
mander John Worden, of Monitor fame, and now
captain of the new Montauk , fired twenty-six 15-
inch projectiles at the fort from a range of 1,600
yards. “The firing from turret seemed slow and
deliberate to those in engine room; the smoke
from guns was forced rapidly into fireroom at
each discharge, but was well diluted with air by
the fans, and rapidly passed out through furnaces
and smokepipe, causing no unusual discomfort.”
Rear Admiral DuPont commented, “We have ob-
tained valuable information in the success of the
working of the XV-inch gun . . . My own pre-
vious impressions of these vessels . . . have been
confirmed, viz, that whatever degree of impene-
trability they might have, there was no corre-
sponding quality of aggression or destructiveness
as against forts, the slowness of fire giving full
time for the gunners in the fort to take shelter in
the bombproof s.”
On February 28, Worden first proved the ef-
fectiveness of the 15-inch guns by destroying Con-
federate steamer Nashville lying aground under
the protection of Fort McAllister. The range to
the steamer was approximately 1,200 yards; only
eight 15-inch shells and six 11-inch shells were re-
quired to set the wooden ship afire. Average time
for firing the 15-inch gun was a little over 6 min-
utes with a minimum time of 3 minutes. On other
7 Monitor's 11-inch shell guns were Nos. 27 and 2S made at the
West Point Foundry in 1859. Forty-one cast Iron shot weighing
approximately 170 pounds were fired with 15-pound charges and
hit Merrimack 20 times, breaking six of the top layer of plates.
Merrimack’s armor was two layers of 2-inch thick rolled plates
sloping at an angle of 35 degrees. It was later determined that
charges of 30 pounds could be used in 11-inch guns.
805
occasions and with other monitors, the average fir-
ing time might be as much as 10 minutes.
Captain Drayton of Passaic reported that
“pointing was done for both guns with the XI-
inch, the port of the other being entirely closed by
the concussion box.” Furthermore, the smoke or
concussion box was nearly knocked down, and the
small projection on the cartridge would not enter
the chamber so that priming powder had to be used
to ignite the charge. Perhaps because of this, half
of the 34 original guns had the teat chambers
reamed out to parabolic form and the muzzle was
turned down to 21 inches, the diameter of the 13-
inch gun.8 Later, for the Canonicus class, the gun
ports were enlarged to eliminate the smoke box
and the 15-inch guns were redesigned with a 16-
8 Dahlgren actually preferred to arm the monitors with 13-inch
guns.
inch long muzzle. Canonicus and her sisters car-
ried two 15-inch guns in their turrets.
Normally, the crew for firing the 15-inch gun
consisted of 14 men, but often only eight men were
preferred as being equally efficient with less crowd-
ing. Three types of projectile were provided and
the 440-pound solid shot could be fired with 60-
pound charges at close quarters, although 50
pounds was the normal charge. Cored shot of 400
pounds was recommended for use against masonry.
The 330-pound shell contained 13 pounds of pow-
der and was ordinarily fired with a 35-pound
charge. It contained three navy time fuses of 3 y2,
5, and 7 seconds.
Final justification for the 15-inch gun came on
June 17, 1863 when Weehawken’s cored shot pene-
trated Atlanta’s 4-inch armor plating and broke
the heavy iron casting at the top of the pilot house.
The original 15-inch cannon designed by Dahlgren for the monitor turrets — Vent is slightly altered from original
concept. Original drawing by author.
806
Mortars
MONITOR TURRET.
Monitor turret showing arrangements for 15-inch guns —
Passaic class monitors had smoke boxes to enclose the
muzzle as shown at left. Longer guns and larger ports
were used with Canonicus class monitors as shown at
right. From 1866 Ordnance Manual. (Note: The
Canonicus class is referred to on this plan as the
Tecumseh class. See Appendix II).
Surrender occurred after only 15 minutes of fight-
ing.
In addition to the heavy smoothbores, a few of
the monitors were equipped with the 8-inch 150-
pdr. Parrott rifles. Of the Passaic class, Lehigh
and Patapsco had them in place of the 11-inch
shell guns, and finally the 11-inch of Passaic was
replaced with a 150-pdr. rifle. The twin-turreted
Onondaga also had a 150-pdr. Parrott alongside
the 15-inch smoothbore in each turret. The ex-
tra range of the rifles was occasionally useful in
reaching targets unattainable with the smooth-
bore.
Mortars were not widely used by naval forces
during the Civil War and opinions regarding
them were generally controversial. However, the
17,200-pound 13-inch monsters were used in mor-
tar boats on the Mississippi River. Their great-
est use was in bombarding Forts Jackson and St.
Philip belowr New Orleans with 8,000 of the 200-
pound shells.9 Most of the shells fell on and about
Fort Jackson and, since the fuses were erratic,
some of the shells bored 18 to 20 feet into the soft
ground before exploding.
Because mortars were usually fired at an eleva-
tion of 45°, it was necessary to provide different
charges for targets at different ranges. Safety
required that the measuring of powder and filling
of cartridge bags be done in the magazine. The
cartridges were then sent to the mortar in leather
passing boxes. Unlike most other cannon where
the cartridge bag was placed in the chamber and
pierced by the priming wire as it was pushed
down the vent, mortar cartridge bags were opened
and the powder carefully emptied into the cham-
ber. The cotton bag was then used to wipe off the
shell before it was lowered into the bore, and fi-
nally was used to wipe out the mortar before spong-
ing. The bags were never returned to the maga-
zine during action as small amounts of loose pow-
der remaining in the bags might fall out on the
deck eventually forming a powder train from the
mortar to the magazine. The performance of the
mortar flotilla is commendable in that no accidents
occurred during the 7 days of firing. One schoo-
ner, Dan Smith , fired 493 shells. Maximum range
to Fort St. Philip was 4,710 yards and required a
23-pound charge against the wind. Best sus-
tained rate of fire was 2% minutes per projectile,
although projectiles could be fired every 5 minutes
with greater ease.
Boat Guns and Howitzers
The Navy system of boat guns and howitzers
dates from Dahlgren’s earliest endeavors at the
Washington Navy Yard. He noted that, “The
first trial was a little bronze howitzer of my design,
0 Of the 21 vessels In the mortar flotilla, only 20 had mortars.
One mortar schooner was sunk on the second day of firing. Some
accounts indicate more than 16,000 shells were fired but calcula-
tions based on reports from the mortar flotilla indicate 8,000 Is
more nearly correct. This Is still a phenomlnal quantity, repre-
senting 800 tons of metal.
256-125 0 - 68 - 53
807
of two hundred and twenty pounds, cast in an old
brass furnace . . . bored and finished on a lathe.”
The work was done in 1848. Even before the Civil
War, the pieces saw service at various places
around the world. One 24-pdr. and eleven 12-
pdrs. accompanied Commodore Perry on his ex-
pedition to Japan in 1853-54. The Japanese were
so impressed they requested and were given one of
the howitzers. All the pieces were made of bronze
and were of very simple form. They were at-
tached to their boat or field carriages by a loop
underneath the tube in a manner similar to the
carronade. Three smoothbores were available:
light and medium weight 12-pdrs., and a 24-pdr.
A 12-pdr. rifle was available along with a 20-pdr.
rifle, although the latter is relatively ignored in the
ordnance manuals.10
The boat-carriage was composed of a bed to
carry the howitzer, a slide on which the bed moved
in recoiling, and a wooden plate beneath the slide.
William B. Cushing’s open launch, in which he
successfully torpedoed and sank Albemarle , was
equipped with a 12-pdr. howitzer on a boat car-
riage. The howitzer was fired just before the
launch bumped over Albemarle1 s protecting log
boom to explode the torpedo.
The field- carriage was made of wrought iron
and, in contrast to land service practice, a small
wheel was located at the end of the trail to help
the carriage over rough ground, for the carriage
was to be hauled by sailors rather than horses. In
firing, however, the pin of the trail-wheel was re-
moved and the wheel turned upon the trail in order
to reduce recoil. No limber was provided since it
was not intended that the howitzer would be moved
any great distance from the landing place. If
movement was necessary, ammunition was slung
from the axle or carried in the pouches of the
men.
The basic ammunition for the smoothbores was
shell, shrapnel or spherical case, and canister.
Shot was never provided. The medium 12-pdr.
with its field carriage weighed less than 1,250
pounds, and considerably less than the 2,355-pound
army 12-pdr. Napoleon with carriage. Conse-
quently, it could be maneuvered relatively easily
by hand, but was not expected to be subjected to
10 The 71st Regiment New York Militia had two Dahlgren boat
howitzers at Bull Run. After the battle, these, along with other
artillery pieces were listed by the Confederate E. P. Alexander in
his report of captured equipment.
as severe an environment as the army field gun.
Canister could be fired at a maximum rate of eight
rounds per minute although one round in 15 to 18
seconds was typical. On the boat-carriage in a
launch, maximum firing rate was approximately
five rounds per minute.
Projectiles and Fuzes
The number and variety of projectiles for Civil
War ordnance are legion. Many varieties were
supplied without official sanction, especially for
the rifles. Most spherical shells were fitted with
the Navy time-fuse, consisting of a composition
driven in a paper case and then inserted in a metal
stock which screwed into a bouching fitted to the
shell. The fuse composition was covered with a
water cap to prevent the flame from being extin-
guished as the projectile ricocheted over the water.
A simple labyrinth was filled with mealed powder
to communicate fire to the fuse composition. Pro-
tection from moisture and accidental ignition was
provided by a safety cap. Likewise, a safety plug
at the bottom of the fuse prevented fire from being
communicated to the powder in the shell if the
fuse was ignited accidentally. On loading, the
safety cap was carefully removed and the shell
pushed home with the axis of the fuse along the
bore and away from the charge. On firing, the
fuse was ignited by the flame coming around and
over the top of the shell, the safety plug being
dislodged by the shock of discharge. The illus-
tration shows the water cap screwed into a brass
fuse plug which in turn was firmly driven into the
fuse hole of the projectile. Apparently, this type
of fuse also saw service and was similar to the
standard sea-coast fuse.
Shells for the 12- and 24-pdr. howitzers and all
spherical shrapnel were fitted with the Bormann
fuse which also was standard for the army field
artillery. Maximum burning time of a little over
5 seconds was approximately correct for a range
of 1,200 yards. Face of the fuse was marked in
seconds either by arabic numerals or dots. In op-
eration, a cut was made beside the appropriate
time index mark exposing the ring of composi-
tion to the flame of discharge. At the desired time,
the fire was communicated to the priming maga-
zine which exploded driving its flame into the
charge of the shell or shrapnel. In loading the
projectile, the fuse was always toward the muzzle
with the cut of the fuse up to be certain the corn-
808
position would be ignited by the flame of discharge
migrating over the top of the projectile. If in-
advertently the fuse was placed toward the charge,
the fuse might be blown in and the projectile
would explode as it left the muzzle.
Firing of naval guns was accomplished by means
of a percussion lock. Locks were first introduced
into the British Navy by Sir Charles Douglas
in 1782 replacing the slow-match and other meth-
ods of firing. The U.S. percussion lock used dur-
ing the Civil War dated from approximately 1842
and was patterned after the method of Hidden.
For 32-pdrs. and similar pieces, the lock was at-
tached to an oblong mass of metal about the vent
called the lockpiece. On shell guns, the hammer
was fitted in a slit cut into a lug cast near the
vent. The lock was also attached to the Parrott
and other rifles.
To fire the piece, a percussion primer in the
shape of a 21/2-mch-long quill barrel topped with
a wafer or flat head was first inserted in the
vent. Then the lanyard was steadily and quickly
drawn (not jerked) rotating the hammer on its
bolt until it was brought down on the vent setting
off the percussion primer. Continued pull on the
lanyard drew the hammer clear of the vent avoid-
ing the erosion caused by gasses rushing from the
vent. To obtain this action, an inch-long slot
was cut at the rear of the hammer. In contrast
to the locks on small arms, no springs were in-
cluded in the mechanism.
The hammer for the boat-howitzers was dif-
ferent and simpler than the standard navy lock.
Although the lanyard rotated the hammer in the
same way, there was no slot. Instead, the hammer
remained on the vent, and a perforation through
the head minimized erosion as the gasses escaped.
However, the face of the hammer was a nipple
that could be unscrewed and replaced if erosion
became excessive.
Parrott designed and developed a considerable
variety of projectiles for the rifles he produced
at the Cold Spring Foundry. The base rings
which expanded into the rifling on being fired
from the piece took many forms. For the larger
calibers, the brass ring was cast into a recess
provided with numerous toothlike projections to
assure that the ring, which gripped the rifling,
also rotated the projectile. The blunt noses of the
shot, some solid and others hollow, were hardened
and chilled to make them more effective for armor
piercing. Against armor, ordinary cast iron shot
would become mashed and cause little damage.
Both Hotchkiss and Schenkl projectiles were
also used in the rifles. The Schenkl projectile con-
sisted of a cast iron body with a cone shaped tail.
A papier mache sabot was expanded into the rifling
by being forced on the cone by the action of the
charge. Projections on the cone insured that the
rotary motion was imparted to the projectile. A
basic problem with this ammunition was the ma-
terial for the sabot. Sometimes moisture would
swell the papier mache so that the projectile could
not be loaded into the piece. Other times, the
sabot material was hard and would crumble on
firing, permitting the projectile to tumble in
flight.11 However, the Schenkl percussion fuse
was quite successful and remained in naval use
long after the Civil War. It consisted of a hollow
metallic stock containing a plunger held in place
by a small screw. On discharge from the piece,
the screw would break and the plunger was free
to float. On impact, the percussion cap would be
set off igniting the primer within the plunger and
exploding the shell.
The Hotchkiss projectile consisted of three parts,
the body, a cup on the rear of the body, and a lead
ring filling the intermediate space. On discharge,
the cup would be pushed forward compressing the
lead into the grooves. Another feature for projec-
tiles having time fuses was the three longitudinal
grooves along the outside to insure passage of the
flame to ignite the fuse. Hotchkiss projectiles
were generally quite successful, and were relatively
free from tumbling.12
Along with his other efforts, John Dahlgren also
developed a projectile for his rifles. As shown
on page 814, the projectile consisted of an iron
body with a lead base cast over projections on the
rear. Along the middle of the body several ribs
were formed. These ribs were inclined slightly to
the axis of the projectile so that they would be
parallel to the rifling and were turned to a diam-
eter 0.02 inch less than the bore of the gun.
Their purpose was to provide a relatively small but
finished bearing surface for the projectile against
11 A more complete description of Schenkl projectiles and fuzes
by the same author is presented in Civil War Times Illustrated,
June 1966, page 24.
13 Henry L. Abbot, commanding the siege artillery at Petersburg,
felt the projectile strained the guns and did not like to use it in
the larger calibers.
809
D Van. Kosl/'and, Publisher.
•hilirtti JJien W
Dahlgren howitzer on field carriage. From 1866 Ordnance Manual.
SCREW PICKET BOAT
Head of Torpedo Bar.
End Vim'.
Constructed for the Navy Department .
Scale, 'via - Iff
Scale *2 in.- 1 Jt
Open launch, as used by Cushing to torpedo Albemarle, mounting a 12-pdr Dahlgren howitzer on boat carriage. From
J. S. Barnes, Submarine Warfare (New York: Van Nostrand, 1869).
810
the bore of the gun.13 The groove around the pe-
riphery of the lead base was filled with lubricating
material. The 80-pdr. Dahlgren rifle that burst
aboard USS Hetzel was furnished with Hotchkiss
and Cochran projectiles as well as the Dahlgren
type.
Confederate Brooke projectiles were diversified
in shape and method of producing rotation. The
four types shown may be found on drawings with
Brooke’s signature. Two of the projectiles have
raised rings (similar to the bourrelet on modern
projectiles) which were carefully turned to the
proper dimensions, the remainder of the surface
being rough as it came from the mold. These also
have the ratchet sabot of bronze or copper. The
base of the projectile was usually divided into
seven equal sectors with their surfaces inclined to
the axis preventing the sabot from slipping on the
base. The sabot was secured by a central screw.
Another type of ratchet- ring sabot, in which a soft
metal ring was cast upon the base of the projectile,
was personally designed by Brooke.
A very simple method of making projectiles
take the rifling was apparently developed in late
1862 when steel for navy solid shot became scarce.
The shot was forged of wrought iron and an an-
nular groove was turned in the base to form a lip.
13 Projectiles of this type generally have been identified as of
Confederate origin, probably because Henry L. Abbot found a
sample among his collection of Confederate ammunition fired
into his batteries at Petersburg. Whether the sample (see
Siege Artillery in the Campaigns against Richmond by H. L.
Abbot, Washington 1867, plate 6, fig. 66) was copied by the
Confederates or was reclaimed U.S. ammunition is unknown.
Abbot’s inability to recognize the Dahlgren naval projectile is
some indication of the lack of communication between the Army
and Navy on ordnance matters. Dahlgren’s patent No. 32986 is
dated Aug. 6, 1861.
On discharge, the lip expanded into the rifling and
the rotation was transmitted to the shot.14
Other types of guns and projectiles than here-
in described were used with varying degrees of suc-
cess. Information on some types may be found
easily while a dearth of information exists on
others. Often, especially in the Navy, an element
of secrecy existed preventing the publication of
dimensions or scale drawings of various iveapons.
However, the secrecy seemed to have been more a
personal attitude on the part of various individuals
than an official government directive. Thus, Dahl-
gren’s Shells and Shell Guns published in 1856
doesn’t contain a single illustration of either shell
or shell gun, although other reasons may also have
existed. Nevertheless, range tables are readily
available. One of the few statements regarding
security may be found in the 1866 Ordnance Man-
ual and warns the reader not “to show or explain
to foreigners or others the construction of any
fuzes, except so far as necessary for the service of
the guns.”
The period of the Civil War was one of a rapidly
changing ordnance technology. Various lessons
learned over a period of several hundred years
were still being practiced. Yet, new ideas and new
materiel were being introduced daily. Both the
North and the South grasped much of the new ord-
nance technology and effectively put it to use to
their own purpose and advantage.
14 The drawings with Brooke’s signature are in the possession of
the National Archives. One drawing titled “The Ratchet-ring
Sabot Designed by John M. Brooke Comndr. CSN” bears the date
Nov. 24, 1863. The drawing of the solid wrought iron shot is
dated Oct. 8, 1862.
811
Shrapnel with Borman fuse
Parrott hollow shot Parrott shell
Various fuses and projectiles. Original drawing by author
812
Clear of the vent
Naval Percussion Lock
Percussion lock and various smoothbore ordnance. Original drawing by author.
813
Ratchet-ring sabot designed by Brooke
BROOKE PROJECTILES
Rifle projectiles by Brooke and Dahlgren. Original drawing by author.
814
Civil War Naval Ordnance
Bore di-
Material
Weight of
Length of
Maximum
Weight of
Weight of
Range,
Time of
Height
ameter,
Inches
tube,
bore,
diameter.
Type of
projectile,
charge,
yards at 5°
flight,
above
pounds
Inches
inches
projectile
pounds
pounds
elevation
seconds
plane,
feet
Shell Guns
15-inch 1
15
Iron.
1 1-inch
11
Iron.
10-inch. -.
10
Iron.
9-inch
9
Iron.
8-inch of 6,500
8
Iron.
lbs.
8-inch of 63 cwt_.
8
Iron.
8-inch of 55 cwt._
8
Iron.
41,576
15,700
130 2
48
Shell--..
131. 2
32
Shell
Shell
12,000
119. 25
29. 1
Shell-..
9,000
107. 3
27. 2
Shell-..-
Shrapnel
6,500
96
23. 2
Shell-.. _
7,000
100. 3
24. 04
Shell-.-
6,100
95. 4
Shell
350
35
1,700
5. 7
136
15
1,712
5.81
10
136
20
1,975
1,740
10
103
12. 5
5. 8
11
72. 5
10
1,710
5. 96
10. 75
75
10
1,690
1,657
5. 9
51. 5 '
7
5. 82
7. 5
51. 5
9
1,770
6.32
8
51. 5
7
1,657
5. 82
7.5
Shot Guns
10-inch Cannon 3.
10
Iron _ . _
8-inch Cannon 3__
8
Iron -
32-pdr. of 57
cwt.4
6. 4
Iron
32-pdr. of 42 cwt.
6. 4
Iron.. .
32-pdr. of 32 cwt5.
6. 4
Iron
32-pdr. of 27 cwt.
6. 4
Iron _ .
16,000
117. 75
33. 25
Shot
10,100
107. 32
27. 2
Shot.
6,400
107. 9
22. 36
Shot
Shell.
4,700
92. 05
20. 6
Shot
Shell.
3,600
75. 1
20
Shot
Shell.
3,000
68. 4
19. 2
Shot.
Shell.
124
40
65
20
32
9
1,930
6. 6
8
26
6
1,850
6. 4
32
6
1,756
6
26
6
1,710
6. 5
32
4. 5
1,598
7.5
26
4. 5
1,648
6
7. 5
32
4
1,469
5. 4
7
26
4
1,460
5. 75
Rifle Guns
150-pdr. Parrott. .
100-pdr. Parrott. .
60-pdr. Parrott
30-pdr. Parrott 6._
20-pdr. Parrott
James Rifle 7
80-pdr. Dahlgren.
50-pdr. Dahl-
gren.8
6.4-inch Brooke 9_
7-inch Brooke 10_.
8
6. 4
5.3
4. 2
3.67
7
6
5. 1
6.4
7
Iron
16,550
136
32
Long shell. .
Iron . .
9,750
130
25. 9
Solid shot. _
Long shell..
Iron
5,360
3,550
1,750
8,465
7,900
6,000
105
21. 3
Shot.
Iron
96. 8
18. 3
Shell .
Iron
79
14. 5
Shell..
Iron
110
24. 4
Shot
Iron
108
26. 12
Shot
Iron
89
22. 25
Shot .
Iron
10,675
117
29. 3
Shot .
Iron
15,300
121
32. 2
Shot
155
100
100
60
29
19
81. 5
80
50
95
110
16
10
10
6
3. 25
2
8
6
3. 25
8-10
10-13
2,100
2,200
2,150
6. 25
6.5
6. 5
2,200
2,100
2,221
6. 87
6. 5
See footnotes at end of table.
815
Civil War Naval Ordnance — Continued
Type
Bore di-
ameter,
inches
Material
Weight of
tube,
Length of
bore,
Maximum
diameter,
Type of
Weight of
projectile,
Weight of
charge,
Range
yards at 5°
Time of
flight,
Height
above
pounds
Inches
Inches
projectile
pounds
pounds
elevution
seconds
plane
feet
Boat Guns
24-pdr. Howitzer.
5.82
Bronze
1,310
760
58. 2
11. 42
Shell
20
2
1,270
5. 68
12-pdr. Heavy
Howitzer.11
4. 62
Bronze
55. 23
9
Shell.
10
1
1,085
4.8
20-pdr. Rifle.
4
Bronze
1,340
65. 6
Shell
20
2
1,960
6. 5
12-pdr. Rifle 12
3. 4
Bronze
880
55. 23
9
Shell
12
1
1,770
6
I
VIortars
13-inch
13
Iron . . .
17,200
35
43
Shell
200
20
13 4,200
30.5
NOTES
1 For monitor turrets.
2 For short gun. Long gun had 146-inch bore length, weighed 42,900 lbs.
3 Apparently few of these guns saw service. Charge given is the maximum.
4 Shrapnel ranges for the 32-pdrs. is essentially the same as with shot. The
shrapnel weighed 32 lbs.
6 This piece is often mistakenly labeled as being of 33 cwt.
6 Not to be confused with the army 30-pdr. which had a 120-inch bore and
weighed 4,200 lbs.
7 Army 42-pdr. sea-coast gun rifled on the James system.
8 Horatio Ames of Salisbury, Conn., made at least 5 pieces by his wrought
iron process. Others were made of cast iron. Dahlgren gave the weight as 64
cwt. and Ames as about 5,600 lbs. Dimensions are from measurements of
actual piece.
« Double banded. Measurements graciously furnished by Capt. Slade
Cutter, USN Ret., U.S. Naval Historical Display Center, Washington, D.C.
Length of bore is estimated.
10 Double banded.
11 A 12-pdr. light howitzer of 430 lbs. and 44-inch bore length was also avail-
able in limited supply.
12 A few pieces of this model were made of iron or possibly cast steel weigh-
ing 790 lbs.
18 Maximum range given in table for elevation of 45°.
The data in this table have been compiled from various contemporary
works. These sources frequently conflict because of variations in individual
guns, powder, measuring techniques or even changes in the state-of-art.
Range tables often disagree because of projectile dispersion and other differ-
ences in conditions at the time of firing. While the table includes the major
types of guns, no attempt has been made to include every available type.
E. B. Canfield,
October 16, 1966.
816
Initial Velocity of Guns
Cost of Guns
Type
Projectile
Weight,
pounds
Charge.
pounds
Initial
Velocity,
ft./sec.
15-inch Dahl-
Cored shot.
400
60
1, 480
gren.
32-pdr. of 57
Shot
32
9
1, 700
cwt.
32-pdr. of 42
Shot . -
32
6
1, 450
cwt.
150-pdr. Parrott.
Short shell..
152
16
1, 234
100-pdr. Parrott-
Long shell-.
101
10
1, 250
Type
Weight,
pounds
Cost
15-inch Dahlgren
42, 000
$6, 500
1, 391
690
11-inch Dahlgren
15, 900
9, 200
16, 500
9-inch Dahlgren _ .
150-pdr. Parrott-
1, 900
1, 200
100-pdr. Parrott-- -- -
9, 800
30-p*dr. Parrott -------
3; 500
1, 750
17, 188
500
20-pdr. Parrott..
380
13-inch Mortar _ _
1, 341
Note. — The cost given above is representative but
varied during the course of the war. Thus, the price of the
9-inch Dahlgren was 7.5 cents per pound until it was raised
to 9.75 cents per pound in July 1863.
Armament of a Few Ships
Name
Tons
Type
Service
Date
15-in. Dahlgren
11-in. Dahlgren
9-in. Dahlgren
32 pdr. 42 cwt.
150 pdr. Parrott
Rifle
100 pdr. Parrott
Rifle
30 pdr. Parrott
Rifle
50 pdr. Dahlgren
Rifle
7-in. Brooke
Rifle
6.4-in. Brooke
Rifle
24 pdr. Howitzer
12 pdr. Howitzer
Commodore Jones.
542
Ferry boat
NABS... ..
1863
1
2
1
4
Kearsarge _ _
1031
Steamer sloop..
Cruiser
1864
2
4
1
Choctaw .
1004
Ironclad .
MS
1863
3
1
1
2
Saugus - _ _ _
1034
ST Monitor. .
NABS
1865
2
Onondaga _
1250
TT Monitor
NABS
1864
2
2
Tennessee -
1273
Ironclad ram..
Confederacy.
1864
2
4
Atlanta. _ ...
Ironclad ram..
Confederacy.
1863
2
2
Hartford
2900
Steamer sloop
WGBS '..
1864
18
2
1
3
Pawnee.
1289
Steamer sloop. .
SABS.
1864
10
1
1
Abbreviations: ST =Single Turret.
TT =Twin Turret.
NABS =North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
MS =Mississippi Squadron.
SABS =South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
WQBS =West Gulf Blockading Squadron.
817
Admiral Dalilgren and Dahlgren gun on board USS Pawnee in Charleston Harbor.
“If the Navy be, indeed, the right arm of defense, her guns and ordnance . . . are the main sinews
and arteries, the neglect of which would soon render it feebled and palsied. . .
— Memoirs of John A. Dahlgren, 1891, by Madeline V. Dalilgren.
Born in 1809, John Adolphus Dalilgren became a Midshipman in 1826. In 1847 he organized an
ordnance workshop at the Washington Navy Yard, which later became the Naval Gun Factory. He later
developed a howitzer widely used in the Civil War, and designed the famous Dahlgren gun. In 1850 he
urged construction of frigates armed entirely with heavy guns, anticipating the dreadnaughts of the next
century. He later published several significant and widely-read works on ordnance. When the Civil War
began, he took command of the Washington Navy Yard on President Lincoln’s recommendation. He
became a close friend and advisor of Lincoln, who relied greatly on his technical judgment. In 1862 he
became Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance; in 1863, after a vote of appreciation from Congress, he became
a Rear Admiral. Commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron from 1863 to 1865, he par-
ticipated in the bombardment of Fort Wagner and successfully commanded the naval forces in the 2-year
seige of Charleston. He also supported General W. T. Sherman in his capture of Savannah. He com-
manded the South Pacific Squadron from 1866 to 1868, then again became Chief of the Bureau of
Ordnance. A year later he assumed command of the Washington Navy Yard once more. Rear Admiral
Dahlgren died in 1870.
Rightly called the “father of naval ordnance,” he revolutionized the science of ordnance with his
original work and set a standard for other navies. His technical genius made a major contribution to
victory in the Civil War. A blue- water sailor as well as a scientist, Admiral Dahlgren brilliantly com-
manded a powerful naval force through 2 years of arduous wartime service, leaving behind him an
example of productive study and gallantry in action.
818
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABBOT, Henry L. Siege Artillery in the Campaigns
against Richmond. Washington, 1867.
Barnes, J. S. Submarine Warfare. New York, 1869.
Bennett, Frank M. The Steam Navy of the United States.
2d ed. Pittsburg, 1897.
Benton, J. G. Ordnance and Gunnery. 2d ed. New York,
1862.
Boynton, Charles B. The History of the Navy during the
War of the Rebellion. 2 vols. New York : D. Appleton
& Co., 1867-68.
Brandt, J. D. Gunnery Catechism. New York, 1864.
Dahlgren, John A. Boat Armament of the U.S. Navy.
2d. ed. Philadelphia, 1856.
Dahlgren, Johan A. Naval Percussion Locks and Primers.
Philadelphia, 1853.
Dahlgren, John A. Shells and Shell Guns. Philadelphia,
1856.
Dahlgren, Madeleine Y. Memoir of John A. Dahlgren.
New York : Charles L. Webster & Co., 1891.
Douglas, Sir Howard. A Treatise on Naval Gunnery.
4th ed. London, 1855.
Farrow, E. S. Farrow's Military Encyclopedia. 2d ed.
New York, 1895.
Hammersly, L. R. Naval Encyclopedia. Philadelphia,
1881.
Holley, A. L. Ordnance and Armor. New York and
London, 1865.
Instructions for Heavy Artillery. Washington, 1863.
James, C. Military Dictionary. London, 1802.
Johnson, Robert U., and Buel, C. C., Eds. Battles and
Leaders of the Civil War. 4 vols. New York : The
Century Co., 1887-1889.
Lloyd, E. W., and Hadoek, A. G. Artillery, Its Progress
and Present Position. Portsmouth, 1893.
Ordnance Instruction for the U.S. Navy. Washington,
1866.
Owen, C. H. Modern Artillery. London, 1871.
Parrott, R. P. Ranges of Parrott Guns. New York, 1863.
Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the
War, Heavy Ordnance. 38th Cong., 2d Sess. Wash-
ington : Government Printing Office, 1865.
Robison, S. S., and Robison, M. L. A History of Naval
Tactics from 1530 to 1930. Annapolis, Md. : The United
States Naval Institute, 1942.
Scharf, J. Thomas. History of the Confederate States
Navy. New York : Rogers & Sherwood, 1887.
Scott, H. L. Military Dictionary. New York and London,
1861.
#U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Records and Library. Offi-
cial Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the
War of the Rebellion. 30 vols. Washington : Govern-
ment Printing Office, 1894-1922.
#U.S. Senate. Report of Experiments on Heavy Ord-
nance. Report No. 266. 40th Cong., 3d Sess.
#U.S. War Department, Record and Pension Office. The
War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, vols.
Washington : Government Printing Office, 1880-1902.
819
Appendix IV
ADDENDA TO APPENDICES OF VOLUMES I AND II
Part A
Addenda to Appendix II, Volume I
GUIDED MISSILE CRUISERS 1959-67
ALPHABETICAL LIST
ALBANY (CG-10)
BOSTON (CAG-1)
CANBERRA (CAG-2)
CHICAGO (CG-11)
COLUMBUS ( CG-12 )
GALVESTON (CLG-3)
LITTLE ROCK (CLG-4)
LONG BEACH (CGN-9)
OKLAHOMA CITY (CLG-3)
PROVIDENCE (CLG-6)
SPRINGFIELD (CLG-7)
TOPEKA (CLG-8)
NUMERICAL LIST
Note. — Data before conversion entered under original
classification and hull number in Vol. I, Appendix II, pp.
203-222.
CAG-1 (BOSTON) Class
CAG-1 POSTON (Reclassified 1/4/52 from CA-69)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass
Contract 7/1/40, Keel laid 6/30/41, Launched 8/26/42
Commissioned 6/30/43, Capt. John H. Carson com-
manding
Decommissioned 10/26/46
Converted at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden,
N.J.
Contract 12/4/51, Commenced 4/11/52, Completed
10/4/55
Recommissioned 11/1/55, Capt. Charles B. Martell
commanding
CAG-2 CANBERRA ( Reclassified 1/4/52 from CA-70)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 7/1/40, Keel laid 9/3/41, Launched 4/19/43
Commissioned 10/4/43, Capt. Alexander R. Early com-
manding
Decommissioned 3/7/47
Converted at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden,
N.J.
Contract 1/28/52, Commenced 6/30/52, Completed
6/1/56
Recommissioned 6/15/56, Capt. Charles Mauro com-
manding
CAG-1 thru CAG-2 :
Length Overall : 673'5" ; Extreme Beam : 70'10"
Full Load Displacement : 17,750 tons ; Max. Draft :
26'6"
Designed Accommodations : Off : 110, Enl. : 1620
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Armament :
Gun Turrets: (2) 8"/50 triple
Gun Mounts: (2) 5"/38 twin, (4) 3"/50 twin
Missile Systems : (2) Terrier
Engines: No.: 4. Mfg. : GE, Type Drive: TR
Boilers : No. : 4, Mfg./Type : B/WSHC
Propulsion : Props. : 4, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 120,000.
CLG-3 (GALVESTON) Class:
CLG-3 GALVESTON (Reclassified CLG-93 from
CD-93 1/4/56, from CLG-93 to CLG-3 5/23/57)
Built at Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Contract 10/29/40, Keel laid 2/20/44, Launched
4/22/45
Construction completed 5/24/46 (not commissioned —
laid up).
Converted at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Phila-
delphia, Pa.
Contract 1/4/56, Commenced 8/15/56, Completed
9/14/59
Commissioned 5/28/58, Capt. John R. Colwell com-
manding
CLG-4 LITTLE ROCK (Reclassified 5/23/57 from
CLr-92)
Built at Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Contract 10/29/40, Keel laid 3/6/43, Launched
8/27/44
Commissioned 6/17/45, Capt. William E. Miller com-
manding
Decommissioned 6/24/49
Converted at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Phila-
delphia, Pa.
Contract 12/21/56, Commenced 1/30/57, Completed
5/6/60
Recommissioned 6/3/60, Capt. Jewett O. Phillips, Jr.
commanding
CLG-5 OKLAHOMA CITY (Reclassified 5/23/57 from
CL-91)
Built at Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
Contract 9/11/40, Keel laid 12/8/42, Launched
2/20/44
820
Commissioned 12/22/44, Capt. Charles B. Hunt com-
manding
Decommissioned 6/30/47
Converted at Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp.,
San Francisco, Calif.
Contract 1/10/57, Commenced 5/21/57, Completed
8/31/60
Recommissioned 9/7/60, Capt. Ben W. Sarver com-
manding
CLG-3 thru CLG-5 :
Length overall: 610'1" ; Extreme Beam: 66'4”
Full Load Displacement : 14,400 tons ; Max. Draft :
26'0"
Designed Accommodations :
Off.: 70 (CLG-3), 78 (CLG-4), 92 (CLG-5)
Enl. : 1099 (CLG-3), 1365 (CLG-4), 1249
(OLG— 5)
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Armament :
Gun Turrets: (2) 6"/47 triple
Gun Mounts: (1) 5"/38 twin
Missile Systems: (1) Talos
Engines : No. : 4, Mfg. : GE, Type Drive : TR
Boilers: No.: 4, Mfg./Type: B/WSHC
Propulsion : Props. : 4, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 100,000
CLG-6 (PROVIDENCE) Class
CLG-6 PROVIDENCE (Reclassified 5/23/57 from
CD-82)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 9/9/40, Keel laid 7/27/43, Launched
12/28/44
Experimental gunnery ship Mississippi (AG-128), the former battleship BB-41, made giant contributions in gunnery
and ordnance developments. She launched the Navy into the age of the guided missile war ships. Her Terrier
missile installation was completed in the Norfolk Yard by 9 August 1952, followed by successful firing in the
Cape Cod area, off Georges Bank, 28-29 January 1953. Her newly developed Terrier missile systems made their
first appearance in the active fleet in Boston (CAG-1) when recommissioned as a guided missile cruiser 1 November
1955, followed by Canberra (CAG-2) when recommissioned as a guided missile cruiser 15 June 1956.
821
Commissioned 5/15/45, Capt. William B. Jackson, Jr.
commanding
Decommissioned 6/14/48
Converted at Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass.
Contract 7/23/56, Commenced 6/1/57, Completed
12/3/59 . ^
Recommissioned 9/17/59, Capt. Kenneth L. 1 eth
commanding
CLG-7 SPRINGFIELD (Reclassified 5/23/57 from
CL-66)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 7/1/40, Keel laid 2/13/43, Launched 3/9/44
Commissioned 9/9/44, Capt. Felix L. Johnson com-
manding
Decommissioned 1/31/50
Converted at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 1/10/57, Commenced 8/1/57, Completed
1/6/60
Recommissioned 7/2/60, Capt. Francis D. Boyle com-
manding
CLG-8 TOPEKA (Reclassified 5/23/57 from CL-67)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 7/1/40, Keel laid 4/21/43, Launched 8/19/44
Commissioned 12/23/44, Capt. Thomas L. Wattles
commanding
Decommissioned 6/18/49
Converted at New York Naval Shipyard, New York
Contract 7/23/56, Commenced 8/18/57, Completed
4/14/60
Recommissioned 3/26/60, Capt. Frank L. Pinney, Jr.
commanding
CLG-6 thru CLG-8
Length Overall: 610'1”; Extreme Beam: 66'4"
(CLG-6) ; 66'6" (CLG-7&8)
Full Load Displacement : 14,000 tons ; Max. Draft
26'0"
Designed Accommodations :
Off. : 98 (CLG-6) ; 89 (CLG-7&8)
Enl. : 1,288 (CLG-6); 1,245 (CLG-7); 1,206
(CLG-8)
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Armament :
Gun Turrets: (1) 6' 747 triple (CLG 6-7) ; (2)
6' '/47 triple (CLG-8)
Gun Mounts: (1) 5'738 twin (CLG 6-7); (3)
5' 738 twin (CLG-8)
Missile Systems : (1) Terrier
Engines : No. : 4, Mfg. : GE, Type Drive : TR
Boilers: No.: 4, Mfg./Type: B/WSHC
Propulsion : Props. : 4, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 100,000
CG(N)-9 (LONG BEACH) Class:
CG(N)-9 LONG BEACH (ex CLG (N) -160, ex CG
(N)-160)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 10/15/56, Keel laid 12/2/57, Launched
7/14/59
Commissioned 9/9/61, Capt. Eugene P. Wilkinson
commanding
CG(N)-9
Length Overall: 721'3" ; Extreme Beam: 73'3”
Full Load Displacement : 17,100 tons ; Max. Draft
30'7"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 79, Enl. : 1,081
Designed Speed : Over 30 Knots
Armament :
Gun Mounts: (2) 5' 738 single
Missile Systems: (1) Talos, (3) Terrier, (1)
ASROC Group
Engines : No. : 2, Mfg. : FE, Type : Water-cooled nu-
clear reactors, 2 pressure geared steam turbines
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 75,000
Guided missile cruiser USS Albany (CG-10) on 30 January 1963 successfully fired three surface-to-air test missiles
simultaneously — the first such launching by any navy in the world.
822
CG-10 (ALBANY) Class:
CG-10 ALBANY (Reclassified 11/1/58 from CA-123)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.
Contract 8/7/42, Keel laid 3/6/44, Launched 6/30/45
Commissioned 6/15/46, Capt. Harold A. Carlisle com-
manding
Decommissioned 6/30/58
Converted at Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass.
Contract 11/25/57, Commenced 1/2/59, Completed
11/2/62
Recommissioned 11/3/62, Capt. Ben B. Pickett com-
manding
CG-11 CHICAGO (Reclassfiied 11/1/58 from CA-136)
Built at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia,
Pa.
Contract 8/7/42, Keel laid 7/28/43, Launched 8/20/44
Commissioned 1/10/45, Capt. Richard R. Hartung
commanding
Decommissioned 6/6/47
Converted at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San
Francisco, Calif.
Contract 9/23/58, Commenced 7/1/59, Completed
12/1/63
Recommissioned 5/2/64, Capt. John E. Dacey com-
manding
CG-12 COLUMBUS (Reclassified 9/30/59 from CA-74)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass
Contract 9/9/40, Keel laid 6/28/43, Launched 11/30/44
Commissioned 6/8/45, Capt. Allen Hobbs commanding
Decommissioned 5/8/59
Converted at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremer-
ton, Wash.
Contract 9/23/58, Commenced 6/1/59, Completed
11/30/62
Recommissioned 12/1/62, Capt. Gideon M. Boyd com-
manding
CG-10 thru CG-12
Length Overall: 674'11" ; Extreme Beam: 70'10"
Full Load Displacement: 17,700 tons, Max. Draft:
34'0"
Designed Accommodations :
Off.: 75 (CG-10), 61 (CG-11), 102 (CG-12)
Enl. : 1187 (CG-10), 1146 (CG-11), 1606 (CG-12)
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots.
Armament :
Gun Mounts: (2) 5"/38 single
Torpedo Tubes : ( 2 ) triple
Missile Systems: (2) Talos, (2) Terrier, (1)
ASROC Group
Engines: No.: 4, Mfg. : FE, Type Drive: TR
Boilers : No. : 4, Mfg./Type : B/WSHC
Propulsion: Props: 4, Designed Shaft Horsepower:
Over 100,000
256-125 0 - 68 - 54
823
Part B
Addenda to Appendix III, Volume I
SUBMARINES 1959-1967
DIESEL-ELECTRIC SUBMARINES— SS
SS-l through SS-577 : Data in Vol. 1, Appendix III, pp.
227-262
For hull numbers SSN-578 & 579 see “Nuclear Submarines
SSN” below.
SS-580 BARBEL
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract : 8/24/55, Keel laid 5/18/56, Launched
7/19/58
Commissioned 1/17/59. Lt. Comdr. Ord Kimzey, Jr.,
commanding
SS-581 BLUEBACK
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 6/25/56, Keel laid 4/15/57, Launched
5/16/59
Commissioned 10/15/59, Lt. Comdr. Robert H. Gautier
commanding
SS-582 BONEFISH
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 6/29/56, Keel laid 6/3/57, Launched 11/22/58
Commissioned 7/9/59, Lt. Comdr. Elmer H. Kiehl
commanding
SS-580 through SS-582 :
Length Overall: 219'6"
Extreme Beam : 29'
Surface Displacement : 2,155 tons ; Mean Draft 27'11"
Submerged Displacement : 2,650
Accommodations : Off. : 8, Enl. : 69
Armament : Torpedo Tubes : 6
Designed Speed : Surfaced : 15.5 knots ; Submerged :
18.3 knots
Engines : Mfr. : FM ; Type Drive : DED
Motors : Mfr. : GE
Batteries : Mfr. : Exide Cells : 504
Fuel : Gallons : Classified
Designed Shaft Horsepower : 4,800
Propulsion : Props. : 1
583 and subsequent hull numbers assigned to SSN or
SSBN (q.v.)
EXPERIMENTAL AUXILIARY
SUBMARINE— AG ( SS )
AG(SS)-555 DOLPHIN (Experimental deep-diving
submarine)
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Authorized 8/10/60, Keel laid 11/9/62, Launched
22 May 1968
AG(SS)-555 (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall : 152' ; Extreme Beam: 19'4"
Submerged Displacement : 950 tons
Accommodations : Off. : 3, Enl. 15, Scientists : 4
Engines : Mfr. : GM, Type Drive : DE Mfr. : Yardnay
Propulsion : Props. : 1, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
1,650
NUCLEAR SUBMARINES— SSN
“Underway on nuclear power” was the terse
message sent 17 January 1955 f rom Nautilus (SSN
571) as she moved out for her first sea trials.
These words were destined to introduce a new di-
mension to American seapower. Thanks to nu-
clear power, submarines (including the Fleet Bal-
listic Missile classes) can be deployed at sea almost
indefinitely to keep the peace watch. Nautilus ,
the world’s first atomic-powered warship, had
opened the era of nuclear propulsion in the United
States Navy.
In January 1947, the first official Navy approval
of a program for the development of submarine nu-
clear power plants was given by Chief of Naval
Operations, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
The following year the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion received from the Bureau of Ships, design and
engineering proposals for the construction of a
shipboard nuclear power plant.
The events leading to the milestone of Nautilus
really began in 1939 when Navy scientists met for
talks with Enrico Fermi about his theories on con-
trolled nuclear fission. Dr. Ross Gunn, head phys-
icist at the Naval Research Laboratory, aware of
the astronomical amounts of fuel consumed by
Navy ships, also had an idea. It was nuclear ship
propulsion, also untested and hinging upon the ac-
curacy of Fermi’s theory. One of the early sup-
porters of Gunn’s vision was Rear Admiral Harold
G. Bowen (later Vice Admiral) who was then
Chief of the Bureau of Engineering. To Gunn,
824
the immediate problem was getting fissionable
material in quantity. His early work, along with
that of Dr. Phillip H. Abelson, was of great ben-
efit to the Manhattan Project in the development
of the atomic bomb. For a period, the making of
the bomb transcended the efforts toward nuclear-
propelled ships.
Following World War II, Navy scientists again
set their sights toward nuclear ship propulsion.
The Manhattan District was experimenting with
atomic piles for the controlled production of
power, and it also agreed in principle that ship
propulsion probably offered the best immediate ap-
plication for them. Thus, following the approval
of Fleet Admiral Nimitz in 1947, a small group
of Navy engineering officers was sent to Oak Ridge
to investigate the feasibility of a submarine nuclear
propulsion plant. Led by Vice Admiral (then
Captain) Hyman G. Rickover, this group formed
the nucleus team supervising the development and
construction of Nautilus and led to the formal es-
tablishment within the Bureau of Ships (now Na-
val Ships System Command) and the Atomic
Energy Commission of a nuclear submarine pro-
gram, with Vice Admiral Rickover in charge.
In March 1948, Dr. Vannevar Bush, Chairman
of the Research and Development Board, stated
that there was a strategic need for nuclear pow-
ered submarines. Ten months later, the Atomic
Energy Commission let contracts for a prototype
land-based reactor built at the National Reactor
Station, Arco, Idaho. It became operational in
March 1953, providing trained operators and in-
valuable data on new equipment for Nautilus. It
has since served as a school for Navy trainees.
The culmination and also a beginning, took place
the morning of 17 January 1955 when Rear Ad-
miral Eugene P. Wilkinson (then Commander)
flashed the profound message from Nautilus as
she left the yard of the Electric Boat Co., Groton,
Conn. : “Underway on nuclear power.”
“. . . For much of my life, I have had faith
in the submarine . . . and our great land of
America. Each by being true to itself —
seeking efficiency and power for noble ends —
has been a blessing . .
— Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
ALPHABETICAL LIST
ASPRO (SSN-B48)
BARB (SSN-596)
BERG ALL (SSN-667)
DACE (SSN-607)
FINBACK (SSN-670)
FLASHER (SSN-613)
FLYING FISH (SSN-673)
GATO ( SSN-615)
GRAYLING (SSN-646)
GREENLING (SSN-614)
GUARDFISH (SSN-612)
GUITARRO (SSN-665)
GURNARD (SSN-662)
HADDO ( SSN-604)
HADDOCK (SSN-621)
HALIBUT ( SSN-587 )
HAMMERHEAD (SSN-663)
HAWKBILL (SSN-666)
JACK (SSN-605)
LAPON ( SSN-661)
NARWHAL (SSN-671)
NAUTILUS (SSN-571)
PARGO (SSN-650)
PERMIT (SSN-594)
PINTADO (SSN-672)
PLUNGER (SSN-595)
POGY (SSN-4347)
POLLACK (SSN-603)
PUFFER ( SSN-652 )
QUEENFISH (SSN-651)
RAY (SSN-653)
SAND LANCE (SSN-660)
SARGO (SSN-583)
SCAMP (SSN-588)
SCORPION (SSN-589)
SCULPIN (SSN-590)
SEA DEVIL (SSN-664)
SEADRAGON (SSN-584)
SEAHORSE (SSN-669)
SEA WOLF (SSN-575)
SHARK (SSN-591)
SKATE (SSN-578)
SKIPJACK (SSN-585)
SNOOK (SSN-592)
SPADEFISH (SSN-668)
STURGEON (SSN-637)
SUNFISH ( SSN-649)
SWORDFISH (SSN-579)
TAUTOG (SSN-639)
THRESHER (SSN-593)
TINOSA (SSN-606)
TRITON (SSN-586)
TULLIBEE ( SSN-597 )
WHALE (SSN-638)
825
k
Launching of Blueback (SS-581), one of the last fleet submarine with diesel-electric power contracted for and
launched by the U.S. Navy. She incorporates all recent developments in submarine construction, with the excep-
tion of nuclear power, and far surpasses her predecessor types of diesel-electric submarines.
Nuclear-Powered Submarines ( Multiple Ship Classes )
Characteristics
578 class
(SKATE)
4 submarines
585 class ‘
(SKIPJACK)
6 submarines
593 class
(THRESHER)
14 submarines
637 class
(STURGEON)
24 plus
Length overall-
267' 8"
251' 9"
278' 6"
292'3".
Extreme beam _
25'
31'7"
29 5 '8" (SSN 605)
31'8"
31'8".
Displacement:
Surfaced
2,570 tons
3,075 tons _ _
3,700 tons 2
3,800 tons.
4,600 tons.
1 water-cooled
Submerged
2,861 tons
3,500 tons..
4,000 tons (SSN
605).
4,300 tons.
Propulsion,
1 water-cooled
1 water-cooled
4,500 tons (SSN
605).
1 water-cooled nuclear
nuclear reactor —
nuclear reactor —
reactor — steam turbines.
nuclear reactor —
Torpedo tubes.
steam turbine.
6 (bow), 2 (stern)
steam turbines.
6 (bow) ....
4 midships .
steam turbine.
4 (midships.)
Navigation system
Gyro only
Gyro only
SINS MK 2 Gyro
SINS MK 3 Gyro.
Accommodations :
Officer _ . _ .
11
10. ..
12
12.
Enlisted
82 ... .
89.
88.
95.
‘SKIPJACK (SSN 585) was the first nuclear-powered submarine with lengthened by 13'9' to allow for increased shipboard equipment. Displace-
hull streamlined to “ teardrop shape.” ment tonnage corresponds to 637 class.
2 SSN 613-615 were laid down with original class dimensions but were later
826
Nuclear-Powered. Submarines ( Single Ship Classes )
Characteristics
571 class (NAUTILUS)
1 submarine
575 class (SEAWOLF)
1 submarine
586 class (TRITON)
1 submarine
587 class (HALIBUT) ■
1 submarine
597 class (TULLIBEE)
1 submarine
Length overall-
323'9"
337'6"
447'5" .
350'
273'.
Extreme beam.
27'8"
27'8
36' 11"
29'7".
23'4".
Displacement:
Surfaced-
3,533 tons . _
3,741 tons
5,939 tons - -
3,850 tons
2,216 tons.
2,607 tons.
1 water cooled
Submerged
4,092 tons
4,287 tons.
7,773 tons
4,895 tons -
Propulsion
1 water-cooled
1 water-cooled
2 water-cooled
1 water cooled
nuclear reactor
nuclear reactor
nuclear reac-
nuclear reactor
nuclear reactor
— steam
— steam tur-
tors — steam
— -steam
— steam
turbine.
bine.2
turbines.
turbine.
turbine.
Torpedo tubes
Navigation system. _
6 (bow)
Gyro only
6 (bow)_- -- -.
Gyro only
4 (bow) 2 (stern) .
Gyro only -
4 (bow) 2
(stern) .
SINS MK 2
4 tubes.
SINS MK 2
Accommodations :
Officer
13
13
17
gyro.
12
gyro.
7.
Enlisted
92..
94-
159-
112
50.
■HALIBUT, originally classified a nuclear-powered guided missile sub-
marine (SSGN-587), was armed with a Regulus I Missile Launcher. She
launched the first guided missile ever fired from a nuclear powered submarine
2/25/60 off Oahu, Hawaii, and completed her last Regulus mission in 1964
when the Regulus Deterrent Program was terminated. She was reclassified
to SSN-587 7/25/65.
2 SEAWOLF (SSN-575) was originally powered by a liquid-sodium-cooled
reactor that was replaced by a water-cooled reactor during overhaul (12/59-
7/60).
NUMERICAL LIST
SSN-571 NAUTILUS
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract: 8/20/51, Keel laid 6/14/52, Launched
1/21/54
Commissioned 9/30/54, Comdr. Eugene P. Wilkinson
commanding
Class : Nautilus
572-574 Diesel-electric powered submarines. See Vol.
I, Appendix III, p. 261
SSN-575 SEAWOLF
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 7/21/52, Keel laid 9/15/53, Launched
7/21/55
Commissioned 3/30/57, Comdr. Richard B. Laning
commanding
Class: Seawolf
576-577 Diesel-electric powered submarines. See Vol.
I, Appendix III, p. 261
SSN 578 SKATE
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/18/55, Keel laid 7/21/55, Launched
5/16/57
Commissioned 12/23/57, Comdr. James F. Calvert
commanding
Class : Skate
SSN-579 SWORDFISH
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract : 7/18/55, Keel laid 1/25/56, Launched
8/27/57
Commissioned 9/15/58, Lt. Comdr. Shannon D.
Cramer, Jr., commanding
Class: Skate
580-582 Diesel-electric powered submarines. See Vol.
I, Appendix III, p. 261
SSN-583 SARGO
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract: 9/29/55, Keel laid 2/21/56, Launched
10/10/57
Commissioned 10/1/58, Lt. Comdr. Daniel P. Brooks
commanding
Class: Skate
SSN-584 SE ADR AGON
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract: 9/29/55, Keel laid 6/20/56, Launched
8/16/58
Commissioned 12/5/59, Lt. Comdr. George P. Steele
III commanding
Class: Skate
SSN-585 SKIPJACK
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 10/5/55, Keel laid 5/29/56, Launched
5/26/58
Commissioned 4/15/59, Lt. Comdr. William W. Beh-
rens, Jr. commanding
Class : Skipjack
SSN-586 TRITON (Reclassified from SSRN 3/1/61)
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 10/5/55, Keel laid 5/29/56, Launched
8/19/58
Commissioned 11/10/59, Capt. Edward L. Beach
commanding
Class: Triton
SSN-587 HALIBUT (Reclassified from SSGN
8/15/65)
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract : 3/9/56, Keel laid 4/11/57, Launched
1/9/59
Commissioned 1/4/60, Lt. Comdr. Walter Dedrick
commanding
Class: Halibut
827
SSN-588 SCAMP
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract: 7/23/56, Keel laid 1/23/59, Launched
10/8/60
Commissioned 6/5/61, Lt. Comdr. Walter N. Dietzen,
Jr. commanding
Class : Skipjack
SSN-589 SCORPION
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract: 1/3/57, Keel laid 8/20/58, Launched
12/19/59
Commissioned 7/29/60, Lt. Comdr. Norman B. Bessac
commanding
Class : Skipjack
SSN-590 SCULPIN
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 1/18/57, Keel laid 2/3/58, Launched
3/31/60
Commissioned 6/1/61, Lt. Comdr. Cleo N. Mitchell, Jr.
commanding
Class: Skipjack
SSN-591 SHARK
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract: 1/31/57, Keel laid 2/24/58, Launched
3/16/60
Commissioned 2/9/61, Lt. Comdr. John F. Fagan, Jr.
commanding
Class: Skipjack
SSN-592 SNOOK
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 1/18/57. Keel laid 4/7/58, Launched
10/31/60
Commissioned 10/24/61, Lt. Comdr. Howard Bucknell
III commanding
SSN-593 THRESHER
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract 1/15/58, Keel laid 5/28/58, Launched
7/9/60
Commissioned 8/3/61, Comdr. Deane W. Axene com-
manding
Class: Thresher (lost 4/10/63)
SSN-594 PERMIT
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract : 1/27/58, Keel laid 7/16/59, Launched
7/1/61
Commissioned 5/29/62, Lt. Comdr. Robert H. Blount
commanding
Class: Thresher
SSN-595 PLUNGER
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract: 3/23/59, Keel laid 3/2/60, Launched
12/9/61
Commissioned 11/21/62, Comdr. William M. Adams,
Jr. commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-596 BARB
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 3/3/59, Keel laid 11/9/59, Launched
2/12/62
Commissioned 8/24/63, Comdr. Charles D. Grojean
commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-597 TULLIBEE
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract: 11/15/57, Keel laid 5/26/58, Launched
4/27/60
Commissioned 11/9/60, Comdr. Richard E. Jortberg
commanding
Class : Tullihcc
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
828
For hull number SSBN 598 through 602 see “Fleet Ballis-
tic Missile Submarines-SSBN” below.
SSN-603 POLLACK
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract: 3/3/59, Keel laid 3/14/60, Launched
3/17/62
Commissioned 5/26/64, Comdr. Harvey E. Lyon com-
manding
Class : Thresher
SSN-604 HADDO
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract : 3/3/59, Keel laid 9/9/60, Launched 8/18/62
Commissioned 12/16/64, Comdr. John G. Williams
commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-605 JACK
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract: 3/13/59, Keel laid 9/16/60, Launched
4/24/63
Commissioned 3/31/67, Lt. Comdr. Louis T. Urban-
czyk, Jr. commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-606 TINOSA
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract : 12/17/58, Keel laid 11/24/59, Launched
12/9/61
Commissioned 10/17/64, Comdr. Robert B. Brumsted
commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-607 DACE
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract : 3/3/59, Keel laid 6/6/60, Launched 8/18/62
Commissioned 4/4/64, Comdr. John A. Walsh com-
manding
Class : Thresher
For hull numbers SSBN 608 through 611 see “Fleet Ballis-
tic Missile Submarines-SSBN” below.
SSN-612 GUARDFISH
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract: 6/9/60, Keel laid 2/28/61, Launched
5/15/65
Commissioned 12/20/66, Comdr. G. H. Hines
commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-613 FLASHER
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract: 6/9/60. Keel laid 4/14/61, Launched
6/22/63
Commissioned: 7/22/66, Comdr. Kenneth M. Can-
commanding
Class: Thresher
SSN-614 GREENLING
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract: 6/9/60, Keel laid 8/15/61, Launched
4/4/64
Commissioned: 11/3/67, Comdr. Guy H. B. Schaffer
commanding
Class : Thresher
SSN-615 GATO
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract: 6/9/60, Keel laid 12/15/61, Launched
5/14/64
Class : Thresher
For hull numbers SSBN 616 through 620 see “Fleet Ballis-
tic Missile Submarines-SSBN” below.
SSN-621 HADDOCK
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 8/24/60, Keel laid 4/24/61, Launched
5/21/66
Class : Thresher
For hull numbers SSBN 622 through 636 see “Fleet Ballis-
tic Missile Submarines-SSBN” below.
SSN-637 STURGEON
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 11/30/61, Keel laid 8/10/63, Launched
2/26/66
Class: Sturgeon
USS Sturgeon (SSN-637)
829
SSN-638 WHALE
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Quincy Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
Contract: 11/30/61, Keel laid 5/27/64, Launched
10/14/66
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-639 TAUTOG
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 11/30/61, Keel laid 1/27/64, launched
4/15/67
Class : Sturgeon
For hull numbers SSBN 640 through 645 see “Fleet Ballis-
tic Missile Submarines-SSBN” below.
SSN-646 GRAYLING
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract: 9/5/62, Keel laid 5/12/64, launched
6/22/67
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-647 POGY
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract: 3/23/63, Keel laid 5/5/64, launched
6/3/67
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-648 ASPRO
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 3/26/63, Keel laid 11/23/64
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-649 SUNFISH
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 3/26/63, Keel laid 1/15/65, Launched
10/14/66
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-650 PARGO
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 3/26/63, Keel laid 6/3/64, Launched
9/17/66
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-651 QUEENFISH
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Ya.
Contract : 3/26/63, Keel laid 5/11/64, launched
2/25/66
Commissioned 4/12/67, Lt. Comdr. Jackson B. Richard
commanding
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-652 PUFFER
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract: 3/26/63, Keel laid 2/8/65
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-653 RAY
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract : 3/26/63, Keel laid 1/4/65, launched
6/21/66
Commissioned 4/12/67, Comdr. Albert L. Kelln,
commanding
Class: Sturgeon
For hull numbers SSBN 654 through 659 see “Fleet Bal-
listic Missile Submarines-SSBN” below.
SSN-660 SAND LANCE
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract: 10/24/63, Keel laid 1/15/65
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-661 LAPON
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract: 5/28/64, Keel laid 7/26/65, Launched
12/16/66
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-662 GURNARD
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract : 10/24/63, Keel laid 12/22/64, Launched
5/20/67
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-663 HAMMERHEAD
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract : 5/28/64, Keel laid 11/29/65, Launched
4/15/67
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-664 SEA DEVIL
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract : 5/28/64, Keel laid 4/12/66
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-665 GUITARRO
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract : 12/18/64, Keel laid 12/9/65
Class: Sturgeon
SSN-666 HAWKBILL
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract : 12/18/64, Keel laid 9/12/66
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-667 BERGALL
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 3/9/65, Keel laid 4/16/66
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-668 SPADEFISH
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract : 3/9/65, Keel laid 12/21/66
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-669 SEAHORSE
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 3/9/65, Keel laid 8/13/66
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-670
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract : 3/9/65, Keel laid 6/26/67
Class: Sturgeon
830
SSN-671 NARWHAL
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract : 7/28/64, Keel laid 1/17/66
Class : Sturgeon
SSN-672 PINTADO
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard
Contract : 12/29/65, Keel laid 8/22/67
Class: Sturgeon
FLEET BALLISTIC MISSILE
SUBMARINES— SSBN
In 1955 the Navy stated its long range objective
to develop a ballistic missile for use in submarines.
This was within an overall plan for the develop-
ment of the liquid-propelled Jupiter missile after
the National Security Council recommended, and
the President approved, “That a 1,500-mile ballis-
tic missile system be developed.”
In 1956 the Secretary of Defense authorized the
Navy to proceed with the development of the
Polaris missile, a smaller solid-propellant missile,
and to terminate participation in the Jupiter pro-
gram. By the end of 1956 the Secretary of the
Navy had established the Navy Ballistic Missile
Committee to direct the high-priority Fleet Bal-
listic Missile System and had given the Special
Projects Office, headed by Rear Admiral William
F. Rabom, U.S. Navy, the responsibility for the
development of the entire missile system. The
first Fleet Ballistic Missile test flight occurred 11
January 1958.
Also, in January 1958, construction was begun
on the first three FBM submarines. The first one,
GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN-598), had
been laid down as SCORPION (SSN-598), but
was cut in two and had a 130-foot missile launch
tube section inserted. She launched 9 June 1959,
commissioned 30 December 1959, and successfully
launched the first two Polaris missiles ever fired by
a submerged submarine 20 July 1960. Polaris
first went on patrol 15 November 1960 when
GEORGE WASHINGTON deployed from
Charleston, S.C., for an operational patrol which
set a new record of 66 days, 10 hours submerged
continuously.
On 8 February 1961, submarine tender PRO-
TEUS (AS-19) sailed to establish the first Polaris
advanced base at Holy Loch, Scotland. After a
distinguished record in World War II, she had
been converted in the Charleston Naval Shipyard
to serve as the Nation’s first tender to service and
repair FBM submarines and their Polaris missiles.
She and four new tenders are now operational :
HUNLEY (AS-31), HOLLAND (AS-32),
SIMON LAKE (AS-33), and CANOPUS (AS-
34).
The entire Polaris program has been keynoted
by dedicated efforts and coordination of thousands
of military men, a significant portion of American
industry, and the development of new concepts of
logistics and industrial management never before
adapted to military administration. The Fleet
Ballistic Missile Weapon System includes 41
Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines now opera-
tional.
ALPHABETICAL LISTING — SSBN
ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN-602)
ALEXANDER HAMILTON (SSBN-617)
ANDREW JACKSON (SSBN-619)
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (SSBN-640)
CASIMIR PULASKI (SSBN-633)
DANIEL BOONE (SSBN-629)
DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN-626)
ETHAN ALLEN (SSBN-608)
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY (SSBN-657)
GEORGE BANCROFT (SSBN-643)
GEORGE C. MARSHALL (SSBN-654)
GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN-598)
GEORGE WASHINTON CARVER (SSBN-656)
HENRY CLAY (SSBN-625)
HENRY L. STIMSON (SSBN-655)
JAMES K. POLK (SSBN-645)
JAMES MADISON (SSBN-627)
JAMES MONROE (SSBN-622)
JOHN ADAMS (SSBN-620)
JOHN C. CALHOUN (SBN-630)
JOHN MARSHALL (SSBN-611)
KAMEHAMEHA (SSBN-642)
LAFAYETTE (SSBN-616)
LEWIS AND CLARK (SSBN-644)
MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSGN-658)
NATHANAEL GREENE (SSBN-636)
NATHAN HALE (iSSBN-623)
PATRICK HENRY (SSBN-599)
ROBERT E. LEE (SSRN-601)
SAM HOUSTON (SSBN-609)
SAM RAYBURN (iSSBN-635)
SIMON BOLIVAR (SSBN-641)
STONEWALL JACKSON (SSBN-634)
TECUMSEH OSSBN-628)
THEODORE ROOSEVELT (SSBN-600)
THOMAS A. EDISON (SSBN-610)
THOMAS JEFFERSON (SSBN-618)
ULYSSES S. GRANT (SBN-631)
VON STEUBEN (SSBN-632)
WILL ROGERS (SSBN-659)
WOODROW WILSON (SSBN-624)
831
Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines
Characteristics
598 class
(GEORGE WASHINGTON)
5 submarines
608 class
(ETHAN ALLEN)
5 submarines
616 class
(LAFAYETTE)
31 submarines
Lp.ngth ovpra.11
381'8" __ _ _
410'5"
425'.
F/xtreme beam
33'
33'
33'.
Displacement:
Surfaced
5,900 tons.
6,900 tons
7.250 tons.
8.250 tons.
Same.
Submerged
6,700 tons . .
7,900 tons _ _
Propulsion
Water-cooled nuclear re-
Same.
Torppdo tubes
actors — steam turbines.
6 (bow) _ _ _
4 (bow)__ _ _ _
4 (bow).
16 Polaris A-2 or A— 3.2
Missiles
16 Polaris A-l 1
16 Polaris A-2 _ _
tn bps
16
16
16.
Launch system
Air ejection _ _ _
Air ejection . _ __
Gas/steam gen.3
MK 84.
Fire control system
MK 80
MK 80
N avigation system
(SINS): 3, MK2.
Ships Inertial (SINS): 3,
SINS: 3 (SSBN-627:2),
Accommodations:
Officer _
12 ...
MK3.
15
MK2. Navy Naviga-
tional Satellite Receiver.
20.
Enlisted
100
129
148.
1 598 class submarines have been retubed and given Polaris A-3 Capability
during first overhaul period. Polaris A-l officially retired from active Fleet
duty 14 October 1965 when ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN-602) returned
to the United States for her initial overhaul.
2 616 class: First 8 submarines were deployed with Polaris A-2.
3 616 class: First 5 submarines have air ejection system. The last 22 have
foamed resin jacket to replace shock cylinders between launcher tubes and
outer tubes.
NUMERICAL LIST— SSBN
SSBN-598 (GEORGE WASHINGTON) Class
SSBN-598 GEORGE WASHINGTON
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 12/31/57, Keel laid 11/1/57, Launched 6/9/59
Commissioned 12/30/59, First deployment 11/15/60
Comdr. James B. Osborn, commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. John L. From, Jr., commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-599 PATRICK HENRY
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 12/31/57, Keel laid 5/27/58, Launched
9/22/59
Commissioned 4/9/60, First deployment 12/30/60
Comdr. Harold E. Shear commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Robert J. L. Long commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-600 THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract 3/13/58, Keel laid 5/20/58, Launched 10/3/59
Commissioned 2/11/61, First deployment 7/19/61
Comdr. William E. Sims commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Oliver H. Perry, Jr., commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-601 ROBERT E. LEE
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/30/58, Keel laid 8/28/58, Launched
12/18/59
Commissioned 9/16/60, First deployment 5/2/61
Comdr. Reuben F. Woodall commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Joe Williams, Jr., commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-602 ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract 8/1/58, Keel laid 11/1/58, Launched 5/14/60
Commissioned 3/11/61, First deployment 8/28/61
Comdr. Leonard Erb commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Donald M. Miller commanding Gold Crew
For hull numbers SSN 603 through 607, see “Nuclear Sub-
marines” above.
SSBN-608 (ETHAN ALLEN) Class
SSBN-608 ETHAN ALLEN
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/17/58, Keel laid 9/14/59, Launched
11/22/60
Commissioned 8/8/61, First deployment 6/26/62
Capt. Paul L. Lacy, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. William W. Behrens, Jr., commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-609 SAM HOUSTON
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/1/59, Keel laid 12/28/59, Launched 2/2/61
Commissioned 3/6/62, First deployment 10/10/62
Capt. William P. Willis, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Jack H. Hawkins commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-610 THOMAS A. EDISON
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/1/59, Keel laid 3/15/60, Launched 6/15/61
Commissioned 3/10/62, First deployment 11/7/62
Capt. Charles M. Young commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Walter Dedrick commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-611 JOHN MARSHALL
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/1/59, Keel laid 4/4/60, Launched 7/15/61
Commissioned 5/21/62, First deployment 12/31/62
Comdr. Robert W. Stecher commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Robert D. Donovan commanding Gold Crew
For hull numbers SSN 612 through 615, see “Nuclear Sub-
marines” above.
SSBN-616 (LAFAYETTE) Class
832
SSBN-616 LAFAYETTE
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/22/60, Keel laid 1/17/61, Launched 5/8/62
Commissioned 4/23/63, First deployment 1/4/64
Comdr. Patrick J. Hannifin commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. James T. Strong commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-617 ALEXANDER HAMILTON
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/22/60, Keel laid 7/26/61, Launched 8/18/62
Commissioned 6/27/63, First deployment 3/16/64
Comdr. Norman B. Bessac commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Benjamin F. Sherman, Jr., commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-618 THOMAS JEFFERSON
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/22/60, Keel laid 2/3/61, Launched 2/24/62
Commissioned 1/4/63, First deployment 10/28/63
Capt. Leon H. Rathbun, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Charles Priest, Jr., commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-619 ANDREW JACKSON
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract 7/23/60, Keel laid 4/26/61, Launched 9/
15/62
Commissioned 7/3/63, First deployment 4/28/64
Comdr. Alfred J. Whittle, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. James B. Wilson commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-620 JOHN ADAMS
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract 7/23/60, Keel laid 5/19/61, Launched 1/12/63
Commissioned 5/12/64, First deployment 11/3/64
Comdr. Lando W. Zech, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Paul J. Early commanding Gold Crew
For hull number SSN-621 see “Nuclear Submarines’’
above.
SSBN-622 JAMES MONROE
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 1/31/61, Keel laid 7/31/61, Launched 8/4/62
Commissioned 12/7/63, First deployment 6/1/64
Comdr. William H. Sandeford commanding Blue
Crew
Comdr. Warren R. Cobean, Jr., commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-623 NATHAN HALE
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 1/31/61, Keel laid 10/2/61, Launched 1/12/63
Commissioned 11/23/63, First deployment 5/25/64
Comdr. Joseph W. Russel commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Samuel S. Ellis commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-624 WOODROW WILSON
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract 2/9/61, Keel laid 9/13/61, Launched 2/22/63
Commissioned 12/27/63, First deployment 7/2/64
Comdr. Cleo N. Mitchell, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Walter N. Dietzen, Jr., commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-625 HENRY CLAY
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 1/31/61, Keel laid 10/23/61, Launched
11/30/62
Commissioned 2/20/64, First deployment 8/17/64
Comdr. Thomas A. Bryce commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. John C. Lewis commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-626 DANIEL WEBSTER
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 1/31/61, Keel laid 12/28/61, Launched
4/27/63
Commissioned 4/9/64, First deployment 9/28/64
Comdr. Marvin S. Blair commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Lloyd S. Smith commanding Gold Crew
Inaugural cruise of George Washington.
833
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
19 November 1963
Dear Admiral Galantin:
The Polaris firing I witnessed from the USS OBSERVATION
ISLAND on 16 November was a most satisfying and fascinating
experience. It is still incredible to me that a missile can be
successfully and accurately fired from beneath the sea. Once
one has seen a Polaris firing the efficacy of this weapons system
as a deterrent is not debatable.
Thank you very much for allowing me to see a Polaris
firing. Certainly, those of us who saw it are more, conscious of
the professional competence of our naval forces.
Would you please express my appreciation to the Commanding
Officer and crew of the USS ANDREW JACKSON for their splendid
performance.
With best wishes,
Sincerely
7
JOHN f. KENNEDY
Rear Adrriral I. J. Galantin, USN
Special Projects Officer
Main Navy
Washington, D. C.
President John F. Kennedy’s letter to Admiral Ignatius J. Galantin
SSBN-627 JAMES MADISON
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 5/24/61, Keel laid 3/5/62, Launched 3/15/63
Commissioned 7/28/64, First deployment 1/17/65
Comdr. Joseph L. Skoog, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. James D. Kearny commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-628 TECUMSEH
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 5/24/61, Keel laid 6/1/62, Launched 6/22/63
Commissioned 5/29/64, First deployment 1/24/65
Comdr. Arnett B. Taylor commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. George S. Carlisle commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-629 DANIEL BOONE
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract 7/21/61, Keel laid 2/6/62, Launched 6/22/63
Commissioned 4/23/64, First deployment 12/25/64
Comdr. George P. Steele III commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Allen B. Crabtree commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-630 JOHN C. CALHOUN
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/20/61, Keel laid 8/18/62, Launched
6/22/63
Commissioned 9/15/64, First deployment 3/22/65
Comdr. Deane L. Axene commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Frank A. Thurtell commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-631 ULYSSES S. GRANT
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/20/61, Keel laid 8/18/62, Launched 11/2/63
Commissioned 7/17/64, First deployment 2/6/65
Comdr. John L. From, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Carlton A. K. McDonald commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-632 VON STEUBEN
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/20/61, Keel laid 9/4/62, Launched
10/18/63
Commissioned 9/30/64, First deployment 3/28/65
Comdr. John P. Wise commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Jeffrey C. Metzel, Jr., commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-633 CASIMIR PULASKI
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/20/61, Keel laid 1/12/63, Launched 2/1/64
Commissioned 8/14/64, First deployment 3/6/65
Capt. Robert L. J. Long commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Thomas B. Brittain, Jr., commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-634 STONEWALL JACKSON
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract 7/21/61, Keel laid 7/4/62, Launched
11/30/63
Commissioned 8/26/64, First deployment 4/9/65
Comdr. John H. Nicholson commanding Blue Crew
. Comdr. Richard A. Frost commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-635 SAM RAYBURN
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/20/61, Keel laid 12/3/62, Launched
12/20/63
Commissioned 12/2/64, First deployment 6/4/65
Capt. Oliver H. Perry, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. William A. Williams III commanding Gold
Crew
SSBN-636 NATHANAEL GREENE
Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth,
N.H.
Contract 7/21/61, Keel laid 5/21/62, Launched
5/12/64
Commissioned 12/19/64, First deployment 6/21/65
Comdr. Robert E. Crispin commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. William M. Cossaboom commanding Gold
Crew
For hull numbers 637 through 639 see “Nuclear Sub-
marines” above.
SSBN-640 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 4/24/62, Keel laid 5/25/63, Launched 12/5/64
Commissioned 10/22/65, First deployment 5/6/66
Capt. Donald M. Miller commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Ross N. Williams commanding Gold Crew
USS Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640), the 30th of the 41 Polaris submarines
835
SSBN-641 SIMON BOLIVAR
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 4/24/62, Keel laid 4/17/63, Launched 8/
22/64
Commissioned 10/29/65, First deployment 4/27/66
Comdr. Charles H. Griffiths commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Charles A. Orem commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-642 KAMEHAMEHA
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Contract 8/15/62, Keel laid 5/2/63, Launched 1/16/65
Commissioned 12/10/65, First deployment 8/6/66
Comdr. Roth S. Leddick commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Robert W. Diekieson commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-643 GEORGE BANCROFT
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 11/1/62, Keel laid 8/24/63, Launched
3/20/65
Commissioned 1/22/66, First deployment 7/26/66
Capt. Joe Williams, Jr., commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Walter M. Douglass commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-644 LEWIS AND CLARK
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 11/1/62, Keel laid 7/29/63, Launched
11/21/64
Commissioned 12/22/65, First deployment 6/23/66
Comdr. John F. Fagen commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Kenneth A. Porter commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-645 JAMES K. POLK
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 11/1/62, Keel laid 11/23/63, Launched
5/22/65
Commissioned 4/16/66, First deployment 10/14/66
Comdr. Frank D. McMullen, Jr., commanding Blue
Crew
Comdr. Robert M. Douglass commanding Gold Crew
For hull numbers 646 through 653 see “Nuclear Sub-
marines” above.
SSBN-654 GEORGE C. MARSHALL
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 6/28/63, Keel laid 3/2/64, Launched 5/21/65
Commissioned 4/29/66, First deployment 10/25/66
Comdr. Warren R. Cobean, Jr., commanding Blue
Crew
Comdr. Edwin L. MeCuteheon commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-655 HENRY L. STIMSON
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 6/28/63, Keel laid 4/4/64, Launched 11/13/65
Commissioned 8/20/66, First deployment 2/23/67
Capt. Richard E. Jortberg commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Robert H. Weeks commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-656 GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 7/29/63, Keel laid 8/24/64, Launched
8/14/65
Commissioned 6/15/66, First deployment 12/21/66
Capt. Robert D. Donavan commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Carl J. Lidel commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-657 FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/29/63, Keel laid 12/5/64, Launched
4/23/66
Commissioned 12/3/66
Capt. Frank W. Graham commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. Joseph B. Logan commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-658 MARIANO G. VALLEJO
Built at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard
Contract 7/29/63, Keel laid 7/7/64, Launched
10/23/65
Commissioned 12/16/66
Comdr. Douglas B. Guthe commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. John K. Nunneley commanding Gold Crew
SSBN-659 WILL ROGERS
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.
Contract 7/29/63, Keel laid 3/20/65, Launched
7/21/66
Commissioned 4/1/67
Capt. Robert Y. Kaufman commanding Blue Crew
Comdr. William J. Coubell commanding Gold Crew
660 and subsequent hull numbers classified SSN (q.v. )
THE POLARIS MISSILES
Polaris, named for the North Star, is a two-stage bal-
listic missile powered by solid fuel rocket motors and
guided by a self-contained inertial guidance system inde-
pendent of external commands or control. There are cur-
rently two generations of Polaris, A-2 and A-3. Polaris
A-l was officially retired from active fleet duty when
USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN 602), the last of the
first five SSBNs to carry it, returned to the United States
14 October 1965, for her initial overhaul.
The 1,200 nautical mile range Polaris A-l, was 28 feet
long, 4% feet in diameter, and weighed about 30,000
pounds. Each of its motors exerted thrust through four
nozzles in the motor base. Thus vector (direction) con-
trol was exercised by devices called jetavators. Both
motor cases were made of steel.
The first underwater launching of a Polaris test ve-
hicle from a submarine was successfully conducted by the
Navy’s first Polaris carrying submarine USS GEORGE
WASHINGTON (SSBN-598) on 20 July 1960, while cruis-
ing submerged off Cape Canaveral, Florida. Less than
three hours later she successfully launched a second Po-
laris missile.
The 1,500 nautical mile range operational Polaris A-2
missile is similar to the A-l in general appearance and
diameter. However, A-2 is 30 inches longer and uses a
more powerful solid propellant than A-l. Pioneering
features include a second stage rocket motor case made
of wound glass fiber instead of steel and rotating nozzles
instead of jetavators.
The first test of an A-2 missile from a submerged sub-
marine was successfully conducted on 23 October 1961,
by USS ETHAN ALLEN (SSBN-608) off the Florida
coast.
Polaris A-3 is a significantly greater advance over the
A-2 than was the A-2 over A-l. In terms of hardware
design, Polaris A-3 is approximately an 85 percent new
missile.
The first launching of the 2,500 nautical mile range op-
erational Polaris A-3 from a submerged submarine took
place 26 October 1963 from USS ANDREW JACKSON
(SSBN-619) while cruising submerged off the Florida
coast. The completely successful test was followed by
another from the same submarine 11 November 1963.
836
A Polaris 2,500 mile range A-3 missile fired from USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644)
The Polaris A-3 missile became operational 28 Septem-
ber 1904 when USS DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN-626)
began her initial operational patrol with 16 A-3’s on board.
USS DANIEL BOONE (SSBN-629) began the initial
operational patrol in the Pacific 25 December 1964. The
FBM weapon system became truly a global deterrent.
While the Polaris A-3 will leave no spot unreachable
by the Polaris submarines hidden in the oceans of the
world, the effectiveness of the Polaris system is best meas-
ured by the deterrent strength this capability gives our
country in its ceaseless efforts to prevent nuclear war and
to maintain peace.
THE POSEIDON MISSILE
On 18 January 1965, President Johnson announced in
a special message to the Congress that his administration
proposed to develop a new missile for the Fleet Ballistic
Missile Weapon System — Poseidon.
Poseidon is named after the god of the sea in Greek
mythology. This name is particularly appropriate for this
seabased missile. The mythological Poseidon was known
as the “earth-shaker” because of his ability to cause earth-
quakes far inland. But he was also known as “the pre-
server” because he could send calm seas.
Poseidon, which is designated C-3, will be 100 percent
different from the Polaris A-3. It will be 6 feet in diam-
eter, as opposed to the 4%-foot Polaris. It will be 3 feet
longer than the 31-foot A-3. Yet despite this increase in
size the growth potential of the ballistic missile subma-
rine launching system will enable the Navy to fit Poseidon
missiles into the same 16 missile tubes that carry Polaris.
Poseidon will have double the payload of the Polaris
A-3. It will be twice as accurate. As a result, its effec-
tiveness against a hardened target will be some eight
times greater than the latest version of Polaris. In-
creased accuracy and flexibility will permit its use against
a broader range of possible targets with added assurance
of penetration of enemy defenses. Like Polaris A-3, it
will be able to reach any spot on earth from its submerged
nuclear-powered nesting place.
837
Submarine Ballistic Missiles
Polaris Missiles ( A-l , A-2, A-3 ) Descriptive Summary Comparison
Characteristics
Polaris A-l
Polaris A-2
Polaris A-3
Length _ _
28. 5'
31'
31'.
Diameter. _
54"
54"
54".
Weight.
15T.
Powered stages . - _
2
2
2.
Motor case materials __
Nozzles. . .
1st stage — steel; 2d stage —
steel.
4 . ...
1st stage — steel; 2d stage —
Glass Fiber.1
4
1st stage — glass fiber;2 2d
stage — glass fiber.2
4.
Controls . .
1st stage — Jetavators;1 2d
stage — Jetavators .*
Solid; Polyurethane; Ammo-
nium perchlorate; light
metals.
All inertial. _
1st stage — Jetavators;1 2d
stage — Rotating nozzles.1
Solid; 1st stage — Polyure-
thane etc., as in A-l; 2d
stage — Double base.
All inertial. . _ . . _
1st stage — Rotating nozzles;1
2d stage — Fluid injection.1
Solid; Formulation not releas-
able; 2d stage — Double
base.
All inertial.3
Propellant . .
Guidance
Range
Warhead ....
1,200 N.M. (1,375 S.M.)
Nuclear _ -----
1,500 N.M. (1,725 S.M.)
Nuclear.
2,500 N.M. (2,880 S.M.).
Nuclear.
1 Devised and first flown by Navy in Polaris development program. (Small 3 Inertial guidance system of Polaris A-l and A-2 was smallest system built
Glass-Fiber motor case had previously flown in Vanguard program. Polaris at that time. Inertial guidance system of A-3 is about two-thirds smaller than
was first large Glass-Fiber rocket motor case) . A-l, A-2 system.
2 First large ballistic missile to use glass motor cases for all stages.
838
SUBMARINE TENDERS— AS
ALPHABETICAL LIST
OANOPUS (AS-34)
DIXON ( AS-37)
HOLLAND (AS-32)
HUNLEY (AS-31)
L. Y. SPEAR (AS-36)
PROTEUS (AS-19)
SIMON LAKE (AS-33)
NUMERICAL LIST
AS-l through AS-18 : Data in Vol. I, Appendix III, see
pp. 264-266
AS-19 PROTEUS
Built at Moore Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Oakland,
Calif.
Contract 12/30/40, Keel laid 9/15/41, Launched
11/12/42
Commissioned 1/31/44, Capt. Robert W. Berry com-
manding
Decommissioned 9/26/47 — Placed in service at New
London, COnn.
Converted* at Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charles-
ton, S.C.
Recommissioned 7/8/60, Capt. Richard B. Laning
commanding
First deployment 2/8/61
AS-19:
Length Overall: 529'6" (1944) ; 573'6" (1960)
Extreme Beam: 73'4" (1944) ; 73'4” (1960)
Full Load Displacement: 18,000 tons (1944) ; 20,295
tons (1960)
Maximum Navigational Draft: 23'6" (1944) ; 25'7"
(1960)
Accommodations: Off.: 84, Enl. : 1,555 (1944). Off.: 80,
Enl. : 1,338 (1960)
Armament: (1944 ) 5"/38: (4) ; 40mm: (4) twin; 20mm:
(23) single. (1960 ) 5"/38: (1)
Designed Speed: 18.5 knots (1944) ; 12 knots (1960)
Engines : No. : 2 ; Mfr. : GM ; Type Drive : DER
Propulsion : Props. : 2 ; Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 7,000
AS-20 through AS-26 : Data in Vol. I, Appendix III, pp.
264-266
AS-27 through AS-30 : Redesignated Destroyer Tenders
AS-31 (HUNLEY) Class-
AS-31 HUNLEY
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Lock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 8/31/61, Keel laid 3/5/62, Launched
9/28/61
♦Note. — Especially converted (1/19/59-7/8/60) as the Na-
tion’s first tender to service and repair FBM submarines and their
Polaris missiles. Conversion called for a six-deck-high addition
amidships, 44 feet long and with a beam of 73 feet, weighing 500
tons. This conversion was achieved by cutting the ship In dry-
dock, sealing the after end which contained mostly machinery,
flooding the forward end, floating the after end into position 44
feet down, and building the 44-foot section in place in the dry-
dock. The ship was cut in half amidships on 7-8 June 1959, and
the mass welding work was completed on 22 July 1959. The
work proceeding from that point was completed some 11 months
later.
Commissioned 6/16/62, Capt. Douglas N. Syverson
commanding
First deployment 3/21/64
AS-32 HOLLAND
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract 8/31/61, Keel laid 3/5/62, Launched
1/19/63
Commissioned 9/7/63, Capt. Charles W. Styler, Jr.,
commanding
First deployment 3/21/64
AS-31 through AS-32
Length Overall : 599’
Extreme Beam: 90'3"
Full Load Displacement : 17,909 tons
Maximum Draft: 24'8"
Accommodations : Off. : 90 ; Enl. : 1,411
Armament: (4) 3''/50
Designed Speed : 19.5 knots
Engines : No. : 1 ; Mfr. : FM ; Type Drive : D.E.
Propulsion : Props. : 1 ; Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 12,000
AS-33 (SIMON LAKE) Class:
AS-33 SIMON LAKE
Built at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.
Contract 8/8/62, Keel laid 1/7/63, Launched 2/8/64
Commissioned 11/7/64, Capt. James B. Osborn com-
manding
First deployment 7/28/65
AS-34 CANOPUS
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract 9/19/63, Keel laid 3/2/64, Launched 2/12/65
Commissioned 11/4/65, Capt. John W. Barrett com-
manding
AS-33 through AS-34
Length Overall: 643' 8”
Extreme Beam : 85'
Full Load Displacement: 19,934 tons (AS-33) ; 21,099
tons (AS-34)
Maximum draft: 23'6''
Accommodations : Off. : 79 ; Enl. : 1,294
Armament: (2) 3"/50
Designed Speed : 19.3 knots
Engines : No. : 1 ; Mfg. : DEL ; Type Drive : DE
Propulsion : Props. : 1 ; Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 12,000
AS-35 Construction deferred. Contract not awarded.
AS-36 (L. Y. SPEAR) Class:
AS-36 L. Y. SPEAR
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Quincy Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
Contract 5/12/65, Keel laid 5/5/66
AS-37 DIXON
Built at General Dynamics Corp., Quincy Div., Quincy,
Mass.
Contract 4/20/66
AS-36 through AS-37 (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall: 643'8''
Extreme Beam : 85'
Full Load Displacement : 22,640 tons
Maximum Draft: 24'8"
Accommodations : Off. : 96 ; Enl. : 1,252
Armament: 5''/38 (2)
Propulsion : Props. : 1 ; Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 18,000
256-125 0 - 68 - 55
839
USS L. Y. Spear (AS-36)
Part C
Addenda to Appendix IV, Volume I
DESTROYER TYPES 1959-1967
DESTROYERS— DD
ALPHABETICAL LIST
EDSON ( DD-946 )
MORTON (DD-948)
PARSONS (DD-949)
RICHARD S. EDWARDS (DD-950)
SOMERS ( DD-947 )
TURNER JOY (DD-951)
NUMERICAL LIST
Torpedo Boats : Data in Volume I, Appendix IV ( q.v .)
DD-1 through DD-945 : Data in Volume I, Appendix IV
(q.v.)
DD-946 EDSON
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 12/3/56, Launched 1/4/58
Commissioned 11/7/58, Comdr. Thomas J. Moriarty
commanding
DD-947 SOMERS
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 3/4/57, Launched 5/30/58
Commissioned 4/3/59, Comdr. Edward J. Cummings,
Jr., commanding
Decommissioned 4/11/66 for conversion to DDG-34
(q.v.)
DD-948 MORTON
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 3/4/57, Launched 5/23/58
Commissioned 5/26/59, Comdr. William C. Young com-
manding
DD-949 PARSONS
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 6/17/57, Launched 8/
19/58
Commissioned 10/29/59, Comdr. William R. Loomis
commanding
Decommissioned 1/19/66 for conversion to DDG-33
(q.v.)
DD-950 RICHARD S. EDWARDS
Built at Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Co., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 12/20/56, Launched
9/24/57
Commissioned 2/5/59, Comdr. Richard R. Law com-
manding
DD-951 TURNER JOY
Built at Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Co., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 9/30/57, Launched 5/5/58
Commissioned 8/3/59, Comdr. Ralph S. Wentworth,
Jr., commanding
DD-946 through DD-951 :
Length Overall: 418'5" ; Extreme Beam: 45'2"
Full Load Displacement: 4,200 tons (DD-946 through
DD-949), 4,049 tons (DD-950 and DD-951)
Max. Nav. Draft : 20'5"
Designed Accommodations :
Off. : 25, Enl. : 339 (DD-946 through DD-949). Off. :
23, Enl. : 331 (DD-950 and DD-951)
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (3) 5 "/54 single, (2) 3"/50
twin; (2) triple torpedo tubes; (1) depth charge
track; (2) depth charge projectors; (1) DASH
System; (1) ASROC Group
Engines : No. : 2, Mfr. : GE, Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 4, Mfr./Type : B/W
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 70,000
840
USS Richard S. Edwards
DD-952 through DD-959 : Redesignated before keel laying
as DDG-2 through DDG-9 ( q.v. )
DD-960 through DD-961 : Built for Japan (Offshore Pro-
curement) under the Military Assistance Program :
(Modified Fletcher Class)
GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYERS — DDG
ALPHABETICAL LIST
BARNEY (DDG-6)
BENJAMIN STODDERT (DDG-22)
BERKELEY (DDG-15)
BUCHANAN (DDG-14)
CHARLES F. ADAMS (DDG-2)
CLAUDE V. RICKETTS ( DDG-5 )
COCHRANE ( DDG-21 )
CONYNGHAM (DDG-17)
DECATUR ( DDG-31 )
GY ATT ( DDG-1 )
GOLDSBOROUGH (DDG-20)
HENRY B. WILSON (DDG-7)
HOEL (DDG-13)
JOHN KING (DDG-3)
JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG-32)
JOHN S. McCAIN (DDG-36)
JOSEPH STRAUSS (DDG-16)
LAWRENCE (DDG-4)
LYNDE McCORMICK (DDG-8)
MITSCHER ( DDG-35 )
PARSONS ( DDG-33 )
RICHARD E. BYRD (DDG-23)
ROBISON (DDG-12)
SAMPSON ( DDG-10 )
SELLERS ( DDG-1 1)
SEMMES (DDG-18)
SOMERS ( DDG-34 )
TATTNALL (DDG-19)
TOWERS (DDG-9)
WADDELL ( DDG-24 )
NUMERICAL LIST
DDG-1 GYATT (ex-DDG-712, DD-712)
Built at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark,
N.J.
Contract 8/7/42, Keel laid 9/7/44, Launched 4/15/45
Commissioned 7/2/45, Comdr. A. D. Kaplan command-
ing
Decommissioned 10/31/55, Converted at Boston Naval
Shipyard
Contract 8/24/55, Commenced 11/1/55
Recommissioned 12/3/56, Comdr. Charles F. Helme,
Jr., commanding
DDG-1 :
Length Overall : 391', Extreme beam : 41'
Full Load Displacement: 3,450 tons, Max. Draft: 19'
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 21, Enl. : 275
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (1) 3"/50, (1) 5"/38; (1)
Terrier Missile System; (2) torpedo tubes
Engines : No. : 2, Mfr. : WESTGH, Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 4, Mfr./Type : B/WSHC
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 58,000
DDG-2 (CHARLES F. ADAMS) Class:
Note. — Converted into the World’s first guided missile de-
stroyer to test feasibility of utilizing missile weapons systems on
board destroyers. She also received the first American warship
installation of the Denny-Brown stabilization system to mini-
mize rolling and thus provide a more stable platform for func-
tional test and evaluation of the missile system. The stabilizers
were two 45-square-foot retractable fins extending out from amid-
ships and located below her waterline. The missile installation
was removed in the Charleston Naval Shipyard (Jun-Oct 1062),
and she reverted to DD-712. Reclassification from DD-712 to
DDG-7 12 (12/1/56) ; to DDG-1 (5/27/57) ; to DDG-712 (10/
2/62). Data as DD-712 in Volume I, Appendix IV, p. 216 (q.v.)
841
DDG-2 CHARLES F. ADAMS
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath., Maine
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 6/16/58, Launched 9/8/59
Commissioned 9/10/60, Comdr. William R. Munroe,
Jr., commanding
DDG-3 JOHN KING
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 8/25/58, Launched
1/30/60
Commissioned 2/4/61, Comdr. Albert M. Sackett com-
manding
DDG-4 LAWRENCE
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 10/27/58, Launched
2/27/60
Commissioned 1/6/62, Comdr. Thomas W. Walsh com-
manding
DDG-5 CLAUDE V. RICKETTS (Name changed from
BIDDLE 7/22/64)
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 5/18/59, Launched 6/4/60
Commissioned 1/6/62, Comdr. Paul Roth command-
ing
DDG-6 BARNEY
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 5/18/59, Launched
12/10/60
Commissioned 8/11/62, Comdr. Joseph J. Doak, Jr.,
commanding
DDG-7 HENRY B. WILSON
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 2/28/58, Launched 4/22/59
Commissioned 12/17/60, Comdr. Lawrence D. Caney
commanding
DDG-8 LYNDE McCORMICK
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 4/4/58, Launched 7/28/59
Commissioned 6/3/61, Comdr. Ernest S. Cornwall, Jr.,
commanding
DDG-9 TOWERS
Built at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash.
Contract 3/28/57, Keel laid 4/1/58. Launched 4/23/59
Commissioned 6/6/61, Comdr. Lawrence D. Cummins
commanding
DDG-10 SAMPSON
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 1/17/58, Keel laid 3/2/59, Launched 9/9/60
Commissioned 6/24/61, Comdr. Forester W. Isen com-
manding
DDG-11 SELLERS
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine.
Contract 1/17/58, Keel laid 8/3/59, Launched 9/9/60
Commissioned 10/28/61, Comdr. William R. Johnson
commanding
DDG-12 ROBISON
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 1/17/58, Keel laid 4/28/59, Launched 4/27/60
Commissioned 12/9/61, Comdr. Donald Y. Cox, Jr.,
commanding
DDG-13 HOEL
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 1/17/58, Keel laid 8/3/59, Launched 8/4/60
Commissioned 6/16/62, Comdr. Allen AY. Slifer com-
manding
DDG-14 BUCHANAN
Built at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash
Contract 1/17/58, Keel laid 4/23/59, Launched 5/11/60
Commissioned 2/7/62, Comdr. David A. Webster com-
manding
DDG-15 BERKELEY
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N J
Contract 7/21/59, Keel laid 6/1/60, Launched 7/29/61
Commissioned 12/15/62, Comdr. Wyatt E. Harper,
Jr. commanding.
DDG-16 JOSEPH STRAUSS
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden N.J.
Contract 7/21/59, Keel laid 12/27/60, Launched
12/9/61
Commissioned 4/20/63, Comdr. W. M. A. Greene com-
manding
DDG-17 CONYNGHAM
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N J.
Contract 7/21/59, Keel laid 5/1/61, Launched 5/19/62
Commissioned 7/13/63, Comdr. E. P. Smith com-
manding
DDG-18 SEMMES
Built at Avondale Marine Ways, Inc., Westwego, La
Contract 7/21/59, Keel laid 8/18/60, Launched 5/20/61
Commissioned 12/10/62, Comdr. Richard G. Alexander
commanding
DDG-19 TATTNALL
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc, Westwego, La.
Contract 7/21/59, Keel laid 11/14/60, Launched
8/26/61
Commissioned 4/13/63, Comdr. William F. Regan
commanding
DDG— 20 GOLDSBOROUGH
Built at Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 3/25/60, Keel laid 1/3/61 Launched
12/15/61
Commissioned 11/9/63, Comdr. Charles D. Allen, Jr.,
commanding
DDG-21 COCHRANE
Built at Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 3/25/60, Keel laid 7/31/61, Launched 7/18/62
Commissioned 3/21/64, Comdr. Francis W. Benson, Jr.
commanding
DDG-22 BENJAMIN STODDERT
Built at Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 3/25/60, Keel laid 6/11/62, Launched 1/8/63
Commissioned 9/12/64, Comdr. Walter M. Meginniss
commanding
DDG-23 RICHARD E. BYRD
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle Div., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 11/3/60, Keel laid 4/12/61, Launched 2/6/62
Commissioned 3/7/64, Comdr. Walter G. Lessman
commanding
DDG-24 WADDELL
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle Div., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 11/3/60, Keel laid 2/6/62, Launched 2/26/63
Commissioned 8/28/64, Comdr. Carl J. Boyd com-
manding
842
DDG-2 (CHARLES F. ADAMS) Class: DDG-2 through
DDG-24 :
Length Overall : 437' ; Extreme Beam 47'
Full Load Displacement : 4,500 tons ; Max. Nav. Draft :
15"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 24, Enl. : 330
Armament: Gun Mounts: (2) 5"/54 single; (1) Tar-
tar Missile System; (1) ASROC Group; (2) triple
torpedo tubes
Designed Speed : Over 32 knots
Engines: No.: 2, Mfr. : GE (DDG’s 2-3, 7-8, 10-13,
15-22) ; WESTGH (DDG’s 4-6, 9, 14, 23-24) ;
Type Drive : TR
Boilers: No.: 4, Mfr./Type : BW2DR (DDG’s 2-3,
7-8, 10-13, 15-22) ; FW2DR (DDG’s 4-6, 9, 14,
23-24) ; CE2DR (DDG’s 15-19).
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
70,000
DDG-25 PERTH (Built for Australia — Foreign Mili-
tary Sales)
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 1/2/62, Keel laid 9/21/62, Launched 9/26/63
Delivered 7/1/65
DDG-26 HOBART ( Built for Australia — Foreign Mili-
tary Sales)
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 1/2/62, Keel laid 10/26/62, Launched 1/9/64
Delivered 12/9/65
DDG-27 BRISBANE (Built for Australia — Foreign
Military Sales)
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 1/29/64, Keel laid 2/15/65, Launched 5/5/66
Delivered 1/30/67
DDG-28 UNNAMED (Building for Federal Republic
of Germany — Foreign Military Sales)
Built at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Contract 3/30/65, Keel laid 3/1/66, Launch sched-
uled : 8/11/67
DDG-29 UNNAMED (Building for Federal Republic
of Germany — Foreign Military Sales)
Built at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Contract 3/30/65, Keel laid 4/12/66, Launch
scheduled : late 1967
DDG-30 UNNAMED (Building for Federal Republic
of Germany — -Foreign Military Sales)
Built at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Contract 3/30/65, Keel scheduled : 8/16/67
DDG-31 DECATUR (reclassified 9/15/66 from DD-
936)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy Mass.
Contract 2/3/54, Keel laid 2/1/55, Launched 10/1/55
Commissioned 12/17/56, Comdr. John J. Skahill com-
manding
Placed in commission, in reserve 11/1/65
Converting at Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass.
Contract 12/22/64, Commenced 6/15/65, Completion
scheduled 8/21/67
DDG-32 JOHN PAUL JONES (Reclassified 3/15/67
from DD-932)
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp, Bath, Maine
Contract 12/15/52, Keel laid 1/18/54, Launched
5/7/55
Commissioned 4/5/56, Comdr. Robert W. Hayler, Jr.,
commanding
Decommissioned 12/20/65, Converting at Philadelphia
Naval Shipyard
Contract 12/22/64, Commenced 12/2/65, Scheduled
completion 10/27/67
DDG-31 through DDG-32 :
Length Overall : 418'5"
Extreme Beam: 45'2" (DDG-32) ; 45'1" (DDG-31)
Full Load Displacement : 3,985 tons ; Max. Nav. Draft :
20'5"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 22, Enl. : 315
Designed Speed : Over 33 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (1) 5"/54 Single; (1) Tar-
tar Missile System; (1) ASROC group; (2) triple
torpedo tubes
Engines : No. : 2, Mfr. : WESTGH ; Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 4 ; Mfr./Type : F/W ( DDG-31 ) ,
B/W2DR (DDG-32)
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 70,000
DDG-33 PARSONS (Reclassified 3/15/67 from DD-
949)
Built at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 6/17/57, Launched
8/19/58
Commissioned 10/29/59, Comdr. William R. Loomis
commanding
Decommissioned 1/19/66
Converted at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long
Beach, Calif.
Contract 12/22/64, Commenced 6/30/65, Completion
scheduled: 1/17/68
DDG-34 SOMERS (Reclassified 3/15/67 from DD-
947)
Built at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 3/4/57, Launched 5/30/58
Commissioned 4/3/59, Comdr. Edward J. Cummings,
Jr., commanding
Decommissioned : 4/11/66
Converted at Mare Island Div., San Francisco Bay
Naval Shipyard
Contract 12/22/64, Commenced 3/30/66, Completion
(Schedule: 2/23/68)
DDG-33 through DDG-34 :
Length Overall: 418'5" ; Extreme Beam: 45'2"
Full Load Displacement : 3,990 tons, Max. Nav. Draft :
20'5"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 22, Enl. : 315
Designed Speed : Over 33 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (1) 5"/54 single; (1)
Tartar Missile System; (1) ASROC Group; (2)
triple torpedo tubes; (2) depth charge projectors;
(1) depth charge track
Engines : No. : 2, Mfr. : GE ; Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 4 ; Mfr./Type : B/W
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 70,000
DDG-35 MITSCHER (Reclassified 3/15/67 from
DLr-2)
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 8/3/49, Keel laid 10/3/49, Launched 1/26/52
Commissioned 5/15/53, Comdr. Terrell W. Connor
commanding
Decommissioned 3/18/66, Converted at Philadelphia
Naval Shipyard
Contract 12/22/64, Commenced 6/14/66, Completion
(Schedule 1968)
DDG-36 JOHN S. McCAIN (Reclassified 3/15/67
from DL-3)
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 8/3/48, Keel laid 10/24/49, Launched 7/12/52
Commissioned 10/12/53, Comdr. E. R. King com-
manding
Decommissioned 6/25/66, Converted at Philadelphia
Naval Shipyard
Contract 12/22/64, Commenced 6/14/66, Completion
scheduled 1968
843
DDG-35 through DDG-36 :
Length Overall: 492'4” ; Extreme Beam: 49'9"
Full Load Displacement : 5,200 tons ; Max. Nav. Draft :
21'1"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 28, Enl. : 348
Designed Speed : Over 35 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (2) 5"/54 single; (1)
Tartar Missile System; (1) ASROC Group; (2)
triple torpedo tubes
Engines : No. : 2, Mfr. : GE ; Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 4, Mfr. /Type : F/WSFD
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 80,000
FRIGATES— DL
DL-l (NORFOLK) Class:
DL-1 NORFOLK ( Originally called Destroyer Leader :
Data in Volume I, Appendix IV, p. 326)
DL-2 (MITSCHER) Class: (Originally called De-
stroyer Leader : Data on DL-2 through DL-4 in Volume
I, Appendix IV, p. 326)
DL-2 MITSCHER (Converted to DDG-35 q.v.)
DL-3 JOHN S. McCAIN (Converted to DDG-36 q.v.)
DLi-A WILLIS A. LEE
DL-5 WILKINSON
DL-6 through DL-8: Redesignated before keel laying as
DLG-6 through DLG-8 (q.v.)
GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATES— DLG
ALPHABETICAL LIST
BAINBRIDGE (DLGN-25)
BELKNAP (DLG-26)
BIDDLE ( DLG-34 )
COONTZ (DLG-9)
DAHLGREN (DLG-12)
DALE (DLG-19)
DEWEY ( DLG— 14 )
ENGLAND (DLG-22)
FARRAGUT (DLG-6)
FOX (DLG-33)
GRIDLEY ( DLG-21 )
HALSEY ( DLG— 23 )
HARRY E. YARNELL (DLG-17)
HORNE ( DLG-30 )
JOSEPHUS DANIELS (DLG-27)
JOUETT (DLG-29)
KING (DLG-10)
LEAHY (DLG-16)
LUCE (DLG-7)
MACDONOUGH (DLG-8)
MAHAN ( DLG— 11 )
PREBLE (DLG-15)
REEVES (DLG-24)
RICHMOND K. TURNER (DLG-20)
STERETT ( DLG— 31 )
TRUXTUN (DLGN-35)
WAINWRIGHT (DLG-28)
WILLIAM V. PRATT (DLG-13)
WORDEN (DLG-18)
NUMERICAL LIST
DLG-9 (COONTZ) Class:
DLG-6 FARRAGUT
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 6/3/57, Launched 7/18/58
Commissioned 12/10/60, Comdr. Roger E. Spreen com-
manding
DLG-7 LUCE (Ex Dewey)
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 10/1/57, Launched
12/11/58
Commissioned 5/20/61, Comdr. David H. Bagley com-
manding
DLG-8 MACDONOUGH
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
Contract 1/27/56, Keel laid 4/15/58, Launched 7/9/59
Commissioned 11/4/61, Comdr. William G. Hurley
commanding
DLG-9 COONTZ
Built at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.
Contract 11/18/55, Keel laid 3/1/57, Launched
12/6/58
Commissioned 7/15/60, Comdr. Herbert H. Ries com-
manding
DLG-10 KING
Built at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.
Contract 11/18/55, Keel laid 3/1/57, Launched
12/6/58
Commissioned 11/17/60, Comdr. Melvin E. Bustard
commanding
DLG-11 MAHAN
Built at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Fran-
cisco, Calif.
Contract 11/18/55, Keel laid 7/31/57, Launched
10/7/59
Commissioned 8/25/60, Comdr. Herbert D. Mills, Jr.,
commanding
DLG-12 DAHLGREN
Built at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia,
Pa.
Contract 7/23/56, Keel laid 3/1/58, Launched 3/16/60
Commissioned 4/8/61, Comdr. Cary E. Landis com-
manding
DLG-13 WILLIAM V. PRATT
Built at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia,
Pa.
Contract 7/23/56, Keel laid 3/1/58, Launched 3/16/60
Commissioned 11/4/61, Comdr. Boyd E. Gustafson
commanding
DLG-14 DEWEY
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 10/26/56, Keel laid 8/10/57, Launched
11/30/58
Commissioned 12/7/59, Comdr. Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.,
commanding
844
DLG-15 PREBLE
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 10/26/56, Keel laid 12/16/57, Launched
5/23/59
Commissioned 5/9/60, Comdr. Edward G. Fitz-
Patrick commanding
DLG-6 through DLG-15:
Length Overall: 512'6'', Extreme Beam: 52'6"
Full Load Displacement : 5,709 tons
Accommodations : Off. : 28, Enl. : 347
Designed Speed : Over 32 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts (1) 5"/54 single; (2) 3''/50
twin (1) Terrier Missile System; (1) ASROC
Group; (2) triple torpedo tubes
Engines: No.: 2; Mfr. : DEL (DLG’s 6-8, 15); AC
(DLG’s 9-14) ; Type Drive : TR
Boilers: No. : 4, Type/Mfr. : F/W (DLG’s 6-8) ; B/W
(DLG’s 9-15)
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
over 85,000
DLG-16 (LEAHY) Class:
DLG-10 LEAHY
Built at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 12/3/59, Launched 7/1/61
Commissioned 8/4/62, Capt. Robert L. Baughan, Jr.,
commanding
DLG-17 HARRY E. YARNELL
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 5/31/60, Launched 12/9/61
Commissioned 2/2/63, Capt. Charles E. Nelson,
commanding
DLG-18 WORDEN
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 9/19/60, Launched 6/2/62
Commissioned 8/3/63, Capt. Scott Lothrop com-
manding
D LG-19 DALE
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 9/6/60, Launched 7/28/62
Commissioned 11/23/63, Capt. Robert R. Crutchfield
commanding
D LG-20 RICHMOND K. TURNER
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 1/9/61, Launched 4/6/63
Commissioned 6/13/64, Capt. Douglas C. Plate
commanding
D LG-21 GRIDLEY
Built at Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash.
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 7/15/60, Launched
7/31/61
Commissioned 5/25/63, Capt. Percy A. Lilly, Jr.
commanding
DLG-22 ENGLAND
Built at Todd Shipyard Corp., San Pedro, Calif.
Contract 11/7/58, Keel laid 10/4/60, Launched 3/6/62
Commissioned 12/7/63, Capt. William J. Caspari
commanding
DLG-23 HALSEY
Built at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Fran-
cisco, Calif.
Contract 12/5/58, Keel laid 8/26/60, Launched 1/15/62
Commissioned 7/20/63, Capt. Herbert H. Anderson
commanding
DLG-24 REEVES
Built at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.
Contract 12/8/58, Keel laid 7/1/60, Launched 5/12/62
Commissioned 5/15/64, Capt. Wynne A. Stevens
commanding
DLG-16 through DLG-24 :
Length overall: 533'; Extreme Beam 54'10"
Full Load Displacement: 7,630 tons; Max. Nav.
Draft: 25'3"
Design Accommodations : Off. : 18, Enl. : 359
Designed Speed : Over 31 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (2) 3"/50 twin; (1) Ter-
rier Missile System; (1) ASROC Group; (2) triple
torpedo tubes ; (1) DASH System
Engines: No.: 2; Mfr.: GE(DLG 16-18); DEL
(DLG 19-22) ; AC (DLG 23-24) ; Type Drive: TR
Boilers: No.: 4; Type/Mfr.: B/W (DLG 16-18);
F/W (DLG 19-24)
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 85,000
DLG (N)-25 (BAINBRIDGE) Glass: 1 Ship
DLG (N)-25 BAINBRIDGE
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div.,
Quincy, Mass.
Contract 9/26/56, Keel laid 5/15/59, Launched
4/15/61
Commissioned 10/6/62, Capt. Raymond E. Peet com-
manding
DLG (N)-25:
Length Overall: 565'; Extreme Beam 57'10"
Full Load Displacement : 8,580 tons
Accommodations : Off : 34, Enl. : 463
Designed Speed : Over 32 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (2) 3"/50 twin; (2) Ter-
rier Missile Systems; (1) ASROC Group; (2)
triple torpedo tubes
Propulsion: (2) GE water-cooled nuclear reactors —
geared steam turbines ; Props. : 2, Designed Shaft
Horsepower : Over 69,000
DLG-26 (BELKNAP) Class:
D LG-26 BELKNAP
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 5/18/61, Keel laid 2/5/62, Launched
7/20/63
Commissioned 11/7/64, Capt. John T. Law command-
ing
DLG-27 JOSEPHUS DANIELS
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 5/18/61, Keel laid 4/23/62, Launched
12/2/63
Commissioned 5/8/65, Capt. Harry A. Cummings
commanding
DLG-28 WAINWRIGHT
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 5/18/61, Keel laid 7/2/62, Launched
4/25/64
Commissioned 1/8/66, Capt. Robert P. Foreman com-
manding
DLG-29 JOUETT
Built at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.
Contract 9/20/61, Keel laid 9/25/62, Launched
6/30/64
Commissioned 12/3/66, Capt. Robert S. Hayes com-
manding
845
DLG-30 HORNE
Built at Hunters Point Div., San Francisco Bay Naval
Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif.
Contract 9/20/61, Keel laid 12/12/62, Launched
10/30/64
Commissioned 4/15/67, Capt. Stansfield Turner com-
manding
DLG-31 ISTERETT
Built at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.
Contract 9/20/61, Keel laid 9/25/62, Launched
6/30/64
Commissioned 4/8/67 Capt. Edward A. Christofferson
commanding
DLG-32 WILLIAM H. STANDLEY
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 1/16/62, Keel laid 7/29/63, Launched
12/19/64
Commissioned 7/9/66, Capt. Cornelius F. Moul com-
manding
D LG-33 FOX
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., San Pedro, Calif.
Contract 1/16/62, Keel laid 1/15/63, Launched
11/21/64
Commissioned 5/8/66, Capt. Robert O. Welander
commanding
D LG-34 BIDDLE
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 1/16/62, Keel laid 12/9/62, Launched
7/2/65
Commissioned 1/21/67, Capt. Mylon T. Scott com-
manding
DLG-26 through DLG-34 :
Length Overall : 547' ; Extreme Beam : 54'10"
Full Load Displacement: 7,900 tons; Max. Draft:
18'6"
Accommodations : Off. : 31, Enl. : 387
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Armament: Gun Mounts: (1) 5"/54 single, (2) 3''/
50; (1) Terrier Missile System; (1) ASROC
Group; (2) triple torpedo tubes, (2) single tor-
pedo tubes; (1) DASH System
Engines: No.: 4, Mfr. : GE (DLG’s 26-28, 32-34);
DEL (DLG’s 29-31, 33) Type Drive : TR
Boilers: No. 4, Mfr./Type: B/W (DLG’s 26-28, 32,
34), CE (DLG’s 29-31, 33)
Propulsion : Props. : 2, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 85,000
DLG ( N ) -35 ( TRUXTUN ) Class : 1 Ship :
DLG(N)-35 TRUXTUN
Built at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
Contract 6/23/62, Keel laid 6/17/63, Launched
12/19/64
Commissioned 5/27/67, Capt. David D. Work com-
manding
DLG(N)-35
Length Overall : 564' ; Extreme Beam 58'
Full Load Displacement : 9,056 tons
Accommodations : Off. : 36, Enl. : 465
Designed Speed : Classified
Armament ; Gun Mounts : (1) 5"/54 single, (2) 3"/50
single ; ( 2 ) Twin Terrier Missile-ASROC Systems ;
(2) torpedo tubes
Propulsion: (2) GE water-cooled nuclear reactors —
geared steam turbines ; Props. : No. : 2, Designed
Shaft Horsepower : Classified
Artist’s conception of DLG (N) -36
846
Part D
Addenda to Appendix V, Volume I
ESCORT SHIPS 1959-1967
ESCORT SHIPS— DE
ALPHABETICAL LIST
ALBERT DAVID (DE-1050)
BRADLEY (DE-104I)
BRONSTEIN (DE-1037)
BRUMBY (DE-1044)
CHARLES BERRY (DE-1035)
CLAUD JONES (DE-1033)
CONNOLE ( DE-1056 )
DAVIDSON (DE-1045)
edward mcdonnell (de-io43)
GARCIA (DE-1040)
GRAY (DE-1054)
HEPBURN (DE-1055)
JOHN R. PERRY (DE-1034)
KNOX (DE-1052)
KOELSCH (DE-1049)
McCLOY (DE-1038)
McMORRIS (DE-1036)
MEYERKORD (DE-1058)
O’CALLAHAN (DE-1051)
RATHBURNE (DE-1057)
ROARK (DE-1053)
SAMPLE (DE-1048)
VOGE (DE-1047)
W. S. SIMS (DE-1059)
NUMERICAL LIST
BDE-l through DE-1032 : Data in Vol. I, Appendix V,
pp. 331-349, q.v.
DE-1033 (CLAUD JONES) Class:
DE-1033 CLAUD JONES
Built at Avondale Marine Ways, Avondale, La
Contract 5/4/56, Keel laid 6/1/57, Launched 5/27/58
Commissioned 2/10/59, Lt. Comdr. Warren M. Cone
commanding
DE-1034 JOHN R. PERRY
Built at Avondale Marine Ways, Avondale, La.
Contract 5/4/56, Keel laid 10/1/57, Launched 7/29/58
Commissioned 5/5/59, Lt. Comdr. Wilton L. Atkinson
commanding
DE-1035 CHARLES BERRY
Built at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio
Contract 7/31/58, Keel laid 10/29/58, Launched
3/17/59
Commissioned 11/25/59, Lt. Comdr. Rembrandt C.
Robinson commanding
DE-1036 McMORRIS
.Built at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio
Contract 7/31/58, Keel laid 11/5/58, Launched 5/26/59
Commissioned 3/4/60, Lt Comdr. Martin Zenni com-
manding
DE-1033 through DE-1036 (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall : 311' 9y2" ; Extreme Beam : 37'
Full Load Displacement : 1,750 tons ; Max. Nav Draft
17'2"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 15, Enl. : 160
Designed Speed : Over 22 knots
Armament :
Gun Mounts : (2) 3"/50 single
Torpedo Tubes : (2) triple
ASROC Group :
Depth Charge Projectors : 2
Engines : No. : 4, Mfg. : FM, Type Drive : Geared-Re-
duction
Propulsion : Props. : 1, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 9,000
DE-1037 (BRONSTEIN) Class:
DE-1037 BRONSTEIN
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 6/13/60, Keel laid 5/16/61, Launched 3/31/62
Commissioned 6/15/63, Lt. Comdr. Stanley T. Counts
commanding
DE-1038 McCLOY
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 6/15/60, Keel laid 9/15/61, Launched 6/9/62
Commissioned 10/21/63, Comdr. Thomas Sherman
commanding
DE-1037 through DE-1038 (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall: 371'6" ; Extreme Beam 40'8''
Full Load Displacement: 2,650 tons, Max. Draft 14'0''
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 16, Enl. : 180
Designed Speed : Over 25 knots
Armament :
Gun Mounts: (1) 3"/50 twin, (1) 3"/50 single
Torpedo Tubes : 2
ASROC Group : 1
DASH System: 1
Engines : No. : 1, Mfg. : DEL, Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 2, Mfg./Type D
Propulsion : Props. : 1, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
20,000
DE-1040 (GARCIA) Class:
DE-1040 GARCIA
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div., San
Francisco, Calif.
Contract 6/22/61, Keel laid 10/16/62, Launched
10/3/63
Commissioned 12/21/64, Comdr. Donald A. Smith
commanding
847
DE-1041 BRADLEY
Built at Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div., San
Francisco, Calif.
Contract 6/22/61, Keel laid 1/17/63, Launched
3/26/64
Commissioned 5/15/65, Comdr. Robert H. Robeson
commanding
DE-1043 EDWARD McDONNELL
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 1/3/62, Keel laid 4/1/63, Launched 2/15/64
Commissioned 2/15/65, Comdr. Daniel L. Banks, Jr.,
commanding
DE-1044 BRUMBY
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 1/3/62, Keel laid 8/1/63, Launched 6/6/64
Commissioned 8/5/65, Comdr. George F. Tonson com-
manding
DE-1045 DAVIDSON
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 1/3/62, Keel laid 9/30/63, Launched 10/2/64
Commissioned 12/7/65, Comdr. Henry L. Stanfield
commanding
DE-1047 VOGE
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 3/21/63, Keel laid 11/21/63, Launched
2/4/65
Commissioned 11/25/66, Comdr. William F. Keller
commanding
DE-1048 SAMPLE
Built at Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash.
Contract 3/20/63, Keel laid 7/19/63, Launched
4/28/64
DE-1049 KOELSCH
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 3/21/63, Keel laid 2/19/63, Launched 6/8/65
Commissioned 6/10/67, Comdr. John A. Buck com-
manding
DE-1050 ALBERT DAVID
Built at Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash.
Contract 3/20/63, Keel laid 4/29/64, Launched
12/19/64
DE-1051 O’CALLAHAN
Built at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
Contract 3/2/63, Keel laid 2/19/64, Launched
10/20/65
DE-1040 through DE-1051 (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall : 414'6" ; Extreme Beam : 44'3"
Full Load Displacement : 3403 tons ; Max. Draft :
14'5"
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 17, Enl. : 231
Designed Speed : Over 27 knots
Armament :
Gun Mounts: (2) 5"/38 single
Torpedo Tubes: 4
ASROC Group: 1
DASH System : 1
Engines: No.: 1, Mfg. : Westgh., Type Drive: TR
Boilers : No. : 2, Mfg./Type FWPFS
Propulsion : Props. : 1, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 30,000
DE-1052 (KNOX) Class:
848
DE-1052 KNOX
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle, Wash.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 10/5/65, Launched
11/19/65
DE-1053 ROARK
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle, Wash.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 2/2/66, Launched 4/24/67
DE-1054 GRAY
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle, Wash.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 11/19/66, Launched
10/3/67
DE-1055 HEPBURN
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., Seattle, Wash.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 6/1/66, Launched 3/25/67
DE— 1056 CONNOLE
Built at Avondale Shipyards Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 3/23/67
DE-1057 RATHBURNE
Built at Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 9/1/66
DE-1058 MEYERKORD
Built at Todd Shipyards Corp., San Pedro, Calif.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 9/1/66, Launched 7/15/67
DE-1059 W. S. SIMS
Built at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
Contract 7/22/64, Keel laid 4/10/67
DE-1052 through DE-1059: (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall: 438'0" ; Extreme Beam: 46'9"
Full Load Displacement : 3,877 tons ; Max. Draft :
16'2”
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 17, Enl. : 226
Designed Speed : Over 27 knots
Armament :
Gun Mounts: (1) 5"/54 single, DP
Torpedo Tubes : (2) MK 32 TT
ASROC Group: (1)
DASH System :
Engines : No. : 4, Mfg. : FM, Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 2, Mfg./Type C.E./NSFO
Propulsion : Props. : 1, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 30,000
ESCORT RESEARCH SHIP — AGDE
AGDE-l GLOVER
Built at Bath Iron Works, Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 6/28/61, Keel laid 7/29/63, Launched 4/17/
65
Commissioned 11/13/65, Comdr. William W. Wilson
commanding
AGDE-l :
Length Overall: 414 ' 6" ; Extreme Beam: 44'3"
Full Load Displacement: 3,500 tons, Max. Draft 14'6"
Designed Complement : Off. : 17, Enl. : 231
Armament :
Gun Mounts : (1) 5"/38 single
Torpedo Tubes : (2)
ASROC Group :
DASH System :
Engines : No. : 1, Mfg. : Westh., Type Drive : TR
Designed Shaft Horsepower : Over 30,000
Boilers. : 2, Mfg. : FW/Type AFSG
USS Knox (DE-1052)
Propulsion : Single Pump Jet ; Pressure Fired Steam
Generator
Note. — Glover is a Garcia class escort ship modified for re-
search use -in the development of future classes of escorts. The
ship is also designed to provide living and office space for civilian
Project Director and approximately 30 civilian scientists.
GUIDED MISSILE ESCORT SHIP— DEG
ALPHABETICAL LIST
BROOKE ( DEG-1 )
JULIUS A FURER (DEG-6)
RAMSEY (DEG-2)
RICHARD L. PAGE (DEG-5)
SCHOFIELD (DEG-3)
TALBOT (DEG-4)
NUMERICAL LIST
DEG-l (BROOKE) Class:
DEG-1 BROOKE
Built at Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash.
Contract 1/4/62, Keel laid 12/19/62, Launched
7/19/63
Commissioned 3/12/66, Comdr. Robert L. Walters,
commanding
DEG-2 RAMSEY
Built at Lockhed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash.
Contract 1/4/62, keel laid 2/4/63, Launched 10/15/63
DEG-3 SCHOFIELD
Built at Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash.
Contract 1/4/62, Keel laid 4/15/63. Launched 12/7/63
DEG-4 TALBOT
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 5/24/63, Keel laid 5/4/64, Launched 1/6/66
Commissioned 4/22/67, Comdr. Edwin Woods com-
manding
DEG-5 RICHARD L. PAGE
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 5/24/63, Keel laid 1/4/65, Launched 4/4/66
DEG-6 JULIUS A. FURER
Built at Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Contract 5/24/63, Keel laid 7/12/65, Launched 7/22/66
DEG-1 through DEG-6 (Designed Characteristics) :
Length Overall: 414'6" ; Extreme Beam: 44'3"
Full Load Displacement : 3,426 tons ; Max. Draft :
14'6''
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 17, Enl. : 231
Designed Speed : Over 27 knots
Armament :
Gun Mounts : (1) 5"/&8
Missile Systems : (1) Tartar, (1) ASROC Group
Torpedo Tubes : 4
DASH System : 1
Engines : No. : 1, Mfg. : Westgh., Type Drive : TR
Boilers : No. : 2, Mfg./Type : FWPFS
Propulsion : Props. : 1, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 30,000
849
Part E
Addenda to Appendix I, Volume II
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS 1963-1967
CVA-66 AMERICA
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 11/25/60, Keel laid 1/9/61, Launched 2/1/64
Commissioned 1/23/65, Capt. Lawrence Heyworth,
Jr., commanding
Class : Kitty Hawk
CVA-67 JOHN F. KENNEDY
Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va.
Contract 4/30/64, Keel laid 10/22/64, Launched
5/27/67
Class : John F. Kennedy
CVA-66 and CVA-67 :
Length Overall: 1,047'6" (CVA-66) ; 1,051'6" (CVA-
67)
Extreme Beam: 129'4'' (CVA-66) ; 128'6" (CVA-67)
Extreme Width at Flight Deck : 252'
Full Load Displacement: 78,500 tons (CVA-66);
83,000 tons (CVA-67)
Mean Draft: 36' (CVA-66), 37'3" (CVA-67)
Designed Speed : Over 30 knots
Designed Accommodations : Off. : 470, Enl. : 4,495
(CVA-66) ; Off.: 501, Enl.: 5,222 (CVA-67)
Aircraft : 90-100 plus ; Catapults : 4
Armament: (2) Twin Terrier Missile Systems (CVA-
66). Authorized : Basic Point Defense Missile Sys-
tem (CVA-67)
Engines : No. : 4, Mfr. : GE ; Type Drive : TR
Boilers: No.: 8, Mfr./Type: FWSFD (CVA-66),
BWSFD (CVA-67)
Propulsion : Props. : 4, Designed Shaft Horsepower :
Over 200,000
Artist’s conception of USS Nimitz (CV AN-68)
850
Appendix V
SHIPS NAMED A THROUGH F SINCE PUBLICATION
OF VOLUMES I AND II
We often hear the words, . . Being the prod-
uct of human effort it probably has errors, but we
have made strong efforts to reduce them.” Errors
which crept into Volumes I and II have been cor-
rected in the errata list contained in Appendix VI.
Since many ships have come into being since 1958,
the Appendices which appeared in Volumes I and
II require updating. While no battleships have
been added, new cruisers, submarines, submarine
tenders, destroyers, escort vessels, auxiliary and
amphibious types, and the new and more powerful
aircraft carriers have joined the Fleet.
Appendix V is an alphabetical listing of ships
that have been named since issuance of Volumes I
and II whose names begin with the letters A, B, C,
D, E, and F.
Certain common, repetitive terms are abbrevi-
ated within the Appendix and are listed as fol-
lows:
(B) — Builder.
(C) — Commissioning date.
(K) — Keel date.
(L) — Launch date.
(S) — Sponsor or sponsors.
(b) — Blue crew.
(g) — Gold crew.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN-602)
(B) Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H. ; (K) 11/1/58 ;
(L) 5/14/60; (S) Miss Mary L. Beckwith; (C)
3/11/61, Comdr. Leonard Erb (to) and Comdr. D.
M. Miller (g).
ALAMOGORDO ( ARDM-2) ex-ARD-26
(B) Pacific Bridge Co., Alameda, Calif., in 1944 ; Con-
verted at Bethlehem Steel Corp., Shipbuilding Div.,
Baltimore, Md., in 1964-65; (C) 8/3/65, Lt. J. G.
Grienenberger.
ALBERT DAVID (DE-1050)
(B) Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co., Se-
attle, Wash.; (K) 4/29/64; (L) 12/19/64; (S) Mrs.
Albert L. David ; scheduled to be commissioned in
July 1968.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON (SSBN-617)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn.; (K) 7/26/61; (L) 8/18/62; (S)
Mrs. Valentine Hollingsworth, Jr.; (C) 6/27/63,
Comdr. N. B. Bessac (b) and Comdr. B. F. Sher-
man, Jr. (g).
AMERICA (CVA-66)
(B) Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; (K) 1/9/61; (L) 2/1/64; (S)
Mrs. David L. McDonald; (C) 1/23/65, Captain
Lawrence Heyworth, Jr.
ANCHORAGE (LSD-36)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pasagoula, Miss.;
( K ) 3/13/67 ; Scheduled to be launched in February
1968; Scheduled to be commissioned in December
1968.
ANDREW JACKSON (SSBN-619)
(B) Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.;
(K) 4/26/61; (L) 9/15/62; (S) Mrs. Estes Ke-
fauver; (C) 7/3/63, Comdr. A. J. Whittle, Jr. (b)
and Comdr. J. B. Wilson (g).
ANNAPOLIS ( AGMR-1) ex-GILBERT ISLANDS (AKV-
39)
Name assigned 6/22/63; Converted at Naval Ship-
yard, New York, N.Y., in 1962-63; (C) 3/7/64,
Captain J. J. Rowan.
ANTELOPE (PG-86)
(B) Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Wash.;
(K) 6/1/65; (L) 6/18/66; (S) Mrs. Paul V. Snow;
Scheduled to be commissioned in October 1967.
ANTIGO (YTB-792)
(B) Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wis. ; (K)
9/27/66; (L) 4/17/67; Scheduled to be placed in
service in September 1967.
APALACHICOLA (YTB-767)
(B) Mobile Ship Repair Inc., Mobile, Ala.; (K)
5/1/63; (L) 10/26/63; Placed in service 6/16/64.
APOPKA ( YTB-778)
(B) Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wis.; (K)
10/15/64; (L) 7/7/65; Placed in service in August
1965.
ARCATA ( YTB-768)
(B) Mobile Ship Repair Inc., Mobile, Ala.; (K)
5/15/63; (L) 11/30/64; Placed in service in March
1965.
851
ARLINGTON (AGMR-2) ex-SAIPAN (AVT-6)
Name assigned 4/8/65; Converted at Alabama Dry
Dock and Shipbuilding Co., Mobile, Ala., in 1963-66;
(C) 8/27/66, Captain C. A. Darrah.
ASHEVILLE (PG-84)
(B) Tacoma Shipbuilding Co., Tacoma, Wash.; (K)
4/15/64; (L) 5/1/65; (S) Mrs. R. E. Harris; (C)
8/6/66, Lt. Henry Dale.
ASPRO (SSN-648)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula Miss.;
(K) 11/23/64; Scheduled to be launched 9/30/67;
Scheduled to be commissioned in October 1968.
AUSTIN (LPD^l)
(B) Naval Shipyard, New York, N.Y. ; (K) 2/4/63;
(L) 6/27/64; (S) Miss Lynda Bird Johnson; (C)
2/6/65, Captain D. E. Bergin, Jr.
BAINBRIDGE (DLGN-25)
(B) Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div., Quincy,
Mass.; (K) 5/15/59; (L) 4/15/61; (S) Mrs. Rob-
ert L. Goodale; (C) 10/6/62, Captain R. E. Peet.
BARB (SSN-596)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.;
(K) 11/9/59; (L) 2/12/62; (S) Mrs. E. B. Fluckey ;
(C) 8/24/63 ; Comdr. C. D. Grojean.
BARNEY (DDG-6)
(B) New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
(K) 5/18/59; (L) 12/10/60; (S) Mrs. Harry D.
Wortman; (C) 8/11/62, Comdr. J. J. Doak, Jr.
BARTLETT (AGOR-13)
(B) Northwest Marine Iron Works, Portland, Oreg. ;
(K) 11/18/65; (L) 5/24/66; (S) Mrs. Richard M.
Gummere, Jr. ; Scheduled to be placed in service in
March 1968; Civilian crew.
BEACON (PG-99)
(B) Peterson Builders, Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wis ;
Scheduled to be laid down in June 1968; Scheduled
to be launched in December 1968 ; Scheduled to be
commissioned in 1969.
BELKNAP (DLG-26)
(B) Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath Maine; (K)
2/5/62; (L) 7/20/63; (S) Mrs. Leonard B. Cress-
well ; ( C) 11/7/64 ; Captain J. T. Law
BELMONT ( AGTR-4 ) ex-MCV 94, SS IRAN VICTORY,
AG-167
(B) Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg.;
(K) 1/25/44; (L) 3/25/44; (S) Mrs. Peter Hegge;
Name assigned 6/8/63; Converted at Willamette
Iron and Steel Co., Portland, Oregon, in 1963-64 ;
(C) 11/2/64, Comdr. J. E. Henderson.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (SSBN-640)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn.; (K)
5/25/63; (L) 12/5/64; (S) Mrs. Leon V. Chaplin
and Mrs. Francis L. Moseley; (C) 10/22/65, Cap-
tain D. M. Miller (b) and Lt. Comdr. R. N. Wil-
liams (g).
BENJAMIN STODDERT (DDG-22)
(B) Puget Sound Bridge and Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash.; (K) 6/11/62; (L) 1/8/63; (S) Mrs. Henry
Ravenel; (C) 9/12/64, Comdr. W. M. Meginniss.
BERGALL (SSN-667)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn.; (K)
4/16/66 ; Scheduled to be launched in April 1968 ;
Scheduled to be commissioned in 1969.
BERKELEY (DDG-15)
(B) New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
(K) 6/1/60; (L) 7/29/61; (S) Mrs. James P. Berke-
ley; (C) 12/15/62, Comdr. W. E. Harper, Jr.
BIDDLE (DDG-5)
(B) New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
(K) 5/18/59; (L) 6/4/60; (S) Mrs. Fred A. Bantz ;
(C) 5/5/62, Comdr. Paul Roth ; Renamed CLAUDE
V. RICKETTS 7/22/64.
BIDDLE (DLG-34)
(B) Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; (K)
12/9/63; (L) 7/2/65; (S) Mrs. William H. Bates;
(C) 1/21/67, Captain M. T. Scott.
BLUE RIDGE (AGC-19)
(B) Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pa. ; (K) 2/27/67 ;
Scheduled to be launched in August 1968; Sched-
uled to be commissioned in May 1969.
BRADLEY (DE-1041)
(B) Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div., San
Francisco, Calif.; (K) 1/17/63; (L) 3/26/64; (S)
Mrs. Willis W. Bradley ; (C) 5/15/65 ; Comdr. R. H.
Robeson.
BRONSTEIN (DE-1037)
(B) Avondale Shipyards Inc., Westwego, La.; (K)
5/16/61; (L) 3/31/62; (S) Mrs. Robert B. Pirie;
(C) 6/15/63, Lt. Comdr. S. T. Counts.
BROOKE (DEG-1)
(B) Puget Sound Bridge and Dry Dock Co., Seattle,
Wash.; (K) 12/19/62; (L) 7/19/63; (S) Mrs.
Bruce R. Day and Mrs. Campbell Hooton; (C)
3/12/66, Comdr. R. L. Walters.
BRUMBY (DE-1044)
(B) Avondale Shipyards Inc., Westwego, La.; (K)
8/1/63; (L) 6/6/64; (S) Miss Muriel Fitzgerald
and Miss Cornelia Fitzgerald; (C) 8/5/65, Comdr.
G. F. Tolson.
BUCHANAN (DDG-14)
(B) Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash.;
(K) 4/23/59; (L) 5/11/60; (S) Mrs. Charles
Fisher; (C) 2/7/62, Comdr. D. A. Webster.
BUTTE (AE-27)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Quincy, Mass.; (K)
7/21/66, (L) 8/9/67; Scheduled to be commissioned
in 1968.
CAMDEN ( AOE-2 )
(B) New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
(K) 2/17/64; (L) 5/29/65; (S) Mrs. Benedict J.
Semmes, Jr.; (C) 4/1/67, Captain C. P. Rozier.
CANON (PG-90)
(B) Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Wash.;
(K) 6/28/66; (L) 7/22/67; Scheduled to be com-
missioned in April 1968.
CANOPUS (AS-34)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.;
(K) 3/2/64; (L) 2/12/65; (S) Mrs. Earl L. Sack-
ett; (C) 11/4/65, Captain J. M. Barrett.
CASIMIR PULASKI (SSBN-633)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn.; (K)
1/12/63; (L) 2/1/64; (S) Mrs. John A. Gronouski;
(C) 8/14/64; Captain R. L. J. Long (b) and Comdr.
T. B. Brittain, Jr., (g).
852
CHARLES H. DAVIS (AGOR-5)
(B) Christy Oorp., Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; (K) 6/15/61 ;
(L) 6/30/62; (S) Mrs. Roy A. Gano; Placed in
service 1964 ; Civilian crew.
CHARLESTON (AKA-113)
(B) Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; (K) 12/5/66; Scheduled to be
launched in December 1967 ; Scheduled to be com-
missioned in 1968.
CHEHALIS ( PG-94 )
(B) Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Wash.;
(K) 8/15/67; Scheduled to be launched in July
1968; Scheduled to be commissioned in 1969.
CHESANING (YTB-769)
(B) Mobile Ship Repair Inc., Mobile, Ala.; (K) 7/17/
63 ; (L) 2/5/64 ; Placed in service 6/23/64.
CHEYENNE (TAG-174) ex-MCV-693, SS MIDDLESEX
VICTORY, SS WYOMING
(B) Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; (K)
5/8/45; (L) 6/26/45; (S) Mrs. William H. Curtis;
Name assigned 11/20/62; Placed in service 12/29/
62; Civilian crew.
CHICOPEE ( YTM-747) ex-Army LT-1966
(B) Higgins Inc., New Orleans, La. ; Placed in service
in 1963 on loan from U.S. Army.
CLAUDE V. RICKETTS (DDG— 5)
BIDDLE (DDG-5) ( q.v .) was renamed CLAUDE V.
RICKETTS 7/22/64.
CLEVELAND (LPD-7)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.;
(K) 11/30/64; (L) 5/7/66; (S) Mrs. Thomas H.
Moorer; (0) 4/21/67, Captain R. H. Hogsed.
COCHRANE (DDG-21)
(B) Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Co., Seattle,
Wash.; (K) 7/31/61; (L) 7/18/02; (S) Mrs. Rich-
ard L. Cochrane and Mrs. Edward L. Cochrane, Jr. ;
(C) 3/21/64, Comdr. F. W. Benson, Jr.
CONCORD ( AFS-5)
(B) National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego,
Calif.; (K) 3/26/66; (L) 12/17/66; (S) Mrs.
Ulysses S. G. Sharp, Jr. ; Scheduled to be commis-
sioned in May 1968.
CONNOLE (DE-1056)
(B) Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.; (K)
3/13/67 ; Scheduled to be launched in March 1968 ;
Scheduled commissioning date not available.
CONYNGHAM (DDG-17)
(B) New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ; (K)
5/1/61; (L) 5/19/62; (S) Mrs. Carl Albert; (C)
7/13/63 ; Comdr. Edwin P. Smith.
CORONADO ( LPD-11 )
(B) Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co.,
Seattle, Wash. ; (K) 5/3/65; (L) 7/30/66; (S) Mrs.
Stanhope Ring ; Scheduled to be commissioned in
1969.
CORPUS CHRISTI BAY (T-ARVH-1) ex-ALBE-
MARLE ( AV-5)
Name assigned 3/27/65; Converted at Naval Ship-
yard, Charleston, S.C., in 1964-66; Placed in serv-
ice 1/11/66 ; Civilian crew.
CROCKETT (PG-88)
(B) Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Wash.;
(K) 6/18/65; (L) 6/4/66; (S) Mrs. Charles L.
Horjes; (C) 6/24/67, Lt. Michael H. Freeman.
DACE (SSN-607)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.;
(K) 6/6/60; (L) 8/18/62; (S) Mrs. Gerald E.
Ford ; (C) 4/4/64, Comdr. J. A. Walsh.
DAHLONEGA (YTB-770)
(B) Mobile Ship Repair Inc., Mobile, Ala.; (K) No-
vember 1963; (L) 3/23/64; Placed in service 1964.
DALE (DLG-19)
(B) New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. ;
(K) 9/6/60; (L) 7/28/62; (S) Mrs. Daniel J.
Flood; (C) 11/23/63, Captain R. R. Crutchfield.
DANIEL BOONE ( SSBN-629)
(B) Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.;
(K) 2/6/62; (L) 6/22/63; (S) Mrs. James H.
Wakelin, Jr. ; (C) 4/23/64, Comdr. G. P. Steele (b)
and Lt. Comdr. A. B. Crabtree (g).
DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN-626)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Groton Conn.; (K)
12/28/61; (L) 4/27/63; (S) Mrs. W. Osborn Good-
rich; (C) 4/9/64, Comdr. M. S. Blair (b) and
Comdr. L. S. Smith, Jr., (g).
DAVIDSON ( DE-1045 )
(B) Avondale Shipyards Inc., Westwego, La.; (K)
9/30/63; (L) 10/2/64; (S) Mrs. Lyal A. Davidson;
(C) 12/7/65, Comdr. H. L. Stanfield.
DEFIANCE (PG-95)
(B) Peterson Builders, Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wis.;
Scheduled to be laid down 9/25/67 ; Scheduled to be
launched in June 1968; Scheduled to be commis-
sioned in 1969.
DENVER ( LPD-9 )
(B) Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co., Se-
attle, Wash.; (K) 2/7/64; (L) 1/23/65; (S) Mrs.
John A. Love; Scheduled to be commissioned in
1968.
DE STEIGUER (AGOR-12)
(B) Northwest Marine Iron Works, Portland, Oreg.;
(K) 11/12/65; (L) 3/21/66; Scheduled to be placed
in service in 1968 ; Civilian crew.
DETROIT ( AOE-4)
(B) Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton,
Wash.; (K) 11/29/66; Scheduled to be launched
July 1968; Scheduled to be commissioned in 1969.
DIXON ( AS-37)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Quincy, Mass ; Sched-
uled to be laid down 9/7/67 ; Scheduled to be
launched in May 1968; Scheduled to be commis-
sioned in 1969.
DOLPHIN ( AGSS-555)
(B) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H. ;
(K) 11/9/62; Scheduled to be launched in May
1968; Scheduled to be commissioned in 1968.
DUBUQUE (LPD-8)
(B) Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.;
(K) 1/25/65; (L) 8/6/66; (S) Mrs. Harold E.
Hughes ; Scheduled to be commissioned in Septem-
ber 1967.
853
DULUTH (LPD-6)
(B) New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y. ; (K)
12/18/63 ; (L) 8/14/65 ; (S) Mrs. O. Bruce Solomon-
son; (0) 12/18/65, Captain M. G. Tremaine.
DURHAM ( AKA-114)
(B) Built at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock
Co., Newport News, Va. ; (K) 4/24/67; (L)
7/10/67 ; (S) Scheduled to be commissioned in Jan-
uary 1969.
EDWARD MCDONNELL (DE-1043)
(B) Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.; (K)
4/1/63; (L) 2/15/64; (S) Mrs. Edward McDonnell ;
(C) 2/15/65, Comdr. D. L. Banks, Jr.
ENGLAND (DLG-22)
(B) Todd Shipyard Corp., San Pedro, Calif.; (K)
10/4/60; (L) 3/6/62; (S) Mrs. Clair Engle; (C)
12/7/63, Captain W. J. Caspari.
ENSENADA (YF-852)
(B) Erie Concrete & Steel Supply Co., Erie, Pa. ; (K)
March 1945; (L) August 1945; Placed in service
1964.
FINBACK ( SSN-670)
(B) Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.,
Newport News, Va. ; (K) 6/26/67 ; Scheduled to be
launched in November 1968 ; Scheduled to be com-
missioned in 1969.
FLAGSTAFF (TAGM-21) ex-MC 1272, SS MISSION
SAN JUAN
Renamed MERCURY (TAGM-21) 9/1/65.
FLAGSTAFF (PGH-1)
(B) Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., Stuart,
Fla.; (K) 7/15/66; Scheduled to be launched in
November 1967 ; Scheduled to be commissioned in
1968.
FLASHER (SSN-613)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn.; (K)
4/14/61; (L) 6/22/63; (S) Mrs. P. B. Fay, Jr. ; (C)
7/22/66, Comdr. K. M. Carr.
FLYER (TAG-178) ex-M'C-1209, SS WATERWITCH, SS
AMERICAN FLYER
(B) Moore Drydock Co., Oakland, Calif.; (K)
10/30/44; (L) 12/20/44; (S) Miss Margaret Helen
Finnell; Placed in service 2/9/65; Name assigned
3/22/65 ; Civilian crew.
FLYING FISH (SSN-673)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Electric Boat Div.,
Groton, Conn. ; (K) 6/30/67; Scheduled to be
launched in March 1969; Scheduled commissioning
date not available.
FOX (DLG-33)
(B) Todd Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Div., San
Pedro, Calif; (K) 1/15/63; (L) 11/21/64; (S)
Mrs. Charles E. Bennett; (C) 5/8/66, Captain R.
O. Welander.
FRANCIS HAMMOND (DE-1067)
(B) Todd Shipyards Corp., San Pedro, Calif.; (K)
7/15/67 ; Scheduled to be launched in April 1968 ;
Scheduled commissioning date not available.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY (SSBN-657)
(B) General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn.; (K)
12/5/64; (L) 4/23/66; (S) Mrs. Marjorie Key
Thorne and Mrs. William T. Jarvis; (C) 12/3/66,
Captain F. W. Graham (b) and Lt. Comdr J. B.
Logan (g).
FREDERICK COUNTY (LST-1184)
(B) National Steel & Shipbuilding Co., San Diego,
Calif. ; Scheduled to be laid down in December 1967 ;
Scheduled to be launched in June 1968 ; Scheduled
commissioning date not available.
FURER (DEG-6)
Renamed JULIUS A. FURER (q.v.) 4/5/66.
FURMAN (TAK-280) ex-MCV-174, SS FURMAN VIC-
TORY
(B) Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg. ; (K)
1/23/45; (L) 3/6/45; (S) Mrs. Carl Donaugh;
Converted at American Shipbuilding Co., Toledo,
Ohio, in 1963-64; Name assigned 9/14/64; Placed
in service 10/14/64 ; Civilian crew.
“I regard the steady increase of naval strength as
not a war, but a peace measure — a measure of de-
fense involving grave questions of commercial
security and national independence. Negotiation
and diplomacy will be exhausted before war is
made upon a nation of brave men, powerful, and
ready for the conflict.”
— James C. Dobbin, Secretary of the Navy ,
Annual Report to the President , 1855.
James C. Dobbin,
Secretary of the Navy,
Annual Report to the President, 1855.
NAVY SHIPBUILDING PROGRAM
FISCAL YEAR 1967
The 1967 Shipbuilding Program provides for
the construction of the following ships :
COMBATANT WARSHIPS
Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier (CVAN) ... 1
Nuclear-powered Attack Submarines (SSN) . . 5
Nuclear-powered Guided Missile Frigate
(DLGN) 1
AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE SHIPS
Dock Landing Ship (LSD) 1
Tank Landing Ships (LST) 11
MINE WARFARE SHIPS
Ocean Minesweepers (MSO) 5
PATROL SHIPS
Escort Ships (DE) 10
AUXILIARY SHIPS
Ammunition Ships (AE) 2
Combat Store Ship (AFS) 1
Oceanographic Research Ship (AGOR) .... 1
Surveying Ships (AGS) 2
Replenishment Fleet Oilers (AOR) 2
Submarine Rescue Ship (ASR) 1
Salvage Tugs 2
LANDING AND SERVICE CRAFT (MIS-
CELLANEOUS) 311
The nuclear- powered attack carrier in the build-
ing program will be an improved version of
854
ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)-65). She will be
powered with the new two-reactor plant that has
been under development by the Atomic Energy
Commission. The carrier will have a length over-
all of 1,092 feet, a waterline beam of 134 feet, and
a full-load displacement of approximately 91,300
tons.
The nuclear-powered attack submarines (SS
(N)) are the same class as the previous years’
program. Designed for maximum effectiveness
against all types of ships, particularly enemy sub-
marines, these high-speed, 300-foot, 4,650-ton
submarines will be equipped with a long-range
detection system and the antisubmarine rocket
(Subroc).
The guided missile frigate (DLG(N)) will be
nuclear-powered and equipped with the Tartar
missile. This 10,100-ton ship will be capable of
operating offensively, either independently or with
strike, antisubmarine, or amphibious forces against
submarine, air and surface threats. She will have
an overall length of 596 feet and a maximum beam
of 60 feet.
Of great interest in this building program will
be the submarine rescue ship (ASR), the first of
a new class of ASRs. She will have the capability
to provide mobile search and rescue facilities and
limited mobile salvage facilities for submarines.
In addition this ASR will have the capability to
provide target, weapon recovery, and escort serv-
ices to submarines and trained divers and equip-
ment for rescue and salvage to other units when
needed. This ship is designed with the capability
of handling and tending the Navy’s new deep-
submergence vehicles. The catamaran design of
this ASR is unique; it will give greater stability
when operating equipment at depth. Overall
length will be 238 feet, maximum beam 86 feet
and full-load displacement is in excess of 3,000
tons.
The 311 miscellaneous landing and service craft
include barges, lighters, and various landing craft
of all sizes whose combined functions consist of
landing men, vehicles, and equipment from ship
to shore.
“Tomorrow the shipbuilding which we are
planning now will encounter its test in the events
and missions which may occur then — our effort
today must be adequate to the tasks of tomorrow.”
— David L. McDonald , Admiral , UjS.
Navy , Chief of Naval Operations.
256-125 0 - 68 - 56
855
LSD — dock landing ship
- '■ r-"v-
The constantly-evolving scientific Navy is deployed and ready to maintain the peace.
856
PG — patrol gunboat
AGOR — oceanographic research ship
857
AD — destroyer tender
AE — ammunition ship
858
AKA — attack cargo ship
859
LST — tank landing ship
AOE — fast combat support ship
860
PGH — patrol gunboat (hydrofoil)
MSO — minesweeper, ocean (non-magnetic)
861
ATS — salvage tug
AOR — replenishment oiler
862
AGS — surveying ship
ASR — submarine rescue ship
863
Appendix VI
ERRATA, VOLUMES I AND II
Errors creep into any human undertaking. De-
spite efforts to make the Dictionary of American
Naval Fighting /Ships as accurate as possible, some
errors went unnoticed into print. Through the as-
sistance of a number of kind readers we have since
been able to compile a list of errata, excluding
most typographical errors. “Line” is counted
from the first or last line of the text of the
entry indicated or of the column if the entry
starts or finishes in another column. “Stat.” de-
notes the statistics section of the entry. The
original material is in quotation marks with
the corrected insertions underlined.
VOLUME I (REPRINT WITH CORRECTIONS 1964)
Page
Entry
Column
Line
Corrections
28
Alfred _ _ _ _ _
1
Stat_.
Change “280” to 300
34
Alioth _ _ _
1
1 .. .
Change “25 July” to 2 August
35
Almandite _
1
2
Add renamed Almandite 9 January 1942 before
“purchased”
40
America (SL)
1
4 up _ . _ _ .
Change “2” to 3
67
Ashland
1
3.
Add , Inspector of Naval Material, San Francisco
before “; commissioned”
126
Biscayne. _ .
1
3
Delete “Lieutenant”
171
Buffalo II
2
4
Correct spelling Nictheroy
206
DETROIT
1
Commissioned _ _
Change “94” to 93
211
SALT LAKE CITY
2
Built at
Change “New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, JN.Y.
to American Brown Boveri Electric Corp.,
Camden, N.J., a subsidiary of New York
Shipbuilding Co.
274
DUPONT
2
Commissioned _ _
Change “3” to 23
276
DELONG
1
Commissioned _ _
Change “12” to 27
280
CASSIN
1
Commissioned. .
Change second “8” to 9 (9 August 1913)
280
CUMMINGS
1
Commissioned _ _
Change “20” to 19
282
DAVIS
1
Commissioned _ _
Change “4” to 15
286
ELLIOT
2
Commissioned _ _
Change “24” to 25
294
FARQUHAR
1
Commissioned. _
Change “7/31” to 8/5
303
DE HAVEN
2
Commissioned. _
Change “20” to 21
323
CHARLES H. ROAN
1
Commissioned _ .
Change “2” to i2
324
FLOYD B. PARKS
2
Commissioned. .
Change “8” to 7
337
KEITH
1
1
Add (ex-USS Scott) before “Keel laid”
337
CANFIELD
2
Commissioned _ _
Change “7/2/43” to 7/22/43
864
VOLUME II
Page
xvii
xviii
xviii
xviii
3
3
25
25
26
27
32
38
47
48
48
53
63
68
84
84
90
90
93
94
100
101
101
104
106
Entry
Column
Line
Commodore Barney __ __
1
5 up _
AIRCRAFT CARRIER
2
10-*_
APPENDIX
CONFEDERATE FORCES
1
2 up _ _ _ _ _
AFLOAT APPENDIX
CONFEDERATE FORCES
2
1
AFLOAT APPENDIX
Cabezon
1
2 up
Cnhildo _ _
2
Stat
Candoto - -- - -
1
1
Canihas
2
2
Cononicw* IT _
2
7
Canuck
2
1
Capps
2
3
Camelian _ _ _ _
1
1
Cassin I _
2
Last.
Cassin I. - _
1
1
Cassin II -
1
16
Catawba I _
2
1
Ceres
2
2
Chanagi _ _
2
1-2
Charlottesville _ - - -
1
Stat
Charr _ _ ...
2
25
Chauncey III.
2
31
Chauncey III. - _
2
38
Chenango II
1
Stat _ _
Chepanoc _ _____
2
1
Chewink. _ _ _
2
14
Illustration. _ _ _ __
I...
Cheyenne (CL— 117) _ _ _ __
2
2 up. _
Chicomico _ __ _
2
1 ...
Childs _
2
9 up
Corrections
Change “Barney" to Perry
Change “USS Princeton (CVL-23)” to Lexington
and Yorktown planes destroy Shoho in Coral
Sea.
Change “ Hunley ” to H. L. Hunley
Change “ Hunley ” to H. L. Hunley
Change “1,631-” to 2,631-
Change “Ashland," to Casa Grande
Add built by Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works,
Port Arthur, Texas, under subcontract from
General Motors and before “placed in service”
Change “Bath Iron Works” to Texas Shipbuild-
ing Company
Delete “USNRF”
Add , built by Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works
Port Arthur, Texas, under subcontract from
General Motors, before “served”
Change “ Almir ante Ferrandiz.” to Lepanto.
Change “built as the yacht Seventeen in 1930 by
Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine” to launched
18 October 1930 as Trudione by Bath Iron
Works, Bath, Maine, and later renamed Sev-
enteen
Add 1924 after “28 April”
Change “23 May 1932” to 30 June 1933
Change “BB-35” to BB-38
Change “screw steamer” to monitor
Change “in New York” to at Keyport, N. J.,
Change “laid down as YT-380 and launched by
General Motors Corporation” to built as YT-
380 by Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works
Port Arthur, Texas, under subcontract from
General Motors and launched
Change “393'11";” to 303' 11";
Change “Besugo" to Charr
Change “1945” to 1944
Change “September” to April
Change “AO-31” to CVE-28
Change “was laid down as YT-381 by the Gen-
eral Motors Corporation” to , built by Gulfport
Boiler and Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas,
under subcontract from General Motors, was
laid down as YT-381
After submarines add she was reclassified ASR-3
on 12 September 1929.
Change “FADM” to Fleet Admiral
Change “11” to JL2
Change “was laid down as YT-378 and launched
by General Motors Corp.,” to , built by Gulf-
port Boiler and Welding Works, Port Arthur,
Texas, under subcontract from General Motors,
was laid down as YT-378 and launched
Change “AVP-15” to A VP-1 4
865
Page
116
116
125
128
133
134
134
134
135
144
152
157
157
158
159
165
165
165
166
167
170
173
175
177
177
186
187
188
192
196
204
207
213
213
214
214
214
215
215
216
222
225
225
Entry
Column
Line
Christopher
1
After Stat_. _
Christopher . . ..
2
2 up
Claxton I _ _
1
3___
Clemson. _________
2
7 up _
Clyde I-
1
Last
Coates __ _ _
1
3 up
Coatopa . . _____
2
1
Cobbler __ ___
2
1
Cochali .. _ __
2
1
Colonial.
1
Stat _ _ _
Comet IV __ _ __ _ __
1
1
Comstock. _ _ _
1
Stat_ _ _
Comstock.
1
3
Illustration. _ __
1
Concord IV
1
15
Conklin _
1
19 -__
Conklin
1
25 _
Conklin _ _ __
1
27
Pompanoosuc
1
1
Connolly
2
After Stat.
Constellation I _ _
2
Stat
Upper illustration __ _ _
1
Illustration _
1.
Contoocook I _____
1
1_
Contoocook (AO-104)
1
1
Core
2
4
Cormorant I
2
22 up
Cornubia. _
1
Stat
Corsair II
1
12 up. _
Courier III __ _ _
2
Last. _
Crescent City _
2
Last. _
Croatan I_
2
1-2
Culgoa . __ _
2
4 up
Culgoa. _ _ _
2
3 up
Cumberland I _
2
4
Cumberland I _ _ _
2
7_ __ ___ _
Illustration.
2
1
Illustration. _
1
1 _ __
Cumberland Sound _ _ _ _
1
1_
Curb. __ .
2
3 up
Cushing I
1
Stat _ _ _
Cuyahoga _
1
Stat _ _ _ _ _ _
Cuyahoga..
1
6
Corrections
Insert as first paragraph
Christopher (DE-100) was launched 19 June
1943 by Dravo Corp., Wilmington, Del.;
sponsored by Mrs. Carl Christopher, mother of
Ensign Christopher; and commissioned 23
October 1943, Lieutenant A. W. P. Trench in
command.
Change “Japan” to Brazil
Change “15” to 13
Change “1 May” to 7 March
Change “1963” to 1863
Correct spelling Juneau
Add , built by Gulfport Boiler and Welding
Works, Port Arthur, Texas, under subcontract
from General Motors, before “served”
Change “SSE-344” to SS-344
Add was built by Gulfport Boiler and Welding
Works, Port Arthur, Texas, under subcontract
from General Motors and before “served”
Change “ Ashland ” to Casa Grande
Add 1957 after “31 July”
Change “ Ashland” to Casa Grande
Change “Mrs. D. C. Park” to Mrs. H.O. Redue,
Jr.
Add (shown at far left) after “Manila Bay”
Change “Herbert Hoover” to Calvin Coolidge
Change “20” to _19
Change “Four days later” to On 23 January
Change “1-47” to 1-48
Change “ship” to screw steamer
Insert as first paragraph
Connolly (DE-306) was launched 15 January
1944 by Mare Island Navy Yard; sponsored
by Mrs. Mary F. Connolly, widow of Chief
Pay Clerk Connolly; and commissioned 8 July
1944, Lieutenant W. A. Collier in command.
Change “dp.” to
Delete “(Frigate)”
Delete “(Frigate)”
Correct spelling Contoocook
Correct spelling Contoocook
Change “AKV-13” to AKV-41
Change “ATO-135” to ATO-133
Change “102';” to 210';
Change “In September 1947” to On 31 July
Change “1921” to 1941
Change “AP-51” to APA-23
Change “crews for the North African operations.
After another gust 1942, ” to Croatan (A V G-25)
was reclassified ACV-25, 20 August 1942
Change “1889” to 1899
Correct spelling Culgoa
Change “1943” to 1843 and “1945” to 1845
Change “1946” to 1846
Delete “(Frigate)”
Delete Frigate)”
Change “11 January” to 23 February
Change “N.J.” to Texas
Delete cl. Cushing”
Change “YX-21” to IX-21
Change “YX-21” to IX-21
866
Page
226
227
230
231
231
231
256
257
259
263
269
283
285
289
289
294
294
302
303
311
314
314
317
329
331
335
335
353
354
356
362
363
372
374
379
381
386
396
398
402
410
414
414
418
421
Entry
Column
Line
Cyane I - _ --
1
2 up
Cymophane - --
1
1...
Dace I - -
1
7 up.
Daffodil
1
2.1.
Dahlgren I -----
2
4
Dahlgren II -
2
Stat-
Delbert W. Halsey .
1
Last
DeLong III
2
11
Dempsey (DE— 267)
2
4
Illustration _ _ _
1
Detroit III
2
Last
Dochra through Dogfish .
1-2
Dolphin IV
1
1
Donner - -
1
Stat..
Dorado (SS— 256)
2
1
Douglas H. Fox __ -
1
1
Douglas H. Fox --
1
14 up..
Dubuque
1
2 up -
Duffy (DE-268) .
1
2.1.
Dyer . -
2
1
Illustration
1
E-2
1
11
Eagre.. - -
1
1
Edward C. Daly..
1
1 -_
Edwards II
1
10-11...
Elder
2
14
Eldorado
2
Stat
Enoree . .
2
4
Enright
1
5 up
Enterprise IV .
1
Last. -----
Ericsson III- . -
2
18 up
Erie II. _ _
2
Stat
Etna I .. .-
1
Stat _
Eureka II. - -
2
Last
Experiment I
2
Stat
F-2
2
5 UD
Falcon III _ _
1
6.
Farragut IV --
2
Stat _ -
Fayette . .. ..
1
1
Fern III
1
Stat
Flambeau I . .
2
11
Fleming I
2
23
Fleming I - - -.
2
27- ...
Florida IV. .
2
6 up
Floyd Hurst
2
2 up
Floyd Hurst . _
2
2 up
Forbes
1
1...
421
428
See footnote at end of table
Corrections
Change "1885” to 1835
Change "PLC-26” to PYc-26
Correct spelling Leonardo Da Vinci
Change “Newport, Ky.” to Key port, N.J.
Change “19” to 16
Change “1,060;” to 1,190; and “Wickes” to
Clemson
Change “9” to j>
Add However, her conversion was canceled be-
cause of the end of hostilities; and she resumed
the designation of DE-684. before “She ar-
rived”
Change “14 June” to 23 August
Change “FADM” to Fleet Admiral
Change “in 1911” to 22 December 1910
Paragraphs mixed ; see corrected entries at end of
table. 1
Change “an unarmored cruiser” to a despatch
boat
Change “ Ashland ” to Casa Grande
Change “SS-256” to SS-526
Delete “from 7 November 1956 to 20 February
1957. Between”
Add from 7 November 1956 to 20 February 1957.
Between before "... 3 September . . .”
Change “AG-5” to AG-6
Change “31 August” to 28 August
Change “1916” to 1918
Delete “and D-l ( Narwhal , SS-17)”
Change “1919” to 1918
Change “acquired by” to transferred from the
Coast and Geodetic Survey to
Add sponsored by Mrs. John H. McQuilkin;
before “retained for use”
Change “trusty four-stacker” to destroyer
Change “ Deliverer ” to Deliver
Change “ Appalachian ” to Mount McKinley
Change “1945” to 1943
Change “1943” to 1945
Change “1845” to 28 October 1844
Change “1944” to 1945
Change “Erie” to Ontario
Change “3” m.,”to 13" m.,
Change “IX-211” to IX-221
Change “60';” to 84'7";
Add crews of new before “submarines.”
Change “22 January 1936” to 12 September 1929
Add over before “30 k.”
Add , ex-AP-88, before "was launched”
Change “86;” to 15; and “6 32-pdr.” to 2 3-pdrs.
Correct spelling peace
Change “13” to 18
Change “RO-47” to 1-362
Change “1920” to 1919
Add She was renamed Guard 7 January 1921.
before “On 2 August”
Change “2” to 3^
Change “ Morning Star” to Morning Star
867
Page
Entry
Column
Line
Corrections
430
Forrest
1
23
Change “CA-3” to CA-31
433
Fort Hindman
2
Stat
Change “26';” to 2'4<';
433
Fort Jackson _ _
2
3
Change “20” to 22
434
Fort Mandan
1
Stat
Change “Ashland” to Casa Grande
434
Fort Marion
2
Stat_ __ _
Change “ Ashland ” to Fort Marion
435
Fort Snelling (LSD-23)
1
2
Change “17” to 12
436
Fortify _
1
1
Add Fortify was reclassified MSO-446 on 7 Feb-
ruary 1955. before “During her”
443
Franklin III - _ -
1
2 up_ _
Delete “razeed”
443
Franklin IV-
1
3_.*_
Delete “razeed”
446
Frazier
1
28
Change “13 June” to 12 May
451
Frolic II
2
Last
Change “1877” to 1883
456
Fulton III - -
2
24
Add reclassified PG-49 on 29 September, before
“and on 3 March 1931”
462
LANGLEY Class
1
Aircraft
Change “55 max.” to 32 max.
477
LONG ISLAND
2
Launched.
Change “1/15/40” to 1/11/40
478
COPAHEE
1
Acquired .
Change “5/1/42” to 2/8/42
478
FENCER
1
Transferred
Change “3/1/43” to 2/27/43
478
CROATAN
2
Launched
Change “8/3/42” to 8/1/42
478
ATHELING
2
Transferred
Change “Transferred to U.K. 7/3/43” to Com-
missioned 7/3/43, Transferred to U.K. 7/31/43
480
Lower Illustration .
I.,
Change “USS Princeton (CVL-23)” to Lexington
and Yorktown planes destroy Shoho in Coral
Sea.
488
CONFEDERATE FORCES
2
3 up --
Delete “Generally speaking today: Tonnage of
AFLOAT
the”
489
CONFEDERATE FORCES
1
1
Add Generally speaking today: Tonnage of the
AFLOAT
before “ship alone”,
492
CONFEDERATE NAVY
1
1
Delete “with CSN operation”
STEEL OR IRONHULLED,
SIDEWHEEL BLOCKADE
RUNNERS BUILT ABROAD
503
Bat
1
Stat _ _ ,
Change “771 or 330;” to 750; and “7'6":” to 8'1";
503
Bat -
1
Stat _ _
Delete “dph. 9'6" or 10'9";”
510
Colonel Lamb
1
3 up
Change “Brazilian” to Greek
510
Colonel Lamb
1
3 up _ .
Add as Bouhouling before “at Liverpool”
511
Cornubia
1
Stat
Change “411 [589, 359, 259]” to 589, “12'6";” to
13'3"; and “18” to 13
511
Cornubia. - _
1
Stat -
Delete “dr. 9';”
521
Florida (ScSlp)
1
24
Change “Nassau” to the Bahamas
521
Florida (ScSlp)
1
27
Delete “again”
528
Georgian _ _
1
19 up
Add War before “Benjamin”
531
H. L. Hunley _ . _
2
28 up
Change “Breach” to Beach
532
Illustration _ _ . _ .
1
I----...
Add H. L. before “ Hunley ”
533
Illustration
1
Add H. L. before “Hunley”
534
Harriet Pinckney _
1
2
Delete “(”
534
Harriet Pinckney
1
2
Add ) before “was”
535
Houston __ _ _ __
2
1
Delete “ ‘Houston’ , see Austin”
552
Neuse _ .
2
2
Change “Elliot Smith & Co.” to Howard and
Ellis
552
Neuse
2
2
Add Whitehall and before “Kingston, N.C.”
552
Neuse. _ _
2
4 up
Change “until” to for almost a month. She never
left the river, and in. Delete “when”
569
Sumter -
2
Stat . _ _
Change “347” to 437
579
Virginia _ _ _
2
8 up _
Change “checkmate” to stalemate
582
William H. Young
1
6 up
Correct spelling evacuated
589
THE CONFEDERATE
2
3 up
Correct spelling Weir’s Point
STONE FLEET, PART B
1 The corrected entries for Dochra through Dodger II follow on page 869 :
868
Dochra
A merchant name retained.
(Str: dp. 10,000; 1. 380'; b. 51'; dr. 22'11" ; s. 10 k. ;
cpl. 82 ; a. 2 4")
Dochra (No. 1758) was built in 1906 by Swan, Hunter
and Wingbam Richardson, Ltd., Newcastle, England ;
transferred from the Shipping Board 21 October 1917 ;
and commissioned the same day, Lieutenant Commander
C. H. R. Longbottom, USNRF, in command.
Between 21 November 1917 and 16 March 1919, Dochra
made six voyages from Halifax, Nova Scotia ; Norfolk ;
and New York to French ports, carrying 11,874 tons of
cargo, mostly beef and other foodstuffs, for the A.E.F.
and naval forces operating in European waters. On 29
June 1918 she sailed from Halifax with a convoy but lost
company during the night. Two days later, while seek-
ing to rejoin her companions, she was overtaken by the
German submarine TJ-151 and shelled. Dochra beat off
the attack, evaded the enemy, and returned to Halifax
safely.
After the war Dochra sailed from New York 25 March
1919 ; delivered a cargo of supplies for the fleet at Guan-
tanamo Bay, Cuba ; then returned to Norfolk 15 April.
She was decommissioned at New York 10 May 1919 and
delivered to the Shipping Board for return to her owners
the same day.
Doddridge
A county in West Virginia.
Doddridge was the name assigned to AK-176; however,
the contract for construction was canceled on 16 August
1915.
Dodge County, see LST-722
Dodger II
Former name retained.
Dodger II (No. 46) was purchased by the Navy and
commissioned on 6 July 1917. She was assigned to the
3rd Naval District, where she was assigned patrol duty.
Following decommissioning, Dodger II was stricken from
the Navy List 11 March 1919 and sold.
Dogfish
Any of various small sharks.
( SS-350 : dp. 1,526; 1. 311'9” ; b. 27'3” ; dr. 15'3" ; s. 20
k. ; cpl. 66 ; a. 1 5”, 10 21” tt. ; cl. Gato )
Dogfish (SS-350) was launched 27 October 1945 by
Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn. ; sponsored by Mrs. A. M.
Morgan; and commissioned 29 April 1946, Commander
T. S. Baskett in command.
Dogfish sailed out of New London on local duties and
cruised to the Caribbean and Bermuda to conduct training.
She was overhauled and extensively modernized at Phila-
delphia Naval Shipyard from August 1947 to April 1948,
and then served in experimental projects as well as normal
operations at New London. From 31 October to 19 No-
vember 1948 she took part in large-scale fleet exercises
ranging from the waters off Florida to Davis Strait be-
tween Labrador and Greenland.
She cruised to Scotland, England, and France between
4 February and 3 April 1949 ; joined in a convoy exercise
off Cape Hatteras in February and March 1952; and
operated along the East Coast and in the Caribbean during
the next 3 years.
Dogfish sailed from New London 1 March 1955 for her
first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean,
returning to her home port 6 June. She called at Halifax^
Nova Scotia, from 4 to 14 June 1956 during NATO Opera-
tion .“New Broom.’’ On 8 November she stood by and
fought the fires on trawler Agda during local operations
out of New London. She cruised to Faslane Bay, Scot-
land, between 31 January and 12 April 1958 to evaluate
new equipment, and from 23 May to 8 August 1959 served
in the Mediterranean once more. In October and Novem-
ber she took part in NATO antisubmarine exercises.
After extensive overhaul, she resumed local operations
from New London through 1962.
869
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CONTENTS OF PREVIOUS VOLUMES
VOLUME I
(1964 Reprint)
Page
FOREWORD iii
PREFACE v
BIBLIOGRAPHY xi
ABBREVIATIONS xv
HISTORICAL SKETCHES (“A” through “B”) 1
APPENDICES:
I. Battleships 1886-1948 189
II. Cruisers 1882-1958 203
III. Submarines 1893 — 1958:
Parts :
A. Submarines 227
B. Submarine Tenders 264
C. Submarine Rescue Vessels 267
IV. Torpedo Boats and Destroyers 1887-1958:
Parts :
A. Torpedo Boats 273
B. Destroyers 277
V. Escort Vessels 1941-1958 331
SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF SHIPS 350
VOLUME II
(1963 Edition)
FOREWORD iii
INTRODUCTION
v
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page
xiii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xix
HISTORICAL SKETCHES (“C” through “F”) 1
APPENDICES:
I. Aircraft Carriers 461
II. Confederate Forces Afloat 487
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I 591
876
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